Ranking The Dreadnoughts

[DarkFalz]

After 150+ hours sunk into this game, I wanted to share my thoughts on how the Dreadnoughts stack up against each other and see what everyone else thinks. I won't be ranking the Koenos or Ze'Mmathum since I haven't flown either enough to offer an honest opinion on them and they're only available in scenarios. Anyway, here's my list from best to worst:

1. Magistrate

The Magistrate is the Dreadnought that I find myself using the most. It tops the list simply because it offers the best mix of everything. A strong hull with good shields and above average shield recharge means it can take a real beating even when facing several other Dreads or Carriers. 32 weapon emplacements with high battery energy and battery recharge gives it lots of sustained firepower for those big fleet battles and excellent firing arcs means it can keep most of it's guns on target regardless of how the target is positioned. As a bonus, the Magistrate is also one of the easiest Dreads to acquire since you can often find them in high level destruction missions so you've got plenty of chances to steal one for yourself.

2. Halberd

The Halberd comes in very close behind the Magistrate for many of the same reasons. Though it has the weakest hull of all the Dreads, it more than makes up for it with it's crazy high shields and shield recharge rate which is bolstered greatly by the Halo enhancement making this thing incredibly tanky. It's firing arcs are every bit as good as the Magistrate's so most if not all the guns will always stay on target. The main downside I find is the lower number of weapon emplacements (30) and lower battery energy means DPS isn't always as good but the high battery recharge really helps to mitigate this problem. It's not the easiest Dread to get since not many factions use them so you won't have many chances to steal one but it's more than worth the money if you're forced to buy it instead.

3. Tokio

I know that this ship tops many other people's lists and when you fly it, it's not hard to see why. This thing is an absolute beast that can take as much damage as it can dish out. Much like the Magistrate it has 32 total weapon emplacements with excellent firing arcs so it can easily hold it's own against multiple other Dreads and/or Carriers though it's slightly let down by it's lower battery energy and energy recharge. The main thing that makes me not put this higher on the list is personal preference. I just can't stand how much of the screen this thing takes up. I'm sure I could get used to it with time but with the Magistrate and Halberd being just as good, I'm simply not willing to invest the time. The Tokio is also very easy to get since you can often find them in high level destruction missions.

4. Asteria

A ship that really surprised me. It's much better than it's stats would suggest. 30 weapon emplacements with a good amount of battery energy and recharge means that it has plenty enough firepower and while it's not as tanky as the Halberd, it can still take a decent amount of punishment. The main thing that keeps it out of the top 3 is the firing arcs which create a small blindspot underneath the ship. It's not a deal breaker but something to be aware of. Overall this is a solid ship.

5. Deadly Helios

The most expensive Dread of all. So what do you get for your money with this? Well it has some of the lowest shields in it's class but the hull is very strong and it's above average damge absorb (which can be greatly bolstered by enhancements and the Dreadnought familiarity perk) means it can take a pretty good beating. It also has 31 weapon emplacements with incredibly high battery energy and battery recharge so it can easily keep up sustained fire. The biggest thing that holds this ship back is the firing arcs though. It can be pretty difficult to keep many of the guns on target so you'll only ever be able to keep a portion of your guns firing at any time. This is mitigated greatly by the fact that it can carry more fighters than any other Dread but honestly, if I wanted to destroy enemies with fighters, I'd just fly a Carrier instead. Ultimately I'm not super fond of this ship but it has enough positives that I definitely can't put it lower on the list. Whether or not this ship is worth 100,000,000 credits is up to you.

6. Praetorian

If we were going by looks alone, the Praetorian would easily top the list. I love the way this ship looks which is why I always find myself coming back to it. It does have some other positives about it as well. The hull is incredibly strong with decent shields so you don't need to be afraid of taking a few broadsides from enemy ships and it has above average battery energy. Unfortunately, it's battery recharge is below average and it has the lowest number of weapon emplacements in it's class at 28 so DPS will be a problem more often than not. But the biggest letdown is the firing arcs which are just not very good. It really struggles to keep more than a few guns on target at any time. It saddens me to put this ship so low on the list because I like it so much, but I can't justify putting it any higher.

7. Jupiter

I can't really call this ship bad but I also can't really call it good either. It boasts 30 weapon emplacements with good battery charge and recharge so firepower isn't really a problem and the firing arcs are good enough. The main problem I have is that it's not exactly strong. Both the the hull strength and shields are below average so you better have plenty of shield boosters and repair drones ready. Honestly, I think the Asteria is tankier than this thing, and that's saying something. Again, not a bad ship but it's not worth the price tag.

8. Formidable

I want to like this ship. I really want to like this ship because it has so many positives to it. It's hull, shields and shield regen are excellent so it's an incredible tank. It has crazy high battery energy and the highest number of weapon emplacements in it's class at 34 and it's firing arcs are very good as well. So why is it so low on the list and why don't I like it? Well, because this ship has one very big and glaring flaw - 16 of it's turrets (which is just under half of the ships guns) are on the front battery. Combine that with below average battery recharge and you've got a huge problem. Upon entering battle, the front battery will be completely drained in the blink of an eye putting half of your firepower out of commission. Sure this isn't a problem for one on one ship battles but in a big fleet battle, you'll be struggling to keep up with your enemies in DPS. I've tried several enhancements to mitigate the problem but really nothing can fix it, just slightly paper over it.

9. Arokk and Ragnarock (Tie)

I'm putting these two together since they're essentially the same ship and they're both equally awful and looking at they're stats, you'd definitely wonder why. They have decently strong hulls and shields with good shield recharge. They both have 32 weapons emplacements with good battery power and recharge, so what's the problem? Two words - firing arcs. Oh my god, the firing arcs on these two are truly abysmal and create massive blind spots all over the ships (especially underneath). You'll be struggling to keep even a few of your turrets firing on a single target so even one on one ship battles will be a major pain, never mind massive fleet battles. Seriously, don't waste your time or money with these two ships.

[Stu -1]

whats your opinion on npc fleet ships? does the AI control one particular type of dreadnought better than the others? is it even worth getting dreadnoughts or are you better spamming smaller ships alongside your flagship? or are carriers the way to go with AI? would love to hear your thoughts you seem to have put some thought into the game and it can be hard to find user based info ive found

[DarkFalz]

Originally posted by Stu -1:

whats your opinion on npc fleet ships? does the AI control one particular type of dreadnought better than the others? is it even worth getting dreadnoughts or are you better spamming smaller ships alongside your flagship? or are carriers the way to go with AI? would love to hear your thoughts you seem to have put some thought into the game and it can be hard to find user based info ive found

I would go with Dreadnoughts over Carriers for your NPC fleets. As for which ones, any of the top 3 Dreads on this list will be good choices. You're definitely better off having some capital ships in your fleet rather than just spamming smaller ships.

[Stu -1]

nice. yeh i tend to go for mk2 higher quality fleets with at least 2 supers rather than volume. cuts down on ship number but seemed to work. just wondered if i was missing out on something or leaving firepower on the table. like if it was a numbers beats quality thing. thanks for the reply. i usually ran a tokio but i feel like the magistrate has better firepower due to recharge rates you mentioned so thanks for the tip.

[Gramarye]

I have just over 50 hours in this game, never flown any of the dreadnoughts simply because the Asteria is the only one I could build in the campaign. Literally earlier today I finally captured my first enemy dreadnought and put it in the garage, and lucky for me (assuming this ranking holds up), it was a Halberd. I never had a decent chance to capture one until I had my Titan (Prosperity) and literally every boarding perk and tech.

I infer from the way you wrote this that there is a way to be able to buy ships of other factions. I've seen that once myself, at that, being able to buy a ship from Nexus even playing as the Concord--but that was once and it was a frigate.

[Stu -1]

Originally posted by Gramarye:

I have just over 50 hours in this game, never flown any of the dreadnoughts simply because the Asteria is the only one I could build in the campaign. Literally earlier today I finally captured my first enemy dreadnought and put it in the garage, and lucky for me (assuming this ranking holds up), it was a Halberd. I never had a decent chance to capture one until I had my Titan (Prosperity) and literally every boarding perk and tech.

I infer from the way you wrote this that there is a way to be able to buy ships of other factions. I've seen that once myself, at that, being able to buy a ship from Nexus even playing as the Concord--but that was once and it was a frigate.

yes, when you land at certain stations or planets they have a shipyard where you can purchase ships, just like on concordia. and depending on the location of the station/planet the available ships can change.

however, this is only for ships you can fly personally. in order to build npc ships for your fleet you have to capture that ship and select the option to unlock MkI and MkII variants of the ship at concordia.

im no expert but if you have any other questions you can message me or make another post. i feel bad dragging the OP into this if it turns into a discussion lol. unless they're ok with that.

[DarkFalz]

Originally posted by Gramarye:

I have just over 50 hours in this game, never flown any of the dreadnoughts simply because the Asteria is the only one I could build in the campaign. Literally earlier today I finally captured my first enemy dreadnought and put it in the garage, and lucky for me (assuming this ranking holds up), it was a Halberd. I never had a decent chance to capture one until I had my Titan (Prosperity) and literally every boarding perk and tech.

I infer from the way you wrote this that there is a way to be able to buy ships of other factions. I've seen that once myself, at that, being able to buy a ship from Nexus even playing as the Concord--but that was once and it was a frigate.

If you don't mind digging into the game's files, you can find where to buy all the ships here:

Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Starpoint Gemini Warlords\Data\Stations\Template\Ships

That location will have a bunch of text files for most of the stations and planets around the map with lists of all the ships that they sell.

I know the pain of trying to capture dreads. The first time I captured a Magistrate was with only a 16% chance and then the first time I captured a Tokio was with only a 5% chance. Even when you have all the boarding perks and upgrades, it's always going to come down to RNG.

Originally posted by Stu -1:

yes, when you land at certain stations or planets they have a shipyard where you can purchase ships, just like on concordia. and depending on the location of the station/planet the available ships can change.

however, this is only for ships you can fly personally. in order to build npc ships for your fleet you have to capture that ship and select the option to unlock MkI and MkII variants of the ship at concordia.

im no expert but if you have any other questions you can message me or make another post. i feel bad dragging the OP into this if it turns into a discussion lol. unless they're ok with that.

I don't mind at all. Also capturing ships isn't necessarily the only way you can build them. You can also capture certain stations around the map and you'll be able to build ships from them as well. Capturing Narix Shipyard is how I was able to build Halberds for my fleet.

[Stu -1]

the frustration i went through capturing dreadnoughts and there was the possibility to unlock via map completion? :L oh well. at least it allowed the completionist in me to get all the ship boarding perks lol. just about to 100% this game. got a bit grindy for the last 10+ hours but i enjoy doing it for games ive enjoyed :)

[Nailezs]

This doesn't include all of the dreadnaughts, but I've used the dreads not listed and some of the others that are, and I must say, the Magistrate is a thing of beauty. By far my favorite dread. Excellent recharge, barrtery capacity, the best firing arcs I've seen, and it looks badass. No clue why I never tried before reading this post

[Mathmatics]

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