Bugs & Crash Reports

[Rince Wind]

It takes around 32 TU to go from the upper starting tile to the one behind the landing gear on a Predator. Same if you go back. That just seems excessive?

[Ethereal_Medic]

No one demands you to leave the craft on turn 1.
Fighter-class ships are also not meant to be a comfortable 'dropships' like the menace-class ships and thunderhorse/leviathan.

For the small crew size you're totally save from enemy fire into your craft so that's a saving grace.

[Rince Wind]

You already start on the outside, next to the landing gear. Not safe at all. You don't need to use that tile, but it just seems weird.

I mainly use it to go after civvies and Megapol. 2 Gals in Heavy Suits or better with electro whips.

[Ethereal_Medic]

Is this for every deployment?
Guess that 'evil grass' really costs you TUs and Stamina.

[Rince Wind]

Yes, and it is just the one tile. Maybe the gals try to push the Predator every tim.

[Ethereal_Medic]

Speaking of the Predator craft.
If you can have this fighter, just wait for the even better version "Nightmare" to become available.
The effort to upgrade the hunter-killer into the predator isn't worth it if you can skip it and get a better ship.
The "Nightmare" also has a much better 'map' with 2 pilot-slots (+1 extra soldier = 3) with a fully sealed cockpit.
You start inside and can use a lift to climb on top of the craft or safely drop to the ground on turn 2.

[BBHood217]

I agree with him, you should go from the Hunter-Killer straight to the Nightmare.  And then the Sabre when you learn Higher Studies.

[Ethereal_Medic]

Sabre is a long way to go tho. Nightmare is gonna be the longest stretch and strapping a light-shield generator onto one of your nightmare will massively reduce downtime and sometimes even save the craft in prolonged dogfights.

[Rince Wind]

I never built the Hunter-Killer. Then a Predator when I got it. A Nightmare at another base when that one was available. Also a Brave Whaler, but I have yet to produce its missile launchers. I wanted to try the crafts.

Most missions are done with the Fortuna, sometimes I still use the Airbus at my 2nd base just to get the girls there some workout. A Snake is my Sub, and soon the 4th base will free the Fortuna from space duty with a mining ship (or rather free me from changing the gals equipment).

I am still looking for a good replacement for my Eagles and Smartpistols though. Eagles just gut a new lease of life with MAG ammo, haven't equipped it yet though. Non-advanced ammo laser pistols are an option, and I don't have the death blossom yet.

[Ethereal_Medic]

Get the death-blossom.
Also get the mini-cougar. One of the best one-hand pistol/smgs with extreme aim and volume of fire.

[cc]

Like the same with brigand patrols.

You can tractor beam brigand patrols if for some reason you want to fight a single low-value target.

[BBHood217]

I didn't realize that was possible.  Sounds like an actual brigand patrol "craft" (that's actually just brigands scattered all over the map with no actual craft) needs to be made now instead of just having it be a small scout manned by a single brigand.

[Ethereal_Medic]

Most missions are done with the Fortuna.

With the grey codex, you got the 'conversion launcher' and that rocket launcher is like one of the best and most reliable rocket to have for a very long time.

With your one brave whaler all you need are seagull missles and 2 more seagull launchers and that's gonna be enough to fight most opposition.
Yes you can't craft those missles and those are expensive but the conversion launcher outranges enemy fighters (not viper fighter tho) and sentries!!!
Best solution to blast those 'crackdown'-sentries out of the sky with mere seagull missles. Other codexes have to use expensive stingray- and lancer-missles to fight/outrange those crafts.

Only disadvantage of seagulls is the mediocre damage. Those rockets are meant to gun down other fighters and medium-sized crafts with 0-10 armor value.
Cruisers, heavy freigthers and all those bulky large/huge ships will soak up the damage entirely. As long as you can't buy meteor-missles 1-2 hammerite launchers will do the best to chew through the health pool.

Use your tank/fighters to remove the shields first. Those don't benefit from the armor value of the ship. Once those are down, bring in the rockets to punch through and finish it off.

[BBHood217]

Shooting down sentry crafts isn't just to keep them away from your hideouts if they're cracking down, they're (I think) also currently the only craft where Space Ranger guns can spawn.

[Ethereal_Medic]

Namely the SR shotgun. Clips can be reproduced later but those badboys are stronger than the 'splatty' nuclear laser. Only snap and 9 rounds but great firepowr while benifit from the 34% armor ignore.