The best cargo ship is actually the...

[zAcEz]

Bactrian

My preference in my fleet is mobility, so that its easier for my ships to get out of harms way or to rescue a pinned ship, & for the fleet to move together.

Why this cargo ship rules for me is simply because it can keep up with my flag, and double as a meat shield when Im taking fire.

Its also fairly easy to get, becoming available towards the end of the FW campaign.

After having completed all the major story missions, no other cargo ship comes close in terms of mobility, cargo space & durability.

Outfits (end of game):
Boulder Reactor
"Bufaer" Atomic Steering
"Bufaer" Atomic Thruster
Cargo Expansion x18
Fuel Processor
Jump Drive
Systems Core (Medium)
Small Heat Shunt x2
Quantum Keystone
Wanderer Ramscoop

Stats (end of game):
Shields: ---------186 / 17500
Hull: ----------------24 / 8600
Cargo Space: ---800
Fuel: ---------------900
Max Speed: ------447.6
Acceleration: -----195.7 / 306.9
Turn: ---------------82.7 / 129.6

What's your best cargo ship?

[VMVXMK2]

Geocoris

Large cargo space, many turret, able to take some hit, low required crew

Available reasonably early.

Although a bit difficult to mass, it is serviceable in combat

I have take earth with 500 Geocoris

[tuk0z]

Arach Hulk as soon as have access to Coalition space.
Speed: as fast as a Bactri (and as a theorically faster Coalition largest transport ship)
Hulk: a bit less resilient than the Bactri but still, 19k Hull + shield can take a few hits
Cargo: 500-800 (depending the armament)
Armament: 4 turrets and 2 guns if necessary
Crew : 8-9 :-D

[Geojak]

i prefer the mule of bactrian. easier to mass, and better cargo to crew ratio

[GenerallyThrawn]

Behemoth
Versatile High capacity freighter that can be modified to serve as a light warship.

Equip it with the best of hai and human tech and it will take squadrons of pirate interceptops or a couple pirate cruisers to take it down

[zAcEz]

Originally posted by AdmiralC:

Behemoth
Versatile High capacity freighter that can be modified to serve as a light warship.

Equip it with the best of hai and human tech and it will take squadrons of pirate interceptops or a couple pirate cruisers to take it down [/quote]

Nice, I tried a fleet of behemoth before I found my favourite

[GenerallyThrawn]

Originally posted by zAcEz:

Originally posted by AdmiralC:

Behemoth
Versatile High capacity freighter that can be modified to serve as a light warship.

Equip it with the best of hai and human tech and it will take squadrons of pirate interceptops or a couple pirate cruisers to take it down [/quote]

Nice, I tried a fleet of behemoth before I found my favourite

I'm quite fond of my ships, I'm making millions in Hai space just from cargo hauling and the high mission concentration up there

[zAcEz]

@AdmiralC

Haha,I got tired of hauling & went straight to completing all the missions after starting the quest chain there. Sure you can be the best FedEx or UPS, but that mean missing out on a story that is so epic. =D

[GenerallyThrawn]

Originally posted by zAcEz:

@AdmiralC

Haha,I got tired of hauling & went straight to completing all the missions after starting the quest chain there. Sure you can be the best FedEx or UPS, but that mean missing out on a story that is so epic. =D

Trus, I'm sticking up there to get my third ship

[Rocket Witch]

I like to gut Kor Mereti ships because they look like clusters of containers already. Since they're designed to hold lots of turrets, they have relatively large outfit capacity for converting to cargo. Also extremely durable, no wages, and free.

[Beltneck]

I like to use the Blackbird as my first upgrade from the starter ship. Base model can handle 7 jumps, can carry big groups of passengers. Then with atomic steering and a reverse thruster it can quickly jump away from any conflict, so I usually strip it's weapons and shields down enough to have 6 cargo extensions - then it can haul 150 cargo too. Just don't take it into a fight, it can't handle more than a couple interceptors.

Next upgrade is Behemoths, because as others have said, it's a freighter that can hold its own against pirates, or be converted into a light warship. I keep the Blackbirds around until I have 3 Behemoths, just as passenger ferries. Once I drop the Blackbirds, I can more comfortably start taking on fleets of pirates for escort missions.

Then I'll start working on my City Ship License so I can get Bactrians. Once I can get them, I've usually got a big fleet of Behemoths and they get repurposed as escorts, like a Protector with way better mobility. Long range turrets, sidewinders, and stacks of shields.

Haven't got further than that yet, probably are better alien ships to choose from.

[hellminister]

This topic is quite old... Theres been lots of modification to the accessibility of the bactrian since this post

The don't necro rule post