Are S class ships the best?

[msy]

I have encountered several S class ships that I can buy but my B class is superior in all departments. I have far more storage slots than S ships I have encountered. A couple have had more tech slots but I have seen that in A, B and C class ships. So what is the incentive to change to an S ship, I don't see it right now.

[T-Bone Biggins]

Depends on the class of ship, even S-class shuttles can be disappointing in certain stats compared to lower-classed fighters. I'd say fighters are the best overall since jump-range can be augmented with ship upgrade modules and cargo slots are not as relevant since you can just buy those now at any space station.

[DarkEternal]

S class ships have the highest base stats. Inventory is so easy to get that it should play no part in your decision to get an S class.
Plainly speaking, an S class with the best upgrades will always have better stats than an A class with the same upgrades. Inventory is not the stat you should be wary of when upgrading since, as I stated before, you can upgrade ship inventory quite easily.

[japp_02]

For gameplay, what counts are the slot nr. not the class except if you want to warp long distances, in that case get exotic ships which are always S-Class or S-Class Explorers.
However since Origins the class will limit how many additional slots you can install, so S-Classes are getting better now.

[WarnerCK]

Originally posted by msy:

I have encountered several S class ships that I can buy but my B class is superior in all departments.

Your ship has upgrades bumping the stats, which the ones you're looking at don't. You can see the base stats of ships, including your own, by looking at them through your visor.

[Wizard of Woz]

Originally posted by japp_02:

For gameplay, what counts are the slot nr. not the class except if you want to warp long distances, in that case get exotic ships which are always S-Class or S-Class Explorers.
However since Origins the class will limit how many additional slots you can install, so S-Classes are getting better now.

I haven't played in awhile, are you saying that not all ships can be upgraded to 48/21 anymore?

[japp_02]

Originally posted by wizard_of_woz:

Originally posted by japp_02:

For gameplay, what counts are the slot nr. not the class except if you want to warp long distances, in that case get exotic ships which are always S-Class or S-Class Explorers.
However since Origins the class will limit how many additional slots you can install, so S-Classes are getting better now.

I haven't played in awhile, are you saying that not all ships can be upgraded to 48/21 anymore?

I'm about to test this, and I almost can say yes, but I cannot yet define a rule. For freighters this seems to apply as well. I need to continue testing, something has changed for sure.
More feedback about it is welcome: Get a C-Class and try to apply your free augmentations, you should not be able to go up to 48 with all ship types (but which ones?). With S-Class of the same ship you should instead; because S-Class are now very hard to encounter - even in wealthy systems - this testing can take a while...

[msy]

The S class ships I have encountered are limited to how many slots you can add. That is more than the ship comes with but not a lot. You can tell how many slots by the square drawn around the maximum slots. The most I have seen is 12 slots, nowhere close to the 42 slots I have. I have one row of tech slots and that is max, I have seen ships of all classes with more tech slots but to get that I would have to give up general slots.

[Deathbloom]

Originally posted by msy:

The S class ships I have encountered are limited to how many slots you can add. That is more than the ship comes with but not a lot. You can tell how many slots by the square drawn around the maximum slots. The most I have seen is 12 slots, nowhere close to the 42 slots I have. I have one row of tech slots and that is max, I have seen ships of all classes with more tech slots but to get that I would have to give up general slots.

All S- Class ships can be upgraded to 48/21. The "square borders" will change as you add more slots and you might have to leave the ship upgrade terminal and then interact it again. It's a weird mechanic, no idea why it has not been changed yet

[japp_02]

Also there may still be the bug of the ship value not updating correctly if you add slots, you must then save and reload your save to see the correct value. I will stay tuned about this 'square preview' working or not to make a prevision, I think a new slot will be added in a new row at the lower right of the square and you cannot easily predict the final slot count. The tech slots will only upgrade after all possible normal slots have been upgraded.

[Psychic Kitty]

actually this will sound odd but i might as well say it...

S classes typically are the best...but not always.

All ships and items have a random chance to have differing stats thus you can get S class things that just plain are horrible or lower rated things like A or B or C that are higher then your S rated items or ships.

To examples of this....I have S class mods..that increase my ship shield by 30% this is typical....i have an A class mod for shields though on one ship that gives it a 32% increase. I also have gotten an S class shield mod that was less then 30%.

On my living ships which are all S class...i noticed the base stats are random on each one.

And speaking of random....on a mission to hatch another living ship....instead of a living ship it gave me a crashed ship of the my original ship...thought that was kind of funny.

Another interesting thing....I found a A class frigate that was Huge.....on the outside it was massively bigger then anything else I had ever run into....i ended up replacing it with a S class due to how it had more internal inventory space from Modifications but it was not nearly as big.
I should have kept that A class as it was bigger then most system star bases and had way more stuff on its outside....too bad it would never be able to use all those turrets.

[Know Won]

i prefer smaller ships, large ones just are eye sores to me, obstructions that offer nothing of value to scenery, now if ships actually had more detail and were interesting to even look at.

Right now ships are about the same as a cardboard box , throw some paint and decals on a box and u are real close the the ships u have in game...

[Mr. Bufferlow]

The simple answer is YES.

Be aware that the game was designed for C class ships/tools. They have not really updated anything so once you have anything above C class, you are OP.

Now that you can make any ship an S class...with enough credits and nanites, the only advantage to finding one is saving some nanites. Their base stat is going be higher than a similar craft at a lower class (base level). They can have the most slots, even if they start out small...like the exotics.

The not very secret secret is that you need something to spend credits and nanites on. That is why they exist. If they only had C class ships and no way to increases the slots...you would be swimming in credits and nanites before you even got past the tutorial.

[Grimmslayer73]

Any ship can be upgraded to S class.... Any S class ship can be upgraded to 48/21. Keep in mind though that a stock C class ship can handle any content the game has to offer.

[jonnin]

Yes, but S class are not 'necessary'. What matters as much is how you configure it. On harder modes, you need to use 3 S class shield mods and 3 S class weapon of choice mods (I prefer the cannon as it means less total space used). You probably 'want' 3 s class hyperdrive mods. (X class can be S class in disguise, or not, those are random and sometimes exceed most or all S class values). On easier modes, you can literally do anything with a C class ship, but you may still want some of the above so fights are easier and hyperdrive range etc. Harder modes the reduced damage of C class may impede you a little esp if not fighter or exotic class.

The attraction is partly bragging rights / completionist -- "Ive played for 5 years and have a fully upgraded S class ship of each type".

People play differently. A 40+ slot hauler C-class used as extra portable storage container is not improved by being S class (It may start with a couple more slots but you can find free upgrades to that over time).

The biggest advantages to S class really are combat related, or possibly warp drive range if you are trying to go to the center the hard way.

the same is true for S class multitool, freighter, etc. Its the best, but the game does not require it. The only thing I would argue as required to be S class are your tech install mod cards. Those are only 550 or so nanites, and even a beginner can afford one or two per space station visit.

[Galadhlinn]

This is an old thread, but there aren't any (that I found) that are more current, so I'll post here in that it may help others seeking suggestions for strategy.
While it has been shown that most S class spawns will have better base stats than most A class ships upgraded to S class, this is not always the case. I have found that there is usually an A class spawn that is better than all other A class spawns of the type of ship in that particular seed. Those A class spawns when upgraded to S class will be very close to the best S class spawn and better than many of the S class spawns of the same ship in the same seed.
So here's my strategy when I find a ship I really like: First, advice is to always look in a three star system. Second, once I find a ship I really like (looks of course), I camp the trade post and watch. When an A class spawn comes along, I buy it (or trade for it). Next, while still looking for the S class spawn, I check every A class that comes in. I keep trading up my A class until I'm confident that I likely have the best A class spawn in that ship's pool. My experience has shown me that after about 5-6 trade ups to the A class, I'm at the top of the A class spawns. This can still be a long camp but usually not as long as waiting for an S class spawn. Occasionally, I get lucky and an S class spawn comes along before I find that best A class. In those cases I call myself lucky and enjoy my new S class. If this doesn't happen, once I have the best A class, I end my camp and upgrade it to an S class knowing its base stats will be right on par with the best S class spawn.
In summary, there is a quicker path to a top tier S class ship by getting the best A class.
On a side note, on my current save I got lucky and got a really nice A class freighter on my second battle after I was first eligible for the free freighter. I did not realize how lucky until about a week later I got lucky again and got an S class freighter on the fifth reroll of the battle. When I compared my current A class to the S class the stats were almost the same. The tech and storage were the same.
Hope this helps give some a little better solution to the dreaded camps for S class ships.