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With respectable armour and armament for a heavy frigate, the Wayfarer does not cut close the ruthless economy that would suite it for bulk trade on the dedicated lanes where safety is guaranteed by civilized locale (or, at least, an armed escort). No, the Wayfarer is a starship for the lonely runs on the frontier, between worlds where the tough law of necessity reigns, where brigands roam, and the crossed arcs of one's own gun turrets are the best comfort to be found in the cold reach of space.

–In-Game Description

Overview[]

The Wayfarer is a frigate-sized combat freighter.

Because of its large cargo hold - best among frigates by a quite large margin - and lack of Civilian-grade Hull sensor profile penalty it makes a great entry ship for smuggling.

Wayfarer arcs

Face approx. 25 degrees off center to converge three mounts

Combat-wise, like all midline ships, it comes with respectable 0.8 flux/damage shields, acceptable hull/armor and six small mounts: two ballistic facing forward, two hybrid facing sideways and two universal facing rear-left and rear-right. Side weapon mounts are asymmetrical and both do not have firing arc width necessary to support front-facing guns at once, which limits the Wayfarer's combat capability. Nonetheless, at any moment, one of the two side facing turrets may overlap with the front-facing turrets. This provides Wayfarer vessels with the chance to line up three turrets on an enemy for a much needed boost in firepower.

Outfitting the Wayfarer's side hybrid turrets with damage-dealing weapons detracts from their clearly intended purpose though- being Point Defence. The Wayfarer has much potential as a point defence vessel provided the relatively wide arcs of its side and rear turret mounts. In a pinch, with the correct loadout, a few Wayfarers can act as a low DP Point Defence counter to fleets with high amounts of carriers.

Alternatively, rear facing turrets can be outfitted with guided missile platforms, which further augments the Wayfarer's already high amount of versatility. Point defence options on these rear turrets can be neglected without significant risk to the Wayfarer itself, thanks to the Flare Launcher, which allows it to evade guided missiles quite handily. Strong picks for rear missiles include Salamanders for sustained battlefield presence or Gorgon DEMs for augmented, short-term, flexible firepower.

Whilst by no means is the Wayfarer unfit for combat, it is still not a dedicated combat vessel and will not be able to endure a significant amount of bullying on its lonesome. In many respects, the Wayfarer shares overlap with the Mule, insofar that it can perform as a very capable combatant if properly supported by other ships in your fleet, although usually for specific functions rather than as a multi-role ship. In any case, custom loadouts are your friend with the Wayfarer.

Suggested Loadouts[]

  • Balanced Support: A Railgun and a Light Assault Gun placed on your front facing weapon mounts for mixed damage capabilities. Burst PD Lasers on side facing mounts. Salamander SRMs on your back facing mounts. ECCM Package and 10 Vents/Capacitors. Although in many cases the Wayfarer will never be able to strip away the armor of larger ships with a LAG, it provides the ship with the option to strip armor of enemy frigates, which it is likely to skirmish with. Burst PD Lasers, whilst expensive, are least 'distracting' to the piloting AI. An argument can be made for PD Lasers or Vulcan Cannons instead with the addition of the Extended Shields hullmod to compensate for the low shield angle innate to the Wayfarer. The ECCM Package and Salamanders provide for fast, agile missiles which have an improved likelihood of getting past enemy point defence and causing an engine flameout, granting a ripe opportunity for other ships in your fleet to secure a kill.


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Only up to date for version 0.95. It is likely still broadly correct but not verified for the most up to date data yet. Please double check the Version History.

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