It’s been 6 months since my first garage ship review went up and two seasons have gone by since then, with the current (9.X) bringing major changes to how all garage ships are outfitted and priced. The first review was very successful and many people both used and enjoyed it. Hopefully my candid, no-holds-barred evaluation of the ships will help you make an informed decision on what to buy and highlight what changes some of the long-time garage ships underwent. Getting this guide out has been a huge undertaking, some parts of the guide may look familiar in an effort to cut some time out (and it’s still pertinent). Please enjoy.
Also, the table of contents system is a bit bugged and only works for the first ship or two, sorry.
The purpose of this post is to both objectively and subjectively evaluate all garage ships currently being offered and give this information to the community to allow feedback based on the stats/price/ability of each ship. If you’ve bought a garage ship, this is the place to provide your feedback. If you’re new and/or looking for opinions on what to buy, read my comments below each ship.
TheState’s Take on the Garage
When I joined HWS I was really impressed with the garage, among all the other unique features to the server. What I saw were very nice looking ships with unique abilities. I believe the garage ships should absolutely bring something new and refreshing to the table but be balanced - both in ability and price. I also think they should have effort put into them to look decent. These are ships that are being showcased by the top Empyrion server!
I’m going to be critical of their aesthetics as well as other factors you might not be seeing from their garage page post. That will also be subjective to the individual, some of you may disagree with me. Let me know below, this is a discussion for the community and I am far from the only voice.
From this point on, my personal comments will be in italics. This will separate my opinions from objective evaluation of the blueprints or garage in general.
Garage Ship General Info
Check out the garage ship page for all the info on Garage Ship limits, discounts, and rules. Also, HWS Garage Ships is the official HWS “catalog” of ships, though it doesn’t always have easily references and searched stats like I’ve tried to create here.
NOTE: As of the date of publication, new garage ship submissions are not being accepted but should be coming as per the garage ship submission section.
Below is an image of what garage ship submissions looked like in the past in case anyone is interested in starting construction for when submissions open up:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/384857033796616192/491369463749410826/unknown.png
Season 9 and 9.X brought about standardization of garage ship prices, shown in the table below. Most ships seem to abide by the price guidelines here.
| Price | Component |
|---|---|
| for free | Medic Stations |
| for free | Medical Stations Type 1-4 |
| for free | Showers |
| for free | Fridges |
| for free | Food Processors |
| for free | Repair Stations |
| for free | ATMs |
| for free | Sentry Guns |
| for free | Detectors |
| ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: | ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
| 5m cr | Alien Core (NPC Core) |
| ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: | ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
| 1m cr | per Weapon from other ship type |
| 1m cr | per overlimit Weapon (Only allowed on Fighters. Max. +2 overlimit Weapons per weapon type allowed.) |
| 1m cr | CV Thrusters (on SV/HV) |
| 1m cr | T2 RCS (on SV/HV) |
| 1m cr | per overlimit Drill (max. 10 overlimit allowed) |
| 1m cr | per Large or Advanced Constructor (on SV/HV) |
| 1m cr | per Furnace |
| 1m cr | per Deconstructor |
| 1m cr * Size Class (SC) | Combat Steel Blocks L and/or Xeno Steel Blocks (on SV/HV) |
| 1m cr * Size Class (SC) | (Armored) Concrete (Only allowed on HV Tanks.) |
| ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: | ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
| 500k cr | Growing Plots + Plants (on HV/SV) |
| 500k cr | Repair Bay and Console (on HV/SV) |
| 500k cr | per Drill Turret from other ship type |
| 500k cr | per Multiturret from other ship type |
| ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: | ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
| not allowed | BA Turrets on SV/HV/CV |
Garage Ship Evaluations
Ships are in alphabetical order
Andromeda (CV)
Price: 8m
Size Class: 7.36 (26,066 blocks)
Armor: Combat Steel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Exploration
Features:
- 2 Furnaces
- Fully Stocked Garden
- Deconstructor
Comments: First off, the Andromeda is a beautiful ship. The designer did a fantastic job bringing it to life in Empyrion and making it one of the most unique ships on the market. The arches outside also translate inside where circular hallways and doorways add a very futuristic feel. The ship is clearly built for PVE but comes with a mostly full complement of weapons. Unfortunately, I feel that this ship would upclass to 8 fairly quickly in any significant PVP or even PVE battles, though it would be able to handle itself decently for a garage CV not meant for PVP. At only 8 million credits, this would be a great exploration CV for PVE or passing through PVP playfields.
Astroworm (CV)
Price: 7m
Size Class: 0.65 (591 blocks)
Armor: Combat Steel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Mining
Features:
- 10x Laser Drills
- 1x Furnace
Comments: The Astro Worm is a cheap CV that has one job only: mining asteroids. No frills, just a barebones miner. Exterior is underwhelming. It is essentially a tube with thrusters. That said, it isn’t plainly done or haphazardly put together. The interior is well done and was a surprise to me after the fairly plain exterior. There is room to squeeze in extras inside as it only comes with one constructor. The exterior, while an improvement over its previous seasons’ look, is still fairly plain by garage standards.
Badger X2 (HV)
Price: 7m
Size Class: 0.75 (642 blocks)
Armor: Hardened Steel
Power: CV thrusters, Regular core.
Purpose: Mining
Features:
- 2x Furnaces
- 14x Drills
Comments: The badger isn’t flashy, but it has character. Low-profile, unique design that I feel fits in with other garage ships. It’s appropriately priced for what it can do. While surface mining is what this ship excels at, it can also make a very effective mining tank with its CV thrusters and low block count. This was one of the few ships not majorly affected by the garage ship changes, though the constructors were replaced by furnaces.
Companion X3 (SV)
Price: 18m
Size Class: 1.49 (2852 blocks)
Armor: Xenosteel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Exploration
Features:
- 1x Furnace.
- 1x Deconstructor
- 2x Adv Constructors
- 1x ATM
- CV Warpdrive Tank
- 6x CV Laser Drills
- 18x Grow Plots
Comments: The companion fills a unique role in the garage that no other SV really touches as a mobile base. Class 1 means it can go anywhere and the xenosteel armor makes it an effective exploration ship. Lots of cargo space is available. The exterior looks nice and the interior isn’t too shabby either. With the use of supergates (as its warp range is limited by its SV warp drive), I can see this ship as a viable companion for POI and supply runs. The X2 update made large improvements to the interior and added a deconstructor while the X3 update cleaned up the exterior, added the CV laser drills, and added additional grow plots. The interior is crisp, clean, and very functional for a player looking for a one-stop shop style SV.
Draupnir (CV)
Price: 13m
Size Class: 4.96 (10,438 blocks)
Armor: Combat Steel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Exploration/Mining
Features:
-
16x Mining CV lasers
-
1x Furnace
-
1x Deconstructor
-
Robust Logic systems
-
Intended to interface with the Maur, Evanmaur, and Mjolnir.
Comments: There’s a reason this ship has been a HWS Garage veteran: it’s beautiful. Very pretty outside, well-done inside. Other than that, its big selling point nowadays is the 16 mining lasers it comes with. In the past it was more for light combat with overlimit weapons before its 9.X transition to more of an exploration/miner role.
This CV is a good starter CV if you don’t have a good one for light combat against both SVs and CVs, though I would use it more for exploring and as a “daily driver”, if you will.
Evanmaur (SV)
Price: 11m
Size Class: 1.75 (1,167 blocks)
Armor: Hardened Steel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Utility
Features:
- 64x Labeled Cargo Boxes
- 1x Deconstructor
- 2x Furnaces
- 2x Adv Constructors
- 1x Shower
- 1x Food processor
- 1x Medic Station (CV)
- 1x Armor Repair Station (CV)
Comments: . Another ship that’s been around a while, the Evanmaur is very nice looking and fills the role of a mobile processing and storage SV. This ship is comparable to the Foundry and the Maur, which both are better at what they do individually. The Evanmaur has a built-in door for autominer maintenance and recovery that perfectly fits them for easy access in the field. The Evanmaur combines those two into one ship to become a jack-of-all-trades in the utility SV market.
Expusition X2 (SV)
Price: 11m
Size Class: 1.89 (2,292 blocks)
Armor: Hardened Steel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Combat
Features:
- 1x Repair Station
- 1x Medic Station (BA)
- 2x CV T2 RCS Blocks
- 2x Sentry Guns (CV)
- 6x Rail Guns
- 8x Pulse Lasers
Comments: The Expusition looks great and has a unique feel to it but has been almost completely reworked for 9.X. No more are the massive amounts of railguns but only 6, 2 over the limit. The sides and bottom are still well protected with shutter blocks. The interior is cramped which is expected in its role. The body is hardened steel which offers little protection if being fired on by a base or HV and the cockpit is very close to the front of the ship and would require repositioning or up-armoring to be feasible in combat. The weapons were updated and changed by Paxxo to make more sense in the current PVP meta. Weapons are more tucked and no longer exposed, though the class size is now .1 larger.
Fenrir X2 (HV)
Price: 13m
Size Class: 2.33 (2,738 blocks)
Armor: Armored Concrete
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Combat
Features:
- 1x Repair Station (CV)
- 8x Rocket Launcher Turrets (HV)
- 4x Rail Guns (SV)
- 8x Rocket Launchers (SV)
Comments: As one of the designers of this ship, I can’t fairly review it. I will say that while we were creating it, we did choose a very unique look that makes it stand out. We tried to balance it to not be overpowered while making it unique, aesthetically pleasing, and useful. It has a detailed interior and is easily rearranged for whatever you plan to use it for. I can, however, comment on the changes done by Ju for the 9 and 9.X seasons. Railguns have been added to make it even more powerful for taking up against bases or against other tanks while the changes to HV turret counts allows for less risk of losing irreplaceable overlimit turrets.
Foundry (SV)
Price: 16m
Size Class: 0.43 (354 blocks)
Armor: Combat Steel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Utility
Features:
- 4x Furnaces
- 4 Adv Constructors
- 1x CV T2 RCS
Comments: Like the Evanmaur, the foundry is a mobile processing station. The foundry, however, is now more expensive and but still has more processing power. As far as aesthetics, I believe the foundry to be at the bare minimum of detail of what a garage ship should have. At the end of the day, this is a ship I could take or leave. The price is a major turnoff unless you really need the extra mobile processing power. Given the choice between this and an Evanmaur, I’d chose the latter.
Hercules (CV)
Price: 27m
Size Class: 3.69 (5,006 blocks)
Armor: CV Combat Steel Blocks
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Fighter
Features:
- 4 HV Artillery Turrets
- 6 HV Plasma Turrets
- 6 HV Rocket Turrets
- 6 SV Railguns
- 2 HV Multiturrets
- ATM
Comments: One of the newer additions to the garage, the Hercules looks really slick. Very good aesthetics and interior flow. The cool thing about these types of ships is that they can fire most of their weapons on planet and in space, allowing them to be very flexible in a PVP battlespace. This particular ship, however labeled as a fighter, is not. This would require some major modifications to be PVP worthy and even then a significant portion of its turrets won’t fire due to them being in-line with each other. The ship only has two generators, its core is close to the front of the ship, and it is laden with over 30 fuel tanks (with an alien core??). Additionally, it seems that almost a quarter of the ship is made of cargo box extensions, clearly setting itself up for the implementation of volume. This ship is pretty neat but I honestly do not think it should be classified as a fighter or see much PVP.
H-O-G (SV)
Price: 9m
Size Class: 2.42 (1,704 blocks)
Armor: CV Steel Blocks
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Utility
Features:
- Great punchline for many jokes
- CV warp system
- 6x Multi-Turrets (HV)
- 3x Drill Turrets (HV)
- 2x Drill Turrets (CV)
Comments: This is a great looking ship, arguably one of the most detailed and unique looking exteriors. Beyond that, though, its only real feature is its ability to actively contribute to wasting your money and causing chapter 11 bankruptcy. Seriously, the ship looks amazing. It just has no real purpose besides recycling it for a NPC core (no, I don’t recommend that). In concept, this is a cool ship. Get your three best friends into it and go mine away or deconstruct wrecks on the planet. The issue comes in where you’re paying for an extra two multiturrets you can not use with the crew capacity and, really, the need. You can slap a multiturret on a HV and do the same thing this does. You can go use a CV miner to more effectively mine in space. Mining on planet? Cheap miner HVs are more effective and simple to use than drill turrets. The only actual reason I could see to get this ship is for roleplaying purposes. Other than that, pass.
Oh, it also now has guns, just in case the guy on the ground with a pistol doesn’t manage to cockpit you before you shoot him. If you do take this into PVP, you might want to just turn the multi-turrets on yourself to preemptively deconstruct your ship.
Kolfskot X2 (SV)
Price: 14m
Size Class: 1.47 (3,144 blocks)
Armor: Combat Steel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Combat
Features:
- 6x CV Rocket Launchers (Only Orbit)
- 1x Tier 2 Generator (CV)
- 2x CV Medical Stations
- 8x T2 CV RCS
- CV Warp System
- Repair Station (CV)
- Medical Station (CV)
- Shower
Comments: This is a very tanky SV. It packs a punch and can take hits back with its full combat steel hull. It isn’t the fastest to accelerate but it is quick to turn. The Kolfscot has a sleek, unique look that I feel fits in with the spirit of the garage well and is fairly priced for a combat SV. The season 9.X changes brought about CV rocket launchers instead of its traditional overlimit SV homing launchers. This will definitely be a ship to watch when it comes to combat in orbit.
Maur (SV)
Price: 8m
Size Class: 0.84 (486 blocks)
Armor: Hardened Steel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Utility
Features:
- Advanced constructor
- 51x Labeled Cargo Boxes
- 1x Repair Station (CV)
- 1x Repair Console
- 1x T2 Repair Bay (BA)
- 1x Medical Station (CV)
- 1x T2 CV RCS
Comments: The maur is the little brother of the Evanmaur. Smaller amount of storage, only one constructor, no furnaces. Where the Maur does shine, though, is that it has a repair bay. Essentially, this ship is a little mechanic and material storage shed. This is a ship that’s been around a while and is a must-have for traders or people who move around a lot and need some serious storage.
Mite (SV)
Price: 18m
Size Class: 1.26 (2,989 blocks)
Armor: Xenosteel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Combat
Features:
- 1x Repair Station (CV)
- 5x T1 CV Generators
- 1x Medical Station (CV)
- 10x T2 CV RCS
- CV Warp System
- 8x Plasma Cannons (SV)
- 8x Pulse Lasers (CV)
Comments: In my last review of the Mite, I ripped it apart for its poor weapon design, poor aesthetics, and high price point. Pretty much all of those points still stand. I will say that the weapon placement has improved slightly, just not enough for me to refrain from knocking it for them. The big selling point here is that it replaced its overlimit lasers with CV pulse lasers in the 9.X update. I’m excited to see how this ship gets used though a little worried, since orbit combat can be laggy “jumpy” compared to planetary combat. I’m not sure how much use this will get as opposed to the more versatile Kolfskot.
Mjolnir X2 (HV)
Price: 11m
Size Class: 1.48 (4,598 blocks)
Armor: Armored Concrete
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Combat
Features:
- 1x Shower
- 4x T1 Generators (CV)
- 2x Medical Stations (CV)
- 3x T2 CV RCS
- 3x Railguns (SV)
Comments: The Mjolnir has been a common sight on the battlefield for the past few seasons. The 9.X update has completely overhauled the HV we all know and loved. Now, the body is armored concrete and the weapon count has been rebalanced to fall within the new HV limits, making this a fairly lackluster tank in comparison to its peers. One change that makes no sense to me at all is the addition of SV railguns to the top front, the very first (and irreplacable) things that would get shot off very early in any fight WHILE blocking the line of fire of the turrets behind it. This inflates the cost of the Mjolnir by 3 million credits while adding absolutely no significant fighting ability to it and even detracting due to the obstruction. The only thing the Mjolnir seems to have going for it this patch is that most of the weapons would be able to easily attack SVs, though other tanks like the Tankwacker can do that job just as well if not better.
MordredX2.1 (SV)
Price: 14m
Size Class: 1.50 (2,733 blocks)
Armor: Hardened Steel & Xenosteel
Power: CV thrusters, (NPC core)
Purpose: Combat
Features:
- Shower
- Full medbay
- Gravity Generator
- 11x RCS T2 CV
- CV Warp Tank
- 6x Pulse Laser (CV)
- 8x Pulse Laser (SV)
Comments: While it has an interesting shape and weapon loadout, I think this ship falls just below the line of what should pass into the garage based on aesthetics. The ship has a neat design but ends up being blocky and not having a sleek, polished finish. While the interior has some neat design aspects, it also feels bland and nothing special. It does handle amazingly well and feels balanced weapon-wise with its new 6 CV pulse lasers. My fears with the Mite are also echoed here, I don’t believe that orbit combat happens enough to warrant three garage ships being outfitted with weapons that only fire in orbit. In addition, this ship requires massive uparmoring as the only blocks in the path of a shot into the ammo boxes are a weapon and a door. Additionally, the Mordred has limited thrusters so that if one gets hit, agility is significantly impacted. A QoL update done by Paxxo moved the overlimit weapons off of the nose and more safely tucked along the sides. This change also was able to take off .4 size class, making this easy to fit into class 1 limited playfields.
