Clipper NPC's and their toughness.

[DextersIndignation]

Has anyone else noticed that it seems more difficult to "head shot" clippers (Target power plant).

At first I thought it was my load out, but someone else also noticed that clippers seem harder to finish than dropships or pythons.

Its not a big deal.
I'm sure most people don't care.

But has anyone else noticed this?

I am aware that the armour is slighty higher than a python 270 - 260, yet still lower than the dropship. Lower still than the conda.


But it still seems to take longer to hit and damage the clippers power plant.

Has anyone else noticed such?

 

[Ancipital]

I've found the opposite- including the mission clippers, which are supposed to be nastier and tougher. They always feel to be cumbersome obvious targets, and their PPs pop prettily. I found NPC Pythons a lot more nimble and likely to make a credible attempt to fight back.

(BTW, armour shouldn't affect subsystem damage right now, I think.)

 

[Arcanonn]

Are you using fixed guns? I use Gimbals and I'd swear they target an area behind the cockpit on Clippers.....not where you would expect.

Take down speed feels about right when I get both beams on that spot.

 

[DrakeAurum]

To me it feels more like their hulls are so fragile that they cave first even when you're shooting through them to the PP. Still, I've seen them pop at over 50% hull sometimes.

 

[DoppelShifter]

Clippers are actually my favourite meal in RES with my Vulture and twin Fixed C3 Beams. Super easy to outmaneuver them and aim constantly for the reactor. Python and Dropship seem easier because they are "fatter" than the streamlined body of the Clipper (which gives the illusion of them being easier to hit -- even though the hull size doesn't matter that much when you're aiming for systems), but still the Clipper's power plant is quite easy to burn.

 

[DextersIndignation]

Gimbals all the way...

I suppose I am just not paying attention as much.

But I still feel it is harder to take down an npc clipper than a juicy anaconda. At least in res zones.

 

[Poseidal]

The Clipper hull seems to go down faster than targeting the PP for NPCs. With Pythons it's 50/50, and with Anacondas and Dropships it's always better to go for the PP. With Asps, you'll probably accidentally hit the PP and one-shot them. In combat zones, Asps are the easiest targets to take out quickly.

 

[Renegade Roach]

I've found the opposite- including the mission clippers, which are supposed to be nastier and tougher. They always feel to be cumbersome obvious targets, and their PPs pop prettily. I found NPC Pythons a lot more nimble and likely to make a credible attempt to fight back.

(BTW, armour shouldn't affect subsystem damage right now, I think.)

Same here, for some reason Clipper npcs never seem capable of putting up any kind of a fight in comparison to Pythons, Dropships (which are surprisingly wriggly) and Condas.

 

[DoppelShifter]

Gimbals all the way...

I suppose I am just not paying attention as much.

But I still feel it is harder to take down an npc clipper than a juicy anaconda. At least in res zones.

Condas are mostly easier to get in RES for three reasons:

1 - It's huge and slow. Even if you miss the power plant, that hull is just immense. If you don't explode the reactor first, you'll eventually "accidentally" explode it by hull damage.

2 - The police usually SWARMS the Condas. If you see 3 police vipers at a distance shooting at something, you can bet they're fighting a Conda. So it's easier to manage aggro and damage, while keeping yourself mostly safe.

3 - They tend to spawn in open areas, so it's easy to hit them and easy to run for cover in the asteroids if you need so.

Clippers, on the other hand, usually spawn in the middle of the asteroids, are more nimble and have a thinner body. But I still find them easy to burn, along with Dropships.

EDIT: Oh, and I avoid gimbals in higher ranks because the NPCs start using chaff launchers. That's not a good thing when you're flying a vulture with only 2 hardpoints.

 

[Ancipital]

EDIT: Oh, and I avoid gimbals in higher ranks because the NPCs start using chaff launchers. That's not a good thing when you're flying a vulture with only 2 hardpoints.

Never a problem, as they always fly away from the chaff. Hold fire for a second or two and let your caps fill, if you can't be bothered to untarget them and fire manually.