Reference - PSA: Fal's Build Recaps

Today's PSA will talk about the builds that are used in Star Pirates.

I believe that as new pirates, members of the Drive fleet should work towards roughly equal stats until you hit level 30. By that time, you will have a better understanding of what style of play you like, allowing you to specialize accordingly. You may have also had a lucky find or two - pushing you towards one of these builds.

I'm a big fan of plagiarizing other peoples work in PSAs - and why not? Good work should be shared, even if it's not by me.

This PSA was written by Fal Leithani. I've made some minor wording and formatting changes, but all the good stuff is Fal's.

The original post can be found here.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Bridgeburners


The Three Stats

Weapons

In Player vs Player combat, high weapons can easily kill a target in one shot. The trouble is, if you don't actually get a shot off, they're useless, and half-measures mean nothing. If you almost beat a target's shields, you'll be just as doomed as if your weapons were zero. Also, no matter how high your weapons, you can always roll 1 for damage, wasting your turn and leaving you wide open.

Outside of PvP, weapons are essential for fighting in the asteroid belts. They basically let you turn fuel into exp, cargo, and extra item search turns.

Pros:
-Can end PvP battles in one shot.
-Very useful for belt runs.

Cons:
-Needs either shield or engine support to be effective in PvP.
-Turns combat into an all or nothing gamble.

Shields

In PvP, shields are the best stat, hands-down. No matter how low your engines and weapons are, if your shields are high, you won't go down without a fight. Even if you don't manage to grind your enemy to dust in a long drawn out fight, you'll leave a big mark that will make them think twice about attacking you again. It will also close the gap between you and higher level players, letting you kill targets much bigger than you. Sadly, that also works both ways, making lower level targets more dangerous.

Out of PvP, shields are essentially useless and will actually make belt runs more dangerous.

Pros:
-The only stat which doesn't need any support from the other two to be effective.
-Takes much of the randomness out of battle, making it possible to guarantee a win.

Cons:
-Basically useless out of PvP combat.

Engines

In PvP, engines are hard to pin down, in terms of usefulness. That's because engines are, above all else, a support stat. Superior engines give a lot of big advantages, but they'll never actually win the fight. They'll make you immune to the first 90 points of damage in each combat, and give you the first shot. If you're the attacker, you can ambush someone for big bonuses, crippling their offense by significantly increasing their malfunction and dealing extra damage in the first round.

Out of PvP, Engines are by far the most useful stat. They keep you alive on belt runs, and dramatically improve your odds of success on rescues, raids, and salvage forays. In fact, if your engines are 0 or less, you cannot succeed on rescues or forays.

Pros:
-Very effective in conjunction with either of the other stats.
-Extremely useful for almost all non-PvP activities.

Cons:
-Cannot win battles.


Common Builds

The Hammer (High weapons, low shields and engines)
The hammer, also known as the glass cannon and the turtle cracker, is designed to push weapons high enough to overwhelm the thickest shields, relying on the turtle's stereotypical slowness (rather than its own speed), to give itself the first shot. Very few people specialize in this build, as it can be easily defeated by faster ships and has limited utility outside of PvP.

Pros:
-Only build that can consistently kill the turtle without significant damage.

Cons:
-Weak against faster targets, especially the rogue.
-Performs very poorly on rescues, raids, and salvage forays.

The Turtle (High shields, low weapons and engines)
The turtle is designed to draw out a fight as much as possible, swapping fire over dozens of rounds, with both sides taking constant damage until one target falls. The turtle relies on its specialization to succeed, using critical hits, minimum damage boosts and thick armor to give itself an edge in the long, drawn-out fights its opponents are less prepared for.

Pros:
-Discourages attackers by drawing out combat and inflicting significant damage.
-Very effective against the rogue.

Cons:
-Takes significant damage in combat, and needs to be repaired frequently.
-Weak to the rocket bus.
-Very ineffective outside of PvP.

The Jetbike (High engines, low weapons and shields)
The jetbike is a build which is so ineffective in PvP that no-one has ever specialized in it. This build is typically just a temporary equipment setup for performing non-combat actions. However, it is theoretically possible to play the game with such a build. One would gain experience very slowly, from the belts, salvage forays, and attacking level five targets. But at high levels, with extremely high-end equipment, it would be possible to make a ship that could completely disable other ships by ambush, making it virtually indestructible on offense, but very fragile on defense.

Pros:
-Extremely reliable for rescues, raids, and salvage forays.

Cons:
-Useless for PvP combat without extremely rare and expensive equipment.

The Juggernaut (High weapons and shields, low engines)
The Juggernaut, or Juggy, combines the one-hit kill potential of weapons with the reliability and security of shields. It is very effective for killing lots of other players in rapid succession, with enough firepower to still do well in the belts, despite its lack of engines.

Pros:
-Can drop many targets in PvP before needing to repair.

Cons:
-Performs very poorly on rescues, raids, and salvage forays.

The Rogue (High weapons and engines, low shields)
The rogue is designed for assassination. High weapons let it kill in one shot, high engines make sure it shoots first. One shot, one kill, before the enemy can even react. The problem is, sometimes weapons malfunction, or just graze the target. As the rogue is poorly shielded, that is usually fatal - unless the high engines cause your opponent to malfunction.

Pros:
-Very successful in the belts and other non-PvP actions.
-Very effective against the hammer.

Cons:
-A little bad luck is often fatal.
-Weak to the turtle.

The Rocket Bus (High shields and engines, low weapons)
The rocket bus, or ninja turtle, draws fights out the way the turtle does, but only after it uses its superior engines to give itself a significant HP advantage and cripple the target's offense. The bonus HP also gives the rocket bus more endurance over multiple combat encounters then the turtle.

Pros:
-Discourages attackers by drawing out combat and inflicting significant damage.
-Rarely used, and rarely expected.
-Very effective against the turtle.

Cons:
-Loses much of its effectiveness without a successful ambush.
-Performs very poorly on belt runs.

The Balanced Build/Fighter (even in all three stats)
This is the most common build, mostly because it is the most versatile, allowing to user to experience every aspect of the game and switch play style frequently. By changing equipment, the balanced build can become any of the other builds at a moment's notice. They'll never be as powerful as a more specialized build, but they can catch their opponent off guard, using a mini-turtle to fight rogues, a mini-rogue to fight hammers, and so on.

Pros:
-Versatile and unpredictable, able to change builds on the fly.
-Able to enjoy all aspects of the game, using different builds for fighting, raiding, belt runs, and forays.
-Has access to the best mining jobs.

Cons:
-Will always lose to a specialist at their own game.
-Requires lots of varied equipment and notorious status to change builds quickly.