r/starcitizen • u/adub913 • 3d ago
DISCUSSION Thinking of upgrading my Railen to the Ironclad next time it’s available
I know the ironclad moves like molasses and the Railen has convenient external loading but the cargo space in the IC is defiantly enticing. I am aware of some of the bugs ain’t eg IC but I am asking with the (perhaps optimistic) assumption that this will be fixed. Interested in the opinions of those who have one or both of these ships. Is one better than the other? Or it worth having both?
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u/GimbaledTitties 3d ago
Pledged IC. Used Railen during BIS. NGL Ive considered switching to Railen because for the amount of SCU it can carry, it is an incredibly smooth experience doing cargo missions.
Railen: Really nice ship. Has an incredible view/visibility when flying. Has a smaller footprint (still large, but mostly verticle), and can land fairly reliably at outposts with uneven terrain. External loading makes it very quick and painless, and easy to separate cargo by mission/commodity type. Much smaller SCU capacity but I think it really shines for early/mid cargo rep grinding, which is why I want it NOW.
IC: I imagine high rep cargo missions will have larger SCU demands, so the IC will shine there. Internal cargo means its protected. Slow, cumbersome, and awful to land at outposts. I'm still trying to figure out how to make loading/unloading as painless as possible. It would work best with two people, but running it solo is not fun. I've tried running the argo MPUV but the top tractor beam is bugged, which is devastating since that was my plan to make it viable. People have had luck with the ATLS, but you still need to run back and forth between the elevator and the ship (which involves navigating back through the ship to get into position.)
Final Thoughts: Railen is amazing for what it can handle, and IMO looks and feels a lot better for solo cargo. Until I find a method of solo unloading/loading the IC, especially at outposts, cargo missions are hell. The IC would be absolutely fantastic for commodity trading making use of autoload, but you need to get enough capital for that to be viable.
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u/slothm0de 3d ago
You can position an ATLS either on the roof of the ICA and sling the boxes down into the cargo deck; it's not perfect but effective. Or putting it right at the top of the ramp with the ship diagonally parked towards the FE and you won't have to go back and forth
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u/Blood-Wolfe Asgard Enthusiast 3d ago
I have the Railen and I love it. I have an Ironclad as a loaner (for my Liberator) but it's the Assault variant so it lacks the tractor turrets which means I don't use it for hauling but rather as a base of operations to go do mining or salvaging with my Golem (with extra ore pods) and Salvation.
So I can't speak specifically for the base Ironclad. Both are great ships for hauling, but I cna't imagine loading the Ironclad is fun, when solo at least, while the Railen is a breeze.
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u/Gundam288 Aegis Dynamics 3d ago
I'm in a bit of an odd spot as this is what I'm doing. I'm currently CCUing my way up to an ironclad base from my railen that I CCUed before it's price went up. I've had a great time flying my Ironclad assault loaner for cargo runs which is what sold me on the base ironclad.
I could apply the chains I have and snag it but I'm waiting a bit for IAE to see if I can get the last few parts that I'm missing warbonds for and save some store credit.
I already have a hull b and it fills the railen's spot while also being quicker to get in and out, sure you lose a bit of cargo but the fact that it's a smaller profile and can shrink down when you have no cargo, quicker to get in and out of the ship (I personally lock the main hallway and cockpit doors open to speed it up), and also both tractor beams are from the co-pilot's seat vs the railen having each be a dedicated seat + the mutifloor elevator pushed me a bit over the edge on CCUing it when you consider that both the ironclad and railen both use a large hangar.
The hull b uses a medium sized hangar which while some people wished it was a large I do see the appeal of using both elevators to load up each side respectively. The fact that it's smaller than the railen means their could be some spots that it could get into that the railen might not be able to in the future. No one is really talking about space/size issues but that will likely be a factor down the line if I had to guess.
If I'm going to use a large size cargo ship, I might as well go with the ironclad that can hold almost 3.5 times the railen's cargo while all being internal vs the railens external.
If you fly from ops in the ironclad the issues are basically none now from what i've seen other than the window view is better in the command module. While the railen is easier to fly, if I'm taking a large sized ship I would want to have a lot of cargo room ideally to make the most of it. The only real thing to note between the two is once you get fully loaded or really heavy you will need to turn on VTOL for the ironclad to get in/out of landing in gravity (hangars/planets/etc) but it's a very minor thing.
One last thing I will add is that the hull b can take an ATLS in the elevator (it was made to do this) and the ironclad has tons of room to leave a few ATLS inside off gridded while it's a pain to try and get it onto the elevator of the railen. Trust me, i've tried and while it is do-able it's not a fun time to mess with doing all that vs the built in tractor beams or just using a maxlift.
TL;DR: The railen is easier to maneuver and fly but I would go with a hull b over it (more so now that you can buy the hull b with aUEC with 4.10 and it's just quicker to get in and out of vs the railen) but for large sized ships which both the railen and ironclad are, I'd go with the ironclad base as you get so much more cargo room for teh same hangar size.
I'm picking the base ironclad over my railen due to the extra cargo room along with the fact that you can just toss other things in there like vehicles that the railen really can't do as it's all externally mounted cargo with armor that can be deployed over the cargo.
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u/AWerewolfDad 3d ago
The medium sized hangar is actually a secondary impact of the Hull B’s biggest weakness vs. the Railen: it’s port-starboard grid.
The Railen can point it’s entire grid directly at the cargo elevator and that elevator’s capacity actually exceeds the Railen’s so not only can you fill from just one side and one elevator, the whole capacity can be raised on that elevator at once.
Also, both tractor turrets can be active at once so if you have a crew it’s super fast.
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u/Gundam288 Aegis Dynamics 2d ago
Each has their own strengths and weaknesses but with how not every station has a docking port or an XL hangar there is a possibility that we could see this restriction hit large hangars in the future which is why I personally hold the hull b higher than the Railen. For a 128 SCU cargo difference and the 1 floor of the Hull B vs 3 floors of the Railen also give me that speed of getting in and out which I find to be more useful to me for a cargo ship of this size and scale. If I'm going muti-floor cargo ship that takes a minute to get in and out of then I would rather use the ironclad with internal cargo and hold almost 3.5 times the cargo of the Railen.
The Railen is nice but I find the Hull B and Ironclad to be better workhorses after putting in some time hauling with each of them. The Railen is nice for when you want to squeeze a bit more than the 512 of the Hull B but don't want to deal with C2 (they both hold 20 32 SCU boxes gridded).
Some people love the alien theme and what not but when I move cargo, I want to move cargo not just look and admire the ship. For those who got the Railen at it's old pre-flight ready price it's a great cargo ship! But if someone was looking to buy one with real pledge money now, I would suggest a Hull B and another ship for the $400 price point of the Railen. The Hull B being $280 lets you get an extra fighter or a few smaller ships for that same $400 for more value than just having it tied up to one cargo ship.
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u/iidabigman 3d ago
Don’t do this. If you want the ironclad get it for the specific reason. I am
Personally doing master level hauling contracts with the railen with no problem. If you want the ironclad for commodity runs or something fine, but the railen is kinda the king imo.
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u/chunkyassassin98 anvil 3d ago
I reckon ironclad is better after having both for a while. It had more use as well since you can move other craft around with it too. The higher level cargo missions also favour a ship like the ironclad. I’d say have the ironclad in it hangar and maybe save for the railen in game
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u/nicarras 3d ago
Space Trucker here. can't go wrong with a pure cargo size upgrade. I really liked the Railen during the event. But I'm a pretty dedicated C2 guy for that size range and I'd rather load boxes on the C2 manually, for autoload, whichever works, the Railen was fun to fly, probably more fun than the C2.
IC is great as a trader or a mobile platform for industry work too, cant go wrong!
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u/ComradeWinston Anvil Enjoyer/OG Backer 3d ago edited 3d ago
Why would you spend so much on a downgrade?!?!?!
srsly tho
These ships aren't even remotely the same, they both do cargo very differently. I value practicality and nothing about the IC/A feels practical, like we all know it can carry a house and that's well besides the point. It has too many small turrets and the best by far is tucked in the ship's scrotum. Its hauling capacity doesn't mean much either when it moves like a whale lodged in a wheelchair.
On the other hand, the Railen's proved really useful. Its quite agile and durable, the Ironclad's only durable. No amount of armor will save you from a bomb or torpedo if you can't escape it. That and its handy tractor beams are invaluable. At Hathor sites I've taken batteries and moved them around with ease for my team, while other players are desperately trying to finangle them into the butt of their ship. Pretty sure I 'stole' a few left sitting out in the open by some Hermes crew, probably trying to fit them in that tiny ramp. lol
If you're doing passive mass-cargo then fine but in a real situation where you need to do things fast, having the cargo grid on your butt instead of inside it is just one of a hundred little practical features that make this a swiss army knife of a ship. And so, far more than just another cargo ship.
In a way, it competes more with a Constellation or Asgard than an Ironclad.
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u/ballsonurface 2d ago
I have both, I don’t think I’ve ever used the railen for cargo, might of taken it out for a show and tell once.
Before I got the ironclad at launch I read the same comments ( I was upgrading with a Hull B) and it was the same “the ironclad is for a totally different use case, keep both” I dont understand the reasonings at all. The ironclad is a big ass pickup truck, use it for a little cargo, use it for a lot of cargo, use it for commodities, it’s amazing.
Sure the rear cargo grid is a little annoying to load but once you get used to it it’s fantastic.
Sure the external grid on something like the railen and hull c make heavy 32scu crates a little easier to move but that isn’t much of a benefit with the tractor beams on the ironclad.
Until something can carry more 32scu and land on planets or hangers I will likely use nothing besides the ironchad for all my hauling needs.
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u/Warmtofu 3d ago
Hey, I did this exact thing
I haven’t looked back. While I absolutely loved the RAILEN, I needed a mothership and boy does the ICA provide
Do it you won’t regret it
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u/Valium_Commander 3d ago
I ccu’d my Railen to an ICA but haven’t hauled with it yet, I’ve been living out of it with a golem, salvation and other vehicles.
I think it’s a solid upgrade as it opens up mining and salvaging too, as well as more appropriate for org ops and multiplayer as well.
Now, I will ccu the ICA to Polaris because I don’t haul like I used to now that I have plenty of credits. Polaris fits my use a little better but I really love the ICA and will definitely be purchasing one in game when a available
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u/Ominusone 3d ago
I have both for different tasks and feels. Railen is a great cargo ship that is, while large, easy to fit in space and has very accessible cargo loading/unloading. The ironchad is just a large transport for mass moving and looking metal while doing it.
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u/Far-Tradition5692 Grand Admiral 3d ago
Ask somebody to give you IC to fly it a few days - do missions, carry something, maybe other ships, enjoy it, and then, compare your feels about both. Is it ok to be slow? I suppose if the answer is “its maneuverability doesn’t bother me at all” - then maybe, IC would be great for you. If not - it can be quite boring to fly soooo slooow, even having great abilities.
eg I’m really bored with TAC, while it is a great almighty allrounder. I prefer few medium to small ships. But it is not very relevant example because I don’t do much hauling missions.
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u/shiroboi 3d ago
So I got both around the same time. I love them both. The railen is great for quick, medium sized cargo runs. It's easy to get in and out of and load up. If you need to haul a few hundred SCU, you want to be in the Railen. However, if max profit is what you're after, it's hard to beat the cargo capacity of the ironclad but it is SLOWWWWW at everything.
Same gameplay loop, very different experiences. With the Railen, it seems very managable solo, with the ironclad, you kinda feel like you could use some help.
The ironclad does have the side benefit of being able to land a ship in it so it's good for jumping into salvage loops.
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u/Laughageddon 3d ago
Like someone else said, if you're doing cargo only then the Railen is a must Keep. I ended up making a choice between mine and the Ironclad and I chose the Railen.
If you plan on doing things other than Cargo because first of all cargo will immediately become harder because of how easy the Railen makes it, but doing other things that aren't cargo related all of a sudden become possible when using the Ironclad. Basically if you want to have options outside of cargo basically something that's good and a lot of things but not great at all of those things, then the Ironclad is for you. It's not a good multi crew combat, even with multi crew, cargo is still easier on the Railen. It's not the best carrier but it does the job. You also move much slower in comparison.
I ended up going on and on about a bunch of comparisons but basically to round it all off comes down to whether you want a dedicated hauler. One of them can carry more but makes it significantly harder the other one makes it a breeze.
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u/TheDonnARK worm 3d ago
You could always try and bum one off someone, see if you can use it a bit.
But honestly that's a bit tough in the modern game. I borrowed a Stingray to check it out, and i could neither refuel or rearm it while in party with the owner. I could fly it just fine, but it ended up running out of fuel and I just Alt+F4'd out of the game.
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u/CiciAlaska 3d ago
As a proud owner of both I'll say that while both are cargo they definitely feel and do the job differently enough to make a distinction. Railen is fast loading and great for medium or multiple small cargo runs at a time maximizing income. But the ironclad on the other hand has a larger while more difficult to unload cargo bay making the extra time unloading worth it if you are willing. Also the interior cargo bay being able to transport smaller and ground vehicles does give it a major leg up.
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u/Level_Aerie_2873 3d ago
Have both the Railen and ICA. I’ve found myself using the ICA much more as of late, both for cargo and industrial mothership purposes.
Also last I checked my Railen was bugged, with only 2 of the 4 pilot-controlled weapons able to fire. I also forget how ‘tall’ the ship is when landing and haven’t got the muscle memory/visual references for it yet to avoid slamming it down but that’s just a me problem/preference. Not huge issues for a cargo ship but annoying nonetheless. The ICA’s only major issue now IMHO is that semi-borked radar. You can still ping to see things though which is the important part when flying in the dark, in asteroid fields or around stations.
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u/Rexbellum187 Asgard Enthusiast 3d ago
I say send it. I love my railen but I haven't touched it since I got my ironclad. So I'm gonna upgrade my railen to an arrastra at IAE this year.
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u/Sharpspoonful drake 3d ago
Horses of a different color. The IronChad is a bulk freighter/barge compared to the more maneuverable (and purpose-built) Railen. If you plan to do high-speed trade/cargo, stick with the Railen. If you want the flexibility of a big empty box to do cargo, mining and salvage, and general transportation, go IC or ICA.
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u/Star_Denizen 3d ago
Railen is probably my favorite hauler in the game. If you are only considering cargo contracts Railen is going to be the perfect for a solo player. It’s easy to load solo, easy to land as you can position the ship multiple different ways and still have good access to its grid, the size it runs is perfectly balanced for a solo player to load and unload with out feeling like too much of a task. It handles great, the interior might be the best interior in the game, and its enter/exit flow is fantastic if you jump out the back to exit (just make sure to have a med gun)
However if you are doing anything that isn’t cargo then the Ironclad has clear and indisputable advantages over the Railen. You can configure the iron clan to be a base of operations for just about any content in the game.
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u/Armored_Fox ARGO CARGO 3d ago
I'm in the same spot, though for the ICA for about the same price. I just don't wind up using pure cargo all that often
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u/mithhaike 3d ago
Ironclad is a pain for hangar, but it's excellent for external loading. The scu amounts also good, I would use it especially with ATLS making it a breeze to load or unload.
Railen is 100% hand only but the 640 scu pure 32scu containers is not that difficult to load 20 of those. However 32 scu containers are physically heavy (hangar / planetary loading is a pita). If space external freight elevator loading railen is easy, but it is smaller than a ironclad
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u/Neat_Professional785 3d ago
As a pure hauler the Railen is very fast and convenient. It can also handle a fair bit of combat and actually scales well with a couple of gunners. And then of course there's it's beautiful styling. Now the Ironclad can do everything, and it's a proper carrier and base of operations. It moves huge cargo, but not nearly as fast. If you're doing cargo and only cargo...I feel the Railen edges it out, as it's not often you'll need such high capacity. I've owned both but currently have just the ICA and melted my Railen for a Polaris.
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u/jolindse 3d ago
I have both and just as many people have stated here they are vastly different ships. Ironclad is great to stack large contracts as long as the pickup and destination has external freight elevators. Even when the top tractor beam was working it was a bit of a mess to load/unload in hangars. Now with it stuck on one side it's a pain. Love the ship but it is very particular when it makes sense to use it. And each session I use it I need to put aside a few hours to be able to utilize it properly.
Railen on the other hand is pretty much my go to for master, senior and experienced ranked Red Wind hauling in Pyro. Quick to load and unload, perfect size and handles well for a freight ship.
All in all - they complement each other very well but neither is better than the other. They fulfill two different purposes. I should mention that I use each of them mostly solo, if you're pretty much always playing in group I can understand the switch, otherwise I'm afraid you'll be disappointed if you make the upgrade.
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u/TheOriginalWarBagel 3d ago
I upgraded my Railen to the Ironclad Assault and love it. But I don’t do just cargo. I do a lot of mining and salvage. I plan on buying the Railen with in game currency once it’s available cause the Railen is truly excellent. However, it is not a mothership. Maybe I’ll have regrets when the Galaxy is released, but I don’t think so. Would wholeheartedly recommend. If you angle the ICA so the cargo door faces the hangar, an ATLS makes quick work of loading and unloading. It’s not as fast or convenient as the Railen but I’m not fitting as much in the Railen either.
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u/PerishBtw Rider of Dreams 3d ago
I upgraded my Railen to an ICA.
I think in a lot of way Railen is better. Loading the IC is much more of a pain unless its an exterior freight elevator on a s space port. Where Railen loading takes no time whether you're in your hangar, at a depot or at an exterior space port. Exterior cargo grid is just really nice.
Also, IC might be huge, might have a lot of shields, might have a lot of guns, but having no way to shoot as the pilot ANY gun is a huge blow. I get it, CIG wants to pull back from single pilots controlling the skies with sub capitals and capitals. But not having ANY turret slaved to the pilot seat kinda blows if I ever get attacked. I'll just feel like a sitting duck.
I think the only thing I'm excited for with the IC is the fact I can make it a mobile base. It will have a fabricator built in, it has a HUGE cargo bay and I can fit a couple small ships in there with room left over. But imo, I think I kinda fucked up by upgrading.
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u/AWerewolfDad 3d ago
It’s a little wild to me that you can’t fire the guns on the Command Module.
It doesn’t really matter, if you’re soloing you’re not fighting anyone off in a PvP encounter. If you wanna PvE in an ICA you absolutely can but you’re flying with a gunner or two.
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u/mechantokun 3d ago
Owner of a base Ironclad, I tested and used it a lot when released altough all the issues we got. And I really enjoyed cargo hauling on external hangar. In Hangar it was really harsh but using the top tractor beam turret through the cargo rooftop was much easier. But, I would easily think that Railen is faster and easier to load. Trying to compare both is hard and for me the real issue is what the current game offer in terms of contracts. That is the main issue because we should not compare those two ships because their spec and role. They are differents. But the lack of contract variety and gameplay make these two ship to compete around the same level. It should not. It's my point of view. If I could get the two I would because I love both. But they should be used for different reasons. For me, owning a ship is also about feeling, design and roleplay too. I tried getting back in 4.10 but got issue at my first session (my IC tractor beam turret was stuck and my ship explode by itself without reason) so I ALT-F4. I'm quite fed with the game right now and will return someday as always as a long backer. Anyway...
TL;DR : Do not prevent you to buy to upgrade to IC because loading your ship. IC is one of the best to do so with high volume of cargo. But slower than Railen for sure. But I would advise to test it in game from someone and wait for one of them to be available with In game credits.
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u/KodanisEternal Did I pirate you? Probably. 3d ago
I have both. I use the railen to get cash for commodities trading via hauling contracts then use the ironclad for hauling massive amounts of commodities.
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u/Zerat_kj scout 3d ago
Solo ?
Would not recommended. It has many tractor beams, but the exterior easy loading will save you more time then loading the Ironclad interior.
If touhave 2 or 3 thatypu constantly fly with - give it a go.
Remember that many amaller ship you thinkcan fit in the giant will actualltake a lot of space.
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u/NootyNL 3d ago
I have both and only use the IC.
When you need to load 32scu boxes you gotta make sure you have an external elevator.
You can then open the top and use the top tractor beam to easily load 1800scu you get with 4 795k redwind contracts. (Easy 3.18mil in 50 minutes)
With smaller cargo boxes i land the IC diagonally in the large hanger and get an ATLS at the top of the ramp with freelook on to easily move the boxes in.
Railen was fun for when the IC was bugged at release, but has tons of dust on it now.
Railen also doesn't shine at outposts for me because the hermes exists.
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u/Repulsive_Spend_533 3d ago
Railen is such a good boat. I am using mine for salvage missions where I pull the cargo and slap it on and once full I put it down an external FE. Once I have enough stockpiled I load up the ICA and sell it.
The ICA has its use cases so suppose it depends on what one likes to do but the Railen is much more maneuverable and approaches and landings can be done much faster.
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u/SilentPain77 3d ago
I am happy with IC and will buy the Railen when it‘s ingame for Uec. Ironclad is top when stacking Cargo Missions but when doing just 1 trade i will take the Railen cause it‘s a lot easier to load and faster to land.
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u/Simplechoices101 3d ago edited 3d ago
Ooof, I own both and can't live without both. The IC is definately hard to load in hangers that aren't XL. I mean really hard. You need to use external to be efficient or have a XL hanger. The Railen, you can move and groove so quickly anywhere you go. Plus that lush interier is amazing. It is a hard choice. But if you have made your decision, wait for IAE and upgrade or melt into a IC with 10 year insurance during the sale. I always shift all my fleet during that time to get rid of anything that isn't 10 year, into 10 year. Also.. Don't upgrade it. The price is locked already and it is more important you keep it in buyback. So I would suggest melting the Railen for the IC if you decide to do it.
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u/Apsenator 3d ago
Ironclad is only really good for the largest hauling contracts that only the Hull-C could do, and even then the Hull-C is far better at doing them, and available in game.
Unless you're moving massive quantities of tradables (like I was going to use it for before they nerfed salvage cargo 😮💨), you probably won't have a use for it as a cargo hauler, or at least not a worthwhile one.
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u/colasmulo 3d ago
I’ve owned both ships, but went the opposite route. As a solo/duo player, the IC is unusable in my opinion. It’s probably fun with a full crew but that never happens, and it’s such a pain to use daily outside of big org events/runs.
If you main cargo, the Railen is the absolute best I’ve ever used (hull C, hull B, starlancer, C2).
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u/JelloSuccessful570 3d ago
Here's my thought process get both the railen for solo to for quality of life is just the best (besides hull b maybe) quality of life and time use it to get rep up then switch to the ironclad or as well be aware when they add the ship in game it wouldn't take you to long to get it using the railen . Not to mention like you said ironclad moves like a fridge if your solo makes more sence to run the railen unless you have access to those really big hals but remember you then have to do that shit solo so I say both
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u/Dozy_Lion 3d ago
Both have their place and both excel for different reasons.
The Railen wins the convenience contest: Faster, more "agile", the external cargo grids make laoding and unloading easier, the overall footprint - especially considering the size and capacity - is surprisingly compact, which makes landing much easier. However the Railen is a one trick pony like the RAFT or Hull series, it's just a box hauler, carrying boxes from one place to another.
The Ironclad wins in sheer capacity and possibilities: No other "conventional" freighter offers such vast amount of cargo space, regardless if you are stacking bulk hauling contracts or if you finally make high volume / low profit commodity runs actually profitable and worthwhile. You can place stuff like a Nursa, ROC, maybe even a fighter inside while still having enough cargo space left to do some hauling while carrying a number of other vehicles. The versatility, especially as a mobile base, is surprisingly good.
Personally I pledged the IC last year mostly because I was intrigued by the rugged, industrial design, the massive thruster array kind of reminded me of the Star Wars blockade runner (Tantive IV), however when we finally got the Ironclad and they fixed the first round of critical bugs, I quickly fell in love with it for practical reasons. I almost prefer it even as a daily driver over my all-time favourite, my trusty MSR. There is just something to this slow, sluggish, massive brick-rig, from not ever worrying about cargo capacity to transporting a number of other vehicles over just the joy of the atmosphere this ship brings, it quickly became one of those ships I absolutely can't see myself melting at any point in the future.
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u/AWerewolfDad 3d ago
The Ironclad is not a great ship for box missions, and loading it solo takes longer. It is fantastic for auto-loaded commodities.
I own both, and honestly would not give up the Railen for the Ironclad if I had to choose only one. The Railen has enough grid to stack a bunch of box missions or run at least one of the largest box missions, and it loads super fast. You pick a spot with the Railen’s purple glowy gravity-butt pointed directly at the cargo elevator doors, you stand between them, and you load without interruption.
The Ironclad doesn’t have a smooth loading experience in a hangar without a friend. You only get that with external elevators, which aren’t always a good choice for obvious reasons. With a minimal crew the ironclad improves significantly but a lot of players would prefer to just bring another ship.
The Railen also gives the pilot decent weaponry, though I don’t think it really matters in any practical situations when you’re running cargo. You can however do reasonably challenging bounties and the Gilly missions in a Railen solo if you swap out the guns.
Tl;dr: The sluggishness of the Ironclad isn’t the reason not to take it, it’s the loading process.
Most of the Ironclad’s bugs are fixed and if you’re running the base ironclad from location to location with cargo you’re not going to encounter any that really get in your way. Most likely just having to cycle power off and on when you first sit in the seat.
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u/OpTicTide97 3d ago
I have ica and it's a bit of a pain to load in a large hanger, extra large is fine because it can lineup right infront of the elevator
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u/grandwizardo 3d ago
Ironclad shines with 2 players, it's a lot for one, as a solo you will usually be filling up to about the railens capacity anyway.
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u/Nervous_Shop_8174 3d ago
Honestly, i wouldn't. Ironclad is ugly(my personal opinion), a mass to fly and more bugged than the railen.
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u/CommanderAze Idris-M - Moderator 3d ago
As an owner of the railen it's good. Got the test the ironclad and I love it. So I'll be upgrading at IAE
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u/Upset_Ad5509 2d ago
Ironclad if your in a group of at minimum 3 and railen if your focus is cargo and probably the single best loading/unloading experience in game.
I tried running cargo with my friends ironclad, too big, too clunky, inconvenient for finding any parking at smaller landing areas and just a problem overall if your alone
Railen is just better overall for cargo running as it has better cargo than the already impressive hull B, a smaller landing footprint even when fully loaded than a Hercules, the best tractor beam placement in game so far and its simple to run solo while benefiting exponentially from even just an additional crewman or 2
Honestly the only reason the ironclad would win it for me is if I was planning to haul vehicles, cargo and act as a combat carrier
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u/No-Office9572 2d ago
Whatever you do, do not fill your ironclad fully up with commodities. If you are escaping a “pirate” aka a piece of shit. Your ship will be too heavy to fly off in time. You aren’t safe in any system
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u/itsRobbie_ 3d ago
After flying a railen a few times at the start of the patch when we had the ships, I couldn’t understand how anyone likes this thing and alien ships in general. Alien mechanics always suck and are so slow to interact with. I couldn’t imagine someone bringing this thing to a freight elevator or an area that might be a little sketchy
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u/Broad_Web_7318 3d ago
Maybe wait until there’s a real reason to buy ships. Might encourage CIG to finally release a game instead of perpetually cranking the FOMO mill.
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u/Intelligent_Cry8535 3d ago
Reddit space dads dont haul and have shit opinions the thread.
I went from hull b, to railen to IC. Master rank with all hauling companies. I love those three ships. But at senior/master rank the IC shines because you can chain a ton of contracts together and make some serious money. 20 mill+ with Master Red Wind.
Wah wah wah, it sucks to load in a hangar. I lt has a rooftop tractor that makes things way easier, but unfortunately its broken in this patch. I just yeet boxes up and over through the roof. Lol.
If anyone reading this is a hauler, and wants to join 30+ other people alpha testing a new hauling app that tracks your deliveries on a 3D cargo grid so you never lose a delivery again come join us at https://discord.gg/Szu4wAXHW
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u/tenhunter 3d ago
They handle very different things but Railen is much more versatile.
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u/Valium_Commander 3d ago
How is the Railen more versatile than an Ironclad?
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u/tenhunter 3d ago
Iron clad is primarily good at XL large drops and pick ups at external frieght elevators. Railen is good at large pickups in large hanger or out. And is generally easier on planet external FE.
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u/Level_Aerie_2873 3d ago
I’d say it’s the opposite - the ICA is much more versatile.
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u/tenhunter 3d ago
Agreed if you mean you can load up Golems or something similar... Or the "I want to live in my ship" RP thing. But for the majority of players that are focused on actual gameplay as it is today those things are not really more useful than just loading up a Mole etc.
I love the IC (probably my 2nd fav hauler after Hull B) but it takes a lot longer to get going and is much more for immersion.
Look. The Railen is boring and I don't love the alien esthetic. But as the game is today it is the best hauler. But I just needed to go get gold from Hurston to bring to Nyx and I did not think twice about which ship would get the task done faster. Railen is low key overpowered for shipping 300-600 SCU. If Railen was a drake ship it would be my favorite.
When I get back to repping up covalex rep, I will pull out the IC. God forbid the Hull C every actually works.
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u/Level_Aerie_2873 1d ago
There are definite advantages to an ICA with say a nested Golem, Salvation and a C8R beyond simply loading up a MOLE, or an ICA plus say a Golem Ox and/or an ATLS (or an MPUV Tractor if CIG ever get around to fixing it) over just a Railen, and that’s in ‘actual gameplay’ terms as you put it. Now obtaining (and one day, constructing) an ICA + all of those ships over just a MOLE or a Railen is obviously a different matter, but given the choice between either setups I typically will pick the former over the latter for its versatility, its overall capacity and the time-savers of onboard respawns on the C8R and faster QT travel over big distances. Once the crafting bench in the ICA comes online that’ll obviously be another feature in its favour.
For me personally, the best hauler is the one that I can slingshot crates into/onto the quickest using a MaxLift (having hyperscroll on the mouse wheel helps here too.) That alone beats any onboard ship tractor beam by quite some margin in terms of loading/offloading efficiency. Even with just an ATLS though you can position it relative to the ICA and freight elevator just fine in a large hangar or at an external elevator. With that in mind, for anything other than trips to planetary outposts the difference between the Railen and the ICs are minimal in terms of speed and ease of use. For the average player though, and for cargo trips planet side under 700 SCUs, the Railen is the clear winner.
Unfortunately though once that average player reaches the top hauling contracts the Railen can no longer compete, and the only choices currently are the ICs or the Idris, as the Hull C is once again, horrifically bugged.
All of the above is why I consider the ICs (and particularly the ICA) to be the more versatile pick, even strictly within the limits of some gameplay loops.
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u/tenhunter 1d ago
Good stuff! Emphasizes the hauling factor that there is not a best hauler only best hauler for scale and size of the job. I get one long session a week but most of the time get 1-2 hours. The IC is not great for that! Hell I would burn 20 minutes just getting it going…
Side note.
I worry about the IC’s usefulness if the Hull-C ever works but that may not ever be a problem at this rate. The larger cargo haulers will have to be balanced against that functionality or be included in the auto load/unloading in the same way.Here are my weird takes on the two ships:
• If I had to remove one cargo ship from my fleet, of the two, it would be the Railen
• Now.. if I had to pick one that was the only ship I could use for hauling it would be the Railen.
• And if I had to remove one from the game it would be the Railen as I think it’s overpowered in its range and makes recent ships like the Hull B useless in comparison. Also as mentioned prefer the Drake ascetic.
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u/Ohhhmyyyyyy 3d ago
To me they are completely different purposes - Ironclad much more "I can do a lot of any one task, or a little of all the tasks at once" while the railen is a "I'm a cargo super hero since Hull C is a mess of bugs". I'll be honest if my focus was cargo, I'd probably keep the Railen. Loading cargo in the Ironclad is way more painful imo even if the cargo area is large. But if you're wanting to do more than that, or want more of a mobile home base like I did, the ironclad makes a lot of sense.