Originally posted by Hobbie
I have to disagree with those who liked the Vindicator the most in WCIV. I think the Avenger is better. Here's why:
(I play on Ace or better, and so it is more important what ship I fly and the armor)
Alright! A Vindicator debate! Kind of seems appropriate that I open my posting on this board on this topic.
1. Better shields and armor. One missile hit severely damages the Vindicator. One missile hit knocks out shields and does minor armor damage to the Avenger (I'm assuming these are FF missiles)
But with something that does more damage (i.e heatseeker or Imrec) hoping to survive the hit with minimum damage is nowhere near as good as evading that missile in the first place. The Vindicator gives you a far better chance of doing that than the Avenger does.
2. Better guns. I thought that the laser was next to useless on the Vindicator, on the front or the rear turret. It was better just to use the tachyons. On the Avenger, if you set your power settings right (no damage, lock engines, transfer all damage to weapons/shields), the photons and mass drivers fire for awhile before running out (compare this to the Dragon/Lance, or the Hellcat- these guns run out quickly). The photons and mass drivers only do like 20 less damage per salvo than the Dragon's plasmas and tachyons. Both ships have the stormfire, which is fun to use when attacking a single craft.
Yep, the Avenger's firepower is good, but again the lack of speed and manueverability limits the effective use of that firepower. The Banshee has the speed and agility to stay with the enemy, but the lasers have a hard time making a dent on the enemy. The Vindicator offers the best of both words, enough maueverability to get the enemy into your gunsights on any level, and enough firepower to make those shots count.
3. More missiles. Some would consider this trivial, but I like having 8 IMRecs on the Avenger, instead of 6 on the Vindicator. This is very important on higher difficulty.
I usually load up with leeches. One shot, one kill on any difficulty level. That means that the two extra missiles, while usefull, don't make enough of a differance to affect the mission outcome.
Anyway, the only mission on Ace difficulty that I really have problems with the Avenger is the first Pelius (sp?) mission when your systems are screwed.
Someone prove me wrong on the best ship
Why the Vin is better: You try taking that hog of an Avenger down into the atmosphere. The Vindicator can do it all, from capship attack runs to dogfighting to close air support. While some might argue that being a jack-of-all trades makes it master of none, it's the perfect fighter for a cash strapped, low tech faction like the Union of Border Worlds.
Best, Raptor
[Edited by Hobbie on 03-16-2001 at 21:29] [/B]
Originally posted by Mad Hatter
What the Hellcat lacked, most obviously, is the auto-slide. That`s why I always tend to choose the Arrow over it, especially when attacking a Corvette.
It`s rear turret wrecks havoc in anything that tries to get close to it, so with the Arrow, I just zip by at 1300 kps and auto-slide, and tear it appart little by little.
It takes up a considerable amount of time, but I usually finish it without a scratch.
As for the T-bolt, at first I hated it, but after reading WC3 novel, I developed a certain liking to it, and chose it again over the Hellcat.
BTW, has anyone noticed an inconsistancy between WC3 novel and WC4 novel, where in '3 Blair chose the T-Bolt squadron as his own, because he said he liked the heavy fighter, whereas in '4, he doesn`t stop whining about how much he hates it for lacking maneuverability? [/B]
Originally posted by Dekkar
Three torps enough for every mission in wcIV? More like overkill for every mission in wcIV, you don't need a single torp.
I meant of course that there is no mission in WC4 where you need more than 3 torps.
And the Vin's guns are cool: Centered, so you hit with ALL of your guns, fast firing and more powerful than the Hellcat's guns. The Avneger's guns are spread out, fire more slowly and she is a very big target.
Anyway the alternate guns (Stormfire and Leech) gave the BW such an advantage over Confed, I never had the impression that BW technology was inferior to Confed's.
And if the Vindicator is a jack-of-all trades, then the WC3 Hellcat is jack-of-no trades.
Originally posted by Mekt-Hakkikt
OK, for ground attacks, the Hellcat should be used (I think the other ships would fall like bricks). Although with the upcoming of the Excalibur you have another fighter capable of atmospheric flight, and she is far superior to the Hellcat in this category as well.
Originally posted by panther
Hi,
The Hellcat was a good solid fighter in WC3. I preferred the Arrow though because lack of armour didn`t bother me ( always came back with full armour) and the Arrow could get you out of trouble a lot faster than the Hellcat
Cheers
Originally posted by Bandit LOAF
Excalibur's seem to be fairly common these days -- in fact, their one of only two fighters Joan's specifically classifies as atmospheric fighters.
Originally posted by Hobbie
I have to disagree with those who liked the Vindicator the most in WCIV. I think the Avenger is better.
Originally posted by Wedge009
Originally posted by Hobbie
I have to disagree with those who liked the Vindicator the most in WCIV. I think the Avenger is better.
Again, issues like these are a matter of preference, but I'm glad someone agrees with me - I'm partial to the heavier ships, so I almost always took the Avenger before you captured the Dragons. Lances. Whatever.
Originally posted by Wedge009
Please don't quote the last post. It takes up too much room.