Ship Guides

This is a guide for each type of ship in Interstellar Pilot, complete with combat tips and other quirks to improve in this game.

Note that "Barebones" models do not come with any weapons, mine or countermeasure deployers, or tractor beams.

## Ranger class Scout

### Overview

The Ranger class ship is the weakest one in game, with only 2 turrets, one facing the front and one at the back. This ship comes stock (Ranger-A) in the "Newcomer" game mode. The ship has 200 points of hull strength, and comes stock with a single Laser 1 in the front turret in the -A variant (this is replaced by a mining laser in the -M variant, and the -H variant has the rear turret removed). All Ranger variants come stock with a Shield 50, Scout Engine 6.0, Generator 10.00, and Capacitor 150.

### Combat

Combat-wise, it is best for the Ranger pilot to angle shields to block attacks, while simultaneously firing from whatever turrets available. However, the best option is to simply run away. Rangers should stay near stations, where it can take refuge under attack.

### Economy

The standard Ranger has 8 points of cargo space, making it a very poor trader. The M variant, equipped with a mining laser, provides a cheap and stable source of income. The H variant, having 16 points of cargo space, is more suitable for trading.

## Raptor class Scout

### Overview

The Raptor class Scout is a more capable scout, with a quicker top speed, and missile launchers. However, combat-wise, it is still not very durable. This ship comes stock in the "Veteran" game mode. The stock -A model comes with an Autocannon in the left turret, a Laser I in the right turret, and a small launcher in the top turret. All variants come stock with a Shield 75, Scout Engine 6.0, Generator 12.00, and a Capacitor 300, and have a cargo space of 10 units and 325 points of hull strength.

### Combat

The Raptor is capable of holding its own for a short while against smaller ships like Shuttles and Flyers (and can sometimes even outright beat them), but it is recommended to hightail it as soon as possible, as the Raptor does not have staying power in a fight due to its very weak shielding and hull strength. It can fairly easily beat a stock Ranger model of any variant.

### Economy

The Raptor has 10 units of cargo hold, 2 more than the Ranger. Thus, this ship is best used as a scavenger or small scale trading.

### Upgrade recommendations

It is recommended to upgrade the engine, to top the speed at 42 units. This allows the ship to easily outrun most ships in game.

## Shuttle class Fighter

### Overview

The shuttle is an ordinary ship, with a modest cargo hold and a moderate speed. This ship comes stock in the "Citizen" game mode, without weapons but with a tractor beam in the "Scavenger" game mode, and as a stock secondary vessel in the "Refinery Owner" game mode. The stock -A variant comes with a Laser I in the left turret, and a Plasma Pulse I in the right turret. All variants of the Shuttle come stock with a Shield 100, Fighter Engine 10.0, and Generator 17.50, and have a hull strength of 400 and a cargo capacity of 15.

### Combat

Combat against other fighters and up is not recommended, as its stock shielding (100 points) will deplete quickly. When under attack, distribute enemy fire over the 6 shields by constantly rotating. Concentrate fire against a single shield. Run if possible.

### Economy

This class of ship has 15 units of cargo hold, which is not very much, but that should suffice for trading. Passenger ferrying is also an option with upgraded passenger modules.

## Hornet class Fighter

### Overview

The Hornet is a special class. It has decent shielding, average weaponry, and lightning fast speed. The downside to that is its low hull points. A stock Hornet (-A and -X models) come stock with a Laser I in the left turret, and a Laser II in the right turret. The top turret is left empty. All Hornet variants come stock with Shield 150, Fighter Engine 10.0, Generator 20.00, and Capacitor 600, and have a hull strength of 450 and 20 units of cargo space. This ship comes stock in the "Plunderer" game mode. Note that said game mode labels the player with the "Crooked" faction personality, making relations with Bandit factions non-hostile, but over time, relations with "Normal," "Honorable," and "Aggressive" factions will deteriorate.

### Speed

This ship has a top speed of 48 when unupgraded, and 58 when fully upgraded. While it cannot outrun missiles, the high speed and fast turn rate makes it able to outlast and out-turn missiles. This speed also provides an option to run away from much stronger enemies without being outrun.

### Combat

While engaged in combat, although only a small firing angle is available, the quick turn rate make angling other parts of the ship to enemy fire possible. Always turn on the engine, and turn constantly (see the Combat Tips page for advanced battle tactics). With enough luck, plasma pulse and photon burst projectiles can be evaded.

### Economy

This ship has a cargo hold of 20, making it a slightly-below-average ship for trading. However, its speed can allow it to outpace the rate of credits gained from trading of ships of comparable or even slightly greater size. The quick speed also means that this ship can arrive at a battlefield quickly, scavenge, and hightail it before getting caught up in the melee.

## Flyer class Fighter

### Overview

The Flyer is a more combat-oriented fighter, with decent speed, shielding, and weaponry. The X variant also sports the best hull plating of all fighters. The -A and -X variants come stock with a Laser I in the left turret, a Plasma Pulse I in the right turret, and a small launcher in the top turret. The mid turret is left empty. All Flyer variants come stock with a Shield 175, Fighter Engine 10.0, Generator 24.00, and Capacitor 750. Flyer and Flyer-A models have a hull strength of 600, while the -X variant has a strength of 650. The Flyer-A model comes stock in the "Enforcer" game mode, and two stock models are included in the "Fleet Commander" game mode.

### Combat

The Flyer has 4 weapon slots, one with a 360˚ firing angle. The Flyer comes pre-equipped with a Laser I, a Plasma Pulse I, and a Small Launcher. This marks the debut of missile warfare.

When using this fighter for combat, use Lancer Missiles to get rid of all the enemy's ECM's, then pound it with the more powerful Achilles Missile. While firing missiles, ultilize the Laser in the top turret (marked by the filled in circle) to either shoot down missiles or damage the enemy hull. The Plasma Pulse is best used in a moderate to close range due to its low speed. Try to angle it to hit the hull, if possible.

### Economy

The Flyer has a cargo hold of 30. This amount of cargo hold grants the ship the ability to make more money off each trade. Scavenging with this ship is also possible due to its decent speed and ability to house a cloak module.

## Pioneer class Fighter

### Overview

The Pioneer is arguably one of the most profitable ships in game. This fighter has the second fastest speed when stock, but that cannot be further upgraded. The Pioneer has the third best hull plating (behind the Flyer variants), at 575 points. All Pioneer variants come stock with a Shield 175, Fighter Engine 12.0, Generator 20.00, and Capacitor 750, with 36 units of cargo space. The Pioneer-A comes stock with a Laser I in the front and rear turrets, an autocannon in the right turret, and a Small Launcher in the top turret. The -P variant has only a Laser I in the left turret. The rest are left empty in this variant.

### Combat

Similar to the Flyer, this class of fighters also has 4 weapon slots. There are 2 forward-facing turrets, 1 rear-facing one, and 1 all-angle turret. The unique turret placement makes it less vulnerable to flanking, but the ability of concentrating turret fire is also diminished.

### Economy

The Pioneer has 36 points of cargo space, which makes it a great trading and scavenging vessel. The P variant comes with a passenger module pre-equipped. This grants it the ability to transport passengers, a stable, moderate income source, but the module equipped can only support one passenger on the stock ship. The tradeoff is that it only comes pre-equipped with a single Laser I, making it extremely vulnerable to attacks.

## Drake class Frigate

### Overview

The Drake is a combat-oriented frigate, with 5 weapon slots. This frigate is the second slowest one, however, and the shield is not as powerful as similar equivalents. The Drake, however has a fast turn rate, which makes makes it dangerous to underestimate. This ship is ideal for protecting small stations and for cannon fodder protection for large stations while your more powerful ships lay into attackers.

### Combat

The Drake has 3 forward-facing weapon slots, 1 rearward-facing one, and one with a 360˚ firing angle. Thus, the Drake can be a formidable fighter, if equipped with decent weaponry. Stock weaponry include 2 Laser I's, 1 Photon Burst, and a Small Launcher. Concentrate fire on the enemy while using the quick turning rate to your advantage. With a top speed of 28 when stock, and 37 when fully upgraded, running may not be the best option, especially when facing fighters. If all else fails, dock at the nearest station available.

### Economy

The Drake has 35 cargo slots, which makes it a fair trading vessel. However, freighters and the Pioneer all surpass this vessel. Due to its low stock speed, it is not recommended to purchase it stock and send it on its way to trade.

## Venture class Frigate

### Overview

The Venture is the cheapest and weakest frigate available when stock, as even a Hornet can defeat it in a 1V1 battle. However, it has a comparatively large cargo hold and a fast speed.

### Combat

The stock weaponry is terrible, with only 1 Plasma Pulse, 1 Photon Burst, and 1 Laser I. The Shield is mediocre, with only 200 hitpoints. However, if one upgrades the weaponry, the Venture can be a formidable vessel, capable of dealing a large amount of damage.

The Venture has a unique weapon distribution, with 2 360˚ turrets, 1 forward facing turret, and 1 rear-facing one. This make the Venture almost impossible to flank, and that attacking from the back is the same as from the front, being hit by 3 turrets at once. Thus, one ought to upgrade its weapon and shields, to maximise its potential. It is a formidable vessel once upgraded, capable of holding its own against Creons and even Ares class vessels.

### Economy

The Venture has a large cargo hold with 48 cargo slots. Combined with a quick top speed of 32 when stock, and 40 when fully upgraded, this ship makes a nigh perfect low budget trader. Scavenging is also a fine option.

## Orion class Frigate

### Overview

The Orion class frigate is basically an upgrade of the Drake, with one more weapon slot, faster top speed, and larger cargo space. However, the turn rate is utterly abysmal.

### Combat

The Orion class, as stated by its in-game description, is "designed purely for combat". There are three forward-facing turrets, two 360˚ turrets, and 1 rear-facing turret. Being a Frigate, weapon choice is varied. However, the best Laser weapon is still Laser II, which is quite outclassed by other weapons.

### Economy

The Orion has a moderate cargo space, so usage as a trading vessel is up to the player. It can be used as a cannon-fodder type vessel after its usefulness is through as a trading vessel (late-game trading is better served by Haulers, Creons, or Ares type vessels). An often overlooked aspect of this ship is that this ship can carry up to 5 passengers.

## Thunder class Frigate

### Overview

The Thunder class is just like its name: Thunder. This ship has the second highest speed in game, with a speed of 46 units. There is one more weapon slot than the Orion, and has a slightly faster turn rate than the latter. The Thunder comes stock in the "Interceptor" game mode. Usage of this vessel or the aforementioned game mode is locked unless the player purchases the Thunder Frigate game pack.

### Combat

The Thunder class frigate is ideal for combat, with a fast top speed and a large amount of weapons. There are 4 forward-facing turrets, 2 360˚ turrets, and 1 rear turret. The large cargo slot makes this ship an ideal missile launching platform. However, its terrible turn rate can limit its usage with directionally based weaponry.

### Economy

The Thunder has 65 units of cargo space. This, combined with its high speed, makes it an ideal trading ship. Like the Orion, this ship can also ferry passengers. The fact that it comes stock with some of its components already at the highest tier makes it even more ideal, as money does not need to be wasted on upgrading those components.

## Hauler class Freighter-Frigate

### Overview

The Hauler is a dedicated trader: Large cargo slot, decent weaponry, and good shielding. This class of ships is quite slow in comparison to other ships, and the turn rate is very low. This type of freighter can be cloaked. Its stock speed is 24, and can be upgraded to 32 with the best engines. The Hauler comes in 5 different models, the most out of all the ships in the game: the barebones Hauler, the stock Hauler-A, the passenger-capable Hauler-P, the mining Hauler-M, and the increased cargo variant Hauler-H. The Hauler-A comes stock in the "Merchant" game mode, and the Hauler-M comes stock in the "Miner" game mode.

### Combat

As stated in its in-game description, the Hauler possesses some capability of defending itself. The stock weaponry, with a Laser I, a Laser II, and a Small Launcher, is usually sufficient to hold out against raiding fighters until help arrives, or even destroy the raider. However, by upgrading its weaponry, this ship can be destructive against raiding parties. This ship's large cargo hold can also be utilized as a missile launching platform. Note that it is not ideal for hit-and-run missile raids, as it has a rather slow speed. If keeping repair costs down is not a priority, then it can be used to hit-and-run with missiles, then cloaking once done.

### Economy

Being a dedicated freighter, with 65 units of cargo, the Hauler is used mainly for trading. The Hauler-P class can ferry up to 10 passengers at once, the Hauler-M class is the main asteroid mining ship, and the Hauler-H class has 85 cargo slots, the most among the free ships, though it comes at the expense of weaponry. The Hauler is the only ship among the free ships that is capable of carrying around the parts needed to construct a Shipyard.

## Creon class Freighter-Destroyer

### Overview

The Creon is the bigger and better Freighter. It has 120 units of cargo, and is the first ship included in the Capital Ships pack. It is large and has a decent speed when upgraded.

### Combat

Like the Hauler, the Creon is not intended for combat. It lacks an ECM bay, which makes this ship extremely vulnerable to missiles, and it also lacks the capacity to cloak. However, with its numerous turrets, this ship is more than a match for ordinary fighters, and even frigates. The stock weaponry, with only Plasma Pulse II's and Laser II's, may not deal a lot of damage, but weaponry upgrades exponentially increase this ship's ability to fight. The ship has an ML-variant, which comes equipped with three small launchers. It is cheaper than the -A model, but is less useful stock as both a trading vessel and combat one due to its reliance on expendable munitions, which take up cargo space and can run out mid-fight, leaving the ship with only rear-facing turrets.

### Economy

The Creon, like the Hauler, has a large amount of cargo space, making it an ideal trader. Its inability to cloak, however, make it an obvious target to bandits. The Creon also has the ability to transport passengers when equipped with the appropriate Passenger modules.

## Ares class Destroyer

### Overview

The Ares is a dedicated destroyer made by the TEF. It is one of four ships included in the Capital Ships expansion pack. It comes included as the main vessel in the "Refinery Owner" game mode. The Ares comes in two models: the normal Ares-A, and the cloakable Ares-X. It is worth noting that the cloak cannot be upgraded, nor can it be installed on the -A variant.

### Combat

Strength-wise, the Ares is in a similar tier with the Creon, its Lambda counterpart. Unlike the Creon, however, it features an ECM bay, giving it more defense against missiles, and, with the X-variant, the ability to cloak. The turrets are arranged so that it supports a lancing loadout, with four turrets facing the front and one facing the rear. Keep the front of the Ares facing towards your target, and it should go down quickly; otherwise, you will be outflanked and destroyed, despite the fact that an Ares can soak up a lot of damage. An Ares is not something that a fighter can easily run away from; with a top speed of 40 with max engines, it ties with the Flyer & Shuttle, and can even outpace a Pioneer.

### Economy

The Ares makes for an outstanding trader. With 110 cargo points at your disposal, plus its top speed of 40 m/s when given the top engine, it makes for a great speedy freighter.

## Overlord class Cruiser

### Overview

The Overlord is one of four ships included in the Capital Ships expansion pack, and is one of the strongest ships available.

### Combat

Even a stock Overlord is something to watch out for. With many turrets & three docking bays for frigates, fighters, or scouts, the firepower a single Overlord is capable of wielding is inconceivable, and with an ECM backing it up, there’s not much that can overthrow an Overlord. In addition, there is an X-variant, but it comes at a cost: a rear turret for a cloaking device, and since there’s only two rear turrets, it cuts down the rear defenses. An Overlord’s firepower is concentrated on the front, so if something gets behind you and stays there for too long, you could sustain serious damage.The Overlord is rather sluggish, at 20 units stock and 26 when fully upgraded.

### Economy

With the top speed of 20 when stock, and 26 when fully upgraded, the Overlord is too slow for an effective trader. The comparatively small cargo hold of 100 units further hinders its effectiveness. Overall, the Overlord is not recommended as a trading vessel.

An easily forgotten aspect for the ship, is its ability to equip the Large Passenger Module, making it one of the few ships able to transport up to 10 passengers. However, a fully upgraded Hauler-P is better, as it has a higher top speed.

## Magnus class Battleship-Carrier

### Overview

As the most expensive ship in game, the Magnus is included in the Capital Ships expansion pack. Like the Overlord, the Magnus is one of the strongest ship. This ship comes stock along with 2 stock Flyer-A's in the "Fleet Commander" game mode. Usage of the aforementioned game mode is locked unless the player purchases the "Capital Ships" pack.

### Combat

Among the numerous ships available in game, the Magnus has the most number of turrets. It also has 8 docking bays, enough for carrying a sizeable fleet by itself. The turret placement is convenient, as different turrets cover different parts of the ship. Thus, there is no blind spot for this ship, where no turret can fire at a certain angle.

Unlike the Overlord, the Magnus does not have a concentrated fire direction. Thus, during combat, it is advisable to constantly turn the ship, to get every turret a chance for firing.

The Magnus is even slower than the Overlord, with a similar turn rate. Its top speed is 24 units when fully upgraded.

### Economy

The Magnus has a large cargo hold, with 250 units as the standard Magnus-A variant, and 325 units as the Magnus-EQ variant. Thus, despite its slow speed, it can make a profitable trader.