Pioneer

In-Game Description
Difficulty: Easy

''The Pioneer is a front-line attack craft, equipped with powerful explosive charge volleys for mid-range combat, and a single-shot atomic explosive capable of moving target ships out of cover. Its origins as an exploratory craft are still evident when it uses its powerful "Reveal Sector" ability, which identifies enemy targets at extreme range. The intense pulse also reveals the Pioneer itself.''

Summary
A capable fast attack vessel, the Pioneer sports some of the most intuitive weapons and abilities available to combat vessels. Area-of-effect Void Charges reduce the amount of aiming a pilot has to do in order to deal large amounts of damage, and has an unrestricted firing arc, allowing engagement from any angle. A powerful combination of its Gravity Nuke and anti-armor missiles provides a powerful long-range punch that supplements the Void Charges short-range power. The only real shortcomings of the Pioneer are its lackluster special abilities and its lack of slowing or disabling attacks, relying instead on other vessels to keep targets in range. Its armor, while not stellar, is fairly strong, and can weather blows that could take down a larger vessel.

The Pioneer is currently the USR starter vessel, awarded when the player first boots up the game.

When playing as a Pioneer:
Account for the travel time of your Void Charges - aim ahead of your target. This is doubly important when considering your Gravtiy Nuke. The projectile travels slowly but has huge impact damage and can swing the favor of a skirmish.

When playing with a Pioneer:
Pioneers are good as part of a group of three - one heavy or stealth ship, one sniper ship, and the Pioneer in the Middle. When this group of three enters a lane, let the Pioneer use its Reveal Sector technique. The sniper vessel can then start setting up shots, and as enemies home in on the revealed Pioneer, the heavy or stealth ship will be lying in wait nearby.

When playing against a Pioneer:
Since a Pioneer has a good turret traverse, do not try flanking it unless it is hit with a disable, overwhelming firepower, or its captain is otherwise distracted.

Tips
- The Pioneer plays well as a front-line attack ship, but it neither has a lot of armor nor structural health. It's high damage output does allow it to out-duel other ships, however, as long as the Pioneer's pilot knows how to properly lead their shots and their Gravity Nuke has not already been used.

- The Reveal Sector ability is commonly used at the start of a match, to see what enemy ships may be in a lane. It can also be used to track targets for long-range sniper craft, and to locate targets which may be moving around to flank.

- The Detect Buoy, while less effective than a Detect Pulse, serves well as a means of covering objectives, bigger ships, and tactically sound positions. Either deploy it to cover your flanks, or in a position where it cannot be easily destroyed. Don't just toss it at the enemy.