Cloud Imperium Games has announced a new ship for the space online game Star Citizen once again. With this ship, you can pull players out of quantum travel.
What kind of ship is this? The RSI Mantis is a ship equipped with a “Quantum Enforcement Device.” This device has some interesting features that can lead to devious maneuvers.
A nasty little ship
What does the Quantum Enforcement Device do? One of its features allows you to create a sphere with a diameter of 2000 meters around your ship, preventing other ships from using their quantum drive.
The second feature creates an EMP pulse that pulls other ships from quantum travel within a range of 10,000 to 20,000 meters.
Additionally, the ship can set quantum markers to “track” other ships in quantum travel.
What does this mean exactly? When you pilot a Mantis, you can prevent your opponents from fleeing into quantum flight. You just need to stay close enough to the enemy ship.
Furthermore, pirates can team up and activate the EMP pulse in heavily traveled areas to pull victims out of quantum travel and attack.
So, very sneaky maneuvers are possible with the Mantis.
The balance must be maintained
Isn’t the ship “overpowered”? The developers have integrated some features that make you think carefully about whether and when to use the Quantum Enforcement Device.
- The ship is only lightly armed and cannot really take on combat ships.
- To use the device, you must disable other systems, making you a vulnerable target.
Thus, the Mantis is essentially only effective in larger groups. The others then fly their combat ships to attack the victims pulled out of quantum travel and protect the Mantis pilots.
When will the ship be introduced? The Mantis can be tested next week. Starting October 10, it will be available to all players. It is not a concept. The ship will be playable in the Alpha. A price has not yet been announced.
Other ships can be quite valuable – about €600!
What do players think of the Mantis? Overall, the new ship is very well received. Many people like it, and players are looking forward to being able to play as pirates. For this purpose, the ship seems to be excellent.
However, the community hopes that the Mantis does not disrupt the balance and that the balancing is correct. The ship’s capabilities already sound very nasty. It simply must not be overpowered.
