Is the Condor the best SLF for NPC pilots?

[CoyoteXStarrk]

After trying my hand at deep core mining (and loving it btw) I have decided to get back to the endless purgatory that is the Federal Rank grind. And so I threw back on all my combat modules which includes my Fighter Hanger. Only this time I decided to switch away from my Taipan and try out the other 2 fighters. My pilot did okay in the GU, but once I gave her the Condor I noticed a marked improvement in her ability to do damage. Is it because the Condor is the best fighter for NPC's?


- Her rank has not changed since I did the switching so I know its not that.

- All 3 are gimballed beam SLF's.

- I have done multiple missions with each just to make sure.

- I sat and let her do all the work with each of the 3 as well. Condor had the best results.

- When I switched her back to the Taipan or the GU her performance went down as well.


Am I just getting oddly lucky with the AI when she is in the Condor? Or is the Condor just a better SLF for NPC pilots?

 

[Dillon Fallon]

What rank is the pilot? I use a fixed beam Imperial fighter and at higher ranks the NPC pilots are devastating in PvE. I've heard lower ranks have more success with gimbals, so it wouldn't surprise me if different ranks of pilot where better suited to different fighters as well.

Different pilots seem to have a different 'talent' level as well. I've had some harmless pilots lose their fighters pretty much constantly, but my current one seems to be much better at evasion and has only lost one so far.

 

[777Driver]

Med to high rank - GU97 with fixed beams or Plasma.

 

[CoyoteXStarrk]

What rank is the pilot? I use a fixed beam Imperial fighter and at higher ranks the NPC pilots are devastating in PvE. I've heard lower ranks have more success with gimbals, so it wouldn't surprise me if different ranks of pilot where better suited to different fighters as well.

Different pilots seem to have a different 'talent' level as well. I've had some harmless pilots lose their fighters pretty much constantly, but my current one seems to be much better at evasion and has only lost one so far.

Well see that is the thing My pilot is brand new. She is Novice rank and it shows when she is in the Taipan or the GU. She couldn't find her butt with both hands let alone take out ships. She just flies around and pokes them a few times and that's about it. But when I put her in the Condor suddenly she is Luke Skywalker and is ready to start trashing Death Stars. She is a genuine help. She kicks butt.


And don't get me wrong I am not complaining. I just found the difference to be really weird.

 

[Dillon Fallon]

Well see that is the thing My pilot is brand new. She is Novice rank and it shows when she is in the Taipan or the GU. She couldn't find her butt with both hands let alone take out ships. She just flies around and pokes them a few times and that's about it. But when I put her in the Condor suddenly she is Luke Skywalker and is ready to start trashing Death Stars. She is a genuine help. She kicks butt.


And don't get me wrong I am not complaining. I just found the difference to be really weird.

I'm actually quite interested to experiment with this myself now. Since my pilot is still harmless I think this is worth a look to see if there's a difference between the fighters with pilots at this level.

One thought (which is a complete guess with no evidence to back it up) is that the NPCs have one of the SLFs in the background of their picture. I wonder if this is more than decorative and represents a preference if yours has a Condor in the background.

 

[CoyoteXStarrk]

One thought (which is a complete guess with no evidence to back it up) is that the NPCs have one of the SLFs in the background of their picture. I wonder if this is more than decorative and represents a preference if yours has a Condor in the background.

I got really excited for a moment and went to a station to look closer at her picture.



She has a GU behind her lol

 

[Dillon Fallon]

I got really excited for a moment and went to a station to look closer at her picture.



She has a GU behind her lol

Oh well, one of my random thoughts will be right one day (stopped clocks and all that)! It definitely seems like it's worth looking at whether a gimballed beam Condor is the SLF to be using for any low rank NPC though. Will do some experimenting myself when I get the chance.

 

[CoyoteXStarrk]

Oh well, one of my random thoughts will be right one day (stopped clocks and all that)! It definitely seems like it's worth looking at whether a gimballed beam Condor is the SLF to be using for any low rank NPC though. Will do some experimenting myself when I get the chance.

Let me know what you find!

 

[Dillon Fallon]

Let me know what you find!

It'll probably be late this evening (UK) but I will come back to this if no one comes up with anything before me.

 

[Dillon Fallon]

Right, well the first attempt at this has been fairly disappointing. Harmless NPCs are useless since they'll fire once and then spend their time attempting to avoid being shot. That said, the time it took the fighter to die was longer in the Imperial fighter (I made no effort to help). Will come back to this with a better pilot.

 

[CoyoteXStarrk]

Right, well the first attempt at this has been fairly disappointing. Harmless NPCs are useless since they'll fire once and then spend their time attempting to avoid being shot. That said, the time it took the fighter to die was longer in the Imperial fighter (I made no effort to help). Will come back to this with a better pilot.

Yeah mine was entirely useless until she hit Novice. Then she was at the very least useful as a distraction while I scoop up materials.

 

[Hacker#451563]

I use the MC Condor almost exclusively. These days I find that getting through the shields is easier than wearing down a massively reinforced hull (often while trying to kill the FSD to prevent escapes) so the added DPS of the Condors MCs are a real help. It also has chaff to help it out when it's in trouble against a multi-laser weapon ship that has gimbals.

 

[Bloodsign]

I always use Taipans for their survivability. Their speed and maneuvering is still more than adequate. Usually I have one for me (pulse lasers, chaff) and one for my NPC (fixed beams or plasma). Works pretty well.

 

[darkdoorway]

NPCs perform better on some ships. Based on directly comparing with the taipan and condor, the Lance beats both for NPCs to take out small and medium ships independently. You have to instruct it to redock every 20 mins or so and then relaunch for auto ammo restock.

 

[Northpin]

@OP not sure really.
But i did noticed that my Elite SLF crew seems to fly better the Condor than the Taipan. Might be just my imagination tho

 

[GonzTheMalificent]

As an Imperial my crew seem ok in the imperial midge. My Alt Fed persona's crew work better with the Condor - I tried both in both accounts and the "native" midge seemed to do better. Probs just me tho'