Assault carriers are the most expensive ships in the game, and the most powerful carriers. The main difference comes in their special aircraft slot; the bomber. But how do they compare to each other? In today’s post, I’ll be comparing the three assault carriers: RF Shtorm, USS Enterprise and CN Type 004.
Shtorm’s armaments
Enterprise’s armaments
Type 004’s armaments
First I’ll be comparing the two carriers you can purchase with dollars, then I’ll compare the one objectively better to Type 004, which can be bought for gold.
Enterprise vs Shtorm
Shtorm’s advantages over Enterprise:
- A 2x missile slot
- Better AA defense
- It’s cheaper
Enterprise’s advantages over Shtorm:
- A drone
- More autocannons
- More HP
- More speed
- A slightly smaller hitbox
- Better stock equipment
On paper, Enterprise has more advantages over Shtorm. However, they are not equally meaningful. For example, one more autocannon or 10k more HP does not justify the lack of missiles. The real advantage Enterprise has over Shtorm is obviously a drone. The drone can be a tiebreaker, depending on your playstyle.
Offline
In offline, Enterprise prevails. It’s one extra autocannon and a drone are simply more effective at dealing damage to bots and their stupid unbreakable missile air defense than Shtorm’s missiles. Because bots do not suffer from the same latency as real players, their air defense is more powerful. Not to mention Enterprise has more HP and the customizable AA is more useful at blocking the bot’s missiles which will most often be the stock blue ones such as X-35 or Granit. On the other hand, Enterprise will be less effective against aircraft, however. The bot aircraft are less of a threat offline because they are not upgraded and the bots have a skill issue anyway. Enterprise is more effective in helicopter killing missions as well.
Online
In online, Shtorm is your best pick. With DF-17 missiles and A-22 grenade launchers equipped, it can more than rival Enterprise’s damage output, even when you’re busy piloting aircraft. Shtorm’s AA defense is special: the S-400 alone is better than 6 customizable AA slots on Enterprise, and here’s why:
- It has the most range out of all missile AA in the game
- It has a consistent damage output, being able to reload in half a second and dealing close to 600 damage in a single shot
- It has blast radius damage, meaning all missiles launched from an aircraft being shot at by S-400 will be destroyed before they actually come out of the aircraft, making it impossible to shoot Shtorm with the aircraft’s missiles while it’s focusing on you.
The hp and speed matter less, since online, you need to focus on dealing as much damage as possible as fast as possible, not surviving. Shtorm is better online.
Conclusion
Shtorm for online, Enterprise for offline. Simple! But which one should you buy first? I think your choice should be Shtorm. Yes, Enterprise is better for offline, but that does not mean Shtorm is not viable. It’s just not as good. But it can do both, unlike Enterprise, which is only good for offline grinding. That is why Shtorm is objectively better.
CN Type 004 (oh no)
Then boom, Type 004 comes around! If you can buy Type 004, it instantly becomes the best option for you. Here are its advantages over other carriers:
- It’s quite fast, the fastest of the assault carrier -class
- It has 2 helicopters which can help you with defending yourself from bombers (Osprey) or destroying ships at close range more easily (the Hind or Marineon)
- It has 8 AA slots which are better than both Enterprise’s and Shtorm’s for defending against missiles and multiple planes at the same time. If you have 8 THEL lasers equipped, its DPS is much higher than S-400’s, therefore it’s better for shredding bombers and drones.
- It has the best stock equipment, you don’t need to change aircraft, autocannons, the drone, or the bomber. You can even sell the aircraft for extra 2.25k gold, although I don’t recommend it.
Type 004 is the best option as an assault carrier, being better or equal to other carriers at everything except the HP which is about 5k less than Enterprise and the missiles, but it doesn’t need them. While it costs a pretty penny, being the most expensive gold ship in the game, I still highly recommend buying it as soon as you can. It’s an almost perfect carrier, I love it.
