Paladin Carrier

"The Paladin Carrier is the first hull created in the Advanced Xeno Integrated Systems Project. A brutal flagship able to provide adaptable support and overwhelm enemy forces."

General
The Paladin Carrier serves as the bridge between two factions, the Xeno Division and A.X.I.S.. Its design is based upon the former, but appears in the latter's set of blueprints. It has a customizable support field through the use of Field Generators.

As a carrier, this ship can generate a Support Field that improves the combat effectiveness of other friendly ships, making it the centerpiece of a fleet.

Advantages
The Paladin Carrier is able to equip A.X.I.S. Ship Squadrons such as the Yellowjacket Drone, which represent a massive power-up from the previous strongest squadron, the Ranger Swarm.

In addition, it has the ability to change support fields. Thus, it can have an Ion Field, Agility Field, or Phase Shifter as long as you have the respective generator equipped, enabling your Paladin Carrier to adapt to different situations. That being said, the Agility Field Generator is used in the vast majority of battles.

It can resist Alien as well as Plasma damage, so you no longer have to worry about the safety of your carrier when fighting Alien Event Targets.

Disadvantages
Suppressors are a natural counter to the Paladin Carrier, being able to decimate its squadrons before they can inflict much damage.

The Paladin Carrier is no match for multiple Xeno Division Hulls in direct combat, having less overall damage and durability. Therefore, it should stay out of range of enemy ships for as long as possible. The Harmonic Chase Thruster is highly recommended not only because of its fleet-wide Harmonic Agility buff, but also due to the fact that it vastly improves the Paladin Carrier's mobility.

In order for the Paladin Carrier to be effective, it has to first be equipped with a field generator, which takes at least a week by itself. Then, the A.X.I.S. squadrons take around two weeks, while the ship itself requires one week. In total, a fully operational Paladin Carrier takes around a month to complete, which is a really long time.

Trivia

 * The Paladin Carrier was originally called the Tormentor Carrier and was supposed to be a ship of the Xeno Division.
 * The Paladin originally had the Xeno Division paintjob that can be found in the AXIS Event Trailer.
 * The Paladin Carrier is the first of the A.X.I.S. Hulls.
 * The Paladin Carrier was the first carrier to have an interchangeable support field.
 * There is a debate on which side of the Paladin Carrier is the front as both sides could very well be the front. Its flying mechanic is also very strange, adding to the confusion.
 * The Paladin Carrier used to not have resistance to Plasma Damage; it has been added during the September 2017 update.
 * The Paladin Carrier had the largest base health of any ship in the game until the Sovereign Carrier was released.
 * All player ships had their Resurgence values modified as a result of the late February 2020 update.
 * The repair time of all Tier 5-6 ships was standardized in the early February 2021 update.