Federal Assault ShipAX Combat

Point the Federation's nimblest combat medium at the Thargoids and you get a cheap, agile AX brawler that survives by dodging. The Federal Assault Ship brings 540 effective armour, two military slots for Guardian Module Reinforcement, a fast-boosting nimble flight model and a low hull price — everything an evasion-first anti-Xeno pilot needs without the capital grind. It does in an AX fight what it does in a conventional one: close, hold guns on a heart, and roll out of the lightning rather than absorb it.

The reason it sits at 77 rather than alongside the top mediums is specific and honest: it carries only four hardpoints (2 large, 2 medium) and four utility mounts, so its AX weapon suite and its defensive kit are both tighter than the Chieftain's or Challenger's. Shallow optional internals cap how much Guardian hull reinforcement it can layer, and its base shield is low — it is an armour-tank, not a shield boat. It out-agilities every Federal capital and undercuts the premium mediums on price, but the more spacious agile hulls score higher because they bring more guns, more utilities and deeper hardening to the same evasive flight model.

Four things make the FAS a credible agile Xeno hunter:

• Evasion. The fastest-boosting Federal combat medium with a nimble turn rate — it rolls out of Interceptor lightning that pins the heavier hulls.
• Two military slots. Room for two Guardian Module Reinforcement packages — module hardening against the lightning that strips an unprotected ship's systems.
• Armour tank. 540 effective armour plus Guardian HRP keeps it standing far longer than its low base shield suggests.
• Low cost. Under 20M Cr for the hull once you hold the rank — a bargain entry into anti-Xeno combat.

Role-leading agility and a 540-armour tank with two Guardian MRP slots earn a strong 77; only four hardpoints (two medium Gauss mounts) and four utilities cap it below the Chieftain.

The 77/100 headline is a verdict against the anti-Xeno role's priority-ordered factors. Each factor carries a weight (its share of 100); this hull earns part of each based on how it performs against the whole field. The points sum to the rating.

Both tables rate ships for anti-Xeno combat specifically. The role column is the hardpoint loadout — the basis for an AX weapon suite. Evasion, hardening and heat management matter as much as raw mounts.

Same class — medium-pad AX ships

Among the agile AX mediums the FAS is the cheap dodger. It flies with a sharper, more aggressive feel than most of the field, but the Chieftain and Challenger bring more hardpoints, more utilities and (on the Challenger) three military slots to the same evasive flight model — so they hardpoint-for-credit out-fight it. It clears its Federal stablemates: the Gunship and Dropship are tougher but absorb the lightning the FAS rolls out of.

Other classes — the AX capital tanks

The capitals out-score the FAS on staying power and weight of fire — they stand in the fire and win by attrition. The FAS does the opposite: it cannot soak what a Corvette shrugs off, but it dodges what pins the capital, and it costs a fraction of one. It is the agile, affordable counterpoint to the AX battleships — survival by evasion, not by tank.

At ~19.1M Cr the FAS is one of the cheapest competent AX platforms in the game, and it sits behind only a modest Federal rank — Chief Petty Officer, far below the Corvette's Rear Admiral. A full AX fit with Guardian/AX weapons, a bi-weave buffer and double Guardian reinforcement runs to roughly ~35M Cr A-rated, rising past ~55M Cr engineered, with a low ~2.8M rebuy that makes losses cheap to absorb.

That low rebuy is part of the appeal: AX is dangerous, and a hull you can lose without flinching encourages the aggressive, evasive flying the FAS rewards. The real cost is the Guardian-tech grind for weapons and reinforcement, which is identical whatever hull carries it.

An agile AX brawler: enhanced AX multi-cannons on the large mounts for shields and scouts, Guardian Gauss Cannons on the mediums for heart damage, both military slots filled with Guardian reinforcement, and a tight four-utility AX kit. Initial is buy-only; A-Rated adds the unlocked AX kit; Engineered hardens hull, shield buffer and — above all — mobility.

Earn Chief Petty Officer and buy the hull (~19.1M Cr). The buy-only state is the bare frame on stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads and E-rated core internals: 6E Power Plant, 6E Thrusters, 5E Frame Shift Drive, 5E Life Support, 6E Power Distributor, 4E Sensors and a 4C Fuel Tank.

Every hardpoint, utility and military slot stays empty at this stage — the Enhanced AX Multi-Cannons, Guardian Gauss Cannons, Xeno scanner, Shutdown Field Neutraliser and Guardian Module Reinforcement all need material unlocks before they can be fitted.

The optional internals are left empty too — the bi-weave buffer, the Guardian and standard Hull Reinforcement and the single-limpet decontamination controller all arrive with the A-rated pass once the unlocks are in hand.

AX-fitting priority for the agile striker:

• 1AX / Guardian weapons — two 2B Guardian Gauss Cannons on the mediums, two 3C Enhanced AX Multi-Cannons on the large mounts. material unlocks
• 2Shutdown Field Neutraliser — the one non-negotiable interceptor utility; it cancels the EMP shutdown pulse that otherwise leaves you dead in the water for a free damage window. It rides the last utility mount alongside the Xeno scanner and the caustic + heat sink launchers. cheap
• 3Military hull & Guardian reinforcement — upgrade the bulkheads to Military Grade Composite, add two 4D Guardian MRP in the military slots plus Guardian and standard HRP in the optionals; module hardening keeps systems alive through the lightning, and a single-limpet decon controller scrubs caustic. material unlocks
• 4Thrusters & Distributor → 6A — Evasion is survival here, and Gauss is capacitor-hungry; A-rate both early. ~6M Cr
• 5Power Plant → 6A, FSD → 5A — Headroom for Gauss, the shield buffer and the utility kit; A-rate the drive to reach the fight. ~3M Cr
• 6Bi-weave buffer — a 5C bi-weave run as a thermal-resistant regenerating buffer over the armour tank. With the neutraliser holding the last utility mount there is no shield booster, and the hull-tank survives boosterless. ~3M Cr

AX engineering hardens mobility, hull, shield buffer and heat; AX/Guardian weapons have limited engineering. Pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application; visit in person for experimentals.

Recommended order

• 1Dirty thrusters first — agility is the FAS's whole AX case; out-flying the lightning is how it survives.
• 2Distributor and plant to G5 — Gauss is capacitor- and power-hungry.
• 3Thermal-resistant bi-weave and HRPs against Thargoid thermal and caustic damage.
• 4Note: AX/Guardian weapons and all Guardian reinforcement come from unlocks, not blueprints.

Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):

Engineered, the FAS boosts past 440 m/s with elite agility, Military Grade bulkheads under HeavyDuty G5 and stacked Guardian HRP pushing effective armour past 2,800, and two Guardian MRP soaking the lightning that does land. The shield is a thermal-resistant buffer, not a wall — the last utility mount carries a Shutdown Field Neutraliser, not a booster, because blocking the interceptor EMP matters more than a few MJ. Four guns is modest firepower, but Gauss-and-AX ends Interceptors steadily, and the survivability-per-credit is unmatched at this price.

• Fly it on the move — the FAS survives AX by dodging the lightning, not absorbing it like a capital.
• Fill both military slots with Guardian Module Reinforcement; the low base shield means armour and hardening carry it.
• The four-utility kit is tight: Xeno scanner, caustic sink and heat sink take three mounts — budget the last for one shield booster.
• If the Federal rank gate annoys you, the Alliance Chieftain offers a similar agile-tank AX profile with more mounts and no rank requirement.