The Cloud Cruiser is defended by exterior turrets and armor plates, both of which draw from the same Power Unit pool as the rest of the ship — turrets can be set to manual or auto, and armor plates stack on the same grid.
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Turrets can be manual or auto
The Cruiser's exterior turrets fire stun projectiles that incapacitate Tycos fauna or scramble hostile electronics such as PACE drones. They can be set to manual or auto, and the choice depends on the threat on the route: leaving turrets in auto near PACE-heavy zones lets the fleet defend itself without a dedicated crew member babysitting the helm.
Armor plates draw power too
Armor plates are hull-mounted and also consume Power Units while active, so stacking more protection forces you to expand your nuclear-core count or reduce other PU draws to keep balance. The official guidance is to plan defense coverage based on the fauna and drone threats you expect on the routes you intend to fly, and to add cores rather than modules if you run out of surplus Power Units.
Match defense to the route
For fauna-heavy lower-altitude flights, lean on auto stun turrets so fauna are disabled before they close on the hull. For routes that pass old colony sites, set turrets to auto so PACE drones get scrambled on sight and the helms can stay at the helm during the longer transit. Both approaches share the same PU pool, so the load-out has to balance coverage with the power core count.
FAQ
What powers the Cloud Cruiser?
The Cloud Cruiser is mostly powered by a compact onboard nuclear reactor that produces about 25 Power Units per second. Every system except thrust draws PU, so balancing production against consumption is a core operating concern.