The Alliance Chieftain is very competitively priced at just 19 million credits - significantly cheaper than other combat heavy or multipurpose ships such as the Python, Federal Gunship, Imperial Clipper, Krait Mk II, Krait Phantom and Fer-de-Lance, while still offering similar capabilities. The ship also has many internal compartments, allowing the pilot to equip shield storage, hull reinforcements or amplification modules.

As a combat ship, the Chieftain's main rival is the Federal Assault Ship. Both ships have the same internal main equipment cells, similar manoeuvrability (the Chieftain has a higher base top speed but lower afterburner speed), similar defensive capabilities (although it has a more powerful shield, the Chieftain has significantly worse module protection than the Federal Assault Ship) and a very similar base price. However, the Chieftain has slightly better firepower, it has slightly better sockets for additional internal equipment, and there are no rank requirements to get it before it can be bought, but the Federal Assault Ship can make a gravity grab. Chieftain pilots may find it worth investing in one or more module reinforcement kits, as the Chieftain's manoeuvring engines and lantern are particularly vulnerable to pitting due to their large size and exposed position.

The Chieftain does an excellent job against its intended opponent, the Targoid Interceptor. It can be fitted with a maximum of 4 experimental AX weapons, and has enough cells to mount external and additional internal equipment to counter the targoid, such as cleaning drones. Finally, good manoeuvrability makes it easy to deal with Targon swarms, as it can keep an anti-aircraft system with remotely detonated projectiles in its sights. In capable hands, it can even tackle Targoid interceptors single-handedly.

The Chieftain can also be used for non-combat purposes. It is a decent merchant or smuggling ship, as it has a maximum payload of 122 tonnes, which is considerably lower for an average ship at this cost, but not entirely bad either. It is also a very good prospector ship with its medium to small nests, good manoeuvrability, small hull dimensions and ample cargo hold size. It has a jump range of 28Sv, allowing it to travel relatively quickly within inhabited space, but it is still a poor exploration ship.

Overall, the Chieftain is an extremely powerful ship. Its most notable advantage is its low cost, making it affordable in the early stages, as well as significantly cheaper to upgrade to its full potential. It's great for combat roles such as piracy, bounty hunting and targoid hunting, and retains some of the flexibility of a multi-purpose ship.

Two Class 3 and one Class 2 sockets are located along the central axis of the Alliance Chieftain, making them suitable for the installation of fixed mounted weapons. All three class 1 and two class 3 slots are located above the cockpit, with only the class 2 slot below it. Landing gear extends from underneath the front of the ship's hull and the two rear nacelles of the moving engines.

The Alliance Chieftain is mainly found in Alliance systems. Despite its name and affiliation, it does not require rank or reputation within the Alliance.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Advantages
+ It's the cheapest ship in the medium class.
+ No superpower rank is required to purchase it.
+ Characteristic "Laconian" cockpit lantern that gives excellent visibility to the pilot.
+ High cruising speed in combat build and with engineer modifications - over 530 m/s, making it a moderately dangerous, fast enemy in PvP[k.2], and a survivable fighting machine in PvE[k.3].
+ Resilient hull - when built as a relatively combat-ready ship with hybrid protection, this ship will have over 4,500 absolute toughness, with no critical loss of speed.
+ Highly responsive ship control, comparable to the Federal Assault Ship's maneuverability.
+ As stated in the description, this is a top-notch antixeno ship, with enough external slots for antitargoid defense, and enough slots for countermeasures such as sweeper drones.
+ The gun ports are well located - at the bow of the ship, behind the cockpit, and of the 6 ports, only 1 class 2 is located in the lower hemisphere, giving you a strong hold on the enemy, both with directional weapons and gimbal-mounted guns.
+ Among medium class prospectors, this ship is quite decent at extracting rare valuables