Neopian Guide to Spacecraft

Our brave defending spacecraft. What is it that kept the world from impending doom when Dr. Sloth decided to invade from the Virtupets Space Station? Not people throwing rocks in the sky. What was it that helped Gorix and Cylara escape from Sloth’s tyranny? Not a unicycle. (That wasn’t a Uni joke!)

After spending some time studying (joyriding *cough*) the various spacecraft used by Kreludor and Neopia alike, I’ve compiled this list of ships for use by a skilled pilot.

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Ace Zafara’s Racin’ Rocket (Advert Attack):

Ok, so this isn’t even a space ‘fighter’, per say, but it’s still a spaceship.

Maneuverability: It goes in a straight line... Yep.

Speed: “Go-Go-Go!” Crowd-Dependent Pulse Engine. It goes pretty fast if you have a lot of fans in the crowd.

Weapons: Insta-Hit-Pop-Up Blaster C-01A. It’s effective, but you have to hit the pop up “ok” or “X” button for it to take full effect.

Armor/Shields: Pretty thin armor. It’s a racing pod, no need for that bulky steel weighing it down. That also means no shield is necessary either.

Allurana’s Opinion: If these things were mass-produced and given out to Neopians everywhere, it’d be the new wave of transportation! ... Well, after they change the engine. It’d be kinda irritating hearing people yell “Go!” all day and night while they fly.

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Neopian Space Defense Force Heavy Fighter (The Return of The Return of Dr. Sloth)

My favorite spacecraft out of all of them, this little gem packs a punch... if you know how to fly. (*coughlikemecough*)

Maneuverability: Very nice; this ship zips around pretty quick to avoid oncoming laser blasts, rocks, and other painful objects.

Speed: Flat-u-blast Dual Pulse Rockets. As mentioned earlier, the ship has incredible maneuverability. Well, it also has wicked speed too! With the right timing and right skill, anything is avoidable. It can cause problems, though; react too soon and you could get in trouble. React too late and you’ve missed your window of opportunity.

Weapons: Neo-Pulse Rapid-fire Blasters (x4). Gives a pretty spiffy fan-effect for those massive hordes of Slothites coming at you in the skies. For full effectiveness, get in close, but try not to collide with them.

Armor/Shields: Titanium plating, Electro-Pion-Troect energy-absorbency shield. The armor on this ship is pretty strong; if your shields go down, you still have a good chance of survival. But in any case, try to keep the shields up as much as possible for maximum safety. Notice the “energy” in “energy-absorbency”. That means it’s only useful against lasers and energy blasts. It does not stop rocks or other ships from giving you a really nasty dent.

Allurana’s Opinion: I so want one of these. *adds it to her wishlist*

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Kreludan Mining Co. Ore Transport Ship (Kreludan Mining Corp.)

Ah, a spaceship that helps the economy out. I mean, sure, some people could probably lift that big ball of ore themselves and toss it into the refinery, but why not have a cool little ship do it for you?

Maneuverability: It’s really nifty, 'cause the lightweight frame and the low-gravity of the space setting allows you to do some cool spinning tricks.

Speed: It gets from point A to B pretty quick, but the brakes are awful... Well, ok, there are no brakes. You’ll have to turn the ship in the opposite direction and put the pedal to the metal to avoid hitting that immovable wall. But in any case, if you have the patience, you can get your valuable ball of ore to where it needs to go without trouble.

Weapons: Neo-Pea-Shooter Basic Defense Blaster. This thing wouldn’t do anything to any decent armor plating, but it gets rid of mold, mildew, and fungus in those hard to reach spaces.

Armor/Shields: Um. Bad. It’s a small, light ship whose only purpose is transporting pieces of valuable ore from one place to another. If you were to throw a rock at this ship, it would probably explode, nevermind blasting fungus goo at it. That’s where the speed comes in to avoid such threats.

Allurana’s Opinion: If I could have one, I would fly it in big wide open spaces. And install some brakes. And maybe a shield. Oh and an anti-gravity cup holder. Yeaaah.

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XN-001 Modular Personal Light Fighter (Neverending Boss Battle)

This is a cute little ship, with cute little wings and cute little laser blasters. But that doesn’t do a whole lot when you’re fighting big mean deadly 10-foot-thick steel armored battleships. But it’s still cute.

Maneuverability: The turning is really bad; if you’re trying to avoid being shot at and still manage to get a few shots in of your own, just strafe left to right while you face your target... and even the strafing is slow but it lets you hit your target nonetheless.

Speed: Single Flat-u-Blast Pulse Rocket. It moves fast enough to avoid heat-seeking missiles and most battleship-based weaponry, but strafing speed is slow as mentioned above, and sometimes speed can get you into trouble, i.e. flying right into the thing you were trying to avoid.

Weapons: Notice the “Modular” part of the name. Different kinds of “plug-ins” fit into this ship and change the performance noticeably, from improved lasers, to bouncing lasers, to dual lasers. The modules are necessary for success, otherwise you’re just shooting single (cute) little red laser shots.

Armor/Shields: Ouch! Horrible! Thin armor plating, and no shields (unless you equip a shield module, I’ll get to that in a second) make this ship a flying death trap unless you’re a master at dodgeball, er... dodgelaser, or whatever. What the ship lacks in defense is made up by its speed. Okay, about that shield module. While they are quite rare to find and awfully expensive, they’re awesome to have. If you manage to get your hands on a shield module to hook up to this thing, you’ll be completely indestructible.

Allurana’s Opinion: Well. I certainly would like to have one, but I wouldn’t be risking it in heavy traffic. Or a massive armed-to-the-teeth battleship.

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“Elemental Series” Faerie Color-Coded-Cloud Personal Jets (Faerie Cloud Racers)

I’m... not exactly sure how many of these ships can actually go into space, (though I’m sure the space faerie’s can.) I had to argue with myself on whether or not to include this in an article on spacecraft.

Maneuverability: It’s kinda cool; they can only make 90-degree turns north, south, east, or west. That would take some getting used to, I’m sure.

Speed: Faerie-Class Quiet-Burn Cloud Generator. The faeries use them for races, but I personally find their speed only about average. Though their small size makes them hard enough to hit. Any faster and they’d probably disintegrate.

Weapons: None! The Faeries don’t believe in using weapons. They use the solidifying clouds that come from their engines to trap their opponent in a confined space until they hit the indestructible wall.

Armor/Shields: No Armor, no Shields at all. It would take a fleet of these things to do any sort of damage to a world-class threat.

Allurana’s Opinion: I don’t think I’d like to have one of my own. It would really just take up space. If I wanted to get somewhere quick, I much prefer the... Well, any other ship, just not this one.

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Virtupets Emergency Escape Pod (Escape to Kreludor)

It’s not made for battle at all, no way. But when it comes to saving innocent escapees’ lives, it certainly does its job!

Maneuverability: This really depends on the pilot. If you know what you’re doing, this thing will handle like a dream. If you have no idea how to fly, then watch out for that big ragged rock thingy and that guy in the ship over there who doesn’t look too happy to see you.

Speed: Dual Single Blast Propulsion Rockets. Like I said, this ship is made to escape from nasty situations. The engines do just that, and they do it fine. Just know where you’re going before you hit the button.

Weapons: Side-Mounted Neopium-Tipped Energy Torpedoes. For an escape pod, this is one deadly weapon! Too bad it only fires to the sides of the craft. When confronting an enemy from in front or behind you, you’re better off just running in the opposite direction. After all, that’s the entire job of this ship.

Armor/Shields: Almost none. I can’t stress enough how this is not a fighting ship. It’s made to get out of a fight as soon as possible, and where it lacks in defense, it makes up in a quick getaway speed.

Allurana’s Opinion: If it were a personal ship, it’d be great for nights out with friends or shippooling to work... or escaping from Dr. Sloth.

Well, that just about covers it. Those are all the spaceships that help us good-hearted, law-abiding Neopians live in this crazy world. Maybe next time you see a shooting star, you’ll think of one of these ships zooming through the sky to meet some threat to your existence and say, “Thank you, brave pilot.”

Thanks for reading, all. Now I’ve got to go learn how to equip a Xweetok Spear onto my XN-001 and make a wicked shish kebab. Allurana, out!