How do I kill the things?

[CMDRHLM]

Then do what he shows in the second video at about the 1 min mark.
I don't see you trying that at all.

Maybe you can't see it in the video, but I am definitely doing this (or, rather, attempting to) all the time. The problem I have, and the whole reason I started this topic, is the enemy doesn't allow me to maintain that position. They can just turn better than I can.

It looks like you are using too much pitch.
I use full vertical thrusters all the time but too much boost+full pitch will do that, especially with something like a DS4 in my experience.

Try to boost/pitch less and use more vertical thrusters, so you can stay perpendicular and don't spin out backwards.

That's a possibility. I'll try using less pitch and see what happens.

Looks like you collided in the first one?
0 pips to sys won't help your shields at all.

Was killed by a single hit from PPA/rails. You can hear it just before I die. I don't think pips shields would have helped in this situation. It was going to be a 1-hit kill either way. Which I was fully expecting, so was doing everything I could to stay away from his front end.

In an ordinary fight, I'd be putting pips to shields whenever I anticipate taking damage, or to recharge shields.

 

[Demascus]

When was this a.i. buff you speak of? I remember them getting buff after engineer release, followed by an outcry of "they are too hard" and the drool bib and safety helmet came back on.

 

[Shadowed]

The Vulture was the first ship for me that made outmaneuvering larger ships way too easy. A D class Vulture with 1 fixed and 1 gimballed pulse laser is overkill against 1 elite NPC.

An Eagle takes a long time to kill a larger ship with basic weaponry.

When was this a.i. buff you speak of? I remember them getting buff after engineer release, followed by an outcry of "they are too hard" and the drool bib and safety helmet came back on.

PLEASE bring them back, FDev! I miss those AI so much. This was the only time I found the AI fun.

 

[Bob Lighthouse]

Maybe you can't see it in the video, but I am definitely doing this (or, rather, attempting to) all the time. The problem I have, and the whole reason I started this topic, is the enemy doesn't allow me to maintain that position. They can just turn better than I can.

It looks like you're pitching and moving forwards, and eventually backwards.
I think you're pitching too much and using boost too much
You never actually get into that superior position.

Was killed by a single hit from PPA/rails. You can hear it just before I die.

Ok I had the sound off.
You might as well have collided.

Use lateral thrust.
It's simple to avoid those.
There is literally no reason to get hit my an NPC PA shot in a little ship.
This is especially true with a Vette.

Of course if you plow into the front of the weapon, it's sort of difficult to avoid what's coming out of it.
What does VJ stress in his videos?
Position.
And you flew right into the worst position possible, right in front of a pair of huge PAs.

I don't think pips shields would have helped in this situation. It was going to be a 1-hit kill either way. Which I was fully expecting, so was doing everything I could to stay away from his front end.

Sure.
Yes, mistake number one was flying straight into the weapon's business end, with a tiny ship.
That said, you routinely fly with 0 pips to sys.
That's a terrible strategy.
Pips increase your shield strength.

Also, try to get to the side, not above/below.
Ships pitch well in Elite, yaw is terrible.
Stay on their side, and try to get to where they just were.

In an ordinary fight, I'd be putting pips to shields whenever I anticipate taking damage, or to recharge shields.

I'm just commenting on what I observed.

You need to control your direction better.
If you're flying perpendicular, you should be at ~0 throttle(depending on the ship) and using vertical thrust, not boosting forwards at your opponent/closing distance.
Practice orbiting 'roids and space stations.
Try to deliberately create the spin out situation so you know what to avoid.

To be frank, NPC Pythons and Corvettes are super slow, easy targets.
Practice more, or simply use a bigger ship.
That said, the Eagles are two of the smallest/weakest ships in the game.
You can't afford to eat huge weapons.


I generally suggest people engineer the PD, shields and thrusters as a priority.
Consider that route as well.

o7

 

[znôrt]

(Also, I want to clarify, I am definitely not expecting an eagle to have an easy time taking out a corvette. That's just nonsense. I was fully expecting a quick death if he was able to hit me. But shouldn't it be possible with skill to maneuver around a target and avoid taking fire?)

didn't you just say you did just that? you got his shield down, hull to 70%, one slip and death. if you got that far, you can go to the end without slipping ... easy peasy!

as other's said, you do that for fun or for the challenge. eating away all that shield with tiny hardpoints can be tedious too, but that depends on the type of carnage you fancy at any moment.

 

[CMDRHLM]

didn't you just say you did just that? you got his shield down, hull to 70%, one slip and death. if you got that far, you can go to the end without slipping ... easy peasy!

as other's said, you do that for fun or for the challenge. eating away all that shield with tiny hardpoints can be tedious too, but that depends on the type of carnage you fancy at any moment.

Truth is, I was not expecting to be taking on a dangerous ranked Federal Corvette when I accepted that low paying mission (no idea what the game was doing there) but decided to just stick with the ship I had.
It was an experiment to see if I can manage to out-maneuver a big ship in a tiny ship, since I can't do it in my other ships. On that note, earlier today I started flying my Imperial Courier again, with the idea that I might be a bit less nimble but could at least take a few hits when I mess up. What followed was frankly embarrassing to watch, as now I was doing even worse than before and could not even get close to out maneuvering my target (master ranked Python

 

[[VR] M4st0d0n]

Hit points are bloated, period. Rail eagle without rev cascade will need you to use synthesis against dangerous large NPCs. It's not a display of skill, it's a battle of attrition.