Barbarossa vs other Destroyer class Ships

[Julius Seizure]

So far my go-to destroyer has been a modified Ody E for 1 on 1 combat with Xenon K's. I've gotten very used to having forward facing cannons on this, but looking at grabbing a Barbarossa due to the higher crew member count (and it just looks cool).

From what I see, the Rossa might be better for piracy / ship capturing work, but has anyone extensively used it against Xenon - and how well does it fare without main cannons?

[SpaceToast]

It melts if anything gets in range, i wouldn't recommend it for anti xenon duties. It can work for piracy but not having a main gun means your depending on the AI to target and disable whatever guns or engines you need. I like to use it as a L freighter for hauling in dangerous areas as it has decent cargo space.

[Meemai]

The Syndicate's Barbarossa is probably the fastest transport you can get your hands on, only closely followed by the Split Buffalo.

You can probably use it to board other L size transports, since it will have the upper hand on that, at least.

My advice is, use that for either transporting loot, goods or troops for boarding very quickly, but do not consider this vessel a fully capable destroyer, since it is not that, any other destroyer-class vessel will eat it alive. If you intend to bring it into capturing destroyers or larger vessels, consider it as a boarding party support for a fleet, not a standalone operating ship.

[AlPhi]

They make pretty good anti-fighter flak ships though if equipped with L beam and M flak turrets. Their multiple engines survive most mobility disabling attempts by fighter swarms. Deploy them in multiples per fleet to prevent them getting swarmed as individuals but also protect their fleet more generally from being attacked by real destroyers.

A beauty of them is that you can also temporarily use them as armed freighters that do not attract much piracy when you don't currently need them as flak fleet members.

[zpc]

I use them with L missile turrets (artillery) or L beam turrets (fly swatter). Their low shielding doesn't make them a good choice against the Xenon capital ships - they have to be kept on the second line in those situations (both IS as well as OOS).

Barbarossa is a nice special ship - and an excellent player ship IMHO.

[Apex Artist]

I run the moreturrets mod, and use the Zeus S carrier as a very capable answer to Xenon Ks. The moreturrets mod, take it from 1 to 5 L turrets, and adds a slew of M turrets. The Zeus has a nice balance between hull and shield strength.
This mod adds to many L and XL ships but I don't know that it adds turrets to the Barbarossa. Anytime I've considered this ship, the hull/shield equation just didn't work for me.

[fade7777]

Originally posted by Meemai:

The Syndicate's Barbarossa is probably the fastest transport you can get your hands on, only closely followed by the Split Buffalo.

You can probably use it to board other L size transports, since it will have the upper hand on that, at least.

My advice is, use that for either transporting loot, goods or troops for boarding very quickly, but do not consider this vessel a fully capable destroyer, since it is not that, any other destroyer-class vessel will eat it alive. If you intend to bring it into capturing destroyers or larger vessels, consider it as a boarding party support for a fleet, not a standalone operating ship.

Not only is it a fast well armed L transport... its considered a scavenger by class... which is a ship type that pirates don't target. which is good so the occasional split pirate from fallen families faction in a rattlesnake wont kill it. and the Barbarossa can easily defend itself against khaak. so its a really good L transport... i always use them in combination with some Prometheus as a medium transport. The Prometheus is a quite fast and well armed M transport that also has a pirate type of theme like the Barbarossa. I try to crew them with Yaki crew or Vigor syndicate crew or mix match of them both so all my transports L and M have a battle transport pirate type of vibe going on.

[vincentf563]

The Odysseus Vanguard carries 40 fighters. The E is handicapped on those. 40 fighters will waste a H's defenses in a few minutes then you can board. You'l actually have to call them off before they destroy a boardable Xenon Cap Ship

[Treyen]

it's less of a destroyer and more of a really beefed up trader. Other pirates won't bother them, either, but I wouldn't take it into combat against other similarly sized ships.

[Xautos]

I only use the Barbarossa's for transport of high value wares, the sort of stuff that would attract SCA pirates. because it's a combat capable light destroyer, it can turn away SCA attackers easily and defeat groups of small ships as well.

I wouldn't use the barbarossa for fly-by-boarding though, because of the unique shape and some parts of the ship stick out all over the place, especially around the rear thrusters.

I don't use those hair dryers myself, i'm more interested in the Asgard when it comes to combat.

For boarding i always use the Shuyaku Vanguard, i always fly-by-board with it and its shape doesn't stand out too much, but then i've taken to glancing hits off ships i know will be a problem for boarding, this spins the hostile ship out of control, allows the shuyaku to continue unchallenged and lets the pods board their target as turret accuracy is all over the place.

Far easier ways of committing piracy on the game.

[Julius Seizure]

Thanks all - great advice. Will grab a Barbarossa for trading or support purposes, then.

[Julius Seizure]

Quick update - just got a Rossa and fully upgraded + added some basic mods to it. Handles excellently and is so far in my game the best piracy ship I have. Paired with an Eclipse Vanguard (full plasma), it's a great combination to board SCA ships and train up my marine crews.

[=X-men=]

better to use it as a fast merchant ship with TER engines and some additional travel speed mod. in combat it has a low shield, if equipped with L plasma turrets, can be used to slowly board L traders, or destroy some Xenon K.

[Kunpow227]

I actually use both of these ships they pair nicely together for piracy. Approach the ship with the barbarossa and initiate the attack, wait for the ody to arrive on the scene and pull the barbarossa back. Use the ody to disable the weapon systems and engines and sheilds etc and then bring the barbarossa back in for boarding. I haven't fought the xenon much but the barbarossa just doesn't compare to the sheer firepower of the ody. The barbarossa is fast for a large size ship, has a nice cargo capacity and has decent weapons but again (not like an actual destroyer) and good sheilding. The hull isn't great though so once the sheilds are down you'll die fairly quickly. I would imagine the ody would be the way to go for fighting the xenon. While the barbarossa can hold its own and it's one of my favorite ships, when fighting a K I'd imagine that the sheer firepower of the ody would make it the superior choice. Especially when you consider the barbarossas weaker hull.

[vincentf563]

If you use the Odysseus Vanguard you can take 40 fighters with you to strip the surface elements. I agree with one of the others here. The Barbarossa is an escort at best or a well armed trader.