In this Star Citizen video, the player creatively transforms the RSI Apollo into a mini mothership by loading it with multiple hover bikes to enhance solo combat and looting capabilities during ERT missions. Despite some technical challenges and mission setbacks, the strategy proves effective for deploying small crafts, boarding enemy ships, and collecting valuable loot to make money.
In this Star Citizen video, the player revisits the RSI Apollo, a ship they had previously neglected since the Alpha 4.3.1 update, feeling it was unnecessary for solo play. The medical Terapin was sufficient for their needs, and the Apollo had just been sitting idle in the hangar. Deciding to make use of the ship, they transform it into a mini mothership by loading it with multiple hover bikes, specifically the Mi Palace model, which is small, armed, and suitable for deployment from the Apollo despite some challenges with the ship’s docking collar.
The player uses the tractor beam to load seven hover bikes into the Apollo’s spacious cargo area, acknowledging that the ship has a lot of wasted space due to the docking collar bottleneck but still provides ample room for these vehicles. They note some graphical issues in the Pyro system, where textures appear pixelated, especially inside hangars. With the hover bikes on board, the Apollo becomes a compact carrier capable of deploying these smaller crafts for various missions.
Testing the ship’s combat effectiveness, the player embarks on an ERT mission, setting their spawn on the Apollo’s tier 2 bed and launching hover bikes to engage targets about 35 km away. They successfully board and loot enemy ships like the A2 Hercules, opening back ramps to access cargo and neutralize pilots. Despite some combat challenges, including the destruction of enemy ships and self-destructing a captured ship, the player demonstrates the Apollo’s utility in supporting hover bike deployment and boarding operations.
During the mission, the player scavenges valuable cargo such as titanium, scrap, medical supplies, and toxins from various ships, calculating potential profits from selling these goods. They attempt to maximize loot acquisition but face difficulties moving large cargo without a max lift and sometimes destroy ships to retrieve cargo more easily. The player highlights that this tactic of using the Apollo as a mini mothership combined with hover bikes could be an effective strategy for completing ERT and VHRT missions while earning extra money.
Ultimately, the mission encounters setbacks when the player destroys or takes over ships but fails to complete the mission objectives, resulting in lost mission rewards. They realize that abandoning missions causes ships to disappear, which was a mistake. Despite this, the video showcases a creative and fun approach to using the RSI Apollo in solo play, turning it into a versatile platform for combat, looting, and making money in Star Citizen.