SF Mara (Terrans)

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File:Mara320x240.jpg
The SF Mara (Terrans)

The SF Mara was an advanced starfighter used by the Shivans during their incursion into the galaxy in 2367. It is known that the SF Mara was one of the first fighter classes that were spotted and designated after the destruction of the GTC Vigilant. Terran operatives acquired four of these fighters and retrofitted them to Terran standards. Then, Special Operations Command launched a mission beyond the second Knossos device to reconnoiter the area.

Description:

FS2 Tech Room Description

The SF Mara class of Shivan fighters was first encountered by the GTC Vigilant while patrolling the Gamma Draconis jump node in the Capella system. All other information concerning the Mara is classified level Psi.

Developer Notes

None

Performance:

Statistics

Type	Advanced Space Superiority
Manufacturer	Triton Dynamics
Maneuverability	Excellent
Yaw, Pitch, Roll	75.0 - N/A s
Max Velocity	135.0 ms-1
Max Afterburner Velocity	Very Heavy ms-1
Armor	475
Hitpoints	700
Shields	17.8
Length	{{{10}}} m

Armaments

• Gun Mounts

FreeSpace 2
Bank	Guns	Standard Loadout
1st	2	UD-8 Kayser
2nd	2	UD-8 Kayser

• Missile Banks

FreeSpace 2
Bank	Capacity	Standard Loadout
1st	105	Tempest
2nd	105	Tempest

Veteran Comments

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Easily one of the best fighters, if not the best. A simple joy to fly. Only weak point is the 4 gun mounts, but even then the other stats are so ridiculous you can wreak havoc.

Superior to the Shivan original Mara just like Snipes says.

As odd as it sounds, Into the Lion's Den is actually somewhat unkind to the Terran Mara, as you spend most of your time scrambling between widely spaced targets and don't really get the chance to stop and dogfight it much. Still, as can be seen from the above commentary, even a tiny taste of the SF Mara (Terrans) capablities is enough to make most people fall in love.

Best. Damn. Ship. Ever. Too bad Volition didn't make a mission where you could exploit it to its fullest extent.

My favorite fighter in the game. Sure, you could say the Erinyes has 8 gun banks to the Mara's 4, but the Mara has nearly twice the missile capacity and is significantly faster and more maneuverable.

A dream to fly. It's beyond a doubt the best fighter you can get your hands on. The only downside, as stated before, is four primary mounts and that the single mission doesn't really give you many chances to dogfight with it.

The Mara is a dream come true for any GTVA pilot. Not only is it very agile, it has a large afterburner capacity and cavernous missile banks. This, coupled with a massive reactor core that generates and recharges enough power to fire Kaysers like Subachs, makes the Mara superior to any other GTVA fighter in almost every, if not every, respect. To get an idea of how big the Mara's banks are, here are some statistics: it can hold 42 Harpoons in each of its two missile banks. That equates to 84 Tornados per bank. Not even the GVF Tauret can compare to that.

Some credit the Mara with an ultra-powerful reactor because of its ability to shoot twin Kaysers with minimal energy drain, but before one uses that point, one must bear in mind that it only has four gun mounts. A Perseus can do the same thing. Even so, the speed and maneuverability of the Mara allow it get right up close to enemies, so often times primary firepower isn't really a problem.

How the hell does SOC fit so many missiles into this thing?! It's smaller than the Ares, yet it has even larger missile banks! And the armor isn't that thin, the Comm Nodes just explode VERY violently (antimatter, perhaps?). In any case, this is the uber-fighter. No serious weaknesses, and thick enough shields to take the brunt of any standard fighter weapon, including the UD-8 Kayser. If the GTVA could mass-produce these...

The Terran Mara is far more powerful than any canon Terran, Vasudan, or Shivan fighter. It has the missile capacity of the Ares and Tauret, somewhat better armor than the Ares, the shielding of a medium bomber, and the speed and maneuverability of a space superiority fighter. It doesn't even suffer from the usual weakness of Shivan fighters, namely a weak hull. The only real downside to this awesome fighter is that it has four gun mounts - average for a space superiority fighter, but not really consistent with the otherwise grossly overpowered theme of this craft.

I do think that the SF Mara (terrans) is the best fightercraft in the game. While it may have only four gunpoints, with two guns to each of the two banks, one might think that this may be a weakness--it really isn't. The Kayser can be fired for some time before running low on power, even from both banks when they are linked together, so this "weakness" isn't very significant. (On Insane I would say that doing the same thing drains the power quite a bit faster, but it still has a higher weapon energy capacity and higher recharge rate than virtually any fighter in the GTVA.) However, it does have a weakness that is much more serious than this, which isn't very obvious at first, and it's the fact that it's only compatible with the following Primaries: the Subach HL-7 and the Kayser, and no other gun. Nevertheless, this being the most serious weakness for this fighter, it doesn't really do much to it, since the Kayser is widely thought as being the best weapon in the game. Plus, even if you can't carry the Maxim to disarm capships from afar, the heavy shielding and hull of the Terran Mara can allow you to get up close to turrets in order to knock them out and not take a lot of damage to yourself while doing it (though using Trebuchets is a better idea, since there isn't as much risk involved). Needless to say, this is the ship that trades in Primary Weapon Compatibility for high energy capacity/recharge rate, even a higher secondary payload, higher shielding and hull than the original Mara while retaining its well-known maneuverability. Even though in the Main Campaign you fly it only once, it's a treat.