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5. RANKS
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Cataclysm records combat kills and experience of single ships. Higher ranked ships will travel faster and their weapons will be more powerful. Ranks are shown by 4 purple stars over the health bar; 0 stars means that the ship is brand new or that it killed very few crafts; 4 stars indicates that this is an elite ship which survived a large number of fights. (Note: I have the Italian version of the game, and the translation might be incorrect, and increase percentages are IMO.)

+ 0 stars, Flight Sergeant: all ships start with this rank. Speed and firepower are the standard values listed in the Ships Briefing.

+ 1 star, Lieutenant: this rank is awarded to ships which survived a few battles. Speed and firepower are pretty the same as for the first rank.

+ 2 stars, Squadron Leader: Speed and firepower increased by 20-30%.

+ 3 stars, Wing Commander: Speed and firepower increased by 30-40%; begin to pay attention to your ships: even 1:2 outnumbered Wing Commanders may destroy a Flight Sergeant wing with only a few or no losses.

+ 4 stars, Air Marshal: the highest rank which a ship can achieve, the increase of speed and firepower is about 40-50%.