Epee Gripes.

frostytheplebe

frostytheplebe

Seventh Part of the Seal
F-54C Epee Light Fighter: replacing the old Hornet, this craft boasted superior speed, agility, shielding, missile loadout (two DF, two HS, or even a single centerline torpedo) and weaponry (two Particle Cannon). Unfortunately, its defenses were inadequate in real combat; a favorite flight-deck gripe was to suggest wrapping the ship in toilet paper, which would undoubtedly double its durability.
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I found this on Wikipedia, it is w/o a doubt the best, and most comical assesment of the Epee's strength!
 
DangerousCook said:
We're still using TP in the 27th century? Weak!
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What did you expect, lasers?

Seriously though, the epee wasn't as horrible as people make it out to be, it was just sent out on the wrong missions. As a patrol fighter, the epee would be pretty good.
 
I found this on Wikipedia, it is w/o a doubt the best, and most comical assesment of the Epee's strength!
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It's also proof of exactly what's wrong with the Wikipedia.:)
 
In Standoff, the Epee is an amazing craft -- its small profile makes it very hard to miss, which makes its low durability hard to exploit.

However, in WC2 the ships had rather different hit boxes so the Epee would take a lot of hits
 
Isn't the Wikipedia part copied verbatim from Fleet Tactics?

I like the Epee too; or at the very least, I don't hate it, and I'm still slightly baffled how other people do, too. Maybe the short play time it gets makes it hard to become familiar with the ship, but flying it is fairly straightforward: keep your speed up, and don't attack head-on. You won't walk away scot-free, but any damage you take will be moderate (although I suppose that is a relative term, in this case.) It's long struck me as a group fighter; a small, maneuverable ship with heavy firepower, and if WCII had supported larger missions with multiple Epee wings I'm sure a lot of people's thoughts would be reversed. It is strange for a Confed ship, though; almost Kilrathi-like in design.

(... or maybe I'm not taking the analogy to its roots. Rising sun stripes on the wings, and don't you fly it with Spirit on your first outing?)

However, in WC2 the ships had rather different hit boxes so the Epee would take a lot of hits
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That's what I like about the 2D games; it's a lot harder to miss as long as you line up correctly, and when you do hit it makes a satisfying thunk. Almost like an old-style arcade light-gun game. The later games with their wide-open 3D spaces have a certain charm, but I miss the intimateness of 2D shooting. It made space seem more personal.
 
They're surely a pain in the Confed gauntlet... I usually have to trick them into charging me head-on in order to connect with anything.
 
I hate Epees with a passion. Not only are they a bitch to fly but they're a bitch to fight against. The AI pilots seem to be a lot better with them than I am.
 
IIRC, the captured Epee only shot with one Particle cannon and still, they took down my shields quickly. I tried to avoid head-on attacks. Fighting Ferrets wasn't much better, though. Only then did you realize how crappy the Kilrathi fighters were in comparison. :)
 
I liked the Epee better than the Rapier II, and generally faired better on the Epee missions than the Rapier II missions.
 
For the record, I'll put in my vote that I don't despise the Epee, but I do find its defences to be uncomfortably thinner than other fighters.

I still remember after one mission I did many years ago, requesting to land on the Concordia, I got impatient and tapped the afterburners to finish the mission quicker, forgetting for a moment the Epee's incredible acceleration. Oops.
 
The Epee is one of the best fighters ever. It's not all about aiming at a target and sitting on space bar. Once you realize that, you shouldn't have any problem flying it. :p
 
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