Inside RSI Polaris: Weapon Loadout Changes & Current State Analysis! | CitizenCon 2953 Highlights

Dive deep into the heart of Star Citizen's capital ships as we explore the RSI Polaris in its latest Whitebox state, unveiled at CitizenCon 2953! Join us for an exclusive analysis of the Polaris's weapon loadout changes and combat-ready upgrades. Witness the ship's sheer power as it faces off against the Aegis Idris, showcasing its devastating Size 10 anti-capital torpedoes.
🚀 In this video, we will be looking at:
- Detailed examination of the ship's upgraded weaponry;
- Examining the changes in weapons loadout from the latest update;
- Insights into turret enhancements and combat performance;
- Exclusive footage of Polaris engaging the Aegis Idris in intense space combat;
Discover the secrets behind the RSI Polaris's arsenal and combat strategies. Don't miss this in-depth analysis of Star Citizen's cutting-edge capital ship. Like, share, and subscribe for more Star Citizen updates and gameplay insights!
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🎬🎬Timestamps!🎬🎬
00:00 Intro;
00:08 Cinematic Battle;
02:11 Loadout Changes;
04:04 Outro;
♻️♻️Fair Usage & Credits♻️♻️
Music by Pedro Macedo Camacho
www.musicbypedro.com
Tracks: Various
🏷️🏷️HashTags🏷️🏷️
#StarCitizen #RobertsSpaceIndustries #CloudImperiumGames #CitizenCon

[@eigos]

There are MANY interior changes on the Polaris as well, but the most glaring one to me is this - what happened to the side cargo ramp and how much actual cargo space (and vehicle height space) do we actually get in this recent rework... What do you guys think, do you like the changes we've seen? Let me know in the comments! Join my new *Discord Community*! We're going to have our hands full with epic stuff to do! 🛰Link: discord.gg/cZeMJBqW6f Have fun, see you guys there!

[@Artemis0713]

There don't seem to be any interior changes compared to the last ISC where they showed it to me. They've just put some sneaky transitions into this one that makes it look like the camera is constantly moving further back through the ship, while it actually turns around at the engineering section, and goes back forward through the cargo bay and torpedo section on the lower deck

[@eigos]

The bridge looks way smaller too and the fighter bay used to have a small jail + hospital (they probably moved those somewhere else)

[@thomasbouvier3203]

well i counted that we would go from 216scu to 320 as i counted 10x32SCU containers on ISC displaying in the cargo. Also... side ramp seem to stick but lets wait and see. :)

[@ForgedHorizons]

​@@eigosjail and hospital are to the sides of the hangar through the closed doors. Because they dont want to vent the ship when the hangar opens. Bridge is the same size.

[@rymosrac]

Side cargo ramps both visible at 1:06

[@osullytony]

They showed us the old whitebox model in this video, many believe they did this to shock people when it drops ahead of schedule. It's all looks like the old spec Polaris we had before the spec update at the end of last year turret sizes are all wrong and the dimensions/spacing are all off and there is no cargo ramp on the left bottom of the ship. [Update] So apparently the interior is correct but they haven't transitioned the exterior whitebox to the new model yet.

[@henkolsonpietersen2242]

When were they ever ahead of schedule on anything😂

[@SpaceDad42]

Lol

[@votpavel]

great so the new model will look shittier than the original

[@osullytony]

No it will look better and be bigger they rarely change something in any game to look worse though beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that... Although when the game will have playable content for a ship of this size to be viable is anyones guess.

[@votpavel]

@@osullytony i hope you right, otherwise im gonna have to look for another ship if they botch this one

[@dukeofhazard420]

The reload costs alone for those torpedoes will be crazy

[@dr.warner2288]

Don't forget a 24 hour cool down if it blows up. :P

[@Ditty_07]

Nice Vid. Cant wait to get in the pilot seat

[@eigos]

We'll remember its release day as "the day Polarises blocked out the sun" (or the ATC hangar queue, for that matter...)

[@pikaskew]

Great analysis. Can't wait to see this thing fully operational in engine!

[@eigos]

Me too, buddy... that ship is going to be the backbone of any long-range combat fleet and those torpedoes will definitely have the range & damage to make them prime targets for turret gunners to watch for!

[@BGIANAKy]

So excited for my Polaris

[@TheModelOmega]

I got it a while back and can't wait to use it. Though, funny enough, I want to play the engineer role aboard it. Can't wait to see more engineering mechanics.

[@eigos]

Engineering will be fun, especially when they implement the ship's intercom system (John Crewe confirmed that's something they'll be working on a while back). It'll be like "Engineering crew to Mess Hall... someone touched the microwave again...!"

[@voodoochild1975az]

Got my Poli on the first wave of the first concept sale. I've been so excited for I z I actually have had a recurring dream of just walking around the ship. Specs can change. I never pay much attention to concept specs. The concept itself is what they will deliver. The fastest cap ship and carrying big scary Torpedos. Whatever details might change, that concept will be intact.

[@eigos]

Rumor has it (dev leaks) the Polaris is now committed for release next year, as more people have been assigned to the task and work is picking up pace

[@voodoochild1975az]

@@eigos no one has waited longer for their Polaris. ;) I was sold on the concept. The fastest cap ship. That's for me.

[@voodoochild1975az]

@@eigos fwiw, I've given a lot of thought to tactics with it. Use speed to choose your battles basically. Fear Retaliators. Hit hard but always have a fast exit planned.

[@budthecyborg4575]

The retracting side turrets are slick.

[@Sarsour_]

Awesome content!

[@eigos]

Much appreciated!

[@epyonrsi8829]

All the guns are being turned to size 6. They were using an older model on the demo because the actual model is not ready. The model couldn't even fire the size 10 torpedo's properly. In the Finding the north star episode. We are getting size 6 turrets. That means the Polaris will need real fighter support.

[@eigos]

Sounds right to me, can't wait for an ISC about its progress

[@epyonrsi8829]

@@eigos I started a thread about it in Spectrum. But only a couple of players responded. They are against the idea lol. It seems that they expect the ship to just be an anti light fighter bomber with just size 4's. It needs the size 6 turrets to take on the capitol ships. Because just having torps will make the ship useless against capitols if all the torps are shot down. Seems like a waste of ship. Hell even smaller bombers have the correct size turrets for their intended role. They must not like the ship.

[@rymosrac]

I feel like there's a cut in the internal flythrough, the aft door of the hangar seems to teleport down to the aft door of the engineering compartment, and then head towards the bow.

[@eigos]

Good catch!

[@ksl-988]

2:32 Aw man, RIP that original Carrack concept.

[@eigos]

Lol, I'm glad you noticed it too! The cockpit (and the sides around it) are 100% Carrack, I'm not sure why they went with that... There were early concepts that looked way different (2 huge torpedo tubes on either side, different armor plates around it);

[@harabecswurveweathers]

I went through the preview of the Polaris at 25% speed and I found that the main battery is either S6 M8A or S7 M9A guns, as the models for both guns match, and the Side turrets are Quad S4 or S5 guns, and the top turrets are S5 M7A guns. It's hard to see the 4 barrels of the side turrets because the camera is in motion and causes blur when you pause the video, and they're Attrition repeaters in the preview so it's hard to tell the size. But they are there and there is 4 per turret.

[@eigos]

Nice, the bigger guns we get, the better... S3's for the quad turret would not be ideal for range. If they're S4's (or S5, which I'm not sure about), then the ship would have some good defense. Frontal turrets look S6 to me, but S7 could be possible (if CIG decides to boost us up a bit to Idris levels). Side note, Polaris has entered Graybox Phase now (officially) so we'll likely get an ISC about it pretty soon(ish)!

[@harabecswurveweathers]

@@eigos I'm pretty confident the new quad turrets on the sides are at least S4. With MM they'll be doing away with the short range limits and you'll instead be limited by the spread of the weapons. There's a quad remote turret on the bottom of the ship that I'm sure is S3 though. I'm pretty certain at current that the chin turret is S6, though S7 would be welcome. That would up its sustain in a battle vs. Sub-Capital ships.

[@gerthddyn]

Does having the missile turret at the back change the open field of view for the missile turret to be able to lock on and fire at enemies in all directions? The engine nacelles are kind of chonky.

[@eigos]

Well, it'll fire both forward and backward, but to cover the sides - the pilot has to roll the ship and presto!

[@gerthddyn]

@@eigos Rolling the ship creates issues for the other gunners, particularly the side gunners. And the missile turret looks far enough forward that it didn't gain much of a rear firing arc. I'm sure they did it on purpose though. Missile turrets have incredible advantages.

[@x102reddragon]

Someone on Reddit said those front guns are size 7. If that’s true then man, packing some firepower at the front

[@eigos]

I was thinking Size 6, but it could also be 7 (the model is that of the Behring M9A, laser cannons, 3000 damage per hit on each)! The Idris has two of those on the front cannon, here is my video about it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5fdh4J4pK2An6c

[@DanakarEndeel]

@@eigos 2xS6 would be better imo as otherwise the Polaris would encroach too much on the Perseus while the main weaponry of the Polaris should be its torpedoes. Additionally, there isn't a single ship out there yet that has S6 weapons; even though, as you also stated, we have several S6 weapon available in ingame stores. So yeah, I don't mind if the Polaris has 'only' 2xS6 (which is still larger than the originally planned 2xS5). It's high time that we finally see a ship with S6 weapons imo.

[@drgnsenpai]

Really hoping those Polaris S4’s are S5’s or S6’s. The RSI Galaxy has 3- S5 manned turrets and it’s not even a combat ship. Polaris as a combat ship should be a competent combat ship.

[@eigos]

Let's hope they bump up the size, cause the ship is big (and has a lot of weaknesses, like the rear side for example)

[@charliemcawesome5012]

It is. It’s a torpedo boat. If you’ve used S5 guns you realize they are hard to deal with fighters. Slow ammo speeds and lower fire rates make them anti-ship guns with an extra KM of range. S4 are as big as you want if the main use is fighters and shooting down missiles and torpedoes. S3 or even 2 is actually a lot better for missiles/torpedoes. This ship is supposed to stay out of range and launch torpedoes and leave.

[@drgnsenpai]

@@charliemcawesome5012 Yes and it is still a warship and the largest of the Corvette class. I’d say a mix of both sized guns would be good. S4 and lower guns won’t do near enough against Redeemers or other Large ships. And what better way to stay out of range then being able to fire first.

[@DanakarEndeel]

Against fighters you'd want S3-S4 guns though. S5+ weapons move too slowly to be effective against fast-moving targets. We already saw this when CIG nerfed the rotation rates of the Redeemer's turrets to a crawl and then had to increase them again as they were moving even slower than the ship itself could turn (clear example of overnerfing imo). Bigger isn't always better and the Polaris is meant to be a hit&run torpedo boat whereas its turrets are just its secondary armaments. 🙂 So yeah, I hope that those defense turrets are 4xS4 with that turret under the nose possibly having 2xS6. That (combined with its massive number of S9 torpedoes) should be more than enough firepower for a Light Frigate (I know they kept calling it a Corvette but in my mind it stopped being a Corvette when they made the Hammerhead a Corvette and increased the size of the Polaris as well).

[@roberta2415]

Right now the travel speed of size 5 is bad more anti big ship weapons really hard to hit fighters. I really really hope they keep the size 4s for fighter and torp defense which is more important on this ship bigger is not better

[@Time2gojoe]

Load tubes 1 thru 4.. we have a date with a Javelin boys!

[@eigos]

Aye, cap'n... tubes 1 thru 4, at the ready...!

[@paulf7803]

Do we know for sure what size shields it will have?

[@Synthmilk]

One Capital shield, rather than three Large shields.

[@eigos]

One Size 4 shield is confirmed (military class, probably A or B);

[@CZARCA5T]

@@eigos do you know where this is confirmed by the way? just curious.

[@eigos]

Last year, there were interior concept 3D shown and they explicitly said "capital class components", meaning Size 4. Idris has 2x Size 4 shields, Javelin has 3x Size 4, Polaris has 1x Size 4;

[@DanakarEndeel]

Was CIG still calling it a Corvette or did they not say anything about its classification? With the increased size plus capital-sized components and them reclassifying the Hammerhead as a Corvette a couple years ago; the Polaris now feels more like a Light Frigate than a Corvette. Perhaps it's also no surprise that CIG made the Perseus to then fill the slot of a Corvette. Nowadays Corvette-class ships now seem to be ships like the Hammerhead, Perseus, Nautilus, and Carrack. All having S3 components and being of a similar size category. 🙂

[@eigos]

Not sure on the exact classification, but it's definitely S4 components here, so it's a proper capital vessel (unlike HH, Perseus & Carrack);

[@DanakarEndeel]

@@eigos Alright, fair enough. Yeah, with a full set of Capital-sized components I think we can safely say that the Polaris is now more akin to a Light Frigate and no longer a Corvette. 🙂

[@redrumcoke2363]

@DanakarEndeel From every bit of sourcing I can find, CIG considers the Polaris a corvette class ship. Ships like the carrack, hammerhead and persues, etc. are all not really quite corvette class. The carrack has never really held a specific classification, other than "expedition" and "military" as far as I'm aware. For some reason, CIG classes the Perseus as a frigate, despite it being smaller than a Polaris and much smaller than another frigate classed ship in the Idris. The hammerhead is classified as a heavy gunship. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if CIG were to do a full reclassification pass for consistency on everything at some point.

[@DanakarEndeel]

@@redrumcoke2363 While you are correct with the original classifications; everything apparently changed with the Hammerhead. While it was originally classified as a "Heavy Gunship"; CIG changed it to "Combat Corvette" approximately a year or two later both in listings on their wesbite during Invictus Fleetweek and the Anniversary Sales as well as ingame at the terminals. As a result people started wondering what this meant for other ships in that category and everything settled down on the "Corvette-class" now being for large 100m+ military ships that still have only Large (S3) components. Then from the "Frigate" and up you get the military ships with Capital (S4) components. With the Polaris now having received not only an increase in size but also received a full set of Capital (S4) components it has effectively moved itself out of the Corvette range and "Light Frigate" is probbably the best classification for it now when compared to the Idris Frigate. It would also make sense with CIG suddenly offering the Perseus as that one can then fill up the Corvette slot within RSI. Notice how that one too was suddenly called "Gunship" (just like the original Hammerhead was) while it matches the Hammerhead both in overall size but also has an identical set of S3 components. Seems like the Hammerhead is now the "Corvette" with lots of anti-fighter turrets while the Perseus is the "Corvette" with a few larger anti-ship turrets. Calling the Perseus a "Gunship" would also be confusing as the Redeemer is also classified as a "Gunship" yet it is much smaller. As such I suspect that CIG will simply reclassify the Polaris as a "Light Frigate" and then also switch the Perseus over from "Gunship" to "Corvette". Nothing effectively changes with the Perseus itself except for the classification. As for the Polaris ... well we saw how it changed both in size and components. As such it no longer makes sense to call it a "Corvette" with it now being around 175-190m in length and having a full set of Capital components. But yeah, CIG officially reclassified the Hammerhead several years ago and it is no longer listed as a "Heavy Gunship". Instead if is now classified as a "Combat Corvette" ingame. 🙂 By the way, do you also remember the time when the Idris was a "Corvette" back during the early days? That one was also reclassified as a "Frigate" after it had grown in size and scope. Fun times...

[@ccynth4060]

Whats my best way to get thos ship? I have a A2 and C2 right now

[@eigos]

The only way to currently get it (in hangar) is buying it from the RSI store at the IAE expo. It'll probably be ready Q4 2024 for release

[@fuzzytaint5021]

Or grey market sites

[@jameshale5099]

Hey EiGoS! Did anyone from Sykle discord reach out to you when we lost the discord? We have a new one set up if wanted to join back up.

[@eigos]

Nope, noone told me anything... what happened?

[@eigos]

Previous reply seems to have gone missing for unknown reasons from the comments section. Was the discord lost a third time? I remember being in a tiny one at some point, after Will invited me (but it was a shadow of its former self), way less people (and no activity)

[@c.g.1605]

Real question is, does the F8C fit inside it?

[@eigos]

You're asking the important questions, I see

[@caiquefy]

the biggest thing that fits there is a cutless black

[@harabecswurveweathers]

​​@@caiquefy the Cutlass Black is too large at 36M long. The Hangar is about 32-35M in length to fit up to a Scorpius in there. The F8C is most likely quite able to fit though.

[@MebraRandoms]

Didn't know there are bulgarians that are even streaming the SC. Nice observation

[@eigos]

Salutations ;) Добре дошли!

[@MebraRandoms]

@@eigos мерси :)

[@MrSpy13011]

It would be cool if the front turret was slaved to the pilot when not in use.

[@eigos]

Could be done with a server blade

[@S-Asker]

I love the thip to death, but I really don't like the rear turret placement... Just overall, they have terribly limited fire angles.

[@eigos]

The ship will have weak defenses, in exchange for devastating long-range torpedoes... gotta have escort ships around at all times (luckily, its hangar is big enough to fit a ton of Arrows, which will be very adequate in defending it);

[@S-Asker]

@@eigos Well, I have something devastatingly different for the hangar in mind. Yeah, defenses are meh, I'm really unhappy about the position of the turrets, if they had been a bit more centered the fire arches would have been a lot better. (My redesign idea would have been: Exchange the old top and bot bot missile turret with the side turrets. Aka, missile launchers on the sides with great firing arches. 3 turrets topside, two at the bottom, and leave the two rear turrets. I feel like the coverage may have been a bit better that way, especially on the belly. And the missile turrets don't need perfect firing arches, so pit them where they don't bother anyone.) But I am a total gonner for the size of that hangar, soooo many opportunities there. And I can't wait for this ship to be released, could never man an Idris, but that thing just might work.

[@GG-vn9qf]

I was under the impression that the pilot would not have control of the torpedo's. Did they change it?!? Cause I thought that idea was terrible and that the pilot should absolutely control the torps and missiles on top of flying.

[@eigos]

There ain't no way the pilot won't have control of the torps/missiles - they definitely WILL. The bridge has changed a lot, it's a lot smaller now (has only 3 stations, instead of the 6-8 that were previously shown on concept). Pilot will lob missiles & torps, unless someone on either left or right co-pilot seat requests control over them specifically ;)

[@connorbennett1517]

I would think idealy the pilot should fire torpedoes while another crewmate has control over the smaller missiles in order to fend of smaller targets.

[@tj7094]

Yea, I remember them saying something like the torpedo control is in the torpedo room.

[@GG-vn9qf]

@@connorbennett1517 I completely agree but unfortunately I'm pretty sure CIG put out that there will need to be a weapons control officer or something stationed in the torp room operating a control terminal to fire and 2 more people to load the tubes.

[@GG-vn9qf]

@@eigos Was that put out by CIG or just your speculation? I hope you're right but the Q/A part one for the Polaris on the RSI website say's you'll need 3 people really use the torpedo's. 1 person on a fire control terminal, 2 people to load the tubes. I was hoping that they put something new out about that which I missed. Do you have any sources or references for a new pilot controlled firing system in the Polaris?

[@franzheger2871]

Eclips, Retaliator and Polaris ... give them hell ...

[@eigos]

Damn straight!

[@War_Daddy23]

This better have grown in size ever since the new concept and modules they said they needed to add. 155 is too small for this ship should be 160-180

[@eigos]

It's around 200m long (been so for some time now)

[@War_Daddy23]

@@eigos I sure hope so. Where did they confirm this? The spectrum still reports 155

[@harabecswurveweathers]

​@@eigos we haven't had any official confirmation on the new size, but the estimated size of the ship based off the interior rework images they showed us is roughly 168M in length.

[@eigos]

They extended the 3D mesh last year and someone datamined it before IAE, along with the BMM. They compared both, supposedly the BMM was just a tad longer (and the BMM is already a bit above 200m long); We'll have to check again before this year's IAE, as they will likely again update the showcase holo mesh with the current whitebox model, which SHOULD have the final size metric for the ship.

[@x102reddragon]

Think it’s around 175 now

[@redrumcoke2363]

John Crewe's statements here, talking about bringing the armaments up to where they need to be to stay relevant, aged like milk. CIG revealed during IAE 2024 that they actually NERFED the turrets.... 🤦‍♂️

[@eigos]

This video definitely didn't age well, as CIG really made sure the Polaris doesn't win a fight with any gunship... it just doesn't have the guns (size) on it

[@redrumcoke2363]

@eigos I'm literally, at this very moment, trying to figure out if (and HOW) to melt it. I've never done that before, and I'm afraid I'll mess up and lose a bunch of money in the process. On top of the turret disappointment, I've come to the stark realization that it really is just too damn big for me and my piddly crew. My Carrack will be plenty for the friends that I'll maybe be able to get play.

[@AngelicStreak]

Hopeful, but please do better next time. The official QA clearly states torpedoes will not be pilot controlled. You cannot present your opinion/wish as a fact. This is exactly why internet has turned into one giant shitpile of misinformation.

[@eigos]

The opposite is also true, QA's also get things wrong sometimes. If they insist on pilot having no control over any of the weapons systems (especially the torps, that require pilot input to maintain the in-progress lock timer, which will be above 10 seconds), then it would unleash a huge backlash from users. Imagine how boring it would be to pilot 'a thicker carrack' and have zero input for torpedoes, which rely on you turning the ship actively to face a target within a circular radius. If someone else has to be present onboard to just "press fire", then both the pilot and he guy pressing a single button would not have a good time. It's too simple of a task to split among 2 people. We'll see how CIG handles this one...