Minix critiques ship tractor beams in Star Citizen as clunky and inefficient for solo cargo handling, favoring smaller handheld tractor beams like the MaxLift for their precision and ease of use. However, after a multiplayer session, he acknowledges that ship tractor beams have significant value in coordinated multi-crew operations, highlighting their design intent for teamwork rather than solo play.
In this video, Minix discusses the effectiveness of ship tractor beams in Star Citizen, questioning whether they are useful or completely broken. He starts by explaining that he is not an expert and wants to create discussion topics for the community to share their thoughts. He mentions that smaller handheld tractor beams like the MaxLift are much more efficient for solo players when moving cargo because they allow for quick grabbing, swinging, and precise placement of items. In contrast, ship tractor beams, especially on smaller ships, feel clunky and inefficient to him.
Minix shares his experience watching Salty Mike’s video on the Ironclad’s tractor beams and testing them himself. He found the arc and angles of the ship tractor beams on the Ironclad to be very limited, which made moving cargo frustrating and slow. In fact, he had to resort to using handheld tractor beams to move some boxes manually. This reinforced his belief that ship tractor beams are generally poor in solo play, particularly on smaller ships like the Caterpillar, which he also criticizes for its tractor beam placement and limited cargo access.
However, Minix’s perspective shifts when he recounts a multiplayer session with friends using the Ironclad on a planetary base. By working as a team, they coordinated cargo movement efficiently: one person would throw cargo toward the ship, another would catch it with a ship tractor beam and bring it to the entrance, and a third crew member inside would use a ship tractor beam to bring it in and stack it. This cooperative approach made ship tractor beams much more effective and highlighted their potential value in multi-crew gameplay rather than solo play.
He further reflects on the design of larger ships like the Caterpillar and Ironclad, suggesting that their tractor beams are intended for coordinated, multi-crew operations rather than solo use. The challenges he experienced soloing cargo with these ships seem to stem from their design philosophy, which assumes teamwork to overcome the limitations of tractor beam range and angles. This realization leads him to reconsider his earlier harsh judgment of ship tractor beams, acknowledging their usefulness in the right context.
Finally, Minix poses questions to the community about their preferences for cargo tools, such as the MaxLift, ATLS, or multitools, and whether adding weight limits to handheld tractor beams might force more reliance on ship tractor beams. He invites viewers to share their experiences and opinions, emphasizing the importance of discussion to improve understanding and gameplay. He also mentions plans to focus more on cargo-related content and live cargo runs in the future, encouraging viewers to like, subscribe, and join the conversation.