The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

General discussion about the game.
antihippy
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 2:10 pm

The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

Postby antihippy » Fri Jan 18, 2013 2:15 pm

I think it's just me...

Here goes.

I'm really struggling with this ship. I understand that the Artillery weapon is powerful but in the early game it's long charge time is so long it's pretty useless. Aha! I hear you say - don't forget the BL mk2.

Well that is a great weapon (without a doubt) however it seems that once I get past zone 1 the ship suddenly seems really vulnerable unless I happen to find enough cash and a decent missile system.

I didn't have this problem with the kestrel...

So I'm scratching my head over the best way to approach playing with this ship.

What do you all think?

As it stands I think the osprey is terrible but I can see straight away from browsing the boards that I am firmly in the minority.

Ps. I only ever play on Normal. I've never played the game on Easy. I am basically a masochist!
SDEngineer
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2013 8:45 pm

Re: The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

Postby SDEngineer » Fri Jan 18, 2013 5:12 pm

Personally, I really like the ship.

Early on, I'd suggest playing it as a tank - work on getting the defenses up. Raise the shields to L2, and hope to find a store selling a drone system (and try to get a defense drone of some sort) to protect against enemy missiles. BL Mk II does plenty of damage in the first, and is at least relatively reliable in the 2nd sector. After that point (at least on normal), you'll want to have acquired another weapon if you expect your conventional weapons to do significant damage. However, as long as you can tank the enemy damage (which is why you should focus on it), you are guaranteed to be able to win courtesy of the Artillery Beam, so you should work on increasing it's power as well. Once you've got Artillery Beam L3, the c/d seems a lot more reasonable (sure, it's still longer than anything else, but at least it doesn't feel like it's taking forever).

I got "Ballistophobia" using this ship, never once even equipped a missile system, and never raised my weapon power past 4.

End game, the Artillery Beam gives you a lot more consistent and reliable damage against heavily shielded and high evasion ships than just about anything else - for less power, which means you're free to use that power elsewhere. Just make sure you remember to turn it off before sending in any boarding parties.
Satonakaja
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:36 pm

Re: The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

Postby Satonakaja » Sat Jan 19, 2013 5:13 am

The Osprey is a fine ship. My favorite, in fact. It's very versatile, and one of the most RNG-proof ships in the game, rivaling even the Kestrel.

Much of what SDEngineer said is spot on. Early game, the Osprey plays like the Kestrel, usually being able to get through most fights with the burst laser II alone. You definitely want to play a more defensive game with it; shields, engines, defense drones, you name it. Especially defense drones; the Osprey tends to take a massive beating from missiles early game since it can't quickly damage weapon systems early on.

I find that upgrading the Artillery beam to level 2, getting two shields, and a few points in Engines sets you on your way for most of early game. The osprey can live on its artillery beam and burst laser for a while, but around midgame you'll run into problems. Good ways to shore up your offense are missiles or bombs. If you manage to find, say, a pegasus missile or most kinds of bombs, you'll be set weapon-wise for most of the game. It's also fairly easy to go for a boarding strategy, since you start with a Mantis and Rock. (Just, as the last poster said, turn the artillery beam off when boarding. Save yourself the face I made when I accidentally beamed the flagship's first form with my four mantis on it.)

A few general-game play tips for the Osprey:
*Your ship is fairly long, so crew on one side take a while to get on the other side. For this reason, I like attaching my Engi to the shield room so they can get anywhere they need to quickly to aid in repairs.
*This can work out in your favor too: with level 2 doors, you can normally kill off any boarders that teleport onto the front side of your ship by asphyxiating them. If it's not enough, they're usually almost-dead by the time they reach your defenders, likely stationed at your shield room or medbay.
*Automated reloaders shorten the Artillery Beam's charge time, but the Pre-Igniter has no effect.
Mr_Crac
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2013 4:16 pm

Re: The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

Postby Mr_Crac » Sat Jan 19, 2013 5:36 am

Satonakaja wrote:but the Pre-Igniter has no effect.


Is that a bug?
Satonakaja
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:36 pm

Re: The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

Postby Satonakaja » Sat Jan 19, 2013 5:44 am

I'm not sure really. I mean, a free shot of a good-length beam that bypasses all shields would be kind of ridiculous; enough to decide many encounters outright.
breadsmith
Posts: 34
Joined: Thu Oct 04, 2012 12:46 pm

Re: The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

Postby breadsmith » Sat Jan 19, 2013 6:33 am

Since firing the arty beam counts for pilot xp, I believe that they purposefully decided to have the pre-igniter not work.
BKT
Posts: 211
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 3:17 am

Re: The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

Postby BKT » Sat Jan 19, 2013 12:36 pm

Fed can be very frustrating ship to play early game if you didn't get some decent weapon to help disable enemy's weapon system (a Heavy laser MK1 is very good for this) or couldn't acquired a Def drone... :cry:

I once manage to reach sector 7 without any new weapon, def drone, or telepad and lost 3 crew along the way... I think the very early 2x scrap recovery (and one of them is free) is what made it possible. :oops:
asher1611
Posts: 22
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:52 am

Re: The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

Postby asher1611 » Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:38 am

I'm right there with you. I struggle with the Osprey. I've tried playing it by heavily focusing on the artillery beam and I've tried focusing more on defense. No matter what, I tend to get blasted somewhere between Sector 3 and 5 (normal).

I think me and the ship just don't mix. Maybe I just have bad luck, but bad things always seem to happen with the ship and I just can't break out.

And how do you all get defense drones to work? On multiple occasions I've tried using the defense drone I with the Osprey and it just points and watches as missiles fly into the ship. I know it's not supposed to be 100% effective but the Osprey's wide profile seems to make defense drones far less effective.
Satonakaja
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:36 pm

Re: The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

Postby Satonakaja » Sun Jan 20, 2013 6:55 am

Larger ships like the Federation and Mantis cruisers do indeed make defense drones less effective. Still effective, mind you, but you'll miss a lot more missiles than you would, say, the tiny Engi cruiser. As such, with these ships it's often just as important to upgrade engines for more dodge for extra security against missiles.
karmos

Re: The Osprey ... Is it just me ...

Postby karmos » Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:58 am

I enjoy the Osprey and find it easier than the Kestrel. I imagine I pursue a different strategy than you do, though I can't remember what that strategy actually is.

That isn't to say the ship is invincible. I've been beat up plenty, just less frequently than when I play with the Kestrel.