Discovery Freelancer Patch 4.88.6 Capital Ship Changes

[Vendetta]

So I gave the Thresher the pre-buff flight test against the capital ships it's most likely going to encounter (Irra, Resheph, etc) and the results were obvious. Paper thin hull, inability to dodge most cruiser shots, lack of firepower to compete and a lack of power core to sustain what firepower it has.

Now as the changes aren't in yet, I know one issue is going to be fixed. The Thresher is for all intent and purposes, not a very good ship in one on one scenarios. Hell I've killed one in a 75% gunboat as is with regular gunboat turrets, not basics. This was mainly because the enemy Thresher didn't have the power core to sustain his heavy weapons fire long enough to do damage. This issue should be dealt with when the changes are live.

Another thing we examined was the general shape of the vessel. The wide sides make it a pretty easy target if you're attempting to TS your war away from the enemy, because on some occasions you're going to flash your sides and it's going to absorb a lot of fire when you do. When you're outweighed by every possible enemy you're going to encounter, it raises the question of the effectiveness of the vessel. Now don't get me wrong - I've flown an Irra. It's a terrible cruiser, hands down. The size of a Battlecruiser. The one thing it excels at doing is tanking other cruisers, because it has the hull and shields to do that. Against a Thresher, which is going to struggle to stay in weapons range and dodge your fire, it's a no brainer that the Thresher is outmatched.

While the Resheph sacrificed a cruiser turret for a rear firing heavy turret, it can still tank a Thresher no problem. It's able to fire two heavy turrets at either side angle, and if you're smart enough to aim your nose just to the left or right of the person you're pursuing, you can get your third turret firing no problem, which easily out-damages the Thresher's limited firepower.

However.

Against enemy ships bigger than the Thresher, it won't win against a Battlecruiser that knows what it's doing. It'll certainly try, but it won't do it unless you're really careful about it. That's an extremely time-consuming approach. Seeing as how it won't really encounter enemy Battlecruisers, I tested it against the one it's most likely to encounter, which is a defected Bullhead. While I nearly took out the Bullhead and the Bullhead struggled to land its Battleship Primary shots even within Cruiser weapons range, the paper thin armor made that much of a difference. I knocked the Bullhead down to 8% Hull before I died without using regens. Obviously in combat situations there would be regen use, but the one thing I noticed again was - no surprise, my inability to maintain my heavy weapons fire, or even the six cruiser turrets I had. Again, the power core buff isn't in yet, so that should make a bit of a difference.

Against Battleships? The Thresher can do it. Obviously not with its current power core, but i can manage to pull it off. It fits better in a Support Role than a solo one as is, but I'll be testing it again when the core buff is out.

Another thing - The general shape of the ship is what makes its dodging work. The hitbox center is in kind of a weird place due to the little humpback the Thresher has, and as you know the shape of the ship plays a serious role in combat beyond pure statistics.

Either way, I'll test it once its done and post about it again.

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