A Bretonian Guide to Success

[Bowex]

Setting up Your Business, II

Bowex players can fly a truly vast array of ships, ranging from the unimposing Starflier to the behemothic Shetland. Of course, if we covered all of these ships this guide would eat up an unholy amount of forum space. Due to this, we'll be looking at trade craft from the Bretonian shipline, simply because we feel that's the series that best reflects the faction. After all, Bowex builds most of them.

Clydesdale - B-27-E Bretonia Freighter

Cost: $1,603,210.
Location: Battleship Macduff, Newcastle; Planet Cambrigde, Cambrigde.
Cargo: 560 units.
Equipment: x3 class 8 guns, x5 class 5 turrets.
Our Loadout: x3 Splitter tachyon cannons. x2 Advanced Debilitator MkI pulse turrets, x3 Splitter tachyon turrets. Nuclear mine, Train Cruise Disruptor.

Comment: Don't trust Cyber Dragon's review of this excellent ship. It's misleading at best and wrong at worst - we don't think he played with it for very long. For examples of the Clydesdale's combat prowess, you need only look at recent posts in the Bowex InfoNet. Clydedales are deadly, particularly in numbers, downing heavy fighters, bombers and even gunboats when used correctly.

The Clyde makes for a good beginners trade ship, but a great escort ship once you've put armour and top of the line equipment on it. Most certainly worth investing in. You won't make much trading, but you can offset that by selling your services as a scout, or killing pirate bombers that try to extort you. You can claim these with local bounty boards, for extra profit. There's nothing quite so humiliating for pirates as being wiped out by a freighter.

Percheron - B-40-E Bretonia Transport

Cost: $12,600,500 .
Location: Scarborough Station, Newcastle.
Cargo: 2,600 units.
Equipment: x5 class 4 Transport Turrets.
Our Loadout: x5 "Iron Hammer" Small Transport Turret Mk I. Train Cruise Disruptor.

Comment: We recommend the use of the Small Transport Turret MkI for one good reason: the Percheron looks ridiculous with standard sized turrets. The Percheron is a small and agile transport, complete with a cruise disruptor slot - useful for privateering actions against Kishiro, Samura and KNF transports, should the fancy take you. It provides a relatively large cargo bay for its cost, allowing new players to get a foothold in the transport market.

In combat, the unarmoured Perch suffers from a tendency to explode in one shot from SNACs. This can be circumvented by installing a Universal Armour Upgrade VIII, which will boost your hull to 187,500 - well out of the instant death zone. Use the transport shield your ship comes with - installing the Advanced shield will cause your power to run out when it regenerates.

Shire - Bretonian Container Transport

Cost: $100,600,500.
Location: Scarborough Shipyard, Newcastle.
Cargo: 4,200 units.
Equipment: x12 class 4 Transport Turrets.
Our Loadout: See comments.

Comment: What can be said? The Shire is an utter beast of a combat ship. Your loadout will differ based on what you want it to do. If you want to give pirate bombers a run for their money, invest in Type 4 Transport Turrets. If you intend to mercilessly slaughter enemy transports and even gunboats, you should try a combination of Type 1 and Type 2 turrets (mostly Type 2). When fighting in this ship, you should always keep your enemy directly in front or behind you - that is where you can fire all 12 guns. If they attack you from the side, you'll only have a meagre 6 cannons to defend yourself with. A major issue with the Shire is its extreme susceptibility to cruise disruptors.

All passing NPC patrols will knock you out of cruise, as will pursuing pirates due to your lack of a countermeasure. Your best bet in an encounter with a hostile player is to try and talk or shoot your way out, as opposed to running. If you intend to use this for fighting, an Advanced Transport shield and Universal Armour Upgrade VIII is essential kit.

Shetland- Bretonian Train

Cost: $150,600,500.
Location: Scarborough Shipyard, Newcastle.
Cargo: 5,000 units.
Equipment: x1 class 4 Transport Turret.
Our Loadout: What's the point, really? Use the turret with your favourite projectile, I suppose.

Comment: The Shetland is arguably the end-game of the Bretonian trade shipline. Possessing the largest cargo hold of all, topping out at 5,000 units, this is the ship that will make you the most cash in the least time. This is counterbalanced by the fact that it is unarmed. To trade effectively in it, you're either going to have to pay for escorts, think carefully about your route or possess a silver tongue in regards to pirates. Either that or the luck of the Irish Mollys.

You won't need the power for anything else, so stick a Advanced Transport shield on it. Because of the train shape, you'll be immune to most NPC disruptors from most angles too. Stick a Universal Armour Upgrade VIII on it in order to boost its already respectable 185,000 hull, to an amazing 462,500 - that's more than a stock Bretonian Destroyer.

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