Destroyer ship tier list, by Grievous69 - 0.95.1a

Discussion

Saw there's a demand for decent up to date tier lists so I thought might as well make one. u/PureLSD made a great one a while back so this is going to be heavily inspired by it since there's no need to fix what ain't broken. Also I think ships in Starsector can greatly change depending on who's piloting it, so there's going to be 2 ranks usually (when it makes a difference), first one always being in hands of AI, after all AI commands all but one ship, and the other score will be for a flagship. I will naturally take campaign stats into account because after all, it's the campaign where people decide what to do with their credits.

Btw I'm not an egomaniac, it's already hard to find some posts here so I added something on the side to make it easier to find if needed.

There will be no civilian ships in my lists since I'm first and foremost a bounty hunter who spends a lot of time in combat. There's probably a bunch of other folks including new people who figured out which freighter/tanker/transport is most efficient.

Buffalo Mk.II: D

Pirate destroyer with too much mounts for its own good, it is a squishy ship without any shields usually going down in a couple of seconds. There have been meme fleets showing a whole herd of Buffalos, and while it seems amusing, no real player will use this ship in a normal fleet. Not F tier because there's even worse things you could have in your fleet.

Condor: B+

This will probably be your first carrier in the game, and currently it's not even that bad anymore. After the Drovers nerfs, it's a destroyer carrier of choice, being able to field 2 fighter wings for just 10 DP. Quite slow for a destroyer mind you, best to leave it in far backlines where it can chuck its medium missiles. Outclassed by cruiser carriers in late game though, since a single serious frigate will pop it fast.

Drover: C

Poor Drover got beaten with the nerf bat multiple times, and then kicked on the ground after that. I mean it's faster and has much more OP than a Condor has, yet that really doesn't justify its high cost. Not much else to say except if you don't have anything else, it's ok, but other carrier options simply surpass it.

Enforcer: A-

Popularly called the "bowling ball", this little destroyer is very tough to crack. 5 medium ballistic turrets might seem broken at first, but you'll quickly see that it doesn't have the flux stats for it. And that doesn't matter since cheap weapons + Flak work well enough. More long ranged elite builds are also strong, while you must always keep its missiles in mind. A cheap destroyer able to chuck 4 missiles at once is no joke. Biggest weakness is combat speed, being one of the slowest destroyers, thankfully Burn drive is there to alleviate that. This is imo the earliest "anchor" ship you have available.

Gemini: C

A hybrid ship rarely performs well enough to warrant a place in combat, Gemini being almost the case but even a single fighter wing can make a difference. It has decent weapon mounts to provide some artillery fire and the same Reserve deployment system as Drover. You definitely won't use it in a serious fight, but I believe it has some uses in early game. There's a ship that fulfills this role a bit better tho.

Hammerhead: A / S-

Tutorial ship being this strong is certainly an interesting coincidence. This is what most people use during early game to handle tougher fights. AAF system allows it to punch up easily and all around solid stats make it a nice addition to your fleet, even AI does well in it. Player however can do even more, a classic by now is installing Safety overrides and mounting Assault chainguns. If you had any trouble with early pirate fleets, now you don't anymore. It's always nice to see a Hammerhead for sale, and few destroyers are this reliable for a long time. That said it's still good to have an anchor in your fleet, Hammerheads can't take too much pressure.

Harbinger: C- / A+

This feels like the worst phase ship you could give to AI, it's unique system enables it to briefly overload enemy ships. And that requires precise timing and a feel for the flow of battle so you know when you're safe. Having it piloted by AI is like watching a baby handle a bazooka. Now in the player hands, there is the real deal. Want to perform flashy backstabs without actually having to get to an open spot? This is the ship for you, relatively "simple" to use it, it's an excellent assassin for those who enjoy using phase ships. Unfortunately the phase rework hurt it a bit and now you have to be much more careful since your speed tanks after you shoot. It's not THE best phase assassin in terms of efficiency, but it's pretty close.

Manticore: A

This is one hell of an artillery/support ship, large ballistic mount, 2 medium missile and its small ballistic mounts have extra range from built-in Ballistic rangefinder. I found Manticores useful even in late game, where I tend to ditch most other destroyers. It won't be catching up to other destroyers or even some cruisers, but it doesn't have to. It brings the pain where you point it, and is surprisingly survivable on its own. Be careful not to overflux them with weapons as they really can't run away once they're pressured.

Medusa: B- / A-

Not even a bad ship when you look at it, it just had the unlucky place of getting unchanged for a long time when other destroyers got buffs and we got brand new ones. Very slippery with its Phase skimmer and the ability to mount kinetics truly shows how strong it can be. The problem lies in the fragile design of the ship, having barely any armour and hull for a destroyer, while a slow omni shield with a mediocre arc tends to get it killed in tough spots. I want to love this ship but it's just so outclassed by other options. If you somehow get it very early, it's a great flagship, and that is if you get lucky enough (still don't understand why it's so rare).

Mule: B

Mule is a hybrid ship done right. Decent stats both in campaign and combat, this little destroyer can provide useful distraction in early fights. It's very hard to lock down and kill due to Maneuvering jets system, meaning AI won't die in it as long as the fight doesn't go terribly bad. It's simply a good early game ship if you find yourself lacking in cargo capacity, but you also want more meat in combat.

Shrike: B- / A-

Keeping in mind that it's a light destroyer, it does what it needs to do okay. It will hunt frigates and help out with bigger threats. The issues start happening when literally anything manages to get past the omni shield. Incredibly squishy and easy to burst, its only defense is the shield, which is why players sometimes install Converted hangars so the enemy has more targets to shoot at. 8 DP cost make it a spammable destroyer, just don't expect the AI to come out of most fight alive. Getting this early as a flagship can be quite fun and successful, if you don't mind being a glass cannon. Worth noting that it's the only destroyer having frigate level burn!

Note: Shrike(P) does have an option to mount a single ballistic weapon which would otherwise impact the tiers, but the base one has gotten OP buffs and most energy weapons are now better, so I consider them equal. My comments would still be the same since it plays exactly like the OG one.

Sunder: B / A+

And now for a true glass cannon, Sunder has ridiculous amount of firepower for its size. Not quite speedy, very fragile and vulnerable to fighters, but my god can you destroy pretty much anything with it. It honestly shames high tech cruisers imo, as using it versus early enemies almost feels like cheating. AI isn't the best, naturally with glass cannons, but given a long range loadout (beams), it can perform a support role very well. I haven't found it super useful past mid game though, as once I'm done piloting it myself, I just get a better AI ship. Still this is an incredibly satisfying ship to pilot everyone needs to try out at least once.

Feel free to give me feedback, I might've missed a detail or two so I'll adjust things accordingly.

Posted May 6, 2022, 6:58 PM UTC · edited

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