You can buy one of the showdown ships for a limited time

[Richard Bong]

Ship Showdown - Let the Battle Commence! - Roberts Space Industries | Follow the development of Star Citizen and Squadron 42

Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and merch, as well as all the community tools used by our fans.

robertsspaceindustries.com

Possible to buy one of the ships that isn't usually available.

I'm after another ship and wondering what you would recommend? I have a cutty which I want to keep and will be getting a prospector end of this week.

I'm looking around 200-300 to spend here so what would you suggest and is it flyable now

The Caterpillar is the current king of cargo. It should be great for versatility later. Cargo is the best way to make money with the current mechanics.
The Vanguard is my favorite fighter. I have a Sentinel with a Warden BUK. It is tough, with (contrary to many naysayers) lots of firepower. I expect it to be my daily driver. There are several fellow testies that have BUKs in buyback, so you can pick those up for later.
The Retaliator is the ship that got me hooked on Star Citizen. It will be one of the more versatile ships in the game. :) Currently it doesn't have much use in the game, but the size 9 torps do make a satisfying boom. :) It does require a crew.
The Valkyrie also requires a crew to use effectively. I like the way it flies. It doesn't fit my use case, but it is a great ship.
The Reclaimer, 600i, MIS, Hanmerhead and 890J are the other limited ships avaiable and are outside the price range you specified.
The MIS is the current Meta ship for burst damage in combat. Don't chase the Meta. Your friends don't have much to do if they are coming with you. Cutlass and MIS are, long term, about equal.
The Reclaimer, 600i, and 890J don't have a real use in the current game.
The Hammerhead has the same issue as the Valk and the Tali, no crew, no firepower.

 

[PeppaPigKilla]

The Caterpillar is the current king of cargo. It should be great for versatility later. Cargo is the best way to make money with the current mechanics.
The Vanguard is my favorite fighter. I have a Sentinel with a Warden BUK. It is tough, with (contrary to many naysayers) lots of firepower. I expect it to be my daily driver. There are several fellow testies that have BUKs in buyback, so you can pick those up for later.
The Retaliator is the ship that got me hooked on Star Citizen. It will be one of the more versatile ships in the game. :) Currently it doesn't have much use in the game, but the size 9 torps do make a satisfying boom. :) It does require a crew.
The Valkyrie also requires a crew to use effectively. I like the way it flies. It doesn't fit my use case, but it is a great ship.
The Reclaimer, 600i, MIS, Hanmerhead and 890J are the other limited ships avaiable and are outside the price range you specified.
The MIS is the current Meta ship for burst damage in combat. Don't chase the Meta. Your friends don't have much to do if they are coming with you. Cutlass and MIS are, long term, about equal.
The Reclaimer, 600i, and 890J don't have a real use in the current game.
The Hammerhead has the same issue as the Valk and the Tali, no crew, no firepower.

rather extensive and informative thanks.
I do like the look of the MIS

 

[GPcustoms]

Well I melted down my Freelancer Max and traded up a LTI Gladius with some cred for a Cat with of course LTI from the upgrade.
Man is this a great boat.

 

[Richard Bong]

I just bought the warden. I have a scan on Reddit and seen some comments around it. I want to learn to fly and combat better and this ship seems like a good challenge for me.

I was in AC the other day and some guy took it to the end on his own in a warden and i was wowed

Earn some cash in the PU, go to Area 18, Center Mass, and pick up a size 5 laser repeater.

Then practise putting your nose on target.

It is a ship designed for fixed weapons.

 

[Deroth]

Well I melted down my Freelancer Max and traded up a LTI Gladius with some cred for a Cat with of course LTI from the upgrade.
Man is this a great boat.

If you haven't already, go beat AC Pirate Swarm Multi-Player, this will unlock the Pirate Caterpillar 0CCU right now (AWESOME SKIN!!!)

 

[Vavrik]

Earn some cash in the PU, go to Area 18, Center Mass, and pick up a size 5 laser repeater.

Then practise putting your nose on target.

It is a ship designed for fixed weapons.

This guy has some good advice. I do that with every ship, even to learn to land the thing.

 

[AccidentProne8]

Thanks for the notice.

I was sitting on some store credit, planning on upgrading my Retaliator Base to the full bomber, through a temporary Connie Andro during the Anniversary Sale. Now I have an Andro to Tali CCU sitting in my hangar and don't have to wait forvthe sale. Appreciate it.

Tali bro! Or gal, I don't discriminate. The Tali loves all.

 

[AccidentProne8]

I kind of want to upgrade my saber to a vanguard warden, so it could serve as a long range escort for my carrack and my retaliator... But it's a little too ugly for me to feel happy about it. I should love it! P-38 lightning inspiration and all. But I think the concept looked much cooler than the end result sadly.

I'm so torn!

 

[Richard Bong]

I kind of want to upgrade my saber to a vanguard warden, so it could serve as a long range escort for my carrack and my retaliator... But it's a little too ugly for me to feel happy about it. I should love it! P-38 lightning inspiration and all. But I think the concept looked much cooler than the end result sadly.

I'm so torn!

My favorite fighter in the game and, usually my daily driver.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

My favorite fighter in the game and, usually my daily driver.

The vanguard has such a fast quantum drive as well, what takes me 15 minutes in AD in a 350R takes less than 10 in my Warden.

Declaimer: everything can and will change.

 

[Richard Bong]

The vanguard has such a fast quantum drive as well, what takes me 15 minutes in AD in a 350R takes less than 10 in my Warden.

Declaimer: everything can and will change.

And it makes the trip 4 times on a tank of gas.

 

[Firen]

u thought the insurance will be at 72 month but they are only 6 month.
Do i see it right?

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

And it makes the trip 4 times on a tank of gas.

It's a very capable ship. A lot of pilots seem to be hating the centerline fixed nose guns at the moment but with the QD advantage and the armour and the shields I think she's really got it where it counts. There has to be a little balance so having some slightly impractical guns is a small price to pay for the overall package.

 

[PeppaPigKilla]

It's a very capable ship. A lot of pilots seem to be hating the centerline fixed nose guns at the moment but with the QD advantage and the armour and the shields I think she's really got it where it counts. There has to be a little balance so having some slightly impractical guns is a small price to pay for the overall package.

It’s my first fixed nose ship and I don’t mind it at all, the 2500 fuel capacity matches my cutlass too. This ship is fantastic for bounties which is where I have struggled before.

 

[Richard Bong]

I kind of want to upgrade my saber to a vanguard warden, so it could serve as a long range escort for my carrack and my retaliator... But it's a little too ugly for me to feel happy about it. I should love it! P-38 lightning inspiration and all. But I think the concept looked much cooler than the end result sadly.

I'm so torn!

One other minor point. The Saber is a great fighter, especially if you replace the stealth hardware with milspec, however, it is a Carrier based fighter. Once the universe expands I question the utility of carrier birds.

Granted, I plan on bounty hunting, where I take prisoners and I don't generally expect carrier support.

You may want to keep that in mind. :)

 

[Richard Bong]

u thought the insurance will be at 72 month but they are only 6 month.
Do i see it right?

That is normal if you don't purchase during the anniversary sale.

 

[Richard Bong]

Tali bro! Or gal, I don't discriminate. The Tali loves all.

I love the Tali, but at the moment it isn't a very practical ship. :)
Which is why I am likely to, temporarily, turn it into a Connie to do some hauling while I wait for the game to get fleshed out a bit.

 

[Richard Bong]

rather extensive and informative thanks.
I do like the look of the MIS

The only real difference between the Cutlass, which you already have and the MIS is sustained missile fire. If you are firing that many missiles you are doing it wrong.

 

[GPcustoms]

Personally I saw no difference between my Hoplite and Warden once I added the two missile racks to the hoplite over at Centermass. I notice that it will QT at about 20k in atmosphere. I don't know if this is a bug but its now my second favorite toy next to the Sabre and it seems nothing else will do that in my fleet(have not tried the Valkyrie yet). Nicknamed it the Vulture because I see it as an ugly big ass bird of preyExcuse me while I go fill up the Cat again. Hail the Auroras!!

 

[Richard Bong]

Personally I saw no difference between my Hoplite and Warden once I added the two missile racks to the hoplite over at Centermass. I notice that it will QT at about 20k in atmosphere. I don't know if this is a bug but its now my second favorite toy next to the Sabre and it seems nothing else will do that in my fleet(have not tried the Valkyrie yet). Nicknamed it the Vulture because I see it as an ugly big ass bird of preyExcuse me while I go fill up the Cat again. Hail the Auroras!!

The difference between the two is extended use, which isn't in game yet.