Captineering

[HamsterIV]

I expect my gunners to withstand a truck load of verbal abuse when they miss easy shots, that is why random pug players are usually my gunners.

[RearAdmiralZill]

Oh Hamster, you used to be so nice. It's funny seeing the transformation.

Anyway, before I derail this any more......

[-Muse- Cullen]

I usually stick as pilot when I fly on a Spire, but I do occasionally pull double duty by repairing the balloon or shooting the front gun when the need arises. A few times, I've had my usual top engineer help repair the main gun while the other one remains on the hull. However, I've only done this when I didn't need to turn my ship. The niche application of an extra gunner or repairer at the loss of only moving forward or backward is small.

[Machiavelliest]

I expect my gunners to spyglass their targets after they fire, in time to make the proper ammo type reload.  This is why Charon is my gunner.

I expect my gunner to be on the gun, ready to fire as soon as they or I see a ship, spotted or otherwise. This is why Yiski is my gunner.

But does your gunner spot the ship generally?

[RearAdmiralZill]

I expect my gunners to spyglass their targets after they fire, in time to make the proper ammo type reload.  This is why Charon is my gunner.

I expect my gunner to be on the gun, ready to fire as soon as they or I see a ship, spotted or otherwise. This is why Yiski is my gunner.

But does your gunner spot the ship generally?

I or my engies do. He normally calls out the direction on the compass which I then use to aim the boat/spot if we haven't already seen them.

[RearAdmiralZill]

To get on the OP's topic, I can't justify going engie while piloting. This is even coming from a guy who takes spyglass as a pilot, which people seem to think is useless (Different thread on that). Positioning is everything in this game, and as pilot, it's one of your jobs to give yourself the most advantageous position you can. As such, 99.9% of your time should be on the helm, not running around to nearby parts to repair them. The one tool you can bring will help in live-or-die situations. I think the Spire is the only boat I'd remotely consider not taking a pilot, and that's still hit or miss.

[Keon]

A spire is only effective in sniping matches. If you had a gunner on your medium, a engineer camping hull, then it's either loose the top gun or loose your buffineer, which is pretty much the only way I stay alive. As a captain of a spire, I will hop off the helm if I need to, but I will keep the captains tools.

Actually, if you as an engineer took, say moonshine, and your friend the buffineer took hydrogen or something, hypothetically you could match Zill's effectiveness on a spire. Or at least his tools. Nerf Zill.

[-Muse- Cullen]

A spire is only effective in sniping matches.

Up for argument- definitely my favorite ship, and I've won plenty of matches that aren't for sniping

[Keon]

A spire is only effective in sniping matches.

Up for argument- definitely my favorite ship, and I've won plenty of matches that aren't for sniping

Why? I've just never found anything stronger than the other ships with it. It has two front-guns, which is between pyra and galleon, it's not particularly speedy, and it can't take a battering.

[Helmic]

I'll have to agree with Keon here.  Just because you personally have won with a ship doesn't mean it's strong.  There's plenty of other factors at work, such as your ability to communicate with your own team, map knowledge, and piloting ability.  If your team is just more skilled than the other, it's perfectly possible you could win with any combination of ships and guns.

If you still think the Spire has some tactile edge over others in close quarters, let us know what specifically makes it superior over any other ship.

[RearAdmiralZill]

It has the turning speed over any other boat. This gives it the edge in getting first shot in a knife fight. I'm not saying its ideal at all to take a Spire into a knife fight, but that is the tactical advantage it has.

It's kinda funny to think about the fact that if you aren't just disabling its main gun and shooting it to pieces, the Spire will happily kill you depending on its build.

[Pickle]

If a Spire is facing you, with guns intact it's a dangerous foe.  But it's main armament is amongst the easiest to disable of any 'ship, and if you're to the rear or either side you've much less to worry about.  Combined with the fragile hull, it's usually designated "priority squishy" for a quick point on the board.  But a pair of Spires working together always seems far harder to deal with than a Spire with any other supporting 'ship.  I'm not sure why that is - I've never liked piloting or crewing a Spire.

[Machiavelliest]

It has the turning speed over any other boat. This gives it the edge in getting first shot in a knife fight. I'm not saying its ideal at all to take a Spire into a knife fight, but that is the tactical advantage it has.

It's kinda funny to think about the fact that if you aren't just disabling its main gun and shooting it to pieces, the Spire will happily kill you depending on its build.

Its backing speed is also a concern.  I tried closing on a backing spire with a Pyramidion to get inside of flak range.  Without Shine, it's a fool's errand.  With turning, the Spire wins a merged dogfight any time, even without Phoenix Claw.  If you are able to shake the greenhorn tendency to always try to close the distance on an enemy, Spires can be a very dangerous tool, especially when marginalized in a match.

But, as the balloon is right there, I generally still go as a pilot, because as long as I bring a spanner, I can fix whatever's broken pretty quick.  Plus, since they're so close, I can still keep the ship moving while doing so.

[Sammy B. T.]

I started the game as an engineer and developed quite the engi fetish (Not even God could count the number of times I have told a third crew member to go engineer instead of gunner) So I get the whole desire to get off the guns. However, as was pointed out, losing arc on the enemy means losing your shooters just for a few more repairs.

I do fully endorse pilots doing some repair work. I probably do to too much myself.

[Machiavelliest]

I do fully endorse pilots doing some repair work. I probably do to too much myself.

I think this is the main pitfall.  I started as an engineer, and I sometimes want to help too much.  I usually draw the line at having lost engines, or both balloon and hull as to when it's time to abandon the helm to keep the ship alive.  Don't forget to set the proper throttle before you do, though.