So what Carrier do you think this the best Carrier?
I think for offense I think the Kar'fi is up there, but I've never personally used it, same with Fleet Heavy Escort. I'm surprised the Kar'fi has so little hull, it only beats the Daciot, which is a commander level ship and the Vesta.
Speaking of the Vesta and Daciot the Vesta has only 1000 hull more then the Daciot. Attacks that by pass shields must be a nightmare for the Vesta.
For Defence I'd say the Atrox, Recluse, Fleet Vo'que, and the Fleet Corsair.
For well balanced and all around I'd say Vo'que, Recluse, and Fleet Corsair, except the Vo'que is a nightmare to move.
The Fleet Vo'que has Advanced BoP's and a Lt. Commander Tac station for offence, for defence it has huge hull, and medium shields with the usual fleet .1 buff. It also has access to DHCs, but with its movement rate, that undermines that. Nice mix of powers with an extra lt. commander power in exchange for a ensign power.
The Recluse has universal slots I think, so that's versatile. I don't know much more about it.
The Fleet Corsair has high hull, not huge, and,the .1 shield fleet buff. It also has a good mix of enigeering and sci Boff stations, 5 of each, that makes it flexible even without a universal slot. For damage it has eight weapon slots, tied with its sister ship the Maurader as the most of any carrier (countered by one less hangar then full carriers), and its mix of enigeering and science boffs, means you can pick the most offence focused of each like, like feedback pulse, emergency power to weapons, DEM, and Sipon for example means you can do decent damage, while leaving enough room for defense powers too. Power wise it has more, with 5 percent to everything like a Fed Cruiser. It also has 4 Device slots. Its turn rate is as good as the Kar'fi and fellow FDCs, medium for Carriers with only the Vesta and Heavy Escort Carriers faster turn rates.
I maybe biased about the Corsair as I have the Captain version.
I've only flown the Vo'que (briefly), Daciot, and Corsair so these are the only ones I personally know about. The Vo'que's turn rate drove me out of it.
Still over all they seem to balance well against each other, at least in theory.
Federation: The vesta or armitage. Probably the armitage for most due to the tactical commander, although I personally use the vesta.
Klingon:I would give the nod to the Karfi. Not only is the ship fairly easy to work with, but the karfi specific fighters out perform the Vo'que's Advanced BoP slightly (IMHO)
"..and like children playing after sunset, we were surrounded by darkness." -Ruri Hoshino
Fed side, the Armitage and Vesta are both very fun to play. In my opinion, they're far and away the best escort and the best science ship in the game. But their hangar bay is an afterthought, an add-on, a few more DPS drops in the bucket.
On the KDF side, the Kar'fi and Vo'quv are tops due to their Advanced frigate pets. The Kar'fi has more inherent damage potential, being basically a large escort (but with a sci commander).
I can't speak for the other ships, but I'm currently running a Heavy Escort Carrier, though I'm using it as a durable escort with the following load-out:
It's working out pretty sweet for PvE (I can't imagine how badly it would suck in PvP with all the plasma resistant shields floating around). I've got the forward beam array because I have my eye on the experimental romulan one to complete the singularity harness set; it's still less DPS than another dual heavy cannon, but it's good for continuous damage while bringing my other guns to bear, and with the experimental one having zero power requirement and a "free" beam overload type ability (as part of its set) I think it will give great mileage. I'm also working on upgrading my other guns to the romulan ones but that's going to take a while!
Anyway, with 4x shield repair drones active it's very easy to keep my shields up with tactical team and reverse shield polarity for when I'm drawing too much fire.
But ehm? yeah, the Armitage is great as it's pretty much an escort with some cruiser-like durability, and the hangar gives you some great options for supplementing any build. I just to get the hang of not blowing up all my fighters
I've got the Armitage and the Vesta. I like the Armitage but LOVE the Vesta. It took me a while to create a build that worked for me but now that I have I've found that I'm usually 1st or 2nd in the DPS stats for STFs. For a science ship competing against escorts I think that's pretty cool.
Why do I like it? It's shield it brilliant. Whilst it's not as shielded as the Wells (one of my favourite ships), the Vesta has Commander and Lt Commander slots, giving you access to two high level science attacks in addition to the ability to slot TSS3. TSS3 is magical. The stuff of dreams. Unicorns blessed us with TSS3. To mount TSS3 on the Wells either means forgoing a high level science attack or having waaaay to much science on board.
I also think the consoles are pretty cool. Whilst the 2 piece synergy is useless in combat, I've found every other aspect of the set to have meaningful application. Especially that deflector cannon. Over 3,000 damage per second for 20 seconds? Yes please!!!
Still, I'm leveling another toon and will start a new Armitage. I've seen people make angels weep with that beast. It's just that I prefer the Vesta.
I fly the Recluse as an Eng Captain. It is awesome. It is the only carrier I have flown so I suppose I can't compare to others but from looking at stats, seeing other ships in action and talking to other carrier pilots I am very happy with it.
Bear in mind there is a huge difference in play style between the 2 hanger ships and the 4 hanger ships. 2 hanger ships are more of a hybrid carrier than the dedicated 4 hanger ships. Which could be cool if that is what you are looking for, but for true carrier/pet spam experience you will want the 4 hanger ship. Recluse has a turn rate of 5.5 compared to 5 for the other 4 hanger ships.
The coolest thing about the Recluse as you pointed out is the COMMANDER universal slot. I have everything set up so I can switch out an Engineering com to become a powerful heal-boat or a Tactical com and ramp up the DPS. I have all power settings bound to Z/X/C/V anyways but of course I use those as appropriate (along with a EPS conduit). You run with Emerg Power to Damp and Attack Pattern Omega III and you will have some surprising maneuverability. I use the AEGIS set and with the engines efficient at high power levels I can really haul TRIBBLE when I pump power to engines. Unfortunately it only has 10 bonus power, 5 to engines and 5 to auxiliary but if you manually manage your power levels it dosn't impact you really.
The unique fighters that come with it seem pretty good, tetryon weapons that melt the shields and quantum torpedos do decent hull damage (which helps since I run 6 beam arrays). There is also a console that boosts there damage for 5s (and your teammates in the vicinity) as well as causing some direct damage through extra free attacks.
It even has a pretty nifty unique bridge. That being said it also costs 800 lobi, not sure if that is a factor for you or not. If not, I would definitely go for the Recluse if you want to get the carrier experience.
I don't think you can really make a worthwhile comparison between the carriers and the "ships with a hangar". Atrox, Vo'quv and Recluse can field twice as many pets and do it more than twice as quickly, so if we're talking carrierness it's no contest whatsoever. But these are all big sluggish ships with a limited number of gun mounts, so there's also no contest whatsoever between them and "ships with hangars" that can turn and shoot better. First you need to devote yourself to either supporting with pets, or taking a more personal role in the battle, and THEN you can pick a "best".
Personally, i think the Kar'Fi is hands down the best carrier because :
1 ) Advanced FerJai Frigates are hawt ( Trico torpedoes and mines )
2 ) Good turn rate and mobility for a carrier
3 ) 4/3 weapon placement gives lot of options for carrying xtra mines and torpedoes
4 ) Outstanding BO seat configuration even if no universal seats
Now, i heard great things about the Tholian Carrier but i have yet to get my hands of one and it seems like a less mobile carrier. Tholian fighters seem neat thought and universal Commander and special Tholian devices seem good when you have the whole set equipped.
The Vo'Quv i have piloted often but i hate its lack of turning which makes it hawkward at reacting fast and positioning deflector abilities. Good hull thought but still a sitting duck.
Personally, i think the Kar'Fi is hands down the best carrier because :
1 ) Advanced FerJai Frigates are hawt ( Trico torpedoes and mines )
2 ) Good turn rate and mobility for a carrier
3 ) 4/3 weapon placement gives lot of options for carrying xtra mines and torpedoes
4 ) Outstanding BO seat configuration even if no universal seats
Now, i heard great things about the Tholian Carrier but i have yet to get my hands of one and it seems like a less mobile carrier. Tholian fighters seem neat thought and universal Commander and special Tholian devices seem good when you have the whole set equipped.
The Vo'Quv i have piloted often but i hate its lack of turning which makes it hawkward at reacting fast and positioning deflector abilities. Good hull thought but still a sitting duck.
I agree...KDF have much better carriers overall. FED needs some more development and redesign.
The hangar slots on oth the armitage and the vesta are there to deploy runabouts.
No fighter can actually contribute truly to either of these ships, both have ample firepower on their own.
However the cripplling tractor TRIBBLE that are danubes and the annoying as fck shield repair units are where the single bay shines.
As for carirerS: the recluse is best. It has more oomph, is available to everyone, looks best and can fit tholian web consoles for extra annoyance.
Being an owner of the Vo'Quv, the Kar'Fi, the Vesta and the Recluse, to give my honest opinion on which I think is better and prefer, I need to go with the Recluse. Tanky as hell and That Commander universal station makes this ship so versatile it adds new dimensions of fun to flying a carrier. The stock Tholian Widow Fighters are actually excellent not only for my DPS but for the whole teams, not to mention their quantums can dish out some pain.
I find myself having more fun in my Recluse than I do in any of my other carriers/carrier hybrids, and that's the most important thing. Of course other people may have different opinions, this is just mine.
Of course the Dacoit is the best by far for those at Commander level and the Corsair at Captain is the best for its rank. Or course thier the only carriers in the game at those ranks
Seriously though no love for the Fleet Corsair?
I think that the Elite Scorpians have leveled the DPS field pet wise for now at least.
The higher end FDCs have two more weapons slots and extra power from big warp cores (I believe the other carriers offer 15% to one thing while FDC's offer 20% spread out).
The Fleet Corsair has more weapons then any of the Full Carriers, Vesta, or Escort Carriers.
It has more turn rate then the Vo'que, Atrox, Recluse.
Its more durable then the Vesta, Kar'fi, and Escort Carriers.
More Device Slots then the Vesta and Escort Carriers.
More consoles slots then the Kar'fi, Vesta (I think) and Atrox.
Less bulky then full carriers which means probably better inertia.
Of course the Dacoit is the best by far for those at Commander level and the Corsair at Captain is the best for its rank. Or course thier the only carriers in the game at those ranks
Seriously though no love for the Fleet Corsair?
A lot of people (including myself) probably haven't tried it yet. I'll give it a try when we're at the proper shipyard level.
The fleet Corsair is a joy to fly, its a cruiser with great turn rate, has a LtCmr and Lt science slot which make it a fantastic support ship and is very pleasing to the eye. It has been said that Fed ships look like a dinner plate on top of a flashlight with two tampons attached the sides, very little variety on the design side.
I can't speak for the other ships, but I'm currently running a Heavy Escort Carrier, though I'm using it as a durable escort with the following load-out:
....
Reinforced Shield Repair Drones
....
Anyway, with 4x shield repair drones active it's very easy to keep my shields up with tactical team and reverse shield polarity for when I'm drawing too much fire.
....
However the cripplling tractor TRIBBLE that are danubes and the annoying as fck shield repair units are where the single bay shines.
I have an Armitage, and even with the Dil reinforced shield drones, I found them useless, for two reasons:
firstly, they're not all that durable, to put it mildly. but more importantly - I think I'm too dang fast for them! I rarely see much benefit from them because I believe they just can't keep up with me. Now they sit collecting dust in my bank
I agree...KDF have much better carriers overall. FED needs some more development and redesign.
Agree with the first half, disagree with the second.
Feds should have crappy dedicated carriers because they were never supposed to have carriers in the first place. As for KDF carriers being awesome? That is beyond contention.
It is said the best weapon is one that is never fired. I disagree. The best weapon is one you only have to fire... once.
The fleet Corsair is a joy to fly, its a cruiser with great turn rate, has a LtCmr and Lt science slot which make it a fantastic support ship and is very pleasing to the eye. It has been said that Fed ships look like a dinner plate on top of a flashlight with two tampons attached the sides, very little variety on the design side.
I've never heard Fed Cruisers discribed like that before:D
When it comes to cruisers, the Fleet Retro Corsair Flight Deck Cruiser is better then the vast majority of Fed Cruisers.
Interesting to note the Corsair comes at Captain Rank, the same Rank as the legendary Galaxy Class, like the Enterprise. I can't help, but think of the two classes as contemporaries and wonder how the Enterprise and Jean Luc Picard would do facing a Corsair FDC.
Orion ships are the best you can eng. tank them and have 2 fighter wings out there.
I like to use the slave ships since they have beams up front and drop photon mines out the back. They also beam off energy credits and commoditys off PVE ships. If you spend the dilith you can get the upgraded ones with qaunt mines.
Depends how you play the game, certain carriers/hybrids are slightly better at different things.
Karfi has to be right up there, but for me, the Orion Marauder (how has no one mentioned this one yet?) is the best for my play style so far. Best tank KDF side imo. I just want a Fleet version with a 10th console slot and the shield buff. That'd make it pretty sweet.
I'm not too far of obtaining a Fleet Corsair, already thinking about build options and I can see how it'll be about as good as the Marauder for my engineer, just have to adjust play style slightly. Same hull but has the 10th console plus shield and turn rate buff so it might eclipse the Marauder, yet to see. Should be fun though.
Anything that doesn't have 2 x hangar bay is not a carrier.
The Kar'fi is easily the best design on any ship in the game. It looks like some damned chinese horror house and the red smoke from the fighters is all just dominating visuals that puts anything else in the game to shame, not least standard looking ships like the vesta, oddy and armitage. Hey let's add some black stripes and go home early.
However first prize of course has to go to the atrox for the simple fact it's the physically largest ship there is.
It doesn't just stand a titan amongst carriers but a titan amongst any ship there is and if you ever spawned next to one in your escort I bet you felt a overwhelming sensation to laugh at yourself.
The vo'quv is a damned close second for 2 reasons. First and most importantly, it's free.
Unlike all other carriers in the game you get it totally free of charge.
Second, anyone who ever saw star trek and liked the kilngons will know just how iconic it is to have control over bird of preys and even have them cloak at your command.
Federation: The vesta or armitage. Probably the armitage for most due to the tactical commander, although I personally use the vesta.
Klingon:I would give the nod to the Karfi. Not only is the ship fairly easy to work with, but the karfi specific fighters out perform the Vo'que's Advanced BoP slightly (IMHO)
Comments
Federation: The vesta or armitage. Probably the armitage for most due to the tactical commander, although I personally use the vesta.
Klingon: I would give the nod to the Karfi. Not only is the ship fairly easy to work with, but the karfi specific fighters out perform the Vo'que's Advanced BoP slightly (IMHO)
On the KDF side, the Kar'fi and Vo'quv are tops due to their Advanced frigate pets. The Kar'fi has more inherent damage potential, being basically a large escort (but with a sci commander).
2x Dual Heavy Plasma Cannons
1x Plasma Beam Array
1x Romulan Hyper-Plasma Torpedo Launcher
2x Plasma Turrets
1x Kinetic Cutting Beam
Reinforced Shield Repair Drones
It's working out pretty sweet for PvE (I can't imagine how badly it would suck in PvP with all the plasma resistant shields floating around). I've got the forward beam array because I have my eye on the experimental romulan one to complete the singularity harness set; it's still less DPS than another dual heavy cannon, but it's good for continuous damage while bringing my other guns to bear, and with the experimental one having zero power requirement and a "free" beam overload type ability (as part of its set) I think it will give great mileage. I'm also working on upgrading my other guns to the romulan ones but that's going to take a while!
Anyway, with 4x shield repair drones active it's very easy to keep my shields up with tactical team and reverse shield polarity for when I'm drawing too much fire.
But ehm? yeah, the Armitage is great as it's pretty much an escort with some cruiser-like durability, and the hangar gives you some great options for supplementing any build. I just to get the hang of not blowing up all my fighters
Game Balance - Ship Size and Wingmates
Why do I like it? It's shield it brilliant. Whilst it's not as shielded as the Wells (one of my favourite ships), the Vesta has Commander and Lt Commander slots, giving you access to two high level science attacks in addition to the ability to slot TSS3. TSS3 is magical. The stuff of dreams. Unicorns blessed us with TSS3. To mount TSS3 on the Wells either means forgoing a high level science attack or having waaaay to much science on board.
I also think the consoles are pretty cool. Whilst the 2 piece synergy is useless in combat, I've found every other aspect of the set to have meaningful application. Especially that deflector cannon. Over 3,000 damage per second for 20 seconds? Yes please!!!
Still, I'm leveling another toon and will start a new Armitage. I've seen people make angels weep with that beast. It's just that I prefer the Vesta.
Bear in mind there is a huge difference in play style between the 2 hanger ships and the 4 hanger ships. 2 hanger ships are more of a hybrid carrier than the dedicated 4 hanger ships. Which could be cool if that is what you are looking for, but for true carrier/pet spam experience you will want the 4 hanger ship. Recluse has a turn rate of 5.5 compared to 5 for the other 4 hanger ships.
The coolest thing about the Recluse as you pointed out is the COMMANDER universal slot. I have everything set up so I can switch out an Engineering com to become a powerful heal-boat or a Tactical com and ramp up the DPS. I have all power settings bound to Z/X/C/V anyways but of course I use those as appropriate (along with a EPS conduit). You run with Emerg Power to Damp and Attack Pattern Omega III and you will have some surprising maneuverability. I use the AEGIS set and with the engines efficient at high power levels I can really haul TRIBBLE when I pump power to engines. Unfortunately it only has 10 bonus power, 5 to engines and 5 to auxiliary but if you manually manage your power levels it dosn't impact you really.
The unique fighters that come with it seem pretty good, tetryon weapons that melt the shields and quantum torpedos do decent hull damage (which helps since I run 6 beam arrays). There is also a console that boosts there damage for 5s (and your teammates in the vicinity) as well as causing some direct damage through extra free attacks.
It even has a pretty nifty unique bridge. That being said it also costs 800 lobi, not sure if that is a factor for you or not. If not, I would definitely go for the Recluse if you want to get the carrier experience.
1 ) Advanced FerJai Frigates are hawt ( Trico torpedoes and mines )
2 ) Good turn rate and mobility for a carrier
3 ) 4/3 weapon placement gives lot of options for carrying xtra mines and torpedoes
4 ) Outstanding BO seat configuration even if no universal seats
Now, i heard great things about the Tholian Carrier but i have yet to get my hands of one and it seems like a less mobile carrier. Tholian fighters seem neat thought and universal Commander and special Tholian devices seem good when you have the whole set equipped.
The Vo'Quv i have piloted often but i hate its lack of turning which makes it hawkward at reacting fast and positioning deflector abilities. Good hull thought but still a sitting duck.
I agree...KDF have much better carriers overall. FED needs some more development and redesign.
No fighter can actually contribute truly to either of these ships, both have ample firepower on their own.
However the cripplling tractor TRIBBLE that are danubes and the annoying as fck shield repair units are where the single bay shines.
As for carirerS: the recluse is best. It has more oomph, is available to everyone, looks best and can fit tholian web consoles for extra annoyance.
I find myself having more fun in my Recluse than I do in any of my other carriers/carrier hybrids, and that's the most important thing. Of course other people may have different opinions, this is just mine.
Seriously though no love for the Fleet Corsair?
I think that the Elite Scorpians have leveled the DPS field pet wise for now at least.
The higher end FDCs have two more weapons slots and extra power from big warp cores
The Fleet Corsair has more weapons then any of the Full Carriers, Vesta, or Escort Carriers.
It has more turn rate then the Vo'que, Atrox, Recluse.
Its more durable then the Vesta, Kar'fi, and Escort Carriers.
More Device Slots then the Vesta and Escort Carriers.
More consoles slots then the Kar'fi, Vesta (I think) and Atrox.
Less bulky then full carriers which means probably better inertia.
A lot of people (including myself) probably haven't tried it yet. I'll give it a try when we're at the proper shipyard level.
I have an Armitage, and even with the Dil reinforced shield drones, I found them useless, for two reasons:
firstly, they're not all that durable, to put it mildly. but more importantly - I think I'm too dang fast for them! I rarely see much benefit from them because I believe they just can't keep up with me. Now they sit collecting dust in my bank
Agree with the first half, disagree with the second.
Feds should have crappy dedicated carriers because they were never supposed to have carriers in the first place. As for KDF carriers being awesome? That is beyond contention.
I've never heard Fed Cruisers discribed like that before:D
When it comes to cruisers, the Fleet Retro Corsair Flight Deck Cruiser is better then the vast majority of Fed Cruisers.
Interesting to note the Corsair comes at Captain Rank, the same Rank as the legendary Galaxy Class, like the Enterprise. I can't help, but think of the two classes as contemporaries and wonder how the Enterprise and Jean Luc Picard would do facing a Corsair FDC.
I like to use the slave ships since they have beams up front and drop photon mines out the back. They also beam off energy credits and commoditys off PVE ships. If you spend the dilith you can get the upgraded ones with qaunt mines.
Karfi has to be right up there, but for me, the Orion Marauder (how has no one mentioned this one yet?) is the best for my play style so far. Best tank KDF side imo. I just want a Fleet version with a 10th console slot and the shield buff. That'd make it pretty sweet.
I'm not too far of obtaining a Fleet Corsair, already thinking about build options and I can see how it'll be about as good as the Marauder for my engineer, just have to adjust play style slightly. Same hull but has the 10th console plus shield and turn rate buff so it might eclipse the Marauder, yet to see. Should be fun though.
Anything that doesn't have 2 x hangar bay is not a carrier.
The Kar'fi is easily the best design on any ship in the game. It looks like some damned chinese horror house and the red smoke from the fighters is all just dominating visuals that puts anything else in the game to shame, not least standard looking ships like the vesta, oddy and armitage. Hey let's add some black stripes and go home early.
However first prize of course has to go to the atrox for the simple fact it's the physically largest ship there is.
It doesn't just stand a titan amongst carriers but a titan amongst any ship there is and if you ever spawned next to one in your escort I bet you felt a overwhelming sensation to laugh at yourself.
The vo'quv is a damned close second for 2 reasons. First and most importantly, it's free.
Unlike all other carriers in the game you get it totally free of charge.
Second, anyone who ever saw star trek and liked the kilngons will know just how iconic it is to have control over bird of preys and even have them cloak at your command.
+1:cool:
Well Said.