which corvette

[spartan117joh]

ok i am getting close to getting a corvette and i so far i think the katana is the best but i want to see what everyone else thinks first

so what do you think is the best corvette

[Shogouki]

I think the Paranid Hyperion sounds amazing but I think it can only be acquired by boarding.

[blackfire83]

If you get far enough into the Terran plot

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you get given a Vidar for nothing...

which is like a Katana, only better.

And yes, the Hyperion Vanguard is a crazy good M6. And yes, it is only available by boarding. However, "best" is very subjective to the player. My suggestion: save your game, buy an M6 you think you'll like. Fly it around. Reload, try another.

Oddly enough, I think I should take my own advice sometimes...

[Triaxx2]

Definition of best depends a lot on your particular play style. I tend to prefer Split Corvettes, and I can use Dragons and Heavy Dragons to great effect because they fit my play style very well.

Do you like to fire lots of missiles? The Hydra excels. A good turn of speed, an excellent cargo and good shielding. Plus it mounts a good variety of missiles for use against all targets. The only problem I have is that it lacks braking ability because I keep crashing into things. Fortunately, the missile capacity makes up for it's other short comings, which are limited weapon compatibility, and less than stellar turning speed. (Seriously, the Brigantine turns faster.) And it's forward speed does leave a little to be desired. However, filling it with Wasps, Thunderbolts, and Hornet Missiles gives a good mixed punch against most things. (Sheer numbers of Hornets can crack even capitals.) I also carry a couple Firestorms for 'emergencies'.

If you like slipping up behind a target and roasting it with PBG's before it can get away, a Dragon, or better Heavy Dragon are just the ticket. With a bit of finesse of the weapon groups, you can virtually lay down a continuous assault of fire onto a target, taking advantage of a difference in fire rate between mounted weapons. (If PBG 1-4 are recharging, but 5-6, and 7-8 haven't fired, you can dump two more pairs of PBG while the main bank is preparing to fire.)

If you're looking for something nice and shiny, use the Paranid Nemesis. It's lost some bite since they removed it's rear PSG, but it's still a nicely tough little warship. Plus it looks good as you race by a station.

The Centaur is a basic all arounder, and capable at most of the things you'll ask it to do. The Heavy is a garbage scow and should never be flown anywhere but the shipyard for scrapping. The Heavy Centaur Prototype on the other hand insanely perfect. Only the small cargo bay is annoying.

The Osprey... what can be said about the Osprey? Other than that the Pirate Osprey is better because of it's ability to mount PBG in all three turrets. The Heavy is a monster in combat, though as far as I know, it turns even worse than the Heavy Centaur.

The Xenon P, and PX, are both awesome ships, though they suffer from a lack of weapon compatibilities to make the Hydra seem infinite. Nasty coming at you.

[quoick]

blackfire83 has a good point in the spoilers and Triaxx2 has excellent advice for m6s that you purchase. One of the best ones has been overlooked though and you can purchase the Skiron from the OTAS shipyards. It has really nice speed, great shielding and okay cargo space. If you put PBCs in the mains you can fry a Q in about 15 seconds and never run low on power (although it means getting in so close to the ship that you can smell the electricity that makes up their breath).

Otherwise the ones I like require boarding. The Vali is a goody. It is one tough Mofo and you can put M/AML everywhere so that its laser genny (the largest in the category) never gets touched and it makes it mean as.

But the Hyperion Vanguard is the ship I play in constantly except when I am boarding or going into a Xenon sector. You will need maxxed out marines to get it but it is worth it. It is fast (especially when you get the reward ship from the Poisoned Paranid start), well shielded, has a huuuuuge cargo bay and the ability to dock two ships.

[Shogouki]

But the Hyperion Vanguard is the ship I play in constantly except when I am boarding or going into a Xenon sector. You will need maxxed out marines to get it but it is worth it. It is fast (especially when you get the reward ship from the Poisoned Paranid start), well shielded, has a huuuuuge cargo bay and the ability to dock two ships.

Are there any Hyperions in the hands of pirates or other hostiles? I never like to go unlawful so I was hoping there would be some in the hands of baddies rather than having to attack a lawful target to get one.

[Darkhymn]

My personal ship is a hyperion vanguard. The turret placement could be better, but otherwise it's incredible. Fast, maneuverable, huge cargo bay, hangar space for two. In combat, it feels like an oversized M3. 8x HEPT pointing forward and 10 more guns in the turrets. With Gazz's MARS script, nothing smaller than an M7 will get near you, and if you can fly, you'll take care of those easily enough.

[quoick]

But the Hyperion Vanguard is the ship I play in constantly except when I am boarding or going into a Xenon sector. You will need maxxed out marines to get it but it is worth it. It is fast (especially when you get the reward ship from the Poisoned Paranid start), well shielded, has a huuuuuge cargo bay and the ability to dock two ships.

Are there any Hyperions in the hands of pirates or other hostiles? I never like to go unlawful so I was hoping there would be some in the hands of baddies rather than having to attack a lawful target to get one.

Nope. There are usually only 2 of them in Paranid space at any one time. If you apologise straight after you capture it, your rep loss is minimal and can be replaced by one half decent mission. This is one ship which is worth going rogue. I would say by your OP that a ship capable of firing boarding pods is still out of your grasp but I wouldn't try to grab it with a TP. You may want to wait to get this as a reward for yourself once you have your M7M. Go Skiron or Katana until that time. The Katana is a highly under-rated M6 IMHO. It has heaps of shielding, its small and hard for enemies to hit and the M/AMLs really do pack a punch. Plus if you put EMPCs in the other turrets, fighters seem to hardly bother you.

[pjknibbs]

which is like a Katana, only better.

I prefer the Katana, myself--doesn't have the same awesome level of forward firepower, but it has more turrets and thus has an easier job of taking down small annoying stuff that the front barrage will miss.

[Choublanc]

Weird. Already 8 answers and nobody mentions the Springblossom

imho, they are no reason to use another M6 than the Hyperion or the "Speedblossom".

[Coupaholic]

I'd go with what looks best to you - I'm of the mind that in the player's hands most of the ships in the game are good ones, if you know how to use them.

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In fact I read this post which shows that even the Truelight Seeker is a deadly ship when used right.

My choice is a Heavy Nemesis and I love the beast, 8 HEPTS in the front and PAC everywhere else and every ship up to and including M6 class gets eaten - it was instrumental in building up the funds for my first complex.

Sure it's not the best, and not a 'one size fits all' like a certain Aldrin or un-buyable Paranid M6 but it works for me, and the shortcomings of this ship is a good excuse to have a fleet of different vessels that all get used.

[Triaxx2]

I didn't mention the Skiron, because I've never used it. Nor have I flown the Vali. I'm not a fan of the Vidar, because I don't like the profile and it seems over armed for a corvette. I use it as a patrol ship.

[NOO3TASTIC]

If you have completed Aldrin missions then "Spring Blossom" or if you have decent sets of marines for boarding "Hyperion Vanguard". If above two are not acquirable then buy Skiron from Otas Shipyard in

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Legend's Home

What Skiron lacks in speed and maneuverability it makes up in shielding and firepower. It has also got three turrets with two gun mounts each to boot. PRG in all turrets can make short work of pesky M4/M5 and HEPT/CIG in main guns can take down M3 to M6 easily and M7 without much problem.

[DeepFried]

For me out of the purchasable ships it has to be a Dragon or a Skiron. The Dragon excels at assassination missions (good for earning money early on) and its speed makes it good for many other scenarios, however for more generalised combat and general use the Skiron is my favourite. It has enough turrets with enough choice of guns to give it punch, it also has great shields and good generators plus a not too shabby cargo capacity.

Personally I'd rather not pilot a ship slower than 140m/s top speed, which rules out most of the other options.

The springblossom is an interesting ship but I find it a little boring, the hyperion is obviously the best M6 but its hard to acquire and to be frank I'm happy enough with the Skiron not to bother.

[deca.death]

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Many kind words and good recommendations for lousiest class in this game - M6. I am mostly M6 pilot and great fan of M6 ships btw but in this game they are just unbalancing lousy. Most of them are slower then TS (average speed 130?), They have weapon energy of M3+ in some cases, stronger M6+ variants have pitiful cargo space in some cases of 500ish which is pure disaster, and to make things worse, most of them steer like the brick. Seriously, split panther and Tiger (and carrack and aegir) are faster and turn better then most vettes.

Of course, pilot is the key element as always, in a capable hands every ship is deadly but that's not the point. M6 is an interesting class, they are big enough to feel safe, to fire nasty missile, to take out group of small enemies, and still small enough to dock anywhere.

Besides obvious and quite OPEd pair (after which you won't every fly every other vette in the game again) they are few worth mentioning;

Dragon - is a flimsy, clumsy, underpowered peace of shi* (like all other M6 in the game) but at least it's cheap and it's fast. So not every missile will be riding your butt and not every TP will zoom you by. Speed is a weapon of competent pilot. Better you fly more interesting this beastie would be.

Skiron- superb stats in every field but no EBCs in nose and punished by steering worse then pregnant dolphin. Surprisingly usable and powerful ship, but be prepared to worse steer then fully loaded freighter.

And that's unfortunately it. In comparing to often powerful, quick and deadly M7 -M7M class, M6 seem quite bad.

[Nyax]

There are 3 M6s wirth considering in my opinion. None of them 'instantly accessible'-

The hyperion. You have to find and capture one, but it's a very powerful and versatile ship. Can dock two fighters, giving it a whole range of flexibility none of the other M6s can match.

The Vidar. Very Rare, but one is given to you for free near the end of the terran plot. It's an absolute tank. Fairly slow, but very well shielded for an M6. Very maouverable and packs an insane amount of firepower. The ship of choice for killing things.

The springblossom. My personal favourite. Imagine a corvette with the speed of an M5 the cargo capacity of a TS, with heavy forward firepower and turrets capable of mounting capital ship level anti-fighter weaponry.
It's a magnificant craft, let down only by it's slightly underpowered shielding.
It's the perfect rounabout for the player, and perfect for doing missions with.

[Triaxx2]

As usual I disagree entirely and strongly with deca.death.

M6's are underpowered now, because they were over powered in the past, but the real reason is that now there's the M7 class to compare them to. It doesn't seem that the difference of 60 or so speed would make that much of a variance, but when you consider that you've moved 60 more meters with an M6 than with an M7 by the time you've turned the same distance, the numbers can seem unbalanced.

But M6's fill a different niche than M7's. M7's are light weight capitals, with anti-fighter defenses, in the form of FAA. (Not all M7's are equal naturally.) They're around to provide anti-capital punch that M6's just don't have.

M6's are anti-fighter ships with some anti-capital abilities. Yes, they don't turn as sharp as M7's, or M3's. But with the exception of the Dragon they have at least twice the shields of the heaviest shielded M3, and more guns than any of them. There are no M3's with more than two turrets. There are no M3's with 600MJ of shielding. And even among heavies, only a couple of fighters can even approach the 600 unit cargo bay mark.

As for comparing speed to TP's, that's apples to potatoes. The fastest TP is the Iguana Vanguard. And while I can do a hell of a lot of damage with an Iguana full of Dragonflies, I'm not exactly going to take 50 MJ of shielding into a fight when I've got an AA battery powering 4xPAC's as my best weapon.

Yes, they've got weapon generators like M3's, but they've got the shields to survive while those generators recharge. And while they might be light on cargo that's only a problem operating alone on extended patrol, when you can't bring a support ship like a TS to rearm, and refuel.

And if you're trying to control the shields on a ship to make it bail, or to get it to dump it's cargo, it's much easier to do with the weapons on an M6 than with IBL's.

The Dragon is flimsy. It is NOT underpowered, nor is it clumsy. It's nimble enough to duck around M3's, out run them, then turn around and come at them again. It's not under powered because it has MD's, PBE's, and PBG's. EBC's, and ISR's, and HEPT's. Weapon gen? No problem, because a full load of any thing except EBC's, or MD's will drain the battery.

I don't fly the Skiron, but you're self-contradicting, Superb stats in everything, except steering it seems. It's also not helped that it's ugly.

Me, I've taken a shine the Heavy Dragon. Again, cargo bay doesn't matter at all because by the time you've got an M6+ you've certainly got a ship that can act as a tender. If not, you're probably not operating very far out anyway.

But yes, compared to M7's, M6's are bad. Until you recognize that it's an improper comparison.

[deca.death]

As usual I disagree entirely and strongly with deca.death.

M6's are underpowered now,

Oh yes man, you disagree so strongly that you back me up at first sentence : )
(Btw I never noticed that we disagree "as usual" ; )

Thing with M6 is they with them designers didn't seem to know what to do with them. They are cut off with speed and steer to brutally when you compare their size and combat worth to bigger ships.

When someone asks for M6 recommendation, it's simply nothing you can advise, out of normal CW SY stock. One good ship is plot Terran reward, other is special Paranid vessel as reward player's ship for more experienced players (Some people never get hang of boarding btw). When you take typical M6 like Centaur, I meant that thing is pathetic. 123 m/s paired with slow steer makes real adventure fighting even several PBG armed opponents. And they made fairly useful M6+ class utterly useless by amputating their cargo bay, most important stat for player's ship.

With M7 is completely opposite. There are plenty of useful and powerful ships to recommend. And that special Paranid version -aggy seem not to be OPed at all. Is that because he is bad or entire class is quite good actually I wander?

[quoick]

To get back to the non-argumentative point. I had forgotten about the Springblossom. If you have finished the Aldrin plot then these are available and they are pretty sweet as a player ship. My advice if you are going to go this route is to place Spitfyres into every weapon and missile producing factory in Aldrin as the Springy doesn't use standard Terran fare.

They go 360m/s and if you place PM/AMLs in the front and PSSCs everywhere else, they are a danger to everything as long as you use their speed as a weapon. It only mounts 600mj shields so you can't absorb the damage as much as some M6 (still better than the Dragon though) but it has 2000 cargo. It's a great ship. Better than all the rest apart from the Hyp IMHO.

Of course if you haven't finished the Aldrin missions then my comments on the Skiron or Katana still stand.

[StarSword]

To get back to the non-argumentative point. I had forgotten about the Springblossom. If you have finished the Aldrin plot then these are available and they are pretty sweet as a player ship. My advice if you are going to go this route is to place Spitfyres into every weapon and missile producing factory in Aldrin as the Springy doesn't use standard Terran fare.

All you need to finish is the Terran plot, actually. And you don't need to use three-million-credit Spits for the job when 36k #deca.fades will do the job just as well.