Frigate

Frigates are the fourth class of Warships, unlocked at level 40, and the first to gain access to the powerful 0.8i Chetherite Particle Shield, as well as Phasers and Heavy Turrets.

Frigates are countered by Destroyers as well as coordinated groups of Fighters or Gunships. They usually are able to deal with Corvettes on their own, but will need support to actually finish one off in most cases.

Specifications

• Must be a minimum of 4,000 blocks
• Can be a maximum of 8,000 blocks (8,800 if oversized)
• Can have a single 0.8i Particle Shield (at 7,500+ size)
• Can fire a single Light Turret
• Can fire up to 3 Heavy Turrets (at 6,500+ size)
• Can fire up to 2 Point Defense Turrets (Needs clarification)
• Can fire up to 2 Torpedoes
• Can fire up to 2 Heavy Lasers (at 8,000+ size)
• Can fire a single Phaser (at 4,630+ size)
• Can fire a single Tri-Turret

Subclasses

Micro Frigate, typically 4,000 Blocks. Primarily used as an automated base defense platform, both for planetary installations as well as starbases.

Light Frigate, usually 4,893-4,899 Blocks. Equipped with phasers; solid in a support role at range.

Attack Frigate, usually 6,500 Blocks. Specialized craft that can utilize Heavy Turrets and Phasers alike to eliminate enemies.

Heavy Frigate, usually 8,000 Blocks. Hefty capital ships that utilize enhanced shields to defend critical components. and bolster durability.

Light Frigate

Light Frigate
Flying Phasers
Vask Authority's Light Frigate.
Stats
Block count	4,630-6,499 (Generally 4,893-4,899)
Shield count	8
Movement Speed	~22-23/9.6
Properties
Weapons	1x Phaser 1x Light Turret 1x Tri Turret 20x Laser Cannon

Light Frigates, also known as 4.9ks, are a subclass of Frigates which occupy a unique niche set apart from both similarly-sized Corvettes and larger, heavier Frigate variants. They are fast platforms that, with an armament of phasers for breaking shields but very little in the way of hull-breach finishers, depend a lot more on pilot skill when it comes to matchups against enemies in duels.

They often have a front bridge to most effectively utilize their Plasma Cannon or Laser Cannon primary weapons; however, they're smaller than their Attack Frigate and Heavy Frigate cousins and can thus dodge enemy capital ship attacks. Light frigates are primarily tuned to counter large capital ships like Destroyers, being able to conduct hit-and-runs to whittle down slower targets.

Capable of firing upwards of 20 Laser Cannons at once while not being able to use either Pulse Cannons or Heavy Turrets, these ships are in a unique position to supplement the high shield damage of phasers while punching above their weight in ability to deal hull damage. Historically, though, few Light Frigates have been built to take advantage of this.

Light Frigates were heavily utilized by RentDueYesterday, Vask Authority, and Vega. They also saw limited use by Cortesia Del Mar and Imperial Nova.

XiJinping_ in particular is famous for using light frigates very effectively.

Attack Frigate

Attack Frigate (6.5k)
Glass Cannon
The Juno, Imperial Nova's Attack Frigate.
Stats
Block count	6,500-7,499 (Generally 6500-6599)
Shield count	10
Movement Speed	~20-21 (cruise) 7.9 (dc)
Properties
Weapons	1x Phaser 3x Heavy Turret 1x Light Turret 1x Tri Turret

Attack Frigates, also known as 6.5ks, are a subclass of Frigate which have the firepower of a full sized frigate, at the cost of being significantly more fragile due to lacking a chetherite shield. Their main advantage over larger frigates is their speed, as well as slightly faster shield regeneration. Attack Frigates are usually countered by Destroyers, while being a counter to Light Frigates, and can usually fend off Corvettes and Gunships without too much difficulty.

Attack Frigates are the smallest ships in the game capable of starting, holding, and contesting a Siege Station.

Attack Frigates are typically referred to as "6.5k"s by experienced ship-builders, as these ships must have a block count of at least 6500 in order to fire Heavy Turrets, which are their primary weapon. These ships are typically made with block counts as close to 6500 as possible, in order to maximize the benefits that they receive from being a smaller ship (faster movement speed, faster shield regeneration, and a smaller profile).

As ships below 7500 blocks cannot support an 0.8i shield, attack frigates are the largest subclass in the game not to employ an 0.8i shield; the lack of a reinforced shield makes these ships comparatively fragile, as they struggle to protect the vulnerable starship components (such as the cockpit) that larger ships employ 0.8i shields to secure.

Attack Frigates were heavily utilized by both sides during the Horizon Federation-RentDueYesterday War. In modern times, attack frigates are rarely used. The most notable attack frigate pilot operating on Horizon's End today is _omni of Radiance, who has employed this ship class to defend Ilios Alliance members from pirates such as z4nityy.

Attack Frigates are regarded by some players as the ideal choice for sinking a battlecruiser with non-supercapital warships; however, this has not yet been tested on the survival server, as to sink the battlecruiser CATACLYSM, which was the first battlecruiser sunk in combat, the Ilios Alliance opted to employ a fleet of 8k and 9.7k warships instead.

Heavy Frigate
A Gateway To Greatness
The Bayezid is Arimfea's main heavy Frigate.
Stats
Block count	7,500-8,000
Shield count	12
Movement Speed	19/7.1
Properties
Weapons	1x Phaser 3x Heavy Turret 1x Light Turret 1x Tri Turret
Well Strength	1
Jump Strength	1
Ship Info	Interdiction Range: 2,400m

Heavy Frigate

Heavy Frigates are the main subclass of Frigates. They are powerful, reasonably sturdy vessels capable of dishing out punishment as well as taking it. However, they're typically too slow to deal with smaller ships effectively, and thus benefit greatly from an escort vessel to handle harassers.

With access to several weapons (torpedoes, heavy lasers, triple turrets, phasers, plasma cannons, laser cannons, light turrets, heavy turrets, and point defense turrets), it may be difficult to decide what should and should not go on such a warship. Most players make their main armament with several shield-breaking phasers facing all directions, accompanied by heavy turrets for steady, general purpose damage output. Alternative weaponsets usually include HTs, but with a different heavy weapon to compensate; the most common are triple turrets and occasionally even torpedoes; heavy lasers are usually not worth putting on a frigate.

Heavy Frigates have access to 0.8i-class Chetherite Shields, incredibly resilient shield generators which take 90% less damage from all sources as long as the shield itself is above 80% power. As such, most players tend to concentrate their bridge, concrete, and navigational systems inside the chetherite shield for added protection. It is worth noting that since shield regeneration will prioritize the lowest value first, taking a lot of hits on other shields will weaken the chetherite shield's regeneration rate.

Heavy frigates are usually the first capital ship that less experienced pilots will obtain; many such pilots will go on to make the mistake of thinking they can "just shoot down" anything small that comes close. However, with a slow ship speed and relatively sluggish projectile speed, heavy frigates are vulnerable to being whittled away at by teams of closely-linked strike fighters and gunships.