The Speedsters of Infinite Space: Comparing the Top Speeds of all Playable Scout Ships (and their relation to MWO)

The Speedsters of Infinite Space: Comparing the Top Speeds of all Playable Scout Ships (and their relation to MWO)

Scouts are the smallest, lightest, and cheapest playable capital ships in the Infinite Space trilogy. However, they get less respect from most players than other ship size classes, mainly due to their limited firepower and armor; as such, much of the player base prefers to trade them in for a larger ship from the same faction as soon as possible. Most scouts have only one (large) hardpoint each (thus allowing for fitment of any weapon, up to and including the infamous Nova Cannon), although the Calatian Destroyer is an exception; although it has four hardpoints (more than any other scout), none of those can accommodate a medium or large weapon (such as the Tachyon Ray Gun or Multi-Missile Launcher, respectively). When you consider that the Plasma and Proton Blasters can, however, be fitted to said hardpoints, the Destroyer has the potential to be a real DPS beast. 

That's not the reason why we're here, though - we're here to compare the top speeds (during combat within a star system. not during interstellar travel) of all five normally playable scouts in Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars. And with the athletics competition of the Paris Olympics about to start in a few days' time, now would be a great time to take a closer look at the primary reason why scout ships must never be underestimated.

Above, from top: All five of the scout ships in the Infinite Space trilogy that are playable in normal gameplay (Calatian, Garthan, Zorg, Terran, and Muktian). Which of these is the fastest when all of them are fully upgraded? Let's find out!

For this test, I spawned all five scouts in a horizontal line at the lower edge of the map, and had them travel in a straight line towards the opposite edge, finishing just past the center. After just one run, the result was clear:

Above: Testing the top speeds (during combat) for the normally playable scouts in the Infinite Space trilogy (including Sea of Stars) revealed that the Garthan scout is the fastest capital ship you can acquire in a regular game. The Calatian destroyer finished second in this sprint test, ahead of the Zorg and Terran scouts, with the Muktian scout being the slowest.

So of all the capital ships you can obtain during a regular game in Sea of Stars, none of them can outrun a Garthan scout when travelling within a star system during combat. Even the Calatian destroyer, which comes closest to its Garthan equivalent in terms of top speed, is a distant second, but its role as the basis for a DPS-focused build makes it as viable as a Garthan scout in normal gameplay (and potentially even more so on a map where the Garthans have a home system not only to defend, but also to deploy from, since you can trade in a Garthan Scout in that case, as long as you have one in your fleet). The other scouts are all slower than these two, with the Muktian scout being the slowest ship of its kind, but at least it's more durable than other playable scouts.

The Garthan Scout (a detailed review of which I've previously posted on this blog) reminds me somewhat of the Flea, a 20-ton light 'Mech from BattleTech - in MechWarrior Online, the FLE-17, FLE-20 and FLE-FA variants are the fastest light 'Mechs when fitted with a 170-rated engine (which should be XL due to mass constraints) and Mk1 MASC, which increases its top speed from an already blistering 137.7 km/h to well over 170 km/h (without Skill Tree upgrades). And like the Garthan scout, the Flea has little capacity for armor, weapons, and other equipment. However, whereas Garthan scouts have room for one big gun, Fleas instead rely on arrays of multiple small, lightweight weapons. The Locust (the only other 20-ton Inner Sphere light 'Mech in MWO) also works best with a similar loadout, but trades MASC compatibility for a larger engine cap, allowing it to maintain a higher normal maximum speed than the Flea.

Above: The Flea may be one of the most lightly armed and armored 'Mechs in MechWarrior Online (and by extension, BattleTech as a whole), but some variants, when fitted with a maxed-out engine and MASC (as is the case on the FLE-17 shown above), have the potential to be the fastest 'Mechs of all, especially with all speed-related skill tree upgrades fitted. Below: The Locust may not be as fast in a sprint as a MASC-equipped Flea, but its usual running speed is even higher - second only to a Commando variant with a 240-rated engine.

The Calatian destroyer, while nowhere near as fast as its Garthan counterpart, is no slouch itself, and as previously stated, has potential for better DPS than other scouts (especially when armed with four Proton Blasters); as such, it reminds me of the Firestarter (especially the FS9-A and FS9-K, which are the only ones to have eight energy hardpoints). In particular, both variants of this 'Mech lend themselves well to (relatively) high-DPS builds with an octet of Small (X-)Pulse Lasers. High-alpha builds armed with nothing but 8 medium lasers are also possible on these variants, but you'll need skilled heat management to make optimum use of those. Even so, the Firestarter in general is one of the best light 'Mechs in MWO, and may well be my all-time favorite 'Mech from that game, period - much like the Calatian destroyer is one of my favorite capital ships from the Infinite Space trilogy.

Above and below: Of all the Firestarter variants, the FS9-K (above) and FS9-A (below) are among the best for high-DPS light 'Mech builds in MWO, since they are the only ones with 8 energy hardpoints - other variants have 7 or fewer. While the K is more easily disarmed due to having more of its hardpoints in its arms, it has a 10% laser duration reduction quirk the FS9-A lacks, and superior arm articulation to boot, making it more useful as a skirmisher or harasser, whereas the FS9-A is more of a brawler.

In short, the scouts of the Infinite Space trilogy may look unassuming, especially with their limited firepower, armor, and internal space, but just like light 'Mechs in MechWarrior Online (and, by extension, BattleTech), they must not be underestimated - a skilled commander will learn to use the scouts' speed (and agility) as armor, and leverage it to ensure that the scouts end up on the winning side.