Engineers killed twice in python by fer de lance in 9 seconds in last hour.. kthnxbb

[tekno]

really this update is horrible for causal player like me.(few hours / week). i dont play much, playing mouse and keyboard because im used to it from other games, however, after this patch i dont intend to play or buy frontier stuff.
as a huge fan since elite II and especially frontier first encounters im disappointed, that one patch can basically ruin the game for me (and from what i read, also for many more).
I lost in two days 4 or 5 pythons just because NPC during _under 100k reward mission run_ kills me under 10 seconds :
- during deploying hardpoints i lost almost all schields
- cell bank was basically useless as well shield boosters.
today it was fer de lance (or what ever the ship is called) and i died twice in matter of minutes... and not speaking that i was not able to resist the interdiction due another bug with that.
- im not speaking about looking at "stand by" always during mission board for like 20 seconds each time during loading accepting mission etc...

really its like x-rebirth release, i think frontier is loosing player base with such releases and after certain game(s) will come out, it will loose more
sorry to say that but thats what im thinking, as i loved to just fly in space, w/o question the best part of this game (apart from supercruise), i even didnt mind the grind and space trucking.

 

[Vegassimus]

I can understand your frustrations with NPC spawns after 2.1.
I am always interdicted by elite or deadly NPCs like Anacondas, FDLs, Pythons, FAS, FDS, FGS... able to regenerate their shields much quicker than I would ever be.
There is no way to win against these NPCs with a multirole A-graded Python using Hotas/FA on-off/reverse... so submit to interdiction (have a shortcut for thruster to 0%) and flee by quickly high waking (after some boosts). My A-rated shield with 3 A-boosters (i.e. 550 MJ) can resist for a while with 3-4 pips in system.
You can also logout immediately when you see a message of pirate... or learn to kill the process of your game's instance when the situation is desperate.
I am only "competent" in combat rank ... but it appears that the level of NPCs is surely related to my trade rank "Tycoon"... so no way to progress in kills with my multirole A-graded python with military grade bulkheads after 2.1.
I appreciate the new bookmarks and FSD range upgrade for my Asp Explorer... so exploration is better and easier... but forget combat, just flee or logout.

 

[GluttonyFang]

*Calms down*

*Thinks to oneself (Don't tell him to get good... don't tell him to get good... don't tell him to get good)*

I also use keyboard and mouse, and use them exclusively and flight assist off in combat.

You need to learn how to combat properly and get rid of bad habits you formed with lazy AI.

It's not the AI at fault, it's you that need to improve. And you don't need to be an ace to succeed in taking down AI and enjoy bounty hunting.

Try seek out help from veteran players, they are usually willing to help.

 

[ShimEnki]

Im a fairly capable pilot also flying a Python- A rated with Hull reinf and A boosters and within seconds, some NPC which i could not identify due to 3 shots of a railgun taking my shields and hull to 65% left no option but high wake...which if it werent for some skill and prep i would have enjoyed a latte with ian the insurance man for the 1st time in months.

2.1 is totally nutso re level of NPC so called skills and whatever secret shtuff they are coded with.

Lots are logging out and staying out unfortunately.

 

[Steve Solo]

really this update is horrible for causal player like me.(few hours / week). i dont play much, playing mouse and keyboard because im used to it from other games, however, after this patch i dont intend to play or buy frontier stuff.
as a huge fan since elite II and especially frontier first encounters im disappointed, that one patch can basically ruin the game for me (and from what i read, also for many more).
I lost in two days 4 or 5 pythons just because NPC during _under 100k reward mission run_ kills me under 10 seconds :
- during deploying hardpoints i lost almost all schields
- cell bank was basically useless as well shield boosters.
today it was fer de lance (or what ever the ship is called) and i died twice in matter of minutes... and not speaking that i was not able to resist the interdiction due another bug with that.
- im not speaking about looking at "stand by" always during mission board for like 20 seconds each time during loading accepting mission etc...

really its like x-rebirth release, i think frontier is loosing player base with such releases and after certain game(s) will come out, it will loose more
sorry to say that but thats what im thinking, as i loved to just fly in space, w/o question the best part of this game (apart from supercruise), i even didnt mind the grind and space trucking.

Which system is it happening in? I find that accepting federal or empire missions( or at least a faction with high security) means that once you are interdicted police will show up to handle it. It's a real pity that the other ship is destroying you so quickly. Had the same problem with a DBX. Destroyed my a rated vulture in seconds.

Next time just take some turrets of your own and attempt a turning fight and let the turrets do the work.

Or take some dummy cargo that you can drop to get him off your butt.(gold works best) it may be expensive but nowhere near as expensive as insurance payments.

 

[ShimEnki]

Which system is it happening in? I find that accepting federal or empire missions( or at least a faction with high security) means that once you are interdicted police will show up to handle it. It's a real pity that the other ship is destroying you so quickly. Had the same problem with a DBX. Destroyed my a rated vulture in seconds.

Next time just take some turrets of your own and attempt a turning fight and let the turrets do the work.

Or take some dummy cargo that you can drop to get him off your butt.(gold works best) it may be expensive but nowhere near as expensive as insurance payments.

I tried dropping a dummy pc of cargo ...i guess he could read the label it saying "Elite Dangerous Engineers" ...and didnt go for it

 

[Toumal]

I once got almost ganked in my python by a FDL. It got me down to 60% hull and I was running from the start, didn't even try to turn to fight or anything.
The reason was simple: I didn't high-wake out immediately, but tried to boost away for some time first. But still, it was scary to see what can happen.

A friend of mine recently started playing and he didn't have a great time as a total beginner. I'd say the difficulty curve for the early players should be lowered still.

 

[Gold Coins for Cats]

Hrm, four out of five threads I've seen, it's been a python. It may be time to reopen that thread about buffing larger ships again.

*Calms down*

*Thinks to oneself (Don't tell him to get good... don't tell him to get good... don't tell him to get good)*

I also use keyboard and mouse, and use them exclusively and flight assist off in combat.

You need to learn how to combat properly and get rid of bad habits you formed with lazy AI.

It's not the AI at fault, it's your need to improve. And you don't need to be an ace to succeed in taking down AI and enjoy bounty hunting.

Try seek out help from veteran players, they are usually willing to help.

You can't lampshade telling people to get good by telling yourself not to tell people to get good and then telling people to get good! I'm sure that's against at least one law of physics!

As for the keyboard issue, I can't help but think that although it's a fantastic device for controlling ships for some people, it may not be the best device for controlling ships for all people. For example, I played with a 360 controller for a month, but the controls never clicked until I sprang for the HOTAS (This coming from the hooplehead that keyboarded Descent II)

Perhaps someone needs to start a Joystick rental service?

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I once got almost ganked in my python by a FDL. It got me down to 60% hull and I was running from the start, didn't even try to turn to fight or anything.
The reason was simple: I didn't high-wake out immediately, but tried to boost away for some time first. But still, it was scary to see what can happen.

A friend of mine recently started playing and he didn't have a great time as a total beginner. I'd say the difficulty curve for the early players should be lowered still.

Pythons aren't really that fast, but you can keep going in a turning war with the FDL until the drives charge.

One of the first advanced lessons to properly retreat is to consider the ship class of your persuer and guess whether you can outurn them or outrun them as compared to your own.

 

[Bacalao]

Hrm, four out of five threads I've seen, it's been a python. It may be time to reopen that thread about buffing larger ships again.

Two hours in a RES last night in the Corvette (pretty sure it's a big ship), took on pythons, anacondas, FdLs, eagles, cobras. Didn't have a problem. Used one charge of my 7B/6B SCB combo, about 1/3-1/2 my chaff and had a great time. I'm not a fantastic pilot, I'm okay. Think about the engagement, be prepared, use your pips and you're laughing all the way to the bank.
-
In the end I'm still waiting for a video of any of this "died in seconds" shenanaginery. It will either be blatantly apparent that it was a bug, poor ship management or gross exaggeration.

 

[Moonax IRL]

really this update is horrible for causal player like me.(few hours / week). i dont play much, playing mouse and keyboard because im used to it from other games, however, after this patch i dont intend to play or buy frontier stuff.
as a huge fan since elite II and especially frontier first encounters im disappointed, that one patch can basically ruin the game for me (and from what i read, also for many more).
I lost in two days 4 or 5 pythons just because NPC during _under 100k reward mission run_ kills me under 10 seconds :
- during deploying hardpoints i lost almost all schields
- cell bank was basically useless as well shield boosters.
today it was fer de lance (or what ever the ship is called) and i died twice in matter of minutes... and not speaking that i was not able to resist the interdiction due another bug with that.
- im not speaking about looking at "stand by" always during mission board for like 20 seconds each time during loading accepting mission etc...

really its like x-rebirth release, i think frontier is loosing player base with such releases and after certain game(s) will come out, it will loose more
sorry to say that but thats what im thinking, as i loved to just fly in space, w/o question the best part of this game (apart from supercruise), i even didnt mind the grind and space trucking.

AI is a bit more challenging, but not difficult, maybe invest in a Thrustmaster T flight Hotas X approx 40 euro. This makes a big difference and it will improve your gameplay and enjoyment of the game. I never used KB & mouse but I think the Hotas will be a great help at little cost,I have used mine for over a year with no issue and its proved to be a great investment.

 

[d8veh]

I think HI RES ships are pretty easy compared with the Elite ships that inderdict you.

 

[Nightbringerx]

I own a cutter which is pretty much Arated, and I would rather be attacked by an Elite Anaconda than a FDL.
They can be nasty, all others....meh.
Heck, even a wing can be easier(well depending on the wing that is...hehe.)

 

[BlackflyCanada]

It's good to see that I am not the only person having an issue with overly powerful AI. I can take more challenge and actually appreciate it, but when you get attacked by a much smaller ship that smashes your face in and you're only option is to high wake it out or die, is unacceptable.

Here is what happened to me:
I was tryin out the new engineer stuff, exploring planets for materials and such, doin missions, basic stuff. Found some platinum on a planet, forgot I had it... And some how the AI knows I got 1 ton of platinum some how, that I picked up while solo out in the middle of no where, interdicts me, and starts ramming me till my shields drop and I manage to escape to super cruise, get interdicted again, can't escape and die. Oh, I forgot I am in an A rated Conda, save for the power plant which is B rated. And what killed me, a python.... over 250 million credits into my conda, gets bested by a python... Maybe I need to get better I guess. I don't play all that often, and because of this result of trying to grind out materials on planet surfaces, which is time consuming as hell with very little reward... I think I'll play even less.

And to all the elitists out there who think it's player skill that got me killed. I also nearly died to an asp explorer in a combat zone.. I dunno why, but I did. But I sure as hell am not going to lose all the progress I made trying to get and outfit my Conda because the devs can't figure a nice way to increase the difficulty with out making it killer for casual players. Fact is I'd wager most of EDs player base is casual. Also the whole dealie with getting interdicted because you have a small amount of cargo, that the AI magically knows about is complete bunk... I can see if you got over 200k of stuff on ya, but one ton of platinum...    .

 

[h347h]

Hrm, four out of five threads I've seen, it's been a python. It may be time to reopen that thread about buffing larger ships again.

Large ships are fine. The metas around them have changed though and people are not changing to match the metas. If they made large ships any better it could be an issue. The Python in particular is showing its stripes though as it has always been in the past reliant on its shield cell banks for pvp at least to be a contender. Now that smaller ships are faster and more agile players should put turrets on them and keep minimum 1 SCB on it.

 

[Nightbringerx]

It's good to see that I am not the only person having an issue with overly powerful AI.

I didn't say I had a problem with the "overly powerful" AI, just the FDL but then again I am in a Cutter....hehe
I think the AI is awesome, I would prefer the state of it now, than spacefaring zombie that drop credits when you shoot them......

So many of these posts are popping up more and more. Me thinks a lot of Cmdrs are not liking their butts and egos taking a kicking...

 

[Tatwi]

You can also logout immediately when you see a message of pirate...

I did that the other night after 4 or 5 back to back interdictions by the same NPC. When I logged back in later, guess who was there instantly. Same NPC. And the instant I came out hyperspace from high-waking to a new system? Yup, same NPC was back again. Then I got him blown up in a star, which gave me enough time to get the station, where I got to see him be destroyed by station security.

A little overboard, Frontier.

 

[Robin of Spiritwood]

The Interdiction minigame is buggy at times. Sometimes it works, and is actually fun to play- and sometimes it goes crazy. That's one thing.

The other problem is the Agent Smith interdictors.

There seem to be a huge number of copies. Fight one inside an interdiction instance and damage it? The replacement is in mint condition. And there's no shortage of replacements.
A cooldown timer between these interdictions seems a reasonable compromise.

As it stands, the Interdictor- it can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with, and it absolutely will not stop until you are dead. If you can't kill it outright, you have to high wake out to another system - stick close to the sun & wait. If it comes there, flip over with your tail in the corona, and wait for it to plunge to its death.

 

[Cmdr Esteban]

There is no way to win against these NPCs with a multirole A-graded Python using Hotas/FA on-off/reverse...

I strongly beg to differ. I have only two ships: A high-rated Python and a Sidewinder. I've engaged in a fair amount of combat since 2.1 started (mostly in the Python, and many times even before I modded its thrusters), and not once have I lost either ship.

The Python is a great ship, and more than capable of holding its own in a fight. You simply cannot make a blanket statement like "there is no way to win", asserted as though it were a fact. It is not.

 

[Vegassimus]

I strongly beg to differ. I have only two ships: A high-rated Python and a Sidewinder. I've engaged in a fair amount of combat since 2.1 started (mostly in the Python, and many times even before I modded its thrusters), and not once have I lost either ship.

The Python is a great ship, and more than capable of holding its own in a fight. You simply cannot make a blanket statement like "there is no way to win", asserted as though it were a fact. It is not.

I think that we don't talk of the same experience. My A-graded Python has 224 units cargo and I don't want to convert all my cargo racks in shield cells and hull reinforcement packages. What destroys my experience of the game is the fact that ALL NPCs that interdict me are ELITE and DEADLY and are also Anacondas, FDLs, Pythons.. fitted only for combat.
With my build, I can still win against Elite Asp Explorer NPCs and smaller ships (when not in wings), but I am not interdicted anymore by these kinds of ships.
I have no bounty on my head in the whole galaxy and my combat rank is only "competent".
My experience of exploration outside the bubble in the range 500-600 Ly from SOL changes a lot too... my Asp Explorer is now interdicted a lot more and always by Elite or Deadly NPCs.
I am fed up with theses continuous interdictions with overleveled and overpowered NPCs ... It destroys any interest in the game when your only options are flee, logout or die.

 

[d3ansy]

I too have been switching between my Unmodded Python and my partially modded Asp E for the past week or so. My currently adopted methodology is be a 'Runner'. I've lost a couple of Asp E's but no Pythons yet. A couple of days ago I started simply 'Submitting' to the interdiction a thereby avoiding the lengthy FSD cooldown. Once i've submitted i push 3 pips to Systems and 3 pips to engines and start immediately boosting towards my navigation target. During the first boost or so i target the interdicting vessel to size them up, and usually only choose to engage if they are rated less than i am and ideally not in a FDL, otherwise continue the run.

Now i choose not to consider this cowardice.... ;-) but rather strategic survival yes yes i like that i'm a 'Strategic Survivalist'... Since adopting this strategy i've not lost a single Python and i've been hunted by some pretty fearsome , will be back in my Asp E this evening adopting the same process.

What i'm trying to investigate atm is a bit of a baiting strat when i arrive at the base station. Had an instance the other day where a very painful FDL fired on me within station range, the system authorities then turned on him and after a lengthy engagement they eventually put him down. Bonus i thought, no more pesky FDL hunting me.... no dice, same NPC in same FDL back on my tail very next jump, very next system. What I plan to do next time is to actually take part in the taking down of the FDL at the station and get a few hits in so it registers me as killing the NPC, then I want to see if the NPC re-encarnates.

I'm hoping this can become a method of using the system authorities to assist in disposing of these pesky buggers. Won't happen all the time, but it could be a sneaky little piece of opportunism.