The entire playlist is fantastic content and the information is well broken down. I know it's part of the genre, but a lot of tutorials get way too verbose and it's easy for my attention span to wander off. Not a problem with these videos.
I'd love to see an update with the Vigor and Boron ships. I've found the Shih to be a real sweet spot with its 4 guns, 3 shields, and decent enough speed. It's basically an Ares except faster than an Eclipse. Unfortunately, it's also ugly as sin.
With the new expansion the Shih is now the undisputed best fighter in my opinion. 4 guns, 3 shields, really good speed and even better hull than the Ares. It's also ridiculously cheap for its stats. Also very important: The dock appears to be always stocked on building materials since the syndicate doesn't seem to have serious war going. It's both great OOS and IS.
See, at least in the confined space of the Tokyo, I always found the Gladius to be a bit awkward. Big wing span in the air, and while parked, the wings sticking up don't leave much space to those flying over them. But I guess that's just a player flying problem. AI don't care.
I still find it weird that the Scout ship is now the "Elite" while the previous scout, fittingly named the "Discoverer", is now a heavier fighter than the "Elite". Nodan for me as well, i happened to stumble over the AotW warft early while exploring the universe, switched to it and never looked back. While it´s not the best fighter for everything, it´s a formidable choice for the player. And the sight out of the cockpit is really great.
TL;dw: **Argon Fighters** 1. Nova: The entry-level fighter with the highest travel speed among all scouts in the game. It is cheap and easy to fly, making it a good choice for beginners. 2. Eclipse: A front-line air superiority fighter with a slower speed but more hull and shields than the Nova. It is suitable for mass fleet engagements. 3. Quasar: A cheaper version of the Pulsar, with similar capabilities but fewer features. 4. Pulsar: A fighter with a focus on firepower at the expense of everything else, featuring six weapon mounts. However, it is slow, has low defenses, and is vulnerable to attacks. **Paranid Fighters** 1. Perseus: A speedy fighter with two weapons, excellent for swarm tactics due to its affordability. 2. Theseus: A side-grade to the Perseus, offering more armor and firepower but sacrificing speed and maneuverability. 3. Ares: A slow and expensive fighter purpose-built for out-of-sector combat, with all weapons having a 100% hit chance. **Teladi Fighters** 1. Falcon: The fastest fighter, suitable for patrol craft and interceptor roles, but not highly effective in combat. 2. Buzzard: A mid-range fighter with three weapons, extra hull, and moderate speed, but lacks overall performance. **Split Fighters** 1. Asp Raider: A small and cheap fighter with three weapons, best suited for skirmishes and negligible survivability. 2. Balaur: A well-rounded fighter suitable for any combat role, with a single shield generator and high hull rating. **Zyarth Patriarchy Fighters** 1. Asp: A surprisingly good fighter suitable for early-game use, with excellent performance. 2. Mamba: A fast and cheap patrol craft with two shield generators and two weapons. 3. Chimera: A heavy fighter with high hull, five weapon mounts, and decent acceleration, best suited for dive bombing and attacks on destroyers. **Terran Fighters** 1. Kukri: A cheap and slow fighter, only suitable for patrol craft in friendly territory. 2. Gladius: A well-armed and armored air superiority fighter, but slow and expensive. 3. Kalis: A faster and more maneuverable fighter than the Gladius, with high shields and moderate firepower. 4. Takoba: A fast interceptor with limited firepower but excellent acceleration, suitable for catching and holding down enemies. **Alliance of the Word Fighter** 1. Nodan: A fast, well-handling, and affordable fighter with limited firepower, suitable for missions and runs. **Yaki Fighter** No information provided on the Moreya, as it is considered too powerful for comparison purposes.
As a relatively new player to X4 I've learned a lot from these videos. Thank you for that! I'm eagerly waiting for similar comparisons of the other ship classes. ;)
Did you start straight or with tutorials? I just started and find hard to understand how the game works with so many details and aspects to care about. Some of the concepts, such mining and stuff are concepts I can only dream off. Just re-entering my ship after the space walk took me half an hour, lol, to figure out that I needed to ask for "permission". For example, I don't know what the hell is MK1, MK2, MK3...
@@rubenlopezusa JK Ninja's videos were a big help but other than that it was mostly trial and error. And a lot of poking around in menus trying to find stuff. 🙂
@@adamfellenbeck9289 thanks! I'll follow the advice. I guess it's ok to keep on despite having the sensation I know nothing to go out there in that universe. I'll learn part of it the hard way, lol, like every game
Kha'ak Knockers are never out of style! One other thing to keep in mind if you're picking a commander fighter - some weapons are pretty flashy. Having them tucked out of the way behind hull elements or farther from the canopy can make a lot of difference.
I was missing some comments on the shield slots on some ships. Because they are your only life insurance to boost out of combat. I like the argon eclipse very much as a starter ship because it’s so well rounded with 4 guns and 2 shields. Best personal fighter would be the Ares with its 3 shields and a 4 guns. It’s just quite slow… However I think with the new DLC tides of avarice the award for the best fighter could go to the Vigor Syndicate Shih. It also has 4 guns, 3 shields and it’s also fast. So it’s simply the best fighter over all
Terrific video, great enthusiasm. I’ve been playing since the original was released and the series has “almost” always been one of my favourites. I have long down periods though and my swiss cheese brain can never retain the important bits I need. So I always need to find a guide to put me back out in the black. I’ve subscribed today and I’m off now to see what other treasure you have here. :)
Glad I found your channel! Ever since the Cradle of Humanity DLC came out I've been doing exclusively Terran runs so a suped up Gladius has been my fighter of choice. I've always just loved the Terran aesthetic since X3TC.
Yet again you impress, love your video's. Well researched, entertaining, the graphs do a good job comparing. I don't know if I would have completely done away with interceptors, the one's with 2 guns and are super cheap aren't exactly terrible at exactly the job you said the Takoba was good at for the Terrans, and the Teladi don't have a lot of options so throwing one of them away makes for sad lizards.
I consider the Takoba to be the best, but everyone has a craft capable of being an interceptor to some degree. Even the Teladi with their limited roster
You remembered Alliance of the Word this time! :) For my personal fighters, I prefer speed and maneuverability over the rest. I have been favoring the Takoba recently as a personal craft. It's nice to see the stats in chart form. I wonder what your chart would look like and your opinion on the Mamba if it had a third weapon mount. I only bring it up because if you look at the model, it appears that there should be one there right in front of the shields in the gap but they removed it because it would unbalance the ship. The Balaur is my favorite heavy fighter to fly. It is 1 shield mount away from being perfect (IMO). The Nova is what I prefer to fly when stealing blueprints. I move the captain to the service roll so he's not in my way for the amount of times I have to go from captains chair to space suit and back. and the teleport panel is RIGHT THERE. Plus that high strafe speed :) As to the one I like to fly despite all indicators it may be terrible (and not on your list due to being a scout) is the Discoverer Vanguard. I think it's just the way it looks. I always wished there were two more guns at the ends of those "arms." The Kestrel Vanguard is what I use as a fighter/trader. Lots of cargo space for a fighter, and cheaper than a Nodan when you factor in engine costs. These are my go to for trading to build rep and they don't get harassed by the SCA/FAF. Pirates do not harass military ship unless you are piloting.
I did remember this time! A third gun on the Mamba would make it too strong, that may have originally planned it that way but then removed it after the design was finalized.
Thanks again :) Very well made. I would love to see similar videos for the other ship classes. Also you convinced me to only build/buy Elite Vanguards - to see them burn.
I love the Split Ships, their colors and designs are my fav. I don't mind having to build hundreds of them to kill something... how else would people know you were somewhere unless you left a wake of corpses in your path?
A video comparing actual battle results would be very interesting! For instance, how does the Nova's high maneuverability affect its combat performance compared to other "more powerful" fighters?
I did try to make a competition video but it didn't work out. It may be the AI or the mod I had to use but all the results were skewed towards player own ships. Check out this video if you are interested in seeing what happened: th-cam.com/video/FajwRGamiHE/w-d-xo.html
@@JKNinja Still, instead of pitting the different fighter classes against each other, could it be done by testing them against a standard enemy (e.g. elite vanguards) and then comparing the results? Just an idea...
Even though this is now somewhat outdated, I found it very interesting and helpful. Your format is ideal. This is the first video I've seen from you. I'm off to watch more. I hope you're still producing X4 content, or will be when the update drops this month.
I would love a video on explaining the purpose of carriers as I often have a hard time justifying the cost. Like, what advantage does a squadron of fighters recieve from launching from a carrier as opposed to just flying by themselves? I know in real life, carriers extend the striking range of fighters but since fuel isn't a factor in the game its definitely not that. Wouldn't it be better to spend the money and resources on just buying more fighters or a few destroyers instead?
As soon as you start using fighters to attack stations and bigger targets you will learn that they are in need of frequent repairs and need their missiles refilled. Sending them back all the way to your home station takes a lot of time, so having a carrier around as a mobile base for refilling and repairs is very convenient.
Kinda accidentally got my hands on the Nodan Vanguard pretty early, as interceptors they are amazing, so much so that literally hundreds of hours later I've only ever had to replace a handful after large Xenon engagements.
Before I watch this I can tell you I all ways flew a split fighter in x3. Man I mostly flew the Mamba, it had 8 weapon bays, it's down to 2 now that's crazy.
I like the Moreya most, because it is so extremely fast and have a lot of firepower (4 gun slots), so that it's perfect for fast and quick attacks. And if you run out of shield, just boost away, reload your shields ans come back. You also should mod your shield recovery delay, so that it takes only about 3.5 seconds instead of about 12 seconds. With the Moreya you can even knock out all turrets of a defense station, if you hack them before. It is also possible to destroy a Xenon K, because it can't hit you. ^^
Interesting. Good that your focus is on fighters as carrier assets. I have yet to find or fly one that can tough out a fight with a typical Xenon M squadron. I'll stick with the Frigate or Corvette class ships for personal use. That said, I did have some success with a Teladi Buzzard. That third weapon mount gave it some versatility. Sadly, it's just too darn slow. I don't have any of the DLC yet.
Great work! I just restarted another gameplay I runs a bunch o Moreya 120 Raptor or 50 Tokyo with a pair of blast mortars and thermal disintegrators with mk 4 split combat. It fair better OOS, IS however does suffer more damage due to post boost shield drain.
Damage output is key for OOS fights and for that the Pulsar is a FANTASTIC fighter against capital ships. If you equip them with six Blast Mortars, ~12-14 Pulsars take down a Xenon K on their own without losses (even if there are some other Xenon fithers around). Their damage output is just so high. And on the style side they look amazing with those two 'bayonettes' at the front
I prefer the kalis. The tankyness of 4 shields is fantastic, it’s not too slow (tho admittedly not particularly fast), and the lacking weapon hardpoints aren’t a problem if you mount meson streams in them.
I wonder which army would win if you had 100 million. mk1 cheap ships or mk3 expensive ships or mid range ships. On the one hand you want the best of the best. But when you see the MK3 prices and you wonder, are trusters really worth 6 million on my Large ship. I go MK2 unless I fly em or built em myself. I like the Ares for Capital ship defence. The 6 gun ship can be equiped to immobilize large ships and board em afterwards with L Freigther. Discoverer looks good and is best at pirating S/M ships. PAR scout is mega fast best at start and I use for exploration later in game and equip mk1 pulse laser for lock boxes. Katana is also a very good scout/Attack vessel. By some cheap TEL S ship and dock em at place you want to teleport to to save time. Great vid!
I would love to see a few additional videos again, [S], [M], [L], [XL]....etc Like you did for this series. But this time, you measure them while using VRO mod. :) hehe Basically all the videos you have done for shields, missiles, weapons, S, M, L and XL ships but in a VRO scenario. :) So people can see the change and difference between vanilla and VRO.
I like the Mamba for my fighters just because it's tough and looks cool. They're usually my first wave to start taking damage and lock enemies down, before Asps come in to deal some real damage and Chimeras and Balaurs punch through the line to bomb the enemy.
In discussing the Ares, you mentioned that weapons have a 100% hit chance out of sector. Found it amusing that the turrets on defense platforms seem to have the same behavior. if I'm OOS and watching via the map, my Hatikvah's Choice platform is one-shotting small and medium Xenon ships coming thru the gate - but if I'm in the sector, I guess the platform manager wants to give me a fireworks show; it takes at least 10 seconds to kill off a fighter - using every turret on the platform...
In OOS plasma is crazy unbalanced because of that 100% not rate. Egosoft keeps tweaking the OOS calculations but I cant think of a good way to do it without annihilating the CPU load
I just started playing X4. Everybody talks so much about this game... I love space and strategy games, but this one seems overwhelming now. I don't know if it is because I just came from playing Chorus, which is basically a combat game that requires amazing flying skills, but I found really hard to pursue and fire enemy ships with the gamepad, especially aiming at the target, as the controls shake a lot and the movement is very imprecise. I wonder if sensitivity has to do with it.
In the previous X games, the different race fighters also had one particularly significant property about them you completely left out in your video: the different sized cargo hold. For example, the Teladi, given their entrepreneurial nature, tend to have the largest luggage compartment, contrary to the microscopic one of Paranid fighters in which you can barely fit your purse. Your measurement does not take this into account at all because it does not matter for your playstyle. But in universe, that is an important factor.
Every video I release has bits removed in the final render to reduce time and increase flow. For the ship breakdowns one of them was cargo capacity. I apologize that an important aspect was removed but it didn't make the cut
@@JKNinja Ah, i though it was because of your play style. Given how you presented the use of fighters, you mostly seemed to use them as squadrons on a carrier, less for player use directly. Only on the Nodan you spoke about the boot size.
Chimera with thermal disintgrator is a great pirate hobbler. Hang around Grand Exchange with a marine carrier or two, find the pirate phoenix and break all the parts. Then send in the troops. Easy early money.
Great video, thank you. Unfortunately, much later in the game I just stopped using fighters, because everyone is packed with destroyers and battleships, so imho there's really no point in producing them. Except to land on something small when you can't use Teleport option. Also, I find it easier to track down fleets made of a few huge ships (with such defences that enemy small ships are no threat), than have numerous small squadrons. But guess it's all down to playstyle...
Depends. The Xenon produce a good mix so as long as you have THEM, then you NEED fighters, even OOS a swarm of unshielded Xenon drones can kill your destroyers if you don't Zerg Rush them back. In system, fighters are a huge problem for big ships. A lot of losses because with one shield, one hit could be a kill, but landing a hit is hard for a turret big enough to kill a fighter in one or two hits. If you have removed the Xenon, well, duh, the game IS easier. But the races don't build up a balanced fleet, and it is easier to kill destroyer vs destroyer, but that is what the flipping class is DESIGNED for. The cruiser/battleship (the K is definitely a cruiser, I would call the I a heavy cruiser, more than a battleship, because it only has the same weapons as its "destroyer" class Graviton gun) of the Xenon can take down a LOT of ships. Mostly because the graviton guns are turreted and far more powerful than even the main batteries of a destroyer. So, yeah, if you kill the Xenon you aren't left zerg rushing either destroyers to kill an I or K quickly (and an I will take a dozen destroyers out and survive, if barely) or a lot of fighters in-system because once you have killed the turrets, the I is an expensive hulk, you lose a lot of fighters, but you may kill an I with 40 fighters and lose half of them but you would lose half of a fleet of 20 destroyers that cost you three times as much. Of course those 20 destroyers would decimate any race.
Fighters are easily the most cost-effective "unit" by far. They will cost effectively beat anything and then some. Why should i spend 50 million credits on two Osakas when i get 100 fighters instead, which can easily destroy 10 Osakas and more. Once you reach a critical mass of 500+ fighters - which is only about 250-300 million credits - you have basically won the game. The same can not be said for having a number of destroyers for the same value.
Playstyle is a huge part on which ships you prefer. Nothing wrong with focusing on fewer bigger ships, going with a deathball swarm of fighters, or anything in between. Just remember that it is your game and to fly safe o7
to me speed is the most important value considered for the personal player ship. firepower doesnt keep you alive. if you fight 3-5 xenon at once they kill you on the long term. the ability to escape without booster is most important to me. i usually choose either the takoba, which has serious shielding, or the yaki moreya.
And cargo space doesn't matter to military craft that only does military things, because missiles et al are not part of the cargo. Some got into trouble buying a Paranid Pegasus scout because it used to have insufficient space to hold three antimatter cells, so they upped the amount, but it balanced the ships to an extent. You got a much faster Paranid military but no usable space, because the S class military had no space. So if you wanted space, you either went for a Disco (with two guns and 540 units of space), gunrunned with a Teladi Scout (one gun but near double the space, enough to trade with early game) or you got an S class trader with two guns. The single gun S trader was faster, usually, therefore reduced losses if it died, or most of the M class was wasted because all you needed was 500 units of cargo this run by AI manager, so speed was a factor more than capacity, when running.
Though for what it's worth. one will get a "Modified" listing. There is a mod, which introduces a new version to select, than the one's a vanila and the various DLC's have. It's available on Steam, I don't know if it is via Nexus. It introduces a new ship called the "DISGUISE". And it's own slightly different story line as all the DLC's do. If and when installed, it can be found below the lowest selection under the creative game mode. The ship is one of a kind and thus far, can not be nor does it need to be modified. Though a small ship. You get one when starting and there's no where to get another. It has the ability to carry hundred of items and crew. And it's weapon all six are the same, using all simotaniously can destroy entire asteroids, in a second, turning it to dust. It's pretty much a one shot destruction ship. It travels at normal speed in kilometer per second rather than meter's per second. Get board playing vanila, and wanna just fly around as if your GOD. Try it!
A quick note about the Nova to take into account It is the *only* fighter with vectored engines, giving it very high control in all directions except left and right. The AI seems to be very good at using this maneuverability, so while it may not be the best fighter in terms of raw stats, it can hold its own and is very well worth its (rather low) price tag All in all, not the best fighter, not the worst, but it is one of the best for its price
The issue I have with fighters, especially S class, is in most of my campaigns, I beline straight to the Xenon bordering sectors. I also think there are a good number of people who also do this, due to the fact that if you don't contain the Xenon, especially at Hatickva's Choice, and doubly so for Split space, the Xenon turn into a death ball you really can't fight. But back on track, Fighters die faster than you can build them when fighting the Xenon, even with stations to fill in the economic holes in the various factions. If they get into a real death ball, especially in the Void or Second Contact, IE I've seen some Xenon fleets with an I and 9 or so Ks all tagging along a major escort of M and S class raiders, you really have no chance before the Xenon pop all the Argon/Antigone shipyards and maul the Teladi viciously.
I love the Takoba, is sleak, is sexy and is fast, especially if you put split engines on it, then that thing is only a match for Moreia. Although, the new ships of Tides of Avarice could be a match.
I decided to get back into a space sim & bought this game, hence I'm watching vid's before i get started, in x-3 I loved the mamba, I hope it's still viable this game.
Hey JK Ninja , your videos are best , so i have two question and i will be very glad if you can help....what is the fastest and best way to explore/reckon whole new sector if i want find all stations and put satelites near them ? And can i rely solely on my npc pilots doing this job or better if i go there personaly and use long range scanner because npc cannot use them ? or i'm missing something and they can use LRS somehow ? If somebody else want to answer this question fell free....
Doing it yourself is the fastest way. NPCs laying satellites is fine, but having them explore a sector to find all the stations will normally take a long time
is Ares the boring Meta for out of sector combat? or is that just a bonus for the cost? Can you get the Mamba of ASP outside spilt space... still really confused about in game factions too 🤣 but, the mamba and asp are like 100% sexirst looking fighters.
I think you underestimated the combat capacities of the nova. It's so maneuverable that its actually quite effective at dogfights, specially agains targets that has relatively low or mild tracking weapons such as bolts, plasma, ion, muon etc It gets reck against heavier fighters with pulse, beams and maybe blast mortars
I love the Ares, my fleet of them all have Terran mk3 shields, but they actually get picked off pretty easily in big engagements. I came across 6 Ks the other day, and it did not go well for the fighters, 50 was not nearly enough. But even against one K and some fighters they don't last. I find foundations far worse for fighters than previous X games. I really hate how you can't turn off boost unless you do it manually for every single ship every time you give it an order to attack, because they boost to the target and then get smashed because they have no shields left. I have lost so many fighters that I no longer bother, the cost is too great. I just fly around with 40 destroyers and nothing stands a chance. It's fun to get into a fighter for some dog fighting though.
@@JKNinja That's true too. The only time I use medium ships is for some combat story missions where a fighter won't cut it and a destroyer is too slow. Protect missions mainly.
Hey JK Ninja i have one more question....how to hire somebody with title "captain" ?? Because they don't have option in dialog menu to hire them despite i'm having good relations with faction....only "crewmember" and "marine" have dialog options to "hire" soo what's about these "captains" ? can we hire them somehow ?
All ships you buy will have a captain by default, to change that you will need to tell the crewmember to "work somewhere else", then select the ship and under the drop down menu choose "captain"
I do feel like the Terran fighters should get a all round slight boost to their firepower rating, for the simple reason of the Terran high-energy weapons generally being the best in the game (Meson stream has one of the highest burst damage of all weapons in the game, actually superior to most destroyer main guns, and the proton barrage is imo the best anti-fighter weapon in the game bar none).
Elite Vanguards are actually great cheap little swarm craft. If you're producing them yourself or using the Alliance warf, they're so cheap I can make 3 for every one nova. It's a "throwing bodies at the problem"
My experience: Forget about S-classes. Your first one is one but is barely enough to do more than some scouting. Get yourself an M ship ASAP. And in that category I suggest you to buy a Nemesis or a Katana. Because if you fly by yourself, most of what you would do implements combat. And the Nemesis or the Katana are the best average of firepower while still beeing fast. They can also take some hits before they explode. Best config: Use Thermal Disintegrators from Split and also Engines from the Split and and Terran Shields. If you haven't any DLCs (the question would be why not as they are not even expensive) you might go with a Nemesis (as the Katana is no option, doe to the missing Terran DLC) and use Teladi shields and some Bolter Guns. If you still want to do stuff like exploring, mining or trading by yourself, you should have made already enough money by now to have fiting ships available, just in case. But trust me, that activities can get boring very fast!
"any ship can do any task if you build enough of them" . I like this.
just wanted to say that elite is sure bad, unless you have a 1000 of them and a 1000 squadrons in production.
Please continue with x4, This has got to be among the best kind of coverage I've seen of x4. It's about time we get better creators covering x4.
I love love love how you get to the content and point very much when video starts. No “welcome, exciting, subscribe, sponsors” 2-3 min padding fluff
He's basically padding the video with content, which seems fine by me. :D
I would like this comment, but I can't bring myself to change the 69 likes it already has
The entire playlist is fantastic content and the information is well broken down. I know it's part of the genre, but a lot of tutorials get way too verbose and it's easy for my attention span to wander off. Not a problem with these videos.
"Quantity has a quality all its own". Love it!
I like to say
"Overkill is highly underrated". but yours is significantly more refined.
Refined by multiple of historical figures believed to have said this first,
like Stalin or Napoleon, but probably actually someone before that.
Overkill is the only acceptable amount of firepower.
I belive some usmc dude or smth
I'd love to see an update with the Vigor and Boron ships. I've found the Shih to be a real sweet spot with its 4 guns, 3 shields, and decent enough speed. It's basically an Ares except faster than an Eclipse. Unfortunately, it's also ugly as sin.
With the new expansion the Shih is now the undisputed best fighter in my opinion.
4 guns, 3 shields, really good speed and even better hull than the Ares. It's also ridiculously cheap for its stats. Also very important: The dock appears to be always stocked on building materials since the syndicate doesn't seem to have serious war going.
It's both great OOS and IS.
The Gladius is still my favorite fighter in terms of both stats and aesthetics -- I just love watching the wings unfold as 30 take off from a carrier
I can't believe I forgot to showcase that! Those wings folding definitely gives the Gladius extra cool points
See, at least in the confined space of the Tokyo, I always found the Gladius to be a bit awkward. Big wing span in the air, and while parked, the wings sticking up don't leave much space to those flying over them. But I guess that's just a player flying problem. AI don't care.
Isn't it very slow?
Fun Fact: The Quasar is actually two Discoverers welded together.
I am most of the time just sitting in the Nodan - Travelling in style~
I still find it weird that the Scout ship is now the "Elite" while the previous scout, fittingly named the "Discoverer", is now a heavier fighter than the "Elite".
Nodan for me as well, i happened to stumble over the AotW warft early while exploring the universe, switched to it and never looked back.
While it´s not the best fighter for everything, it´s a formidable choice for the player. And the sight out of the cockpit is really great.
1:49 Nova
2:12 Eclipse
2:32 Pular
2:53 Quasar
3:35 Perseus
3:55 Theseus
4:20 Ares
5:16 Falcon
5:42 Buzzard
6:33 ASP Raider
7:02 Balaur
7:29 ASP
7:54 Mamba
8:19 Chimera
9:16 Kukri
9:47 Gladius
10:05 Kalis
10:30 Takoba
11:15 Nodan
TL;dw:
**Argon Fighters**
1. Nova: The entry-level fighter with the highest travel speed among all scouts in the game. It is cheap and easy to fly, making it a good choice for beginners.
2. Eclipse: A front-line air superiority fighter with a slower speed but more hull and shields than the Nova. It is suitable for mass fleet engagements.
3. Quasar: A cheaper version of the Pulsar, with similar capabilities but fewer features.
4. Pulsar: A fighter with a focus on firepower at the expense of everything else, featuring six weapon mounts. However, it is slow, has low defenses, and is vulnerable to attacks.
**Paranid Fighters**
1. Perseus: A speedy fighter with two weapons, excellent for swarm tactics due to its affordability.
2. Theseus: A side-grade to the Perseus, offering more armor and firepower but sacrificing speed and maneuverability.
3. Ares: A slow and expensive fighter purpose-built for out-of-sector combat, with all weapons having a 100% hit chance.
**Teladi Fighters**
1. Falcon: The fastest fighter, suitable for patrol craft and interceptor roles, but not highly effective in combat.
2. Buzzard: A mid-range fighter with three weapons, extra hull, and moderate speed, but lacks overall performance.
**Split Fighters**
1. Asp Raider: A small and cheap fighter with three weapons, best suited for skirmishes and negligible survivability.
2. Balaur: A well-rounded fighter suitable for any combat role, with a single shield generator and high hull rating.
**Zyarth Patriarchy Fighters**
1. Asp: A surprisingly good fighter suitable for early-game use, with excellent performance.
2. Mamba: A fast and cheap patrol craft with two shield generators and two weapons.
3. Chimera: A heavy fighter with high hull, five weapon mounts, and decent acceleration, best suited for dive bombing and attacks on destroyers.
**Terran Fighters**
1. Kukri: A cheap and slow fighter, only suitable for patrol craft in friendly territory.
2. Gladius: A well-armed and armored air superiority fighter, but slow and expensive.
3. Kalis: A faster and more maneuverable fighter than the Gladius, with high shields and moderate firepower.
4. Takoba: A fast interceptor with limited firepower but excellent acceleration, suitable for catching and holding down enemies.
**Alliance of the Word Fighter**
1. Nodan: A fast, well-handling, and affordable fighter with limited firepower, suitable for missions and runs.
**Yaki Fighter**
No information provided on the Moreya, as it is considered too powerful for comparison purposes.
As a relatively new player to X4 I've learned a lot from these videos. Thank you for that!
I'm eagerly waiting for similar comparisons of the other ship classes. ;)
Did you start straight or with tutorials? I just started and find hard to understand how the game works with so many details and aspects to care about. Some of the concepts, such mining and stuff are concepts I can only dream off. Just re-entering my ship after the space walk took me half an hour, lol, to figure out that I needed to ask for "permission". For example, I don't know what the hell is MK1, MK2, MK3...
@@rubenlopezusa JK Ninja's videos were a big help but other than that it was mostly trial and error. And a lot of poking around in menus trying to find stuff. 🙂
@@adamfellenbeck9289 thanks! I'll follow the advice. I guess it's ok to keep on despite having the sensation I know nothing to go out there in that universe. I'll learn part of it the hard way, lol, like every game
Kha'ak Knockers are never out of style!
One other thing to keep in mind if you're picking a commander fighter - some weapons are pretty flashy. Having them tucked out of the way behind hull elements or farther from the canopy can make a lot of difference.
I think I've gone through at least 10 of your videos back to back. Love the clean and concise presentation with a great voiceover!
If brute force isn't working then you're not using enough of it.
Zaraki Kenpachi would be proud of you.
Awesome edits and clean presentation. You are the best content creator in the X community. Please keep up the good work
Thanks, will do!
I was missing some comments on the shield slots on some ships. Because they are your only life insurance to boost out of combat. I like the argon eclipse very much as a starter ship because it’s so well rounded with 4 guns and 2 shields. Best personal fighter would be the Ares with its 3 shields and a 4 guns. It’s just quite slow…
However I think with the new DLC tides of avarice the award for the best fighter could go to the Vigor Syndicate Shih. It also has 4 guns, 3 shields and it’s also fast. So it’s simply the best fighter over all
You're killing it with your videos. keep up the excellent work!
Good comparison, it helps make choices much clearer. Like the way you present your guides, keep them coming.
Structured nicely. Thank you
Terrific video, great enthusiasm. I’ve been playing since the original was released and the series has “almost” always been one of my favourites. I have long down periods though and my swiss cheese brain can never retain the important bits I need. So I always need to find a guide to put me back out in the black. I’ve subscribed today and I’m off now to see what other treasure you have here. :)
I know the Pulsar isn't the most compelling fighter stat-wise, but I have a soft spot for it simply because I love the way it looks.
Pulsar all the way :)
I love the comparison videos you make. I am relatively new to the game, and your videos are always clear and easily digestible. A++
Glad I found your channel!
Ever since the Cradle of Humanity DLC came out I've been doing exclusively Terran runs so a suped up Gladius has been my fighter of choice. I've always just loved the Terran aesthetic since X3TC.
Actually Gladius is best heavy fighter among them, by the facts that they can exclusively use terran weapon.
Also best medium ships comparison next I'm guessing?
@@CaneMcKeyton Yeah he will do it on the next video, although from M class all win will clearly go to the Terran ships (Katana, Syn and Asgard)
Great job! Can't wait for the medium combat ship comparison.
Its coming soon!
Yet again you impress, love your video's. Well researched, entertaining, the graphs do a good job comparing. I don't know if I would have completely done away with interceptors, the one's with 2 guns and are super cheap aren't exactly terrible at exactly the job you said the Takoba was good at for the Terrans, and the Teladi don't have a lot of options so throwing one of them away makes for sad lizards.
I consider the Takoba to be the best, but everyone has a craft capable of being an interceptor to some degree. Even the Teladi with their limited roster
You remembered Alliance of the Word this time! :) For my personal fighters, I prefer speed and maneuverability over the rest. I have been favoring the Takoba recently as a personal craft. It's nice to see the stats in chart form.
I wonder what your chart would look like and your opinion on the Mamba if it had a third weapon mount. I only bring it up because if you look at the model, it appears that there should be one there right in front of the shields in the gap but they removed it because it would unbalance the ship.
The Balaur is my favorite heavy fighter to fly. It is 1 shield mount away from being perfect (IMO).
The Nova is what I prefer to fly when stealing blueprints. I move the captain to the service roll so he's not in my way for the amount of times I have to go from captains chair to space suit and back. and the teleport panel is RIGHT THERE. Plus that high strafe speed :)
As to the one I like to fly despite all indicators it may be terrible (and not on your list due to being a scout) is the Discoverer Vanguard. I think it's just the way it looks. I always wished there were two more guns at the ends of those "arms."
The Kestrel Vanguard is what I use as a fighter/trader. Lots of cargo space for a fighter, and cheaper than a Nodan when you factor in engine costs. These are my go to for trading to build rep and they don't get harassed by the SCA/FAF. Pirates do not harass military ship unless you are piloting.
I did remember this time! A third gun on the Mamba would make it too strong, that may have originally planned it that way but then removed it after the design was finalized.
1400 hours in and I did not even know some of those ships exist xD
Good video !
Interesting that the Terran ships are almost all named after swords...
Straight to the point and no needless fluff. Good video and channel. Subbed
Thanks again :) Very well made. I would love to see similar videos for the other ship classes.
Also you convinced me to only build/buy Elite Vanguards - to see them burn.
I've love to see you come back to this game with the new expansion.
I love the Split Ships, their colors and designs are my fav.
I don't mind having to build hundreds of them to kill something... how else would people know you were somewhere unless you left a wake of corpses in your path?
Those Teladi Manticore pilots are going to love you 🤣
A video comparing actual battle results would be very interesting! For instance, how does the Nova's high maneuverability affect its combat performance compared to other "more powerful" fighters?
Proposed metric: Elite Vanguards destroyed per minute
I did try to make a competition video but it didn't work out. It may be the AI or the mod I had to use but all the results were skewed towards player own ships. Check out this video if you are interested in seeing what happened: th-cam.com/video/FajwRGamiHE/w-d-xo.html
@@JKNinja Bummer...
Can you just have both your ships be player owned an send them to fight each other like friendly fire. I think its a mark as hostile option
@@JKNinja Still, instead of pitting the different fighter classes against each other, could it be done by testing them against a standard enemy (e.g. elite vanguards) and then comparing the results? Just an idea...
A raptor filled with yaki morya is a terrifying concept.
I love how detailled you explain everything! Thank you so much for that! Can you also add the Boron ships in comparison?
Even though this is now somewhat outdated, I found it very interesting and helpful. Your format is ideal.
This is the first video I've seen from you. I'm off to watch more. I hope you're still producing X4 content, or will be when the update drops this month.
Thumbs-up for the calming voice. The fighter data was interesting too, but I think you forgot to include the Boron ships..... xD
you definitely changed my view of nova with that sentiment in the end lol loving your content
I really appreciate these videos. I hope you are having fun with making them!
I do, glad you like them!
thx for an other very well made Video. I wish you the best and hope for way more subs for your channel!
P.s. I really like the Nodan!
As always, your videos are awesome. Great work!
I would love a video on explaining the purpose of carriers as I often have a hard time justifying the cost. Like, what advantage does a squadron of fighters recieve from launching from a carrier as opposed to just flying by themselves? I know in real life, carriers extend the striking range of fighters but since fuel isn't a factor in the game its definitely not that. Wouldn't it be better to spend the money and resources on just buying more fighters or a few destroyers instead?
As soon as you start using fighters to attack stations and bigger targets you will learn that they are in need of frequent repairs and need their missiles refilled. Sending them back all the way to your home station takes a lot of time, so having a carrier around as a mobile base for refilling and repairs is very convenient.
Brilliant please do the M, L and XL classes
Planning on making those too!
@@JKNinja looking forward to it sir these videos are kinda keeping me going at this point.
Answer is simple on those class, Terran ship solo. They are simply better in almost every aspects then commonwealth primitive counterparts.
Excellent content
DUDE! I'm having flashbacks to the n64 Rogue Squadron hangar right now! :D
Kinda accidentally got my hands on the Nodan Vanguard pretty early, as interceptors they are amazing, so much so that literally hundreds of hours later I've only ever had to replace a handful after large Xenon engagements.
They are surprisingly good without feeling overpowered, its a shame they are kind of hidden away
Will you do an updated video? Would love to hear your opinion on the Vigor, Boron and timeline and xenon ships
Very informative as always. Thank you Ninja. 👍
Before I watch this I can tell you I all ways flew a split fighter in x3. Man I mostly flew the Mamba, it had 8 weapon bays, it's down to 2 now that's crazy.
I like the Moreya most, because it is so extremely fast and have a lot of firepower (4 gun slots), so that it's perfect for fast and quick attacks. And if you run out of shield, just boost away, reload your shields ans come back. You also should mod your shield recovery delay, so that it takes only about 3.5 seconds instead of about 12 seconds.
With the Moreya you can even knock out all turrets of a defense station, if you hack them before. It is also possible to destroy a Xenon K, because it can't hit you. ^^
Interesting. Good that your focus is on fighters as carrier assets. I have yet to find or fly one that can tough out a fight with a typical Xenon M squadron. I'll stick with the Frigate or Corvette class ships for personal use.
That said, I did have some success with a Teladi Buzzard. That third weapon mount gave it some versatility. Sadly, it's just too darn slow.
I don't have any of the DLC yet.
Great work!
I just restarted another gameplay I runs a bunch o Moreya 120 Raptor or 50 Tokyo with a pair of blast mortars and thermal disintegrators with mk 4 split combat.
It fair better OOS, IS however does suffer more damage due to post boost shield drain.
Damage output is key for OOS fights and for that the Pulsar is a FANTASTIC fighter against capital ships. If you equip them with six Blast Mortars, ~12-14 Pulsars take down a Xenon K on their own without losses (even if there are some other Xenon fithers around). Their damage output is just so high. And on the style side they look amazing with those two 'bayonettes' at the front
I prefer the kalis. The tankyness of 4 shields is fantastic, it’s not too slow (tho admittedly not particularly fast), and the lacking weapon hardpoints aren’t a problem if you mount meson streams in them.
I wonder which army would win if you had 100 million. mk1 cheap ships or mk3 expensive ships or mid range ships. On the one hand you want the best of the best. But when you see the MK3 prices and you wonder, are trusters really worth 6 million on my Large ship. I go MK2 unless I fly em or built em myself. I like the Ares for Capital ship defence. The 6 gun ship can be equiped to immobilize large ships and board em afterwards with L Freigther. Discoverer looks good and is best at pirating S/M ships. PAR scout is mega fast best at start and I use for exploration later in game and equip mk1 pulse laser for lock boxes. Katana is also a very good scout/Attack vessel. By some cheap TEL S ship and dock em at place you want to teleport to to save time. Great vid!
I would love to see a few additional videos again, [S], [M], [L], [XL]....etc Like you did for this series. But this time, you measure them while using VRO mod. :) hehe
Basically all the videos you have done for shields, missiles, weapons, S, M, L and XL ships but in a VRO scenario. :)
So people can see the change and difference between vanilla and VRO.
I like the Mamba for my fighters just because it's tough and looks cool. They're usually my first wave to start taking damage and lock enemies down, before Asps come in to deal some real damage and Chimeras and Balaurs punch through the line to bomb the enemy.
Which fighter is right for me? I'd probably be happy with an Asgard.
awesome video
Squadron of 120+ Eclipse with Pulse lasers are my favorite Xenon K killer if you out of sector.
Nice Video!
I’ve played a huge amount of times three, back like 14 years ago. All I am thinking watching your videos is what did they do to my boy argons
Raptor -> Bomber Ares -> FUN!
In discussing the Ares, you mentioned that weapons have a 100% hit chance out of sector. Found it amusing that the turrets on defense platforms seem to have the same behavior. if I'm OOS and watching via the map, my Hatikvah's Choice platform is one-shotting small and medium Xenon ships coming thru the gate - but if I'm in the sector, I guess the platform manager wants to give me a fireworks show; it takes at least 10 seconds to kill off a fighter - using every turret on the platform...
In OOS plasma is crazy unbalanced because of that 100% not rate. Egosoft keeps tweaking the OOS calculations but I cant think of a good way to do it without annihilating the CPU load
I just started playing X4. Everybody talks so much about this game... I love space and strategy games, but this one seems overwhelming now.
I don't know if it is because I just came from playing Chorus, which is basically a combat game that requires amazing flying skills, but I found really hard to pursue and fire enemy ships with the gamepad, especially aiming at the target, as the controls shake a lot and the movement is very imprecise. I wonder if sensitivity has to do with it.
In the previous X games, the different race fighters also had one particularly significant property about them you completely left out in your video: the different sized cargo hold.
For example, the Teladi, given their entrepreneurial nature, tend to have the largest luggage compartment, contrary to the microscopic one of Paranid fighters in which you can barely fit your purse.
Your measurement does not take this into account at all because it does not matter for your playstyle. But in universe, that is an important factor.
Every video I release has bits removed in the final render to reduce time and increase flow. For the ship breakdowns one of them was cargo capacity. I apologize that an important aspect was removed but it didn't make the cut
@@JKNinja Ah, i though it was because of your play style.
Given how you presented the use of fighters, you mostly seemed to use them as squadrons on a carrier, less for player use directly.
Only on the Nodan you spoke about the boot size.
Chimera with thermal disintgrator is a great pirate hobbler.
Hang around Grand Exchange with a marine carrier or two, find the pirate phoenix and break all the parts. Then send in the troops. Easy early money.
Great video, thank you.
Unfortunately, much later in the game I just stopped using fighters, because everyone is packed with destroyers and battleships, so imho there's really no point in producing them. Except to land on something small when you can't use Teleport option.
Also, I find it easier to track down fleets made of a few huge ships (with such defences that enemy small ships are no threat), than have numerous small squadrons.
But guess it's all down to playstyle...
Depends. The Xenon produce a good mix so as long as you have THEM, then you NEED fighters, even OOS a swarm of unshielded Xenon drones can kill your destroyers if you don't Zerg Rush them back. In system, fighters are a huge problem for big ships. A lot of losses because with one shield, one hit could be a kill, but landing a hit is hard for a turret big enough to kill a fighter in one or two hits.
If you have removed the Xenon, well, duh, the game IS easier. But the races don't build up a balanced fleet, and it is easier to kill destroyer vs destroyer, but that is what the flipping class is DESIGNED for. The cruiser/battleship (the K is definitely a cruiser, I would call the I a heavy cruiser, more than a battleship, because it only has the same weapons as its "destroyer" class Graviton gun) of the Xenon can take down a LOT of ships. Mostly because the graviton guns are turreted and far more powerful than even the main batteries of a destroyer. So, yeah, if you kill the Xenon you aren't left zerg rushing either destroyers to kill an I or K quickly (and an I will take a dozen destroyers out and survive, if barely) or a lot of fighters in-system because once you have killed the turrets, the I is an expensive hulk, you lose a lot of fighters, but you may kill an I with 40 fighters and lose half of them but you would lose half of a fleet of 20 destroyers that cost you three times as much. Of course those 20 destroyers would decimate any race.
Fighters are easily the most cost-effective "unit" by far. They will cost effectively beat anything and then some. Why should i spend 50 million credits on two Osakas when i get 100 fighters instead, which can easily destroy 10 Osakas and more.
Once you reach a critical mass of 500+ fighters - which is only about 250-300 million credits - you have basically won the game. The same can not be said for having a number of destroyers for the same value.
Playstyle is a huge part on which ships you prefer. Nothing wrong with focusing on fewer bigger ships, going with a deathball swarm of fighters, or anything in between. Just remember that it is your game and to fly safe o7
@@JKNinja Indeed. I am just a little sad that capital ships are just so much less effective than in older titles.
I miss having my Line Of Battle. :P
@@kajarslibrary5404 so by that logic, would it be better to build that one really slow ship which is great in the unloaded simulatored maths locations
to me speed is the most important value considered for the personal player ship. firepower doesnt keep you alive. if you fight 3-5 xenon at once they kill you on the long term. the ability to escape without booster is most important to me. i usually choose either the takoba, which has serious shielding, or the yaki moreya.
ive watched this video so many times
Did you start a new channel or just stop doing videos or what happened? You are my favorite TH-camr
i miss the Argon Nova of the X2 games, that that game, had beautiful ships.
Do not forget, vanguard also have higher maneuverability, like rotation speed, acceleration, responsiveness and so on.
And cargo space doesn't matter to military craft that only does military things, because missiles et al are not part of the cargo. Some got into trouble buying a Paranid Pegasus scout because it used to have insufficient space to hold three antimatter cells, so they upped the amount, but it balanced the ships to an extent. You got a much faster Paranid military but no usable space, because the S class military had no space. So if you wanted space, you either went for a Disco (with two guns and 540 units of space), gunrunned with a Teladi Scout (one gun but near double the space, enough to trade with early game) or you got an S class trader with two guns. The single gun S trader was faster, usually, therefore reduced losses if it died, or most of the M class was wasted because all you needed was 500 units of cargo this run by AI manager, so speed was a factor more than capacity, when running.
Quantity becomes a Quality -- Zapp Brannigen
Though for what it's worth. one will get a "Modified" listing. There is a mod, which introduces a new version to select, than the one's a vanila and the various DLC's have. It's available on Steam, I don't know if it is via Nexus.
It introduces a new ship called the "DISGUISE". And it's own slightly different story line as all the DLC's do. If and when installed, it can be found below the lowest selection under the creative game mode.
The ship is one of a kind and thus far, can not be nor does it need to be modified. Though a small ship. You get one when starting and there's no where to get another. It has the ability to carry hundred of items and crew. And it's weapon all six are the same, using all simotaniously can destroy entire asteroids, in a second, turning it to dust. It's pretty much a one shot destruction ship. It travels at normal speed in kilometer per second rather than meter's per second.
Get board playing vanila, and wanna just fly around as if your GOD. Try it!
A quick note about the Nova to take into account
It is the *only* fighter with vectored engines, giving it very high control in all directions except left and right. The AI seems to be very good at using this maneuverability, so while it may not be the best fighter in terms of raw stats, it can hold its own and is very well worth its (rather low) price tag
All in all, not the best fighter, not the worst, but it is one of the best for its price
The Falcon has vector engines too.
@@LitlBlackDragonNinja Huh, did not know that. I don't mess around with TEL ships much
Unless it's for trade, of course
The issue I have with fighters, especially S class, is in most of my campaigns, I beline straight to the Xenon bordering sectors. I also think there are a good number of people who also do this, due to the fact that if you don't contain the Xenon, especially at Hatickva's Choice, and doubly so for Split space, the Xenon turn into a death ball you really can't fight. But back on track, Fighters die faster than you can build them when fighting the Xenon, even with stations to fill in the economic holes in the various factions. If they get into a real death ball, especially in the Void or Second Contact, IE I've seen some Xenon fleets with an I and 9 or so Ks all tagging along a major escort of M and S class raiders, you really have no chance before the Xenon pop all the Argon/Antigone shipyards and maul the Teladi viciously.
I love the Takoba, is sleak, is sexy and is fast, especially if you put split engines on it, then that thing is only a match for Moreia.
Although, the new ships of Tides of Avarice could be a match.
I decided to get back into a space sim & bought this game, hence I'm watching vid's before i get started, in x-3 I loved the mamba, I hope it's still viable this game.
Amazing video . You need to do a corvette an destroyers and carrier one
I'm working on a medium ship list but going to wait until 5.00 for the larger ships as I don't know fully what the changes will be yet
@@JKNinja can't wait. Already subscribed for the other videos
For me that video give me one only focus priority: speed+ slots guns. Forget shields or hulls
Hey JK Ninja , your videos are best , so i have two question and i will be very glad if you can help....what is the fastest and best way to explore/reckon whole new sector if i want find all stations and put satelites near them ? And can i rely solely on my npc pilots doing this job or better if i go there personaly and use long range scanner because npc cannot use them ? or i'm missing something and they can use LRS somehow ? If somebody else want to answer this question fell free....
Doing it yourself is the fastest way. NPCs laying satellites is fine, but having them explore a sector to find all the stations will normally take a long time
Love'd nova, if it takes damage it just zigs zags to infinity and beyond. Now that I have balaur, there just aren't any threats to my fighters. lah
Being mandated to using a controller, I find the Dargon Raider, fully modded with tao acelerators and flak turrets works the best.
is Ares the boring Meta for out of sector combat? or is that just a bonus for the cost? Can you get the Mamba of ASP outside spilt space... still really confused about in game factions too 🤣 but, the mamba and asp are like 100% sexirst looking fighters.
I'm a new player and I've been using the Kukri to bring down the turrets of destroyers... and now I'm learning the other fighters are way better?
I think you underestimated the combat capacities of the nova. It's so maneuverable that its actually quite effective at dogfights, specially agains targets that has relatively low or mild tracking weapons such as bolts, plasma, ion, muon etc
It gets reck against heavier fighters with pulse, beams and maybe blast mortars
In every ship comparison I just miss teh old X3 design. I hope Egosoft will revive that some day
I love the Ares, my fleet of them all have Terran mk3 shields, but they actually get picked off pretty easily in big engagements. I came across 6 Ks the other day, and it did not go well for the fighters, 50 was not nearly enough. But even against one K and some fighters they don't last. I find foundations far worse for fighters than previous X games.
I really hate how you can't turn off boost unless you do it manually for every single ship every time you give it an order to attack, because they boost to the target and then get smashed because they have no shields left. I have lost so many fighters that I no longer bother, the cost is too great. I just fly around with 40 destroyers and nothing stands a chance. It's fun to get into a fighter for some dog fighting though.
That's true about AI boosting. Its really bad with medium ships since their shield recharge rate is much slower than fighters
@@JKNinja That's true too. The only time I use medium ships is for some combat story missions where a fighter won't cut it and a destroyer is too slow. Protect missions mainly.
Hey JK Ninja i have one more question....how to hire somebody with title "captain" ?? Because they don't have option in dialog menu to hire them despite i'm having good relations with faction....only "crewmember" and "marine" have dialog options to "hire" soo what's about these "captains" ? can we hire them somehow ?
All ships you buy will have a captain by default, to change that you will need to tell the crewmember to "work somewhere else", then select the ship and under the drop down menu choose "captain"
My favorite fighter is Asgard. He is so sneaky.
I do feel like the Terran fighters should get a all round slight boost to their firepower rating, for the simple reason of the Terran high-energy weapons generally being the best in the game (Meson stream has one of the highest burst damage of all weapons in the game, actually superior to most destroyer main guns, and the proton barrage is imo the best anti-fighter weapon in the game bar none).
you make so fantastic giuds, any chance you wil start streaming or making playthroug videos? :)
right now I really like putting videos together, the editing process. I might do streams or playthroughs but have no plans at this moment
Kuraokami, no alternative. At least was at cradle of humanity times :D
The Falcon doesn’t get enough love.
me, never having played a single X game and randomly getting recommended this video: "hm yes, I see..."
I find it ironic that the the Nova was the top tier heavy fighter in older games, but now it is begginer.
Boron please...
Elite Vanguards are actually great cheap little swarm craft. If you're producing them yourself or using the Alliance warf, they're so cheap I can make 3 for every one nova. It's a "throwing bodies at the problem"
My experience: Forget about S-classes. Your first one is one but is barely enough to do more than some scouting. Get yourself an M ship ASAP. And in that category I suggest you to buy a Nemesis or a Katana. Because if you fly by yourself, most of what you would do implements combat. And the Nemesis or the Katana are the best average of firepower while still beeing fast. They can also take some hits before they explode.
Best config: Use Thermal Disintegrators from Split and also Engines from the Split and and Terran Shields.
If you haven't any DLCs (the question would be why not as they are not even expensive) you might go with a Nemesis (as the Katana is no option, doe to the missing Terran DLC) and use Teladi shields and some Bolter Guns.
If you still want to do stuff like exploring, mining or trading by yourself, you should have made already enough money by now to have fiting ships available, just in case. But trust me, that activities can get boring very fast!
Rattlesnake is a bit expensive - 40M. But have a nice heavy fighter.