has any 1 tryed?

[Killer]

Well I liked the Mastiff, but 1500 armor is just too low. I always change it for Astarte. The higher armor and shield are better tradeoff for the lower speed and maneuverability. I do not mind the speed, there is no need to hurry anywhere I only dislike how sluggish the Astarte is.

Originally Posted by Binesi

I really don't know why anyone likes the Astarte. It really is a slug (and the model and texturing... dang, what an illogical eyesore, it even has ships docking near the flames of the engine). It is so oversized it often has trouble docking with stations and passing through traffic. You limp around so slowly you pretty much always want to be in 8X mode or it is barely moving. Trying to line up a major caliber shot with it's pathetic turn rate is usually pointless. And for all that hassle you get a little bit better shields and armor. With shield upgrades and repair the difference will be small and you don't have to sacrifice mobility.

The ship barely matches it's description. The armor and shields on it can't last through any significant fire without major upgrades.

I see no problem, as the MS always stops when fighters are docking, so no engine flames there. And you are contradicting yourself in the sentence that armor and shields can not last without upgrades. And how about the Mastiff then? It needs even more upgrades!

[Binesi]

Originally Posted by Killer

I see no problem, as the MS always stops when fighters are docking, so no engine flames there. And you are contradicting yourself in the sentence that armor and shields can not last without upgrades. And how about the Mastiff then? It needs even more upgrades!

If you put a Kali or even Aegis shield generator on either (which is not really hard to accomplish early in the game after you find a stash or two) the difference becomes quite small. In a long fire fight shield regeneration and repair rate becomes about as import as anything else. At least the Mastiff gives you enough speed and maneuverability you can play a bit more strategically. For example I like positioning it behind rocks and stations to survive some of those civil war battles you are not supposed to stick around and win or use the speed to string out the alien hordes into bite size pieces.

Actually, I would guess with System Mk3 and the right upgrades you could win the game with just a Mastiff - if it where possible to keep it. System Mk3 and a Kali makes you nearly invulnerable just from the shield regeneration speed alone. That would be a much more interesting challenge then running around in an almost totally invulnerable upgraded Lion Cruiser (and yes, I'm playing on hard). As soon as I got the Lion I pretty much lost interest in playing.

[Killer]

Well I disagree from the point that Mastiff/Astarte have only 3 system slots compared to the third MS. Have you tried the Alex campaign? There are so many Berserks in the last mission that Mastiff would last as long as a snowball in hell. But the same aplies to Astarte
But it is just a game. If you are fine with the Mastiff, then no problem Everyone has a different playstile. I prefer to lure enemies to fire on my MS and then let fighters to take them. And for this the Astarte seems better.

[Binesi]

I do want to try the Alex campaign, especially if you say it was tougher (although I don't really care for the Berserks as enemies.. a bunch of glass cannons you either kill very quickly or die very quickly). Even on hard the MSF route wasn't much challenge after I got the shield upgrades, antimissile and repairs fully upgraded with system 3 and laser turrets. You rarely need to undock your fighters, just turn on 4X and wait. After getting the Lion it was truly pointless. The hardest part was definitively the beginning of the game.

I guess that is often a flaw in RPG like designs. You either screw up your build and have a difficult time or you get too optimized and there is no challenge.

Maybe I'll hack the game files and really see if I can win with a Mastiff!