Guide Specific Questions

Miscellaneous Questions

Guide Specific Questions

Q1: Survivability/Speedrunning Ratings

Why is there a difference of Survivability / Speedrunning ratings for Daily and Community Missions?

Daily Missions tend to have more heavier waves, with the presence of some dense waves. Meanwhile, community missions tend to be a lot more dense in waves.

• Some ships are better at single target damage, while others are better at crowd control.
• Some ships may also excel better at specific daily mission types, but don't do well in generic type of missions that are present in community missions.
  • The most obvious case is some ships are much better at surviving a slow bullet hell mission type which includes Shuriken/MIRV missions, but don't do too well on generic type of missions, which are community missions .
• The difference in mission layouts can even be enough to differentiate between a rating of a minus (-) grade of a higher letter grade in one mission type, and a rating of a plus (+) grade of a lower letter grade in another mission.
  • E.g. A survivability rating of A+ in daily missions but a survivability rating of S- in community missions .
  • This goes back to the way the tier rating system works and the definition of each letter grade.
    • Even though the difference looks like only one grade of difference, if we convert to a rough points system, the point difference will be pretty large.
    • For example, the difference between the S and A letter grades is huge, compared to that between A and B.
    • I do not give out X ratings very easily, causing a huge gap between X and S letter grades as well.
    • The plus (+) and minus (-) grades are only intended to make some ships in the same tier stand out a bit more and a bit less.

It's most important to note that the Tier List is not linear. Sub-grade divisions are not equal in spacing, and neither are the letter grades.

Q2: Different number of letter grades for Survivability Tier

Why are there X, S, A, B, C, D & F ratings for survivability tier but only X, S, A, B, C & D ratings for speedrunning and fun factor tiers?

This is a very valid question. Unfortunately, it comes down to a bit of an oversight when the tier list was being revamped.

• When designing categories of any kind, it is my personal rule that one category should not have disproportionately way too many more elements than the second highest "batch" of categories.
• This is why the Ship Class also got a revamp and ships were redistributed, because the Balanced class got too overcrowded at some point.
• During the revamp, I had already decided to redistribute the ships into Tiers X, S, A, B, C & D.
• However, after the first round of all the ships were being reclassified, too many ships were initially cramped into Tier B for survivability tier.
• Thus, i had to redistribute Tiers A and B into Tiers A, B and C for survivability tier, and push Tiers C and D downwards to Tiers D and F.

With only one ship in Tier F, you might think why would it not be possible to combine Tiers D and F.

• The answer is, the ship in Tier F has characteristics that make it way worse than the ships in Tier D
• It simply cannot compare to ships in Tier D.
• Therefore, there had to be just one tier for that ship.

The same problem did not exist for speedrunning and fun factor tiers. After the ships were redistributed for survival tier, looking at the speedrunning and fun factor tiers, the tiers were quite evenly distributed so it was too difficult to redistribute Tiers A and B into Tiers A, B and C.

If there were to be another revamp for the tier list, then hopefully this would not happen again, as i prefer to standardize the number of letter gradings for each category.

Q3: Why letter grade tier ratings?

Why do you use a letter grade system, rather than a point system?

It is very difficult to assign an arbitrary number to survivability, speedrunning & fun factor.

• While it could be possible to use a 1 to 10 point scale, it is no different from letter rating already used in this guide.
  • In fact, it makes it worse because numbers are generic and harder to differentiate from letter ratings.
  • Imagine I tell you that on a point scale of 1-10, i rate 7. What does 7 mean? Average? Good? Great?
  • If I told you that it is an A+ rating, it would be easier for you to interpret it.
  • Also, if I use numbers, I would have to define for you. For example, 1-2 is bad, 3-5 is average, 6-7 is good, 8-9 is great and 10 is exceptional.
  • Instead, if I just told you C is bad, B is average, A is good, S is great, and X is exceptional, it's a lot easier to remember compared to remembering number ranges.
  • Anything larger than a 10 point scale is a huge headache to assign points.
• Other guides like p2myth.club are able to use a point system because it is an average of several different players grading the ships.
• This guide's tier list is built by one person - myself - so there is no average.
• Even if i go the extra mile to rate on say, a 100 point scale, every ship would have a distinct ranking on the tier list.
  • We could find out the #1 ship, the #2 ship, the #3 ship, the #10 ship, the one ship right at the center of the rankings, and even the ship in absolute last place.
  • That is simply NOT the objective of this guide.
  • The Tier List is designed to try to help you to find a suitable ship to conquer your missions based on your objectives, not THE ONE ship to conquer your missions.
  • This is the reason for different tier lists, to encourage you explore other ships as well.

Q4: Beginner Friendliness Tier

About Beginner Friendliness Tier

Some of the recommended options detailed in this guide are going to be disagreed by other veteran players, or by different players in the community. What is laid out in this guide is NOT absolute.

• It's always best to find out why other players feel other ships are more/less beginner friendly if you decide to consult forums to ask what ship to pick up to learn certain aspects of Phoenix 2.

Here are some of my justifications on some of the ships. You are welcome to feedback on other ships that might be more appropriate or ships in this guide's list that are not as appropriate.

• Njörun, as a beginner friendly ship to learn Chrono Field
  • Yigothu is without a doubt, the easiest Chrono Field ship to pick up.
  • However, using Yigothu to learn Chrono Field is not ideal, as a defensive Yigothu simply deploys Reflex EMP when Chrono Field expires to clear the bullets stacked up in the Chrono Field as well as a lot of other bullets around.
  • That type of playstyle doesn't teach the main selling point of Chrono Field ; to abuse Chrono Hopping. It is important to learn the Chrono Hopping skill to use Chrono Field effectively.
• Prime X, as a beginner friendly ship to learn Missile Swarm
  • While Trireme has the same Aura-Zen combination and is an auto-aiming ship, the Shield Breaker nature of Trireme makes it more difficult.
    • Beginners tend to fire Missile Swarm at first opportunity, making the usage of Missile Swarm less worthwhile.
  • The main weapon of Trireme is weak, so using Missile Swarm at the start of the wave also reduces the Shield Breaker advantage of its main weapon.
  • It is much easier to be overwhelmed using Trireme than using Prime X.
  • Geist and Atlas are both very aggressive ships with limited defence from Personal Shield , which are much more difficult to use compared to Prime X.
• Barret, as a beginner friendly ship to learn Ion Cannon
  • While Sonah has an auto aiming main weapon and features Reflex EMP to clear space to enable easier positioning, Sonah's weak main weapon make it difficult to throw Ion Cannons at the intended target (to disable dangerous turrets).
    • The lack of DPS makes it difficult for Sonah to go close to Invaders to fire Ion Cannons.
  • Meanwhile, Barret can simply Teleport right where you need and throw Ion Cannons effectively to disable the intended turrets.
• Orion, as a beginner friendly ship to learn Teleport
  • While Aurora has the best Aura-Teleport combination, its main weapon is difficult to handle.
  • Aurora is also a slightly difficult ship to use in missions outside of Shuriken/MIRV missions, due to the difficulty to aim the main weapon , while trying to dodge faster bullets and lasers .
  • Because of how slow the Aurora's Quantum Nuke is, the projectile may miss frequently if not handled properly.
  • Instead, Orion offers a stress free way to learn positioning with Teleport without worrying about aiming.
• Torrent, Nimbus & AB8/Klyn as less beginner friendly ships
  • Stun EMP , Reflex EMP & Personal Shield are all slightly more advanced abilities which are not as suitable for beginners to pick up the basics of the game.
  • These ships are still easy to use ships, but there are just easier ships to use for the basics.
  • They are definitely still good ships to use for training how to use Stun EMP , however.

Q5: Too many Tier Lists

Why so many Tier Lists? There are 5 of them in this guide!

Every player has different needs and has different objectives.

• Some just want to have fun
• Some want to get better at the game and feel the sense of accomplishment when they finally complete a Marshal S4 daily (non-specialist) mission (and maybe even consistently).
• Some want to take the next step after getting good at completing missions to go fast, to try to get more prestigious badges like Top 1% , Top 0.1% or even Best of Best badges and (specialist) Best of Best badges .
• Some are looking for something different to play, because they are bored with the current hangar of ships.
• Some are just starting out and want to learn the game basics better.
• The list is not exhaustive.

This guide tries its best to accommodate to as wide of an audience as possible. It may be a bit confusing to look at 5 different tiers, so I have tried my best to separate it as best as I can.

To try and identify the best ship is NOT this guide's objective.

• If you insist however, there are resources for that in the External Links / Resources section of this guide.

If there are other categories you think are worth considering, do let me know and I'll consider your suggestion!

Q6: Ships that are not Unique

Why did you leave out [Ship X] in the Unique Ships section?

I have a specific set of ships which I feel should not make the cut into this section. If you have a ship in mind that is not below but you feel that it is unique enough, please send in your choice of ship and reasoning!

• Krillou & Nimbus
  • Both their Aura + Zen damage combination wipes out Ravens of their respective matching Invader affinity.
  • You can even include Zimitr if it is put against Unprotected Invaders just like Nimbus.
• Buhloo, Proteus & Lorilou
  • All these ships are able to set up their Zens early and have it charged before the next wave comes in due to their long uninterruptible burst main weapons (or the delayed firing mechanism for Proteus).
    • As a side note, this is also why Veil has a very low uniqueness factor, since it only stems from its rare opportunity to pop all the turrets off the remaining Vulture , and even this feat by itself isn’t as easy as it seems.
• Essin
  • Its Cyclone Cannon may look fun but it’s not unique as it’s very similar to most continuous stream main weapons .
  • It may be ideal for Essin to use its Shield Breaker main weapon to strip the shields before Laser Storm and/or Personal Shield (for laser reflection ) goes into action.
  • However, it's hardly observable when using Laser Storm and/or Personal Shield to deal damage after stripping Invader shields.
    • If you try using Laser Storm at the start of the wave anyway, and use Personal Shield whenever the lasers are about to fire, you won’t notice too much of a difference.
  • While it is more ideal to strip Invader shields with its Shield Breaker main weapon first, the difference is negligible to be considered for uniqueness factor.
• Arietis & Exarch
  • For Arietis, its Close Combat style is not unique.
  • For both, they do have Mega Laser and have Shield Breaker main weapons
    • Stripping the shield before firing Mega Laser would be ideal.
    • However, the opportunities for these are rare.
    • It is nothing like Razor VI’s uninterruptible burst going off at almost the same time Mega Laser starts charging.
• 502-Q8
  • On the surface, it looks like Razor VI because of the same Shield Breaker main weapon and a bullet/laser blocking Aura with Mega Laser .
  • However, while Razor VI can start charging right after the first burst hits the Invader, 502-Q8 must fire off a couple of Plasma Compressor projectiles in order to strip Invader shields and then fire Mega Laser .
  • As each Plasma Compressor projectile is fast moving, there is not a lot of advantage in charging Mega Laser as compared to Razor VI.
  • Unlike Razor VI, 502-Q8 cannot sweep the field to mass strip off the shields of several frontline Invaders
    • This means 502-Q8 can realistically only use the Plasma Compressor to strip off the shield of one Invader before charging Mega Laser .
    • This only becomes worthwhile if you are stripping off the shield of an Eagle or a Vulture before charging Mega Laser .
  • Once again, like Essin, the synergy between its main weapon and Zen just isn’t there for it to be considered for uniqueness factor.
• Corsair
  • Its Zen may be unique, but it behaves just like many other ships with 2 offensive abilities, dishing as much damage as possible before you get overwhelmed.
  • Corsair may probably be the ship (with 2 offensive abilities) that requires the largest amount of flailing about the screen, but that's the case with other such ships anyway, just to a lesser extent.
  • Corsair is undeniably fun, but it doesn't mean that its unique enough.
• Zimitr
  • At surface level, Zimitr looks like a Yigothu counterpart as it should also strip its Invaders of its shields before Reflex EMP goes off.
  • However, unlike Yigothu, Stun EMP doesn't grant Zimitr invincibility.
    • This makes going on top of Invaders dangerous due to a high chance of turret collision, especially in dense waves.
  • Being unable to control which Invaders will the Arurus Satellites will hit means that while Zimitr should try its best to strip Invader shields, the success rate is much lower than Yigothu.

Q7: No community content

Why does this guide not feature community content?

It is simply not the direction of this guide.

I do not mean to disrespect or undermine the efforts of the community to keep this game alive. They are what keeps this game going. Without them, this guide would not have existed. Because without a community, this guide would be for nobody, which is pointless.

In addition, community content are made all the time. i just don't have the time to constantly look at new community and update the guide to capture all community content.

If you are looking for community content, you can go to the Phoenix 2 Wiki which is p2myth.club for that, or refer to the External Links / Resources for communities that are out there. I believe that is what the Wiki and the community forums are for, for community content to thrive.