Horizons How to learn and gain combat experience / training in larger ships (Python and larger)

[Susanna]

I have a Conda... Best thing about it at the moment... It can withstand a pounding from an NPC while I wait for a jump...

At present, I run every time I'm interdicted. Combat in the thing is just something I don't do because I have had no learning curve of how to fight in it. In my Vulture I'm ok (up to a point). But I've just not learnt and had exposure to the means of learning how to handle larger ships where their turning speed is so low and for the bulk of a battle, your opponent is not in line of sight. You are relying on turrets to turn on the attacking ship for you and you are flying by instrumentation only where you can't see your attacker. I've done a grade 4 thrusters upgrade on the conda which does help a lot though both in speed and turning rates.

Aside from obviously moding my weapons next (currently rather pointless cargo), do you have any other helpful suggestions on how to gain this learning curve please? Fit an interdictor and go hunt small wanted npc ships perhaps? You have to appreciate that my confidence in this area is rock bottom! I'm not a combat pilot and very much doubt I'll ever be as I am just not competitive in that way but I would like to know how to at least hold my own when attacked by npc's.

I haven't checked recently but I don't think the training missions from the front load screen include combat in larger ships but this is the kind of thing I need. A safe environment where I can build confidence and learn without facing a 20+ mil rebuy screen for every mistake I make...

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[goemon]

i took my cutter to nav beacons (without cargo, a bounty on my head, and without being pledged to a power).

there you can choose your targets, and test your loadout.

 

[Moonax IRL]

Trial and error like everything else in life, the more you do, the better you get, simple. Combat in ED is relatively easy, in the conda you should have no issue as you can dictate when to leave the engagement and just jump away. Decent shields, pip management,chaff and with the DPS of the annie all but elite annie`s should be handy enough to deal with. Learn to use FA off a bit, get some upgrades, they make a big difference but even the unmodded conda is good enough. I use to run a unmodded trade fit in 2.1 pre AI nerf with 4A prismatic with some SB`s or a 5A Pris for more security if needed and destroy all npc's bar elite annies with little trouble. There are plenty of videos and the issue has been addressed many times on the forum, there's no mystery to it.

 

[goemon]

. There are plenty of videos and the issue has been addressed many times on the forum, there's no mystery to it.

also watching videos helps to settle expectations

i have only seen very few cmdrs flying a large ship in an exceptional way ... in most cases it boils down to executive piloting (timing scbs, pips management, throttle forward or backwards).

 

[Susanna]

also watching videos helps to settle expectations

i have only seen very few cmdrs flying a large ship in an exceptional way ... in most cases it boils down to executive piloting (timing scbs, pips management, throttle forward or backwards).

Thanks, I'll go look for videos on YouTube. It's going to be a slow and painful learning curve by the sounds of it.

I'll include my current ship build here as well in a bit when I'm on my pc, all A rated except life support and scanners. Most of the modules except weapons have mods already.

But you can't buy confidence sadly!

 

[Moonax IRL]

also watching videos helps to settle expectations

i have only seen very few cmdrs flying a large ship in an exceptional way ... in most cases it boils down to executive piloting (timing scbs, pips management, throttle forward or backwards).

Yes and FA off which is a necessity for the slower turning ships to keep your target in view, as I said it's not rocket science, just comes with a bit of practice. I think some people have a bit of a mental block in relation to combat with the AI and nearly give up before they try, it's not that difficult. Competent human Cmdr`s, that's a different ball game.

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Thanks, I'll go look for videos on YouTube. It's going to be a slow and painful learning curve by the sounds of it.

I'll include my current ship build here as well in a bit when I'm on my pc, all A rated except life support and scanners. Most of the modules except weapons have mods already.

But you can't buy confidence sadly!

It sounds like a solid build and with the mods you should have no issue, at the end of the day the rebuy screen is not the end of the world so long as you have the funds for ins, it very easy to make 10`s millions in ED now in comparison to the early days.

 

[Susanna]

For Info - current build:

https://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda...WUA==.Aw18ZIExkA==?bn=Conda - A Rated - Armed

2 shield boosters have G1 heavy duty shield booster, 1 has G1 has thermal resistance.
8A PP has G4 Overcharged PP
7A Thrusters have G4 Dirty Drives
6A FSD has G5 Increased range
8A PD has G1 High Capacity PD (will switch this to rapid Charge when possible)
6A Shield Gen has G5 Thermal Resistance

Those recent The Hunt CG's netted me 500+mil so I could A rate my Conda!

 

[Moonax IRL]

For Info - current build:

https://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda...WUA==.Aw18ZIExkA==?bn=Conda - A Rated - Armed

2 shield boosters have G1 heavy duty shield booster, 1 has G1 has thermal resistance.
8A PP has G4 Overcharged PP
7A Thrusters have G4 Dirty Drives
6A FSD has G5 Increased range
8A PD has G1 High Capacity PD (will switch this to rapid Charge when possible)
6A Shield Gen has G5 Thermal Resistance

Those recent The Hunt CG's netted me 500+mil so I could A rate my Conda!

Perfectly adequate build for the job, G4 dirty drives are a big help.

 

[danubezoe]

Hi. I'm not a great combatpilot and may occasionally be lazy so I often bring some missiles. Use lasers and/or whatever you fancy for initial fighting, wear down shields and when the opponent either flee or you find you are in trouble just fire some seeker missiles. Also aim at their most offensive weapons, plasma accelerator clippers and railgun eagles is best disarmed.

 

[CMDR MERANGO]

For Info - current build:

https://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda...WUA==.Aw18ZIExkA==?bn=Conda - A Rated - Armed

2 shield boosters have G1 heavy duty shield booster, 1 has G1 has thermal resistance.
8A PP has G4 Overcharged PP
7A Thrusters have G4 Dirty Drives
6A FSD has G5 Increased range
8A PD has G1 High Capacity PD (will switch this to rapid Charge when possible)
6A Shield Gen has G5 Thermal Resistance

Those recent The Hunt CG's netted me 500+mil so I could A rate my Conda!

Go do some Sothis runs, you will net big credits for hauling and so will be able to relax a little more while you develop your combat skills and maybe need to buy back your Conda with insurance.

Good luck.

CMIV

 

[Macros Black]

Training Day

Go to a HazRes, Compromised Nav Beacon, or a Combat zone. Leave any wanted status and cargo before entering one of the first 2, or you'll get the pounding of your life.

My favorite Anaconda technique is to full reverse, target the PP, 2 pips to shield, 4 pips to weapons, FA off when needed, and let the turrets and MC's do their thing. Give chase when the NPC breaks off and then finish the job.

Combat zones are an entirely different experience.

 

[Susanna]

Go do some Sothis runs, you will net big credits for hauling and so will be able to relax a little more while you develop your combat skills and maybe need to buy back your Conda with insurance.

Good luck.

CMIV

Good idea! jump range is reasonable so that would be possible. I've not tried smuggling missions in my Conda yet but the FSD range should make this possible.

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Go to a HazRes, Compromised Nav Beacon, or a Combat zone. Leave any wanted status and cargo before entering one of the first 2, or you'll get the pounding of your life.

My favorite Anaconda technique is to full reverse, target the PP, 2 pips to shield, 4 pips to weapons, FA off when needed, and let the turrets and MC's do their thing. Give chase when the NPC breaks off and then finish the job.

Combat zones are an entirely different experience.

A little outside my comfort zone I suspect. I've only been in a combat zone a couple of times and that was in a military specced out Vulture. A Conda is a whole other type of game play...

 

[Devari]

I have a Conda... Best thing about it at the moment... It can withstand a pounding from an NPC while I wait for a jump...

At present, I run every time I'm interdicted. Combat in the thing is just something I don't do because I have had no learning curve of how to fight in it. In my Vulture I'm ok (up to a point). But I've just not learnt and had exposure to the means of learning how to handle larger ships where their turning speed is so low and for the bulk of a battle, your opponent is not in line of sight. You are relying on turrets to turn on the attacking ship for you and you are flying by instrumentation only where you can't see your attacker. I've done a grade 4 thrusters upgrade on the conda which does help a lot though both in speed and turning rates.

Part of the issue here is that with all the dirty drive mods that players have these days it's changed the limit of what ships you can "dogfight" in. At present that "limit" with a mid-range (Grade 3) or higher dirty drive tune is somewhere around the Python/Clipper level. Larger ships than this will spend much of the battle without having their forward weapons on-target most of the time. So I suppose the issue here is what type of combat you expect with your Anaconda? If it's a "dogfighting" style then you will probably find that frustrating as most small and medium-sized ships will be able to outmaneuver you fairly easily to prevent this. If it's a "turret" style where you simply try to keep as many weapons on target as possible by maneuvering to optimize your fields of fire (i.e., not necessarily keeping your opponent in front of your ship) then this will be much more viable. Chaff is an effective counter to turrets and will be a limitation with this build but overall you will probably find turret-based loadout along with a few gimbal/fixed large weapons (for when you're fighting another large target) will probably be the best balance overall in an Anaconda.

Even in my Python (which has a grade 3 dirty drive tune and 400 boost speed) I rely on my class 2 beam turrets to maintain fire on smaller/agile fighters (Eagle/Viper) as I maneuver to get my main weapons (class 3 multicannons) on target. Even when I get the small targets in front of me I usually only have a short window of time to fire so I will pull the trigger to start "firing" my multicannons about 1-2 seconds before the target is in front of me so that most of the multicannon spin-up time occurs before they're actually in front of me. I've been considering swapping out the class 2 beam turrets with something else but they're too useful against small ships for me to want to replace at this point. Given that I enjoy a "dogfighting" style of gameplay that emphasises heavy forward firepower I haven't really had any reason to move from my Python to a larger ship like an Anaconda, but I still use turrets as needed even with my heavily-modified Python.

Aside from obviously moding my weapons next (currently rather pointless cargo), do you have any other helpful suggestions on how to gain this learning curve please? Fit an interdictor and go hunt small wanted npc ships perhaps? You have to appreciate that my confidence in this area is rock bottom! I'm not a combat pilot and very much doubt I'll ever be as I am just not competitive in that way but I would like to know how to at least hold my own when attacked by npc's.

I would hold off on weapon mods until you settle on a type of weapons loadout (gimbal/fixed vs. turrets and energy vs. kinetic). In the meantime I would recommend putting together a weapon loadout that you feel suits your preferred combat style and going into a "medium" RES (i.e., the ones labelled simply "Resource Extraction Site") and looking for medium-sized wanted ships to engage. Once you're comfortable handling, say, an Asp where you can get your weapons consistently on-target then try taking on smaller ships (Vipers/Diamonbacks) and eventually the smallest ships (Sidewinder/Eagle). These ships won't be much of a threat to your Anaconda so it will give you plenty of time to learn how to fight them, and if you take on more than you can handle (i.e., a wing of smaller ships) by mistake, you can always jump out of the RES. Once you can do this at a medium RES then try High RES (where the ships will be higher rank) and eventually if you want more of a challenge possibly a Haz RES, although generally you won't find as many smaller ships in a Haz RES and for your purposes you will probably get the most benefit from Medium/High RES which spawn smaller ships more frequently.

 

[Ddraig]

Pip management is the key for survival in large ships. Be aware of what is happening and set the pips accordingly. This takes some practice but is no rocket science either. Learn some basics of FAOFF and turning with the assistance of thrusters. Little by little you will gain experience and confidence. Learn how much can you bite before bail, there is no shame in that. And try to enjoy the fight, is a game and you are there have fun.

 

[Susanna]

Part of the issue here is that with all the dirty drive mods that players have these days it's changed the limit of what ships you can "dogfight" in. At present that "limit" with a mid-range (Grade 3) or higher dirty drive tune is somewhere around the Python/Clipper level. Larger ships than this will spend much of the battle without having their forward weapons on-target most of the time. So I suppose the issue here is what type of combat you expect with your Anaconda? If it's a "dogfighting" style then you will probably find that frustrating as most small and medium-sized ships will be able to outmaneuver you fairly easily to prevent this. If it's a "turret" style where you simply try to keep as many weapons on target as possible by maneuvering to optimize your fields of fire (i.e., not necessarily keeping your opponent in front of your ship) then this will be much more viable. Chaff is an effective counter to turrets and will be a limitation with this build but overall you will probably find turret-based loadout along with a few gimbal/fixed large weapons (for when you're fighting another large target) will probably be the best balance overall in an Anaconda.

Even in my Python (which has a grade 3 dirty drive tune and 400 boost speed) I rely on my class 2 beam turrets to maintain fire on smaller/agile fighters (Eagle/Viper) as I maneuver to get my main weapons (class 3 multicannons) on target. Even when I get the small targets in front of me I usually only have a short window of time to fire so I will pull the trigger to start "firing" my multicannons about 1-2 seconds before the target is in front of me so that most of the multicannon spin-up time occurs before they're actually in front of me. I've been considering swapping out the class 2 beam turrets with something else but they're too useful against small ships for me to want to replace at this point. Given that I enjoy a "dogfighting" style of gameplay that emphasises heavy forward firepower I haven't really had any reason to move from my Python to a larger ship like an Anaconda, but I still use turrets as needed even with my heavily-modified Python.



I would hold off on weapon mods until you settle on a type of weapons loadout (gimbal/fixed vs. turrets and energy vs. kinetic). In the meantime I would recommend putting together a weapon loadout that you feel suits your preferred combat style and going into a "medium" RES (i.e., the ones labelled simply "Resource Extraction Site") and looking for medium-sized wanted ships to engage. Once you're comfortable handling, say, an Asp where you can get your weapons consistently on-target then try taking on smaller ships (Vipers/Diamonbacks) and eventually the smallest ships (Sidewinder/Eagle). These ships won't be much of a threat to your Anaconda so it will give you plenty of time to learn how to fight them, and if you take on more than you can handle (i.e., a wing of smaller ships) by mistake, you can always jump out of the RES. Once you can do this at a medium RES then try High RES (where the ships will be higher rank) and eventually if you want more of a challenge possibly a Haz RES, although generally you won't find as many smaller ships in a Haz RES and for your purposes you will probably get the most benefit from Medium/High RES which spawn smaller ships more frequently.

Firstly, thank you for a comprehensive answer!
As for 'style' the only experience I have is with Dogfighting in a Vulture i.e. small maneuverable ships. I have no experience with the turret based combat where you are keeping your target within your turret weapon range. I imagine this is mostly done via instrument flying with the scanner to keep the target ship between dead ahead and 90ish degrees to your own ship? But how this is done, I'm far from clear! A friend of mine also flys a conda and he uses this weapon loadout as he finds it possible to keep 4 pips to systems and 2 to weapons and still fire nearly continuously. Coupled with the MCs for when their shields are down, it makes for a good combination (apparently!). I have never actually tried this type of combat yet so I'm only stating what his experience is. Whether this is the best weapons loadout - I really can't comment.

I might start off in a Nav beacon. This might enable me to select something that I think I could take on first of all. Your suggestion of a medium size ship like an Asp is a good one I think. Something not too nimble that will run rings around me and slowly whittle me away. I had an Eagle do this to me and it's not pretty...

My boost speed is around 340 I think which for a heavy ship isn't too bad. A Python with 400 though sounds quite amazing!

Thanks again for replying! +1 rep.

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Pip management is the key for survival in large ships. Be aware of what is happening and set the pips accordingly. This takes some practice but is no rocket science either. Learn some basics of FAOFF and turning with the assistance of thrusters. Little by little you will gain experience and confidence. Learn how much can you bite before bail, there is no shame in that. And try to enjoy the fight, is a game and you are there have fun.

Aside from pips to engines and FA off when turning I'm not sure I understand when to use pip management. Obviously 4 pips to Sys when being hit! Turning with Thrusters as well might take a little getting used to. Gently, Gently, seems to be the advice!

 

[Devari]

Firstly, thank you for a comprehensive answer!
As for 'style' the only experience I have is with Dogfighting in a Vulture i.e. small maneuverable ships. I have no experience with the turret based combat where you are keeping your target within your turret weapon range. I imagine this is mostly done via instrument flying with the scanner to keep the target ship between dead ahead and 90ish degrees to your own ship? But how this is done, I'm far from clear! A friend of mine also flys a conda and he uses this weapon loadout as he finds it possible to keep 4 pips to systems and 2 to weapons and still fire nearly continuously. Coupled with the MCs for when their shields are down, it makes for a good combination (apparently!). I have never actually tried this type of combat yet so I'm only stating what his experience is. Whether this is the best weapons loadout - I really can't comment.

What I do in my Python when using turrets against smaller ships is try to get the smaller ship within my turret's vertical field of fire as I'm maneuvering to get my main guns on target at the same time. My class 2 turrets are on the top of my ship so I can usually get nearly continuous fire as I try to optimize my pitch rate from a combination of blue-zone maneuvering, putting pips to thrusters (usually run with 0 pip to thrusters in combat) and sometimes FA-off against a particularly agile opponent. In an Anaconda I'm not sure how it's fields of fire are optimized but you could really look at it two different ways. Against smaller fighters you might consider your heaviest guns to be a "waste" against those smaller targets and just outfit your smaller turrets as anti-fighter weapons and try to maneuver to get as many turrets on target as possible. Against larger targets then you would maneuver to get your largest weapons on target and not worry as much about optimizing the fields of fire for your turrets. I have a version of this setup with my Python where my beams and two of my multicannons with incendiary rounds are used against smaller ships while I just use my three multis (two incendiary and one corrosive) against most large targets. The idea here being that the smaller beam turrets are most useful for tracking smaller fighters but drain too much capacitor power against large ships while the large multis can be kept on larger targets more easily so it's more efficient to ignore the beams entirely and focus on the multis.

I might start off in a Nav beacon. This might enable me to select something that I think I could take on first of all. Your suggestion of a medium size ship like an Asp is a good one I think. Something not too nimble that will run rings around me and slowly whittle me away. I had an Eagle do this to me and it's not pretty...

Eagles and Sidewinders can definitely be a challenge in a larger ship if you don't have turrets. Where it becomes an issue is when there's an entire wing of 3-4 small ships and their combined firepower shifts the balance in their favor where they can take your shields/hull down faster than you can target them effectively with your weapons. When we get ship-launched fighters with 2.2 you'll have the ability to deploy a fighter to get the Eagles and Sidewinders off of your blindspots and this will make it much easier for Anacondas to deal with the smaller ships.

My boost speed is around 340 I think which for a heavy ship isn't too bad. A Python with 400 though sounds quite amazing!

With the changes to the upgrade ranges on blueprints my 400 m/s Python is no longer particularly impressive, I've heard of players getting up to 420 with a Python with a good Grade 5 roll. Although I've unlocked Palin and gathered some Pharmaceutical Isolators for a Grade 5 dirty drive tune I haven't bothered with it yet as 400 m/s is more than enough for me to get away from any NPCs. I've occasionally encountered some issues where other CMDRs who interdicted me have managed to keep me masslocked in larger/faster ships such as Clippers but they would be able to do that even if I had a Grade 5 dirty drive tune since the Clipper's "base" unmodified A-grade boost speed is around 440 and they can easily get to 500-550 with mods so my Python will never manage to outrun a Clipper anyways. At this point I'm trying to "save" some upgrade potential for when the Thargoids show up in case they end up with highly agile ships and I want some room to push my speed/agility a little further.

 

[sicksuntzu]

I think you should just head over to a Hi Rez, and just shoot up some wanted ships, Good thing with a hi rez is there are police there if you get into trouble. Tbh cant see you having any problems at all. What i would suggest is sticking a few turrets on your build. I have turrets on my 4 smallest hard points which works for me and keeps the target under fire for most of the fight. I also would think about going for a Bi-weave and either reinforcing it or thermal on it as you want some shields that regen rather then having to stop and either go to a station or sit around for how ever long it takes your shields to go back up to full strength. I also use grade 5 hugh MC with incendary round, 3 large grade 5 mc, 2 medium grade 4 mc turrets with corrosive, 2 small mc lw 1 with corrosive.

Anyway what ever you do have fun.

 

[Susanna]

What I do in my Python when using turrets against smaller ships is try to get the smaller ship within my turret's vertical field of fire as I'm maneuvering to get my main guns on target at the same time. My class 2 turrets are on the top of my ship so I can usually get nearly continuous fire as I try to optimize my pitch rate from a combination of blue-zone maneuvering, putting pips to thrusters (usually run with 0 pip to thrusters in combat) and sometimes FA-off against a particularly agile opponent. In an Anaconda I'm not sure how it's fields of fire are optimized but you could really look at it two different ways. Against smaller fighters you might consider your heaviest guns to be a "waste" against those smaller targets and just outfit your smaller turrets as anti-fighter weapons and try to maneuver to get as many turrets on target as possible. Against larger targets then you would maneuver to get your largest weapons on target and not worry as much about optimizing the fields of fire for your turrets. I have a version of this setup with my Python where my beams and two of my multicannons with incendiary rounds are used against smaller ships while I just use my three multis (two incendiary and one corrosive) against most large targets. The idea here being that the smaller beam turrets are most useful for tracking smaller fighters but drain too much capacitor power against large ships while the large multis can be kept on larger targets more easily so it's more efficient to ignore the beams entirely and focus on the multis.



Eagles and Sidewinders can definitely be a challenge in a larger ship if you don't have turrets. Where it becomes an issue is when there's an entire wing of 3-4 small ships and their combined firepower shifts the balance in their favor where they can take your shields/hull down faster than you can target them effectively with your weapons. When we get ship-launched fighters with 2.2 you'll have the ability to deploy a fighter to get the Eagles and Sidewinders off of your blindspots and this will make it much easier for Anacondas to deal with the smaller ships.



With the changes to the upgrade ranges on blueprints my 400 m/s Python is no longer particularly impressive, I've heard of players getting up to 420 with a Python with a good Grade 5 roll. Although I've unlocked Palin and gathered some Pharmaceutical Isolators for a Grade 5 dirty drive tune I haven't bothered with it yet as 400 m/s is more than enough for me to get away from any NPCs. I've occasionally encountered some issues where other CMDRs who interdicted me have managed to keep me masslocked in larger/faster ships such as Clippers but they would be able to do that even if I had a Grade 5 dirty drive tune since the Clipper's "base" unmodified A-grade boost speed is around 440 and they can easily get to 500-550 with mods so my Python will never manage to outrun a Clipper anyways. At this point I'm trying to "save" some upgrade potential for when the Thargoids show up in case they end up with highly agile ships and I want some room to push my speed/agility a little further.

Thank you again for a very full answer! It is very much appreciated!

Lots of food for thought here. I've already read your reply through three times. Do you switch off the weapons that are not effective against the current target (small or large)? So that you can conserve the power draw from your PD? This seems unlikely in the heat of battle given that it would take time to do this but you might if important.

As you state, ship launched fighters should help a lot when they become available for the larger ships... For me I'll just have to see which mode I'm happier with, although leaving my conda in the hands of an NPC doesn't give me a warm glowy feeling...

A lot seems to hinge on a ships speed and manuvability. Are the turning rates for different ships know at all? As in collated by a diligent cmdr somewhere?

Thanks again for the help!!! It won't let me rep you any more at the moment unfortunately, but I'll try to do so later.

 

[DragoonKnight]

Thank you again for a very full answer! It is very much appreciated!

Lots of food for thought here. I've already read your reply through three times. Do you switch off the weapons that are not effective against the current target (small or large)? So that you can conserve the power draw from your PD? This seems unlikely in the heat of battle given that it would take time to do this but you might if important.

As you state, ship launched fighters should help a lot when they become available for the larger ships... For me I'll just have to see which mode I'm happier with, although leaving my conda in the hands of an NPC doesn't give me a warm glowy feeling...

A lot seems to hinge on a ships speed and manuvability. Are the turning rates for different ships know at all? As in collated by a diligent cmdr somewhere?

Thanks again for the help!!! It won't let me rep you any more at the moment unfortunately, but I'll try to do so later.

If you go and select / highlight your thrusters in the outfitting screen, it will tell you the pitch, roll, and yaw maximum of your ship. Pitch is the one you are most interested in. Here are a few numbers of the top of my head, to serve as a rough reference point.

Engineered Courier with Enhanced Thrusters and Dirty Drives 5 - 50.34 degrees
Engineered Conda / Corvette with Dirty Drives 5 - 39 degrees
Stock A rated combat FAS, FDL, or Clipper with lightweight armor - 40+ degrees
Stock A rated Combat Python with lightweight armor - 33 degrees
Stock A rated Combat Conda or Corvette with lightweight armor - about 29 degrees

Dirty Drives tuning 3 will give you about a +6 degree improvement
Dirty Drives tuning 5 will give you about a +12 degree improvement

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For Info - current build:

https://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda...WUA==.Aw18ZIExkA==?bn=Conda - A Rated - Armed

2 shield boosters have G1 heavy duty shield booster, 1 has G1 has thermal resistance.
8A PP has G4 Overcharged PP
7A Thrusters have G4 Dirty Drives
6A FSD has G5 Increased range
8A PD has G1 High Capacity PD (will switch this to rapid Charge when possible)
6A Shield Gen has G5 Thermal Resistance

Those recent The Hunt CG's netted me 500+mil so I could A rate my Conda!

It looks like your Anaconda is already fairly agile for its size. I would replace the fuel scoop with a 7A SCB and some of your cargo racks with HRP (not really necessary, but just in case). Then hit up a low RES site. Preferably not in open. Just take it easy and try destroying different kinds of ships to get a feel for it and build up your confidence with the Anaconda. Dont engage wings. If things get bad, you can always rely on your SCB to keep your shields up long enough to get out of there. After a while, you'll have a better feel for the strengths and weaknesses of your particular weapons loadout. You will probably want to switch weapons around based on your personal preference.

 

[Devari]

Thank you again for a very full answer! It is very much appreciated!

Lots of food for thought here. I've already read your reply through three times. Do you switch off the weapons that are not effective against the current target (small or large)? So that you can conserve the power draw from your PD? This seems unlikely in the heat of battle given that it would take time to do this but you might if important.

Yes, I only use weapons that are most effective against any given target by switching fire groups to "activate" or "deactivate" them. I start by putting all my turrets in Target Only mode as this mode means that you have the most control over how your turrets operate. As an added bonus your turrets don't generate any bounties in Target Only mode even if an NPC accidentally flies through your turret fire, which makes this mode very useful for "sniping" a hit on a target that the cops are attacking in a RES so you can get "credit" for the NPC kill without risking a bounty. So I'm going to assume that you're using turrets in Target Only mode (you can set this in the right HUD panel under the right-most tab where you can set orbit lines, etc).

What I do to maximize my turret control is that I set up two fire groups, one with turrets and one without. I bind whatever my main weapons are to primary fire and my turrets to secondary fire. Then I set up a second fire group that is identical except that it ONLY has the primary fire weapons grouped and I leave the turrets unbound in the second fire group. Once I target an enemy I "fire" the turrets with the secondary fire button. At that point your turrets will continually TRY to fire if the enemy you have targeted is within their fire arc. This means that you can continually maneuver to optimize your firing angles and any turrets with line of sight that were set to Target Only will try to fire as long as there is power in the weapons capacitor, without needing to pay any more attention to them other than maneuvering to maximize their fields of fire.

The downside to how turrets work is that once you've set them to fire at a target there's no easy way to turn them "off" again. Pressing the secondary fire button again in this instance does nothing as the trigger only turns the turrets "on". So if you want to turn them "off" you have two options. The easiest option here is to simply change fire groups to the second group that includes everything EXCEPT the turrets. This will effectively turn the turrets "off". If you then press "Cycle Fire Group" again you can use secondary fire when you want to turn them "on" again. In practice whenever I turn the turrets "off" I press the "Cycle Fire Group" button quickly twice to turn them "off" and then immediately switch back to the original fire group. At that point if you want the turrets to fire again, you just press secondary fire button to turn the turrets back "on". It's a bit of an annoying method but is the most efficient way I've found to rapidly turn the turrets "on" or "off" because for some reason FD hasn't implemented a proper turret "toggle" button. Alternatively you can quickly deselect and reselect your target but I find it's easier to use the fire group method instead.

The reason why I want this degree of control over my turrets is that I use energy-intensive and heat-intensive beam turrets and I often won't find the power draw and heat generation to be optimal in many circumstances. Against small targets I almost always keep my turrets firing as they are powerful enough to damage most smaller ships even on their own. Against larger ships I usually only keep them on to take down shields rapidly, otherwise they're usually turned off. This lets me switch back and forth between turret usage as needed depending on the target. If you're using pulse turrets that draw much less power and heat than beams you might not even need to switch back and forth like I do especially with your Anaconda's power distributor. The beams turrets I use are actually not very efficient in terms of either power usage or heat but they give me the best alpha strike damage which is why I use them to rapidly drop my target's shields as quickly as I can. I find against high-level NPCs flying fast/maneuverable ships that also have strong shields and use SCBs, like an Elite FDL, I need to get as much damage as possible in a short firing window and I find beams are good secondary weapons to help with this.

As you state, ship launched fighters should help a lot when they become available for the larger ships... For me I'll just have to see which mode I'm happier with, although leaving my conda in the hands of an NPC doesn't give me a warm glowy feeling...

When 2.2 launches you will have the option to launch the fighter with an NPC doing the piloting for either the launched fighter or for your main ship. So I would just keep flying your Anaconda and let the NPC try to do what he can do use the fighter effectively, unless of course you "trust" the NPC to fly your Anaconda better than you can which it probably won't be able to do even if it's an Elite ranked NPC (apparently we can hire different ranks of NPC and level them up in combat as they gain experience).

Thanks again for the help!!! It won't let me rep you any more at the moment unfortunately, but I'll try to do so later.

You're very welcome, happy to help.