First things first: A couple of “Tips & Tricks”

We’ve prepared a couple of tips and tricks in advance to help you make the best decisions for your career as a space pilot when it comes to selecting the right ship and repairing/servicing your spaceship. That way you can avoid making some common mistakes right from the very beginning.

- If your Phoenix is shot down, just get a new one for 0 credits instead of repairing it for 500 Uridium.

- If your repair bot isn’t working, push the F5 key or refresh the space page, and it should go back to work for you.

- If it’s taking too long to load the maps, then just minimize them and things should run a bit faster.

- Bid for Uridium items for credits at the trading post. Just remember that if you make a bid on something and you’re outbid, you won’t get your credits back – and the item will go to somebody else!

Nostromo, Goliath & Co. – Need more room in your cockpit?

The Phoenix Starjet is a great ship to earn your first stripes; but to get any further you’ll definitely need a stronger vessel: That’s why your company always has a wide range of different ships available for you. They vary according to their cargo bay size, the maximum amount of weapons, their engine’s performance, etc.

The best thing for you to do is take a look in the hangar to get a better idea of what you want to buy. Detailed information about each individual ship can be found by clicking on the ship itself.

Just remember that you can only have one ship at a time. If you acquire a ship that is smaller than your current ship, then you’re plain out of luck. The upside is that you’ll get to keep all your engines and extra features that don't fit on board the new ship; they’ll all be stored away in the hangar for future use. If you purchase a ship afterwards which is larger, the items in the hangar will automatically be used to equip it.

Hangar

You’ll find all the necessary pieces of equipment for your spaceship in the hangar. At the beginning of the game, your first ship will be a Phoenix Starjet. You can use this ship to conquer galaxies and collect a bunch of raw materials you'll find floating around in outer space. Once you earn enough credits by selling your raw materials, you'll be able to upgrade to a spaceship which is larger and more powerful than the Starjet..

The ships vary according to their equipment, their speed, their firing power and, of course, their price. If you want to get your hands on the most powerful ship in the game, you’ll have use the in-game currency Uridium to buy it. The details of each of the space ships can be found underneath the 3D display, so you can take a look at the goods before buying in haste: The ship’s speed, cargo bay, lasers, engines, hit points and rockets are displayed here.

If your ship is destroyed during a battle in outer space, you can get a Phoenix Starjet in the hangar for free, or you can have your ship repaired so that you can get back into the game quickly.


Phoenix Starjet
This is the starter ship for every pilot at DarkOrbit. The Phoenix Starjet is free and has the following features:

Price: 0 credits

Speed: 320
Cargo bay: 100t
Laser: 1
Engines: 1
Hit points: 4,000
Rockets: 100
Extras: 1


Yamato Starjet
The Yamato Starjet is an extraordinarily easy ship to maneuver; it simply outperforms the Phoenix Starjet in every way possible, including cargo bay, hit points and on-board weapons. It comes with the following features:

Price: 16,000 credits

Speed: 340
Cargo bay: 200t
Lasers: 2
Engines: 2
Hit points: 8,000
Rockets: 200
Extras: 1


Leonov Starjet
The Leonov Starjet won't go down without a fight – as an elite ship it has scores of hit points. Its cargo bay and weapons are perfect for voyages into galaxies far, far away. The Leonov Starjet comes equipped with the following features:

Price: 5,000 Uridium

Speed: 360
Cargo bay: 500t
Lasers: 5
Engines: 3
Hit points: 64,000
Rockets: 300
Extras: 1


Defcom Starfighter
The Defcom Starfighter dazzles with its additional on-board equipment. You can rightfully expect it to be much more powerful and robust than the previous models. Its weapons and shields make this ship fast and easy to maneuver, so it’s perfectly suited for battle: It doesn’t matter if you’re on the offensive or defensive side. The Defcom Starfighter has the following features:

Price: 32,000 credits

Speed: 280
Cargo bay: 300t
Lasers: 3
Engines: 5
Hit points: 12,000
Rockets: 400
Extras: 2


Liberator Starfighter
The Liberator Starfighter is one solid ship. With its large cargo bay and supply of impressive weapons, you can definitely heat things up with it. Its engines provide for strong shields so that you can keep a ton of enemies at bay. It comes equipped with the following features:

Price: 64,000 credits

Speed: 300
Cargo bay: 400t
Lasers: 4
Engines: 6
Hit points: 16,000
Rockets: 500
Extras: 2


Piranha Starfighter
The Piranha Starfighter is definitely a good choice! It's an extremely quick and powerful ship which has twice as many hit points as the Liberator Starfighter. When it comes to cargo, defense systems and offense systems, the Piranha Starfighter has it all in quantity. It comes with the following features:

Price: 80,000 credits

Speed: 320
Cargo bay: 500t
Lasers: 5
Engines: 7
Hit points: 32,000
Rockets: 600
Extras: 2


Nostromo Starfighter
This is where things really get interesting: As the pilot of a Nostromo Starfighter, other pilots will definitely not want to mess with you! This ship is in a class of its own, and its massive supply of rockets and lasers make it real specialist for attack situations. The shield capacity is nothing to sneeze at, either. This ship comes equipped with the following features:

Price: 100,000 credits

Speed: 340
Cargo bay: 600t
Lasers: 6
Engines: 8
Hit points: 64,000
Rockets: 700
Extras: 2


Vengeance Starfighter
Revenge is all yours, space pilot. With the Vengeance Starfighter, you can get back at everyone who previously defeated you in battle with your smaller ship. Its large number of hit points and gigantic selection of equipment with lasers, rockets and engines make the cockpit a very safe place to be when you're under attack. It comes with the following features:

Price: 30,000 Uridium

Speed: 360
Cargo bay: 1,000t
Lasers: 10
Engines: 10
Hit points: 180,000
Rockets: 800
Extras: 2


Bigboy Battlecruiser
The Bigboy Battlecruiser might not be the fastest ship around, but it has firepower in battle that you can write home about. Its weapon supply of rockets and lasers plus an impressive 15 engines turn this ship into one helluva battleship. It has the following features:

Price: 200,000 credits

Speed: 260
Cargo bay: 700t
Lasers: 7
Engines: 15
Hit points: 128,000
Rockets: 900
Extras: 3


Goliath K2 Battlecruiser
This is the elite armored ship at DarkOrbit. You know you’ve made it big when you’re the commander on this ship’s bridge! It just can’t be beat when it comes to its hit points, rockets, lasers and cargo capacity. There's no need to hide your face with this baby! The Goliath K2 Battlecruiser comes with the following features:

Price: 80,000 Uridium

Speed: 300
Cargo bay: 1,500t
Lasers: 15
Engines: 15
Hit points: 256,000
Rockets: 1,600
Extras: 3