Ships - Classes and Ranking

[Dash]

New player here! So... I've been browsing the net and I've been finding different infos on current ships and class rankings... for example:

S> A > B >C in terms of ranking yet I see ships that are C rank but significantly more cargo spaces and more expensive than B ranks...

Does ship class such as Fighter, Hauler, Explorer yadda yadda have a significant difference in terms of gameplay? which are those differences?

Anyone mind explaining a bit? thanks in advance!

[japp_02]

If you launch the ship page with TAB you see on the right the ship values in green color, for example +20% etc. Ship types will differ in performance as for Hyperdrive, Shields, Cargo, better categories will have larger numbers.
What I don't know is if upgrades are included or excluded in this calculation. For example, will the Sigma Reactor be increased by 20% if the Hyperdrive=+20% ? I dunno but you can easily find out.

You can see the same values when you 'Compare' 2 ships so you will have an idea of how better a ship you get.

Hope this helps,

[p0pt@rt]

bonuses > cargo spaces.. the classes are no different than so many racing games..

C - Lowest: Minimal (if any) bonuses. These ships are best for jumping thru black holes or inventory storage (like players' large slotted pre-pathfinder starship).
B - Moderate: Moderate bonuses; usually teens or 20s in terms of total stat percentages.
A - High: High bonuses; usually a significant bonus in the ship type's stats. (My A class science ship has +42% hyperdrive bonus)
S - Super: Maximum bonuses; largest bonuses towards the ship type's stats. (My S class fighter's damage stat, after bonuses, is over 14k)

Ships are still procedurally generated and have random classes, bonuses, inventory sizes, as well as equipment and equipment layout..

[MasterWaffle]

Haulers= 48 slots max +best shield bonus
Explorer = 38 slots max + Best hyperdrive bonus
Shuttle = 38 slots max + Gets a little of every bonus
Fighter = 38 slots max + best damage bonus

[Dash]

Thank you! makes sense now!

[japp_02]

Originally posted by kremit_defrog:

Ships are still procedurally generated and have random classes, bonuses, inventory sizes, as well as equipment and equipment layout..

True, but ships will all have the minimum equipment now + randomly the beam weapon + 1 or 2 upgrades maximum. A 48-slot will have 2 upgrades.

[Sieberz]

Originally posted by MasterWaffle:

Haulers= 48 slots max +best shield bonus
Explorer = 38 slots max + Best hyperdrive bonus
Shuttle = 38 slots max + Gets a little of every bonus
Fighter = 38 slots max + best damage bonus

Wow, I did not know a fighter could have 38 slots... I've never seen above 29, good to know.

[Dash]

So effectively we could say Hauler 48 is best ship If aesthetics are non issue.

[MasterWaffle]

Originally posted by Giankiz:

So effectively we could say Hauler 48 is best ship If aesthetics are non issue.

No each ship has it's own job now. Class bonuses really make the difference. A fighter can get up to 14k damage potential at class S. Where as others can't. Technically a fighter really only needs 23 slots at S class to have all upgrades and 1 choice of weapon maxed out. Granted 23 slots will leave you with 0 storage space. Explorers can travel way further. Explorer really only needs 4 slots for all 3 warp drive upgrades and the original warp drive. Any more on explorer is a bonus. And shuttle, well meh it's an all around ship and haven't gotten to much into them yet. Haulers are obviously good for storage. Haulers get high shield average warp and crap damage bonuses.

Originally posted by Sieberz:

Originally posted by MasterWaffle:

Haulers= 48 slots max +best shield bonus
Explorer = 38 slots max + Best hyperdrive bonus
Shuttle = 38 slots max + Gets a little of every bonus
Fighter = 38 slots max + best damage bonus

Wow, I did not know a fighter could have 38 slots... I've never seen above 29, good to know.

I have a 38 slot explorer and fighter myself. Both class A. I assume shuttle is the same amount of slots max.

[saluzi7]

I'm still confused on how to get a new ship wityout losing my old one. That can be done on my freighter but good ships rarely drop by.
I assume I need to:
1. Aquire a junker on my frieghter
2. Fly down to a trading base and look for good ships
3. Swap ships there
4. rinse and repeat
Ok?????

[japp_02]

Originally posted by saluzi7:

I'm still confused on how to get a new ship wityout losing my old one. That can be done on my freighter but good ships rarely drop by.
I assume I need to:
1. Aquire a junker on my frieghter
2. Fly down to a trading base and look for good ships
3. Swap ships there
4. rinse and repeat
Ok?????

Point 1 is ok, then your plan is too expensive, there's another much cheaper way. I'm sure you'll find out. You can have 6 different chips on freighter.

[Dash]

Saluzi

If you want a new ship. you can do your plan, OR just explore planets scanning them once in the surface with your ship while flying over... keep doing that and go down on outposts you're bound to run into a way to get a new ship.

SPOILER - if you don't care about going through the whole experience
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Keep checking out "?" sings on your ship scanner and land on outposts... sometimes they have puzzles that can lead to distress beacons which usually mean crashed ships... you can then just "repair" a ship and go on your merry way with your new ship. that does mean abandoning your old ship though..... Enjoy!!

[WarMachine]

You can also trade the top teir rep items for a direct ping to a crash site. If the option isn't avaliable, give them the lower teir items until it is avalible, no more then 3 ever needed to get the option if it isn't the initial.

[Blissett]

Originally posted by WarMachine:

You can also trade the top teir rep items for a direct ping to a crash site. If the option isn't avaliable, give them the lower teir items until it is avalible, no more then 3 ever needed to get the option if it isn't the initial.

This also works for getting large amounts of nanite clusters. Now, if they start sending you to a crashed ship that you already got, if you leave the system for a couple hours it should reset. That can be useful if you care more about getting a particular ship design that is availiable on that system, rather than just grinding at it for a larger number of slots, but buying ships at space stations will probably still get you there faster.

[p0pt@rt]

Originally posted by japp_02:

Point 1 is ok, then your plan is too expensive, there's another much cheaper way. I'm sure you'll find out. You can have 6 different chips on freighter.

It might have been expensive in Foundation.. but in Pathfinder, trading ships doesn't have to be expensive.. some are even free trades.. and a free trade for a ship with functioning tech is cheaper than repairing any damaged tech that isn't auto-fixed after reloading the save..

[japp_02]

Originally posted by kremit_defrog:

Originally posted by japp_02:

Point 1 is ok, then your plan is too expensive, there's another much cheaper way. I'm sure you'll find out. You can have 6 different chips on freighter.

It might have been expensive in Foundation.. but in Pathfinder, trading ships doesn't have to be expensive.. some are even free trades.. and a free trade for a ship with functioning tech is cheaper than repairing any damaged tech that isn't auto-fixed after reloading the save..

I have started buying the smallest possible ship on my freighter and I'm glad I didn't exchange it for a better new one. There are other ways to find ships and handle them optimally, but I didn't want to spoil it here. Also no need to repair ships (slots), but at some point you will reach the maximum nr. of operating slots you can find in a ship, and THEN it's time to trade-in...By doing so you save huge amount of units, but it takes more time to get your dream ship of course.
In Pathfinder I actually like that you don't need the maximum slots on your ship like in Foundation, you now have a diversified fleet you can use.