Newcomer / Intro Combat Guides? I'm Terrible...

[dragn]

I've played all day and although I really got docking and undocking, trading, and non-combat missions down-pat....I am just TERRIBLE at combat. I even changed my controls to keyboard instead of mouse -- I was *always* oversteering, over-rolling (even though I adjusted the mouse sensitivity)....keyboard is better...but man...even doing the tutorial combat missions I get my butt kicked. I can *barely* get through the first 1 on 1 mission. The 2 on 1...forget it.

Seems like everytime I do a barrel roll to re-acquire the target after they pass me......they pass me again. I try to accelerate away for a while trying to get some distance but again, once i turn to acquire target they are already on top of me again...it's maddening.

What are some techniques to kill these enemies? Is there a guide somewhere? I didn't see anything indepth on the video tutorial page.

 

[Norbert]

I suggest you go back to the basic combat tutorial mission and instead of shooting right away, you try to follow the sidewinder for a while, like 10 minutes and make sure you always stick his ship in your reticule. You will learn how to adjust your speed according to his and to maneouver nicely when he does. Then when you feel more condident, you can start shooting at him and keep being behind him. If you lose him on the screen, your radar is your friend. Just don't panic, it is a tutorial so give yourself some time. You'll be fine, don't worry

 

[Jon474]

During testing I was absolutely rubbish at combat and this lasted for about two months. I blamed everything for my being so rubbish (except me, of course). I could not even get the cross-hairs to focus in the same system as my target. Then one day, it just clicked. Using the thrusters whilst pitching and rolling did it for me. I learned to keep the target in sight, then to anticipate its movement, then to turn on a sixpence. I really (really) enjoy combat now and relish the fight. Not stupidly but I don't let people kick space-dust in my face. You have to know when to run though. I make that stay or go call very early in a fight...in my pimped out Sidewinder I definitely know when I am (or will be) beaten and have no qualms about running. I am happy to be a slightly ashamed or embarrassed Cmdr but live to fight another day.

Fly happy

Jon

 

[dragn]

I was just thinking -- am I perhaps missing a "lock" button or something? Getting the reticle *exactly on him* is pretty rough. I noticed in the 2 on 1 mission, the laser did have some sort of lock on, and was shooting the ship without me being perfectly centered on it.

 

[Zen0116]

The Z button is your friend for turning fast. I cant remember what it the name is for it but it keeps your ship from taking the time to change the direction your ship is heading instead it turns it and you sort of free fall in the direction you where going in. then when you feel about half way turned, release it, your ship will swing in the direction you where turning then see where you end up and hit the accelerator.

 

[Ortikon]

Couple pointers I gave my friend over TS that worked for him very well: (he had never done any flight related games before)

-Use the blue 'sweet spot' on your throttle control to see your ideal turning speed in relation to the target
-use the up,down,left,right translational thrust in conjunction with your turning. Not sure how to configure that on KB. A good barrel roll will have a combo of yaw (turn) sideways thrust, and using certain amounts of roll to control the 'radius of the barrel'
-turning off flight assist momentarily will add some slide to your turns and other fun, effective maneuvers.
-power control.
---Max out ENG when in pursuit, drop it a bit into weapons as you start to fire. When you have him in your sights, lean in on him with maxed out weapon power to maintain fire.
---Max out shields in a head on joust, drop eng, and medium weapons
---Keep controlling your power, this is not a set and leave function, but an active process throughout your engagement.

Lets see what other pointers are out there from our community.

In regards to ship performance, upgrade your Power Distributor. This is one of those boring upgrades that a lot of people can overlook early on in favour of big guns.
Each bar of power stored will be worth more and you can get more frequent boosts out of your thrusters and your shields will charge faster. Weapons will have more endurance.

 

[Norbert]

Remember as well you can still shoot when you are going backward. It is not the most aesthetic way to dogfight but it can save your life more than once. Maybe, before really trying to dogfight, you can use the very first mission, the one to shoot canisters, to fly in between asteroids and use different speeds. Once you have a good grip on how to pilot your ship, you will have no trouble incorporating combat.

 

[Legionnaire]

To start with, although they do less damage Gimballed weapons are easier to hit with, as they have some aim assist in them, unlike the fixed weapons. Try equipping Gimballed weapons like the pulse or burst lasers or the multicannon to start off with. Lasers don't use ammo, which the various cannons do, so if equipping cannons, take ammo costs into account, and dont forget to re-arm when docked. Make sure the weapons say Gimballed mount in the small text, and not fixed or turreted.