Freelancer Review
- KIT_RAE_COMMANDER
- Sep 23, 2016
- 4 min read
Will you be travelling with precious cargo and want a ship with weapons, shields, storage space and can still go the distance? The Freelancer is probably a solid choice for most as it offers all of these and more with it's robust variants.
1. Structural Makeup
The base model Freelancer which is flyable now in alpha version 2.5 offers a max crew of 2 and a cargo capacity of 52 units. It's the perfect medium class ship for solo pilots or frequent duo flyers. It also in theory would make a nice compartmentalized addition to a small fleet whom may wish to not risk all their cargo in just one ship. Variants such as the Freelancer MAX will offer up to 123 units of cargo and twice as many maneuvering thrusters. Variants such as the Freelancer MIS is more militarized offering an extra manned station, more firepower and higher grade stock shielding. The base model Freelancer is currently equip with 2XTR5 primary thrusters, 8XTR2 maneuvering thrusters and 2X Arc Duo factory engines. What this means is the ship has a mid range max speed and can still maneuver some at average speeds. Right now the ship can handle like a garbage truck on ice, however this is a comparison statement against small fighter class ships. Since fighter's are going to be whats shooting at you most of the time I think you'll agree this is a fair assessment. The Freelancer currently has a max power plant of size 2 and carries two of these, the ARMS ExoGen. The ship is boasted to carry up to size 5 for each but we will have to wait and see. Additionally in alpha 2.5 the ship will seem to be somewhat fragile when taking fire. I suspect that before more balancing is done and bug testing is validated, parts of the ship stick out past the range of the shields. This usually makes missiles first to go by having the wings blown off easily. The main weapons are tighter to the ship however still stick out a bit from each side and are usually second to go when taking scattered fire followed by thrust / engines. Any further scattered fire and your ship will be completely destroyed. This structural makeup, make the ship fantastic for flying around the public universe but a poor choice in any Arena Commander.
2. Hardpoints
The base model Freelancer comes stock with missile pylon 3X Arrester III(3) size 3 & 3X Ignite II(2) size 2. In other words your missile ordinance provides you with six missiles on each wing, 3 of each type for a total of 12 missiles. These are fairly fast heat seeking missiles. With the new HUD being integrated into the control panel you will arm these first by pressing "Z" for mouse / keyboard configurations and looking to your lower left from the pilots seat. You will then press / hold "Z" again to zoom or focus your sight on the weapons panel. Use the mouse to click the missile tab and choose your load-out 1-6 for each missile pylon. Press "Z" again to return to the stick and maneuver your ship. These missiles are great for pirates and crusader security. A full direct hit of your missile load-out will do considerable damage to a large class ship such as the Constellation. The missiles alone won't be enough to destroy large ships but will definitely punch a hole in the defenses.
You will have 2X TARANTULA GT-870 MK3 size 3 ballistic cannons on each side of the ship for a total of 4 cannons. You will have stock 180 rounds for each so make your shots count in the public universe as these have limited supply. The ammunition will renew your supply after each elite round in Vanduul Swarm. These cannons pack a serious punch doing devastating damage to ships when you land all 4 ballistic shells in a single blast. Keep in mind that ballistics penetrate energy shields and do direct damage right away.
With the base model Freelancer you also have a manned turret which comes stock with size 1 M3A Laser Cannon X2. Most people will find manning a turret to be somewhat of a burden as your accuracy relies heavily on the piloting skills of your main pilot. You may find the ship moving to fast, too slow, not within range or just not lined up for your turret and you will have little to no control over this. At this stage the manned turret on the Freelancer is best left unmanned.
The Freelancer cargo bay is large enough to hold a Drake Dragonfly for planetary exploration. The space bike is also a 2 seat vehicle again making the space duo that much more appealing. Both the Freelancer and the Dragonfly are reasonably priced in the pledge store, which will surely appeal to those who work hard for their money but don't have a lot of it to spend.
The cockpit view of the Freelancer is open to debate as of 2.5 developmental stages. The view arguably just doesn't sit right with many pilots. I for one have no issues with the cockpit view of the Freelancer. This Jack of all trades ship isn't mean't to be a dedicated fighter and small fighter ships can't hull this much cargo. Being a medium class ship it stands to reason the window space shouldn't be as vast as that of the large class ships. The cockpit may only require 1-2 pilots but it seats 4. Should the visibility be restricted somewhat with 4 seats? In my opinion absolutely. The extra frame makes room for various equipment and design perks of the other variants. I suspect any pilot who has sat in the pilot seat of at least a dozen ships and tested them thoroughly will agree.
The interior space on the Freelancer leaves you with plenty of space to stand and move around. This is probably one of the least buggy ships I have tested up to alpha 2.5. With the large loading bay door on the rear of the ship access is easy an unrestricted.
On a strictly alpha scale I rate the Freelancer a 10/10. I choose the highest end of the scale because I see the potential this ship has between the variants. I recognize one ship simply isn't supposed to have it all so to speak. That variants give the pilots freedom of choice to match the demands of each individual play style. Which ship will you choose?
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