Flying with a crew

Nigel_Strange · Post by **Nigel_Strange** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:33 pm

There are various crew members that you can hire and which slowly drain your coffers automatically. Of all the crew members, the only one that I find useful is the science officer.

It has been my experience that a navigator is unnecessary unless you are constantly jumping into systems beyond your scan range.

The weapons officer does not really seem to make much of a difference. So far as I can tell, I still run out of weapons energy before the target is down, so it seems that paying someone for this job does not really seem worth it.

The engineer might speed up the time it takes for the automatic repair system to function but, the question is, is it economical to pay someone continuously for doing nothing most of the time instead of just waiting a little longer or paying for your ship to be repaired?

So, has anyone found these crew members to be useful? Of all of them, only the science officer seems to provide a real benefit. I think the weapons officer was useful in ER because it really made a noticeable difference.

verbosity · Post by **verbosity** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:30 pm

Originally posted by Nigel_Strange
, the only one that I find useful is the science officer.

true they are useful

It has been my experience that a navigator is unnecessary unless you are constantly jumping into systems beyond your scan range.

true, try doing an extreme jump with one of them :

The weapons officer does not really seem to make much of a difference. So far as I can tell, I still run out of weapons energy before the target is down

they make a difference, but your targetting is not so good

The engineer might speed up the time it takes for the automatic repair system to function but, the question is, is it economical to pay someone continuously for doing nothing most of the time instead of just waiting a little longer or paying for your ship to be repaired?

personal choice, I like them

Post by **Vice** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:55 pm

Here are some important details left out of the OP's analysis. Consider these as well:

- Navigator = They don't merely guide you when making dangerous jumps. A skilled navigator can also significantly improve the detection range of your sensors. If you're out hunting for hidden items, this can come in handy as they can boost your sensor range by nearly double (depending on the item being scanned).

- Engineer = They do assist your ship's repair system, which can be a major help for a civilian ship in battle when faster repairs are beneficial. Their benefits particular stand out if you sustain subsystem damage. For players interested in combat, this probably isn't a low priority... especially if they are taking a lot of combat contracts in a row.

- Weapons = This benefit should be obvious. If a 20% improvement in your weapon energy efficiency (how much it uses per shot) isn't apparent, then certainly bypass this crew member. But that benefit gives you 20% more shots compared to an opponent without such a crew member, which can make a big difference in a dogfight. The calculation for this benefit is also exactly the same as for Renegades, so I'd suggest taking a closer look at this one.

- Science = A useful crew member much of the time, depending on a player's interest in exploration and hunting for hidden items. They can also tweak your mining system for improved efficiency (roughly 50-200%, equating to significantly faster mining).

Depending on what you do in the game, the right crew member or members can easily pay for themselves and provide benefits that make a big difference in gameplay.

[Edited on 11-27-2009 by Vice]

Nigel_Strange · Post by **Nigel_Strange** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:07 am

Thanks for the info, Vice. I'll try out using more crew and pay closer attention to the effects. IN particular, I'm interested in how the navvy can help with the scan range.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:55 am

Yes, whenever I run trade runs I always use a 100% loyal and skilled full crew. The cost compared to the profit I make is minimum. Yes, even a navigator saves me time in accidental planet or object crashes. But if the navigator refuses my orders for planet jumping he goes out the Air Lock ! LOL

:P:P:P:P

MiaZ · Post by **MiaZ** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 10:56 am

I find my weapons officer and Engineer very nice to have
and actually quite useful in civilian ship mostly when in my levi ,

verbosity · Post by **verbosity** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 11:08 am

Originally posted by MiaZ
I find my weapons officer and Engineer very nice to have

http://starwraith.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4264#p51710

cheops · Post by **cheops** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 12:47 pm

The weapons officer is a must on a Civvy ship. I did a test at +3 weapons energy and kept my phantom cannon firing for well over 1.5 minutes as opposed to 25-30 sec on a predator.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:43 pm

@ Verbosity, LOL

:P:P:P:P

DennyMala · Post by **DennyMala** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 7:54 am

A crew would be a very nice add to military crafts.....maybe the bigger ones.

A predator is the heavy attack craft for instance, and even modern fighter have 2 people in the cockpit.

Maybe limiting the crew to military oriented applications, like weapons officer and enginer. Probably bigger frames like the predator could handle all 4 members.