Welcome to the Remora, a Tier 3 submarine that looks like a high-tech surgical tool but often handles like a brick taped to a smaller, angrier brick. As a Tier 3 Deep Diver, it is legally obligated to survive the crushing depths of Europa, though it makes no such promises regarding your sanity or the structural integrity of you and your crew's friendships. Navigating this sub requires the coordination of an elite special forces unit and the patience of a saint who is also a certified electrician.
1. The Ballast Marriage:
Your drone is not an optional accessory, it is your ship’s lower half and emotional support system. Because a massive chunk of your descent speed is tied to the drone’s pumps, losing it will cause the main submarine to be an amputee. If the drone is destroyed, prepare for a harder legal battle with gravity and deep-sea monsters that you will definitely lose.
2. The Drone Pilot's Creed:
When operating the drone, remember that you are essentially driving a remote-controlled glass cannon. It is fantastic for cave exploration, but if you park it in the mouth of a Moloch, you are effectively lobotomizing the main ship’s mobility and firepower. Treat the drone with more respect than you treat the security guards, as the drone actually contributes to the mission.
3. Pathing is a Suggestion:
The internal layout of the Remora was designed by someone who clearly hated hallways and loved ladders. Bots will frequently get stuck in the vertical shafts, staring blankly at walls while the hull collapses around them. Most of the time, you must manually micro-manage your AI crew or accept that their "disappearance" is a workplace hazard not covered by Europan insurance.
4. Junction Box Juggling:
The Remora’s electrical grid is as sensitive as a Tier 3 submarine can get without spontaneously combusting. Over-volting the reactor during a sudden stop will fry your junction boxes faster than a husk infects a clown. Keep your Engineer on a strict regimen of caffeine and repair packs, or prepare to play the game in total darkness.
5. The Blind Spot Tax:
There is a significant defensive gap at the bottom and near the drone docking port that monsters love to exploit. If a Mudraptor decides to nest in your blind spot, no amount of shouting at the gunners will help. You must either maneuver the ship aggressively or send a brave expendable soul out in a diving suit to file a formal eviction notice with a pulse laser.
6. Mineral Hauling Logistics:
Use the drone as a pack mule for resource gathering to keep the main sub in a safe, open position. It is much cheaper to risk a drone in a narrow cavern than to wedge the entire submarine into a crevice. Just ensure you actually dock it properly before moving on, or you’ll be filing a "lost property" report with the Abyss.
7. Medical Bay Seclusion:
The Med-bay is tucked away in a spot that makes emergency surgery feel like a cross-country marathon. If a crew member is bleeding out, don't wait for them to walk to the doctor, bring the doctor, or at least a handful of bandages to them. Speed is key, as the Remora’s layout is the leading cause of "death by walking too slowly."
8. The Battery Buffer:
Your batteries are your best friends when the reactor inevitably fails due to "unforeseen aquatic intervention." Wire your critical systems to toggle over to battery power during combat to avoid a total blackout when the Engineer gets distracted by a shiny rock. This prevents the sub from becoming a very expensive, very dark coffin.
9. Reactor Efficiency Training:
Given the power demands of a Tier 3 submarine, manually controlling the reactor is often more efficient than relying on the automated systems. A skilled operator can prevent the "flicker" that happens when the drone pumps and main engines engage simultaneously. Failure to manage this load may result in a breach of contract regarding "habitable living conditions."
10. The Diving Lock Valve:
The airlock on the Remora is a frequent site of accidental flooding because someone always forgets to shut the outer door. Train your crew to check the light indicators before opening the inner hatch, or the sub will become an aquarium within seconds. Water damage to the floor is not covered under the standard manufacturer's warranty.
11. Gunnery Communication:
The gunnery compartment is centralized, but visibility is limited to what the periscopes show. The Captain needs to call out enemy positions constantly so gunners aren't wasting ammunition on empty water. Ammunition is expensive, and wasting it is a crime against the Coalition’s budget and your own survival.
12. The "Floaty" Problem:
If the main ballast tanks take damage, the Remora tends to bob upward uncontrollably due to its inherent buoyancy. This makes it a nightmare to keep steady during a railgun shot or a delicate docking maneuver. Keep a dedicated welder on standby in the ballast rooms, or you'll spend the whole mission scraping the ceiling of the ocean.
13. Drone Maintenance Protocols:
Periodically undock and check the drone’s hull integrity even if you haven't used it recently. External pressure and stray Hammerhead bumps can weaken the docking collar without triggering a major alarm. It’s better to find a leak during a quiet moment than when you’re trying to flee from an Endworm.14. Strategic Depth Charges:
Use your depth charge tube to discourage creatures from camping directly underneath your drone. Since the drone is a vital component, letting a Thresher chew on it is effectively a death sentence for your descent speed and firepower. Dropping a decoy can buy you the precious seconds needed to re-dock and escape.15. The Engineer’s Office:
The Reactor room should be treated as the heart of the ship, and the Engineer should never be more than five seconds away from it. The Remora is prone to power surges that can knock out the navigation terminal at the worst possible moments. If the Captain loses steering, the Engineer is legally responsible for the ensuing screaming.16. Fire Suppression Priority:
Because of the tight vertical corridors, smoke and fire rise quickly through the Remora, suffocating the upper decks. Carry fire extinguishers on every floor, not just in the designated storage lockers. A small fire in the bottom deck can quickly become a "corporate restructuring event" if it reaches the oxygen generator.17. Upgrade the Pumps First:
Your first few thousand marks should be spent on pump speed and hull durability. The Remora’s primary weakness is how long it takes to clear water once a breach occurs. A faster pump means less time spent swimming in your own workspace and more time doing your actual job.18. Stealth and Sonar:
The Remora is a large ship and makes a significant acoustic footprint when the drone is active. Switch to directional sonar or passive sonar when moving through territory occupied by abyss creatures. If you draw the attention of a Latcher, the drone will be the first thing it tries to snack on.19. Organized Storage:
Use the Remora’s ample cabinet space to separate "combat supplies" from "crafting junk." In a crisis, searching through a bin of iron ore to find a single morphine syringe is a great way to lose your medical license. Labeling crates is not just for the organized; it's for the people who want to stay alive.20. The Final Descent:
When entering the final biomes, ensure your hull is fully upgraded to the maximum Tier 3 limit. The Remora can handle the pressure, but only if the crew stays on top of the inevitable micro-cracks. Any negligence here will result in a "spontaneous structural reassessment" that ends with everyone becoming part of the seafloor.Remora Trivia:
The Weight Loss Plan: The Remora is one of the few subs where "losing weight" by detaching the drone actually makes it harder to go down, defying both physics and common sense.
The Name: It is named after the Echeneidae or the Remora fish, which attach themselves to larger sharks. In this case, the drone is the "fish" and the sub is the "shark," though the sub is significantly more prone to electrical fires.
The "Anti-Bot" Meta: The Remora's ladder-to-hatch ratio is so high that it is statistically the #1 sub for bots to "accidentally" fall into a ballast tank and drown while trying to fix a single wire.
Deep Diver Legacy: Despite its quirks, it remains one of the most popular hulls for "Shipwright" modders to overhaul, because the base design is cool enough to forgive the terrible interior design.
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