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[Weltall]

I have played so many times through games, but I never really liked, or cared for Venom-X. Seems thought the reason for that is because I never tried it myself.

For god's sake, that always malfunctioning little ship, is a tiny walking death.

At the beginning I only captured it just until I get something better. I always capture d class pirate ships for initial support. But wow.. I never expected it would be so awesome.

With Resistant Flux Conduits, Stabilized Shields and an Automated Repair Unit, I can take on even some cruiser ships, even if it is one on one. The malfunctioning part only seems to be a minor inconvenience, except if it happens in a really bad time, which is rare.

I can't believe I have Cruisers in my fleet and I can't bring myself to change main ship!!!!!

I would love to know if there are any other little ships that could match Venom-X.

[Sy]

i think Venom-X (not a vanilla ship btw, but from Underworld) is basically a kind-of-low-tech imitation of Hyperion, which is the most advanced vanilla ship, as well as the most expensive for its size.

phase ships in general, like Afflictor and Harbinger, share some qualities with Venom-X/Hyperion as well, in that they are extremely mobile, perfect for hit-and-run tactics, but also quite expensive for their size, and plagued by Peak Performance issues in larger battles.
Excelsior (from Ship/Weapon Pack) is another powerful one, and technically a phase frigate as well, though its cloak works very differently.

many faction mods also have high-tech frigates or destroyers that make for excellent player flagships, if played well. some examples are Mantis and Desdinova from Blackrock Drive Yards, and Versant from Diable Avionics.

[Weltall]

Yes, I play SS+ modded. The only times I play Vanilla is rare moments I feel like doing so, but mostly on the beginning I get the new version in my hands.

Hyperion is an awesome little ship, but sadly it has only energy weapon slots. With Venom-X I have a Heavy Autocannon to break down defences, a scatter PD lazer for missiles and little fighters and Gale Cannon with now a Sunjet PDE, to rip enemies apart. I feel I can even take on by myself Battle Cruisers, now that I leveled up. I know I can kill by myself Glass Cannons, like my fav Conquest.

Phase ships are just not something I have yet managed to work. With the updated way they work, they AI has many times kicked my ass, cause I underestimated it. But I can;t play with them. I am bad with timing and end up phasing out either too much for no reason or too late. Although the Excelsior you mention sounds way too interesting. I can't even imagine how it feels to fly such a "failure" with such interesting abilities.

I think High-Tech ships are awesome, but I feel sad that they usually only get energy weapons. I think the middle ground is always what attracts me the most. I am not sure about Mantis, but I like Desdinova, like a lot of Blackrock ships, but I have not used it that much. I will have to try Mantis though. But just checking Versant I see it has High Speed Mode for it's system =) I have to get my hands on one!!!!

This is the first time ever I have moved up so high into the game and I am still in a frigate. Thanks for the suggestions Sy =)

[Sy]

you're welcome. :]

and i agree in that energy weapons seem somewhat underwhelming compared to ballistics. at least when comparing a full energy ship/loadout with a full ballistic one. combining the two can work very well, like ballistic weapons for kinetic damage + ion weapons or burst beams.

[Grizzlyadamz]

If I understand correctly, the Scarab is the Venom-X's bigger, higher-functioning brother.

And there aren't many frigates (or destroyers/cruisers) which can match their burst capabilities- 3x DPS, 3x speed, & slo-mo is just insanely powerful.

However all of these are really expensive to use & service, (including that Versant). The hyperion for example costs as much as a capital to maintain, and most phase frigates cost as much as a destroyer- a destroyer which is generally more valuable than the frig in fleet settings.
But hey, if you're trying to keep burn up & sensor profile down, high-tech frigs are the best option!


If you have BRDY, the Gonodactylus is my favorite destroyer to-date. Speed, durability, and enough burst to box with light cruisers, (or just POUR damage into the rear of capitals).
The Weevil & Mod-Silverfish are reliable if somewhat expensive combat freighters- I particularly like the Weevil as a close-support vessel. That mid-mount was built for a grape-launcher!

[borgrel]

yip

scarab baby!!

ion cannons and antimatter blasters both make excellent weapons when mixed with slow mo

[Weltall]

If I understand correctly, the Scarab is the Venom-X's bigger, higher-functioning brother.

And there aren't many frigates (or destroyers/cruisers) which can match their burst capabilities- 3x DPS, 3x speed, & slo-mo is just insanely powerful.

yip

scarab baby!!

ion cannons and antimatter blasters both make excellent weapons when mixed with slow mo

Scarab on a first glance though, lacks medium weapon slots (which happily on Venom-X are ballistic) and it has less Flux. I usually go for glass cannons, cause I like it when my shield can hold back the damage, seeing the enemy try to do something impossible. But I would not so much mind that, as much as the 2 small synergy slots, vs 2 medium ballistic slots. Although I have to admit, it seems  to be quite nice and with 20 vs 7 maintenance, it is not hard to upkeep. That Flux capacity though.. 3300 vs 2000. I need to definitely give it a spin and see how it feels to fly it. Thanks for mentioning it =)

However all of these are really expensive to use & service, (including that Versant). The hyperion for example costs as much as a capital to maintain, and most phase frigates cost as much as a destroyer- a destroyer which is generally more valuable than the frig in fleet settings.
But hey, if you're trying to keep burn up & sensor profile down, high-tech frigs are the best option!

They are expensive? I mean sure I agree the 20 of Venom-X make it super expensive, but the rest? Maybe I am used to play with expensive to maintain ships, since when I go for fighters, I always get ones with 1.5-4.0 maintenance per month. I always keep a lot of supplies on me. At least for Venom-X it is paying for it;s maintenance, when I can go in with a couple of ships and take on large pirate fleets with big bounty on their boss' head.

Holy ... moly... I can SEE why I never chose to even test out Hyperion. That's a Heavy Cruiser cost! Talk about expensive... Then again I guess Venom-X is not that much cheaper. Still, it was the first ship I captured and it has been with me from literaly the beginning of the game. It has not really made me feel I am burning supplies too much.. yeah it's probably cuase i am used to expensive ships.

If you have BRDY, the Gonodactylus is my favorite destroyer to-date. Speed, durability, and enough burst to box with light cruisers, (or just POUR damage into the rear of capitals).
The Weevil & Mod-Silverfish are reliable if somewhat expensive combat freighters- I particularly like the Weevil as a close-support vessel. That mid-mount was built for a grape-launcher!

Gonodactylus in one of my plays in the past, was my main flagship for a long time, until I got a large Battlecruiser. It was really awesome and if anything, it would just not die! (like all Blackrock ships XD). As for battle freighters, I never had a mind to use them. Early I have ultra fast ones, in case I want to escape from a battle and later on I get larger ones. I never have tried to use battle freighters, except some rare times in early game.

[Sy]

If I understand correctly, the Scarab is the Venom-X's bigger, higher-functioning brother.

oh, right. Venom-X's system was changed, wasn't it? iirc, it used to be purely a movement system before the recent introduction of time altering stuff, like a crappier (but still powerful) version of Hyperion's teleport.

[Megas]

Holy ... moly... I can SEE why I never chose to even test out Hyperion. That's a Heavy Cruiser cost! Talk about expensive...

Hyperion's cost is justified.  In player's hands, it can do anything except solo fleets with more than 25 ships or so.  It is extremely powerful (due to exploiting AI weaknesses very well).  It excels in both main battle and pursuit.  While AI cannot do the things the player can with Hyperion, it can capture points much faster than anything else.

That said, AI Afflictor with AM blasters is an extremely dangerous opponent for playership Hyperion.  Quantum Disruptor can and will block teleportation, and two AM blaster hits while disrupted is fatal.  That does not mean that Hyperion cannot counter Afflictor reliably, just that AM Blaster Afflictor under AI control is an dangerous twitchy threat you cannot be careless or slow with.

[HELMUT]

While AI cannot do the things the player can with Hyperion, it can capture points much faster than anything else.

I actually had some surprises recently against an enemy Hyperion. Early game scenario, i piloted a wolf with a bunch of destroyers against a TT-themed bounty. The Hyperion preyed on me for the whole battle, trying to backstab me every 5 seconds or so, preventing me from hunting down the rest of the enemy frigates.

Managed to survive by turtling around my destroyers and drain his CR. I think that was the first time i ever felt threatened by an AI Hyperion.

To get back on the topic, the Scarab is the closest analog to the Venom-X gameplay-wise. If your question was more about "which ship makes me feel like a god of war", the Blackrock Morpheus is probably your best bet. It's flashy, easy to pilot and overwhelmingly powerful (and expensive).

Alternatively, the Excelsior is another contender, and possibly the strongest frigate in the game. That is, if you're willing to put a few hours to learn how not to spontaneously explode all the time, of course.

[Megas]

@ HELMET:  Every time I send (from one to several) AI controlled Hyperion to fight, I have been disappointed every time  It is much too scared to kill things; it spends more time hovering and teleporting than attacking.  The only thing that saves AI Hyperion is teleporting lets it capture points very quickly.  As an opponent, Hyperion is a bit annoying, but they either die quick or flee then die in the following pursuit.

Re: Blackrock Morpheus
Yes, that thing is overpowered.  Morpheus with max Combat and Technology can solo a fleet with up to about fifty ships before CR decays too much.

[Weltall]

I did try the Hyperion and it just did not feel right. I really am not good with only energy weapons, but always my choices go towards medium tech ships with mixed weapons or low tech ones. Not that I think lazors are not good, but it does not feel right. NOT that I do not like some energy ships, but maybe I just need to try Hyperion a bit more? Indeed the AI was annoying, which is why I did not keep it. I gave it to the AI and in three battles I did, it just would no go in and shoot much, in the last one with an aggressive officer. Although it might have been that two of the lasers had long range, but the rest did not. BUT, holy crap I never realized it's ability was so awesome. It really is for sure.

Now though that you both say Morpheus is that awesome, I really have to try it and Blackrock hate me so much right now.. time to put those prisoners in good use. IT's name sounds awesome too.. I think it is time to put all my enemies to sleep~

As for Excelsior, it is so impossible for me. I tried it.. and it did not work good. If I had other ships around me, they could help me by "covering" me, but when I had no one around,  was like a piece of paper flying around fire. I guess indeed it needs a few hours..

Again thanks guys for the suggestions and descriptions about how the ships are =) It's Morpheus time!

[TaLaR]

I did try the Hyperion and it just did not feel right. I really am not good with only energy weapons, but always my choices go towards medium tech ships with mixed weapons or low tech ones.

But you don't need kinetics or long range when you bypass shields by teleportation. And Heavy Blaster is pretty much best weapon for exploiting this ability.

[Sy]

i didn't suggest Morpheus because i think you need a large fleet (or at least a large enemy fleet) to make full use of its special ability, and its lack of a reliable active defense makes it very vulnerable to being overwhelmed when you're getting too cocky. ^^

But you don't need kinetics or long range when you bypass shields by teleportation. And Heavy Blaster is pretty much best weapon for exploiting this ability.

bypassing shields only works if they've got front shields, or are mainly focused on absorbing fire from another direction, though.

[TaLaR]

But you don't need kinetics or long range when you bypass shields by teleportation. And Heavy Blaster is pretty much best weapon for exploiting this ability.

bypassing shields only works if they've got front shields, or are mainly focused on absorbing fire from another direction, though.

Nope, AI never manages to raise omni shield in time if you teleport around it and fire immediately on appearing. As long as you use Heavy Blasters (or other weapons with fast projectile and no pre-fire delay). Even AM blasters hit quite often, despite some pre-fire delay.

It can be hard to hit frigates like that (since you have to predict their position a bit), but anything larger is usually not a problem.

Even 360 shields are not enough, because AI doesn't start to raise them before you are too close (They can be enough in fleet setting, where enemy AI keeps shield up due to other player allies around).