Update: as of Patch 7.00 Beta 8, the PE has been rebalanced. Double the shields, 8k less hull, 33 m/s slower speed, and 70 m3 less cargo. My opinion is unchanged.
to put this into perspective of costs, not even factoring in complexity of manufacturing, the Xenon PE is 8% the price of a Cerberus V in raw materials and energy. I would argue that considering the value per credit the Xenon ships are extremely OP. If players could mass produce at that price and use swarm tactics the commonwealth would have no chance.
Due to the inability to produce directly and RNG of the capture mechanics, I completley agree that they are not viable ships for the player to deliberately farm/use.
I bought the game a week ago, less than 10 minutes into the game I stumbled on a fight between Terrans and Xenons... and there it was, an abandoned PE... Instant upgrade from the starter ship :D, an hour later I got the H from (from Timelines) and The abandoned odyssey. I had a pretty good start with this game 😁 Now my trusty Danger Beetle does Advanced satellite trading for me (along with 3 others I found). These little ships generated me a LOT of cash just hauling those satellites around.
The PE's are meant to just be a distraction to your own ships and the npc ships. In the player's hands, they're not good for much except scooping cargo. The B's are decent enough when mixed in with other ships.
Agreed on the PE! As for the B, I can definitely see that being the case, but they're rare enough that I wouldn't trust my NPC pilots with them. Thanks for the insight!
The PEs are dangerous along with the others because they generally don't work alone, its tanky hull and great speed means you will STILL be taking it out while taking damage from a K's gravitons or a few Ms and Ns shooting at you, and despite throwing away almost all the shield boosting away, meaning the best way to kill a P was let it boost and catch up well before it regenerated anywhere near its total shields, the PE being tankier hulls means the loss of shielding is much less a problem. What now takes the most is if the PE is uncooperative and just runs away, because they ARE fast and while the turrets are hitting you, you can't boost, but they can. Mostly they are a severe problem in groups, because that group will be numerous and close knit. And generally the Xenon are cheap to make, so they are well suited to Zerg rush "techniques".
I really like the B, but it felt so bad when I tried it (haven't used it in the latest beta patch though). I wonder if there is a set of mods that could make it worthwhile
I tried Xenon B once. A couple of them bailed to my defense fleets, so i took 5 of them in a small fleet and assigned them to get rid of one pesky pirate Minotaur. Soon, one B was destroyed, one heavily damaged, while Minotaur still kicking. Was first and last time i bothered with those B ships.
Should get a full joystick setup for X4 if you don't have it. It makes the flying 10x more fun, as well as easier once used to it. I have a full Virpil HOTAS setup for space sims. Worth every [insert currency] I paid for it.
I do have a joystick, but my recording equipment has taken its place on my desk, so I've switched over to mouse and keyboard until I have a bigger space to work with. Plus, M&K is pretty nice for flying big ships and for seamlessly transitioning between piloting and empire management. Joystick is very fun for smaller ships though.
You should be able to get the capturable Xenon ships to "bail" just like commonwealth ships by repeated harassment to their hull. Maybe Cpt can confirm.
The H is a very good anti-fighter platform, and the F and B are both usable in low-risk engagements. They are all below-average in terms of "normal" combat power, which I suppose makes sense given that their designs are almost 1,000 years old.
Update: as of Patch 7.00 Beta 8, the PE has been rebalanced. Double the shields, 8k less hull, 33 m/s slower speed, and 70 m3 less cargo. My opinion is unchanged.
to put this into perspective of costs, not even factoring in complexity of manufacturing, the Xenon PE is 8% the price of a Cerberus V in raw materials and energy. I would argue that considering the value per credit the Xenon ships are extremely OP. If players could mass produce at that price and use swarm tactics the commonwealth would have no chance.
Due to the inability to produce directly and RNG of the capture mechanics, I completley agree that they are not viable ships for the player to deliberately farm/use.
I bought the game a week ago, less than 10 minutes into the game I stumbled on a fight between Terrans and Xenons... and there it was, an abandoned PE... Instant upgrade from the starter ship :D, an hour later I got the H from (from Timelines) and The abandoned odyssey. I had a pretty good start with this game 😁
Now my trusty Danger Beetle does Advanced satellite trading for me (along with 3 others I found). These little ships generated me a LOT of cash just hauling those satellites around.
The hull regenerates, I like that :)
The PE's are meant to just be a distraction to your own ships and the npc ships. In the player's hands, they're not good for much except scooping cargo. The B's are decent enough when mixed in with other ships.
Agreed on the PE! As for the B, I can definitely see that being the case, but they're rare enough that I wouldn't trust my NPC pilots with them. Thanks for the insight!
The PEs are dangerous along with the others because they generally don't work alone, its tanky hull and great speed means you will STILL be taking it out while taking damage from a K's gravitons or a few Ms and Ns shooting at you, and despite throwing away almost all the shield boosting away, meaning the best way to kill a P was let it boost and catch up well before it regenerated anywhere near its total shields, the PE being tankier hulls means the loss of shielding is much less a problem. What now takes the most is if the PE is uncooperative and just runs away, because they ARE fast and while the turrets are hitting you, you can't boost, but they can. Mostly they are a severe problem in groups, because that group will be numerous and close knit.
And generally the Xenon are cheap to make, so they are well suited to Zerg rush "techniques".
I really like the B, but it felt so bad when I tried it (haven't used it in the latest beta patch though). I wonder if there is a set of mods that could make it worthwhile
Best choice would probably be mods that enhance the hit and run playstyle, like Slasher on the guns. Reload mods are surprisingly great on beams.
I tried Xenon B once. A couple of them bailed to my defense fleets, so i took 5 of them in a small fleet and assigned them to get rid of one pesky pirate Minotaur. Soon, one B was destroyed, one heavily damaged, while Minotaur still kicking. Was first and last time i bothered with those B ships.
The ship so bad the AI built into it ejects. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you, B is for Bad.
@@Grimmwoldds I actually chuckled ;)
Should get a full joystick setup for X4 if you don't have it. It makes the flying 10x more fun, as well as easier once used to it. I have a full Virpil HOTAS setup for space sims. Worth every [insert currency] I paid for it.
I do have a joystick, but my recording equipment has taken its place on my desk, so I've switched over to mouse and keyboard until I have a bigger space to work with. Plus, M&K is pretty nice for flying big ships and for seamlessly transitioning between piloting and empire management. Joystick is very fun for smaller ships though.
Lost my B, didn't notice that at first, and when I did it was few hours to go back to old save, can you get another one?
You should be able to get the capturable Xenon ships to "bail" just like commonwealth ships by repeated harassment to their hull. Maybe Cpt can confirm.
Confirmed!
Oh, thanks guys I'll try to get one, if I'm not going to get swarmed first haha
So all the flyable Xenon ships are basically crap? What a sad boy I am right now.
The H is a very good anti-fighter platform, and the F and B are both usable in low-risk engagements. They are all below-average in terms of "normal" combat power, which I suppose makes sense given that their designs are almost 1,000 years old.
The windshield is not pinkish-red
What a ripoff