Vortex ship a joke?

General discussion about the game.
AJ_MW
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Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:02 am

Re: Vortex ship a joke?

Postby AJ_MW » Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:17 am

censor wrote:One of the best ships. Period.


I wholeheartedly agree with censor.Despite the obvious drawback of only having ONE crew, The Vortex has one of the best starting-game weapon combos, or at least my personal favorite.

Okay, okay, maybe i'm giving this ship a bit too much credit, but I have a soft spot in my heart for it. This is because it was the first ship I ever beat the game on my first run with. Maybe I was just insanely lucky, but I felt this ship was far easier to use than most others, plus a lot of fun.
spacecadet13
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Re: Vortex ship a joke?

Postby spacecadet13 » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:05 pm

Most players ship tier lists have the Vortex well towards the bottom, and for pretty good reasons. The starting weapons are absolutely superb, with just the teeny tiny problem of having no way of getting through 2 shield layers, and frequently struggling with 1 shield due to the Heavy Ion's slow fire rate and propensity for missing just when you really need a hit ( or, it does hit and the Heavy Laser then misses... :o ) Getting extra/better weapons is always a priority in any FTL run, but is even more crucial than usual for the Vortex, especially on Normal & Hard. And the starting augment's only value is as instant scrap at the first store you find. Starting with one crewman gimps experience gains and boosts from having manned engines/weapons/shields, and the drones? The AP drone is a creampuff that you're stuck with till you get more crew, and the system repair drones are poor subsitutes for extra crew.

Oh, and you're starting with one engine bar, so you ain't dodging anything, or jumping away from danger anytime soon neither.

It's sorta like what Lt Aldo Raine said in Inglorious Basterds - "You know, playing with the Vortex offers a lot of difficulties. Number one being, you're playing with the Vortex!
Earth Scum
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Re: Vortex ship a joke?

Postby Earth Scum » Thu Feb 19, 2015 9:17 pm

Doors are first priority. Powering up shields and engines is second priority. The ship is decent unless your drone control is hit.
Crew isn't a big deal until you're boarded, and without doors you are toast. The game makes it pretty easy to get more crew.
AJ_MW
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Re: Vortex ship a joke?

Postby AJ_MW » Sat Feb 21, 2015 4:23 am

All very good points. Guess I just got really lucky on my first run. :lol:
zeek
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Re: Vortex ship a joke?

Postby zeek » Wed Feb 25, 2015 5:33 pm

Earth Scum wrote:Doors are first priority. Powering up shields and engines is second priority. The ship is decent unless your drone control is hit.
Crew isn't a big deal until you're boarded, and without doors you are toast. The game makes it pretty easy to get more crew.


I could see getting a doors upgrade at the first shop. You can pretty much sell off your anti-personnel drone for a door upgrade. Boarders are super easy at that point. Leave your entire ship vented but the pilot system. As soon as boarders show up slam the doors closed and cut the O2 so no rooms get refilled with oxygen. Unless the boarders were right next to or in the pilot system they're just going to die while trying to get through door after door.

Yes, the ship is one of the worst in the game. It desperately needs upgrades and the drones you start with are not useful through the rest of the game. They're just there to keep you alive until you get more crew. Even the starting weapons are painful since the ship only has 3 weapon slots you're likely going to want to replace all 3 for some heavy hitters by the time you reach the end of the game.

I guess part of the reason I rate it fairly low is because I don't think drones are good offensive tools. Though I sorta wish I could end up on a run where I get 4 anti-ship drones and a drone recovery arm. Go all out defensive otherwise and see how well it works. I hate not being able to aim my shots, but it still might be fun. Besides you could always save the heavy laser for targeted shots.
Leylite
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Re: Vortex ship a joke?

Postby Leylite » Wed Feb 25, 2015 8:10 pm

It's a pretty tough call - Doors 2 does help against most boarding situations by allowing you to both have blocking-doors and the Engi stay in piloting, but at the same time I usually try to tough it out and save the 35 scrap for a weapon, hacking, or shields or engines. In fact, for a little more money you could just buy a human at a store for 45 scrap, who would be even more versatile than a doors upgrade and would be invaluable in the nightmare scenario where 2 mantis board your piloting room.
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5thHorseman
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Re: Vortex ship a joke?

Postby 5thHorseman » Wed Feb 25, 2015 10:16 pm

Leylite wrote:It's a pretty tough call - Doors 2 does help against most boarding situations by allowing you to both have blocking-doors and the Engi stay in piloting, but at the same time I usually try to tough it out and save the 35 scrap for a weapon, hacking, or shields or engines. In fact, for a little more money you could just buy a human at a store for 45 scrap, who would be even more versatile than a doors upgrade and would be invaluable in the nightmare scenario where 2 mantis board your piloting room.


You mean where 3 mantis board you from the event and then 2 more come over from the ship. 2 each in medbay and pilot room and a bonus one to tear up the rest of the ship :D
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stylesrj
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Re: Vortex ship a joke?

Postby stylesrj » Thu Feb 26, 2015 6:54 am

5thHorseman wrote:
You mean where 3 mantis board you from the event and then 2 more come over from the ship. 2 each in medbay and pilot room and a bonus one to tear up the rest of the ship :D


While that's difficult for any ship, it's not the true danger. I eat Mantis sectors for breakfast.

The real danger is the one with up to 6(!) Zoltan boarding your ship. A nuisance in pre-AE FTL, but now that they explode on death, and because you might have a crew in the same room as they are in while you suffocate them...

It's why I avoid Zoltan Sectors unless I have no other choice or it's the Zoltan Homeworlds and even then... frakking weapons licensing...
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5thHorseman
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Re: Vortex ship a joke?

Postby 5thHorseman » Thu Feb 26, 2015 2:21 pm

stylesrj wrote:It's why I avoid Zoltan Sectors unless I have no other choice or it's the Zoltan Homeworlds and even then... frakking weapons licensing...

Oh I hear that, though I still go into Zoltan sectors. They are harder to fight than mantises (Especially 4 vs 4) but they DO choke out faster and have a harder time getting through doors. So just toss some scrap into a L2 door upgrade and herd them through airless corridors until they go poof.

And then give your Engi the job of cleaning all the sticky day-glow ooze off the walls.
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AJ_MW
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Re: Vortex ship a joke?

Postby AJ_MW » Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:42 pm

http://i.imgur.com/nfBZA79.jpg

You could not pay me to play this ship again and blemish this beautiful sight. Ah, good times, good times. :lol: