Ship Classification

Particularly engines and armor, have different weights at which they are the most effective option. This breaks ships down into several categories based on what parts they would efficiently use.

Ships are secondly broken down by function. What weapons they are equipped with, and what speed

Examples should use ships used by built-in game AI's whenever possible due to easy availability of those for inspection.

It should be noted that many ship classifications are subject to a players opinion and these are not concrete classifications which are used throughout the playerbase

Battleships

Battleship is the typical name for ships that use Bulk Thrusters and Heavyweight Armor. Bulk Thrusters are effective between 0-125m/s, and Heavyweight Armor is effective between 0-100m/s. The name 'Battleship' is often reserved for ships over $500, though the cheaper ships are usually made of identical parts. Battleships are typically independently powered with reactors, are often carriers, and pack medium to long range weaponry with spinal stacks or 360 hexmod arrangements.

Shipbreakers

Shipbreakers use pull waves to capture enemy capital ships and kill them with stacks of phase bombs. Often also uses stasis, rings, and autocannons.

Dreadnaughts

A super heavy battleship typically under 50m/s and having over 1500 HP. Incapable of dodging anything, instead using it's huge hitpoint pool to tank damage.

Cruisers

Cruisers are ships that use Cruiser thrusters and Volumetric Armor. Cruiser thrusters are effective between 100-350m/s and Volumetric armour begins to be effective at around 75m/s, though Heavyweight can be chosen at the slower end depending on how much the player values having a smaller hitvolume. Solar Panels are lighter and thus more effecient on Cruisers than reactors, but they also contribute to a larger hitvolume so players may prefer reactors. Ships that are in the overlap zone and mix Battleship and Cruiser parts are Battlecruisers.

Fighters

Fighters are small ships that use Scout or Fighter Thrusters, at 100+ but typically 250+. They often use light weapons such as light beam, autocannon, EMP, torpedo, point defense, or sidewinder. Usually battery powered but sometimes with solar panels or light reactors.

Speed Torp/Speed Sidewinder

Uses lightweight speed coils and fighter thrusters to intercept enemy fighters at range and control territory. Usually light reactor or solar powered.

Mine

Uses cloak and sometimes jump, usually with sidewinder or ring. Uses lightweight fighter parts to cloak efficiently, rather than to be fast. Stays cloaked and intercepts enemy ships that try and get close.

Scout

A cheap unarmed ship used for capturing undefended points, setting off explosives, poking cloaked ships, and drawing fire. Sometimes cloaked.

Examples: CubeCollective scout.

Interceptor

Ships that use the Interceptor Afterburner, typically over 350m/s and powered almost entirely with batteries. Can use Ultralight armour, which starts to become effective at 350m/s. Other parts typical of this class include jump drives and cloaking devices. There are a wide range of ship classes in this category and they are usually refereed to by their sub-type. Some ships in the cruiser speed range use Afterburners occasionally, but they really function as cruisers.

Bomber

A fast alpha-strike ship, with damage modded fusion rings or phase bombs. Often cloaked and with jump drives, designed to attack heavier ships with high burst damage at close range.

Corvette

Similiar to a bomber but typically focusing on stacks of 30 degree mounted autocannons. Has more anti-fighter capacity than a bomber, and sustained damage rather than burst, and often uses Stasis instead of cloak to intercept enemy bombers.

Godslayer

A fast usually entirely battery powered ship usually with a heavily reload modded weapon designed to very quickly dump sustained damage into a target. Typical weapons are Fusion Ring, Heavy Beam, Tesla and Flamethrower. A ship that uses six reload mods around a fusion ring is typically called a 'Godslayer' for its obscene high damage output.

Infinikites

Though anything can 'kite' as a strategy, this is a peculiar class of ship that uses typically fighter thrusters, shields, and energy regeneration to stay in constant energy surplus and always be charging their shields. They rely on extreme mobility and regenerating shields to stay alive and slowly snowball their numbers by not taking any losses until their typically low damage weapons can be effective enmasse.