Newcomer / Intro Big bullies : newbie about retry multiplayer - tips please...

vosblod · Aug 17, 2015

Hi. I'm looking for tips as about to go multiplayer again after being solo for a while. Guess a bit of background to start;
I love this game, remember playing in the 80's, and now love the new ED. Anyway I started out multiplayer doing a bit of trading (Eravate: Agriculture to Industrial in system) to build up some cash to upgrade my ship for better things. So doing OK but everytime I started to get a few thousand in my my Sidewinder I get swooped on by CMDR IKillNewbieMinnows (I gather CMDR means they are a real person) who sends a message along the lines of "I'm experienced with a better ship and am going to kill you because you are a newbie and I can" - and then he (or she) swiftly takes the plankton out. Everytime I start to build a very small pot it happened (it was a few diffferent players) so I am just constantly getting kicked back from even making a start.

Anyway that is when I made the decision to play solo until I can at least put myself on a remotely even footing with these big bad bully the newbie older boys

Now I think am ready to go back and face these nasty football stealers. I have virtually no combat experience, although I am expert at avoiding interdictions LOL, so guess I really need to spend time on the battle tutorials? I have an Asp around class B grade with beam lasers and four multicannons, does that sound OK for combat? I have been practising the 'flight assist off' for turns but not in a real fight situation. (I have never actually seen the film but I think this post is starting to read like the Karate Kid).

Advice/tips etc would be appreciated... Thanks

ShimEnki · Aug 17, 2015

vosblod said:
Hi. I'm looking for tips as about to go multiplayer again after being solo for a while. Guess a bit of background to start;
I love this game, remember playing in the 80's, and now love the new ED. Anyway I started out multiplayer doing a bit of trading (Eravate: Agriculture to Industrial in system) to build up some cash to upgrade my ship for better things. So doing OK but everytime I started to get a few thousand in my my Sidewinder I get swooped on by CMDR IKillNewbieMinnows (I gather CMDR means they are a real person) who sends a message along the lines of "I'm experienced with a better ship and am going to kill you because you are a newbie and I can" - and then he (or she) swiftly takes the plankton out. Everytime I start to build a very small pot it happened (it was a few diffferent players) so I am just constantly getting kicked back from even making a start.

Anyway that is when I made the decision to play solo until I can at least put myself on a remotely even footing with these big bad bully the newbie older boys

Now I think am ready to go back and face these nasty football stealers. I have virtually no combat experience, although I am expert at avoiding interdictions LOL, so guess I really need to spend time on the battle tutorials? I have an Asp around class B grade with beam lasers and four multicannons, does that sound OK for combat? I have been practising the 'flight assist off' for turns but not in a real fight situation. (I have never actually seen the film but I think this post is starting to read like the Karate Kid).

Advice/tips etc would be appreciated... Thanks

I can sense a nickname you'll soon be wearing with that experience...Entwadamala -S/he who greets with fire.
Take them by the throat commander....which reminds me why it would be sweet if there was somewhere that logged all the ppl that killed us..

Certacito · Aug 17, 2015

Leave Eravate as soon as humanly possible, it is, like Lave, a silly place and full of turds who will gank you for s and giggles! Once you move away from the newbie zone, life will become more profitable and survivable. Seek out a group called "The Syndicate", you can find them on this forum under groups and they will help you migrate from silly town and into a better ship and more wonga.

Hector · Aug 17, 2015

I would spend some time in CZ's/HRS's getting a little bit more combat experience there if you're unsure. Yes its not as hard as PvP by a long shot BUT its better than nothing.

Also moving away from the starter zones is a MUSt as the above poster states.

Furthermore, make sure you can afford to lose your ASP.... because naturally its a possibility if you move into Open play. As an alternative if you want player interaction but DON'T want to PvP you can join the mobius group. Its a purely PvE server group which means you CAN play with other players BUT you won't have to worry about them attacking you.

Ian Skippy · Aug 17, 2015

There are two answers, one long and one short. If you want to play online but dont want to risk being attacked by other human players at all, join Mobius. It is an online group of about 10.000 players who play among themselves with no murdering allowed. If you like the idea of all kinds of risks, including insane murderers, you should try Open with these suggestions:

1) Don't fight other cmdrs. Your Asp is a great ship, and you can easily learn combat by bounty hunting AI. But a dedicated PvP ship is going to give you virtually no chance unless you are an experienced fighter. So let's just forget about fighting back for now.
2) If you get interdicted, see for a little bit if you're better at it than your opponent. If not, throttle down and submit.
3) Once you're interdicted you'll need to survive a small amount of time before you can escape. 10 seconds if you submitted, 40 seconds if you lost the interdiciton. Focus on escaping, don't bother deploying hardpoints.
4) Many 'seal clubbers' are fairly crappy pilots who got very powerful ships by trading. They will use gimballed weapons, so you'll need to bring chaff. If possible two chaffs, so you can keep firing when the other reloads.
5) If you're faster than your opponent, just boost away and jump. If you're slower, use FA off boost-turns and chaff to prevent them from doing any serious damage.
6) Bring a Cell Bank. He has limited time to kill you, and a basic SCB doubles the ammount of damage he must do to get rid of your shields.
7) Always escape to a different system, dont just enter SC. His buddies might be waiting, or he'll try to grab you again himself.
8) After escaping to a different system, drop out of SC immediately. Boost away from your position till your about 10km away. You're safe now, take your time to make new plans.

Also:
9) When in SC, check your radar. Hollow objects are players. They should be squares, triangles have hardpoints (probably an interdictor) deployed and might mean you harm.
10) You can only interdict when you're right behind your target, so dont let that happen to you. Dont fly in a straight line to your destination from the star when other players are around. Fly off on an angle for a bit then make gradual adjustments. This way you're 'off the road' and you can see clearly when other cmdrs are trying to get behind you.
11) Three types of systems are hotzones for experienced players, both murderers and vigilantes. These areas are much more dangerous and should not be visited without reason: 1) Starter zones. They'll always attract . 2) Community goal systems for traders. When hundreds of traders gather in a system, pirates are surely bound to follow. Also expect the usual suspects to show up for easy trader-killing.
12) Once you join a power, you'll have a giant crosshair painted on you to members of all other powers. It is fun, but dont take it lightly.
13) Being suddenly killed is very rare outside of the above situations. In 9 months only once did two cmdrs try to kill me (when taxi'ing in a Sidewinder). Because they were terrible pilots and I followed the above suggestions I survived, no amazing awesome flight manouvers were required. Which is good, cause I can't.

Finally:
14) If it looks fishy, it might very well be. No matter how unfair some murders are, in this game the victim can usually look back and see where a different course might have led to better results. ED is not about fairness, but about learning to find solutions where others might not.
15) Most important of all: Carry insurance. Tripple insurance. Always. No excuses. We all get unlucky eventually, and we all make mistakes. Don't be the next guy to post how unfair it is you lost everything to some bunghole. Be the guy who just smiled and earned the lost insurance back in 30 minutes. It is the difference between having a great time in the online ED community with one or two negative encounter, or throwing your computer out of the window.

Fly safe cmdr!

vosblod · Aug 18, 2015

Thanks for the advice, gained a few insights - glad to hear not everyone delights in "seal clubbing" (like that phrase).

Anyway, just to let you know, my first foray into combat didn't go too well (sort of); I went to a RES site reccomended on the net (HR 4734) and took the 'low intensity' site - I got the impression the 'high intensity' had higher skilled NPC's. I got there all pumped up and not much around but see a sidewinder that says 'clean' so I decide to use my 'Kill Warrant Scanner' just in case : anyway had the KWS set to fire button 2 and hold it BUT I open fire on him (guess I had my Hardpoints open) which I didn't want to do. Of course he returns fire back so (in for a penny in for a pound) I now have no choice but to go for it.
On the plus side he was an easy meal and upped my 'harmless' status a tad; on the downside taking out a clean Sidewinder has got me a bounty.

Gather I now need to stay away from that system for a week until the bounty turns into a fine. At least it wasn't a real player - I did enjoy beating that poor innocent computer bot though

Erik Marcaigh · Aug 19, 2015

Combat is about practice. If you can find a few people in-game to practice with (say, everyone in a starter sidewinder), then you can start learning and practicing dogfighting skills. If you have more money, change ships, use different loadouts to experiment with, and take the battle to, say first person down to 80% hull. Catch video of it from both player's POVs so you can see what your ship looks like when you're trying different maneuvers.

Once you get enough PvP combat in, the AI will become much easier to overcome.

The problem with going toe-to-toe against the "bullies" is that their ships are outfitted for PvP only. So you won't be able to counter it if your loadout also allows you to trade.

You'll want to go into your Fire Groups and make sure you have everything set correctly. Double check the settings before you launch every time and that'll help too.

Sometimes I play in Mobius, and sometimes in Open. Otherwise, there's really nothing else I can say that sleutelbos hasn't said already!

bigity · Aug 19, 2015

An 'honest' pirate for the most part doesn't want to fight. They want you to submit, let them scan you, and jettison some cargo quickly with no fuss - so they can move on to the next guy.

Once you get into a Cobra with some upgrades, basically nothing can trap you - they are either too small to mass lock you from jumping away, or too slow to keep up as you boost away (to get away from mass lock and jump away).

I can't agree enough with the folks who have said to not go out there without the money to rebuy. It's akin to deleting your gear from another MMO just because. I also tend to not upgrade to a new ship until I have enough money for 2-3 rebuys PLUS cash to upgrade critical modules (depending on what I intend to do with it). In other words, going from a suped up Sidewinder to a stock Eagle may not necessarily be an upgrade for you.

Pile_O_Gunz · Aug 19, 2015

I made a trip back to Eravate a few days ago for old times sake. I sat in hyperspace in my Python with wanted status for ages surrounded by cmdrs nobody wanted a fight

Seems a bit of a hotspot for t9 Npc spawns was surprised how many Newbies there were! must be most populated place in space.

so yea get a Python. Or get out of eravate might be cheaper.

vosblod · Aug 20, 2015

In case anyone is interested in hearing about my little saga to beat the bullies;
I am now 87% harmless after a few forays into RES territory. I took out a few single ships but then kept running into 'gangs'; this was OK until I fired on (a wanted) 'Imperial Dropship' who turned out to have a couple of mates who shot me in the posterior while I was taking the big honcho out. Decided to skidaddle away after I became shieldless.
So all fine, apart from picking up another accidental bounty, but I gather I can just hyperjump away to clear that one. My other bounty still has four days to go...

Did have one drama whilst scooting off to lick my war wounds - I got interdicted by some mammoth monster and all my evasion skills faded into futility. I thought I was a gonner - god knows what guns he had - but I managed to escape by boosts and turns although it was by a whisker as my shields were down and I was nearing 50% damage. He was called 'Count Freddie of Ottorick' so I am comforting myself with the thought that I evaded one of the biggest bad-ass NPC's in the galaxy : and he was royalty

One question - what is the difference between Low RES/RES/High RES mining sites - does it mean the opponents get nastier or are there just a lot more easy fish?

The_Quasar · Aug 20, 2015

vosblod said:
One question - what is the difference between Low RES/RES/High RES mining sites - does it mean the opponents get nastier or are there just a lot more easy fish?

In a high RES, there are usually either big ships (often in wings), or wings of smaller ones, sometimes individuals mostly deadly or dangerous.
Low RES is easier ships, and fewer of them.
RES is in between the two.

newman1702 · Aug 21, 2015

If you want more combat experience, you could always do some solo practice in a RES until you get a better feel for it, and feel you can 'graduate' to fighting human players.

Simok · Aug 21, 2015

Greetings CMDR I as well played Elite back in the 80s and loved this game very much. To see it as an online game made me very happy. I started playing Solo at first and in a private group with a friend to learn the basics. I than wanted to learn more about PowerPlay and visited Reddit. When I felt comfortable enough I joined the open world and have learned even more thanks to fantastic players I met online. Feel free to check out one of the stories I posted on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/kumocrew/comments/3h3qen/trouble_in_arawere_personal_story/

Hope you will find the right faction for you and will have a lot of fun

vosblod · Aug 25, 2015

newman1702 said:
If you want more combat experience, you could always do some solo practice in a RES until you get a better feel for it, and feel you can 'graduate' to fighting human players.

Good idea have been doing this and have now got to 'competent' - found the way around the gangs was to take out the big boy first then the other two got a bit easier (if I took a shield hit would crawl off for a minute to put a plaster on).
I think I am now ready to go back online having upgraded a bit, I will probably be less a 'seal' and more a 'walrus'. Anyway might see you out in space...

PS: thanks for the advice re high/low RES - I find I am now just going for any RES as it seem's they won't attack me until I go for them first.

Zazzilas Arden · Aug 25, 2015

Fly for Imperial territory and never look back. The Federals are corrupt swine that enjoy rubbing their wealth and power in the faces of the less fortunate and less experienced.

Pledge allegiance to our One True Empress Arissa Lavigny-Duval, while you're at it. :}

vosblod · Aug 31, 2015

Don't get cocky - that is the newbie lesson I learnt today;
Verging on 'expert' and feeling like the king of the High RES I find myself all lonesome surrounded by wanted dropships/Pythons/Annacondas (ergo the big boys) so the 'kingmaker' decides he can easily kick Asp without any help. Well here comes the dropship, and I even remembered to target his power plant before opening fire. Hell on earth (or is that space) broke loose - he seemed to have lasers coming out of every orifice and all hope of escape became futile - probably because I left if too late to realise my ED ego error.

Funny; I was thinking a CMDR would be the one to spoil my party but, since going multiplayer, I have only come across complete gents who are more then willing to wing up in RES sites - one even friended me. But there you go; I stupidly bit off more then I could chew and am now 1Mcr poorer (but I hope far wiser). NPC's aren't complete sitting ducks...

One question - I came across a 'wanted' CMDR (in a Vulture which I am willing to tackle at a push); I just left him alone and he said nothing then he disappeared after a while. Should I have attacked as he was bountied? It didn't feel right to attack a real person, especially as he/she seemed keen to leave me alone.

Hell Razor5543 · Aug 31, 2015

Well, welcome to the ED Galaxy.

Yes, there are those who think it is fun to look for new Players and kill them. However, there are others who will try and help new Players, and offer advise and assistance. The reason I do this is because I feel that the more people who enjoy the game the longer it will be around for.

Certacito · Sep 2, 2015

Hell Razor5543 said:
Well, welcome to the ED Galaxy.

Yes, there are those who think it is fun to look for new Players and kill them. However, there are others who will try and help new Players, and offer advise and assistance. The reason I do this is because I feel that the more people who enjoy the game the longer it will be around for.

I completely agree! Rep for you

Frank · Sep 2, 2015

Soon you'll have access to a new mode of playing where everyone is roughly on the same level pegging and the thought of death is less dreadful. CQCC will be a great place to pick up combat skill and encourage you to participate in PVP. I was playing the beta yesterday but kept dying because of a bug in the game <looks around to see if anybody swallowed that excuse>

Pile_O_Gunz · Sep 2, 2015

vosblod said:
Don't get cocky - that is the newbie lesson I learnt today;
Verging on 'expert' and feeling like the king of the High RES I find myself all lonesome surrounded by wanted dropships/Pythons/Annacondas (ergo the big boys) so the 'kingmaker' decides he can easily kick Asp without any help. Well here comes the dropship, and I even remembered to target his power plant before opening fire. Hell on earth (or is that space) broke loose - he seemed to have lasers coming out of every orifice and all hope of escape became futile - probably because I left if too late to realise my ED ego error.

Funny; I was thinking a CMDR would be the one to spoil my party but, since going multiplayer, I have only come across complete gents who are more then willing to wing up in RES sites - one even friended me. But there you go; I stupidly bit off more then I could chew and am now 1Mcr poorer (but I hope far wiser). NPC's aren't complete sitting ducks...

One question - I came across a 'wanted' CMDR (in a Vulture which I am willing to tackle at a push); I just left him alone and he said nothing then he disappeared after a while. Should I have attacked as he was bountied? It didn't feel right to attack a real person, especially as he/she seemed keen to leave me alone.

A wanted Cmdr will be expecting to fight but dont tackle, run ! Despite being fairly cheap the vulture is one of the best combat ships. Unless your flying a clipper or larger don't engage a cmdr vulture as he's probably going to blow you to bits - it's much tougher than an NPc drop ship I assure you