Edit: If you read nothing else, please jump to the bottom and read the RESET YOUR COMBAT RANK item there. Without any further work on your part this may get you back in the game and having fun.
NOTE: This is just what works for me and some of what I've picked up. I am an average player. I'm sure there are better solutions for everything listed here. Feel free to add suggestions. Keep in mind that concrete info and examples are more useful than theory (e.g. a link to a coriolis.io build rather than just saying "Python is OP now") My motivation was to try to help some of the folks who feel the way described in the subject. If that's not you, this post won't be interesting to you
I’ve seen a lot of threads from people who really loved the game, and had a great time playing. They weren’t combat aces, would probably get toasted PvP’ing, but they were having a good time doing what they wanted and holding their own against the NPCs. They felt like they were doing alright.
Then suddenly, 2.1 hit and they felt like they no longer had the game they had grown to love. They were getting crushed by the NPCs they used to destroy. They were getting interdicted many times in a row and unable to escape or defeat the pirates. Their only viable option when interdicted now was to run and often that didn't work out. The pirates seemed way overgeared and overskilled for the interdiction (e.g. Elite FDL to take out an AspX, etc.)
I can empathize. Before 2.1 hit I wouldn’t think twice about soloing in a haz res. I never got killed by the NPCs unless I took crazy risks. LIke others, I had advanced in combat rank against the old AI, and now, faced with an AI that would shoot out your thrusters before you had the chance to drop one ton of cargo, I was having some “mixed feelings”
So yes, 2.1 was a shock. And it had some bugs that made the NPCs tougher than FD had intended. We shouldn’t get hung up on that. FD have tweaked the AI since, and have made only Deadly and Elite NPCs have engineer mods. So we need to acknowledge that. There was something wrong with the 2.1 patch and those issues have been resolved in 2.1.03 and .04.
There are lots of threads with good advice for those who want to “git gud”. That’s a great thing, if you’re up to the challenge, it’s just a matter of relearning part of the game. This is going to happen with every MMO and every game that receives updates after release. It’s good and bad. Good if you had issues with the way the game worked before and bad if you loved it
As an average player, I’ll share (IN A GIANT WALL OF TEXT) some of the things I had to do in order to not be the NPC’s whipping boy. Other people can give better advice, but sometimes it’s helpful to have one of your own offer their help. If you don’t really want to bother because you liked playing like you did before, skip over these next paragraphs because you still have options. Note that most of the improvements to the AI are just because now they actually use the abilities that human pilots have had all along.
The Final Options
Some folks either don’t want to re-learn combat, or can’t (for whatever reason, maybe they're frustrated, or don't have the time or the desire). Maybe they just want to trade, or explore, and the old AI was their speed. . Maybe they’re just not as young as they used to be. The bottom line from their point of view is they used to be able to play and now even if they try to the best of their abilities, they just can't make any headway. No one wants to play a game just to be constantly beaten down.
I have two suggestions:
NOTE: This is just what works for me and some of what I've picked up. I am an average player. I'm sure there are better solutions for everything listed here. Feel free to add suggestions. Keep in mind that concrete info and examples are more useful than theory (e.g. a link to a coriolis.io build rather than just saying "Python is OP now") My motivation was to try to help some of the folks who feel the way described in the subject. If that's not you, this post won't be interesting to you
I’ve seen a lot of threads from people who really loved the game, and had a great time playing. They weren’t combat aces, would probably get toasted PvP’ing, but they were having a good time doing what they wanted and holding their own against the NPCs. They felt like they were doing alright.
Then suddenly, 2.1 hit and they felt like they no longer had the game they had grown to love. They were getting crushed by the NPCs they used to destroy. They were getting interdicted many times in a row and unable to escape or defeat the pirates. Their only viable option when interdicted now was to run and often that didn't work out. The pirates seemed way overgeared and overskilled for the interdiction (e.g. Elite FDL to take out an AspX, etc.)
I can empathize. Before 2.1 hit I wouldn’t think twice about soloing in a haz res. I never got killed by the NPCs unless I took crazy risks. LIke others, I had advanced in combat rank against the old AI, and now, faced with an AI that would shoot out your thrusters before you had the chance to drop one ton of cargo, I was having some “mixed feelings”
So yes, 2.1 was a shock. And it had some bugs that made the NPCs tougher than FD had intended. We shouldn’t get hung up on that. FD have tweaked the AI since, and have made only Deadly and Elite NPCs have engineer mods. So we need to acknowledge that. There was something wrong with the 2.1 patch and those issues have been resolved in 2.1.03 and .04.
There are lots of threads with good advice for those who want to “git gud”. That’s a great thing, if you’re up to the challenge, it’s just a matter of relearning part of the game. This is going to happen with every MMO and every game that receives updates after release. It’s good and bad. Good if you had issues with the way the game worked before and bad if you loved it
As an average player, I’ll share (IN A GIANT WALL OF TEXT) some of the things I had to do in order to not be the NPC’s whipping boy. Other people can give better advice, but sometimes it’s helpful to have one of your own offer their help. If you don’t really want to bother because you liked playing like you did before, skip over these next paragraphs because you still have options. Note that most of the improvements to the AI are just because now they actually use the abilities that human pilots have had all along.
- The NPCs turn way faster than I can.
SUMMARY: Boost turn to turn faster (thank's to V'larr for pointing out that just FA off doesn't make you turn any faster).
It does seem that the NPCs cheat turn now. You used to be able to just sit in 2/2/2 (pips) or even x/4/x and maybe get close to the blue zone on the throttle and out turn them. Well the NPCs have learned how to manage their pips and they understand that more pips in engines means higher turning rates.
They also probably boost turn. You have to do these things to turn faster:- Keep the throttle in the middle of the blue area, that is the sweet spot where you are most maneuvarble. It's not intuitive, you'd thin that slower = smaller turn radius but in this game they decided they don't want ppl just flipping around w/out flying so you need to be in the middle of the blue area.
- Giive more PIPs to the ENG capacitor to turn faster.
- This is the key one right here - boost while turning. It drastically increases your turn rate. Bind it to a joystick button right next to your throttle.
- Flight assist off (hold mode) - can be helpful when flipping around and flying backwards, but it's more advanced. You can experiment with it, it is fun. To use this practically, bind Toggle Flight Assist to a joystick button right next to your throttle. Select the Hold Mode option. This means that as long as you hold that key or joystick button down, flight assist is OFF. As soon as you release the key or button, flight assist is back ON (normal flying mode). Then you can boost and FA off together. You can also just turn FA off just so you can fly backwards while shooting at your enemy and keeping him in front of you.
-
Just test it for yourself. You’ll see that you can now turn MUCH faster. You should be able to keep up with the NPCs. If you’re still having trouble staying behind your enemy (I do), a nice turret on the front top part of your ship will allow you to keep hitting them as long as they’re somewhere in front or over you. I like a beam or burst laser there to wear their shields out.
Once you practice a bit with it it becomes fun and you find yourself doing it often, even just doing a sharp turn into the mail slot of a station. THANKS TO SOMEONE FOR POINTING OUT THAT FA OFF BY ITSELF DOESN'T INCREASE YOUR TURN RATE. - Pro tip from FutronBob: Bind a key or joystick button to 50% throttle, there is an option for that. It puts you right in the middle of the blue zone where you are most maneuverable.
- The NPC has infinite shields, I get him close to 0 shields and then he instantly has full shields.
SUMMARY: Buy and use SCBs and heat sinks. Burst dmg (e.g. ramming).
Seems like this happens every pass! The NPCs now have and can use with perfect timing Shield Cell Banks (SCBs). An SCB partially recharges your shield. It says how much in outfitting. For example if you have a 1000MJ shield, and your SCB goes for 5 seconds and recharges 100MJ per second, you get 50% of your shields back with one SCB. The SCB starts recharging your shield a few seconds after you kick it off, and takes a few seconds to complete, so you have to keep your shields up until it kicks in. It will also generate a lot of heat, people often use heat sinks (or stop shooting) with them. I bind the B key to use a SCB (boost) and V key for heat sink usage. They’re close on the keyboard. I’ll hit B and then V. Sometimes it seems like the NPCs have perfect timing with that. That’s ok. Now you know what they’re doing, they’re not cheating. You can examine their loadout and see how many SCB banks they have, they may have multiple and each one may have up to 5 charges. The key is to burst their shields down. When their shields are low, burst. Ram them if you have to (if you have more shields than they do and your ship is not smaller than theirs), with full PIPs to your shields. Otherwise just keep up the pressure and use your SCBs wisely and you should be able to prevail. See my fight against the cheaty shield elite python for an example of perfect NPC SCB timing. Note that SCBs generate heat, I usually use a heat sink with each but I had forgotten to restock heat sinks…
[video=youtube;LN3Yp310YKo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN3Yp310YKo[/video] - It takes forever to get the NPCs shields down.
SUMMARY: 4 PIPS to SYS WHEN UNDER FIRE. USE CHAFF AND SCBs. KEEP UP THE PRESSURE.
4 PIPs to SYS with shields up = you take about 40% less damage to your shields. So it’s not about recharge rate. Just having 4 PIPs in SYS means if he is going to do 100MJ damage to your whields, he only does 60MJ. If you had 0 pips in SYS, he would have done 100MJ. Its that simple. If you’re being fired upon, rammed, are about to crash into the side of the space station, 4 pips to shields. This means you can’t sit in 2/2/2. On my Conda with 1000MJ shields, I will sit on 4PIPs in sys and 2 in weap unless maneovering. Only if my enemy is not attacking will I go 4 pips in weapons.
This video shows me sitting on 4 pips in shields, and my shields last a long time. Then at 1:22 I popped a SCB and a heat sink, and to the NPC it looks like I'm cheating with infinite shields
[video=youtube;aoAGv5lqrUc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoAGv5lqrUc[/video]
If you do this, then it’ll take forever for the NPC to get your shields down. Also, throw everything you have at him all the time. I used to just use the lasers when shields were up and save the kinetic weapons for when they were down. Now I just wail away with everything. Every little bit helps (except weaps that are completely ineffective before shields are down like missiles).
- Once my shields are down the NPCs destroy me instantly.
SUMMARY: KEEP YOUR SHIELDS UP WITH 4PIP in SYS, USE SCBs, CHAFF, AND RUN IF YOUR SHIELDS ARE DOWN.
This is probably missiles, though they make good use of kinetic weapons too (frag cannons close up are killer). Make sure you have a point defense and it can shoot where you usually have your enemies. PD is a line of sight weapon (so if you’re always running, have it in the rear of the ship). If you’re still getting owned maybe you should just run when the shields are down, many people consider that the end of the fight and bail. Concentrate on keeping your shields up with 4 PIPs to sys and with good use of chaff and SCBs. Also consider putting some heat seeking missile launchers in those C1 hardpoints. They provide nice burst dmg once the shields are down, and they ignore chaff.
This video shows me NOT doing 4 PIPs to SYS, NOT doing SCBs, and then NOT running when my shields are down.
[video=youtube;D9RG-HWD2YQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9RG-HWD2YQ[/video]
Reply by ROSS-128 about Hull Reinforcement Packages that has to do with this point:
- The NPCs has an infinite amount of chaff.
SUMMARY: USE CHAFF YOURSELF, DESELECT TARGET TO FORCE GIMBLED WEAPS TO SHOOT STRAIGHT, STAY CLOSE AND KEEP SHOOTING OR PIPS to SYS AND RECHARGE WEAPS.
IT may seem like that, and there is that experimental effect that can cause it to appear that way, but it’s usually not that. It’s just that they’ve learned to use chaff, and just like a player, they can have multiple chaff launchers and can basically keep chaff going almost non-stop if they are so inclined. They’re only interested in this one fight, they don't care if they have to go restock after the fight. If they have 2 chaff launchers, they can launch 20 chaff, and while one is reloading they can launch from the second one. Heat seeking weapons and fixed weapons ignore chaff. If you have gimbled weapons, you can force them to shoot straight in front by deselecting the target. Usually though I just keep shooting if I’m close enough a lot of the shots will still hit. Otherwise hold your fire, pips to SYS (so you reduce incoming dmg) and ENG or let your WEP recharge, and pick right back up after the chaff is gone (or when you’re close enough). You should be chaffing it up too
The Elite Python in the video above was very chaffy, I didn't take any special measures just kept firing and kept him close.
- I get interdicted all the time, sometimes 3 times just going from the entry point to the 1st station in a system. The NPCs seem to follow me.
SUMMARY: BE AWARE WHY YOU'RE BEING INTERDICTED. USE MINES ON TRADING/SMUGGLING SHIPS. DON'T STACK SALVAGE, KILL, ETC. MISSIONS IF YOU WANT TO BE PEACEFUL BECAUSE THEY SEND PEOPLE TO MURDER YOU.
There are multiple reasons for interdictions. Any cargo other than limpets will attract the pirate scum. And the problem is their rank and ship will be selected based on your combat rank and your ship size, not on what you’re carrying. I’ll get interdicted by Elite anacondas when carrying just crap or some engineering cargo.
Another source of well equipped and violent interdictions is missions. These could be data delivery, salvage, assassination, anything really. They'll say that ships may be sent against you. They will be And they'll be better armed than typical pirates and they'll want to kill you usually (e.g. Elite FDL and he's not interested in your cargo). The more of these missions you stack (that just means having them in your transactions at the same time) the more likely you are to be interdicted and the more frequently it will happen. If you want to avoid them, just don't take those type of missions or don't stack them, when you're just doing trading or other activities. Take them when you're in a ship that can fight or when you're prepared.
If you’re in a trading/smuggling ship (can’t really build it for fighting) just equip mines everywhere you can. Make sure you submit to the interdiction so you don’t spin out, and don’t take hull damage, and don’t have that crazy long FSD cooldown. This only works if you’re going slow enough. If you wait until the last second when you see you’ll lose the mini-game and then submit, usually you’re going too fast and you’ll still spin out and get the long cooldown. As you’re submitting, switch to your mine fire group, target the enemy (bind a joystick button to target next ship - regardless of hostile or not - this will target them when they are behind you and they haven’t yet become hostile).
Fly away from them in a straight line (line them up so they are behind you - this won’t work if they’re flying at an angle). Start dropping mines like there’s no tomorrow. See these videos of me taking out deadly interdictors with a cheap type 6 wth just 2 mine launchers. I saw this trick in a Vindicator Jones video and have been using it every since.
Deadly Viper falls to a Type 6
<a href="https://youtu.be/98t4IVhn1AM" style="text-decoration:none;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">[video=youtube_share;98t4IVhn1AM]https://youtu.be/98t4IVhn1AM[/video]
Deadly DBS falls to a Type 6 (but almost takes me ou)
<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">[video=youtube_share;-cIMORu_oHs]https://youtu.be/-cIMORu_oHs[/video]
Again make sure you have chaff and a point defense in the back. Drop mines while gaining distance and then boost out, but if you don’t want him interdicting you again in 20 seconds, kill him with the mines. Slow down if you have to like I do in the video so you can make sure he dies. Also make sure you have Report Crimes Against Me on so the cops will come help.
- I’ve lost a ton of money to the new AI and I can’t seem to get ahead now. I’m afraid to fly my good ships.
SUMMARY: MAKE ENOUGH MONEY SO IT'S NOT AN ISSUE. SOME EXAMPLES ARE LISTED.
I have 1 billion credits of assets now, and the only reason I did that was to be able to try different ships. I’ll list how I made the cash below for others who want to be able to try different ships and loadouts. If you search I”m sure you’ll find better approaches to making money. much quicker. This is just what I did. I have no interest in trading or getting Elite in any particular category, I just want to fly all the ships and would love to not have to keep swapping modules and airframes, it'd be great to be able to maintain a fleet.
1. I used to make money with BH. Got the Zachory Hudson rank 3 bonus for +30% to +50% BH bonus. Was not worth it for making money (per hour). Now I just BH if I want some combat, but I usually get interdicted enough because I stack missions where I don’t miss it much.
2. Make 14 mil so you can go to step 3. Use a cobra, light as you can, fitted for long range smuggling, and do Robigo runs. Robigo because you can get missions that require 12 or 16 tons of cargo that pay millions. Get your rep up and mode switch for the smaller slave missions (12 slaves, 16 slave for a few million each). Gets you to 14 mil quickly.
3. Once you have 14 million to invest, you can upgrade to an AspX with great jump range and better cargo space:
https://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/0pit...402t012h.Iw18WQ==.Aw18WQ==?bn=long range aspx
The 4 mine launchers will take care of anything behind you. Just submit by zeroing your throttle and then start dropping mines. You have to make the NPC chase you in a line, so adjust your trajectory. See the videos above made above using the Type 6.
I used to take this ship to Robigo, and do the slave running missions. Can also be used for Sothis and Ceos. Go there and raise your rep doing data running and other local missions between the 3 stations there in those 2 systems, then you can get the high paying legal missions to haul stuff back to the bubble. If you go to sothis/ceos, bring collector limpet controller for the salvage missions - you can use those for easy rep up too, and then you can sell it and buy a cargo rack for the trip back.
4. Once you have 183 mil for a trade-conda:
https://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda/0phtsFklndCsxf5-2j2j-18-2j2j--0003---020605050504043748C0242f.Iw18ZlA=.Aw18ZlA=?bn=lomac_sothisconda
I think that’s about right, I don’t have it anymore, it’s now been upgraded to a missionconda (see below). Thanks to psyantologist for pointing out that the sensors should be D rated. In general D rated means lightest, E rated is most energy efficient, so for long range work D rating is the best.
Same as the Aspx but only Sothis/Ceos, and you can’t land on Sothis Mining or Robigo. Just rep up all the factions there and then you’ll get a few smuggling 5 mil per missions locally there, plus a bunch of 3-10 mil legal cargo missions back to the bubble. At this point you can make > 70 mil per long haul, so it doesn’t take much more work and you can afford any ship that doesn’t require rep.
Try to get rank 3 FSD range mod to your ships for sothis/ceos/robigo, but it’s doable without as well. I think it’s 18 jumps to Sothis in my tradeconda. It was 18 in my unmodded AspX.
5. This is what I do now for fun - Missonconda (484 mil).
https://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda...4242f.Iw18ZlA=.Aw18ZlA=?bn=lomac_missionconda
This is my current thing. I just run all kinds of missions trying to get fed and empire rank for corvette/cutter. Gets me engineer mats and money and lots of fun combat. I like the salvage, assassination, boom time delivery etc all those missions except ones that involve the SRV - that’s just me. The salvage and assassination missions are now great, you just go to the target system, use the advanced scanner or scan the nav beacon if you have only a basic scanner, it tells you what planetary body to go to, you fly there and fly around it (not in orbital cruise, further out) until the mission signal source (blue) appears (usually 1-3 minutes max). It shows up in your navigation panel too. Disengage into it and salvage, assassinate, whatever. Nice blue mission signal source.
In this ship I fear no NPC interdiction. The closest call I’ve had is the elite python video, and that’s because I forgot I hadn’t restocked heat sinks (to go with the SCBs). Plus he was so good with his SCB timing.
I'll smuggle, and I'll even try CZs:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...capital-ship?p=4242545&viewfull=1#post4242545
I won't PVP in it because a skilled pilot in a small ship could take it out quickly, but for PVE, I'm comfortable.
I have a python I used before the conda, but I don’t have a great build for it, I’ve heard others post they have great builds with a python but I haven’t seen a link to one yet.
So bottom line, yes the game has changed, but there are ways to compensate, even if you don't want to / can't "git gud" at combat. I hope some of these tips help fellow non-ace pilots get by in the dangerous universe.
2. Make 14 mil so you can go to step 3. Use a cobra, light as you can, fitted for long range smuggling, and do Robigo runs. Robigo because you can get missions that require 12 or 16 tons of cargo that pay millions. Get your rep up and mode switch for the smaller slave missions (12 slaves, 16 slave for a few million each). Gets you to 14 mil quickly.
3. Once you have 14 million to invest, you can upgrade to an AspX with great jump range and better cargo space:
https://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/0pit...402t012h.Iw18WQ==.Aw18WQ==?bn=long range aspx
The 4 mine launchers will take care of anything behind you. Just submit by zeroing your throttle and then start dropping mines. You have to make the NPC chase you in a line, so adjust your trajectory. See the videos above made above using the Type 6.
I used to take this ship to Robigo, and do the slave running missions. Can also be used for Sothis and Ceos. Go there and raise your rep doing data running and other local missions between the 3 stations there in those 2 systems, then you can get the high paying legal missions to haul stuff back to the bubble. If you go to sothis/ceos, bring collector limpet controller for the salvage missions - you can use those for easy rep up too, and then you can sell it and buy a cargo rack for the trip back.
4. Once you have 183 mil for a trade-conda:
https://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda/0phtsFklndCsxf5-2j2j-18-2j2j--0003---020605050504043748C0242f.Iw18ZlA=.Aw18ZlA=?bn=lomac_sothisconda
I think that’s about right, I don’t have it anymore, it’s now been upgraded to a missionconda (see below). Thanks to psyantologist for pointing out that the sensors should be D rated. In general D rated means lightest, E rated is most energy efficient, so for long range work D rating is the best.
Same as the Aspx but only Sothis/Ceos, and you can’t land on Sothis Mining or Robigo. Just rep up all the factions there and then you’ll get a few smuggling 5 mil per missions locally there, plus a bunch of 3-10 mil legal cargo missions back to the bubble. At this point you can make > 70 mil per long haul, so it doesn’t take much more work and you can afford any ship that doesn’t require rep.
Try to get rank 3 FSD range mod to your ships for sothis/ceos/robigo, but it’s doable without as well. I think it’s 18 jumps to Sothis in my tradeconda. It was 18 in my unmodded AspX.
5. This is what I do now for fun - Missonconda (484 mil).
https://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda...4242f.Iw18ZlA=.Aw18ZlA=?bn=lomac_missionconda
This is my current thing. I just run all kinds of missions trying to get fed and empire rank for corvette/cutter. Gets me engineer mats and money and lots of fun combat. I like the salvage, assassination, boom time delivery etc all those missions except ones that involve the SRV - that’s just me. The salvage and assassination missions are now great, you just go to the target system, use the advanced scanner or scan the nav beacon if you have only a basic scanner, it tells you what planetary body to go to, you fly there and fly around it (not in orbital cruise, further out) until the mission signal source (blue) appears (usually 1-3 minutes max). It shows up in your navigation panel too. Disengage into it and salvage, assassinate, whatever. Nice blue mission signal source.
In this ship I fear no NPC interdiction. The closest call I’ve had is the elite python video, and that’s because I forgot I hadn’t restocked heat sinks (to go with the SCBs). Plus he was so good with his SCB timing.
I'll smuggle, and I'll even try CZs:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...capital-ship?p=4242545&viewfull=1#post4242545
I won't PVP in it because a skilled pilot in a small ship could take it out quickly, but for PVE, I'm comfortable.
I have a python I used before the conda, but I don’t have a great build for it, I’ve heard others post they have great builds with a python but I haven’t seen a link to one yet.
So bottom line, yes the game has changed, but there are ways to compensate, even if you don't want to / can't "git gud" at combat. I hope some of these tips help fellow non-ace pilots get by in the dangerous universe.
The Final Options
Some folks either don’t want to re-learn combat, or can’t (for whatever reason, maybe they're frustrated, or don't have the time or the desire). Maybe they just want to trade, or explore, and the old AI was their speed. . Maybe they’re just not as young as they used to be. The bottom line from their point of view is they used to be able to play and now even if they try to the best of their abilities, they just can't make any headway. No one wants to play a game just to be constantly beaten down.
I have two suggestions:
- RESET YOUR COMBAT RANK. Put in a support ticket and ask FD to reset your combat rank. This isn’t as crazy as it first might sound. Your combat rank was earned by beating the old AI which we can all agree was much more docile than the new AI. Remember the old spin of death? Since your combat rank is how this game determines what’s an appropriate challenge for you in interdictions (which affect your trading and smuggling, not just combat-oriented activities), it only makes sense that your rank should be reset so that the game can evaluate you against the new AI. You’ll progress to the rank that is appropriate for your ability against the new AI, and you’ll probably be able to handle the challenge much better. I think this should solve the problem for most people. I don’t know why FD didn’t just offer this as an opt-in when they improved the AI, or why they don’t allow you to enable “adjust rank down” for combat. In any competitive sport you can rank up and down with your skill and with the new pool of players every year. It’s no fun for anyone if the metric for determining difficulty can only rank you up and doesn’t adjust when the difficulty adjusts.
A personal note: My combat rank is Dangerous. I get interdicted by Deadly and Elite ships routinely. Before I figured some of the stuff above out, I had considered having my combat rank reduced, but I’m OK with how it works now. - House Rules. Combat log (only If you only play solo or in a private group and your group is OK with it). Call it House Rules. I think I read that someone said it’s against the TOS. But honestly, if you are playing solo, as most of the folks I’ve read about do, you’re essentially cheating in a single player game. Who hasn’t kept rolling saves in single-player games so that they could undo mistakes that would otherwise cost them hours or days. I know hard core players will sniff and poo poo the thought, but that’s OK. The point is you want to have fun, you don’t want to be frustrated by your game. You can decide if you’re cheating yourself out of a good time or if you’re just taking some of the frustration out of your game play. Let’s be clear, combat logging against humans is cheating against humans. You wouldn’t cheat in a chess match against someone, so don’t do it against people here. PVP is 100% optional in this game (open mode = PVP, if you want to play PVE and still see humans there are groups like Mobius there just for that). So there’s really no reason to combat log against people.
NOTE: Mod removed the command I listed that you could put in a batch file to close the ED game client because it's considered cheating. The command can be used to close a hung game client. I have to use it every few days when the game gets hung after I exit to desktop. It's just more convenient than starting task mgr and killing the ED game client by hand. If you'd like a copy of the command purely for resolving this annoying post-exit bug, PM me. If the mods still don't think that's "fair use", we'll drop it.
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