Posting a ship review for Star Citizen while it is still in active development is somewhat pointless I’ll give you that, with changes bound to happen at some point in the future. Though I guess a current review can be useful for current game play as well as a way for me to look back if changes do occur.
Looks
This is by far the highest rated out of the categories, the looks of the Vanguard Series as a whole are aesthetically appealing. The Vanguard Sentinel has a blue and yellow paint scheme, a reminder of the famous US Navy Blue Angels. While the interior itself is the big attraction with its data panels, access to modular components and a escape pod. Although the AR cockpit is not in-game yet, the current place holder isn’t bad.
The one downside is the way you interact with the doors, none of them are automatic and the is a hard time when it comes to highlighting them in order to press F and activate them. This can be fixed without having to make and major changes to the ship.
Flying
As a heavy fighter the Vanguard Sentinel is agile in comparison to the rest of the Vanguard series. Which makes sense given its focus on eWarfare on not direct 1v1 dog-fighting like the Vanguard Warden. Using the ships weight to your advantage, such as jousting an opposite and then decouple to turn around and continue going backwards to handle more agile ships can help. However the light fighters will have an edge on you while turning, this is what is to be expected with one being a heavy fighter that hits harder Vs a light fighter who is much harder to hit.
Atmosphere flight is where the Vanguard series really start to fall apart, feeling like a heavy boat. If you are looking to do a lot of flying near and around planets, a heavy fighter like this isn’t going to be the best option. However in deep space it could reign supreme.
Combat
This is where the debate takes place with the Vanguard ships, the weapon options and the amount of DPS they can do as a heavy fighter. As is stand now for being championed as a heavy fighter by CIG, the Vanguards hit like a wet noodle. This is mostly due to the in-game meta being favored towards gimbled assisted mounts for weapons and the Vanguards can only use 1, whereas ships like the Sabre can use 4.
The 4 fixed nose weapons, although each Vanguard uses a different set, are still sub-par at best. Once fixed weapons are on a similar playing field as gimbled assisted mounts, then a true review of the Vanguards DPS can be looked at. Currently it is just frustrating for those that love the ship, but feel out gunned by almost all light/medium fighters.
Making Money
What a ship can do in the ‘Verse to give you gameplay you desire is the ultimate reason as to why you should want to own a ship, that and to make in-game currency(UEC). The Vanguard ships are no different and thankfully as a heavy fighter you can do a little more that just bounty missions to earn UEC.
- Appointments
- Bounty Hunting
- Investigations
- Box Delivery
- Maintenance
- Mercenary
- ECN
Basically the main thing you cannot do with the Vanguards is cargo hauling, and although that is a lucrative way of earning in-game money, it is not the only way as seen with the list above.
Quality of Life
Finally there is the talk about quality of life, with the Star Citizen ‘Verse set to be as big as it is, having basic amenities could be the difference. The Vanguard Sentinel comes with;
- 2 Beds
- Food & Beverage Station
- Weapons Rack
- Armor Storage
- Bathroom
- Escape Pod
- EMP
The last 2 on that list being Escape Pod which is the center portion of the ship which includes the beds, food & beverage station, weapon rack, armor storage and bathroom if the escape pod was ever to be used. Then the EMP is currently the best out of any ship that uses it due to the radius of it when used. The Vanguard ships are built for long range and you can tell with the additional quality of life options that are included.
Conclusion
Currently the Vanguard Sentinel is my favorite ship, with me not being able to carry cargo or a vehicle(hopefully the Ranger bike) as the only 2 things the ship cannot do. Overall I really like this ship and the only 2 ships I would consider, one being more so than the other are the Freelancer MIS and Cutlass.
The Freelancer MIS has a lot of firepower but will cost more to operate but can also carry cargo and a vehicle. I personally just don’t enjoy the cockpit or the flight style, but it is a ship I still think about from time to time as a possible daily driver.
The Cutlass series are another option I would consider if there were not so paper thin, this ship was my first true love(give me back my cockpit fan!). It is just with the ship being a jack of all trades which it true is, it has to have a weak point somewhere and it is the overall suitability of the ship itself.
Overall Rating – 7.8 out of 10
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