And witch one are better then the free version?
I have 42k GS waiting for a sale.
Btw, many of those premiums have unique bonus like EM weapon boost/25% damage bonus/…
I’ll try to give a detailed explanation on every ship:
Black Dragon:
It’s a good offensive sniper. It’s slower than the Dragon but definitely tankier. I would buy that ship if my intention is to use weapons as main damage dealer. It’s also more energy stable than the Archdragon, but only because it has 2 capacitor slots. If energy doesn’t trouble you, those capacitor slots make Black Dragon even more powerful with main weapons. Archdragon is better as sniping because it has a cooldown reduction bonus on the sniping modules
Berserker:
This one is one of the best premiums. It’s a good offensive Recon just like the Leonina. Jarl is faster by default but Berserker has an extra engine so you can compensate it. It has also thermal resistance bonus so it compensates the lack of shield slot that the Jarl has. It has also 1 less CPU slot but it compensates it with extra critical chance. The extra capacitor slot can be used either to make Berserker very energy stable or to increase its dps with Iridium Heatsinks for example. I would still go with Jarl because it has a perfect layout. Also Jarl has recon bonuses that Berserker does not have. Anyway Berserker is like an offensive version of Jarl, and although I wouldn’t call it inferior, I don’t think it’s superior.
Spark:
Ok, this is a tricky one. Spark has a hidden passive 25% energy regen bonus, just like the Mjolnir, it’s base energy regen is 166, while Aura has a base regen of 169. That makes the Spark the most energy stable Empire Gunship in the game, and that makes the ship worth it. If they remove that hidden bonus because it’s obviously not fair since it has already other bonuses, the ship will be pretty bad. His slot layout is nice because you can do a lot with that extra 10% damage from his passive bonuses and the x2 capacitors. It could be a very nice offensive gunship but Lightbringer has better bonuses Imo. And Apollo can be built as a very fast Empire gunship. Also the thermal resistance bonus of the Spark does not compensate at all the lack of Adaptative Shield. Anyway Spark with Ions and x2 Heatsinks could be very powerful. I would buy it for Invasion as objetive, for Sec Con I think Apollo and Lightbringer have more utility.
A las thing, don’t be mistaken by Sparks 25% damage bonus, all Empire gunships have 15% already. Spark just has a 10% more.
Mammoth:
Mammoth is way inferior as a healer than the other Fed engineers Imo, but it’s better as an offensive ship. Is bad as a healer because it has less hull and engine slots. But the extra damage, x3 CPU and x2 capacitor could create a powerful Heavy Blaster engi. Again, for Invasion this ship is perfect, but for Sec Con T-Rex Mk.2 is way better.
Golden Eagle:
This is the king of glass cannons, although it’s a very attractive ship. It has a RFB/Plasma Gun bonus that allows you to waste less CPU slots on spread reduction modules. It has also x3 CPU and x3 engines, which makes the Golden Eagle a fast and dangerous CO. In the other hand, the shield resistance bonus doesn’t compensate the lack of hull slots and the single shield slot. This ship will blow up pretty fast if you get caught by some engine inhibition modules. Anyway, since it has 2 capacitors, you can have an energy stable CO without sacrificing hull resistances (Passive Armor). I think this ship would do very good both in PvP and Invasion, but Gery Falcon is better than Golden Eagle in terms of maneuver, and Falcon-M is better in terms of damage, because it has more crit chance and his modules reload faster.
Rockwell:
Way worse than the Lion-Mk.2 Imo, but still an interesting ship. It’s not as fast as the Lion but it has also 3 engine slots, so you could have a very fast tackler. It has more CPU than both of them + more damage and more critical chance, so as an offensive tackler it could work. In the other hand, it’s way less tanky than the other two, but it has the same xxxx huge hitbox. So doesn’t matter your speed and rotation, the Lion series are half frigates in terms of size. I would only buy it for Invasion, I think both Lion and Lion Mk.2 would do better in PvP games.
Patriarch: ask Rakza
Karud:
Just like the Spirit and Kevlar Ha, Karud is an offensive ECM with no hull slots. This one in particular is faster than the non premium ones, but it has no ECM modules. It could work as an offensive ECM with 2 or 3 adaptatives and a crit build, since it has critical damage bonus. But since ECMs base crit is the same as normal ships, that crit bonus doesn’t work like it would work on a Recon or CO. I don’t think it’s a bad ship but Wakizashi AE is way better as an ECM. At least it allows a different playstyle
Excalibur:
Jericho commands are way inferior than Empire commands, and the only worth ones are those ones with a good command bonus like Flamberge or Strong. I expected Excalibur to have some command range or strenght bonus but no. It has some crappy shield resistance and a good kinetic bonus. So with the 3 CPUs you can have a long range support command using Gauss or Rails. It can be also pretty tanky in terms of shield, but shields are not that strong, and with no bonus on energy and only 2 capacitors, this thip can’t diffusion shield tank unelss you use compact shield generators. Since the Sword S is pretty meh, I think Excalibur is worth it if you love playing with Jericho commands.
If I were you, first of all I would wait for a sale. And since you seem to like LRF, I would totally buy Black Dragon (unless you’re not the kind of player who goes all balls with LRFs, then stick with Archdragon and the sniping bonus). Spark is a good choice but again, I fear someone reports the unfair energy bonus, then the ship will be pretty much meh compared to Lightbringer.
Golden Eagle is a tempting choice, if you like CO you should consider getting it. For invasion farming and making missions I would go with Rockwell. The sentry drone helps a lot, it’s relatively fast, it can cloak for a long time, and it deals good damge.
Also remember that this is just my opinion, that it’s based merely on stats, I didn’t buy any of them. I’ll buy all of them when there is a sale though :005j: