cruiser VS battleship

[Anaximander]

Don't chase the cruiser, reverse thrust when possible. When the cruiser attempts to get close enough to shoot at you, full impulse ahead and close the distance.

This. I like to throw a couple of missiles into the mix as well, to force the cruiser into evasive maneuvering. I don't rely on the missiles for dealing any real damage though.

For me, ships like the Jorm and Valor with their FW guns excel as well, as FW guns shoot in a direct line without turret tracking (which completely screws up aiming more often than not). Even when you try to free-aim, your turrets get confused by the jumpy targetting reticule vs. a TS'ing turning cruiser so the shots end up going in a slightly different direction than what you were aiming at. When in a BS fighting a TS'ing cruiser, it becomes ever apparent that the Freelancer engine wasn't built for capital ship fighting.

That being said, BS's could use a buff in my opinion. Cruisers are SO much easier to fly - just go turret steering and mash the directional buttons randomly, have a bit of patience, stay at a correct range, and you stand a pretty good chance at winning against even a skilled BS pilot.