(QUOTE)Originally posted by Anon:
**Here's my two cents. I much prefer the rebels for several reasons.
The first is the heavy cruiser comparison. I'll give you this for the confederate cruiser, it's huge and can take a lot of punishment and once it's customized (ie. dump the ridiculous neutron blaster, 35 tons for one of those things and it's a secondary weapon no less.)
**
Agreed.
**it can deal out plenty of damage. But it is slooooooooooooooooow. Painfully so, even after the upgrades. The turn rate has the same problems. Compared to the Confed Cruiser the Rebel Cruiser is positively zippy.
**
Slower speed and maneuverability also translates into easier handling.
**Second, The Particle beam is 100%, certifiably, useless.
**
Such an opinion can only be expressed by someone who
a) never used particle beam before,
uses particle beam VERY infrequently,
c) has an admitted bias towards the rebellion therefore tends to trash whatever the Confederation comes up with,
d) never asked anyone how to use the weapon effectively, or
e) never figured out how to use the weapon effectively on his own.
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**It is only a forward weapon so you must be pointing directly at your target
**
The same thing can be said for every single gun in the game. Are you about to tell me you don't use guns at all?
**and it causes anything you use it on to go shooting off out of range of energy weapons, completely ineffective if you're trying to actually destroy a ship or render it disabled.
**
Remember to check off d) and e).
The AI fires rockets at you when you are close. By firing the beam briefly, you push the AI ship just far out enough so that it won't fire its rockets but it will still stay within the range of your primary weapons. This tactic is especially useful if you have a large and comparatively unmaneuverable ship (a.k.a. Confed cruiser).
**It can be defensive by waving your ship back in forth while you travel in any particular direction to knock ships out of the way to get you out of a gravity well for hyperspace but half the time you'll run out of fuel before you get the chance.
**
Remember to place at least 2 checks besides d) and e).
Using the weapon strategically means you don't press down the button and look for an enemy. It means firing the weapon whenever the best opportunity presents itself. Using the weapon strategically can save you a lot of fuel. If you do have a problem with fuel, I suggest that you do what I do: get a Confed cruiser, disable rebel ships, and use them to re-supply your fuel tanks.
**The Tractor beam on the other hand is the single most useful secondary I've ever used. It keeps ships from turning allowing you to avoid unguided weapons like heavy rockets, neutron blasters, forward cannons, etc. meaning all you really have to deal with is turrets since torpedoes and missles turn much too slowly to get to you at that close radius. And you get all of this without using any fuel. It's also helpful incase you want to drag a disabled ship somewhere away from battle so you can board it.
**
It is interesting how you neglected to mention how to use the particle beam strategically but points out the merits of the tractor beam provided that it is used strategically. If your tractor beam locks onto the enemy when they are facing you, then the first benefit you described will disappear instantly. To use this weapon effectively, you must know how to use it effectively. It is my contention that the particle beam, when used properly, is just as good if not a better weapon. (After all, you also failed to mention that the particle beam is not like a repulsor beam in EVO. Unlike the tractor beam, it actually does damage.) As for dragging disabled ships, I believe even you have to recognize that it is at best a convenience and I would contend that it is a small convenience at that.
**Third, the escort ships. Mantas in groups put patrol ships to shame. And since I can get all of my Mantas out before the cruiser has a chance to get it's third. I can almost always take out a cruisers entire fleet of escorts without losing a single manta. Once that's done it's actually a pretty simple task of destroying a cruiser since all you have to do is sit just outside of the cruisers range and turn with it so it can't launch any rockets at you. If it does start drifting close to you it's a pretty simple task to escape the cruiser since it's slower than dirt.
**
I believe you have made the error of comparing a human player with AI. As I noted in several earlier posts, that is blatantly unfair. I can also say the same thing. My Confed cruiser can take out a rebel cruiser without using any escorts at all. The only fair comparison is a 1 v. 1 between the Confed and rebel cruisers each piloted by AI. In that contest, the latter wins every time.
**Lastly, in my most humble opinion, The Rebel Cruiser is the greatest looking ship in the game. Sleek and Stylish, this machine looks like it was meant to tear through confed hulls as if it were tissue paper. The Confed Cruiser on the other hand just looks bloated, like flying a huge dead whale through space.
To pinch a line from Dennis Miller "Of course this is just my opinion and I could be wrong"
**
In my even humbler opinion, you are mistaken. Although the rebel ships does look relatively sleek in comparison I am afraid that your characterization may have been colored by your bias. Personally, I believe that Confed ships are designed to look like the walls that willl stem the rebel tide.
I would like to conclude by repeating something that I quote fairly frequently lately: As the Greeks say, personal taste is not subject to debate.
