Class B reactors too weak

[bortas]

This is mainly due to class B reactors with decent power output being level-locked behind too high level requirements compared to class A and C.

Class B reactors are virtually always inferior in terms of power output to both class A and class C. Level 49 is the first time a class B with more power than class A becomes available, because class A reach their max power at level 43.

So why even bother with class B reactors and not jump directly from class A to class C? By the time class B surpasses class A, most players probably already made the upgrade to class C anyway.

Personally I never used any class B reactor, because it always felt like a downgrade.

[Lavian]

I use the class B 39 output reactor for my fighter/interceptor designs, because it's significantly lighter than the 40 output class C reactors.

[fauxpas]

Not everyone wants to mess with Class C ships when a properly built Class B can out perform it on everything except cargo.

[bortas]

Originally posted by fauxpas:

Not everyone wants to mess with Class C ships when a properly built Class B can out perform it on everything except cargo.

Before level 49 class B always has significantly lower power output than class C.

On lower levels the slightly heavier weight of class Cs seems to be a low price to pay for so much more power output.

[ZombieHunter]

You can create a ship with B reactor that will destroy any enemy you encounter. My ship with B was able to maintain a bounty and destroy every single attacking ship in all the major systems. After that you loot and profit. Space combat is ridiculously easy in the game. I can kill everyone in any given system and my mobility is only 31. My shield is 1500 and I have 3 missile launchers, 3 lasers and 3 particle beam cannons. Each weapon takes 4 power so that is a total of 12 per weapon type which is the max allowed. Particle beams melt enemies quickly. 3 missiles fired at once will finish off any target.

The best kills are the Galbank ships b/c some of them have over 10K credits onboard. Some of the haulers have tons of resources as well. I net about 50K to 60K per destruction wave. Once you kill everyone they don't re-spawn. Any new ships that spawn will not be hostile. My bounty with UC is over 450K and my bountry with FC is somewhere near 560K. After modifying my ship I was at 1K and now I'm around 190K. It is way quicker to make credits this way than any other way in the game.

After I loot them I head back to the Key to sell most of it.

[Lavian]

Originally posted by fauxpas:

Not everyone wants to mess with Class C ships when a properly built Class B can out perform it on everything except cargo.

Or you know, shields, hull durability, and damage output.

The the strongest class C shield is at 1600, well above even the special UC Vanguard shield available at class B. More parts means more hull, so that's just a given. Class C will also have more energy available (even if just by 1), so it can keep weapons systems powered to a higher level without sacrificing in other areas, and it has all options available, when it comes to weapons.

There's nothing a C class can't do that any lower class can. That's how reactors work. It's just that the heavy nature of the class C reactors make them less than ideal to use with the high speed engines, while retaining mobility.

Technically, you can make a class C interceptor with incredible shields and high mobility, but you have to sacrifice a fair amount of cargo space to make up for the weight of the reactor.

[fauxpas]

Originally posted by bortas:

Originally posted by fauxpas:

Not everyone wants to mess with Class C ships when a properly built Class B can out perform it on everything except cargo.

Before level 49 class B always has significantly lower power output than class C.

On lower levels the slightly heavier weight of class Cs seems to be a low price to pay for so much more power output.

I've never had a huge power issue where it was actually a problem and the size difference mattered more to me than the power pips.

[fauxpas]

Originally posted by Lavian:

Originally posted by fauxpas:

Not everyone wants to mess with Class C ships when a properly built Class B can out perform it on everything except cargo.

Or you know, shields, hull durability, and damage output.

The the strongest class C shield is at 1600, well above even the special UC Vanguard shield available at class B. More parts means more hull, so that's just a given. Class C will also have more energy available (even if just by 1), so it can keep weapons systems powered to a higher level without sacrificing in other areas, and it has all options available, when it comes to weapons.

There's nothing a C class can't do that any lower class can. That's how reactors work. It's just that the heavy nature of the class C reactors make them less than ideal to use with the high speed engines, while retaining mobility.

Technically, you can make a class C interceptor with incredible shields and high mobility, but you have to sacrifice a fair amount of cargo space to make up for the weight of the reactor.

Class B weapons are the best bang for buck, and the higher shield ratings are offset by the lower recharge rate.

And sure, if you are trying to keep three weapon groups maxed out that could be an issue, but since particle beams melt opponents in combat regardless there isn't really a need to keep everything powered up.

[Lavian]

Originally posted by fauxpas:

Originally posted by Lavian:

Or you know, shields, hull durability, and damage output.

The the strongest class C shield is at 1600, well above even the special UC Vanguard shield available at class B. More parts means more hull, so that's just a given. Class C will also have more energy available (even if just by 1), so it can keep weapons systems powered to a higher level without sacrificing in other areas, and it has all options available, when it comes to weapons.

There's nothing a C class can't do that any lower class can. That's how reactors work. It's just that the heavy nature of the class C reactors make them less than ideal to use with the high speed engines, while retaining mobility.

Technically, you can make a class C interceptor with incredible shields and high mobility, but you have to sacrifice a fair amount of cargo space to make up for the weight of the reactor.

Class B weapons are the best bang for buck, and the higher shield ratings are offset by the lower recharge rate.

And sure, if you are trying to keep three weapon groups maxed out that could be an issue, but since particle beams melt opponents in combat regardless there isn't really a need to keep everything powered up.

Shield recharge delay is really the issue in space combat, more than recharge speed. Furthermore, higher numbers means that even with the 5% recharge rate, the class C shield base recharge rate is 80, performing only slightly lower than the Vanguard's shield recharge rate of 87, while giving you a better buffer against incoming attacks before your shield depletes in the first place.

Nothing is stopping a class C ship from using class B weapons.

[Wanderer]

I just put points in the aneutronic fusion skill to get more power from my reactors ... maxed out it is is + 5 power and other ship benefits :)

[bortas]

Originally posted by Lavian:

Class B weapons are the best bang for buck, and the higher shield ratings are offset by the lower recharge rate.

And sure, if you are trying to keep three weapon groups maxed out that could be an issue, but since particle beams melt opponents in combat regardless there isn't really a need to keep everything powered up.

I'm not saying, class B ships can't be competitive. What I'm saying is that class B reactors with higher power output should be availble earlier, to be a viable upgrade path from class A to class B, not just for level 50+ players.

I see no reason, why class B reactors shouldn't produce at least the same amount of power as their class A counterparts.

I also think that class B weapons are the most efficient, so I tend do use them on my class C ship... which has the class C reactor as its only class C part, just for the power. Sure, on level 60 I can switch to class B, but why not earlier?

[fauxpas]

Originally posted by Lavian:

Originally posted by fauxpas:

Class B weapons are the best bang for buck, and the higher shield ratings are offset by the lower recharge rate.

And sure, if you are trying to keep three weapon groups maxed out that could be an issue, but since particle beams melt opponents in combat regardless there isn't really a need to keep everything powered up.

Shield recharge delay is really the issue in space combat, more than recharge speed. Furthermore, higher numbers means that even with the 5% recharge rate, the class C shield base recharge rate is 80, performing only slightly lower than the Vanguard's shield recharge rate of 87, while giving you a better buffer against incoming attacks before your shield depletes in the first place.

Nothing is stopping a class C ship from using class B weapons.

True, but what I'm saying is that in practice that difference doesn't really matter much; since Class B weapons outperform and the Class B shield is more than enough for space battles all you end up with is a larger, heavier reactor and a slower, less maneuverable ship.


I guess a better way to word it would be that the jump from Class B to Class C isn't nearly as large as it is going from Class A to Class B ... and I find the jump to be small enough that its not really worth it ... unless of course you need ungodly amounts of cargo.

[Dreusyla Arashi]

Originally posted by bortas:

Originally posted by fauxpas:

Not everyone wants to mess with Class C ships when a properly built Class B can out perform it on everything except cargo.

Before level 49 class B always has significantly lower power output than class C.

On lower levels the slightly heavier weight of class Cs seems to be a low price to pay for so much more power output.

ton for ton class b is actually better than a and so are the modules, also the shieldbreaker is amazing and still fun to use after unlocking class c stuff

[fauxpas]

Originally posted by bortas:

Originally posted by Lavian:

Class B weapons are the best bang for buck, and the higher shield ratings are offset by the lower recharge rate.

And sure, if you are trying to keep three weapon groups maxed out that could be an issue, but since particle beams melt opponents in combat regardless there isn't really a need to keep everything powered up.

I'm not saying, class B ships can't be competitive. What I'm saying is that class B reactors with higher power output should be availble earlier, to be a viable upgrade path from class A to class B, not just for level 50+ players.

I see no reason, why class B reactors shouldn't produce at least the same amount of power as their class A counterparts.

I also think that class B weapons are the most efficient, so I tend do use them on my class C ship... which has the class C reactor as its only class C part, just for the power. Sure, on level 60 I can switch to class B, but why not earlier?

Yeah, I can agree with that, Class B shouldn't feel like a downgrade from Class A and I'd argue that Class C reactors ought to always be better (weapons and shields too) ... all I'm saying is that although annoying the power difference wasn't really a problem for me.

[Dreusyla Arashi]

Originally posted by fauxpas:

Originally posted by bortas:

I'm not saying, class B ships can't be competitive. What I'm saying is that class B reactors with higher power output should be availble earlier, to be a viable upgrade path from class A to class B, not just for level 50+ players.

I see no reason, why class B reactors shouldn't produce at least the same amount of power as their class A counterparts.

I also think that class B weapons are the most efficient, so I tend do use them on my class C ship... which has the class C reactor as its only class C part, just for the power. Sure, on level 60 I can switch to class B, but why not earlier?

Yeah, I can agree with that, Class B shouldn't feel like a downgrade from Class A and I'd argue that Class C reactors ought to always be better (weapons and shields too) ... all I'm saying is that although annoying the power difference wasn't really a problem for me.

class b isnt a downgrade all 3 classes have their uses, a is frigates b is destroyers and light transports, c is cruisers and heavy transports the turrets get bigger with each class for a reason and mass also gets bigger for a reason

[Rich]

Class C reactors are too weak. You'd need a class Z² reactor to have a good ship