Cult Citizen

[icycalm]

I've been wanting to get some use out of the Zeus suits, and I figured out the perfect use for them as the suits of choice for a new, entry-level Cult Courier Spec. Package deliveries are the most basic of all Star Citizen professions, and these suits have the bonus of being available only on the Subscribers Store, which means that you can buy one with cash, use it and lose it, then melt it and rebuy it with store credit without having to spend any aUEC. Perfect for beginners now that armors have been made very expensive, since the only thing they will lose on death are their weapons, and medpens or whatever.

There won't be strategic ranks for these, only Inquisitors, Master Chiefs, and Captains. Commanders don't do deliveries (though every Javelin owner's dream is to some day deliver pizza in his Javelin, and we will do this the moment the ship goes in the game).

The specs are identical to the picture below, with one change: the Captain's Cutter isn't yellow, it's white (Wind Chill paint). I will take my own pictures at some point that will be fully representative, with the Mules included, but for now we'll use the one I found on Reddit and linked in the Cutter thread [ > ] (and which inspired me to make the spec).

The Captain's Mule's paint, Smokestack, is temporary until the white Silverback paint (which is included in the game files but hasn't been released yet) goes on sale.





Unfortunately, many of these Cutter and Mule paints are Concierge-only, and of course all three suits are Subscribers-only, so get someone to buy you what you need if you aren't in these groups. You only need to buy a paint once and you're good, and they cost pennies. As for the suits, the melting and rebuying hack is only available to subbers at the moment, but soon enough unique item recovery will be added to the game and you'll be able to recover items in-game with aUEC.

Can you deliver packages as Contractor without having to bother with the entry-level Courier Spec? Sure. Cult Lore-wise the Couriers are how new industrial recruits get their foot in the door with The Cult, and then they get promoted to full Contractors who can also do deliveries. So you can skip this spec entirely if you want. I just made it because I want to use the Zeus suits and color-coordinate them with the cool Cutter/Mule combo.

Can you use different vehicles as a Courier instead of the Cutter/Mule combo? I'd rather you just went with a generic Contractor in that case. So if you gear up as a Courier, use the designated vehicles. That said, as the deliveries increase in difficulty, stronger vehicles might be needed, and if I find that to be the case (or if players tell me so), I will add them to the Courier Spec.

Try not to mix Couriers with generic Contractors. If a Courier needs help for a mission, or if you just want to team up, gear up as Courier too.


CULT COURIER
Role: Cult Couriers deliver packages from one place or person to another place or person, typically providing their courier service on a commercial contract basis. Cult Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for most everyday mail services. As a premium service, Cult Couriers are usually more expensive than standard mail services, and their use is normally limited to packages where one or more of these features are considered important enough to warrant the cost.

Cult Couriers operate on all scales, from within specific towns or cities, to regional, global and even interstellar services.

Requirements: Must take pride in the trust our clients place in you, and must be dedicated to vindicating this trust by carrying out your deliveries in an exemplary manner.

Training: logistics/management games.



GROUND & PILOT SPEC
Inquisitor: Zeus Exploration Suit Solar [Subscribers] [$$$] + Zeus Exploration Suit Helmet Solar [Subscribers] [$$$] + Zeus Exploration Suit Backpack Solar [Subscribers] [$$$] + regular Inquisitor gear

Master Chief: Zeus Exploration Suit Starscape [Subscribers] [$$$] + Zeus Exploration Suit Helmet Starscape [Subscribers] [$$$] + Zeus Exploration Suit Backpack Starscape [Subscribers] [$$$] + regular Master Chief gear

Captain: Zeus Exploration Suit [Subscribers] [$$$] + Zeus Exploration Suit Helmet [Subscribers] [$$$] + Zeus Exploration Suit Backpack [Subscribers] [$$$] + regular Captain gear

SHIP & GROUND VEHICLE SPEC
Inquisitor: Cutter (Groundswell) [New Deal] [635,040] + Mule (Smokestack) [New Deal] [68,040]

Master Chief: Cutter [New Deal] [635,040] + Mule [New Deal] [68,040]

Captain: Cutter (Wind Chill) [New Deal] [635,040] + Mule (Smokestack) [New Deal] [68,040]

[icycalm]

https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... this_armor



Shown in a recent ISC [ > ], this armor set will belong to the upcoming Headhunters gang. And of course I am giving it to our Pirate Commander, which is whoever controls Grim HEX, which is the Crusader Planetary Commander, which is shubn. As long as the armor can be gotten fairly easily. But even if it takes some effort, we can organize missions to stock up on them for shubn, and he can use them on special occasions. He will look terrific and terrifically scary commanding a crew of ragtag Cult Pirates, all with the scariest gear in the game, and an all-pirate-skin vehicle fleet. We'll look amazing. And the missions will be just going out and spending a full Saturday wrecking players' shit and taking and selling their stuff and generally causing chaos. We haven't done this yet, but we'll be getting into it as soon as I publish the Pirate Spec, so look out for that.

[icycalm]

I updated the Insomnia Subscription levels to reduce the Inquisitor's to "None required", thus lowering the barriers to entry of the lowest rank to come in line with all his other requirements: basically zero. So the new levels are:

Inquisitor: None required
Master Chief: Cult Citizen
Captain: Cult Player
Commander: Cult Superplayer
Supreme Commander: Cult Roleplayer
Emperor: Cult Founder

This introduction of the zero level makes things neater than before by giving 6 sub levels to correspond to the 6 ranks (because before I had Cult Roleplayer at two levels, Commander and SupCom).

Should make it easier to recruit in-game from now on, and if they want to play Master Chiefs, then they have to sub.

[icycalm]

So let's talk strategic ranks. First off, this isn't a mere cosmetic mechanic. Though it's true that there's not a lot of strategy in the game right now, there is some, and there will be a LOT more very soon, and then you'll see that the players who are engaging at this level will be having a whole other dimension of experience than the tactical grunts. I'll make all this concrete in a second, but before I do that, check this out: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GI3xlSNWUAA ... =4096x4096



Doesn't it look like... Planetary Annihilation 6? Specifically, the player's stuff who picked the green Commander? That's what PA6 would look like, and we can play it right now.

Want to see settlements in this viewpoint? Here you go: https://x.com/AnthropicDualiT/status/18 ... 19/photo/3



People have started taking isometric screenshots of the game, and this is what it looks like: https://x.com/AnthropicDualiT/status/18 ... 19/photo/4



So without further ado, let's lay down the strategic responsibilities available now and in the near future for the three strategic ranks:

COMMANDER (i.e. Planetary Commander)
-Directs planetary fleet-building (what vehicles need to be purchased to cover the needs of the planet and where should they be stationed?)
-Explores and surveys, so he knows his planet (and moons) inside-out
-Builds bases (determines where to build, what to build, how to build; and also how to operate the facilities once built)
-Commands events/missions (all events and missions taking place in his planet and orbit, e.g. Crusader Commander will command Siege of Orison and assaults on Security Post Kareah, microTech Commander gets Ghost Hollow, Hurston Commander gets the new island Jumptown, etc.)
-All special locations in his planet/orbit are his to command/administrate and may unlock special game mechanics for him, e.g. Grim HEX in Crusader gets shubn Pirate Commander status which lets him choose which Saturdays we play pirates and pick our targets to pirate and vehicles to bring along etc., or Klescher in Hurston gets Adjudicator a Cult Patsy clone who resides in the facility and stacks merits, or since I live in ArcCorp I get the Cult Bank clone because our treasury is in our HQ, etc.
-Earns rep in his planet/orbit for bounties, security missions and the like, so we have all markets covered and have access to any level mission at any time throughout the system
-Studies his planet's lore (Star Citizen has thousands of pages of lore, so this way we break it down so we can read all of it collectively, and always have an expert on hand, which can also tie into his background/Cult Lore)
-Receives 25% of the proceeds of every operation he oversees in his jurisdiction and invests it in his business ventures and logistical, fleet- and base-building operations

SUPREME COMMANDER (i.e. System Commander)
-Appoints Commanders in his system, one per Landing Zone minus the LZ he picks for himself
-Directs system fleet-building (what vehicles need to be purchased to cover the needs of the system and where should they be stationed?)
-Decides on which planet(s) or moon(s) to concentrate our building efforts (especially important in lawless systems where maintaining facilities is a struggle and we must focus our efforts)
-Picks faction alliances (e.g. in Pyro, which has 4 factions, but Stanton too is getting faction mechanics soon) and declares faction wars
-Maintains system's subforum on the Insomnia forum with news on the system and ensures comprehensive coverage of the system, info, details, images and videos
-Studies his system's lore
-Can drop in anywhere without notice and micromanage anything in the entire system
-Receives 25% of the proceeds of every operation he oversees in his jurisdiction and invests it in his business ventures and logistical, fleet- and base-building operations

EMPEROR (i.e. Galactic Commander)
-Appoints Supreme Commanders for each system, except the system he picks for himself (and also appoints Commanders for his home system)
-Directs galactic fleet-building (what vehicles need to be purchased to cover the needs of the galaxy and where should they be stationed?)
-Picks org alliances and declares org wars
-Builds and maintains the Cult Spec
-Can drop in anywhere without notice and micromanage anything in the entire galaxy
-Receives 25% of the proceeds of every operation he oversees in his jurisdiction and invests it in his business ventures and logistical, fleet- and base-building operations

The above lists aren't exhaustive, they're just a starting point to give people an idea of what the purpose of the strategic ranks is. As you can see, there are a hell of a lot of activities and responsibilities involved. Take merely the building aspect. The Commander has to pick the spot, organize the funding and materials required, bring in the construction vehicles, arrange the base as he sees fit (or delegate part or all of its design), then oversee the running of the facilities, which may get complex if the game veers towards Satisfactory, as it looks like it will. And of course build defenses and upkeep them etc.

Here's some cool stuff available only to the blue Commander:

https://x.com/AnthropicDualiT/status/18 ... 2706032957





https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm ... 88alIreVpF





https://x.com/OneDarkEnigma/status/1787940955535945764







As you can see, this stuff is awesome, and it would have been a shame to not use it. So the planetary command mechanics ensure that we get to use all the coolest stuff in the game, on top of all the other strategic and immersion benefits.

Here are the regular armors for the red and green Commanders (the blue above is the blue Commander's battlesuit): https://x.com/BARTISHERE87/status/1734290443834146943





As you can see in the background, they even get special colored knives (but ignore the other stuff like backpacks).

So players can jump into this fun by spending a couple hundred dollars on paints and gear that I will list in separate threads. Also they need a Constellation Phoenix as their mobile HQ, but that can be bought in-game (and we can all help earn the funds for it). There may also be some limited-edition vehicles to acquire with cash, but these are generally optional: talk to me about the color that interests you so I can tell you what it has, or wait for the detailed threads per color. In general I can always find you a color that has minimal cash-requirements, if you want to get into the strategy without spending much. But you will have to spend a minimum of about $200 on paints and gear. There's no way around this. (For the SupCom it's $15,000, more on which later.)

Does the above mean that tactical grunts can't build stuff when base-building arrives?

No, they can build whatever they want on their own time and dime. No need to ask for permission: any system, and any planet or moon: just build what you want. But maintain it on your own and don't divert CULT resources to it. It can be your personal hideaway, fishing spot or whatever. But when you're dressed up in CULT gear and teamed up with CULT members you should be helping primarily the Commander of whatever planet you set as your home planet, chosen between those we've expanded to. And the various Commanders of a system will coordinate with the Supreme Commander on which planet(s) or moon(s) to focus on. The SupCom may give everyone free reign and simply drop by (in his gold ships, gear, and bodyguards; more on which soon) to see what's being built, or he can take a more active role and go as far as concentrating all the system's resources on one spot and enterprise.

So that's what I have as an introduction, and it should suffice for the first days of the launch of 3.24 next week. I'll be adding more info here on all ranks in the near future, and feel free to ask questions or make suggestions.

Want to be the white commander, yellow commander, black commander? Want to command all of Pyro and determine where we make our stand? Or the upcoming Nyx system that basically has no landing zones at all and homesteading is the name of the game? Keep an eye on this thread and the upcoming Strategy thread for more info, and DM me on Discord if you're eager to secure a color or command.

https://x.com/AnthropicDualiT/status/17 ... 2015738235



https://x.com/montoya_test/status/1168641993741762560



https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm ... IyMiEhAXZ1

[icycalm]

I added the following point to all 3 strategic roles:

-Receives 25% of the proceeds of every operation he oversees in his jurisdiction and invests it in his business ventures and logistical, fleet- and base-building operations

This means that only 25% of the proceeds of every operation are distributed among the tactical ranks. In practice that money goes to the bank (because dividing between 5–10 people is tedious) and the tactical ranks draw from it as they need it, and in communication with everyone else.

Does that mean that if you’re mining on your own in ysignal’s jurisdiction, you have to send him 25%? Then another 25 to me (because I am the Stanton Commander), and yet another 25 to me (because I am also the Emperor)?

If you want to, to enhance your roleplaying immersion, you can do this. But you don’t have to. For me, all this is very immersive, and moreover encourages the Commanders to explore their jurisdictions in depth and do their best to cultivate all their income sources. But I don’t seriously expect everyone to pay these cumbersome taxes when playing solo or duos or whatever. This rule is meant more for major operations like Jumptown, and during those I expect people to put some effort towards calculating the taxes and sending the appropriate amounts to the appropriate recipients as best as they can. You won’t be able to calculate everything exactly with people coming and going, and different people delivering drugs or other goods etc., but do your best for immersion’s sake. And when base-building gets in, and different Commanders are engaged on different building projects in different locations, all this will add a cool strategic layer to our daily operations.

But I repeat, I will never demand that people send every last taxable credit even from solo operations—unless CIG adds mechanics to do this automatically. Until then (and let’s face it, this will never happen), send what you want when you want purely if you feel like roleplaying it, unless it is a major operation with the Commander present, in which case it is obligatory and is in fact one of the Commander’s duties to see that all the taxes are sent where they’re supposed to. Remember he’s not there to shoot guns but to direct tactics and manage logistics, and accounting is part of logistics.

[icycalm]

I've been delaying this spec for months, but since Pirate Week starts today, I figured it'd be the perfect time to launch it. Look out soon for the rules of how our piracy activities will work. Basically, it will be on Saturdays designated by the Pirate Commander, shubn.

The Star Kitten armor is perfect for the Inquisitor because it's an "evil" version of the exact same Inquisitor armor. Unfortunately, it's only available in the Subscribers Store which means that, for the time being, in order to play a Pirate Inquisitor you have to be subbed at $10/month, then you can buy and melt and rebuy this armor with every death. In a few months, when the blueprint system goes in, this procedure will no longer be necessary, and you'll just be able to buy one armor set for $14 and keep using it forever. Until then, if you want to play pirate with us, you have to sub. Note that Master Chief armor can be obtained in-game, but we can't have more Master Chiefs than Inquisitors in a team. Usually, we'll have only one Master Chief, and that will usually be shubn (until he can get his hands on his Commander gear). So, again, if you want to play Pirate for the next few months, you'll have to sub.

For the Captain and Commander, I am eyeing two of the Headhunters gear sets, but obviously we don't have these in-game yet.

For the Supreme Commander I know I want a Fieldsbury Dark Bear helmet. It looks so evil, it has to be in there, and it's perfect for the SupCom since he isn't supposed to be in the front of the action so the giant head won't matter. I still haven't found an armor that works well with this helmet and that we haven't used yet. Let me know if you have suggestions.

And finally the Pirate Emperor has the exact same gear as the regular Emperor, but with the XenoThreat emblem on the helmet. It's like Clark Kent: the moment he takes off the glasses, he becomes Superman; the moment I spray my helmet, I become pirate.

All this to say that, right now, we only have access to Inquisitor and Master Chief gear for the pirates, so that's what we'll be using. And since shubn has to have the highest rank since he'll be leading the missions, he gets Master Chief and the rest of us get Inquisitors. If there are more than 4-5 Inquisitors in a session, we could perhaps use a second Master Chief if shubn decides to split the forces, but that's up to him. While looting for his armor he could loot a couple extra sets and give them to his second-in-command, if he wants one.

The pirate paints are cool as fuck and will look amazing next to the gear I picked for the Pirate Spec. Check out the latest 4 that just released called Skullcrusher:



Last year's Meridian ones were also super-cool:



Check out the Hercules in close-up:



Evil as all hell.

And the year before there was the Solar Winds trio:



Close-up of the Avenger:



There's also a Meridian for the 400i, plus a Sterling for the 600i that, though not explicitly for pirating, looks pretty much exactly like the Meridians.



I also threw in the graffiti Corsair, even though, again, it's not explicitly a pirate paint.



The most expensive and exclusive of all though is the Pirate Caterpillar, because it's not a paint but a ship variant. You must unlock it in the game somehow, and only then can you purchase it with cash, so it's win-to-pay. I will buy it at some point, but maybe shubn wants to get one before me.



And finally there's the uber-exclusive Aurora Dread Pirate/Blackbeard Stealth.



I have it, but it's not in the game yet, so I haven't added it to the spec for now. For more details, click the link.

Oh and there's also the Skull & Crossbones paint for the Cutlass Black. Quite cheap and easy to get. If you can only get one pirate paint, it should probably be this.



In short, in the specs below you'll find ALL the pirate paints, plus some pirate-adjacent ones, including for Origin ships which we don't use for normal operations. I don't want people bringing out Origin ships for CULT ops. I've seen people do it from time to time, and I don't like it. These aren't military ships, they're luxury ones, so by all means buy them to reward your character with luxury, but don't bring them out for ops because they don't look like they belong along our regular ships. With ONE exception: piracy, when using the pirate skins. Pirates love luxury, and the skins harmonize the pirate fleet, so I have given the 400i to the Pirate Commander and the 600i to the Pirate Supreme Commander. In addition, I've given myself the Kraken Privateer which is basically a mobile marketplace and self-contained sanctuary, perfect for extended piracy ops away from our pirate base, which is Grim HEX.

You might wonder at seeing the Vulture also included. Isn't that an industrial ship? Why include it in piracy? The short, real answer is because they made a cool pirate paint for it. The longer, bullshit answer is because the Cult Pirates' goal is to make money, and if they can bring along an industrial ship to salvage their victims' ships, why not do it? Same with the 3 Avenger variants. Since we have a cool paint for them, we might as well use them, since NOT having pirate paints for many other ships we normally use means we can't use them, which restricts our options.

In sum: I don't know any other org that's gone to this much trouble to dress up as pirates in terms of both their personal gear, and their ships. If we put in some effort to acquire the gear and the paints, and come out in force on some Saturdays, we'll look amazing to the point where I think our victims might even enjoy getting victimized by us. Can't wait also to see the pics that will come out of this! And there's even more with pirate-themed furniture and Pirate HQ-building, which I'll mention in another thread!

Final note: All prices given below are correct at the time of publishing (unlike in earlier specs, where all prices are basically grossly outdated and I need to update them).


CULT PIRATE
Role: Cult Pirates capture and plunder spacecraft for cargo, loot and occasionally steal spacecraft, and kill or enslave the crewmembers and passengers. Operating out of Stanton's Grim HEX, their goal is to spread their illicit activities far and wide throughout the galaxy in order to amass more loot with which to fund The Cult's activities, all the while disavowing any connection with the organization in order to safeguard it from sanctions and the authorities' retribution. Cult Pirates therefore are strictly forbidden from using official CULT gear and liveries, employing instead a range of menacing and grotesque looks and paint schemes intended to strike fear into their victims' hearts and terrorize them into quick submission.

Requirements: Must be a mean and violent sonofabitch who enjoys inflicting pain and suffering. Must also be greedy as fuck.

Training: piracy games, and ganking/griefing in all kinds of versus multiplayer games.


Pirate Inquisitor

GROUND SPEC
Exact same gear as regular Inquisitor but with Star Kitten "Sally" Helmet [Subscribers] [$$$] and Sinkhole Backpack [Skutters] [2,090]

SHIP SPEC
Interdiction: Mantis (Skullcrusher) [New Deal] [3,402,000]
Light Salvage: Vulture (Skullcrusher) [New Deal] [2,646,000]
Light Fighter: Gladius (Solar Winds) [New Deal] [2,381,400]
Interdiction: Avenger Warlock (Solar Winds) [New Deal] [2,249,100]
Combat Freight: Cutlass Black (Skull & Crossbones) [New Deal] [2,116,800]
Interdiction: Avenger Stalker (Solar Winds) [New Deal] [1,719,900]
Interdiction: M50 Interceptor (Skullcrusher) [New Deal] [1,499,400]
Light Freight: Avenger Titan (Solar Winds) [New Deal] [1,358,280]



Pirate Master Chief

GROUND SPEC
Exact same gear as regular Master Chief but with The Butcher Helmet [Loot] [N/A], Clash Core/Arms/Legs [Loot] [N/A] and Sinkhole Backpack [Skutters] [2,090]

SHIP SPEC
Heavy Ground Bomber: A2 Hercules Starlifter (Meridian) [Crusader] [44,296,876]
Bomber: Vanguard Harbinger (Solar Winds) [New Deal] [11,510,100]
Interdictor: Vanguard Sentinel (Solar Winds) [New Deal] [10,914,750]
Dropship: Vanguard Hoplite (Solar Winds) [New Deal] [9,327,150]
Stealth Bomber: Eclipse (Meridian) [New Deal] [7,938,000]
Exploration: Corsair (Dying Star) [New Deal] [6,552,000]
Heavy Fighter: Scorpius (Skullcrusher) [New Deal] [5,443,200]



Pirate Captain

GROUND SPEC
TBA

SHIP SPEC
Military Transport: M2 Hercules Starlifter (Meridian) [Crusader] [29,484,000]
Medium Freight: Mercury Star Runner (Meridian) [Crusader] [12 285 000]
Heavy Fighter: Scorpius Antares (Skullcrusher) [New Deal] [5,216,400]
Anti-capital: Ares Star Fighter Ion (Meridian) [Crusader] [4,725,000]
Anti-capital: Ares Star Fighter Inferno (Meridian) [Crusader] [4,725,000]



Pirate Commander

GROUND SPEC
TBA

SHIP SPEC
Transport: Caterpillar Pirate Edition [RSI] [$$$]
Pathfinder: 400i (Meridian) [Astro Armada] [11,466,000]



Pirate Supreme Commander

GROUND SPEC
TBA

SHIP SPEC
Expedition: 600i Explorer (Sterling) [Astro Armada] [27,231,750]



Pirate Emperor

GROUND SPEC
Exact same gear as regular Emperor but with The Butcher Helmet (Modified XT) [Loot] [N/A]

SHIP SPEC
Light Multi-Role Carrier: Kraken Privateer [N/A] [N/A]

[shubn]

To unlock the Pirate Caterpillar (and Pirate Gladius), you have to beat Pirate Swarm in Arena Commander, in multiplayer. I did a while back, so I can buy it at any time. We could schedule a time to do Pirate Swarm—and Vanduul Swarm, while we're at it, to unlock the Glaive—with anyone who wants. I could even do it for you on your account, if you'd like. A minor annoyance with the Pirate Caterpillar is it cannot be CCUed, and only comes with 6 months insurance. But since it's the only way to get it—it's not even in the Legatus pack—I'll just have to bite the bullet eventually. If you have the Imperator sub, you get two 20% off coupons a year, and the Pirate Caterpillar & Pirate Gladius pack, aka Pirate Aggressor Pack, is not a bad place to use one.



Note on the 400i's Meridian paint: anyone who wants it should get it on the grey market sooner rather than later. Both the 400i's Meridian and Penumbra paints were only available during the ship's concept sale, which means they'll only get rarer over time. I bought both on the Impound some time ago (the Meridian was my first Impound purchase—it looks so friggin sick).

I bought all pirate paints, plus an extra Cutlass Black one in case I need to give it to someone, and an extra Ares one so I can outfit both Inferno and Ion. Since they're only available once a year, it's a good idea to get the ones you think you might need if you can afford it. You can always melt them afterward for store credit, and they'll stay in your buybacks, meaning you'll be able to get them again at any time during the year, and not just during Pirate Week.

Here's an idea for the Pirate Ground Specs: replace the medgun with a knife, and switch the utility slots around so that the multi-tool is on the left thigh and the knife on the right thigh. To keep the main utility of the medgun, add a LifeGuard Refill in the multi-tool and a LifeGuard Medical Attachment inside the backpack, so that the multi-tool can be switched in the field between tractor beam and green goo beam. Maybe also replace the LH86 with a Coda or an S-38.

[icycalm]

We’ll adopt all your suggestions for the Pirate Ground Specs, including the S-38 as sidearm. I am always glad to have a reason to use more of the gear in the game, and there are tons of cool knives that are criminally underutilized, pun intended. The Coda I’ve already given to the Technician, Bounty Hunter and Emperor. I might also give it to the Commanders and SupCom depending on color availability. I need to look into this, including which knife to give each rank.

Since you’re cool with buying it, I would suggest you grab the Pirate Caterpillar before our first piracy session. I’d love to see it in-game and find a way to fill it with ill-gotten goods. Can’t wait to play pirates and hang out at Grim HEX! It sounds like such an exciting way to play the game, and it’s such a cool location!

[icycalm]

With all the announcements at CitCon I forgot that they made the Bengal player-buildable, so I added it to the Emperor Spec, thereby moving the Javelin to the Supreme Commander Spec. So what did I do with the SupCom's Kraken? That's not a UEEN ship anyway, it's Drake and meant for piracy, so I gave it to the Pirate Emperor. Still the same guy—me—but he uses it only for piracy. And as for the Kraken Privateer which the Pirate Emperor previously had, I am moving that to the Contractor Emperor—again me—since it has a mobile marketplace. And to round out the Emperor-related changes, I wiped out his entire ship fleet from his spec. He only has the Bengal, because that's the only ship unique to him. That's what the specs are about. Of course he can use anything else with a purple paint, or even without it if purple is lacking. But the rest aren't unique to him, so they don't belong in his spec. Ideally though the dude just sits in his Bengal and gives orders, when he's not at ArcCorp CULT HQ.



As to whether we'll ever get a Bengal... Anyone who watched the player-owned space station demonstration at CitCon, which will be required to build the Bengal, will know this is a tall order. Moreover, so far they aren't even selling the ship. I think if they never sell it we might never build it, and even if they sell it, it will be upwards of $5,000. Could even be as much as $10,000 or $15,000, considering the Javelin is $3,000.

Even if we get it though, wth will we do with it? It "transports and maintains an entire fleet of battle-ready fighters, including squadrons of Anvil F7A Hornets, F8A Lightnings, and Gladiators" and its maximum crew is 476 lol. Also, "alongside the fighters are dedicated divisions of bombers, dropships, and utility craft for specialist missions and support." I think I heard someone say there is a train inside it.

All that said, this seems to be the forever game, and we'll probably still be playing it in a decade or two, if we're still alive. Hell I am 46 and my grandfathers died near 80, and my dad is almost 80, so I might even have three decades or more left. And by that time, who knows what happens. We just might have enough resources to build or buy it, and enough people to crew it (476 is the max crew, the min might be say 50, and there are AI blades and NPC crewmembers coming). So it's going on the Cult Spec and staying there. The entire spec is aspirational anyway. It's ideal, something for us to aim for and see how far we get.


P.S. The Bengal isn't the biggest human ship. It's 990m. The Retribution is 2.7km.

[icycalm]

I added the Buccaneer to the Pirate Inquisitor. It doesn't even need a pirate paint, it's designed as a pirate ship from the ground up, just look at its name for christsake. It essentially comes with the pirate paint as standard. People can just buy this cheap and mean-looking fighter in-game with no need for cash outlays. And they will need it if they want to play in Pyro with us, because Pyro is an outlaw system, thus the province of Cult Pirates.

OH SNAP

The good thing is it punches above its weight class: https://starcitizen.tools/Buccaneer

The Drake Buccaneer is a rough-and-tumble frontier fighter that can be easily maintained in the most primitive conditions. It is designed to maneuver and fight above its weight class, and to complement the Cutlass/Caterpillar System.

You can still use a Gladius as your pirate fighter if you prefer, but it's more expensive and you'll need the Solar Winds paint for that. Your choice. Or your CO's if you have both or if he has the ships to give you himself.

[icycalm]

Paints - Cutter - Noble Paint $5.00 USD
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pled ... oble-Paint

It occurred to me that the Cutter Noble paint, though not explicitly pirate by CIG, looks very similar to the official pirate paints, and can thus be used to bring the cheap and versatile Cutter platform into our pirate operations. Moreover this paint is offered year-round, unlike the official pirate paints that can only be bought once a year during Pirate Week (or in the grey market for a markup), making it extremely accessible. This makes the Cutter the cheapest pirate ship you can get, and when paired with the also-cheap Buccaneer just added to the spec, they make for a great pirate starter pack with the only cash outlay required to join us in Pyro being a fiver. (Note though that even that's not needed, because people can still just ride in their officers' ships.)

The entire Cutter family can use this paint, and has thus been added to the spec, including the Rambler with its extra fuel tank that will be very handy in Pyro with its six planets and massive distances between them.

[icycalm]

Paints - Nova Tank - Gunmetal Paint $7.00 USD
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pled ... etal-Paint

Added to Pirate Master Chief.

Imagine a couple of these coming out of a silver Hercules. 'Nough said.

[icycalm]

Paints - Corsair - Eternity Paint $7.50 USD
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pled ... nity-Paint

I've gone back and forth on this a few times because I was planning on making the Corsair a pirate-only ship (because: look at its name), but it's too useful not to give it also to the Cult Military, plus we now have the graffiti paint to give the pirates to differentiate it from the military. So if you're playing a soldier Master Chief get the black, and if a pirate get the graffiti one that will look at home in Pyro's rundown stations (the latter being a subscriber item btw).



Subscribers Store - Corsair - Dying Star Paint $9.00 USD
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pled ... Star-Paint

As for the standard military olive Corsair, ysignal can have that, and there's also a yellow one we can give to the yellow Commander, when we get him.

[icycalm]

https://twitter.com/chonkrider/status/1 ... 0782925011



So the Pirate Supreme Commander gets the Meridian 890J. You might ask, what the hell will he do with an 890J? Well first of all, he's a pirate, and it's a boat: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewmi66/53741900923



Plenty of water in Pyro to land in far away from hotspots and use it as floating HQ (just don't sink too low because it might blow up).

It just makes sense to me as something a pirate leader would love to use. He can have parties in his bar and pool, and the medbay and hangars are capital ship worthy. I mean that's why Stanton pirates keep trying to hijack these boats. Well, our Pirate SupCom did and took it to Pyro.

And what about the Sterling 600i Explorer that the Pirate SupCom had before?



I've pushed that down to the Pirate Commander.

And what about the Meridian 400i that the Pirate Commander had before?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewmi66/54152934717



I pushed that down to the Pirate Captain.

It all makes much more sense than before, and the only vehicle now in the Pirate Spec that's not in the game yet is the Pirate Emperor's Kraken. That will be a while, but we're not in a rush, as the Emperor has no interest in personally going to Pyro at the moment. He'll first send someone to scout ahead, and once a long-term plan has been formulated, he may or may not decide to move to the system in force.

[icycalm]

I've condensed all Ranger ranks into one, so that there's no longer a Ranger Inquisitor, Ranger Master Chief and so on, but just one Ranger, like there is only one Medic, Technician, and Bounty Hunter. It's a specialized unit that officers call into the field when they need them. Makes everything much simpler.



So this singular Ranger gets the loot-only Hurston Dynamics Executive Security Artimex armor, the super-cool black with red eyes one. Problem is, you have to loot it for every life you play. It's not that difficult though, and shubn has explained how in the Looting thread. If you need help with it, ask there. Also, you can source this from the dark market (dark is in-game, grey is out-of-game) for some credits. (We still need to make a thread about how the dark market works.) So that's an option too if you have lots of credits and just want to buy a bunch of these in one go.

Another change I made to this spec is that I added a bigger backpack. The Ranger has to operate alone for long periods, so he needs the extra space.



What about all those other Artimex versions with cool colors? We'll still be using them, but they'll be reserved for the strategic ranks. The red will be Adjudicator's, the blue shubn's (though this is very hard to get as it only drops in loot boxes randomly, so if you find a piece, please give it to shubn), the white will be the white Commander's when we get one, the gold is for the SupCom, and now with IAE 2954 the Starchaser version is mine.

Why do all these ranks need the Ranger armor when they aren't supposed to be operating in the frontlines, never mind alone?

For the same reason that leaders often wear combat fatigues during wartime even though they don't go into combat. Moral support. Showing off.

So if the mission is stealthy, and a Commander is somewhere in the vicinity, he may choose to don his Artimex if there happens to be a version of it suitable for him (there isn't a green one for ysignal currently, for example). It's just a way for us to use more cool gear.

Also, all these other Artimexes have blue eyes, but the Ranger one has red eyes. Makes it easy to differentiate the soldier from the officers.

Another couple of tidbits. I've given the Ranger the super-cool Lamont Corvus undersuit that you can get from Nine Tails in bunkers. Not sure if Hurston Security also uses these, but either way, this is the coolest undersuit in the game and it's perfect for the Ranger, so it's worth the extra effort to source it. If you think all this looting for a mere ONE life is excessive, keep in mind the specialized armors unveiled in the recent CitCon that won't be available in stores and which you'll have to source by completing missions or even entire quest-lines (I'll be adding these to the Spec soon, btw). Think of our Ranger loadout as an early version of this.



And finally, not sure if the Artimex has 6 ammo slots. Let me know if it's wrong and I'll fix it.

Oh and I also updated his Hornets to Mk II, adding the new Blacksmith paint to his Tracker to make it all-black, like pretty much everything he uses. I would also like to determine if I can use one of the new black Sabre paints on his Sabre Raven so that instead of blue-black it can be all-black or at least grey-black. Not that any of us have the Sabre Raven (it costs $1,000), it's just for the sake of the spec's completion.

Full updated spec with all-current prices:

GROUND SPEC
Lamont Corvus Undersuit [Loot] [N/A]
Artimex Helmet Hurston Dynamics Executive Security [Loot] [N/A]
Artimex Hurston Dynamics Executive Security Core/Arms/Legs [Loot] [N/A]
MacFlex Backpack Grey [Cubby Blast] [1,375]
Left back: Individual Choice
Right back: Individual Choice
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [400]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,200]
Right thigh: LH86 "Nightstalker" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [690]
Right thigh: Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [413 + 320]
Left torso: 3x Individual Choice ammo [Cubby Blast]
Right torso: 3x Individual Choice ammo [Cubby Blast]

GROUND VEHICLE SPEC
Recon Bike: Nox [Astro Armada] [722,925]
Recon Rover: Cyclone RN [New Deal] [122,850]

SHIP SPEC
Stealth Dropship: Prowler [Astro Armada] [18,711,000]
Stealth Bomber: Eclipse [New Deal] [7,938,000]
Interdiction: Sabre Raven [Grey Market] [$$$]
Medium Tracker Fighter: F7C-R Hornet Tracker Mk II (Blacksmith) [Grey Market] [$$$]
Medium Stealth Fighter: F7C-S Hornet Ghost Mk II [Grey Market] [$$$]
Stealth Fighter: Sabre [New Deal] [4,498,200]
Stealth Recon: Razor EX [Astro Armada] [1,757,700]

[icycalm]

I finally set the Pirate SupCom's ground and flight spec. Pretty self-explanatory:

GROUND & FLIGHT SPEC
Must use one of the Fieldsbury Dark Bear Helmets [Loot/$$$] [N/A], but beyond that he can use any gear or even clothes that are not already used in another spec excluding gold/Executive gear and including all weapons with all skins (even those exclusive to the various Commanders), and he can change his attire and loadout as often as he wants, even between or during operations

He's basically Star Citizen's Joker.

I would love to see him show up in suit and tie with that bear helmet and a freakin' rocket launcher slung on his back while shouting "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!" Terrifying movie-level stuff, and will make for some terrific shots. Also, the players we'll meet will know what's up and they'll have never seen such a cool org. That's the whole idea behind the entire Pirate Spec, to create the ultimate outlaw look especially when we're in a large group. And the vehicles and paints I picked are all perfect for it.

I replaced the previous Pirate SupCom Spec pic with this new, more artistic one above because it focuses on the bear helmet, which is the only fixed item in this spec.

[icycalm]

I've been wanting to add alien ships in some capacity to the Spec, and with Pyro's imminent arrival it hit me that the Vanduul ships would be perfect for the Pirate Spec. They're the meanest-looking, edgiest alien ships after all. And since there are three of them in the game right now, they can go to the three strategic ranks, Pirate Commander, Pirate Supreme Commander and Pirate Emperor.

These ships are the Blade, the Scythe, and the Glaive. The Blade is a light fighter, perfect for the Commander to move around in fast while issuing orders; the Scythe is an asymmetrical medium fighter, perfect for the SupCom with its extra protection; and the Glaive—while still a medium fighter—is a somewhat heavier, symmetrical version of the Scythe, so perfect for the Emperor.

https://starcitizen.tools/Blade

The Vanduul Blade (UEE designation) is a light carrier-based fighter with high maneuverability that is often used as scouts and first wave assault crafts. With over a quarter-millennia of recorded encounters, it is both one of the first of the species' spacecraft encountered by the United Empire of Earth and one of the most common. Over the decade of conflict, it has been increasingly used to take out comm arrays and early warning systems. It has also served well as skirmisher units due to their speed allowing them to chase down any ships attempting to flee the area.

https://starcitizen.tools/Scythe

The Vanduul Scythe (UEE designation) is a medium fighter that appears in every Vanduul raid. There is not a single allowance for comfort, cargo or anything that would dilute the ship's function as a dedicated dogfighter. Featuring a hefty weapons payload, the Scythe's real asset is its maneuverability, found in the twin main and twelve maneuvering thrusters.

https://starcitizen.tools/Glaive

The Vanduul Glaive (UEE designation) is a medium fighter that resemble the symmetrical version of the Scythe. Generally flown by Vanduul with more combat experience, they are better armed and have two huge blades/wings as opposed to one on the standard Scythe.

Only problem is that the middle ship is nigh-impossible to get unless you're willing to spend about $5,000 on the grey market and hope you don't get scammed. This is because: https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... nt/k40psmp

Scythes are not available.

If you were an original backer, there were Scythes available (Captured Scythes), which sold for 200USD or so if I recall. [$300 according to Star Citizen Wiki. -icy]

A twin version was concepted in 2014 in limited numbers, but since been lifted and no longer limited/restricted. [I think he means the Glaive here, which can indeed be bought a couple times a year. -icy]

You won't find many Scythe owners as most of the owners will have moved on.

What is the process to buy a Scythe?
https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... y_a_scythe

In lore all Vandul carriers self-destruct on takeover/mission fail. The batch that was sold 10+ years ago was from a carrier with a damaged reactor, it could not self-destruct. UEE Navy found like 100 of these and sold them to the Citizens. That was the sale we know. Most likely this will be the rarest in-game ship players have, next to Mustang Omega from AMD collaboration. No idea if these are even tradable at this stage and getting one might require buying an entire account.

Rarest ship is the military F7A, not the body kit but the one with the full military loadout. There is only ONE (1) of those that is player-owned.

Hi from the future. The F7A MKI is no longer as rare as before as all body kits got converted to the actual ship.

So I was stumped there for a while because I can't expect anyone to pay $5k for this. I would have given it to myself, but it wouldn't make sense for the Emperor to get the middle of the three ships. However, it turns out there's an alternate way to get it: https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... nt/k40l3dh

It's a loaner for Imperator level subs, so not that rare. The rare part is actually owning one.

This reminded me that I've had a Vanduul ship in my ASOP for over a year now, and I had no idea why I had it! So I already have the Pirate SupCom Vanduul fighter and I can give it to recoil to keep in his persistent hangar. Or he can sub to Imperator level if he wants. Either will do.

As for the other two ships, they can be cashbought at around $300-500 from the grey market, or you can get them from RSI at specific times of the year (Alien Week?) and/or by unlocking them in Arena Commander playing Vanduul Swarm I think. shubn will know all the details. Getting LTI for them can be a bit harder than normal, but it can be done.

HOWEVER, the smallest of them, the Blade light fighter, can be bought in-game with aUEC! Just 7,7M from Astro Armada. It's an Esperia replica, that's why it can be bought in shops. It has its own wiki page, separate from the original Blade: https://starcitizen.tools/Blade_(replica)

The Esperia Blade is a Vanduul light fighter replica produced by Esperia for military use. They are often used for training for the UEE pilots. The maneuverability of the Blade is beyond anything else out there which makes up for its lacking armor.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hasgaha/47995655741



So whoever wants to play a Pirate Commander in the future, either taking over one of recoil's Pyro planets or in another system, can just earn his Vanduul fighter in-game without spending a dollar. Very convenient for us. So it makes sense also as a progression in the ranks: the Commander can buy his ship in-game, the SupCom needs to be subbed at $20/month on RSI (or borrow his ship from me or another Imperator subscriber, I think we might have one or two more), and only the Emperor needs to whip out his wallet and drop a fat stack of cash for his alien Vanduul fighter.

Some fun chat on the Vanduul ships: https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... _the_blade

It's very capable. You need to be good at hitting your shots though. The all-red HUD is not conducive to gameplay currently since you can't see if it is an enemy or friendly target.

Everything is a target for Vaandul lol.

Not true, you see if it's an enemy or not. Tested 2 days ago.

Maybe it's a bug, but for me it was not true.

Can confirm, it works fine.

You cannot, however, see damaged parts on an enemy ship, or most other red UI elements. I don't really mind it personally, feels like it fits the Vanduul mindset of "Don't care, shoot until thing is dead".

Same for me, the ship itself is a fantastic artwork, and a pretty good fighter but the all-red HUD makes it a no-go. Can't see if enemy or myself is damaged till bits fall off is very subpar.

Hoping that gets changed when we get the SQ42 rework.

Always reminds me of my favorite game as a kid, "Solar Winds".



It's PERFECT.

THAT'S WHERE THE SOLAR WINDS PAINTS COME FROM!!!

I love the Blade. It's OK as a light fighter, but given that the weapons are bespoke, it doesn't have quite the punch as an upgraded Gladius. However, there is a mechanic that hasn't come into play with the Blade/Scythe/Glaive yet.

Their wings are designed to damage enemy vessels. The mechanic is that they will be able to engage at distance, close on the target and literally rip into it with the wings.

Too cool for school.

Cool ship, love how you enter it. Only tried it during IAE recently. Worked well for HRT bounties, felt like a premium fighter, really fast acceleration.

I didn't look up the weapons at the time so they confused me. I didn't love the WARLORD cannons, but it was satisfying to hit shots with them. The red UI is kind of cool, but not at all practical.

As for the Vanduul ships in general it will be interesting to see the SQ42 versions and how they will change with Master Modes, Maelstrom and so on.

It's sick but the sound effects give me a headache almost immediately.

Note that the models for these ships currently in the game aren't final and will eventually be replaced by the final versions currently seen in the newer ISC episodes/Squadron 42 trailers (which is where the first three pics I posted above are from).

In CitizenCon 2023, CIG announced that the owners of the Vanduul ships will get the reworked versions with an unspecified date.

P.S. Fun fact: The $5k Scythe, and I think the other two as well, are part of the $48k+ package, so instead of dropping $5k on one ship, if anyone was thinking of doing that, you can save it for the package. Just sayin'.

[icycalm]

The Pirate Inquisitor now looks like this. He essentially took over the Technician's gear. Why? Because it turns out that you can buy the Stitcher armor in Pyro, so it made sense to make the substitution to lower the barriers to entry to piracy and Pyro (and lawless systems in general like the upcoming Nyx, since they'll all utilize the Pirate Spec).

This of course means we'll need a new Technician. I have a few ideas.

What about the Star Kitten helmet? We could use it for recoil's bodyguards. I think their helmets would be fitting next to recoil's evil bear helmet. Not an immediate concern, we have time to think about it. And anyway I'd like to let the strategic ranks design their own bodyguard specs as much as possible. It's something to think about for recoil then.

So this is what the new Pirate Inquisitor Spec looks like:

GROUND SPEC
Second Life Undersuit [Skutters] [800]
Why Not? Helmet [Gear Up] [920]
Stitcher Core/Arms/Legs [Canard View] [3,400/920/1,200]
Sinkhole Backpack [Gear Up] [1,800]
Left back: FS-9 LMG [Guns] [6,500]
Right back: Individual Choice
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [medical_shop] [260]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pyro > Stanton Jump Point] [1,200]
Right thigh: Coda Pistol [Sharp Shooters] [940]
Right thigh: Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Ruin Station Cargo Shop] [480 + 450]
Left torso: 3x FS-9 Magazine (75 cap) [Guns] [1350]
Right torso: 2x Individual Choice ammo [???]

I redid the sourcing and prices to Pyro as much as possible. It was possible for everything except the undersuit. Which means, for now, the basic pirate troopers will need to stock up undersuits in Stanton. Maybe recoil could arrange large shipments of them.

As for the rest, for what it's worth, stuff in Pyro seems to be a bit cheaper than in Stanton. At least shabby gear like the Stitcher. Maybe 20% cheaper. More "mainstream" stuff like medpens though are actually quite a bit more expensive. Also noticed that New Babbage medpens are more expensive than medpens elsewhere in Stanton, like an Apple tax for them. 260 for medpens in NB and Pyro, and 100 elsewhere in Stanton. Interesting economy changes.

Here's another cool tidbit: the FS-9 can be bought in Pyro! It's no longer a loot-only gun! It was already on the Technician Spec (because it's in that cool pic above), and I carried it over to the Pirate Inquisitor, because it's now much more easily attainable.

The Individual Choice ammo has question marks in its location because the ammo situation may be more complex in Pyro. In Stanton, you can get all ammo, even for loot-only guns, from Cubby Blast. In Pyro there may not be a single place to get all your ammo from, so in that case the location will depend on the gun choice you make. Ergo the question marks.

There are usually multiple locations in Pyro where you can get most of the items on this spec, and since I can't list all of them, I've defaulted to Terminus (Pyro VI) and Ruin Station above it just because Ruin Station is the biggest station, and in the original Pyro design it was supposed to be the only station in the system. Use the Universal Item Finder to find the location most convenient to you, or the best price if you're buying in bulk and counting pennies (though a lot of stuff no longer costs pennies, e.g. ammo is WAY more expensive now).

Finally, let me know if the ammo slot count on the Stitcher is different than what I have listed. I have it as 5.

Oh and with the improved server performance we can expect from 4.0 onwards due to server meshing, grenades might become viable. I've heard some faint rumors to that effect. Test this out and let me know. I'd love to add grenades to all the specs. At the end of the day we can carry them around and only use them when the server feels highly responsive.

[icycalm]

The Pirate Commander finally gets his battlesuit, the Overlord armor: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm ... Promotions

Some consider the Overlords heroes and other criminals. Doomsday doesn’t care either way. All we know is that the vigilante group that made a name for itself targeting outlaws in Pyro has some kickass, distinct, and resilient armor. Since we respect the rule of law as much as they do, we made a limited run of armor inspired by them. If they have a problem with it, they can come find us.

The Overlord armor lets your foes know that you mean business. This heavy armor set is constructed with durable composite plating strategically placed to disperse the force of impacts and a high, reinforced collar that provides additional protection for the neck and back of head. The suit also layers in high-strength synthetic fabrics around the joints to ensure ease-of-movement without sacrificing safety. The Overlord armor is available in several distinct colors worn by members of the infamous faction. Maybe just don’t wear one while in Pyro unless you’re looking for trouble. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Pretty simple spec, looks like this (rest same as normal Pirate Commander Spec):

BATTLESUIT SPEC
Overlord [SUB] [$$$]

You have to be subbed to RSI at $10/month to get it, but you have to be subbed anyway to play Commander.

How do we deal with the colors?

First off, we're reserving the blue (Switchback) for shubn to use in Stanton as Stanton Pirate Commander. Then we're also reserving the red (Supernova) for Adjudicator and the green (Predator) for ysignal if they ever get pirate commands of their own. Same with the bright yellow (Stinger) for a future yellow Commander. That leaves the teal (Riptide) and dark yellow (Dust Storm).

As it happens, Pyro has two possible Pirate Commander spots for recoil to hand out if he wants. I'll explain soon how that works. So if he at some point appoints two Pirate Commanders, they'll have the Riptide and Dust Storm to choose from. Will probably be a first-come first-served deal, so reach out to recoil if you're interested in all the above stuff.

[icycalm]

What about the Pirate SupCom's battlesuit?

He doesn't need one, since he can wear any armor that's not already used in another spec. So there are several light, medium and heavy armors that he can put on depending on circumstances.



One correction to his spec though, I said before that he can't use gold/Executive gear because it belongs to the regular Supreme Commanders, who outrank him. Same goes for the purple stuff that belongs to the Emperor, including e.g. Nine Tails armor and even clothes. In short, if it's purple it's mine. I've amended his ground spec description to reflect this.

[icycalm]

I have terrific news. This made my day.

If you remember when I introduced the Bounty Hunter Spec, I tried to mimic Garman Humble's amazing getup but unfortunately had to ditch the Microid Core because it can only be found in lootboxes, and even then there are several variations of it so the chances of finding the exact that Garman uses are negligible. So instead I used the Lynx Core Base, which is fine, but nowhere near as cool.

Well, Pyro's to the rescue! All Microid Cores except the base can be bought in Pyro! And the base is a different color than what we need, so we don't care about it!

Which color do we need? I haven't been able to determine it 100%. There are two that look appropriate, the Crucible and the Lodestone, so I've put both on the spec and we can try both and see which it is. So the Core entry now reads:

Microid Battle Suit Core Crucible/Lodestone [Shepherd's Rest/Canard View] [1,200]

We can now pretty much roleplay it that Garman works for The Cult! So whenever he shows up, or whenever you're playing him alone, it's Garman!

Also:

Katanas in Star Citizen Confirmed? (IAE Show Part 3)
https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... iae_part_3



In the third episode of the IAE Show [ > ] there's a trailer for what looks like a proper Garman TV show, and it looks amazing, and it has katanas and also (very briefly; blink and you'll miss it) the crossbow. Intriguingly, it also flashes the message SUBSCRIBE, and I would pay a shitton of money for this. I am hoping CIG is making an in-game show that will only be unlocked to RSI subcribers. Would be so much cooler than whatever Star Wars is peddling these days. Either way though, the katana is coming, and it will help make sense of why Garman's wearing light armor, since speed is crucial to melee, especially when the enemies have firearms!

Some chat on this from the Reddit thread linked above:

This is why a stealthy armor, that allows quick movement, will be important for melee! I realize most MMOs don't do stealth and speed together though... but melee combat in Cyberpunk 2077 felt amazing because of Sandevistan. So, I'm hoping for that route in SC.

Zero chance for anything like a Sandevistan's slowdown. CIG may be good at cracking the cutting-edge of server tech, but they ain't so good enough to be able to crack literal spacetime causality yet.

Still tho, if an enemy gets close enough to make me the latest and greatest in human sushi with a katana I will, in my best Japanese-accented English, say "You honor me. Take my head without guilt."

No, cracking spacetime causality was a stretch goal. Why do you think it's taking so long to make the game?

No, I get that. But a short duration movement speed boost would be nice for when you have to clear a room of gun-toting NPCs with melee.

Except that's just as easily gun-toting players and it'll be fun till you're the one having someone zip across the room and one-shot you.

*shrug* I can also one-shot you with a grenade launcher, sniper or railgun. Melee at least has some style to it.

EDIT: Also, the suit could only slot melee on the back, bringing some balance.

Like in Star Wars Jedi Knight series, there's Force Speed that makes everything slow down in singleplayer mode, however in multiplayer mode it gives you speed boost.

Or just don't allow the speed boost to anyone with a firearm.

[icycalm]

We finally have data on the Pirate Commander's helmet. It's called the Deadhead Helmet and doesn't have a manufacturer yet: https://starcitizen.tools/Deadhead_Helmet

The Deadhead Helmet is a helmet that has been modified with a gold-plated human skull face and mohawk attachment.

There are a bunch of variations of it, only one of which is available in shops, and it's not the base that's pictured. This is how I entered it in the spec:

Deadhead Helmet (01_01_01) [Last Landings] [5,400]

The number designation is probably temporary. At any rate I'll probably be fine with people using any of the variations, so if you loot other colors, I'll probably be okay with you using them. Or maybe we could give different colors to different Pirate Commanders, assuming they're roughly equally easy/hard to acquire.

I also made some progress on figuring out his armor. It's probably the Carnifex, and it doesn't look like it'll be available in shops, we'll have to kill for it. Manufacturer is Gyson Inc.: https://robertsspaceindustries.com/gala ... -gyson-inc

Gyson Inc. is a discount clothing, industrial goods, and armor brand known for offering low-cost products. The company has come under fire for quality control issues multiple times since it entered the market, but it continues to weather any periods of backlash due to its extensive catalog and rock-bottom prices.

Wanna use this cool helmet and armor, plus the Overlord battlesuit showcased earlier?

Talk to recoil (or shubn) about becoming Pirate Commander.

[icycalm]

I've updated the Pirate Inquisitor with shubn's suggestions earlier on, replacing the medgun with a knife (the only knife available in-game, the FSK-8) and switching around the knife and multi-tool locations, while adding the LifeGuard Medical Attachment to it and a Tractor Beam Attachment + LifeGuard Refill in the backpack.



And then I've gone ahead and fully filled-out the Pirate Master Chief Ground Spec. The amazing thing I realized is that you can buy special longarms in Pyro! So his grenade launcher and railgun no longer require looting! The ammo is super-expensive though. He's carrying 35k credits in ammo lol. And that's just on his torso! We'll see how we'll deal with this. Gives him one more reason to hang back and command, as he should, only coming to the front when he needs to lay down the law with his big guns.



GROUND SPEC
Second Life Undersuit [Skutters] [800]
The Butcher Helmet [Canard View] [2,800]
Clash Core/Arms/Legs [Loot] [N/A]
Sinkhole Backpack [Gear Up] [1,800] w/ TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment + LifeGuard Refill [Ruin Station Cargo Shop + Ruin Station medical_shop] [450 + 120]
Left back: GP-33 MOD Grenade Launcher [Ruin Station Guns] [13,000]
Right back: Scourge Railgun [Ruin Station Guns] [16,000]
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [Ruin Station medical_shop] [260]
Left thigh: Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + LifeGuard Medical Attachment [Ruin Station Cargo Shop + Ruin Station medical_shop] [480 + 350]
Right thigh: Coda Pistol [Ruin Station Sharp Shooters] [940]
Right thigh: FSK-8 Combat Knife [Ruin Station Sharp Shooters] [1,200]
Left torso: 4x GP-33 MOD Grenade Launcher Magazine (6 cap) [Ruin Station Guns] [8400]
Right torso: 4x Scourge Railgun Magazine (5 cap) [Ruin Station Sharp Shooters] [24,800]

Same undersuit as the Pirate Inquisitor for now, so it must be sourced in Stanton, and same knife; though I plan to give him a subscriber knife soon, there are tons of awesome ones.

Oh, and even his helmet can be bought in stores in Pyro! Not his armor, unfortunately, so you have to do the 890J mission in Stanton to get that. But we'll be on the lookout for a Pyro source for it. Same with the undersuit and everything else that for now requires Stanton. There's probably a place in Pyro where gangs are using this stuff and we can show up and take it from them.

I've left the higher-rank specs mostly blank for now, we have to work on those in-game. recoil's spec is basically pretty much whatever he wants, so he is ready, as long as he's willing to risk one of the 6 bear helmets he has. He could look into the dark market and see how many credits the helmets go for, maybe he can grab a bunch and use them more frequently.

Next up we must do the Captain Spec, so we have to kill a lot of gang members and see what we can put together. Until then, Inquisitors and Master Chiefs should suffice, plus recoil as SupCom if he can grab some additional helmets, or risk one or two of his cashbought ones.

[icycalm]

Found a new unique armour set - Morozov Pyrotechnic
https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... yrotechnic

I can confirm this, found it 3 times, always at Checkmate final loot room. He spawns very rarely.

Best looking armor in the game right now in my opinion hehe.

That armor is imposing as fuck. Imagine that coming at you on a dim lit night.

It really is cool, and I just checked Cornerstone and it is heavy: https://finder.cstone.space/FPSArmors1/ ... 8cc1b2b4c7

The Pyrotechnic Amalgamated Edition was made specifically for the company's mining efforts in Pyro during the 26th century.

There's even a heavy backpack for it: https://finder.cstone.space/FPSArmors1/ ... adc6e2192e

I am not fond of the base Morozov, aside from its helmet, but this one I like. Would be cool for recoil's bodyguards. But first let's see if we can stockpile some. Hopefully there'll be easier ways to acquire it eventually.

[ysignal]

The regular Pembroke gear can no longer be found in ARC-L1 (or any other Lagrange point). It can now only be found in these places:

• Stanton - Crusader - Yela - Grim HEX - Main Concourse - Skutters
• Stanton - Hurston - Lorville - Workers District - Tammany And Sons