The Let's Play Archive

Escape Velocity: Nova

by Decoy Badger

Part 66: Ships Part 09 - Auroran 1

Let's Meet the Auroran Ships!(Part 1 of 2)

Auroran ships are heavily armed and heavily armoured. Although Fed ships trump them in missile technology, the majority of Auroran weapons have superior range and high damage, able to saturate screens with endless railgun shots. Using Auroran weapons with appropriate tactics, even Polaris ships can be taken down with ease.

Auroran Industries Firebird

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Firebirds are the main Auroran fighter. Their engines are simple, to say the least. Their task is to protect the Phoenix from attack by smaller fighters such as the Viper, while the Phoenix take on the heavier ships. The Firebird is slower than the Viper, but not by enough to give the Viper a decisive edge. Battles between the two often come down to individual skill. Many a Federation/Auroran border skirmish has come to a halt while the two sides watch a Firebird/Viper dogfight between renowned pilots.
Sightly slower than a Viper, the standard Firebird mounts a Chaingun which outranges most blaster weapons that lets it keep its edge. There is no reason to use it over the Viper when you can choose your own loadout - it even costs more. Like all fighters, it's dangerous in packs, especially with its space-saturating chaingun fire.

Auroran Industries Phoenix

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The Phoenix is yet another example of the Auroran will to survive. The Phoenix is slow and turns badly. One would think that it would be target practice for enemy pilots. It is, but it has one redeeming feature: it has almost as good armor plating as a Thunderhead. They plough through fire corridors with impunity, and attack in groups to maximize firepower. The Phoenix can wear a missile from an Anaconda, but a Viper will stay on its tail and pound it mercilessly. Suffice to say that Phoenix pilots suffer the greatest rate of attrition of any group in the Auroran armed forces.
Phoenixes are little missile boats, and excel in that role. They've got enough space to mount a decent array of weaponry, and come in swarms that will overwhelm you with missiles. And they do come in swarms - a standard Carrier will launch at least 10 fighters at you, and the only useful response is to scatter and destroy them one by one after they run out of missiles. A good choice if you wish to fly a cheap fighter.

Auroran Industries Abomination

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Abomination by name, abomination by nature. The Auroran technicians created this monstrous gunship in response to the threat of the Federation Patrol Boat. The Abomination mounts twin Fusion Pulse Batteries as its armament, which are more than sufficient to rip through the light hull of the Patrol Boat. A severe lack of maneuverability makes it vulnerable to attack from capital ship sized weapons, though, which make short work of its armor. Auroran pilots find the idea of honorable victory against huge odds very enticing, so the Abomination is very popular.
It's slow, but not too slow to outrun missiles, and comes with a ton of space for mounting weapons. In players' hands the Abomination can be scary, and even the AI can put up a good fight. Avoid approaching it head on - the fusion pulse cannons can saturate the entire forward arc. Some AI ships like using standoff tactics, so if you get in close you can abuse this. Watch out for the point defense systems though!

Heraan Researched Argosy

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The Heraan house have always held scientists and scholars in much higher regard than the rest of the Empire. The fertile environment in which Heraan technicians work has produced this surprisingly trim vessel. Built more along the lines of early Federation efforts, the Argosy packs many improvements on even the latest Federation efforts, and is a spritely performer. It sports twin hyperdrive 'nacelles' that allow for more accurate FTL travel, and those selfsame nacelles can fold outward for excellent maneuverability in atmospheric flight.
Decent for their class, they have a lot of weapon mounts but not much space. AI ships carry very few missiles and generally only have chainguns for backup, so if you can avoid the initial barrage and can outrange the chainguns, you've got favourable odds going into the fight. Their AI makes them pursue you as well, which makes Monty Pythoning these ships very easy.