Pioneer

## Overview

### In-game Description

The Pioneer is a capable fighter-class vessel. The ship has a decent sized cargo hold and can hold its own in combat if required. Despite being designed for civilian use, the Pioneer has been adopted into some navies.

### Advices

   The Pioneer is a cheap fighter-class ship. It is the smallest ship to have a variant equipped with a Passenger Module. With firepower comparable to a Flyer, and a top speed of 38, the Pioneer is a good choice of combat ship. It also has the largest cargo space & passenger capacity for a fighter. This makes the Pioneer especially suited for economic operations such as trading and transport.

The Pioneer is one of four fighter class ships available in the game, the others being the Shuttle, the Hornet, and the Flyer. Compared to the rest of the pack, it has a lot going for it. It has the highest cargo capacity out of all fighters at a luxurious 36 units, the most turrets in its class alongside the Flyer, and the highest turn rate in the game, at a jaw-dropping value of 78. While not as tough as a Flyer, it’s still rather beefy with a hull integrity value of 575, much higher than the Hornet’s 450 hit points and the Shuttle’s paltry 400. The Pioneer-P can mount a medium passenger cabin without sacrificing firepower, or anything, really. To add the cherry on top, it can equip a stealth device, though there isn’t a variant on sale that comes pre-equipped with one.

However, every ship has its flaws. The Pioneer’s turret placement is rather awkward for a fighter, with a turret limited to firing behind. This means that, unless you’re shooting missiles, you’re going to have diminished firepower from the front, unlike a Flyer. Three turrets should still be enough to deal with most threats, unless you’ve skipped pilot training entirely and the most you can do is fly in a straight line. The Pioneer may also feel kind of twitchy, especially for those new to the game or using tilt control. The Pioneer’s speed isn’t really a disadvantage. You’ll be rather comfortable at 38 units per second, and it should be enough for you to keep up with a fleeing target. However, if you’re looking for speed, you should be looking at a Hornet instead.

While the Pioneer may usually be seen in the hands of an aspiring trader or your Uber driver, it is definitely not something that should be taken lightly. In the hands of a capable pilot, the Pioneer is able to solo a Drake and come out alive. Dueling anything tougher than a Hauler is highly advised against however as firepower and durability is limited due to its fighter classification. Remember, your main advantage is maneuverability, so use it to its full extent. The Pioneer is tough for its class, but it’s not meant to take hits.

As an economic ship, the Pioneer is the gateway to a wealthy empire. You’re going to learn how to trade, ferry passengers, act as a courier, and more. The Pioneer’s got a spacious boot for your space-trucking needs, and the Pioneer-P can mount a medium passenger cabin, making it one of the most economically viable ships available in the game. Don’t forget that you can mount a cloaking device too!

All in all, the Pioneer is the ship that can be outfitted to do anything, from bounty hunting to ferrying passengers across the sectors. Sure, there’s always the ship that can do something better than the Pioneer, but the Pioneer will play its trump card: versatility. It fights better than a Hauler, makes more money than a Flyer, and it’s cheap to set up, not to mention how good it looks. The Pioneer is a fantastic ship for new players to find their way in the universe, and it rewards veterans with a bigger wallet, the glorious sight of a Drake exploding, whatever they want, really. The Pioneer is Interstellar Pilot’s equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife: it’s versatile, it’s available, and it’s usable. It’s one heck of a workhorse that will get the job done.

## Appearance

The Pioneer is a ship full of oddities, 2 wings clearly designed around sub sonic flight, an extremely large canopy, so much so that the pilot is forced to sit on an elevated platform to fly the ship and a strange ventral hump to house landing gear all make what on paper is a very ordinary fighter incredibly strange.

## Stats

* \*Can be upgraded through purchasing better equipment.

## Notes

* The Pioneer-P comes equipped with a Micro Passenger module, and 1 laser I.
* The Pioneer-A comes with a Small Launcher, 1x Laser I, 1x Autocannon I, Mine I, Tractor I, and Countermeasure I.

## See also

* Flyer Combat oriented alternative.
* Venture A linear upgrade from the pioneer with frigate class components.