What is the point of the Lanius B?

[OC2142]

A 4-man teleporter doesn't make a good teleporting ship. It makes an OP teleporting fragfest of momentous proportions.

Surely 4 boarders are better than 2? With all else the same, my money's on the four! Being outnumbered 2 to 1 is still being outnumbered 2 to 1. Its why i hated the Gila Monster at the start, since you had only 2 mantii to board with. On the Carnelian, 3 crystals and a mantis probably beats 2 lanii on the Shrike. And good weapons are not that rare if you're killing ships the way you are. So the initial flak gun starts looking a little antiquated amongst Ion Bombs, Flak II's which deal 133% more damage and Halberd beams which are downright crippling against most ships. Btw it seems RNGesus loves using flak to screw you over. 1x2 room? Nope, all shots miss. 2nd salvo? Nope, dodged. Last salvo oh wait the enemy crew has cloned again!

[stylesrj]

Surely 4 boarders are better than 2? With all else the same, my money's on the four!

But it shouldn't be a requirement for a good boarding ship. You even said the Shivian would be a good boarding ship... if it had a teleporter.

Being outnumbered 2 to 1 is still being outnumbered 2 to 1. Its why i hated the Gila Monster at the start, since you had only 2 mantii to board with. On the Carnelian, 3 crystals and a mantis probably beats 2 lanii on the Shrike. And good weapons are not that rare if you're killing ships the way you are.

I hate the Gila Monster because it's a Mantis Boarding Ship with only two teleporter spots and the medbay is a long distance from it. It's not very Mantis-like in terms of playstyle now is it?

But Two Lanius on the Shrike is better than two Mantii on the Basilisk. Because if those two Mantii die, that's it. Fabricate yourself a fork and stick it. You're done.

If the two Lanius die, you have the Mind Control to avenge them until they come back. The fun and damage never stops!

Also, you keep forgetting the most meddlesome foe in a run - the automated ship. What good are your three Crystals or two Mantises when your first jump leads you into the cold, robotic clutches of an automated scout ship over a solar flare with Mind Control and missiles?

So the initial flak gun starts looking a little antiquated amongst Ion Bombs, Flak II's which deal 133% more damage and Halberd beams which are downright crippling against most ships.

Flak II is worthless and should be sold immediately. 7 projectiles every 22 seconds? Wide blast radius? It's just as bad as the Chain Vulcan. More Flak I, more power.

Plus, Flak I's are more likely to be found in stores and in Holy Crap moments over Burst Laser II's.

Also, ion bombs? What are you, made of missiles? I'm a severe ballistaphobe.

Btw it seems RNGesus loves using flak to screw you over. 1x2 room? Nope, all shots miss. 2nd salvo? Nope, dodged. Last salvo oh wait the enemy crew has cloned again!

That's why you make it up with quantity. One flak is worthless past a certain point, but four is carnage on a massive scale every 12 seconds!

[5thHorseman]

I agree with everything you say except:

One flak is worthless past a certain point, but four is carnage on a massive scale every 12 seconds!

You mean 10 seconds. 8 or less when you're all leveled up and/or have some auto reloaders.

Oh gawd that was glorious.

[stylesrj]

You mean 10 seconds. 8 or less when you're all leveled up and/or have some auto reloaders.

*slaps forehead* Doh! Could have sworn it was 12 seconds. Or was I thinking of that POS Flak I from Captain's Edition. You know, the one that takes 14 seconds to fire two shots in a radius worse than the Terrible Shotgun in Fallout 3?
The Shrike in CE comes with two of those for extra suckage. But on the bright side, it had an AI avatar instead of an Engi. Oxygen-free run anyone?

But yeah, 10 seconds. Hell that alone makes one Flak better than a Flak II. 6 shots every 20 seconds for only two power?
It also means Flak II is even more worthless with a second Flak I. 6 shots every 10 seconds? Take that Flak II and your 7 shots in a wide radius every 22 seconds!

[LordPylos]

Just completed a Hard run using Lanius B. IMO, the strong points are the good default layout. Really helps with a strong start considering the severe scrap shortage on Hard. The Lanius boarders are strong and are effective against pesky automated ships. Also the default Advanced Flak weapon is excellent, I used it all the way up to the flagship.

On my run I bought a zoltan shield bypass, and didnt get any additional weapons until sector 4 or 5. Used a Flak II. Some people dont like it, and considering cooldown time I see why. It wrecked the flagship for me though.

Advanced Flak/Flak II/Pike Beam/Hull Smasher - These were the weapons I ended up using.

Also grabbed a cloak for defense and a backup battery.

Wrecked the flagship.

[stylesrj]

I've just made a video of a Normal run with the Shrike.

http://youtu.be/8Mr2Kk_Ojwk

It's got ups and downs but even when things are not going your way, victory is very possible.
Except when Sector 7 is an Abandoned Sector...

[OC2142]

On the Basilisk, you can get through nearly any problem. Laniuses take too long to destroy a system compared to mantises, and have no particularly useful abilites like Crystals. Draining O2 is frankly over-rated, and easily overpowered by Life Support. Hell, the Mind control is inferior to the Hacking in every way. Hacking would allow you to trap enemies in a room, and drain the entire ship of O2 simultaneously. Mind control isn't a viable alternative, especially against the flagship. With hacking, you can take the crew out by hacking the Med-Bay when wounded rebels try to get healed. The Mind Control is just useless since even 4 crew can't dish out sufficient damage to kill the controlled guy before time runs out, and he can't deal enough damage to kill anyone else. If this ship had hacking it could be acceptable, but it just isn't. Your weapons suck, your boarders are as useful as a chocolate teapot, your medical facilities are worthless and your engines provide negligible dodging benefit. Also, having no sensors AND no slugs also is a pain in the ass. Surely it is better to specialise in a single tactic rather than attempt to branch into everything and be sub-par at everything?

[stylesrj]

The problem with the Basilisk is that it requires a lot of luck for a good run. You have two Mantises, no autopilot and if you want to defend against missiles, it's going to cost you a Drone Part. Oh and your Defense Drone will not shoot hacking drones going after Drone Control (iPad version at least) so if the enemy ship has both and you have no pilot...

If you watched the video (and if you haven't, watch it. You're still using old arguments that were thoroughly shot down by the words "Automated ships" and I'm starting to think you've been replaced with a bot), the Shrike doesn't get through nearly any problem, it gets through every problem in the early-game. Did you see me retreat from an automated ship or a pirate with a medbay? Sure my guns sucked for several sectors and I complained about it, but I pulled through. If it was an automated ship with 3 shields and I had only fire weapons or no guns, I would have retreated and missed out on the Scrap (and probably wouldn't be able to afford the Clone Bay. Then again there was that Slug purchase I wasted).

It was only when I encountered Lanius Bombers that I actually considered retreat (not even the Carnelian or Basilisk would have been sufficient in those encounters) because honestly, I was pretty much fighting my own ship. (Hacking, Mind Control, Teleporter, Clone Bay.)
Although they had missiles.

When the enemy has Lanius crew, your defenders are as useless as chocolate teapot.

The Mind Control is just useless since even 4 crew can't dish out sufficient damage to kill the controlled guy before time runs out, and he can't deal enough damage to kill anyone else.

Level 3 Mind Control tends to do that. Level 1 Mind Control is sufficient though. Provided you put someone in the room or damage it so people actually run there. The AI is rather wonky when it comes to mind controlled boarders.

Still you can always use Level 1 Mind Control and a Level 3 Teleporter and "steal" crew. They'll run for the Oxygen Room (which should have no air) and die banging on the doors to Sensors.

Surely it is better to specialise in a single tactic rather than attempt to branch into everything and be sub-par at everything?

Nope.avi

Do I need to make a Hard Mode run to convince you?

[5thHorseman]

...snip more of the same...

We're obviously never going to convince you, nor you us, but I will again mention that teleporting 2 Lanius into a 2x2 room, and then mind controlling in that room when there are 2 enemies in it, essentially wins every single fight in the first 2 sectors and is a strong viable tactic all game, up to and including against the flagship.

Don't bother replying to me, I've got nothing new to add and you don't seem to either, so I won't reply to anything else you say.

[stylesrj]

Yeah, I think OC2142 hasn't actually flown the Shrike for very long and is still referring to outdated arguments.
"Oh noes I can't dodge very well with level 1 engines! Oh noes my Lanius are not Mantises! If they're not death machines of claws and acid, then they're obviously worthless! Oh teh noes it hasn't got Hacking!"

At this point, I think OC2142 has been replaced with a spambot considering how many times those arguments were brought up and the counterarguments ignored only to be repeated again, word for word.