Red Tail 2X the ship Kestrel is

General discussion about the game.
Hector
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2012 2:02 am

Red Tail 2X the ship Kestrel is

Postby Hector » Tue Dec 18, 2012 5:02 am

I just recently unlocked the Kestrel, and BOY do I like that ship.

You get an extra upgrade on your weapons systems, you get an additional energy, you get an additional crewmen, and you get a second energy from that crewmen.

Your quad of vanilla guns hits two seconds faster and hits for one more point of damage. Yes, in theory burst laser 2 plus missile launcher does equal damage, and that missile can bypass shields...but I find that I have to really be careful of using too many missiles early game.

all-in-all it seems to be a much better ship, which fits I guess because who wants to unlock a crappy ship!
ExtraCheesyPie
Posts: 145
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 4:37 pm

Re: Red Tail 2X the ship Kestrel is

Postby ExtraCheesyPie » Tue Dec 18, 2012 3:54 pm

It really is. You can also sell them for an extra 10 scrap once you get another weapon, and your weapons level up really fast
I hate FTL...

But I love it at the same time...
Aerowind
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2012 1:11 pm

Re: Red Tail 2X the ship Kestrel is

Postby Aerowind » Wed Dec 19, 2012 5:08 pm

The Red Tail is extraordinarily powerful early game, however it suffers because the starting weapons NEED to be replaced to beat the game. The Kestrel's Missile and Burst Laser are useful even endgame.
Hector
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2012 2:02 am

Re: Red Tail 2X the ship Kestrel is

Postby Hector » Thu Dec 20, 2012 5:36 am

Yes, the quad vanilla lasers start to slow down in effectiveness later on.

However, I have found that a single anti-ship drone can really allow those lasers to be useful much further out. My current ship I have a pair of anti-ship drones which just decimate the enemy while my quad vanillas are used to target vital ship locations.

I have not yet used it in combat, but I just picked up a hull breech launcher. Got a big stash of missiles from not having a launcher until now. Truth is the only reason I upgraded was because I had a full cargo bay and had to drop something on the turn I found the launcher.

However, I am using a pair of boarding mantis as well. It's quite possible that the drones plus boarders make weapon systems a lot less important. I might have an extremely different view had I not managed to pick up those key gears.
Fangz
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 9:57 pm

Re: Red Tail 2X the ship Kestrel is

Postby Fangz » Thu Dec 20, 2012 6:59 am

The problem with this ship is that it gives you a near guaranteed boring victory, just like

Shivan (Rock B)

The Basilisk (Mantis B)

Carnelian (Crystal B)

and (maybe)The Stormwalker (Slug B)

Boring victories are the worst thing that can happen in this game.

I need that euphoria after a rocky but victorious run in order to keep playing FTL :)
Torchiest
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Mar 30, 2013 6:17 pm

Re: Red Tail 2X the ship Kestrel is

Postby Torchiest » Sat Mar 30, 2013 6:22 pm

Hector wrote:Yes, the quad vanilla lasers start to slow down in effectiveness later on.

However, I have found that a single anti-ship drone can really allow those lasers to be useful much further out. My current ship I have a pair of anti-ship drones which just decimate the enemy while my quad vanillas are used to target vital ship locations.


Oh man, that's an interesting idea. I have been struggling in the late game with that ship, but drones are a good way to extend the power if you can't find better weapons.

However, I am using a pair of boarding mantis as well. It's quite possible that the drones plus boarders make weapon systems a lot less important. I might have an extremely different view had I not managed to pick up those key gears.


Yeah, I have been having a lot more success with the Red Tail with a focus on boarding parties. I had a loadout in my last game that let me send two pairs of boarding teams over for a while. I actually got stuck in a stalemate in the final battle because I disabled all the boss' weapons systems but didn't have enough firepower to penetrate the shields nor could my boarding party (beat down to two at this point) destroy systems or kill enemies before they healed and swapped out.