Elite
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Contents
Overview[edit]
The Elite is a well-shielded and potent light fighter.
Background[edit]
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History[edit]
The original Elite served the Argon Federation for many years as an M3 Fighter. However, following the victory over the Xenon M0 mothership and subsequent rout of Xenon forces from Commonwealth space, it was retired and replaced with the Nova.
Some years later, with the threat of the Kha'ak and the disruption of military and political equilibrium by the reconnection of the Solar System to the jumpgate network, the designs for the old Elite were pulled out of storage, reworked and updated with modern technology, and the ship re-entered production as the Argon light fighter.
Variants[edit]
Elite[edit]
The standard elite has good shielding and is generally a match for any M4 or lighter type craft, but it is slow and has difficulties catching them. Many M3s can outrun it, and this problem is exacerbated by its inability to be effective in combat against anything heavier than it is. It is very vulnerable and a poor choice as both a player and fleet ship. One redeeming feature is a rear-mounted turret, giving some missile defense potential and improved fire coverage. It is probably best to put an Impulse Ray Emitter in this slot because popular forward weapons, like Particle Accelerator Cannons, for example, will already have a very strong draw on your energy reserves.
Enhanced Elite[edit]
The Enhanced Elite has enough speed to be fairly effective as an M4+, as it is now fast enough to outrun most things that it is vulnerable to. However, it still suffers from its characteristic lack of firepower.
Pirate Elite[edit]
Pirate Elites marginally improve on the speed and maneuverability of the standard Elite, but their protection is extraordinarily bad for an M4+, being matched by many other M4s in terms of protection without much of a firepower improvement. It is so slow and poorly protected that it's severely threatened by anything that isn't a scout ship, and even scout ships can be troublesome in large numbers.
The Pirate Elite is visually identifiable by its blood-red paint job, and frequently fits an Fragmentation Bomb Launcher in its tailgun.
Physical Characteristics[edit]
Combat[edit]
The Elite has all the abilities needed to dogfight well, as well as a rear turret which can be set either to help take down other targets in the furball or alternatively keep missiles off the ship's tail.
It is to be noted however that the ship is somewhat impeded by a slow Speed and turning capacity. The ship also has a rather weak Energy output for its weapons systems, which emphasizes the need for accuracy when dogfighting, as the energy reserves will take some time to recover to suitable levels. A partial remedy is making use of its ability to mount Mass Drivers, due to their low energy draw. However this does take use up some of the already small cargo bay.
Equipment[edit]
Availability[edit]
The Elite is available at four Federal Argon Shipyards.
Variant | Argon Prime | Cloudbase South East | Omicron Lyrae | Light of Heart | Legend's Home | Argon Sector M148 |
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Elite | X | X | X | X |
The Enhanced Elite is granted by Jonferco upon reaching rank 7.
A Pirate Elite is available as one of many ownerless ships. It can also be made to bail.
Suggested Roles[edit]
A reliable M4+ ship to use, the Elite makes for a more powerful alternative to basic M4s as a cheap carrier fighter.
- Good as
- Sector Patrol
- Space Superiority Fighter
- Swarm Fighter, due to its relatively low cost.
- Poor as
- Capital Ship killer
- Interceptor, due to its comparatively low speed.
See Also[edit]
Ships by Class |
---|
Capital | M1 • M2 / M2+ • M7 / M7M / M7C |
Escort | M6 / M6+ • M8 |
Fighter | M3 / M3+ • M4 / M4+ • M5 |
Transport | TL • TS / TS+ • TP • TM |
M4+ Ships |
---|
Argon | Elite (Enhanced) | |
ATF | none | |
Boron | Pike | |
Goner | none | |
Kha'ak | none | |
OTAS | Solano | |
Paranid | Theseus | |
Pirate | Elite (Advanced) | |
Split | Asp | |
Teladi | Kite (Vanguard) | |
Terran | none | |
Xenon | none | |
Yaki | Tonbo |