BANU DEFENDER: Was it too nerfed? / Star Citizen honest review
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- čas přidán 15. 08. 2024
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■ What I LIKE and DON'T LIKE about the BANU DEFENDER, and my FINAL VERDICT. 100% honest review.
The Defender is an exotic alien light fighter of Star Citizen.
Created by the friendly Banu species to serve as escorts for their legendary trading ships, the Merchantman. Despite being available to humans since version 3.7.0, the Defender is still a rare sight in Stanton. We will see together how the Defender fits into the already crowded offering of Size 2 ships.
00:00 Intro
01:50 What I LIKE
09:18 What I DONT LIKE
16:46 FINAL VERDICT
19:23 Suggestions tu CIG
Sites and tools used:
DPS Calculator
www.erkul.game...
SC Ships Performances Viewer
www.spviewer.eu - Hry
I feel like this ship will be well worth it's price once it gets its "gold standard" update. The fix could be as simple as the exact things you mentioned. All or mostly bespoke Banu components. Make the guns and shield good again. The exact changes to the interior that you said. And maybe 4 scu. 2 verticle on the back left and 2 verticle on the back right. Similar to the cutter. Or just 2 verticle on one side and weapon racks on the other. Coule be a premium starter or just a true multirole ship. Hopefully they get around to doing that before the merchanmant is released. For the pricepoint it just doesn't make sense. But I'm in love with the idea of the ship and what it could be.
I agree with you, you have perfectly summarized the updates the Defender would need.
I like the 4 SCU idea, I think it would fit very well with the role the ship is supposed to have (according to the lore behind the Banu species). 2 vertical SCUs per side is a perfect solution.
And yes, I agree that a premium starter is what this ship should be!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I love reading ideas, especially when they are as interesting as yours.
Every time I see the new stats and components of the Defender I have a "Look-how-they-massacred-my-boy" moment, it's a husk of what used to be😢
Still, this husk remains the sleekest, sharpest, coolest and most exotic grand tourer of the Verse 😎
I totally agree 😄👍 I feel exactly the same
Great review. It really points out the strength and weakness of this ship. You might have added, that it can only carry 4xS2 missiles, that cannot be changed to 8XS1.(Just in case someone wanted to know). Overall I liked the video a lot. Especially making a verdict "by the heart". Personally I like it a lot. Got mine as loader for the BMM and over they years it became one of my favorite ships.
I really like the multi-role aspect. Just like the good old Avenger Titan, you can a lot of things in this ship. Really looking forward to the 315p review.
Thank you so much for your comment :D
You are so right about missiles, an escort ship should be able to carry a heavier missile load, kudos!
Even CIG compares the Spirit series to the Freelancer and the Cutlass, but I really think the Spirit is gonna be a LOT like the Defender, especially in terms of speed and maneuverability. Unfortunately, the Spirit has a way bigger cross section lol
It is definitely a freaking shark in atmosphere though, especially for PvP. Makes it a pretty good general use PvE bounty ship.
You missed the issues when a friend sits in the Copilot seat. They often take away the ability of the Pilot to control the ship.
A button on the Pilot's dash to assigning roles to the copilot...Flight control, Missile control, Ships Guns controls, would go a long way to making the Banu practice of having 2 "Pilots" have some logical reason. Great Video, Thanks.
I love the Defender, but as it stands now, I would put a Blade in the BMM's Hanger over a Defender...
Thanks for pointing that out! And thanks for the compliments. Great idea the switch button, congrats 👍
The problem with the Defender is that CIG seems to fix one problem and add another with each new patch.
They fixed the thruster exhaust orientation, but the engine sound has lost its amazing growl and the left door is misplaced...
Man this is a nearly flawless ship analysis video. Love the Defender, I have a tendency to return to this ship, and I have a slighly better opinion about its agility (I think you only forgot about this detail: how strong maneuvering acceleration is)...
BUT... You re very right about all those small shortcomings, and more importantly this lack of a more finalized vision for its role(s). If only it could officially have some small cargo space, and losing a wing was not so easy and punishing... Or if that shield could protect again from ballistic damage...
Thank you for your kind comment!
Yes you are right, the agility deserved more emphasis, I was afraid you were already putting too much emphasis on the maneuverability of the ship... but evidently that was not the case
Thank you very much!
I think it needs to complement the BMM. I mean the BMM is woefully weak to fighters, with nothing but point defense on the entire bottom. I'd like to see the defender become a mini-hammerhead to counter fighters to protect its mothership. CIG always said they wanted it to have synergy with the BMM, and that would be a great way to do it while also giving the copilot something to do. If they just gave it a ton of s1 missiles, it would be a unique little fighter screen, and let the copilot go to town. Then, a solo player would still be able to use it too as a daily driver.
Now I understand why the Banu needs the 100% shield.
I love your video. Keep up the good works, I hope Buccaneer will be next !
This was a very thoughtful review! The Defender has it's problems, but she's my favorite.
Thank you very much 😊👍
It's one of my favorite too
It is also super rare, and I am a space hipster so that has huge bonus points for me. I do wish they'd fix it up though. It is actually viable in PvP too. Not great, but good enough.
@@johnboyd9713 yeah man, people are sleeping on this ship. If Pyro ever comes out, it's the only long range fighter in the game hangerable in an XS hangar and it has an interior, with beds, and life support for 2. The bigger the universe gets, the more it's stonks will go up. To me it is the "ultra-deluxe starter." For the person who doesn't want a lot of ships, just 4 or 5 really, really good ones. 😆
@@CapnSnackbeard If you can afford it... I mean you can get a Connie for less lol. I wonder how the spirit will compare since it is practically the same ship, with a bigger cross section
@@johnboyd9713 I lucked into a $250 BMM from a long time ago. They gave me the Defender as a loaner, and I fell in love, so I upgraded my starter to it. Now I have the two and a Fury/LTI token to pack around in the hold. I figure that's all I need to get to all the different places, and make some cash with my friends. It just sounds fun. And I figured if I ever get strapped for cash, I can sell it and get double or triple my money back. 🙃
As someone who owned it when it had the good version of the guns and shield, I still like the ship because I put a lot of weight on having an interior and it is very aesthetically pleasing. But the gun nerf was MASSIVE. It went from being the best gun in the game to being the worst gun in the game. And that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I think about it. I still buy one in-game, but it's near the bottom of the list. As things stand now I will buy a Vanguard way before I buy this ship.
I always wanted to try theguns and bought the ship a few days ago. I heard they were bad but holy crap dude… if the damage is going to stay that low then they need to triple the range on them or something. Would be kinda cool honestly being able to hit people way outside of firing back range, but the low damage does not make it totally broken. Or make them act like disruptor ammo or something they are too pretty to be this useless
@@musicuser9967 and while I'm not sure... I think the original Singe guns were Size 3. Because obviously when they fire at the 'lightspeed' you don't really need gimbals. 😆
@@Dracounguis that sounds interesting. i have not been around on Star Citizen long enough to know much (about 2 years) but it sounds like rather than balancing the singe cannons they instead made them near useless then shelved the balancing for apparently years later.
i really hope we do not have to wait until the BMM, new ammo types, or some other massive milestone for proper singe balancing. honestly with IAE it would have been a good opportunity to give the singes some love, seeing how people were going to be buying the ship (like me) and undoubtedly be disappointed (also like me lol)
The persistent bugs make sense as this ship is gonna need an entire overhaul. Physicalized components are a pain in the butt as you mentioned. What's more, it doesn't really mate well with the Banu Merchantman. Finally, the copilot has literally nothing to do, as there is a pitiable bespoke missile rack and no turret (though the missile rack actually works now, it straight didn't for a LONG time as geometry actually blocked the missiles targetting). Also, those poor tachyon cannons are joke. and means that every wipe I immediately have to replace all my guns first thing cause they might as well not even be there.
In order to support the BMM better, I want the Defender to cover the weaknesses of the merchantman. As such, I expect it to turn into something closer to the hurricane. A dedicated, heavier antifighter platform able to engage two light fighters at once. I expect it to get either a remote turret for the copilot or a massively expanded missile complement to facilitate this. Keeping the interior space as-is allows it to also be a runabout for the BMM that is pretty versatile. It would also be fairly unique, to be a smaller ship that is a dedicated anti-fighter screen. Basically a smaller retaliator without all the torpedoes. It doesn't need to deal with medium or capital ships, as the Merchantman already handles that on its own. The Merchantman is weak to fighters, with terrible turret coverage.
This would also mean it would actually be a multicrew ship, which is a pain in the butt for those of us who love it as a daily driver, but would better reflect its crazy price.
For fragile shield-reliant alien ships like the Banu Defender or the Aopoa Khartu-al I find that it's better to use ballistic weapons in order to free up the capacitor to always be boosting shields while in combat.
For the Khartu-al the best loadout for most metrics is 2x fixed size 4 AD4B ballistic gatlings.
For the Defender the best loadout is 4x fixed size 3 ballistic cannons.
Broadswords, Tarantulas, and Deadbolts are the same right now DPS-wise but the have different amounts of HP with Broadswords being the strongest and Deadbolts being the weakest.
With more than 4 cannons (ballistic, laser, or distortion doesn't matter) I find that it's better to use staggered fire mode, since it makes targets easer to track due to the constant feedback, and also better manages your ammo economy.
I totally agree with you, I think you nailed a solid point here. Thank you so much! 😊👍🫶
very good video:), i think the defender is more seen as an escort to the BMM ( and act like a shuttle too i guess as it can land in the BMM), for the component i think that pretty normal for a dev standing point, there is very little reason to make race specifyc component when there is only 1 ( one and a half fo xian) ship of that species, they can always come to it later, also they may not be finalized on how unique they would be ( and still be balanced), also as you say banu often use technologi from other species, so they component socket could be able to work with compo from other species too.
Thank you so much, good observations, thanks!
Great video my man. Keep up the good work!
Thank you! I'm already working on the next video: the Nomad 😉
Your videos are amazing. If you ever need access to other ships for review, I'm happy to lend you my hangar. I'd also be curious to see roundup updates on your existing reviews once master modes are out. Cheers!
Thank you so much for offering your help! Sooner or later, I would need it :)
I think I will release a cumulative master mode update 🤔
Good video. The sad thing about this ship is that I don't think CIG have any intention to address the glaring issues that they've engineered into the vessel (always making it worse and not better). I only keep hold of mine to remind me why not to spend money on anything else. As for that ridiculous issue with the MAV orientation - I've opened multiple IC reports which have been closed as fixed, but no fix ever appears in the PU. Thanks CIG.
Sad and true, my friend....
@@gioru5 Worth mentioning, if you'd not seen it, the MAV orientation has finally been fixed in 3.20.
Best review i remember seen. Subscribed!
Wow thank you so much!
😀👍
great video!! love your take on the ship reviews!
Thank you very much, very glad you like it :)
They need to change the position of the headlights to the tip of arms because in that way will not let you blind in atmosphere and let you light the floor when landing gear deployed something that can be very useful
Cool suggestions 😊👍♥️
good quality and deep content... would love to see you do this for more ships.. happy to loan you any of my 35 pledge ships to review if you don't have access to all of them.
Wow, thanks for the compliments and the help offered. Wow, you have a great hangar :D
I actually have access to a lot of ships, my hangar is pretty decent, and I'm going to review all the ships.
My only "problem" is that these reviews take a lot of time.
Roughly it's about 3/4 hours of work per one minute of video!
By the way other reviews are already available, I'm focusing on starters righr now.
Monitor persistence (as well weapon groups, which you also have to redo every time on this ship) are supposed to be coming. Also, component diversity is coming too which may dramatically change this ship. If they go back to being hit-scan, high alpha guns for the tachyons, this will be mean again. I loved the old sukorans cause they were mean shields that also were amazingly stealthy. People used to buy the Prowler (which also has 2xs2 sukorans) jsut to take the shields off and put em on their Tali or Vanguards cause it would cut their detect range in half.
The whole ship needs reconcepted, but I hope they don't change it too much. It is a glorious crab that I have had for YEARS.
Sukorans used to have insane shield capacity too, like way more HP than other s2 shields while also being stealthy, but the regen delay was like a minute to balance it out. The defender was made to have those shields, and doesn't fair well without them.
I agree. There are so many, over-the-top cool things about it that the few negatives are glaring. When I'm flush with space bucks I usually pick one up in game. But that requires a stable patch experience, lol
Great video! I love the aesthetics of this ship.
Thanks so much for the comment!
Yeah the design of this ship is amazing 😊🤜🤛
Great review. Gained some subs from this for sure.
Thank you so much, yes I can't complain 😀👍
Absolutely great! You improve from video to video! Keep going! You really deserve my subscription
Il really means a lot to me, thank you very much 😁
The Defender's design reminds me a bit of the game Morrowind. Telvanni Defender^^
Hahaahaha so cool! You are so right! 😄😄😄
Great Analysis.....guess i need to watch more videos of you.
Thank you! I have a playlist for this series of reviews and more are coming 😊👍
Such a high quality video! Thanks for the review.
The shield and tachyon weapons will eventually be back to their special status. The change in them was only for development and balance reasons. When all the flight models get balanced out properly, components will become less similar and with various pros and cons. Also, as of the last time I played in 3.17.2, you have to reconfigure the MFDs on EVERY ship in the game, and not just when you reclaim the ship, but any time you leave the seat and get back in, like if you get out of your seat to have a drink, when you sit back down, you have to set the MFDs again. And again, this was on every ship I used no matter the maker.
Hi, thanks for the comment.
Yes you are correct, it has been claimed that the changes were made for simplify development, but I think it is more fair to judge ships in their current state. I wanted to describe how the Defender was in past, leaving to the viewer the choice to believe if it will eventually be back as it was. Whenever the Defender will be updated, I'll update the review as well.
As for the monitor, yes every ship has the same "problem". In fact in the last section I said that every ship would benefit from keeping in memory the monitors layout 😉👍
Great video!
Thankyou for your in-depth ship reviews!! keep em coming :)
What ship gonna be next?
Thank you for the comment!
The next one is 315p ;)
friendly rock man make pretty flesh machine
Subscribed Gio! The Defender is an awesome ship!
Thank you so much, captain! I'm so happy to have you on board 😊🤜🤛
I held off on watching this review due to my sorrow with what CIG has and hasn't done with the ship. I hate the nerfs and loss of uniqueness in the components. Fortunately, the ship has not had its final "gold standard" pass which should see some adjustments. That being said, I wouldn't hold out much hope for any sort of rework on the interior other than to add the components. The ship is really a large snub fighter, either as an escort for the Banu Merchantman or as a point defense fighter at any of the Banu flotillas so the need for a toilet on board was not deemed necessary by the Devs. Also, the need for hygiene as a survival mechanic is a fairly recent concept added after the Defender was released. Anyway, I picked up my Defender when it came out as a concept with the BMM combo pack which was a real bargain before the "alien tax" hike hit. I don't recommend alien ships as a general rule, except for those looking for the "rule of cool."
I get it, the changes in components and features can sometimes make us question the direction CIG is taking with certain ships. The fact that the Defender didn't get the final "gold standard" pass offers some hope, but I understand why you're cautious about expecting major changes.
In general, I agree with you: alien ships are overpriced, but I have to admit that I (mostly) like the general direction CIG is taking with them. They usually have something unique to offer. The Defender is, as you said, a glorified snub fighter with a size 2 shield. The Talon Shrike is a mini Freelancer MIS (I love it) and the Blade is a high risk/high reward glass cannon.
But yeah, they should be a little cheaper. And it's really painful how the Defender got nerfed...
I have the Gatac Railen which holds promise as a medium cargo ship but due to the quirks in the shape of the external cargo pods may not work with CIG's standard cargo containers. We have to see how they bring it in. I also love the Noxes, I have both variants. I'm not a fan of the Blade or the Glaive.
This is the best CIFI looking ship in the game, but Damn, they nerf it!
I like this ship but it needs more before I would seriously consider getting one for my BMM.
Hi! Thanks for the comment! Yes, this ship, in its current state, has sub-par performances considering the high price. That's why my "judging from the head" rating was so low.
I didn't say this in the video, but I think the singe-2 cannons need a big buff to make the Defender a fearsome opponent.
I daily in my defender, great ship. Your ideas to improve it are great, I was thinking something similar.
Thank you very much 😄👍
I like to end all my reviews with my thoughts. I think that is something that ethically every reviewer should do in any review. This is because it allows those who are consulting the review to better evaluate the review itself. I mean, it is only fair that the reviewer also exposes himself to criticism, in my opinion.
@@gioru5
space crab
Just to clarify, on Erkul, isnt the number you are correlating to IR units just the number related to the cooler, as it matches the cooler system symbol, so that number only mattering towards how much cooling needs to be provided so the system can work properly? Changing between any shields on erkul doesnt affect overall IR range number, but maybe it matters and changes in game, although I thought erkul was usually pretty accurate for most its data.
Hi there. Sorry for taking so long to answer :(
IR is a confusing topic. Cooling is not that important right now, any cooler will do the job (roughly).
Stealth mechanics are not in place, so IR has no effect right now.
BUT it is not clear if it matters when it comes to IR missiles, in my experience... yes
sorry , i have a stupid question. This ship have headloght for night mission?
there are no stupid questions my friend.
Yes it has and, as far as I know, every vehicle in Star Citizen has headlights (activated by pressing L).
In specific, the headlights of the Defender are not particularly powerful. I would rate them 6/10. If you need a ship with powerful headlights, you may consider the C8X and the 400i.
@@gioru5 no c8r medical haven't headlight, in the night is really a pain
@@gioru5 by the way, bought right now, amazing . And now i'm on whistler crypt way
@kebotto you are right, which is not ideal for a rescue ship...sometimes it almost seems as if CIG deliberately decides to introduce glaring flaws in otherwise great ships
@kebotto I'm glad to hear that! It flies great, I love it.
Its a good ship... except for the price they offer it at.
True, especially after such an heavy nerf