Fer-de-LanceAX Combat

The Fer-de-Lance is a duelling hull, not an anti-Xeno platform — but its two defining traits translate. Four medium hardpoints each take a size-2 Guardian Gauss Cannon, so it fields a full Gauss-capable count, and its class-leading agility lets it side-step Thargoid lightning the way it out-turns a human opponent. On paper that reads well; in practice the fit is a compromise the ship was never built for.

The cost is everything behind the guns. Six optional internals — largest class 5, no military slots — must hold the shield, Guardian hull reinforcement, module hardening and an AFMU all at once, so nothing gets much room. Armour is thin (225 base), the 250-tonne hull runs hot under Gauss fire, and the short jump range needs a carrier lift to reach distant Maelstroms. The FDL wins AX fights by dodging and clean exits, not by out-tanking a Challenger or out-gunning a Python Mk II.

Two strengths and two hard limits define the FDL as an AX hull:

• Four medium mounts. Each takes a size-2 Guardian Gauss Cannon — the Gauss-capable count matches the Cutter and Gunship ceiling, though heat caps how many run at once.
• Best-in-class agility. It turns and holds a target better than any other medium, letting it physically dodge Interceptor lightning — the single most important AX survival skill.
• No military slots, tiny internals. Six optionals topping at class 5 must carry shield, Guardian hull reinforcement, module hardening and an AFMU together — it can't harden modules like a Chieftain.
• Runs hot, jumps short. A 250-tonne hull has little thermal mass for Gauss volleys, and the size-4 FSD needs a carrier lift to reach remote Maelstroms.

An elite duelling airframe pressed into anti-Xeno work: four medium Gauss mounts and best-in-class agility let it dodge Interceptor lightning, but zero military slots, six small optionals and thin armour make it the shallowest-tanked hull in the rated AX field — it survives by evasion, not endurance, which pins it near the bottom.

The 68/100 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.

Every table rates ships for AX specifically, split by landing-pad class. The Hardpoints column is the hardpoint loadout — the mount count for a Gauss suite; the rating is the same 1–100 suitability verdict used across the site.

Same class — medium AX ships

13 medium-pad AX hulls carry a rating, led by Alliance Chieftain (90). Every same-pad rival lands where this one does — the direct field to shop.

Other classes — the capital AX platforms

The large-pad AX field (4 rated), led by Imperial Cutter (90) — bigger pads and bankrolls. They out-muscle this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

Other classes — the light AX skirmishers

The small-pad AX field (3 rated), led by Kestrel Mk II (60) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

At ~51M Cr the hull needs no rank or permit, but the AX weapons do gate the build: the Guardian Gauss Cannon, Shard Cannon, Guardian hull and module reinforcement are Guardian tech-broker unlocks, earned by running Guardian ruins and structures for blueprint fragments and materials.

Once unlocked, the fit is cheap to outfit — the small internals mean few large modules to A-rate — but the Guardian grind, not credits, is the real cost of entry. Spend on the shield, distributor and thrusters first; the FDL's AX case is flying and heat, not deep modules it can't fit.

A cramped anti-Xeno fit built around a Gauss pair and best-in-class agility. Initial is buy-only cores; A-rated is the AX-ready baseline; Engineered hardens mobility, heat and shield.

Buy the hull and stock D/E-rated cores to move it under its own power — there's no point A-rating anything until the Guardian weapons are unlocked, since the AX kit is what makes it a Thargoid hull at all.

Leave the hardpoints and optionals empty at this stage. Unlike a bounty build, the FDL can't fight Thargoids on buy-only weapons; the initial state is transit-only until the Guardian tech-broker unlocks are done.

Ride the stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads for now — armour is a fallback the FDL barely uses, so spend the first credits on the shield and distributor instead.

A-rating priority for an AX skirmisher — feed the guns, then the airframe, then the shield:

• 1Power Plant → A — Guardian Gauss and Shard are power-hungry; A-rate first so nothing browns out. ~7M Cr
• 2Power Distributor → A — The Gauss capacitor drains fast; the oversized class-6 unit keeps the pair firing. ~6M Cr
• 3Thrusters → A — Agility is the FDL's whole AX case; A-rate to keep dodging the lightning. ~5M Cr
• 4Shield Generator → bi-weave — Fast regen behind the FDL's high base shield rides out thermal damage between passes. ~4M Cr
• 5Guardian Hull & Module Reinforcement — The only hardening the FDL has; slot them into the optionals since there are no military bays. ~3M Cr
• 6FSD → A — Mitigate the short range; you'll still want a carrier lift to distant Maelstroms. ~3M Cr

The house anti-Xeno pattern focused on mobility, heat and shield — the Guardian and AX weapons take no engineering, so the gains are all in the ship modules and how you fly.

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

Engineering pushes boost past 460 m/s and shields near 900 MJ while keeping the FDL's elite agility — the traits that let it dodge Interceptor lightning. Guardian hull reinforcement and Heavy Duty bulkheads lift effective armour past 1,500, but with no military slots that stack stays shallow next to any Guardian-hardened peer. The short jump range never improves much; the FDL's AX ceiling is set by internals, not engineering.

• Fly it as an evasion platform: dodge the lightning, place Gauss on exposed hearts, and disengage — the thin internals punish standing in the fire.
• Manage heat hard; a 250-tonne hull heats fast under Gauss volleys, so fire in bursts and keep two heat sinks ready.
• The huge mount is wasted on AX — no huge AX weapon exists, so it under-fills with a large Enhanced AX Multi-Cannon for chip damage and Scout clearing.
• Accept the short jump range — carrier-lift the FDL to the Thargoid front rather than fighting its transit.
• If you don't already own an FDL, a Chieftain gives the same evasion with military slots and a real tank — the better first AX hull.