Star Citizen 4.0 - 10 Minutes More or Less Ship Review - ARES STAR FIGHTER ION

[@QuannetSingLeaf]

you are now my main source of ships information on KZbin

[@Seeras]

This is one of the most beautiful fighter chassis, in my opinion. I would die for a Variant without the big gun, a ramp in the back with a small interior for long-range flights, and maybe 4xS4 guns. Could have been the coolest long-range heavy fighter with those changes. Let me dream. 😅

[@EvenLease44]

That WOULD be pretty cool!!!

[@mastergecko1178]

You just described the mirai guardian

[@shrk128]

@@mastergecko1178 Fat Fury has 2Xs5

[@journeyingjen7554]

Sounds like you want a vanguard

[@DigiBentoBox]

Lol the intrepid is the smaller version of exactly this. And way more fun to fly too.

[@wrextheblind3787]

My man is literally in my head, I have always wanted a star fighter inferno, and ion, but didn’t know whether or not to get it and I were the life of me could not find a recent review of the ships so literally on the last day I brought two upgrades one for Andromeda to inferno, and the other was Andromeda to the ion that way I ever do the side to proceed with the upgrade I can just grab it from buyback

[@mwbrada]

I pledged an Ion last year, when the Hornet F8C was the latest meta lol.

[@mwbrada]

and the Inferno is- err was insane too with ballistics before they reduced ammo cap.

[@merastu]

i have to say, i do not play alot of star citizen, but i rly enjoy listening to you. u seem genuine and sympathic!

[@Dracounguis]

Originally the alpha damage was about 6100 (there was no charge-up mechanic), it had a slower fire rate, and was deadly accurate. I still consider this ship nerfed into oblivion. If you want it, buy it in game, but it is not worth $250 IRL.

[@EvenLease44]

I remember those days, it was a different beast back then.

[@valkyrie1689]

Great video Thank you bro!! I still like it, even with the weird charge because in my mind it feels like charging a photon torpedo against the cylons. Because why not blender all the realms into one wonderful apocalypse, brought to you by Ares Ion.

[@Praetoreon]

Yeah, they borked the entire ares line… there is no way a light fighter should be able to just sit there and eat shots from a size 7 weapon. They should be agile enough to make it very hard to hit them but if they do hit, it should do massive damage. Instead of fixing the root cause, CIG just nerfed the weapons and the entire Ares line with it.

[@gergenskits3940]

I have an ION. what I would change is make it as sold: 3 shots per second at about 4k DPS (I think it was 3800) Give it a zoom scope (as concepted). If I recall you could put 2 or 3 S5 torps on it. It was a medium ship KILLER. and you could Snipe small ships with 1-2 shots.

[@MattBKn]

You can replace each of the quad Viper 3 missile racks with 1 Size 5 torpedo for a total of 2 Size 5 torpedoes.

[@QuotidianStupidity]

There is a reason they changed it… that don’t want you killing small and medium ships with it

[@gergenskits3940]

@@QuotidianStupidity but that is what they sold it for. They describe the damage per shot, and the "sniper scope" as I call it. it was pretty obvious that was EXACTLY what it was for. its obviously to week to be a "capital ship killer" unless you have about 50 of them. the REASON they changed it was so many people complaining it was too good at what it was supposed to do. and I am still hanging on to mine hoping that further balancing will bring it closer to the original vision. but this dual mode cannon is kind of worthless. with it's lack of maneuverability.

[@QuotidianStupidity]

@@gergenskits3940 it was always meant to be shooting larger targets, that is why it has a large gun. It was never meant to tangle with light or medium fighters Small gun = Small targets Large gun = Large targets (S5 + is large)

[@eziiii3536]

@@QuotidianStupiditythat doesnt mean you cant fight against these targets. If they are so dumb and fly infront of a massiv barrel and get clapped its their issue. You dont go up to a tank and look into the gun hole and say „oh you cant shoot me now bcus you arent ment to do that“.

[@patssims]

Your the only Channel I go too for ship info love your channel thanks for the great content

[@EvenLease44]

Thank you!!

[@ackack47]

If they only gave the gun size 7 stats... It feels more like a size 5.5, maybe a size 6. The projectile speed, above all, ruins the performance of the gun. You want it to be a sniper but the speed of the round is so slow that it's easy to miss smaller targets. Then if you want to attack larger ships, as intended, the range is also very poor. DPS on paper might be good but you aren't landing every shot, and you still only have two S2 shields so larger ships can wreck you if you try to get too close.

[@DigiBentoBox]

If they can allow a “hold” on max charge and instead have it limited by heat buildup, that would be perfect to fix this ships problems. If you overcharge it, a cooldown penalty exists. But this way you can hold the charge until in position for a shot.

[@BobWobbles]

I used an Ion for phase 3 of the Save Stanton missions. It was able to handle the AI wingmen (would really struggle against players though) but against the Idris it was pretty good. I was generally able to get in close and pound away at its shields. It's very much designed to take on large/capital ships and that's the only time I would use it. I imagine a few Ions backed up by a few more Infernos would spell real trouble for most of the bigger ships. PDC's change things too. The Idrises in SS phase 3 didn't have them so maybe that's not a great yardstick to judge the Ion by.

[@Amris1]

I tested the Ion a few weeks ago because I like its looks and the design idea of a medium to heavy ship killer built around a big gun. Man was I disappointed. First the positive sides: the looks are great. The manoeverability and speed are okay for the role its supposed to fit (not dogfighting but taking on medium and large ships). The fuel range is good too. Now the bad sides: low dps (compared to other medium and heavy fighters) - which is really ironic when you see that supposed s7 gun - , ridiculously user-unfriendly charge mechanic and low shot speed. I really realized how bad this ship is when I took it against the targets its supposed to take on: big ships. You should think it would do great against say - a reclaimer. You'd be wrong. My F7 and of F8 kill reclaimers much much faster than the Ion even though the Ion and not they are supposed to fill that role. Ontop of that the Ion is basically helpless against smaller fighters. So there is not anything its really useful against atm. To repair that the gun needs to be totally reworked: it needs more dps, preferrably by higher fire rate and higher shot speed, charge mechanic removed or repaired so that you can see the charging wheel in the middle of the screen - near where the target is! - and also changed so the charged shot doesn't auto-fire when fully charged. As it is now it just goes off on its own whether you are on target or not).

[@LivingtheVerse-l3l]

The Ares Ion is such a beast! It can be tricky to hit smaller targets, but when you land that shot, it's so satisfying-pure firepower. Amazing job capturing its power in this video; the editing and gameplay were top-notch!

[@Marshal_Bravestarr]

I love this new addition for starters, keep up the excellent vids mate, hopefully one day my channel gets as big as yours, have a good one MB

[@EvenLease44]

I appreciate you! Keep up the hard work!

[@Marshal_Bravestarr]

@ haha any tips on what video editing software to get started with for free on Windows? i might need to get into it to try and get my content better, opposed to just uploading plays. Have a good one

[@LobusFoE]

Please do the inferno next. They have made new changes to the fire rate and overheat. Its no longer an A10

[@danyhocine]

Maybe the first ship I bought in-game because it looked so cool, but it sure takes a lot of skill and perfect timing to hit those shots, definitely needs to handle better and slightly better shields maybe

[@conasca]

Here's how I think the ION could be perfected. Make the bespoke S7 gun dual mode. Mode 1 = Distortion DMG -- Highly accurate and devastating to disable ships. Mode 2 = Laser Canon DMG -- Less accurate and less powerful but actual damage to the hull to finish them off.

[@RythmOfEvolution]

charge ok but for a long range sniper it needs higher projektile speed. Maybe die charge can higher up the projectilspeed

[@maebusgaming7913]

Uuuuuh the charge button? It's called the ION. It's a cap brawler in some form. Get a Squadron of Ion and infernos together that's scary.

[@AlexandreParchomenko]

I got the Ares Ion for its livery which I like the most but I would have loved to have the Inferno's gatling gun. Only because I value a ship's aesthetic more than its stats, in most cases, I know, it's silly, I prefer to get the ship I like the most than what a spreadsheet suggests. It's beyond me that CIG didn't make those two liveries separate paints, or even just more paints for more ships. There are so many of them I'd rather have that livery than anything else. Can't wait for the custom hex paints !

[@tagged_sc_aka_pilotducky]

That red and white paint certainly looks good. So does the outrider imo. Would, but wouldn’t… For me, I would rather spend my money on another ship. Great review as always Even!

[@Arystanbek98]

They're about to nerf the Gatling one 🤧

[@j-sonic9073]

My wish would be to change the gun to a size 7 Rhino Repeater and for charged mode just make all 3 barrels fire at once. Also that large rounded piece behind the gun on the wing should be on the Inferno like a revolver and on the Ion it should be square shape like a Battery.

[@AlexandreParchomenko]

That's agreat idea and would make a fantastic third variant !

[@tgjaedan]

Man I love the Ares Starfighter ships. Crusader ships will always be my favorite aesthetic wise. The real make or break for these ships is going to be them finding a way to balance out the capital ship gameplay to make something like this and the Inferno worth having in the fight. These ships were built to kill large targets and I get the change...they don't want a fighter with a size 7 able to easily pick off small fighters.

[@andrewdavies3584]

Lookong forward to the charge being returned to auto in the next patch.

[@eCoLL77]

It used to be one of my favorite ships. But it's been hit hard with the nerf hammer and is now completely useless. Sadly the Inferno faces the same fate with its gun now being nerfed (again) as well. It's sad because these are some of the best looking ships in the game.

[@definitelyadarkangel9225]

I wish there was an option for a size 7 repeater. The cannon doesnt feel nearly as satisfying as the gatling gun. The guns could still be bespoke but maybe like two bespoke options? Id pay $30 for that functionality tbh.

[@mattp6394]

Had the Ion but in game it’s going to be very niche in large fleet engagements. In PvP I suspect against most capable pilots in a lighter more agile fighter it will be toast.

[@howitzer4393]

Well well well once again the ion, old friend.

[@EvenLease44]

Old friend indeed.

[@JimCook]

Going to lose my Starfighters in the wipe, but I also have them both in buyback as well, so maybe they will be back soonish. The Ion was a blast in killing the Idris, it has some stand off ability that helped keep those massive shields down once you got them down.

[@Uboo]

All they need to do is change the cannon to be a special type of cannon that will diminish shields with very few hits. I have done testing and it doesn't do the Shield damage I find other cannons or repeaters can do.

[@tajernator7361]

With some of the heavier fighters or higher firepower-bearing ships, I'd love to see some usage against heavy targets. Vs small targets is important with the Ares, but how does it deal vs a hammerhead or, arguably tougher, an 890J with PDCs and S4 shielding? In revisiting the Ares series over IAE, I really focused on these areas but the charge mechanic was really difficult to use in an optimal way. It was a bit disappointing overall. But I also understand it's hard to farm up rep when it gets reset for like... 4.0 etc Anyway, love the vids still! Keep 'em comin!

[@abratskeller]

Is this ship like the Pharah (overwatch) of SC? Hard to hit, but if you do it hits hard.

[@EvenLease44]

Exactly.

[@kairomithecreeper6346]

I love the look, I love the concept, I loved how it was at release, but now I just wish they would remove it from the game. They're not gonna "balance" it properly cause they want to sell other ships. MANY youtubers have gone over how to fix/balance it over the years. CIG just doesn't give a damn. I wish they would just remove it from the game at this point cause this ship is an actual scam. Just about every other fighter will be better than the Ion and the Ion isn't ever taking out the shields on a Capital Ship. The Ares Inferno should've just been an only child.

[@EvenLease44]

I understand this comment... the whole problem around this ship is the gun itself, they've said they will revisit this ship - but who knows when!

[@diminios]

Soon™, of course.

[@danny1988221]

This is what I was speaking to at IAE. Paying hundreds of dollars for a ship at release and then getting it "ballanced" to uselessness, instead of rebalancing other ships up to the standard they dropped this ship at release unfortunately. They obviously nerfed this ship because it was doing really good and they can't push new shiny ships if the older ones are keeping players happy.

[@asog88]

I don’t see how.This ship will be great against large ships and assisting capital ships

[@moon_Varcan]

​@@EvenLease44they did revisit its sister... With the worst outcome possible.

[@andrewboyer7544]

It's actually possible to one shot light fighters again with a full charge to a critical location. I don't think you should have docked it for firepower. I think 20 size 3 missiles or 12 with 2 fives alone solves that. But you took it against targets it's not made to fight. You don't miss your shots against starfarers. It rips big targets apart. But this was more fair than most so thanks for being objective with it.

[@EvenLease44]

I've been having such a hard time hitting small targets! I will continue to practice!

[@andrewboyer7544]

@@EvenLease44 I edited my comment while you were replying sorry about that!

[@andrewboyer7544]

@@EvenLease44 I would be interested in trying a time to kill trial against bigger ships with the f8 or vanguard. Heavy fighter contest.

[@EvenLease44]

No worries. Firepower focuses on the guns only, missiles got a positive score on this one as it’s quite the missile boat which is awesome. I totally get what you are saying with the bigger target easier to hit idea, it’s difficult because of the size and nature of the ship most will attempt to use it to also attack smaller and medium size ships. I think this is why they gave it the charge mechanic, so you can technically still attack smaller ships but it’s increasingly difficult.

[@andrewboyer7544]

@@EvenLease44 it's a hell of an improvement over a year ago where it took six minutes to kill an argo raft.

[@Squirrelking187]

I hope the Ion goes back to rapid fire, the sniper gameplay is unique but no very satisfying in a heavy fighters frame.

[@Dracounguis]

Being a unique sniper was what drew people to the Ion. When it was first nerfed, I thought they should have gone the other way. Make it fire even SLOWER and leave the massive alpha damage alone. That way if you are fighting a light fighter, you would get one shot before they were all over you. If you hit... they were dead. If you missed... you were dead. 😆 If you wanted a higher rate of fire you went for the Inferno.

[@soeveth]

I havnt flown it for a while, so not sure if its chaged. But I want to ability to hold a charged shot so you can line up a shot with it.

[@David-82]

Also I kinda hope you review the Inferno next. I am still leaning towards that ship. Not sure if it's better then the F8C or just better at capital ship killing. For now I will just re-watch your 4month old version 😂

[@EvenLease44]

A new inferno review will happen soon :)

[@rhysc9706]

I bought the Inferno about a week ago, after watching EvenLease44's review on it. It's a brilliant ship and his review was spot-on but the recent changes in 4.0 have nerfed it into the ground. I'm very sad as I was having so much fun in Live, as a bounty hunter it became my daily flyer as it could do PvE and PvE bounties. I can't recommend it right now, hopefully it gets buffed and once it does I would say grab it. I look forward to the next review on the Ares Inferno.

[@wrextheblind3787]

So I tend to watch these a few times when they come out and I just noticed that that your screen or whatever is so wide and well spread out. How you did you do that? Sometime I feel like my hud is kinda cramped

[@EvenLease44]

What is your FOV set at? Mine sits around 105

[@snaggletoof1927]

Such nice looking ships. Shame the design didn't translate well to the Intrepid.

[@DigiBentoBox]

Ugh people forget that the community literally asked for a powerful shot but mitigated by some sort of mechanic. It used to be built in randomized inaccuracy but that was labeled as horrible, so they made it a charge shot and made the fun just about as powerful as it was on release… and people are crying again. Fact is, it was so overpowered at release and they needed to nerf it. Once they did, everyone complained that their pretty little one shot meta sniper now was only good at doing the job it was made for (hitting big ships to bring down the shields so the inferno can tear up the hull), instead of ganking players in one shot. Look, we NEED a variety of ships on the market. We NEED high skill ceiling ships like this. If you can’t handle it, then fly a beginner gunboat like the F7A2, and have fun on easy mode. But when that gets boring and you want to master a tricky but rewarding ship, unique builds like this are SUCH blessings. We need less “good at everything” ships.

[@solomonmitchell6048]

Don't tempt me Frodo! I'd use this ship for good and not for evil!!

[@EvenLease44]

Did you just call me FRODO?! I mean Pyro is a fun place to use this ;)

[@Wabbitsw]

I suggest making the charge mechanic a separate master mode. It also needs a better indication of the charge state; how long you can hold that charge, and warn when you've approached the point where you've held the charge for too long. For the uncharged shot, make it the other master mode and allow you to hold down the trigger as if it's a slow firing repeater. Maybe have the projectile velocity increased. Maybe tie the projectile speed to the charged state? The more you charge the faster the projectile?

[@EvenLease44]

All great ideas! I hope CIG does something like this.

[@CMDR_MURR]

Slow firing repeater would be great, the click /hold and charge sucks

[@sunshineinabag9956]

Dose it feel like every day you move closer to a goul line you will never see? If so does that feel bad?

[@EXRAY479]

Im more of an infero fan but the ion is great too, very big gun lol

[@krushvor2774]

Nice video, thank you. What is the max distance for the gun?

[@commanderroddi7742]

I think this ship needss to have two fire modes: One where it iss the equivalent of the charge (minuss having to charge, though thats not a bigdeal) and a second with the lower damage, maybe a bit fasster projectile speed? Frankly, if it doess the 4800 alpha damage, I don't mind slow rate of fire and slow projectile speedss. Jusst the charge... That compoundss the sslow sshotss. Then there'ss teh Murai Guardian...

[@bolla999999999]

Apparantly CIG is going to remove the charge mechanic and moving back to how it was on release.

[@Matmat_307]

This ship was nice, I liked its sniper gameplay but welp now it's not very good anymore but the Inferno variant is better, going brrrrrt

[@EvenLease44]

Inferno and its brrrrt never get old!

[@ParanoidCarrot]

Even "glitter skull" Lease

[@FynnFTW]

just a shame that it was no interior. Whats the deal with a Long Range Ship when you cant even sip some water inside :/ I doubt that they add interiors to all the ship that whould need it. They probally just add the function to eat and drink while in Cockpit

[@MK84]

The weapon spread on the cannon is not that great either for long range targeting.

[@ColbyTaylor-pp2dy]

I love both of these ships but would you honestly say either of them is even worth getting?

[@tmax898]

Wish they would give the gun a better SFX. Its a huge laser cannon, it shouldn't sound like a handheld rifle.

[@tmax898]

Also the pip direction line on it is weird, its a single line in the middle instead of two side by side like other ships.

[@JMacDee01]

This beast is not a dogfighter. Why does everyone want it to be one?

[@DigiBentoBox]

Amen

[@th3word487]

Can i put an attrition on this?

[@Angelo_Nicolson]

To make this better and to match the charge up mechanic, its range needs to be increased. Capital ships just Crap on this ship because its range is abysmal for the fire rate. It doesn't fit that sniper class at the moment. I really want to like this ship. It looks way better than the inferno IMO.

[@jackarcher3706]

Do the charged shots feel similar to the defenders stock weapons?

[@EvenLease44]

In a way yes, press and hold for two-three seconds and then let go and fire. Expect it’s one gun and a slow projectile speed.

[@aronmangaming]

I used to love my Inferno when it went brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, but nowadays it's more like brr, brr, cough cough cough brr. 😢

[@azntactical4884]

I tried the ion. Wasnt a big fan. Should of went with the inferno instead.

[@commanderroddi7742]

HOw to fix Ion: Make it like it was when it came out, except maybe drop fire rate, and I' okay with slow projectile speed, but keep the Alpha high! SHould be a difficult ship to hit with. Also, range of th caon is okay, but there are a few weapons that have 5K range, this should at least have that long of a range if its going to be a snsniper... THough at that range you may not eve hi a polaris, but you can at least stay out of the polari's range, and just have to dodge the S0 Torps.... But ship is so broken! I prefer the charge mechanic than the reduced alpha/DPS for the 4.0.1 patch...

[@PRIMEVAL543]

Sry but I think you are wrong about the first and probably most important point: it’s dps. I think the 1767 is not the uncharged but the charged shots dps! That’s why the ship is so horrible rn. It deals so little damage with the worst to hit gun in the entire game, it just makes no sense. It’s so bad, I just didnt play the game for 5 months straight. Even an avenger deals more damage and that thing is a freighter starter, you know what I mean? A charged shot deals 6000 alpha damage, charge time of 2.2 seconds if the lightning on the gun saying 2.2 means charge time on dps call? I think the reload delay is also around 1.2 seconds or so, makes 1767 dps. And that’s just assuming you perfectly pull the trigger. Realistically it’s more like 1500 or so no warranty but I’m pretty sure about that. Maybe you know someone else who can confirm you this, but with charged shot dealing 6000 damage and the charge mechanic taking defo around 3 seconds there is no way it deals „2-3 times the damage“ of 1767 Or am I missing sth? Edit: Ok I am so confused now! In you 3.23 video you said it has 1500 alpha with 50 rpm and 6000 alpha charged at 19 rpm. That’s 1250 and 1900 dps respectively. They changed some numbers when adding 2 second charge holding I think. Or did they drastically increase the damage in 4.0? Am I missing sth?

[@PRIMEVAL543]

Again, no warranty, tell me if I’m wrong.

[@EvenLease44]

No worries, I remember when it first had the change they talked about how it was I believe 2 or 3x the amount of the normal dps when charge. I’m trying to go find source material. I’ll let you know.

[@PRIMEVAL543]

@@EvenLease44 well as far as I remember they did say a charged shot deals 4 times as much damage increasing its dps, but not by such a high factor. that „more“ dps already is the 1767… with the single shot spam it’s 1300 or so… the 4 only refers to the alpha damage, not the dps. Due to its fire rate decrease by a factor of 3 it only deals around 4/3 more dps and those 4/3 are already the 1767. A F8C in the meantime can deal 3600 with energy weapons alone… and doesn’t have this horrible to use gun… so… yh… Again, I can’t guarantee this information cause over all the idea behind all of this makes no sense, but as far as I can find out and checked through other videos, websites etc. the Ion simply is useless rn

[@DrunkenCitizen]

Yeah I got rid of my ion. It was just too much of a disappointment.

[@mabutoo]

The fighter with the biggest lance but jousting is not allowed.

[@FuegoDelDiablo]

I used to love this ship, sad what they did to it

[@EvenLease44]

Very sad, I hope there is more to come with this ship.

[@moon_Varcan]

I think im done... I gave up everything, my whole dedicatiin, my money, my time... I fully supported this project, and i think im done... Whatever vision Chris Roberts might have it just killed me inside mentally, i fcuking feel mentaly broke as much as possible... How could them do something like this...

[@EvenLease44]

Are we still talking about the ship?

[@XxTRUEPINOYxX14]

Ion was my favorite ship…. Until people cried about it and nerfed it hard… let me tell you something, if you face check an Ion with arrow expect to get one tapped.

[@eldersoul9694]

8/10 on release, indeed. But now? I'd give the Ion not more than a 6/10, if even that much. I love the Ares halftwins, sleek ships that look like they mean trouble... and the Inferno still got some teeth. But whoever thought the new canon mechanic for the Ion is a good idea should be punished with noodles at least 4 weeks long. Seriously, the Ion was overpowered on release, sure (like every.single.fighter.so.far has been on release), and yes, it needed a nerf... but the way the canon fires right now is beyond ridiculous. Great review, but like I said: I'd not give it that high of a ranking, sadly.

[@EvenLease44]

My prior review on the ship was a 6/10 but I felt the ship has more redeeming qualities to bump it up, the gun is the biggest draw back yet the ship is built around it... I hope to one day see it in a better state again!

[@bigbuna]

nnooo pls it misses his most important aspect of this ship in this review which is how it stand against big ships ?

[@EvenLease44]

its... not great against big ships because of its terrible gun range and projectile speed. But its also not TERRIBLE against big ships, I suggest never soloing a big ship with this one tho.

[@TenaciousTomm]

You might as well have reviewed a dumpster, because that’s what the Ion is

[@novalis791]

The first weekend this ship released it was perfect, except for the distance advertised for the laser was much shorter. Since then it has had a rollercoaster journey. I utterly dislike the charge gun.

[@EvenLease44]

Yeah I don’t like the charge gun either

[@haiuuu7]

Perfectly broken my dude, the maneuverability was crazy good cuz this thing has afterburner for days. U could keep inferno gun on a lf easily. The ion was a joke, cuz you didn't need time on target, you would just one-two shot any lf, medium ships

[@haiuuu7]

​@@EvenLease44the ion had way more trouble balancing than inferno, the first nerf was maneuverability, and that easily balanced inferno since it can ni longer keep enough time on target to make gatling useful vs more numble ships, the ion didn't need any time on target, most cases you only needed one shot to land, so u don't.even needed power on the weapon, so u had this one shot gun with shields and maneuverability boosted in the power triangle, it was broken and the charge mechanic finally adds the alpha damage back to the ship but gives it a skill check aswell

[@DigiBentoBox]

It was so broken at release lol. Why does everyone like a ship that would ruin all the other metas? How would you fix it, without it being a one-shot fighter killer? Because that was what it was at release and it was being used to troll and kill so many players without a chance to fight back. That’s no fun at all.

[@DigiBentoBox]

@@haiuuu7exactly this. People don’t understand the balance and instead think they killed the ship. They just made it exactly what it was born to be. Don’t misuse the ship, and you won’t be disappointed.

[@codydagrizz]

I’ve always loved the Ares, but they always nerf it lmao

[@scottboyer8450]

The worst ship in the game, hands down.

[@Damiv]

The ion is a hollow shell of what it used to be. CIG should have never of sold the Ares, they will never be balanced.

[@EvenLease44]

It’s going to be a real pain to balance.

[@dredknot636]

Both of the ares ships are in a real bad state. Neither of them do enough damage to make up for the lack of maneuverability and both of the projectiles ballistic and laser travel to slow, so the pips don't actually work right half the time.

[@Luidgi509]

Weee Right at 10. o7

[@billmacia-0808]

This ship was good at release, now it's a size 5 gun with a s7 tag tape on it.

[@David-82]

I hate charge mechanic's, I would rather just a long delay between shots.

[@EvenLease44]

Agreed!

[@commanderroddi7742]

and oas of 4.0.1 PTU Ion is even more broken than when we had the charge mechanic... With the charge at least we could have Alpha damage that seemed appropiate to that gun.... now, its just Blah. (just over 2k. Not good CIG! STOP NERFING THE SHIP ORE!

[@FreebirthBoccara]

I love the ship, but it's useless right now. G8s and hornets outdps it

[@corvoadam5598]

Noooo nooo please don't remind me of this ship :(((

[@Kyle-sr6jm]

Balance nightmare.

[@EvenLease44]

Absolutely!

[@jiml5233]

One word.... Nope!

[@edgerunnerwhitelake]

I spent a long time earning aUEC to get one in game, and then I saw the changes to the way the gun got basically made into a useless cannon and instantly was turned off. If they revert it back into a repeater, i'm 10000000% buying the Ion, but as it stands, it's just not even worth the time investment unless you REALLY dedicate yourself to that "sniper" life to fight larget ships and nothing else.

[@DigiBentoBox]

The repeater was ass. It made it seem like any old omnisky. At that point just fly any old gunboat with multiple s4 or s5s.

[@Blue-Mystic]

a huuuge Size 7 gun who does almost same damage as a S4 weapon is..... USELES.

[@DigiBentoBox]

What S4 weapon does 6000 alpha damage? Please let us know so we can break the game and fly overpowered hornets 24/7

[@piranhax6466]

They ruined the ship for who knows how long.. prior to the recent weapon change it was better.. charge shot just doesnt work with it.. they need a secondary weapon fire mode if they want to do it right.. massive loss of dps

[@louhodo5761]

Long and short. The Ion should have never existed. It is pointless in lore and in game. Why use a "sniper" ship that can be seen from 30km, when the eclipse and gladiator exist.

[@DigiBentoBox]

Because bombs and torps easily get shot down by PDCs. The only way the torp squadrons succeed is in sheer numbers like the bomber offensives of WWII. The ions are there to cripple shields and the infernos to chew through hulls. More sustainable way of fighting than needing multiple squadrons of eclipses or talis to bring down a cap.

[@louhodo5761]

@DigiBentoBox this is true and this is WHY torp bombers and bombers are more effective. You dont risk the vessel or crew. You can launch a torpedo in SC from outside of any ships weapons range. The Eclipse can do this from closer and still not be detected, thus not be shot. And giving the target less time to react. The Ion and inferno do not have that luxury at all. In no way are either of these ships useful in the context of SC naval engagements. They are nothing more than "rule of cool" and a Temu A-10 wannabe.