Let's discuss ship builds and roles

[2d spaceship gamer]

Let's talk here about what kind of ship builds you got, and what you use each ship for.

 

For example, you might use a wb for duelling, spider for turreting, terr for center-killing, lanc for hosting turrets and anchoring (duh), shark for base assault, etc.

 

But you may also develop more unconventional ship choices you'd want to share.

 

Also, it would be nice to describe your ship's precise setup. If you can't afford to build a setup you want, describe what your setup would be like IF you had the money, or alternatively describe setups that fall under a particular budget.

 

Explanations and rationale for your choices would be greately appreciated.

 

What is YOUR rig?

[Evil Doom]

well if you were talking about one ship that you wanted to use... ide have to say the SPIDER!!!

First ill way what my spider uses

1. Ion Drive

2. Quantum Reactor

3. Beam Array atm

4. Space Mines

5. 2 close Combat, energy scanner, tunnel tunner, getaway pack

6. Double Brick

 

I would say this build costs around 100-120k

 

you could add antideah if you want (not necessary)(costs 250k)

 

and the reason i say it is most usful is because you could use beam array to base, flechette for turreting/center killing, and shrdder to lame ppl with rockets

 

if you wanted to you could change spacemines to falcon missile or string of pearls!!!

 

since you could use this ship for anything and still own with it... it's why i think it's most useful

 

I know this because this is what BobDole69 does and it's been working great for him !!!

[Sharpflame]

ok.this is my shipset.

 

wb:duels,skill building

jav:center

spid:turret/lanc killer

levi:shredder killer ftw

terr:vulching,sneaking

wsl:turreting, laming

lanc:anchor,turret holding,basing

Shark:Ultimate basing ship

 

my ship descriptions:

1:pulse/quantum/ion,simple wb (ccx2)

2:flech/falcon/quantum/ion (ccx2)

3:shredder/mezon(i cant remember otherwise quant),tunnel runner,(ccx2)

4:zpm,nuclear booster,salvo,(ccx2)

5:plasma cannon,tacnuke,zpm,h2,no ccx2 cuz tacnuke makes bad delay for cc,Active Camo

6:flechette,stingray,zpm,h2,(ccx2)

7:pulse,tacnuke,zpm,h2,tacnuke,active camo,tunnel runner

8:nuke booster,quantum,beam array,siege pack,double brick,(ccx2),this ship is ownage for basing dont let its low nrg decieve you.

 

lotta thinking.

[WallBomb]

honestly im not that stupid to tell how build good ships

 

Learn your self as i did gg

[Fat Cat]

honestly im not that stupid to tell how build good ships

 

Learn your self as i did gg

 

lol

 

I don't feel like listing everything i got on my ships so I'll just say what I use each ship for

 

WB - Center killing and rushing bases

Jav - Bombing in bases/center and THORS!

Spider - I used this as my gunner in bases but since there are no flags I've converted it into a turret killing machine

Levi - My center laming ship. Muahahaha

Terr- Don't need it

Wzl - I use it in Center sometimes cuz of the recharge but I could probably get rid of this too cuz it blows in bases (looking at you mookie)

Lanc - Anchor. Duh!

Shark - What happened to those awesome bursts? Don't have this ship either

[Deathboy-evil]

I agree for the sake of this zone, please don't list any items for ship builds. I personally would not want a booklet on how to build a ship. It takes all the fun out of it and than trial and error becomes of no use. As well as everyone would start using the same ships.

[Dr Brain]

I disagree. Posting builds is a great thing to do. People aren't forced to do it, and newbies have tons of fun playing around with stuff anyway. Some people may copy, but they're not the type to enjoy figuring things out for themselves anyhow.

[Deathboy-evil]

Some people may copy, but they're not the type to enjoy figuring things out for themselves anyhow.

 

The fact that many would copy is something that would start a big issue for people.. Everyone have the same ships would make everything boring and pointless.. I agree it would be a good thing to have build's posted.. but when their's different categories.. 3-6 different items.. and only 1-3 of the items from those categories are being used.. it limits the build's, so when someone posts a build for something such as a warbird.. there's only a few items that make people's ships differ.. having a warbird build up would just cause people to become bored. I would agree if there were a lot of choices and options that were in use but theres not..

[Evil Doom]

i dont see everyone asking for a build btw... it's only one guy...

 

i said a good ship to use was spider because i know not everyone has alot of money and has to time to play to get all that money... maybe he was one of those people....

 

Also i know people change their ship builds all the time... because every ship has a weakness... and one weakness makes something else stronger

 

This was my logic to saying what spider to make...

 

Sorry if it made you think it will bore that zone up (which i doubt everyone will use this build)

[Dr Brain]

Some people may copy, but they're not the type to enjoy figuring things out for themselves anyhow.

 

The fact that many would copy is something that would start a big issue for people.. Everyone have the same ships would make everything boring and pointless.. I agree it would be a good thing to have build's posted.. but when their's different categories.. 3-6 different items.. and only 1-3 of the items from those categories are being used.. it limits the build's, so when someone posts a build for something such as a warbird.. there's only a few items that make people's ships differ.. having a warbird build up would just cause people to become bored. I would agree if there were a lot of choices and options that were in use but theres not..

 

If there's only a few setups that work, then how is posting them a problem? Honestly, if you don't want someone to copy you, don't tell them what you have.

[Bomook]

I really like this topic, actually.

 

It gives the newbies, who don't know what's going on an idea of what to buy. Many players won't even read this, so I don't think the zone would get boring as a result of everyone using the same stuff... and in the event that it does, I take that as just a sign that something(s) is overpowered/underpowered.

 

Wzl - I use it in Center sometimes cuz of the recharge but I could probably get rid of this too cuz it blows in bases (looking at you mookie)

I'll be busy as !@#$%^&* until possibly next week (where I'll just be regular busy ), but I'll probably retweak the weasel's stats to make it a viable baser. This will just be a temporary solution until Brain's real fix for the weasel comes in, though.

Consider this also a caveat for those who prefer to use it for center killing.

[Evil Doom]

seems like dbe is over ruled on this one... Maybe we should start a thread that allows people to say their ship build if they choose to and posibly sticky it

[shot_237]

knowing details of ship currently played by other player is not very difficult if you spend time for observing.

gun and bombs can be seen, reactor can be known from max energy, drive can be known from ship movement.

some utilities are revealed if you spec. other utilities and brick is revealed when that player used it or turned it on.

some of these info such as reactor/drive requires playing experience of same ship by yourself to know, but the other is not.

normally newbs can't do this, experienced players can.

 

so it is not rare to see a newb asking 'how do u shoot that fast?', 'which gun fires red bullet?', 'what is best for spider?' etc.

informations gathering without having in-game experience is already exist in game and cannot be blocked. this appears in any

multi-user games and possible problems should be minimized by balancing game mechanics, not by hiding informations.

 

p.s.

some people are simple, just ask others what is best, and get it. (yeah just enjoy. nothing is complex in life!)

some people are simple but have eyes, just copy other strong players things. (maybe this is most common)

some people are owned by common styles, likes to make countering design. (sometimes become another common)

some people want to be different from others, makes their own uncommon design and enjoy. (rarely become another common)

some people likes to develop, change and change their ships style and see what happen. (they gain knowledge base)

some people are simple and crazy, get anything that came into their eyes. (lol)

may have more than one

[Shia' Tan]

I As well as everyone would start using the same ships.

 

yah, like everyone has either spid or terr with rockets and shredder, seriously its getting lame, EVERYONE has shredder

 

and i love my wsl for center killing, dont change it toomuch bomook

[Evil Doom]

i agree shredder laming has gone too far... xc0re is an example of that(90% of time rockets terr shreds)...

[Bomook]

This is another reason I think Hyperspace really needs an anti-shipchange module. Shipchanging is responsible for the rep/brick whoring in bases, invincible turrets, and rocket shredders.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with the shredder itself, but combined with infinite rockets (and potential new players who have no items to defend themselves with), it's extremely cheap.

[Evil Doom]

mook... terr shredder newbs suicide kill... so they get their rockets back anyway ... so they kill = or greater then they die...

[Deathboy-evil]

seems like dbe is over ruled on this one... Maybe we should start a thread that allows people to say their ship build if they choose to and posibly sticky it

 

Yeah I am, but Doc's kool so it doesn't matter to me... I just state my opinion.. ..

[2d spaceship gamer]

Thank you for your suggestions, I have looked at them and borrowed a number of ideas.

 

During my several weeks of play, I had a chance to explore the various ships, the way they are being played, and their strengths and weaknesses.

 

An annoying (although justified) thing is that you can only have one ship of each kind. Which makes you make some really tough decisions, because many ships can be used in many different roles, and require different configuration.

 

I have analyzed the basic variety of gameplay options:

 

- Duelling and controlled fights (such as tournaments)

- Wild center gameplay (including ambushes, vulching, and other such fun stuff)

- Turreting (both as driver and as gunner)

- Offensive flagging (fast&furious rush)

- Defensive flagging (controlled heavy fire, use of bombholes etc)

- Anchor flagging

- Flag scouting

 

So I have 8 ships, and I need to make best use of them to fullfill all the ranges, or at least all the ranges I'd want to play. By my nature, I'm an inclusionist. I want to have all options available for me, even if that means that some more specific tailoring to a specific task will not get done (a jack of all trades is a master of none). Being the jack, to me, is much more fun though.

 

As I did not yet have time to am!@#$%^&* a large budget, I did not consider the ultra-high-end luxuries such as Antideath, TW pass or fields (ammo too expensive). I also did not consider the beta-stage Armor upgrade yet, because it is buggy and cannot be properly tested.

 

So, here is what I came up with:

 

 

SHIPS BUILT AND TESTED:

 

 

Warbird: Flag rusher (primary), dueller (secondary)

Being the lightest and most maneuravble of all ships, the Warbird suits perfectly for fast rushing. I have mounted my warbird with Quantum/Ion combo, which gives a good balance of energy management and agility, perfect for navigating narrow bases at high speed. Gun is Pulse Laser, which seems the most effective in terms of dealt damage while controlling energy levels in bases, compared to either plasma cannon or beam array (non-bouncy guns were not even considered). Bombs are Salvo, good when a target is a juicy enemy Lancaster or other capital ship, or when an impromptu hole-shooting is required without time to change to a heavier ship. Sensors include X-Radar (seeing cloaks is an important part of a front-line ship, especially when used as interceptor), and energy scanner (this one is not THAT useful in bases, but can find use when trying to finish off a lanc; it is also very useful when using the ship for it's secondary purpose of a dueller). Utilities are siege pack, tunnel runner, and close combat (gave up second close combat for other options, as I found it is very rare for a warbird to live through using all 3 repels in enemy action; this also saved me the 60k for a converter). Bricks are double bricks.

 

I have tested this build and it seems very agile and robust in bases. While not quite a 1-on-1 match vs heavier ships, it easily wipes out most WB's which use a beam array, as well as most Javelins.

 

 

Spider: Center fighter, Turreter

 

Building this ship was rather controversial and complex, since there were many possible alternatives to the build I chose, and I had to give up some good features for others. I was looking for a powerful, heavy-damage shredding fighter, and my choices were among the spider and the terrier. This was an outside-only build, not designed to fight in bases, and whichever ship out of the 2 was chosen for it, the OTHER one would then be used as a base defender and support gunner. After lengthy though, the outside role was given to the Spider. While slightly weaker, the spider is more agile, and stands a better chance of fighting in open space. I could have made a mistake in this, as I saw many people use spider as a base ship and terrier as turreter and center fighter, but I don't think this would have made much of a difference, and besides, as you shall read below, I ended up very happy with my choice, as well as (so far) being my favorite ship.

 

My Spider is equipped with the Shredder, which is the core of its power. Regrettably, with this weapon and with the way it is employed, I did not find any suitable bombs, nor mines. I bought HE missile, but might as well have got something else, as I never use it. The reactor/drive combo is Quantum Reactor/Ion Drive, which, as mentioned, seems to be an all-around general-purpose combo. Had I only planned for turret use, I would have likely used either Resonance Sphere or Tokamak, but a large part of its use involves non-turret combat, and I need the agility. For the same reason, I opted against either Overthruster or Retro Rocket, as I needed a good balance of speed and agility in order to engage ships one-on-one. The sensors are Energy scanner (useful for the direct combat role), and Extended sensors (useful for the turreting role, to pick out distant enemies before they come full-speed going for the turret). The utility kit includes Tunnel Runner (for the rockets, very useful (albeit lame) when rushing enemies with the Shredder) and Close Combat x2 (repels very useful, bursts -- not so much). The brick used is Energy Infusion, which is useful however I play -- in direct mode, it helps recover from a head-on clash with the Shredder ablaze, giving me a chance to finish off the enemy or engage another one right away; in turret mode, it is used (right before a rocket) to save me in case my driver dies and I find myself surrounded by a group of very angry turret hunters.

 

I use this ship more than any other, and in both roles, it performs very well. While an intelligent and experienced Warbird, or Javelin, or even Weasel, could use its agility to outmaneuver me and slowly finish me off in ranged fire, the vast majority of center enemies prefer to rush me head-on, and consequently be immediately shredded to pieces without much significant damage to my ship. In case an enemy turns to flee, the rockets, with the forward Shredder trail, do a wonderful job of ripping the ship apart before they even realize what's going on. Much more surprisingly, the ship does exceptionally well as a turret as well, even surp!@#$%^&*ing in its quality more traditional Weasel turrets with long-range Flechette guns, or Plasma Cannons, or Disruptors.. The reason for that is simple, and is based on the difference between what a turret WANTS, and what a turret GETS. In the ideal scenario, the turret would fire upon unsuspecting enemies from afar, chalking them off without being reached. In practice, however, it is highly likely that angry victims will decide to rush the turret, using oh-so-annoying methods as rockets, thors, and EMP bombs. So, while the spread-out always-firing Flechette does a good job at strategic cleansing of space, it simply lacks the firepower to intercept an incoming attack RIGHT NOW. The Shredder, however, does a wonderful job at that. I think that a good turret always needs to have at least one Shredder gunner, simply to protect the turret itself, while the Flechetters/Plasma Cannoners do their kills. And since there is never a shortage of people trying to rush and destroy a high-bounty turret, I found that I usually score more kills then the rest! And, unlike the rest, I do NOT keep my gun in always-firing mode, but use short selective bursts. As a result, my energy, out of a total of 1900 (which, by the way, is very nice for a turret to have), rarely goes down more than 1/3 of the way, in sharp contrast of the spam gunners which thin themselves down to red, and then get killed by a single well-aimed bomb hitting the turret.

 

 

Lancaster: Flagging Anchor, Turret Driver

 

This was another slightly controversial choice, as while both mentioned roles exclusively require the Lancaster, they need to have somewhat different equipment to be maximally effective in either role. I chose the middle path, equipping the ship in such a way as to be feasibly usable in both roles, albeit with some sacrifices.

 

To start, it would be fair to say there is NO good gun for the Lancaster, as it is not a gunner in any way shape or form. However, the choice of bombs is available, and is importnat. Originally I was impressed with the TacNuke. After starting playing, however, I realized that the refire rate is too slow to effectively control bomblines, and that the cheap and unimpressive, but fast-firing Falcon Missile would do a better job at that. Consequently, out of the choice between a Pulse Laser and a Beam Array, I chose the Pulse Laser simply because it would make the bomb have a higher-level shrapnel. I have used the ZPM/H2 combo, in order to maximize the energy, and then compensate for the lost recharge rate. I lost some agility and speed in the process, but I decided that even for the turret role (and definitely for the basing anchor role) having more energy and recharge outweights extra speed. The sensors are Enhanced (watching for cloaks is obviously very important to an anchor) and Extended (overview the whole base, rather then a chunk of it, is equally important, as is seeing who is going to rush your turret next). The utility packs are Close Combat (mostly for turreting), Tunnel Runner (get to enemy base fast, or run away from turret hunters), and Active Camo (reduce thors aimed at you when holding flags, or sneak inside base and then summon). The brick is Energy Infusion, which was a sacrifice, as I fully realized that having a real brick is often important when retreating from a base attack, and protecting yourself from being bricked out by an enemy rusher. However, the Energy Infusion was very important for the turret role, and could also be needed in case of a thor attack, so I went with that. Finally, despite the heavy price tag on Summoner, given it's huge importance in both basing and turreting, I saved up and bought it).

 

Testing showed this ship to be reasonably well adapted to both the turret and the base anchor roles. The biggest problem was being bricked out, and not having a real brick for defense, but that could be avoided by not rushing too much forward, which is not recommended anyways for an anchor.

 

 

SHIPS NOT YET BUILT:

 

 

Terrier -- Base Defender, Support Base Gunner

 

As I mentioned in my write-up on the Spider, the Terrier is left with the role of a heavy base gunner. This is the next ship I plan to built, so I thought out all the little details. It will either be used in a defending semi-stationery role (read bombline bombing), or as a rear-position support during at attack. I plan for it to have the Plasma Cannon (somewhat slow, yet powerful, bouncy, and spread out, perfect to control large sectors of incoming enemies). The bomb will be TacNuke, good for bomblines and wallbombing (which thus benefits from the L3 shrapnel as well). The drive will likely be H2 (another advantage over Spider in this role, which cannot use this item), and the reactor will be a choice between Mezon Capacitor or Tokamak (the ship role does not require very fast speed, but I will have to see just how much does Tokamak actually slow it). A required sensor is Enhanced (X-Radar), with secondary candidate being Extended Sensor (for same reason as to why the Lancaster has it). An absolute-must utility is the Gravity Trap (Antiwarp), as it is all too often as nobody has it when it is needed, and as, unlike a rushing ship, the Terrier will not be in the front lines, it is less likely to be destroyed and the Antiwarp broken. Other options include the standard basing Close Combat, Tunnel Runner, and Siege Pack, I still have to decide which is the most needed). A good brick candidate will be the Cage brick, as I may sometimes require gunning pockets even when overrun by enemies.

 

 

Shark-- Flag Scouting

 

In this topic, Sharpflame has suggested that a Shark with Nuke Booster makes a wonderful flagger. Maybe he is right, but if so, it must requite some special mastery, as all my attempts to flag had caused it to be ripped to pieces by the slightest enemy fire, and the Nuke Booster makes the turn rate SO bad that it is simply impossible to timely get to an enemy around the corner and brick him out, before being gunned down. I consider trying to replace the Nuke Booster with the Icefire, and see what changes. At the meantime, however, I did find that the very high speed of the ship allows it to be an efficient flag scout, useful when looking for that one hidden flag that stops the game from being won. I have not examined further configuration of this ship in detail yet.

 

 

Javelin -- Not really sure

 

A lot of people really like Javelins, but I have failed to understand what is so good about them. Sure, they may have the advantage of fast, recoilless bombs, but that seems to be the only good thing about them, couped with a couple rather bad things. When comparing the Javelin to it's closest match, the Warbird, the Javelin has less energy, is less agile, and has single guns as opposed to double, meaning smaller firepower. I'm not really sure what role to give to this ship, as in both rushing and duelling the WB is better, (as proved by my about % win ratio 1-on-1 vs Javelins, but who knows, maybe they all were newbs...), and for base bombing, why not choose a heavier options such as Terrier. Perhaps there is a sweet spot of tactical sniping, for which a Terrier/Spider would be too heavy, and the Warbird would lack the fast bombs. If I find such as use, it will likely be a basing ship. For now, it is sitting on the backburner. If you know any other uses for the Javelin, let me know).

 

 

Weasel -- Center Killer, Turreter, Turret Hunter

 

Similar to the role I gave to my Spider, but with a more conventional design, armed by Flechette guns. The high agility of the Weasel would (in theory) allow it to evade rushers such as Spiders or Terriers with Shredders, and it has more power and energy than the lighter Warbirds and Javelins. It would also make a good traditional turreter, with large energy reserves and reasonbly good damage from the guns. Finally, it's EMP bombs could prove the bane of enemy turrets.

 

 

Levi -- Turret Hunter, LamingShip

 

This is another ship I think kinda sucks, because it is just too weak and easily destroyed. It does not really match the required sturdyness of a base bomber, and would not stand a chance in engaging a terrier or spider in open space. On the upside, armed with a salvo and rockets, it could potentially be used to deliver enough consecutive damage to a turret to make it a successful sucide run. And of course, I could also use it the way most people use it, that is, hide in the safe of a store, and bomb people trying to enter it, before hiding in the safe again.

 

 

So far, there are the ideas I have gathered and conclusions I have made. I'd greatly appreciate feedback on my thoughts, including any omissiong I might have made, or errors in judgement, or alternatives to my choices.