Eclipse

Argon Eclipse Class M3+ Heavy Fighter Buy: Trusted Ally @ 6,044,362 Cr Speed (Min-Max) 52 - 130 m/s Acceleration (Min-Max) 8 - 22 m/s2 Steering (Min-Max) 20.31 - 50.78 RPM Hull Strength 12,500 / 25,000 (AP) Max. Shield (Total) 1 x 200 MJ (200 MJ) Shield Reactor 1,250 MW Cargo Class (Min-Max) 120 - 320 @ L Laser Capacitor 8,000 MJ Laser Recharge 200 MW                                                                                                          Main x 8                                                                                                          Front x 1                                                                                                          Rear x 1

Argon Eclipse Prototype Class M3+ Heavy Fighter Speed (Min-Max) 48 - 120 m/s Acceleration (Min-Max) 9 - 23 m/s2 Steering (Min-Max) 16.9 - 42.2 RPM Hull Strength 9,375 / 30,000 (AP) Max. Shield (Total) 5 x 25 MJ (125 MJ) Shield Reactor 1,500 MW Cargo Class (Min-Max) 120 - 285 / 350 (AP) @ L Laser Capacitor 8,500 MJ Laser Recharge 205 MW                                                                                                          Main x 8                                                                                                          Front x 1                                                                                                          Rear x 1

Pirate Eclipse Class M3+ Heavy Fighter Speed (Min-Max) 50 - 140 m/s Acceleration (Min-Max) 10 - 30 m/s2 Steering (Min-Max) 21.3 - 53.2 RPM Hull Strength 9,375 / 18,750 (AP) Max. Shield (Total) 3 x 25 MJ (75 MJ) Shield Reactor 800 MW Cargo Class (Min-Max) 120 - 285 @ L Laser Capacitor 7,800 MJ Laser Recharge 195 MW                                                                                                          Main x 8                                                                                                          Front x 1                                                                                                          Rear x 1

Pirate Eclipse Advanced Class M3+ Heavy Fighter Speed (Min-Max) 67.5 - 126 m/s Acceleration (Min-Max) 17 - 33 m/s2 Steering (Min-Max) 30.5 - 50.8 RPM Hull Strength 11,250 / 22,500 (AP) Max. Shield (Total) 4 x 25 MJ (100 MJ) Shield Reactor 1,200 MW Cargo Class (Min-Max) 254 - 332 @ L Laser Capacitor 7,800 MJ Laser Recharge 195 MW                                                                                                          Main x 8                                                                                                          Front x 1                                                                                                          Rear x 1

Overview

The Eclipse is considered quite ugly, however, it is a well-shielded and powerful fighter in its own right, well suited to maintaining local air superiority, and has become a popular heavy fighter.

Background

The Eclipse was designed by Bala Gi Research Inc. in response to requests from the Argon, Paranid and Split for an improved heavy fighter. Widely regarded as the best all-rounder at the time, the Eclipse has not been updated fast enough to remain at the cutting edge.

Encyclopedia Entry

The Federal Argon Government commissioned Bala Gi Research Inc. to develop a heavy fighter, larger than the current Nova, to fulfill a wider range of roles. The result, the Eclipse, enjoys a larger cargo bay than the Nova, at the expense of some speed and maneuverability. The Argon military are glad to welcome this craft into their arsenal.

Variants

Eclipse

The standard Eclipse is the best shielded of the variants, with 200MJ of shielding. It is the only variant to mount the Ion Disruptor. In Albion Prelude, it is additionally able to mount the Energy Bolt Chaingun.

Eclipse Prototype

This is one of the few exceptions to the general rule that prototype ships are better; it has marginally improved firepower at the expense of everything else.

Pirate Eclipse

The Pirate Eclipse is faster than the standard, but has less than half the shielding and a smaller cargo bay.

Pirate Eclipse Advanced

The Advanced Pirate Eclipse has a slightly larger cargo bay than the standard, but has half its shielding and is slightly slower.

Physical Characteristics

The Eclipse has a vaguely oval-shaped body which appears segmented, with a beak at the front. It is quite large for a fighter and easy to hit with weapons fire.

Combat

The Eclipse is a decent fighter, though a little unwieldy. Because it is among the slowest fighters, it cannot chase down its targets very well, but with two turrets packing some powerful anti-fighter guns like the Phased Repeater Gun, its slow speed is less of a disadvantage once in combat. Nevertheless, some strategy is required when engaging multiple nimble targets, as the Eclipse's large size makes it a big target. Taking out faster targets quickly with missiles is recommended, and the Eclipse has the cargo bay to carry several kinds.

Equipment

Missiles

Mosquito Missile Wasp Missile Dragonfly Missile Silkworm Missile

Disruptor Missile Firefly Missile Thunderbolt Missile Tempest Missile

Hurricane Missile Cyclone Missile Tornado Missile Aurora Missile

Remote Guided Warhead Beluga Missile Hammerhead Missile Rapier Missile

Firelance Missile Wildfire Missile Windstalker Missile Banshee Missile

Availability

The Eclipse Prototype is not available for sale, but is received as a reward for reaching rank 10 (maximum) notoriety with Terracorp.

An Advanced Pirate Eclipse and a Pirate Eclipse are available as ownerless ships in Terran Conflict.

Availability

Variant	Argon Prime	Cloudbase South East	Omicron Lyrae	Light of Heart	Legend's Home	Argon Sector M148
Eclipse	x		x	x		x

Suggested Roles

The Eclipse's slow speed makes it most useful in defensive roles. It is best when defending other slow ships like Carriers or Freighters, or defending stations against Pirate fighters. Like other M3+ ships, it is relatively expensive, so it is not usually recommended for mass-use.

It can also be fairly well suited as a light escort for trading vessels or as a cheap way to deal with frequent pirate fighter raiding in a sector; it is about as slow as any trade ship it needs to protect while having strong weaponry and shielding, allowing it to hold the area around it well.

See Also

Ships by Class

M3+ Ships

Argon	Eclipse (Prototype)
ATF	Fenrir
Boron	Skate (Prototype)
Goner	none
Kha'ak	none
OTAS	Notus Hauler
Paranid	Medusa (Prototype)
Pirate	Eclipse (Advanced) • Kea
Split	Chimera (Enhanced)
Teladi	Kea (Enhanced)
Terran	Cutlass
Xenon	LX
Yaki	Tenjin