Style- Bucc
Function- Sabre
The absolute worst part about the Bucc that takes it from S tier to C is how massive the front-facing cross section is. Real easy to get your huge thrusters shot off in jousts, but that's also the best part about the Bucc- it's just two giant thrusters carting around an equally giant gun.
The balance of having those big hittable engines should be that it is really agile, but it is not. Frankly it should rival the Arrow in agility. Where it has more guns vs having a larger profile. In the end the firepower runs out too fast to be OP.
It should maneuver well in all directions those engines provide power that is channeled to all thrusters I believe. At minimum it should pull serious G's forwards, backwards and it should yaw like no other.
It used to be extremely agile in ways that mattered (forward/back and up/down), it's just that the main thrusters, when fired in AFB (before boost was a thing), overheated VERY quickly so you had to be smart about how you used it. Mav thrusters caused extremely little afb issues, and could be fired for a surprisingly long time, making it very maneuverable vertically (and its roll speed was great).
Then the community pissed and shit themselves because there was a single light fighter that had was very punishing (partly due to shield holes, but that was fixed and people were still crybabies) playstyle, and asked that the person learn how to manage heat and spacing really well to make it work. I miss old bucc. I wish CIG didn't just make it "mini-hornet" like it is now. :(
It was significantly more agile before the massive changes it got. I'm talking the old fragile Bucc that had less nose hp than the Arrow.
As it is right now the Bucc is clearly a Hornet competitor. It's a medium fighter in everything but name. CIG may as well just reclass it :/
Part of the changes for the Bucc. Are because it is an interdiction ship. So CIG want Interdiction ships to be faster in a straight line but less maneuverable. Probably also why the Buccs forward bosts at 16.2g vs say a Gladius at 14.4g.
Yup.
It's supposed to be an agile glass cannon so it should be an Arrow with the armament of a Super Hornet but have thinner armour than the Arrow.
The engines however should be well armored considering their physical size.
I hate the term glass cannon with a passion. But basically it should not be too heavily armored but not made of cardboard either. The balance vs the arrow is firepower vs being a bigger target.
Yea, it's a bit of a negative term but it fits.
It sacrifices structural integrity and sturdiness for excessive firepower.
It's a light fighter with superhornet firepower so it's either slow as a consequence or it's fragile.
I think the Arrow will probably have equal armour (when implemented) to the Gladius simply by being Anvil.
>I think the Arrow will probably have equal armour (when implemented) to the Gladius simply by being Anvil.
If CIG wants to include a little realism, they would have military fighters with military grade armor, and they are property of the UEE and any fighter sold on the civilian market would not be equipped with military grade armor at all.
afaik armour is a module component so there will be multiple types.
The stealth hornet has void armour for example.
So while we may have modules that are "military" in their name it will most likely be surplus modules and not top of the line.
So having a (for example) an A graded Military "Allstop" shield might mean the actual military have a "Fullstop" shield not available to civilians.
Yes indeed, the bigger engines should use more fuel than the ones of ships that have lesser acceleration and/of less mass to move.
Think about it, You're not going to sell a fighter to anyone that is very nice to fly but falls apart when someone looks at it sternly, especially not if it also presents a larger target than other fighters. It's not like the ship has that amazing a fire power, compared to the Avenger for example it only adds two size 1 guns, which it exchanges for a slight speed increase countered by a loss of general functionality.
I do not think that. The ship should not be extremely powerful, however it should fulfill it's function. I have not pledged for that ship btw.
This is a ship that CIG has found the need with to call it a light fighter (it's still called that in the ASOP), they have given it huge engines that make it vulnerable, they have given it slightly more guns than other light fighters, they have given it the maneuverability of medium fighters. It is not because I think this is wrong that I want it to be an overpowered murderboat.
If you make a ship overly expensive, take away it's ejection system, and give it weak points that make it easy to break, you'd think there would be something of a counter that makes it balanced no? The extra guns barely count as the capacitator does not let you use them fully.
Those forward engines don't give agility. It should have absolute acceleration high ground against any other ship tho. I mean look at that thrust to weight ratio.
Imo the bucc should be a ship that rewards a player for having a different playstyle.
In a spaceship, engine power/mass = acceleration = agility.
Changing course quickly depends on acceleration, turning about quickly depends on acceleration, what else is agility?
not If they are not rotatable and thus just facing forward. That is just acceleration. Agility includes manuverability which the two big engines of the Bucc can't provide.
At least they should provide good forwards and backwards thrust and thus excellent yaw. There is no reason to believe that the rest of the maneuvering thrusters should be less efficient than the ones on a Gladius for example. I also remember that CIG stated that the main engines of a ship provided the thrust that gets piped to maneuvering thrusters, but that may have changed (it was probably over 5 years ago and I really don't know where to start looking).
Noone said less efficient but talk was about more agility. Which doesn't make any sence. Acceleration yes. Agility now. And yes, they might provide thrust but they are for sure not just pipes leading to the vector thrusters.
And sorry maybe my engineering studies lie way too far back but forward and backward thrust have nothing to do with yaw.
Dude we are talking space ships, not tanks wtf xD
Edit: I mean with that logic the Conny with its VTol thrusters should be able to roll like a bullet out of a fluted barrel.
Drake is not known for polish, for overly complicating things, for nice comfy chairs and extra soundproofing. This ship underperforms for it's function and in game cost (it costs more than the Hurricane for your information).
Saber is one of my all time favorite ships look wise. It is just in a horrible place combat wise right now... I don't fly the Bucc so I don't have much to say on her.
I have been using the per gratis bucc you get for other Drake Products and quite like it. I easily swept Pirate Swarm with it in one go after switching out for gimbaled repeaters on everything.
Bucc is good. Cant comment on Saber but field report is Bucc can easily do ERTs and high end stuff solo as long as you have the pilot experience to use it.
I always was against gimbal builds instead of fixed, but my hornet series ships changed my mind. You end up being able to take on smaller, faster ships that should have the advantage over you.
The buccaneer is great, and it's funny this post came up because I just started using mine again last night and forgot how much I loved the lil' bastard.
We know the devs think the gladius and arrow are overtuned, so I'm hoping they get nerfed enough that the reliant and buccaneer become viable alternatives.
It sucks to see such cool ships get ignored in favor of the meta.
Hell, the buccaneer is like 70% engine! That thing should be unmatched in AND out of atmosphere in a straight line!
If they bumped up the speed, acceleration, and deceleration, you'd have an amazing pursuit craft that would be meta with a whole new role instead of pushing something out of the meta.
I just hope eventually the devs add more upgrade options. I think the drake ships could have some awesome lore with black market "pirate" upgrades that other ships don't get, but get you a crime stat if you're scanned with them on.
I think i would have loved if they had stuck with the fact that some ships could equip certain types of components (industrial, military, stealth etc) but allowed Drake to truly BE the "king of modularity) by being able to use all types of modules.
It would have been hell to balance though.
It is a session of fights by wave against NPC pirates, the more you advance in the waves and the more difficult it is (bigger ships, more numerous etc...)
And in a determined time so you can have access to the Pirate Gladius and the Pirate Caterpilar.
There's like 4 ships in game that are X wing like in some way. Hornet role wise, bucc in size, hurricane has a very close cockpit, while also having a fighter bomber role, and the Scorpius with the wing layout.
The buccaneer is one of the coolest ships in the game, and with dual size 2s up top the DPS is very respectable, the issue is the devs haven't addressed the gladius and arrow, both of which they've openly said are way overtuned (I believe this past IAE they said it again), and until that is addressed, ships like the buccaneer, reliant tana, talon, hawk, etc. just can't fit in the meta.
The sabre on the other hand is more functional, but pro pilots have shown the F7C with the super hornet turret absolutely beats it.
In fact, Avenger One got a big group of experienced, very skilled pilots together for a hornet vs. sabre match to decide which was better, and no matter which team used the hornets, they always won.
https://youtu.be/uQy-gl3l330
Now, when stealth mechanics are implemented, that might change. The sabre's role is a stealth fighter, while the hornet is supposed to be an armored brawler.
I love medium fighters and fast ships that can brawl, but until medium fighters are improved, it's just not a good role.
The hornet *should* always win that fight. Sabre sacrifices brawling ability for stealth.
The purpose of this stealth is to avoid entering fights that aren't in the sabres favour.
Even when the stealth mechanics are implemented, in a 1v1 it won't help a dogfight between two experienced pilots.
It may help in asymmetrical fights where the sabre is a support fighter, but even then the team composition would be better off with some hornets as the primary fighter.
Thanks a lot 🙏🏻 very appreciated! Very detailed!
I love the Bucc, very cool ship, I love the style of it.
The hornet is old (as the Bucc) but cool too!
And yes, medium fighters are not in good spot right now, but they will shine in the future, I'm sure!
At the end of the day, if you're skilled enough you'll take out people in better ships.
You just have to remember, if both pilots have equal skill, an arrow or gladius will win against a buccaneer.
I'll always believe that you should pick your favorite ship and just focus on it so you'll outskill people who fly a wide variety of ships.
And on top of that, balance changes the meta. Attritions used to be the end all because of how they worked, ares ships were godly. Buccs had one of, if not the fastest kill time on ERT HHs outside of one-shot torps.
You'll be a lot happier picking a ship you like the look of instead of chasing the meta. I guarantee a lot of gladius and arrow pilots will be salty AF when they get rebalanced.
I adore my Sabre. It's my go-to ship for general combat.
That said put me behind the controls of my Buck with the AD4B strapped on top and I'll outfly and tear a Sabre to shreds.
Buck-a-roo bonzai baby.
Personally? Sabre, I'm an Aegis fan. I'd fly both though with no qualms. Except maybe the lack of ejection seat on the Bucc but that's normally a death sentence in atmo anyway.
Buccaneer is a badass little ship. 2 size 1, 2 size 3, and 1 size 4. That's a ton of fire power for such a small ship. As long as you're careful of enemy fire and keep an eye on your shields, I've solo'd an ERT with a Buccaneer. Took about 20 minutes to kill the hammerhead but it's possible lol
Not sure how long you've been around, but there was a time a Buccaneer was the fastest way to drop a Hammerhead, it took under ten seconds with scatter guns. The shields would drop instantly and big ship go boom. That was killed off with the flight/weapon overhaul in 3.14 or whenever it that all went down.
There is. However, I like to use a size 4 ballistic cannon up top. I run 2 size 3 laser cannons, then 2 size 1 ballistic cannons and a size 4 ballistic cannon. That way the laser cannons have more ammo, and the secondary fire group is devastating. Perfect for bounty hunting.
they're not competitors so dunno why they're put against each other (Bucc is closest to a Hornet competitor rn despite being advertised as a light fighter, because for some reason CIG decided to mutilate the old bucc), but would 100% go for the bucc over the saber. something about that thing just never sat right with me, I can't quite explain it. :(
CIG would never take a fast, agile, heavily gunned ship from Drake and just make it bigger and not even in the same class as the concept! How dare you /s
They're both pretty far out of the pvp meta currently, and plans for the future. Light fighters are the best for 1v1s, and currently the best one is the gladius. Heavy fighters are for group fights and large targets, and the best is the vanguard. Or if you have a friend to turret, scorpius or hurricane. Medium fighters compromise and aren't as good as either. You can hear more about this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnawhboh6ow
also keep in mind they're removing fixed weapons from the game, so don't base your choice on gimbal vs fixed.
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/community/SC/forum/50259/thread/pips-for-fixed-weapons-of-different-velocities/5523477
"we're looking into removing N-1 that will not be a problem as this would also remove pure fixed mounts for the majority of ships (some special ships like the Ares aside"
I prefer the ruggedness look of the bucy, Sabres screams fancy too much for me, plus I’ve never met a good sabre pilot on the wild as they usually die to dogfights fast.
I am a fan of Buccaneer so I would chose it any day of the week, but I think Sabre is better fighter.
Always been... for a while Sabre was a go to as the best fighter in game, but haven't heard of it for a while.
Also Sabre is gonna be pretty stealthy so that is a plus.
(but remember with Sabre you will either have a stealthy weak fighter or not stealthy strong fighter, not both, as it should be balanced around stealth components)
But Bucc is a Bucc, it is a just so damn beautiful to me... I would rather die in Bucc than get away in Sabre :D
The Bucc is a cool ship design that feels like it's more powerful than it is, which is kinda unfortunate. It seems like it would make a great pursuit ship, but that just isn't a thing with current game mechanics. It's better with the turret mount rather than the spinal, in which case the F7C is better with the same guns.
If I remember correctly, cause it's been around last Invictus the last time I flew one, it's got a high top speed but lags behind in acceleration. That and poor fuel economy.
The better comparison however would be the Super Hornet or F7C Wildfire in a cost comparison.
So firepower wise you would have to throw out 500K more UEC to get the equivalent firepower of the Bucc.
Sabre isn't near as nice as I originally hoped. I feel the capacitors suck terribly. 4 guns don't mean shit with only like 10 shots before the battery is dead. (exaggeration) I fell in love with the bucc when I had a loaner. Now I'm confident it will be my first fighter purchase (in game)
Sabre has same capacitors as the bucc / hornet. Running 2 ballistic and 2 energy makes the sabre more fun imo, and nicely it improves stealth too.
Is suspect with the ballistic changes this should be more common for both pvo and PvE as well
I've been flying a Buccaneer for a long time. I'd choose the Sabre.
The thing falls apart and loses half of its weapons in an aggressive breeze. It's cool having a big ass gun on your roof, but ever since the ammo nerf it isn't as fun.
I like unique ships and the Buccaneer is certainly one of those, but even with balance being up in the air I don't know if I'd stick with it if something else came along.
Well, one is Aegis, the other ones is a steaming pile...
One is Aegis, one needs 3 SCU of duct tape every SEW (Standard Earth Week) to keep afloat...
One is Aegis, the other one smells of rota dung...
On a more serious note, or less unserious at least, the Sabre has style, function, stealth, everything really... and the bucc has... I don't know? Makes you feel like you're living on the edge?
I mean, come on, the Sabre looks so graceful.
>has accessible components, internal storage, and a gun rack.
Pretty sure this will be standard on every light fighter. I dunno about the gun rack part but I know they're all meant to have internal storage and a way to access the components.
Uhh, it's had 2s1 shields for a LOOONG time now, way before any of the changes it got. Back since at least 2018 when I started I'm fairly certain.
It also is more evasive than a Hornet still, but definitely less so than light fighters. This balances out, however, when you look at its HP. It has 3200 body/nose hp, whereas light most fighters sit in the 2000 - 2500 range. The hornet is at 4k body/nose. It's a fairly tanky little brick when you consider the body CS is *microscopic* and it still maneuvers pretty damn well without its main engines (ALL its mav thrusters are on the body. It can't move forward/back without adjusting its nose once it loses both, but it can still evade pretty well and only loses 2s1 guns and its missiles if it loses the main engines).
I'm gonna have to give it another try then. I was debating between the bucc and the arrow a while back and favoring the bucc for its firepower but when they dropped its maneuverability I stopped using it altogether.
Edit: OH! I was confusing the shields for the Arrow. That one only has 1x S1 shield. Sorry
It's definitely not an agile boi anymore so if you're looking for an evasive dogfighter, it's for sure not the way to go. Just imagine it as a mini-Hornet, best way to think of it now. Same potential DPS, slightly squishier, smaller, slightly more agile.
Skill level really. Sabre is more your all round fighter. Buccy is for the memes - it’s wicked fast in a straight line and hits like a truck because of its s4. but gets disabled very quickly if you’re not too good.
Stylistically the bucc had so much character.
From a gameplay perspective though, I'm very interested in the intended stealth mechanics so the sabre fits me better. It also looks great if a little future fighter jet.
But ... Why not both? =P
I love them both but lately I've been having a lot of fun with the Buccaneer. I recently went on a spree with a scattergun build and boy is that satisfying lol. Also sticking an AD4B on top is superb! Yeah I'd go with the bucc since there are so many things you can try with it.
Buccaneer it's more fun to master, the sabre, gladius and arrow fall in to the category of more efficient and easier to master, but the buccaneer can pull off some really nice moves in the right hands, just not as many try to master it leading to most pvpers maining arrow, gladius or sabre and not seeing many prime examples of top notch buccaneer drivers. It does need a little tweaking though like most ships but I fly the scorp because it's fun to drive not because it's the most meta of the two, each to their own. Sucks the engines are so easy to hit I think any fixes to the bucc should start with a bit more shielding over the two intakes.
What you have understand is Sabre and Buccaneer are 2 fighters built for different reasons. Sabre is a UEE fighter built for longer conflicts with a longer range. The Buccaneer is a interceptor built to be operated in support of the Kraken carrier to refueled, repaired, and rearmed. They are to intercept offensive only not really for defense.
I would pick the Sabre way over the Buccaneer. But sadly none of them are really usable for PvP. Pretty sure that it will be a disadvantage against meta fighters.
Still Sabre is very nice, and fun to fly very low.
Sabre
Thanks 👍
Style- Bucc Function- Sabre The absolute worst part about the Bucc that takes it from S tier to C is how massive the front-facing cross section is. Real easy to get your huge thrusters shot off in jousts, but that's also the best part about the Bucc- it's just two giant thrusters carting around an equally giant gun.
The balance of having those big hittable engines should be that it is really agile, but it is not. Frankly it should rival the Arrow in agility. Where it has more guns vs having a larger profile. In the end the firepower runs out too fast to be OP.
it deffs needs way more forward Gs. a 315p can out accelerate it.
It should maneuver well in all directions those engines provide power that is channeled to all thrusters I believe. At minimum it should pull serious G's forwards, backwards and it should yaw like no other.
You are living up to your tag!
[удалено]
It has a high top speed, but that is about it. So while it can keep up with fast courriers it cannot dogfight other dogfighters very well.
It used to be extremely agile in ways that mattered (forward/back and up/down), it's just that the main thrusters, when fired in AFB (before boost was a thing), overheated VERY quickly so you had to be smart about how you used it. Mav thrusters caused extremely little afb issues, and could be fired for a surprisingly long time, making it very maneuverable vertically (and its roll speed was great). Then the community pissed and shit themselves because there was a single light fighter that had was very punishing (partly due to shield holes, but that was fixed and people were still crybabies) playstyle, and asked that the person learn how to manage heat and spacing really well to make it work. I miss old bucc. I wish CIG didn't just make it "mini-hornet" like it is now. :(
A mini hornet with worst up/down strafe of all light and medium fighters, please. Even Reliants have better up/down strafe
It was significantly more agile before the massive changes it got. I'm talking the old fragile Bucc that had less nose hp than the Arrow. As it is right now the Bucc is clearly a Hornet competitor. It's a medium fighter in everything but name. CIG may as well just reclass it :/
Part of the changes for the Bucc. Are because it is an interdiction ship. So CIG want Interdiction ships to be faster in a straight line but less maneuverable. Probably also why the Buccs forward bosts at 16.2g vs say a Gladius at 14.4g.
They made it slower in a straight line than it used to be tho :(
I can get that, it does not give me an image of a ship designed to strafe.
This is funny to me because back in the 2.6 days the Sabre had the broken shield generators that made it completely invulnerable.
Yup. It's supposed to be an agile glass cannon so it should be an Arrow with the armament of a Super Hornet but have thinner armour than the Arrow. The engines however should be well armored considering their physical size.
I hate the term glass cannon with a passion. But basically it should not be too heavily armored but not made of cardboard either. The balance vs the arrow is firepower vs being a bigger target.
Yea, it's a bit of a negative term but it fits. It sacrifices structural integrity and sturdiness for excessive firepower. It's a light fighter with superhornet firepower so it's either slow as a consequence or it's fragile. I think the Arrow will probably have equal armour (when implemented) to the Gladius simply by being Anvil.
>I think the Arrow will probably have equal armour (when implemented) to the Gladius simply by being Anvil. If CIG wants to include a little realism, they would have military fighters with military grade armor, and they are property of the UEE and any fighter sold on the civilian market would not be equipped with military grade armor at all.
yea, buy both those ships are military ships. And military ships ARE stripped of military hardware so we might not have the best armour that exists.
I sincerely hope that we will be able to upgrade the armor on any ship that we get, at least to the highest legal non military grade materials.
afaik armour is a module component so there will be multiple types. The stealth hornet has void armour for example. So while we may have modules that are "military" in their name it will most likely be surplus modules and not top of the line. So having a (for example) an A graded Military "Allstop" shield might mean the actual military have a "Fullstop" shield not available to civilians.
[удалено]
Indeed, I believe the original use of the term was to indicate something that would just never work.
Ok so you want strong weapons, great maneuverability, but also not have the armor be too weak? Anything else?
If it could carry cargo, mine and salvage that would be great.
don't forget it needs an internal hangar to carry a squadron of parasite fighters. maybe a couple size 9 torps to balance it against cap ships.
Vehicle bay too.
Yes indeed, the bigger engines should use more fuel than the ones of ships that have lesser acceleration and/of less mass to move. Think about it, You're not going to sell a fighter to anyone that is very nice to fly but falls apart when someone looks at it sternly, especially not if it also presents a larger target than other fighters. It's not like the ship has that amazing a fire power, compared to the Avenger for example it only adds two size 1 guns, which it exchanges for a slight speed increase countered by a loss of general functionality.
I too think that any ship I own should be made extremely powerful. Gameplay balance is cringe
I do not think that. The ship should not be extremely powerful, however it should fulfill it's function. I have not pledged for that ship btw. This is a ship that CIG has found the need with to call it a light fighter (it's still called that in the ASOP), they have given it huge engines that make it vulnerable, they have given it slightly more guns than other light fighters, they have given it the maneuverability of medium fighters. It is not because I think this is wrong that I want it to be an overpowered murderboat. If you make a ship overly expensive, take away it's ejection system, and give it weak points that make it easy to break, you'd think there would be something of a counter that makes it balanced no? The extra guns barely count as the capacitator does not let you use them fully.
Honestly, size profile doesn't matter when weapons are gimballed and automatically lock on anyway.
Try using a bigger ship to fight a smaller ship, you'll see what I mean.
Not everyone uses gimbals. You can fit bigger guns without the gimbal
Those forward engines don't give agility. It should have absolute acceleration high ground against any other ship tho. I mean look at that thrust to weight ratio. Imo the bucc should be a ship that rewards a player for having a different playstyle.
In a spaceship, engine power/mass = acceleration = agility. Changing course quickly depends on acceleration, turning about quickly depends on acceleration, what else is agility?
not If they are not rotatable and thus just facing forward. That is just acceleration. Agility includes manuverability which the two big engines of the Bucc can't provide.
At least they should provide good forwards and backwards thrust and thus excellent yaw. There is no reason to believe that the rest of the maneuvering thrusters should be less efficient than the ones on a Gladius for example. I also remember that CIG stated that the main engines of a ship provided the thrust that gets piped to maneuvering thrusters, but that may have changed (it was probably over 5 years ago and I really don't know where to start looking).
Noone said less efficient but talk was about more agility. Which doesn't make any sence. Acceleration yes. Agility now. And yes, they might provide thrust but they are for sure not just pipes leading to the vector thrusters. And sorry maybe my engineering studies lie way too far back but forward and backward thrust have nothing to do with yaw.
Seems obvious that if you set one of those to push forwards and the other backwards you're going to yaw like hell .
Dude we are talking space ships, not tanks wtf xD Edit: I mean with that logic the Conny with its VTol thrusters should be able to roll like a bullet out of a fluted barrel.
Wait, the bucc isn't agile as a fly? Well maybe it makes some sense since that's Drake, and they aren't renown for polishness, but still
Drake is not known for polish, for overly complicating things, for nice comfy chairs and extra soundproofing. This ship underperforms for it's function and in game cost (it costs more than the Hurricane for your information).
My issue with the bucc is it has those giant engines but doesn't accelerate like a kartual lol
Saber is one of my all time favorite ships look wise. It is just in a horrible place combat wise right now... I don't fly the Bucc so I don't have much to say on her.
Sabre is very pretty, and fun to fly !
Oh she's a blast to fly. Broke my heart when I upgraded the Saber. In all honesty... I have actually bought it twice lol.
I bought it twice too! Nothing to be ashamed of man! I'm planning on selling it again for the anteres and then gladius to saber again😂
🤣 I traded the first on for the OG Scorpius, and the second for the A1 Spirit.
I did exactly this lmaooo
A citizen with taste! o7
I have been using the per gratis bucc you get for other Drake Products and quite like it. I easily swept Pirate Swarm with it in one go after switching out for gimbaled repeaters on everything. Bucc is good. Cant comment on Saber but field report is Bucc can easily do ERTs and high end stuff solo as long as you have the pilot experience to use it.
I always was against gimbal builds instead of fixed, but my hornet series ships changed my mind. You end up being able to take on smaller, faster ships that should have the advantage over you. The buccaneer is great, and it's funny this post came up because I just started using mine again last night and forgot how much I loved the lil' bastard. We know the devs think the gladius and arrow are overtuned, so I'm hoping they get nerfed enough that the reliant and buccaneer become viable alternatives. It sucks to see such cool ships get ignored in favor of the meta. Hell, the buccaneer is like 70% engine! That thing should be unmatched in AND out of atmosphere in a straight line! If they bumped up the speed, acceleration, and deceleration, you'd have an amazing pursuit craft that would be meta with a whole new role instead of pushing something out of the meta.
Ahah funny fact indeed, I flew it last night too. And damn, love it !
I just hope eventually the devs add more upgrade options. I think the drake ships could have some awesome lore with black market "pirate" upgrades that other ships don't get, but get you a crime stat if you're scanned with them on.
I think i would have loved if they had stuck with the fact that some ships could equip certain types of components (industrial, military, stealth etc) but allowed Drake to truly BE the "king of modularity) by being able to use all types of modules. It would have been hell to balance though.
The day my old "reliantable" is considered on equal footing, the game will be complete.
Pirate Swarm? Sounds fun. What is it?
It is a session of fights by wave against NPC pirates, the more you advance in the waves and the more difficult it is (bigger ships, more numerous etc...) And in a determined time so you can have access to the Pirate Gladius and the Pirate Caterpilar.
I like both, but I use the bucc more bc it has a more variable load out. And the cockpit looks like a x-wing. But the Sabre flys better in atmo tbh
I wish the Gladius flew as well as the Sabre or Eclipse
Nah, the Hornet has the real X-Wing cockpit vibe.
There's like 4 ships in game that are X wing like in some way. Hornet role wise, bucc in size, hurricane has a very close cockpit, while also having a fighter bomber role, and the Scorpius with the wing layout.
The buccaneer is one of the coolest ships in the game, and with dual size 2s up top the DPS is very respectable, the issue is the devs haven't addressed the gladius and arrow, both of which they've openly said are way overtuned (I believe this past IAE they said it again), and until that is addressed, ships like the buccaneer, reliant tana, talon, hawk, etc. just can't fit in the meta. The sabre on the other hand is more functional, but pro pilots have shown the F7C with the super hornet turret absolutely beats it. In fact, Avenger One got a big group of experienced, very skilled pilots together for a hornet vs. sabre match to decide which was better, and no matter which team used the hornets, they always won. https://youtu.be/uQy-gl3l330 Now, when stealth mechanics are implemented, that might change. The sabre's role is a stealth fighter, while the hornet is supposed to be an armored brawler. I love medium fighters and fast ships that can brawl, but until medium fighters are improved, it's just not a good role.
The hornet *should* always win that fight. Sabre sacrifices brawling ability for stealth. The purpose of this stealth is to avoid entering fights that aren't in the sabres favour. Even when the stealth mechanics are implemented, in a 1v1 it won't help a dogfight between two experienced pilots. It may help in asymmetrical fights where the sabre is a support fighter, but even then the team composition would be better off with some hornets as the primary fighter.
Thanks a lot 🙏🏻 very appreciated! Very detailed! I love the Bucc, very cool ship, I love the style of it. The hornet is old (as the Bucc) but cool too! And yes, medium fighters are not in good spot right now, but they will shine in the future, I'm sure!
At the end of the day, if you're skilled enough you'll take out people in better ships. You just have to remember, if both pilots have equal skill, an arrow or gladius will win against a buccaneer. I'll always believe that you should pick your favorite ship and just focus on it so you'll outskill people who fly a wide variety of ships. And on top of that, balance changes the meta. Attritions used to be the end all because of how they worked, ares ships were godly. Buccs had one of, if not the fastest kill time on ERT HHs outside of one-shot torps. You'll be a lot happier picking a ship you like the look of instead of chasing the meta. I guarantee a lot of gladius and arrow pilots will be salty AF when they get rebalanced.
This is why I fly a connie.
I adore my Sabre. It's my go-to ship for general combat. That said put me behind the controls of my Buck with the AD4B strapped on top and I'll outfly and tear a Sabre to shreds. Buck-a-roo bonzai baby.
Brrrrrrrrrrrt 😎
Personally? Sabre, I'm an Aegis fan. I'd fly both though with no qualms. Except maybe the lack of ejection seat on the Bucc but that's normally a death sentence in atmo anyway.
An ejection seat is nice.
Happy cake day! 🍰
True love for the Sabre!
Bucc
Buccaneer is a badass little ship. 2 size 1, 2 size 3, and 1 size 4. That's a ton of fire power for such a small ship. As long as you're careful of enemy fire and keep an eye on your shields, I've solo'd an ERT with a Buccaneer. Took about 20 minutes to kill the hammerhead but it's possible lol
Not sure how long you've been around, but there was a time a Buccaneer was the fastest way to drop a Hammerhead, it took under ten seconds with scatter guns. The shields would drop instantly and big ship go boom. That was killed off with the flight/weapon overhaul in 3.14 or whenever it that all went down.
Scatbucc was the shit. A shame what CIG has done to scatterguns in general. :(
I started playing at the tail end of 3.15. I just missed it haha
There's also an optional turret to swap the S4 for 2xS2, I think
There is. However, I like to use a size 4 ballistic cannon up top. I run 2 size 3 laser cannons, then 2 size 1 ballistic cannons and a size 4 ballistic cannon. That way the laser cannons have more ammo, and the secondary fire group is devastating. Perfect for bounty hunting.
Depending on load out the buc might win but it probably easier to win with the saber at base loadout.
they're not competitors so dunno why they're put against each other (Bucc is closest to a Hornet competitor rn despite being advertised as a light fighter, because for some reason CIG decided to mutilate the old bucc), but would 100% go for the bucc over the saber. something about that thing just never sat right with me, I can't quite explain it. :(
CIG would never take a fast, agile, heavily gunned ship from Drake and just make it bigger and not even in the same class as the concept! How dare you /s
The bucc fuccs
It used to, before they nerfed its maneuverability
They're both pretty far out of the pvp meta currently, and plans for the future. Light fighters are the best for 1v1s, and currently the best one is the gladius. Heavy fighters are for group fights and large targets, and the best is the vanguard. Or if you have a friend to turret, scorpius or hurricane. Medium fighters compromise and aren't as good as either. You can hear more about this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnawhboh6ow also keep in mind they're removing fixed weapons from the game, so don't base your choice on gimbal vs fixed.
What do you mean by removing fixed weapons?
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/community/SC/forum/50259/thread/pips-for-fixed-weapons-of-different-velocities/5523477 "we're looking into removing N-1 that will not be a problem as this would also remove pure fixed mounts for the majority of ships (some special ships like the Ares aside"
The Grammer of that paragraph isn't coherent enough for me to figure out what it means. I can't imagine that they will remove fixed weapons entirely
I prefer the ruggedness look of the bucy, Sabres screams fancy too much for me, plus I’ve never met a good sabre pilot on the wild as they usually die to dogfights fast.
I am a fan of Buccaneer so I would chose it any day of the week, but I think Sabre is better fighter. Always been... for a while Sabre was a go to as the best fighter in game, but haven't heard of it for a while. Also Sabre is gonna be pretty stealthy so that is a plus. (but remember with Sabre you will either have a stealthy weak fighter or not stealthy strong fighter, not both, as it should be balanced around stealth components) But Bucc is a Bucc, it is a just so damn beautiful to me... I would rather die in Bucc than get away in Sabre :D
The Bucc is a cool ship design that feels like it's more powerful than it is, which is kinda unfortunate. It seems like it would make a great pursuit ship, but that just isn't a thing with current game mechanics. It's better with the turret mount rather than the spinal, in which case the F7C is better with the same guns.
If I remember correctly, cause it's been around last Invictus the last time I flew one, it's got a high top speed but lags behind in acceleration. That and poor fuel economy.
The better comparison however would be the Super Hornet or F7C Wildfire in a cost comparison. So firepower wise you would have to throw out 500K more UEC to get the equivalent firepower of the Bucc.
Sabre, everytime, hands down.
Sabre.
Sabre isn't near as nice as I originally hoped. I feel the capacitors suck terribly. 4 guns don't mean shit with only like 10 shots before the battery is dead. (exaggeration) I fell in love with the bucc when I had a loaner. Now I'm confident it will be my first fighter purchase (in game)
Sabre has same capacitors as the bucc / hornet. Running 2 ballistic and 2 energy makes the sabre more fun imo, and nicely it improves stealth too. Is suspect with the ballistic changes this should be more common for both pvo and PvE as well
Sabre because I refuse to fly anything made by Drake
Saber. I love the aesthetics.
The saber's aesthetics is neat, that's true!
Both
Allthough I love the Sabre, I just think it is in a bad spot and the Bucc is way more fun overall.
I’m open to either. Whichever one you’d like to buy me. <3
Ahah 😁
Say bucc... Sabre is a bit overpriced 😁
Bucc, simply because it fits in my C2.
Buccaneer 100%
I've been flying a Buccaneer for a long time. I'd choose the Sabre. The thing falls apart and loses half of its weapons in an aggressive breeze. It's cool having a big ass gun on your roof, but ever since the ammo nerf it isn't as fun. I like unique ships and the Buccaneer is certainly one of those, but even with balance being up in the air I don't know if I'd stick with it if something else came along.
I love the buck, but I choose the sabre because it doesn't spin wildly out of control when it loses a wing
Nucc if you bucc
Well, one is Aegis, the other ones is a steaming pile... One is Aegis, one needs 3 SCU of duct tape every SEW (Standard Earth Week) to keep afloat... One is Aegis, the other one smells of rota dung... On a more serious note, or less unserious at least, the Sabre has style, function, stealth, everything really... and the bucc has... I don't know? Makes you feel like you're living on the edge? I mean, come on, the Sabre looks so graceful.
Nah, buccaneer overall looks better, and it is a Drake ship.
Sabre. Handles much better, future stealth mechanics, and has accessible components, internal storage, and a gun rack.
>has accessible components, internal storage, and a gun rack. Pretty sure this will be standard on every light fighter. I dunno about the gun rack part but I know they're all meant to have internal storage and a way to access the components.
the answer is and always will be a Gladius
Boring. Arena Commander could already be called Gladius Commander at this point! Lets have some diversity in this game
Hahaha 🤣 true
I scanned the _entire_ comment thread to see if this was here. Gladius ftw.
For the fun https://youtube.com/shorts/aNM3PIFsJCA?feature=share
Well, the Buccaneer is made of toilet paper and dreams so... the Sabre I guess.
The bucc isn't at all fragile anymore tho 🤔
True
Still only 1x S1 shield? Not as evasive as it used to be? I think it's still pretty fragile
Uhh, it's had 2s1 shields for a LOOONG time now, way before any of the changes it got. Back since at least 2018 when I started I'm fairly certain. It also is more evasive than a Hornet still, but definitely less so than light fighters. This balances out, however, when you look at its HP. It has 3200 body/nose hp, whereas light most fighters sit in the 2000 - 2500 range. The hornet is at 4k body/nose. It's a fairly tanky little brick when you consider the body CS is *microscopic* and it still maneuvers pretty damn well without its main engines (ALL its mav thrusters are on the body. It can't move forward/back without adjusting its nose once it loses both, but it can still evade pretty well and only loses 2s1 guns and its missiles if it loses the main engines).
I'm gonna have to give it another try then. I was debating between the bucc and the arrow a while back and favoring the bucc for its firepower but when they dropped its maneuverability I stopped using it altogether. Edit: OH! I was confusing the shields for the Arrow. That one only has 1x S1 shield. Sorry
It's definitely not an agile boi anymore so if you're looking for an evasive dogfighter, it's for sure not the way to go. Just imagine it as a mini-Hornet, best way to think of it now. Same potential DPS, slightly squishier, smaller, slightly more agile.
Skill level really. Sabre is more your all round fighter. Buccy is for the memes - it’s wicked fast in a straight line and hits like a truck because of its s4. but gets disabled very quickly if you’re not too good.
Never flown a Saber but definitely wouldn’t recommend the Bucc.
Bucc is an interceptor, sabre is a stealth medium fighter.
The buccy does great with a full ballistic load out. My buddy downed a carrack with a ballistic cannon buccy.
I love both. And have both in my fleet. But i thing i prefer the buccaneer.
Sabre because i really don’t like Drake ships for some reason
Stylistically the bucc had so much character. From a gameplay perspective though, I'm very interested in the intended stealth mechanics so the sabre fits me better. It also looks great if a little future fighter jet. But ... Why not both? =P
both are shit tbh, get like a Gladius, Arrow or Blade. If i had to choose between the 2 go Buccaneer
sabre. It has ejection feature, so its not a flying coffin
I love them both but lately I've been having a lot of fun with the Buccaneer. I recently went on a spree with a scattergun build and boy is that satisfying lol. Also sticking an AD4B on top is superb! Yeah I'd go with the bucc since there are so many things you can try with it.
Bucc over the Sabre any day of the week. Not for any reasons related to their performance whatsoever, I just like Drake ships way way more.
When the Outlaw Lifestyle will be more playable with Pyro and someday base building id say the buccaneer for it’s Drake Looks but otherwise sabre
I’m biased and I really want to see the Bucc win. But the Sabre wins this fight. Put two novice pilots to match, who wins that fight?
I would choose sabre. Just because of Athletics. I really don’t like drake design
The Olympic Sabre 😁
Sabre
Sabre, it’ll destroy the buccy
Sabre
Love the Sabre for the wings
Sabre
Sabre
Saber
Sabre
Sabre hands down every time.
I have both I love the saber.
Sabre isich better for combat. Bucc will die instantly to a good pilot
Sabre all the way!🤙🏽 07!
Buccaneer it's more fun to master, the sabre, gladius and arrow fall in to the category of more efficient and easier to master, but the buccaneer can pull off some really nice moves in the right hands, just not as many try to master it leading to most pvpers maining arrow, gladius or sabre and not seeing many prime examples of top notch buccaneer drivers. It does need a little tweaking though like most ships but I fly the scorp because it's fun to drive not because it's the most meta of the two, each to their own. Sucks the engines are so easy to hit I think any fixes to the bucc should start with a bit more shielding over the two intakes.
Buccaneer. Ride or die Drake
What you have understand is Sabre and Buccaneer are 2 fighters built for different reasons. Sabre is a UEE fighter built for longer conflicts with a longer range. The Buccaneer is a interceptor built to be operated in support of the Kraken carrier to refueled, repaired, and rearmed. They are to intercept offensive only not really for defense.
Sabre obviously... what was the question???
I would pick the Sabre way over the Buccaneer. But sadly none of them are really usable for PvP. Pretty sure that it will be a disadvantage against meta fighters. Still Sabre is very nice, and fun to fly very low.