It didn’t take Misc Starlancer TAC too long to turn into one of the favorite gunships of Star Citizen after its full announcement at CitizenCon 2954. The ship does seem to be one of the best available gunships that comes at a decent price.
However, Starlancer TAC already has a number of competitors out there, from the recently nerfed Aegis Redeemer to the almighty Constellation Andromeda. A head-to-head comparison with each one of these ships will answer most of our questions.
Starlancer TAC vs Aegis Redeemer
Some Star Citizen players believe that CIG intentionally nerfed Aegis Redeemer before CitizenCon 2954 so that they could better promote Starlancer TAC, which now comes with more powerful weapons compared to Aegis’ gunship.
This logic can’t be ignored completely, as the raw power of Aegis Redeemer in the case of pilot-controlled weapons and turrets would be on par with Starlancer TAC before the nerf. However, one more thing that also must be considered is the speed and maneuverability buff applied to Redeemer.
The flight information for Starlancer is not out yet, but it will likely come with far less maneuverability compared to Redeemer, regarding how fat the TAC is.
So while being in the same category, the TAC offers some extra features such as a cargo bay, a hangar, a medical station, and a number of drop seats. Redeemer, on the other hand, sacrifices all of this to gain more maneuverability in space and atmo. However, the Aegis-manufactured ship might need one more speed buff to get what it truly deserves.
Sometimes you just need a medium-level cargo ship with enough combat capabilities to deal with pirates. But sometimes the players just want to fight, fast and efficient. That is the difference between Starlancer TAC and Redeemer.
Starlancer TAC vs Drake Corsair
Drake Corsair and Starlancer TAC might not be on the exact same level, as the $80 price difference reveals, but they are still close enough to be compared to each other.
With the recent change in Drake Corsair that limited the pilot’s control over weapons to only two Size-5 guns in front and forced the co-pilot to choose between the remote turret and the rest of the front-facing weapons, the ship loses a bit of its value for solo-players.
Without this change, Drake Corsair would be on par with Starlancer TAC in the case of pilot-controlled weapons, just like the pre-nerf Redeemer.
However, this nerf is live, and Corsair loses it to Starlancer TAC in almost every important aspect. TAC is basically a bigger and stronger replacement for Corsair that comes with some extra features. And that is reasonable regarding the price difference between the two.
So, it’s safe to say that, unlike Redeemer, Corsair’s nerf does not fit into that conspiracy theory of better promoting Starlancer TAC. The only problem with Corsair is that it should get a separate terminal for the remote turret.
Starlancer TAC vs Anvil Valkyrie
Again, the two ships are not of the same size, and it is easy to guess the winner. However, Valkyrie is more expensive than Starlancer TAC, which is a point of debate.
At its core, Valkyrie is a drop-ship rather than a gunship. Although it delivers a good number of turrets, they are all implemented to help the ship drop the ground reinforcements and leave, instead of engaging in air combat for a longer duration.
And when it comes to drop seats, Valkyrie is still better than Starlancer TAC. The ship also comes with a compact but capable cargo space that can carry vehicles as big as Ursa, just like Starlancer TAC.
That being said, the price for Valkyrie still cannot be justified with all of these.
Starlancer TAC vs Ironclad Assault
What if we compare Starlancer TAC to something bigger? Well, the superiority of Ironclad Assault over Starlancer TAC is obvious, but this comparison gives us a better insight into where Starlancer TAC stands between the gunships and dropships.
Ironclad Assault comes with Quad Turrets, which are extremely powerful. The ship also features a gigantic cargo bay with a retractable roof, that allows the player to use it for cargo, transporting vehicles, or carrying a small fighter.
While Starlancer TAC also features all of these and even a medical station on top, the scale is the main difference here, which perfectly justifies the price difference of over $200.
Starlancer TAC vs Constellation Andromeda
Andromeda is the perfect competitor to Starlancer TAC. Both ships can be used for the same purpose: hauling cargo while having the power to protect themselves.
For solo players, Andromeda is a much better choice as it comes with more powerful pilot-controlled weapons as well as a massive amount of missiles that deliver a better total damage rate.
Both ships share similar-sized cargo bays that can carry vehicles, and both of them are capable of carrying snub fighters. Andromeda offers a docked snub fighter that comes with the ship itself. Starlancer TAC, however, features a dedicated snub hangar, but a snub fighter must be purchased separately either in-game or via the Pledge Store.
The exclusive features of Starlancer TAC over Andromeda are drop seats and medical beds. But Andromeda is smaller in overall dimensions, and might probably be a little faster than TAC.
Is Starlancer TAC The Best Gunship In Star Citizen?
Yes, it is. Starlancer TAC delivers a great combination of a gunship, dropship, snub carrier, cargo hauler, and even a medic. There are barely any ships in Star Citizen that could deliver all these capabilities in one package for as low as $330. The in-game price for Starlancer TAC should also represent it as an economic option.
Starlancer TAC is almost an entry-level capital ship at the moment if it doesn’t lose any of its power until it becomes flight-ready.
