Officially:
The phoenix interceptor from D3. I'm impatient so I like to go fast.
Also, it has very easy-to-aim quad lasers, and all I really need is a super laser to get me some kills (unless the other pilots are way better than me, in that case I need to use Black Pyro microwave or plasma).
Also Phoenix afterburner + Impact Mortar = boucy ball of total destruction and multikill -- especially in overfull Indika games .
And phoenix is the best with the EMD (a weapon I think is seriously underrated for multiplayer).

Unofficially:
The Phantom XL in D2X-XL. It's basically the equivalent of the phoenix (or that's what it was made to be, it's fully customizable which ship model = which ship). I think it looks a lot cooler (like a police craft).

I like the D2X-XL Pyro GX model as well because it looks like the one from the movies. Most memorable taunt macros:
Thou art as a sick hedgehog. Small, prickly, and dying now. - Otterhawk
You think you've got balls? 'Cause I have a hammer!-- A Crazed Ocelot
You're pathetic. I dub your fighting style "daffodil"--Kaiaatsel

Gx "The Cat was already dead when I got there." - Curiosity

I always preferred thge default ships in Descent. Not the Pheeni or Magnum. Beta tester for:GSC Truck Series, Game Stock Car, Diablo 3, Descent 3 1.5 Patch, C&C Generals, Independance War 2,Starfleet Command 2,Settlers IV,Tzar,Allegiance,Starfleet Command (Alpha & Beta),MAX 2,Defiance

Well... technically only the magnum was never a default ship.
In Mercenary both the Phoenix and the Black Pyro were default ships.

However... Tank-only players are extremely annoying, so I like your decision anyway. Most memorable taunt macros:
Thou art as a sick hedgehog. Small, prickly, and dying now. - Otterhawk
You think you've got balls? 'Cause I have a hammer!-- A Crazed Ocelot
You're pathetic. I dub your fighting style "daffodil"--Kaiaatsel

Why do you say that?

D3 was originally released with the GL, Phoenix, and Magnum. The Black Pyro was released with Mercs. And I realize that the BP code was present in the first release, but it was not made available. iirc, the BP actually takes the place of the GL in the list if it's used.

In the end, the over use of the magnum was one of the things that made quit D3 multi player. "The Cat was already dead when I got there." - Curiosity

Why do you say that?

At the beginning of the Mercenary missions (for the first two levels), the only ship you can use is the Phoenix Interceptor. After level 2, the only ship you can use is the black pyro. So these are default for that particular mission, in the sense that you use only them.
Also, I like the Phoenix and the black pyro, and I hate the magnum because it's slow. I don't care much for the Pyro GL either, to be honest, it annoys me because it's too much of the same from D1 and D2 (this is completely my opinion though).

Interesting. So it may be possible to add the black pyro as a ship in a custom level? (Say, to complement the mercenary robots? ) I'll have to look into this, especially with the Army of Haloon team. Does anyone know how it's done?


Same reason I'm taking an extended break from D3 multi. I'm playing D1 Coop and hopefully D2 anarchy with my brother instead. He's really liking the D1 coop though, I'm not sure he'll let us do anything else . Most memorable taunt macros:
Thou art as a sick hedgehog. Small, prickly, and dying now. - Otterhawk
You think you've got balls? 'Cause I have a hammer!-- A Crazed Ocelot
You're pathetic. I dub your fighting style "daffodil"--Kaiaatsel

I like the Magnum. I like it's ability to hold the most weapons. It is slow though, but if you're gonna stick around and fight, it's a good one to have.

I also like the Phoenix. That is the fastest one. It doesn't hold a lot of weapons, but it can really fly.

Unfortunately, with that "speed" came some warping issues. The net code in D3 is dated and didn't handle fast moving hit boxes well.

That said, remember that D3 was release when things were JUST switching over to TCP/IP; so it was new stuff to a lot of folks. "The Cat was already dead when I got there." - Curiosity

Starhawk from the Pyromania mod.

Speed, stealth, firepower, Jesus, all in one ship. If you are going to fight a war, do it efficiently, unremittingly, or don't do it at all--I'm not into ethics, I'm into efficiency.--Benjamin St. John "Descent" by Peter Telep