:::ACCESS GRANTED:::
FINALIZING IDENTIFICATION PROCESS ... PLEASE WAIT ...
»»» Location: Yaren, Omicron Delta
»»» Sender ID: Garrus Hendrix
»»» Recipient ID: Authorized Pilots
»»» Subject: APX-Craft
Listen up Boys and Girls,
Since you already have been contacted previously, you have the honor to fly alongside the Core Pilotes ons several mission and get to try out the APX-Craft first hand. You either have been selected by me or Stenn to do the job. Not only because we know that you are decent pilots but because we also know that you report the contents of you tests.
This will lead me to the point why I open this 'Operation', we will use this as the initial tests of the APX-Ships and therefor I'd like you to report anything and all you notice about the ships and weapons. Tell me about how the ships handle, how they perform in a fight and how hard the weapons hit. Hell, even if you help a granny over the street and the ship performs good doing so, tell me.
I have attached a reporting template to this message. Use it, report and fly. Earn money in the meantime as well, you don't want to get hungry, do you?
Now get to work. I want reports on the ships ASAP. Hendrix out.
Yours sincerely, Knight Captain Hendrix
The Forlorn Hope
This report is about the first flight with the Marlin. The vessel reacts quickly to any input the pilot gives. The cockpit has a lot of room to offer for various things you might need in, well, a cockpit. The standard controls are easy to use and can be adjusted relatively easy. While still retaining the military grade cockpit, the handles and the seat is still comfortable and resembles a feeling of a civilian craft.
The steering of the ship good, it's turning rate makes it easy to use in an asteroid field. The strafe thrusters are standard, they don't feel special but are well in a good measurement for a ship with the profile of a Marlin. The weapons placement is interesting to say the least but one will get the hang of it relatively fast. As for the weapon arcs, during tight turns one might encounter the fact that one or two weapons can't shoot due to the placement of the said guns. The powercore on the ship can sustain quite a good of fire-time with all weapons shooting. As for the profile of the ship, you better have your enemy infront, on top or below you, since those are the sides that have the smallest profile of the ship.
I can't say anything about the weapons so far since I haven't had the time to start a combat patrol.
I went on a field test with the weapons recently. The ship performed superb in combat and the powercore kept the weapons firing for a good amount of time.
Now to the Reavers, the weapons do feel completely different than the normal civilian flashpoints. In combat you do notice a huge difference, the big projectile makes it easier to track the path and therefor helps to adjusting the angle and position to hit your target effectively. As for the damage, you don't notice a big difference to the civilian flashpoints but it is still a noticeable difference.
As for the use of the ship in combat, the arcs of the single weapons are noticeable, but can easily be worked against in just taking a slightly different angle. Combat in this ship feels better than in civilian craft, you notice the power you have, the weapons, everything.
Compared to the Crayterian Weapons, I prefer the Core ones a dozen times over the Crayterians. In combat strength, the Marlin feels like a strong ally to the Nyxes we already use. I suggest we outfit the Marlins ASAP.
Tested the Marlin for myself. It's a rather massive ship, but turns surprisingly fast, even faster than Crayterian Nyxes, with an angular acceleration comparable to the Nyx. The angular speed would prove useful in duelling. However, being a large target, it might not be the most optimal ship in a large-scale engagement. The gun placement is rather compact and ensures that maximum damage output is almost guaranteed with proper aiming. The powercore seems to be of a standard make that comes with most ships in Sirius markets. The shape allows it to easily dodge fire with horizontal strafes when facing an opponent head-on or when attacked from behind. It is preferable to keep opponents out of your sides while flying this ship.
Enforcers are very energy efficient guns, with a longer range than most at 715m. Their projectile speed is comparable to Crayterian guns, which are slower compared to other models of guns on the market. This lack of speed combined with low burst damage output seems to be a huge downside in engaging small and fast snubcrafts in duels. It would perhaps be better at whittling down slower, more dangerous targets such as gunships and larger capital ships, being able to output much higher damage at longer ranges over longer periods of time. Overall, they are still more efficient than Crayterian weapon models and may prove themselves useful.
To conclude, it seems like an odd combination to use these guns on the Marlin which is designed to duel. A smaller ship that is harder to hit would be preferable to attacking slower targets from range and may perhaps do better on a Nyx.
Continuing the tests, the Warden seems to be a weapon more suited to the Marlin and other fast ships designed for duelling. The Warden is of similar speed and range to the Enforcer type weapons. It has a significant burst damage output, for a slow rate of fire. This allows sniping maneuvres on the Marlin, taking a few shots, and whittling down opponents significantly without having to constantly risk counter-fire. The weapons have greater efficiency than already efficient Crayterian models, which is useful in prolonged engagements and at engaging more heavily armoured targets over longer periods of time. The gun placements complement the design of the weapon, ensuring very large amounts of damage when the weapons are aimed properly.
Overall, a rather good weapon and ship combination with versatility and certainly preferable over Crayterian makes.
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