Efficient build to fly yourself an SLF?

geoffrey.hdt

geoffrey.hdt
Hi Commanders,


I would like to give a try to flying myself an SLF but...does it even make sense?
I mean, paper-thin shield/hull + low sustained damage output makes for a very unrealistic combination at a RES or CZ (it's kinda like flying an uningineered Sidewinder).
Am I wrong?

What I am considering is building a big ship (Anaconda or Type 10), with LOTS of HRP's (so that I have time to get back to it if the shield goes down*) and fight within its firing range.
Is this even realistic?
Should I go with a regular loadout and let my NPC crew pilot it (with the order to defend or attack my target), or go full turrets Pulse and leave it unmanned (so that it follows me)?

Any known builds out there proven to be efficient?
I have heard of some AFK Type-10, which should do the trick?


Also, why the hell can't I use an SLF to dock at a startport??? This was the MOST expected feature of implementing SLF...


*: Mmmh...actually, what is the fastest way to go back to controlling the mothership? Self-destruct the SLF?
 

nanothargon

N
Yes! It's great fun. Anaconda or T10 is great. It's a lot better with the SLF Crew flying your ship than with it unmanned.

The quickest way to go back to controlling the mothership is the "switch" button in the fighter panel.

Most efficient build depends on what your crew's level is. The best way to do it is to hire a "harmless" crew member and level them up, that way they'll take a lower % of your cash when they eventually get to Elite, but you'll have to put up with them being terrible for a while. Best to start your build with gimballed guns until the crew is at Dangerous or above, then you can switch the main guns to fixed. You'll probably need a few turrets on a big, slow ship but it's best to have some gimballed or fixed main guns, just to speed things up - the damage penalty for turrets makes them pretty inefficient.

Finally, short range inertial impact burst laser turrets can be a good option on res zone/CZ ships, because they do kinetic damage without ammo. Likewise, plasma slug railguns and plasma slug PAs can be really good options, once the crew is high level enough to use them properly, since they use fuel instead of ammo. If it's a T-10, the two small and one medium, "middle" hardpoints are a great place for long range plasma slug railguns. Again, it's kinetic damage without ammo.
 

aRJay

aRJay
Remember the SLF is a drone/RPV flown via a first person view telepresence system that has a limited effective range. Which is why you can just switch in or out of it in flight.
So as you aren’t inside it there is little benefit to be had from flying one inside a station, and a possible reason why we can’t is signal loss through the stations walls.
 

Archvillain

Archvillain
If I'm mining in a defenseless T9 and end up in a fight with a pirate, what kind of pirate (ship/skill) could I reasonably take on in a SLF with fair odds of winning, with me being a very medicore combat pilot?

(I'm guessing I'd have to raise my game significantly and learn to take advantage of the SLF agility as that's all it's got going for it)

My T9 might not have weapons (I need all hardpoints for mining gear) but I've built it tough enough to take the hits long enough to leave the area and enter supercruise. However it would be nice to have a more vicious response available :)
 

geoffrey.hdt

geoffrey.hdt
nanothargon said:
Yes! It's great fun. Anaconda or T10 is great. It's a lot better with the SLF Crew flying your ship than with it unmanned.

The quickest way to go back to controlling the mothership is the "switch" button in the fighter panel.

Most efficient build depends on what your crew's level is. The best way to do it is to hire a "harmless" crew member and level them up, that way they'll take a lower % of your cash when they eventually get to Elite, but you'll have to put up with them being terrible for a while. Best to start your build with gimballed guns until the crew is at Dangerous or above, then you can switch the main guns to fixed. You'll probably need a few turrets on a big, slow ship but it's best to have some gimballed or fixed main guns, just to speed things up - the damage penalty for turrets makes them pretty inefficient.

Finally, short range inertial impact burst laser turrets can be a good option on res zone/CZ ships, because they do kinetic damage without ammo. Likewise, plasma slug railguns and plasma slug PAs can be really good options, once the crew is high level enough to use them properly, since they use fuel instead of ammo. If it's a T-10, the two small and one medium, "middle" hardpoints are a great place for long range plasma slug railguns. Again, it's kinetic damage without ammo.
Click to expand...
Oh! I did not know about the switch button!

And yep, my harmless NPC is going through Hell ..halfway to Dangerous, eh eh.

Cool, I wanted to try out the T-10...have I already fully engineered close to a dozen hips yet??? ;-)
 

geoffrey.hdt

geoffrey.hdt
aRJay said:
Remember the SLF is a drone/RPV flown via a first person view telepresence system that has a limited effective range. Which is why you can just switch in or out of it in flight.
So as you aren’t inside it there is little benefit to be had from flying one inside a station, and a possible reason why we can’t is signal loss through the stations walls.
Click to expand...
Yeah, makes sense ...such a pitty though 🤔
 

o2thaZ

o2thaZ
Archvillain said:
If I'm mining in a defenseless T9 and end up in a fight with a pirate, what kind of pirate (ship/skill) could I reasonably take on in a SLF with fair odds of winning, with me being a very medicore combat pilot?

(I'm guessing I'd have to raise my game significantly and learn to take advantage of the SLF agility as that's all it's got going for it)

My T9 might not have weapons (I need all hardpoints for mining gear) but I've built it tough enough to take the hits long enough to leave the area and enter supercruise. However it would be nice to have a more vicious response available :)
Click to expand...

Just stay on their tail and out of maingun firearc.
Yes it takes practice, but once you figure out how NPC react to your inputs, it becomes easier.
Before you know it you are taking out CZ pythons.
It doesn't matter if you get destroyed. Just have fun figuring it out.
 

CMDR X

CMDR X
What Ming The Merciless suggested above 👆. Type-10 AFK build.
Here's mine with the cargo racks swapped out for HRP's. Make
sure your Crew mate is at least Dangerous though. It makes a
ton of difference. My favorite SLF for this type of fun is the Guardian
Trident. It's worth the unlock. I don't have experience with the others. o7
 

nanothargon

N
CMDR X said:
They can't even aim fixed weapons anymore since Fdev broke them.
Click to expand...
This is fixed now, sort of. I recently levelled up a new slf pilot from harmless to deadly and they’re excellent with the fixed beam fighter. With the beams, you can clearly see how they’re aiming, and they’re on target almost all the time (at deadly), the way the slf crew used to be.
My old Elite slf pilot did suddenly get really bad, and there was definitely a bug, but it’s definitely fine if you level a new one up now (Feb 2025).
 

Daniel Cloudsifter

Daniel Cloudsifter
nanothargon said:
This is fixed now, sort of. I recently levelled up a new slf pilot from harmless to deadly and they’re excellent with the fixed beam fighter. With the beams, you can clearly see how they’re aiming, and they’re on target almost all the time (at deadly), the way the slf crew used to be.
My old Elite slf pilot did suddenly get really bad, and there was definitely a bug, but it’s definitely fine if you level a new one up now (Feb 2025).
Click to expand...
Wait... so if you have an old Elite SLF pilot, you're still screwed? But if you hire a new one and level them up, there is no issue? Well that bites...
 

Archvillain

Archvillain
Having never hired a pilot I didn't know you could hire harmless and keep the same profit share rate as they rank up. I just looked up the cost of doing that and it's so cheap (2%) I should have started years ago! (Even if I include cost of SLFs lost to "practise" ;) . I'm not worried about the XP sharing; most of my ships can't even fit a SLF)

I already have more credits than I need. It's time to give some pilot-wannabee their big break and spread (an embarrassingly tiny sliver of) that wealth around! :ROFLMAO:
 
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nanothargon

N
The profit share does go up as they rank up, but it's not as much as if you hire them already "levelled".
If your playstyle involves using an SLF pilot frequently, it's better to level them up form harmless, but if you only use them occasionally, it might be worth hiring them at expert and firing them frequently.

My experience has been that levelling them up from harmless to above expert is very quick, and they're mostly terrible until they get to higher level anyway. I'd rather keep an elite slf pilot "on the books" since I use them fairly often, even for anti xeno (at least, when that was more of a thing).
 

Archvillain

Archvillain
nanothargon said:
The profit share does go up as they rank up, but it's not as much as if you hire them already "levelled".
Click to expand...

Ah. Thanks. So digging a bit more it sounds like even an Elite pilot (if ranked up from harmless) is only a ~10% tax, and in a galaxy where credits are essentially free and flow in no-matter what you do, I think I'd happily pay that even for pilot I almost never use, even though hire&fire is cheaper. A permanent pilot feels more like the found-family crew'o'misfits relationship in the stories I enjoy 😁
 

Daniel Cloudsifter

Daniel Cloudsifter
Archvillain said:
Ah. Thanks. So digging a bit more it sounds like even an Elite pilot (if ranked up from harmless) is only a ~10% tax, and in a galaxy where credits are essentially free and flow in no-matter what you do, I think I'd happily pay that even for pilot I almost never use, even though hire&fire is cheaper. A permanent pilot feels more like the found-family crew'o'misfits relationship in the stories I enjoy 😁
Click to expand...
Correct. I've leveled all mine up from harmless to keep the costs down. I've done it about 5 times now.

As for why so many times - trying to find a pilot that doesn't look like they hit every branch of the ugly tree on the way to the ground, one that has the right voice/accent/mannerisms, and replacing lost ones (one to Thargoids, one to CZ over confidence).

I really do NOT want to have start over again to get around the "they can't aim any more" bug.
 

nanothargon

N
Archvillain said:
Ah. Thanks. So digging a bit more it sounds like even an Elite pilot (if ranked up from harmless) is only a ~10% tax, and in a galaxy where credits are essentially free and flow in no-matter what you do, I think I'd happily pay that even for pilot I almost never use, even though hire&fire is cheaper. A permanent pilot feels more like the found-family crew'o'misfits relationship in the stories I enjoy 😁
Click to expand...
I would really love it if we could have crew join us in on-foot missions, so we could have a Zoe / Mal kind of vibe. Or Solo / Chewie, Kirk / Spock, Picard / Tasha Yar, Fry / Leela. Or more likely, Lister / Cat.
 
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