Newcomer / Intro Attacked Twice in Solo Play When Carrying Meta Alloy

[CMDR Lefty Jackson]

Erm, I mean no offense, but this is bad outfitting.

In order to not die hauling cargo, you either need speed, or shield/hull tank. (or much more piloting experience)
You have neither. (219/290 top speed, 58 shield strength, stock armor)

Things that would help: 4A Thrusters, 4A Shields or 4C Bi-Weave Shields(If you were playing in Open I would also suggest a MRP and ECM)

The fact you have ADC and SCA equipped however, makes me think you're probably flying incredibly incredibly slow, both in real space exiting space stations, and while traversing supercruise, which seems like the real problem. (With better piloting skills, even this unoptimized ship should be able to get away from most NPC pirates)

Are you letting the docking computer fly you out of stations? If so, as soon as it lines you up with the mail slot, you need to take manual control and put all pips to ENG, and boost directly away from the space station to get out of mass lock as fast as possible, then engage FSD and begin lining up the jump. If you begin taking fire at any point, pips to SYS, and boost towards your jump destination. If you are truly a "Harmless" combat rank, it should be rare that you are accosted by pirates fast and large enough to mass lock you.

Now a brief explanation of navigating in Supercruise:
DO NOT JUST POINT AT A DESTINATION AND USE SCA STRAIGHT AT IT.
This is SLOW, SLOW SLOW!
Pirates will catch you, and make your life more difficult.

Now a more in depth explanation of navigating in Supercruise:
You travel faster the further out of any gravity well you are. Stars and planets(among other things, I think) create gravity wells. When you approach a planet, you'll see rings expanding outward, this signifies you are entering its gravity well, which will begin slowing you down.
When you first jump into a system containing your destination, aim directly away from the star, avoiding any gravity wells you see to pick up speed. Once you are moving at a decent speed, then begin aiming towards your destination, again avoiding any gravity wells between you and the target. With nothing be clear space between you and your destination, now you are free to engage SCA(if you must).

Others have already given advice on how to deal with interdictions once they occur, but I'll add, flying in a corkscrew pattern towards your destination makes you much harder to interdict, and once you learn to spot threats on the radar you can easily avoid ALL interdictions, however this strategy requires not using SCA, or at least not relying on it entirely.

I know it's not good, seeing I just got started and have had a limited budget. I don't do Open for now so that isn't an issue.

As for experience flying, indeed I do have experience. I used to work on US Navy fighter jet simulators, put in plenty of seat time to understand flight, it was my job, and I had to know how to fly. Handling an aircraft is not a problem. What is needed is to know how these video game aircraft handle, what it can do, and what it can't. If I'm out-equipped and out-gunned, it doesn't matter. I am Harmless, only because I carry no weapons, and I've never engaged in any combat.

My current top speed is 217. I know, it's slow, but it's what I have for now. Thank you for the upgrade suggestions.

I also have a lack of knowing who knows what they are talking about and who doesn't. Lots of "experts" in these forums that aren't experts. I agree better engines and shields is good. I just recently got an understanding of how the priorities work so I can manage power use. My current engine is doing decent now that I got that adjusted but runs a tad hot.

Sorry, I think it is a bit arrogant to say "with better piloting skills". You don't know me or what skills I have or don't have, you are making assumptions.

I started out the game flying manually, entering stations, landing, etc. All manual, then I discovered the flight assist recently. VERY cool auto docking.

What you suggest sounds like speeding within range of the station to break mass lock.

Yes, I understand gravity wells. I've seen the little message pop up. Thanks for the tip. I know what the effects of gravity are.

I always turn away from the star when I arrive to avoid heat, and as soon as I make a turn and accelerate, I do a D scan, and head for the next jump.

Corkscrew? I guess if it works in the game. From my experience in air combat tactics, that would be suicide in an aircraft, WAY too predictable.

Thanks again for the tips. I'm sure you mean well. Just try not to make such assumptions next time.

 

[CMDR Lefty Jackson]

For the record, I made it to Farseer Inc, gave her that stupid alloy, and everybody is happy!

Mission accomplished. On to the next.

Thank you all for your help and information. I'll put in a good word to the Galactic Overlords about you. Well done!

 

[Vermin]

Gets killed by a bot..

Blames gankers.

Whaaaaaaaaaa?

 

[Ashnak]

What you suggest sounds like speeding within range of the station to break mass lock.

Of course. The so called speed limit is only relevant if you run into other ships. Try to avoid that...
Going through the slot at over 400 m/s avoids any scan. Plowing a sonic boom through the station doesn't carry any penalties.

Yes, I understand gravity wells.

Probably not. From what you write, you're still in the head space of Einsteinian/Newtonian physics. Supercruise (where gravity wells become relevant) is trans-Einsteinian. This is a SF game after all
Buckyball racing club has a few training videos on that (can't search and link on mobile).

Corkscrew? I guess if it works in the game. From my experience in air combat tactics, that would be suicide in an aircraft, WAY too predictable.

Again, in SC. It's one of the higher speed approach paths to a station, see BRC.

And just for the record - there's no air in space. Your ship only feels somewhat like an aircraft because
a) it's slow
b) you fly with flight assist (FA) on
FA tries to emulate the movement of an aircraft (i.e. you actually fly in the direction you're pointing at). That somehow breaks down in faster ships (the directional thrusters can't keep up any more) and is switched off when you switch FA off. Then all 6 DOF are decoupled.

Edit:

Ok, searched - here's one I prepared ealier:

what's going on with gravity wells?

I've been playing this game for almost 10 years now, and I just am not grasping the concept of a GRAVITY WELL in this game, because it certainly is not modeled after the physical properties of our universe. So I flew in to Sinclair Platform, which orbits a decent sized gas-giant. As I approach...

forums.frontier.co.uk

 

[CMDR Lefty Jackson]

Probably not. From what you write, you're still in the head space of Einsteinian/Newtonian physics. Supercruise (where gravity wells become relevant) is trans-Einsteinian. This is a SF game after all

No air in space? Holy spaceballs, I had no idea!

I see how this is going. You've replied to me twice; both were condescending, arrogant, and dismissive.

Have a great day.

 

[Ashnak]

No air in space? Holy spaceballs, I had no idea!

I see how this is going. You've replied to me twice; both were condescending, arrogant, and dismissive.

Have a great day.

Thanks.

But you wrote (multiple times)

aircraft

- and the ships in ED are NOT aircaft. They're spaceships. They have a computer (a.k.a. "Flight Assist") that tries to emulate the behaviour of an aircaft while it's switched on and you are in regular ("Einstein") space, but reaches its limits with faster ships.
Once you enter Supercruise, you enter a new realm of physics with no connection to (the currently popularly accepted) real world physics. Up to you whether you want to treat that as pure science fiction or one or the other of the more exotic models of physics (c.f. Alcubierre drive).

But back to real space movement: you (usually) control an aircraft with thrust (forward only) plus 3 DOF of rotation and the movement through a fluid. In a pinch, you can make do with 2 DOF of rotation (simple RC planes, for example, can wok without roll).
The spaceships in ED have the full 3 DOF of rotation, plus another full 3 DOF of translation, but no interaction with the surrounding fluid (even if there would be one, like in Odyssey on sparse atmosphere plannets). So, for example, if you pitch up, the ship rotates around the horizontal axis, but unless you have FA active, that's all it does - your vector of movement doesn't change. FA then engages the ventral thusters to push you on the new course so that, after some time (depending on speed, ship and engineering) you are again moving in the direction you're looking at. Which enables you, if you want to, to engage in circle strafing aound e.g. a Thargoid (or pirate), staying out of the line of fire of their fixed guns.
Yes, a few modern aircaft have ventral thrusters - but I doubt you would use them thrusting "down" if you wanted to make a tight turn "up".

As to gravity wells and the corkscrew appoach - watch the video I linked, that explains it better than any words.

 

[Fnord Velkor]

No air in space? Holy spaceballs, I had no idea!

I see how this is going. You've replied to me twice; both were condescending, arrogant, and dismissive.

Have a great day.

You really would benefit from winding your neck in. People are trying to help you, which is not helped by your "I worked with simulators so I am wonderful" attitude.

Forget what you thought you knew - gravity for example cannot be used for sling-shot manoeuvrers in the game.

Read what people are telling you and be thankful that they are giving of their valuable time to try to help. Being insulting and graceless will only deter people from helping you.

 

[Robert Rockbite]

The ED community has been described as "aggressively helpful". It is.

Your top speed was 217?
With 4D Thrusters???
That's exactly the value I get for something similar to your ship - with 2 pips on engines and without boost.

EDSY

EDSY is a ship outfitting tool for Elite Dangerous

edsy.org

You should get up to ~290 without boost if you put 4 pips to engines (with mouse and keyboard: arrow key up).
You should be able to get up to ~414 briefly when boosting (with mouse and keyboard: tab key).

 

[anShpan]

As already suggested by @shockbait, on Cobra:
Power Plant -> 4A (PP other that A-rated should be avoided in most cases)
Thrusters -> 4A
Distributor -> 4A
This alone will give 400+ speed / 589 boost every 8 seconds.

If ARX is an option, then Cobra mk V makes perfect jump-start for "newcomers" (and has 0-rebuy too).

P.S. I also have a feeling that NPS pirates became more aggressive last days. My recipe was to equip Cmk5 with PP 4A Low Emission / Monstered, 4A Thrusters Clean / Drag few days ago and I was not scanned once ever since. Was carrying 16 Meta-Alloys (while purchasing other 2 ingredients commodities) yesterday for Corrosion Resistant rack - again, no scans, no interdictions.
P.P.S. it is not about skillz, it is about time: if I'll be fighting every NPC pirate then I'll have no time to do what was planned.

 

[aRJay]

…

As for experience flying, indeed I do have experience. I used to work on US Navy fighter jet simulators, put in plenty of seat time to understand flight, it was my job, and I had to know how to fly. Handling an aircraft is not a problem. What is needed is to know how these video game aircraft handle, what it can do, and what it can't. If I'm out-equipped and out-gunned, it doesn't matter. I am Harmless, only because I carry no weapons, and I've never engaged in any combat.

…

To get more seat time in the game in a predictable environment* do the in game training and tutorials at least one of them is considered actually to be harder than you are going to encounter in the game so proper training. I have used them after a break to refamiliarise.

*Because of their repeatability I also find them useful for setting up and binding controls.

 

[aRJay]

For the record, I made it to Farseer Inc, gave her that stupid alloy, and everybody is happy!

Mission accomplished. On to the next.

Thank you all for your help and information. I'll put in a good word to the Galactic Overlords about you. Well done!

As you mentioned missions.

The rank and capability of NPC opposition you meet while doing stuff withou a mission from the mission board will largely be based on your combat rank but possibly raised if you have trade or exploration ranks noticeably higher than your combat rank.
If you take a mission from the board it is quite likely that it will include opposition even if it isn’t a combat mission, the rank and capability of that opposition will be based about the mission not you.

 

[Ashnak]

Plus, the mission opposition tends to be more clingy. Ordinary pirates, after you shake them off, tend to stay lost. Mission opposition keeps returning like a bad curry.

 

[Tifu]

If you take a mission from the board it is quite likely that it will include opposition even if it isn’t a combat mission, the rank and capability of that opposition will be based about the mission not you.

Yup, even the new Xmas quest setup by FD which involves buying some Festival Gifts for children rendered temporarily homeless by the Cocijo disaster had some nasty NPC pirates after me. No Christmas spirit tsk tsk.

 

[CMDR Lefty Jackson]

You really would benefit from winding your neck in. People are trying to help you, which is not helped by your "I worked with simulators so I am wonderful" attitude.

Forget what you thought you knew - gravity for example cannot be used for sling-shot manoeuvrers in the game.

Read what people are telling you and be thankful that they are giving of their valuable time to try to help. Being insulting and graceless will only deter people from helping you.

And I have said thank you more than once. I never said anything about being "wonderful". Don't put words in people's mouth.

I only mentioned my background because I am not some young ignorant kid, I'm freakin' 61 years old. I know when I'm being talked down to. I didn't ask that guy to reply, he chose to offer up his vast knowledge while making assumptions instead of simply asking.

I've been gaming online for over 20 years now (my first online game was the original Runescape back in 2001), and seen MANY "expert gamers" with bad attitudes. They go on and on about what they know as if everyone else is ignorant and make snide comments about other people's "skill level".

Others who replied showed it is possible to be cordial and offer up tips without an attitude, and I did say thank you.

Seriously, I just play to have fun and get away from daily life. I don't usually post in forums because this kind of crap ALWAYS happens, eventually that certain type of person will pop in and offer up their advice.

I know this is a game, it is not real life, and very little translates. I should have just left it at thank you and then ignored him.

Insulting, graceless? But you see nothing wrong with his attitude? I'm the bad guy? You say be thankful, when I did in fact say that I was thankful.

Since my last post, more have posted and are quite nice, with good info and no attitudes. That I really appreciate.

Like I tried to do with him, I'm done with it. He offered his advice...moving on.

 

[CMDR Lefty Jackson]

The ED community has been described as "aggressively helpful". It is.

Your top speed was 217?
With 4D Thrusters???
That's exactly the value I get for something similar to your ship - with 2 pips on engines and without boost.

EDSY

EDSY is a ship outfitting tool for Elite Dangerous

edsy.org

You should get up to ~290 without boost if you put 4 pips to engines (with mouse and keyboard: arrow key up).
You should be able to get up to ~414 briefly when boosting (with mouse and keyboard: tab key).

LOL, yeah, that does seem to be the case! Duly noted.

Sorry, but what is "pips"? I'm still learning the acronyms. Would that be power management distribution thing on the right side that the three things have dots that you can change with the arrow keys? Another thing I need to learn, power management.

Thank you for the info.

 

[CMDR Lefty Jackson]

As already suggested by @shockbait, on Cobra:
Power Plant -> 4A (PP other that A-rated should be avoided in most cases)
Thrusters -> 4A
Distributor -> 4A
This alone will give 400+ speed / 589 boost every 8 seconds.

If ARX is an option, then Cobra mk V makes perfect jump-start for "newcomers" (and has 0-rebuy too).

P.S. I also have a feeling that NPS pirates became more aggressive last days. My recipe was to equip Cmk5 with PP 4A Low Emission / Monstered, 4A Thrusters Clean / Drag few days ago and I was not scanned once ever since. Was carrying 16 Meta-Alloys (while purchasing other 2 ingredients commodities) yesterday for Corrosion Resistant rack - again, no scans, no interdictions.
P.P.S. it is not about skillz, it is about time: if I'll be fighting every NPC pirate then I'll have no time to do what was planned.

Yes, an upgrade is in order. Thank you.

Nope, no ARX. I usually don't do DLC stuff. I prefer the old fashion way...earn it.

NPC's more aggressive? I have so little time in, I can't make a judgment on that, but what I've experienced, I can't say aggressive. I've only experienced two encounters. Maybe others have misinterpreted my experience as being some major thing. It's not like I'm getting jumped all the time, it's been rather uneventful overall.

Thanks again!

 

[CMDR Lefty Jackson]

To get more seat time in the game in a predictable environment* do the in game training and tutorials at least one of them is considered actually to be harder than you are going to encounter in the game so proper training. I have used them after a break to refamiliarise.

*Because of their repeatability I also find them useful for setting up and binding controls.

Yes, great advice. I've done them all. I even landed on a planet, flew around trying things and bindings, and got out the SRV to get familiar with it. Very cool buggy! I like it.

Thank you.

Yes, I have mainly exploration and trade, so missions are likely slanted. Again, I'm new so I haven't had time yet to try everything. Exploration, some trading, and a few passenger missions is all.

 

[Ashnak]

Sorry, but what is "pips"? I'm still learning the acronyms. Would that be power management distribution thing on the right side that the three things have dots that you can change with the arrow keys? Another thing I need to learn, power management.

Yes, those. If you're flying solo (i.e. without another CMD as crew member), you have 6 pips (the dots) to distribute, into 12 slots. Each slot (ENGines, SYStem, WEaPons) can take up to 4 pips, distribution of pips dtermines the relative amount of power available to the three categories.
If you fly unarmed, you don't need any pips in WEP.
ENG determines power to the engines (more pips = more speed and faster boost recharge)
SYS determines power to shields (essentially) and thereby determines both shield strength and recharge capability.


With upgraading your power distributor, you can shift the baseline - check it out in Coriolis or EDSY, both will give you the numbers for capacitor capacity and recharge power. Engineering the PD lets you put the focus on different aspects. Take your basic CMIII,

• 4A thrusters, 3E PD, 0 pips to engines, no other changes or cargo on board: 150 m/s top speed, boost to 216 m/s once every 11 seconds
• 4A thrusters, 3A PD, 4 pips to engines, no other changes or cargo on board: 303 m/s top speed, boost to 430 m/s once every 7 seconds

 

[hellrell22851]

I don't doubt you! I'm just trying to work out what's going on.

Were you by any chance a bit of a bad boy in your previous time in the game?

 

[hellrell22851]

W

I first started ED:Horizons back in 2018, played a few weeks then moved on.

It's 2024, and I'm giving it another try. I'm amazed I was able to get back in after 6 years away. I figured I'd play Horizons till I get better since I already own it, then later consider Odessey.

So, I'm very new as far as experience. I only play Solo because I wanted to get some experience and learn how I want to play. It was said I wouldn't encounter any other players in Solo. Cool, ain't got time for immature kids playing stupid games and harassing people.

I have the beginner Sidewinder, a Cobra MKlll, and a Type-6, so I outfit my Cobra MKlll and off I go to try to start making some money, and get that Farseer engineer unlock for the FSD. After 6 years, I still had about 17 million in the bank. Pennies but it's something to start back playing. Making money when new is...tough.

No attacks, nothing until I finally found a source for the Meta Alloy for Farseer. Got a load of alloy (11), was going to sell 10 and the other to Farseer, though where I found them was a hike to get to Farseer Inc. No sooner than I was leaving the planet, I got scanned and killed because they said I had valuable cargo, it was quick and they caught me before I could spool up my FSD. I have never done any combat so I'm clueless how to deal with fighting.

So, I have stayed away from Open to avoid pirate players, never have played Open, and I finally find meta alloy, only to be killed just as I'm leaving the planet by the GAME? what?

I'm like, okay back to the surface to reload with meta, I load up with 14 this time. Make it to a carrier to get ready to head to Farseer, I get 3 jumps way from Farseer Inc, almost there, and get attacked as I exit a station from doing repairs and fuel. I had managed to sell 13 of the meta, keeping one for Farseer. And of course, no sooner than I leave the station I get scanned and attacked as I leave the no-fire zone. Fortunately, I avoided death and limped back into the station to repair (was down to 1% hull).

So, I'm sitting at the station trying to learn what I can do to get this dang meta alloy to Farseer without getting killed again and losing the meta alloy. I know where the forest is that I found the meta alloy, but it's a fairly long run there. It would really suck to go all the way back, and try again for one freaking alloy!

What are the odds? No attacks at all this whole time in Solo. Then as soon as I get meta alloy on board, BOOM, I'm scanned and killed by the game itself! Not one attack, but twice.

I guess I mistakenly assumed that Solo was a safe environment to learn and just enjoy not being messed with.

Punk players killing others is just juvenile and should be dealt with. It's not emersion, it's players with no self-esteem trying to feel good about their miserable lives.

It's just a game? I've heard that from players for many years, which is a pathetic excuse for bad attitudes. Nothing more than digital bullies that drive decent people away from gaming. And now we have a game basically doing the same thing!

/rant.

Where is the location you found meta alloy in elite dangerous horizon?