There has been a lot of discussion going on about some new modified Corvus ships suitable for pirating.
Here are my 2c:

1. Corvus Prometheus Mercenary
Role: attack ship that holds well in chasing, attack, combat & retreat with medium cargo capacity for hauling captured cargo.

Variant: assault
Faction: Corvus
Faction Level: +800
Level: 9/5/9/1
Armor: 11000
Cargo: 40
Weapons: 3 S
Mass: 9000 kg
Length: 21 m
Thrust: 505 N
Max Speed: 65 m/s
Spin Torque: 11.3 Nm
Turbo Speed: 210 m/s
Turbo energy: 53/s

2. Corvus Centurion Interceptor
Role: Fast accelerating interceptor ship.
Lower spin torque but faster cruising speed.
Stripped of armor & cargo hold to lower energy consumption.

Variant: interceptor
Faction: Corvus
Faction Level: +800
Level: 9/9/5/1
Armor: 4500
Cargo: 0
Weapons: 1 S
Mass: 3000 kg
Length: 10 m
Thrust: 221 N
Max Speed: 75 m/s
Spin Torque: 6.0 Nm
Turbo Speed: 220 m/s
Turbo energy: 52/s

Very nice as always. Anybody thought about a Revenant remake?

I think these are two good designs that would be welcome, good stuff bojan.

why would a ship that has 3 small ports have a mass of 9000 and armor of 11000. look at the valk it has 11600 armor and weighs 3000kg sure it has lots of cargo space but proms are big and easy to hit its really the ability to move and agt that makes them deadly taking away the large port and half the armor really isn't fixing anything. I think the itani roleplayers are afraid of having a valk pirate ship.

the corvus intercept 4500 armor seriously? 3 flare hits and your dead? I don't see that happening

and btw a pirate ship should be a PIRATE ship not something the all pos carebears can get access too

Triple KOS should be prerequisite for a pirateship!

But those two ships are just death-traps. (And this is what they want)
No real interest in a balanced ship/gameplay....

@Peytros

You have to look at the whole picture.
It has 40 cu cargo hold and the lowest mass of all proms. Lower mass with a standard prom thrust makes it accelerate very fast. Also, with sacrificing armor and replacing 1 L port with 1 S port it is given less turbo energy drain making it almost infiniturbo.

This is just a suggestion. Devs will have to test and balance it maybe with more armor or less mass, etc. Its open for discussion.

@Agy

Interceptor ships are indeed deathtraps. Their sole purpose is to get to their target fast and intercept it. They are not multipurpose fighters.
With low mass and big thrust for its size this interceptor can catch running atlas x without a problem and shred it to pieces.

And I think I mentioned it somewhere before, yes, all nations KOS should be a prerequisite for buying pirate ships.

what is an incerceptor ship going to do if it can't STOP the ship its intercepting

I seem to find this idea suited for lazy pirates.

and what of the joy of going back to the place of destruction to find the rat in a moth trying to get the cargo.

then as the bible says "vengence is mine" ;))

if they are going to upgrade the rats,they should upgrade the traders too.
a moth with 16 large ports would be nice..lol

Firstly, great ships bojan. I would like atleast two nations to be from hated to KOS for buying, this would allow for privateers.

Secondly, for those who say that 3 flare hits killing you is unfair: if you practice your distance control, you can dodge any flare shot in a ship that maneuverable.

There seems to be some confusion about this role specific ships.
Lot of "deathtrap", low armor or like Surb said "suited for lazy pirates" comments.

Interceptors are not light fighters. They are in no way uber in a dogfight.
They are supposed to work in a pack/team and serve a specific role: intercept/stop/destroy target.

Lets take a look on a hypothetical worst case situation (for a trader).
Two pirates are hunting. One is flying interceptor, the other mercenary prom.
Trader in a centaur jumps in, pirates hail with their demand, he turns to jump point and starts turboing showing pirates the finger.
Interceptor is closing fast and starts to chew taurs armor.
There are 2 choices for a taur pilot:
a) keep turboing and hope it will reach jump point while he still has some armor left or
b) turn and fight

AD-a) taur reaches jump point with 15% armor left and dies during jump animation because interceptor is like 50m behind him showering him with energy.

AD-b) taur turns on interceptor and starts shooting agt and rockets. Interceptor circles around him giving his mate in mercenary prom time to rush in and finish taur.

Both pirates sustained some damage during this action. Maybe interceptor pilot was unlucky and caught a dual jacks and died, but nevertheless their goal was achieved.
Taur died, they picked cargo and got some profit.
Same trader will think twice next time before showing them the finger if he encounters this pirate team again.

You say that we have to team up to make greyspace dangerous.
How about: YOU team up to defend yourself?

@AgY: Honestly, teams make all endeavors more productive.
Grey is dangerous because you can get killed and no one cares, not because the pirates have super-duper-ships that can kill you no matter what you do.

grey doesn't have to be MADE dangerous. it IS dangerous, just by the fact that no one cares what happens, and someone sitting on top of a WH with a good ship can make nearly anyone's day bad. If you can't get your ass on top of a loaded moth (or even a loaded taur) when you are within 200m of his starting point, you are a lazy/bad pirate. I'm run down taurs loaded with cargo stolen from me before, so before you tell me I don't know what I'm talking about... stfu.

@bojan: interceptors for the most part (aside from Lecter's suggestion) have to be light fighters. Granted, they should have few (if they even get more than one) weapon. They need to be light so they can get somewhere quickly. How much damage they can do once they get there is another story (that would force them to work in groups... just like you want).

@Atice
Yup, hence my idea about 2 role specific ships.
Lecter hit the jackpot with his greyhound hog but.... as someone noted, it could easily become a new griefer (hit and run) ship.

When I suggested those 2 ships I had in mind all possible scenarios.
I still remember "Arolte Incident" when TD hog had 250 top speed and uber thrust and I am sure devs will not let that happen again.
None of proposed ships in this thread is overpowered in any way and I think they can fulfill their specific roles just fine.
Interceptor with a widowmaker can deal a lot of damage fast (depends on pilots skill). Heck, lot of us older pirates used to shoot down fleeing moths in a centurion with a neut 2 so interceptor shold be more then capable to do the same.

Bojan: as one of those who spent many an hour chasing and shooting Arolte, I think the Greyhound's lack of turning ability would really cut into the potential for that sort of abuse. To be a true pest, one needs to be able to do more than sprint away fast. I'd like to see the Greyhound released on the test server only, and we could see where the problems are and modify accordingly.

Agreed Lecter.
Testing by experienced VO combat pilots should be mandatory for any new ship variant so we do not get another new flop like Craptor.

I'll offer my services on the test server as well. While I am still wet behind the ears compared to many of you, my combat skills are not something to be taken lightly.

And @Bojan: the widowmaker on an interceptor like the one we've been describing (though I will say again, I much prefer zak.wilson's XX Interceptor) would be a real threat, agreed. But given what a bitch the widow is to make, I don't see that being an overpowering threat (but rather just a fun one).