Krait PhantomAX Combat

Where the Krait Mk II kills, the Phantom skirmishes. It drops a large hardpoint and the fighter bay for less mass — so it's faster, more agile, and jumps far further than any other AX medium. Two large mounts carry a respectable Gauss pair, enough to crack Interceptor hearts if you place your shots, but it can't match the Mk II's three-large broadside. Its case is mobility and reach: get to the fight, stay out of the lightning, and hit between damage windows.

The trade-offs are real. Two large hardpoints mean lower sustained AX damage, there's no SLF to draw a Thargoid's attention, no military slots for module hardening, and the lighter hull tanks less than a Mk II or Chieftain. The Phantom survives by not being hit — speed, dodging and a clean exit. For an experienced AX pilot who values reaching distant Maelstroms and fighting on the move, the Phantom is an excellent fast hunter; for raw firepower or survivability, the Mk II and Chieftain are stronger.

Four things make the Phantom a capable fast Xeno hunter:

• Speed and agility. The quickest of the AX mediums — reposition and dodge Thargoid lightning between damage windows.
• Premium jump range. Reaches distant Maelstroms under its own power where heavier hulls need a carrier lift.
• Two large Gauss mounts. Enough heart-cracking damage to solo Cyclops and Basilisk if you place shots well.
• Deep internals. Room for Guardian hull reinforcement, caustic and heat kit alongside the guns — hardening lives here, not in military slots.

Best agility and reach of the AX mediums carry it; only two large mounts and zero military slots — a thinner tank than the Mk II or Chieftain — cap the score.

The 84/100 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 AX fighters

The Phantom is the speed-and-reach pick of the medium AX fighters. The Mk II out-guns it and the Chieftain and Challenger out-harden it, but none gets to a distant Maelstrom as easily or kites Thargoid fire as cleanly. For mobile, hit-and-run AX play, the Phantom earns its place; for damage or module survival, look up the ladder.

Other classes — the heavier AX options

The large AX ships out-tank and out-gun the Phantom many times over, but they're slow, hard to dodge, and most need a large pad and a rank grind. In AX, evasion saves you where armour can't — and the Phantom's niche is exactly that: medium-agility, premium reach, and a fight you can break off at will.

At ~37M Cr the Phantom is one of the cheaper AX mediums, with no rank gate — anyone can fly one. An AX fit with a Gauss pair, Guardian hull reinforcement and caustic/heat kit brings the all-in figure to around 99M Cr, with rebuy near 5.0M; much of that cost is Guardian-tech unlocks rather than the modules themselves.

It's the choice for an AX pilot who values mobility and reach over firepower, and who'd rather self-jump to a remote Maelstrom than wait on a carrier. For maximum damage the Mk II is the pick; for survivability and learning, the Chieftain. The Phantom rewards a clean, mobile flying style.

A fast, mobile anti-Xeno fit: a Guardian Gauss pair on the large mounts, AX/Guardian support on the mediums, and Guardian hull reinforcement (no military slots, so hardening goes in the optionals). Initial is buy-only cores; A-Rated adds the AX kit; Engineered hardens mobility, heat and survival. The AX/Guardian weapons take no engineering — the gains are in flying and the ship modules.

The Initial column is core-only: buy the hull and the stock cores — 7E Power Plant, 6E Thrusters, 5E Frame Shift Drive, 4E Life Support, 7E Power Distributor, 6E Sensors and a 5C Fuel Tank. The bulkhead stays the hull's default Lightweight Alloy; the Military Grade upgrade waits on the A-Rated pass. The ship flies, but carries no weapons, shield or reinforcement yet.

Every hardpoint, utility and optional slot stays empty (—) at this stage: the Gauss pair, Enhanced AX Multi-Cannon and Guardian Shard Cannon, the bi-weave shield, and all Guardian hull/module reinforcement wait on material unlocks and the A-Rated pass.

Unlock Guardian and AX weapons at the relevant sites first — they gate the whole combat fit.

AX-fitting priority:

• 1AX / Guardian weapons — a Gauss pair (2B) plus 2E Enhanced AX Multi-Cannon and 2A Guardian Shard Cannon to crack Interceptor hearts. material unlocks
• 2Power Plant → 7A, Power Distributor → 7A — Gauss and Guardian guns are power-hungry; A-rate the plant and distributor so the pair keeps firing. A-rate cores
• 3Bulkhead → Military Grade Composite — the Phantom has no military slots, so the hull plating is your only base armour; Military Grade is the strongest bulkhead and the foundation for the Heavy Duty engineering pass. ~10M Cr
• 4Thrusters → 6A — the Phantom's edge is mobility; dodge between damage windows. ~7M Cr
• 5Bi-Weave Shield Generator → 6C + 0A Shield Booster — a fast-regen shield to ride out Thargoid fire. shield fit
• 6Guardian reinforcement (optionals) — Guardian hull and Guardian module reinforcement (Size 5 and Size 3) for caustic/AX module hardening without military slots. material unlocks
• 7FSD → 5A — keep the reach that lets you self-jump to distant Maelstroms. ~6M Cr
• 8Caustic + heat utilities — Xeno scanner, caustic sink, heat sinks. ~2M Cr

AX engineering hardens mobility, heat and survival; AX/Guardian weapons have limited engineering. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1Dirty thrusters first — the Phantom's speed and agility are its survival.
• 2Overcharged plant and Charge-Enhanced distributor to feed power-hungry Gauss weapons.
• 3Thermal-resistant bi-weave shield and shield booster against Thargoid thermal damage; the Guardian HRPs come pre-hardened (caustic-resistant), not engineered.
• 4Note: AX/Guardian weapons and Guardian reinforcement come from unlocks, not blueprints.

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

Engineered and Guardian-armed, the Phantom is the fastest, longest-reaching AX medium — it gets to the fight, kites the lightning, and breaks off clean. The Military Grade bulkhead with a Heavy Duty roll is its only base armour (no military slots), and the Guardian hull/module reinforcement adds the caustic and AX module resistance a regular package lacks. It out-guns nothing on the ladder and hardens less than a Chieftain, so it survives by mobility, not mass — a fast, mobile expert's Xeno hunter.

• Fly to win — with no fighter and no military slots, mobility and clean shots are your survival.
• Keep the FSD light and strong; the Phantom's reach lets you self-jump to remote Maelstroms.
• Put Guardian reinforcement in the optionals; manage heat hard between Gauss volleys.
• For raw damage take the Mk II; for survivability the Chieftain — the Phantom is the mobile pick.