That's the plan ... I'll do some engineer unlocking first and then take them each out for a "test drive" to see what feels best.
Advice please on PvE combat ship
- Thread starter mpfj
- Start date
Why not? Do they share combat rank points like money? I didn't know.
Yes, they cost you half the experience.
Yeah, SLF Pilots take 50% of combat rank 'points' as you play. For ranking it's best to leave the SLFs at the station.
Here is my Kriat Mk III'm Elite Trader and Elite Explorer but only 1% Deadly Combat.
After a year out exploring, I've just bumped my cash reserves from 900MCr to 7.2BCr
Having not done any PvE combat for quite a while (18 months+) can anyone offer some advice on what ship / loadout / etc I should aim for so I can have fun with the final 99% to get to Elite Combat.
My current combat ship is an A-rated non-engineered Vulture.
I'm really not interested in RNGeers (I've unlocked a few to assist in my exploration build) but could be persuaded it if will increase the fun.
I don't want to slog through the last bit but neither do I want to find it too easy, so any advice would be greatly appreciated
Coriolis EDCD Edition
A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
s.orbis.zone
The stated goal is to reach combat elite, so using a fighter will simply double the workload. Strongly recommend not using a fighter in all situations, an elite pilot is a liability because you could lose it, and an expert or lower pilot is a liability, period. Also you need a dual fighter to make it so you can keep them out full time, which simply takes up too much slot budget for the benefit (size 6 cell banks are where they start to get really useful, and in pve there is no feedback). In pvp a good railgun user will take them out near instantly so in that case they're a total waste of a slot.
I've done pretty well with just the first few Engineers unlocked. I think I have used 5 or 6 Engineers total. I fly an aChief for combat and most mission/errand running duties. I originally built the aChief for pure combat, but as I included engineering I have been able to drop some combat focused modules for more utility. My aChief has 32 units of cargo capacity, a DSS and an SRV, and it still dominated in CZs/RES.
I use 4 lasers (1xC3, 1xC2, and 2xC1), and 2 Frags (1xC3, 1xC1). The Frags are for after the target's shields drop, mostly. Although they do have a decent effect on shields. The aChief loves up close fighting so the Frags are perfect. I had been using cannon in that role, but with the end of module sniping, the frags out do the cannon by quite a bit. I had been a pretty dedicated FAS pilot before the aChief dropped, both ships are very comparable, and favor similar builds. You can even swap things between the two to cut down on the Engineering.
The quickest I ever ranked in combat from Deadly to Elite was when I flew an all PA Gunship with an Expert slf. I wasn't really trying to rank, just learning to use the ship before taking it to the show, but damn that thing flat out murdered everything in sight. Not the most fun ship to handle, but easily best in show if you want to feel like the Terminator.
Challenger is my fave, but 1) The thrusters are actually more vulnerable (in pvp it's noticeable), don't ask me why. 2) Although technically capable of more dps than the Chief, its hardpoints are too small! Too much penalty against the hardened hulls of FDL/Mamba/Chief/Chally/Crusader, plus, 3 of its main damage dealers (the mediums) are under the belly which really hurts its usefulness for gimballed weapons (which are optimal in pve). It is a shield destroying beast though, well spotted that it has great space grip, but that isn't related to its speed, its an arbitrary metric, like tire grip in a driving game, and yep, tough as nails.
Not had issues with the drives on the Challenger myself but I have had it ALOT with the Chieftan, maye I been lucky but it feels a lot more sturdy. As for the size of the hardpoints I use rails on mine for that exact reason, APV's are something that really grates on me as its the biggest nail in the coffin for most loadouts on smaller ships and lets e honest, sometimes its fun to not have to have the meta weapons all the time.
Yeah I agree about the space grip up to a point, it seems the Chief is capable of the same kind of turn radius as the Challenger it's just a lot less forgiving when making those turns, if you're not spot on with timing the transitional thrusters it is going to punish you. I always found it manageable in 1v1 (Just about) but when dealing with multiple hostiles that demand much faster vector changes it can become a serious chore and feel like you're chasing everything around. To be honest thats why I stopped using the FAS after the new high power drive mods came in. Just didnt feel as tight to fly anymore.
For NPC combat? Pretty much anything with more than 2 small hardpoints will do.
Personal favorites for combat are, in no particular order:
Viper IV, iCourier, Python, Orca, Beluga, Corvette
Personal favorites for combat are, in no particular order:
Viper IV, iCourier, Python, Orca, Beluga, Corvette
Out of the three Fed ships, I disliked the Gunship the most. I discovered combat in a Vulture, so lumbering vessels just leave me cold. The Dropship was fun to contend with, but it's the FAS that really shines for me. I don;t think the heat situation in the FAS would allow for an all PA build. I have never used the Gunship since the SLFs were introduced, it may be a better experience with one. As a matter of fact, I reached combat elite before the SLFs dropped, so I never faced the drain those pilots put on ranking.
Building on the Vulture and the FAS, the aChief is the tops. But, I should also mention the success many people have with the FdL/Mamba. I don;t enjoy them, but they are effective.
An all PA build on a FAS is the only way to fly one pof those bad boys.
Fun is relative, one CMDR's fun is another CMDR's grind. I prefer the Anaconda or the Federal Corvette for combat ranking. Guess I just like to see ships explode fast. Anyway, used my fully engineered Federal Corvette to go from Deadly to Elite in the CNB at Bean Nighe. CNB's typically have plenty of Deadly & Elite ranked ships.
The weapons:
2 Huge overcharged auto-loading multi cannons, 1 small high capacity corrosive multi cannon to weaken the hull, one small long range scramble spectrum turreted pulse laser to get the attention of npc's and finally some oversized beam's. And plenty of mats for ammo reload to save trips to and from stations.
Mixed in Wing massacre pirates missions to break up the combat.
The weapons:
2 Huge overcharged auto-loading multi cannons, 1 small high capacity corrosive multi cannon to weaken the hull, one small long range scramble spectrum turreted pulse laser to get the attention of npc's and finally some oversized beam's. And plenty of mats for ammo reload to save trips to and from stations.
Mixed in Wing massacre pirates missions to break up the combat.
Yep, good point.
