Combat Tips? (Flying in Viper)

[NewYears1978]

I've been playing since release, off and on, doing a mix of trading, rares trading, Bounty Hunting, missions. Spent a lot of my time writing an Excel App so my play time was off and on.

I use Voice Attack (sometimes) with mouse/KB (just prefer it..might get Hotas at some point) and I do just fine in combat..but I play in Solo mode mostly or Mobius due to distractions in my home (3 daughters for one).

I just got in my Viper and I expected to tear stuff up compared to the Eagle that I once had but I am not feeling it. I don't get close to dying, or have issues killing things, but it just seems harder than in my Eagle.

The big problem I have is I try to stay at a 90 degree angle to my enemy so I get good wide open shots and such..but sometimes enemies seem to just ZOOM away real fast after barely moving... I end up with that head on head passing and then repeat when I try to loop around. I use Down and Up thrusters as well as Back Thrusters (to not fly past a ship when they speed up toward me) which works sometimes..and I dabble in Assist off too..but I am just hoping for some pointers or something to help me be a better pilot.

I know if I were to try to take on an Anaconda solo I would probably get destroyed. I read about people staying right behind it but when I fight them even in Combat Zones they tend to be in my sights and I'm holding then zoom they are gone and flipped around facing me and all that.

I will say that the combat ranks of the enemies obviously makes a difference. In Nav zones I can kill things a lot quicker than in the Combat zones where there are Expert-Elite classed. I still never have "problems" with being at risk for dying, but just feel I should be doing better.


For reference my Viper is mostly A3 equipment, I use 2 Gimballed MultiCannons on top and 2 Fixed Pulses on bottom (Pulse instead of beam for a slight power improvement)

I don't have aiming issues either I can generally hit with my fixed lasers and get shields off without issues it's mostly just advanced techniques and keeping ships in line..I must be doing it wrong.

Gimme your advise, tips, videos, anything

 

[Blood Lust]

I've been playing since release, off and on, doing a mix of trading, rares trading, Bounty Hunting, missions. Spent a lot of my time writing an Excel App so my play time was off and on.

I use Voice Attack (sometimes) with mouse/KB (just prefer it..might get Hotas at some point) and I do just fine in combat..but I play in Solo mode mostly or Mobius due to distractions in my home (3 daughters for one).

I just got in my Viper and I expected to tear stuff up compared to the Eagle that I once had but I am not feeling it. I don't get close to dying, or have issues killing things, but it just seems harder than in my Eagle.

The big problem I have is I try to stay at a 90 degree angle to my enemy so I get good wide open shots and such..but sometimes enemies seem to just ZOOM away real fast after barely moving... I end up with that head on head passing and then repeat when I try to loop around. I use Down and Up thrusters as well as Back Thrusters (to not fly past a ship when they speed up toward me) which works sometimes..and I dabble in Assist off too..but I am just hoping for some pointers or something to help me be a better pilot.

I know if I were to try to take on an Anaconda solo I would probably get destroyed. I read about people staying right behind it but when I fight them even in Combat Zones they tend to be in my sights and I'm holding then zoom they are gone and flipped around facing me and all that.

I will say that the combat ranks of the enemies obviously makes a difference. In Nav zones I can kill things a lot quicker than in the Combat zones where there are Expert-Elite classed. I still never have "problems" with being at risk for dying, but just feel I should be doing better.


For reference I Viper is mostly A3 equipment, I use 2 Gimballed MultiCannons on top and 2 Fixed Pulses on bottom (Pulse instead of beam for a slight power improvement)

I don't have aiming issues either I can generally hit with my fixed lasers and get shields off without issues it's mostly just advanced techniques and keeping ships in line..I must be doing it wrong.

Gimme your advise, tips, videos, anything

So the navigation beacons are the best place to hang around. Watch for other ships attacking a wanted player. Don't engage just keep close. As soon as the targets hull is down to a few percent upon up with a barrage and kill him. The final shot is the one that gets the bounty.
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Next bit of advice is to learn your wanted target ships. Ships cannot shoot behind and the ones for trading have a slow turning speed. Position yourself behind their thrusters and develop your skill to remain there. Fire away until they are dead.
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Upgrade that viper to its limits.
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Have combinations of pulse lasers and multi-cannons. Those multi-cannons evaporate hull integrity and you can kill many ships in a few seconds.
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Learn your missles and ships. A single missle can kill a lot of ships, even the bigger ones. Make sure your use is cost effective (don't waste it on a small ship).

 

[NewYears1978]

Hey thanks for the tips! Most of what you gave is beginner though I meant more advanced. I should have been more specific. I have done tons of combat and I have no issues even soloing Elite ships it's just that some fights tend to take a bit longer than I think they should, and I read about people staying behind vessels and such which I have a hard time with. Thought there might be some specific throttle techniques and stuff

I have never tried missiles, the cost and low amount that can be carried has always deterred me.

Remaining behind the thruster is one of the things I was kind referring to. I can do this against novice or whatever pilots but Expert, Elite and bigger ships it seems harder because it seems like that ship can just suddenly dart off and such.

 

[Blood Lust]

Hey thanks for the tips! Most of what you gave is beginner though I meant more advanced. I should have been more specific. I have done tons of combat and I have no issues even soloing Elite ships it's just that some fights tend to take a bit longer than I think they should, and I read about people staying behind vessels and such which I have a hard time with. Thought there might be some specific throttle techniques and stuff

I have never tried missiles, the cost and low amount that can be carried has always deterred me.

Remaining behind the thruster is one of the things I was kind referring to. I can do this against novice or whatever pilots but Expert, Elite and bigger ships it seems harder because it seems like that ship can just suddenly dart off and such.

Turn the flight assist off and experiment?.
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Learn where the shields and power generators are on each ship types hull and target them?

 

[Salvatory]

Spending a fair amount of time in the Viper here and found it's down to strict power management and FA on/off with a usb foot pedal i have here

I'd burn 4 pips worth of pulse to burn off shields and if they turn on me i'd 4 pips shield... as soon as they pass i'd bump 4 pips into weps and FA off turn - then start working the hull down - when their shields are close to coming back on have weapons fully charged for the burn down again and repeat

In the combat zones the anacondas just take a long time so stick to eagles/cobras for the quick cash and asp/pythons when they run out

glhf!

 

[HeavyGroovez]

Hey thanks for the tips! Most of what you gave is beginner though I meant more advanced. I should have been more specific. I have done tons of combat and I have no issues even soloing Elite ships it's just that some fights tend to take a bit longer than I think they should, and I read about people staying behind vessels and such which I have a hard time with. Thought there might be some specific throttle techniques and stuff

I have never tried missiles, the cost and low amount that can be carried has always deterred me.

Remaining behind the thruster is one of the things I was kind referring to. I can do this against novice or whatever pilots but Expert, Elite and bigger ships it seems harder because it seems like that ship can just suddenly dart off and such.

Sometimes you simply cant stay behind an enemy. Even if you are using 4 pips and the occasional dab of FA Off to help get you moving on a lateral vector .


Sounds like you are doing alright so just keep experimenting to be honest.

 

[Dr. Uzi]

Staying directly behind a ship is not the best way to do it in my opinion. This limits where your shots can land on the hull after the shields have been stripped. For large targets, say the Asp on up, you want to target the power plant. To hit the power plant on most ships you need to be able to shoot into the middle of the hull and this is not possible from directly behind or in front. You will notice that if you target an Anacondas power plant and land consistent MC rounds on its belly(the PP is more exposed underneath) the power plant health will drop dramatically compared to overall hull strength. This saves both time and ammunition since as soon as the PP health drops to zero the ship will explode no matter the hull strength.

So, target the subsystem power plant and position yourself to hit said power plant. You can do this for all ships, but it works most dramatically on the larger ones I have found. I would also recommend switching your MC's to the medium hard points and the lasers(I use beam, this uses more energy so if you have shield cells you will need to stow your guns before you can use the cells) to the small hard points. Medium MC's will tear up a ships power plant in no time.

 

[tecman69]

Excellent advice @Dr. Uzi. Only difference I have is one beam laser on medium points (cannon on other) with 2 mc's on small points. I don't have a link, but there was a good table analysis of each weapon damage and one medium beam was just a little better than 2 small beams.

 

[NewYears1978]

Great tips much appreciated. I will keep at what I am doing and experimenting..I always see these people boasting about how great they are and do this and that and then I think..man I can't do that. I should watch some videos.

I've also been messing with targetting subsystems and I messed with other gun types (like the Plasma Accelerator) and I've found that I generally don't know where the components are. I used to assume you could just target it and hit it but now I know they have actually locations to hit so I guess someone needs to make a nice website showing where they are on which ship.

This is familiar to me because I used to play World of Tanks very religiously..anyone else played WoT?

 

[HeavyGroovez]

This is familiar to me because I used to play World of Tanks very religiously..anyone else played WoT?

Havent played WoT but i was in the top 3 tank commanders in the UK for a long time when BF4 was released.

 

[NewYears1978]

So I braved up and made my first attempt at one of those Anaconda missions...wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Yay!

 

[salad]

Just remember Peppy's advice:

1- Never give up.
2- Trust your instincts.

 

[chiconspiracy]

Lateral thrust is your friend. The Viper pitches like a freaking asp, despite being 2 or three times smaller than a cobra..

The one thing I miss from my viper-vulture transition is it's ability to boost around a target. Learn to do this and you'll be very very happy. NEVER try to turn fight anything more agile than an Asp. For Sidewinders and eagles, reverse thrust into blue zone while thrusting down when you overshoot or they turn in on you. One trick you can do is combine both pitch and yaw as you turn, as it seems to turn around a second or two quicker that way.

A favorite maneuver of mine is boosting sideways while yawing the opposite direction to move around a target while keeping them in view. For example, I'll boost right and yaw hard to the left, pitching and rolling as needed. This moves you around your target in a semi circle while keeping them in view, and depending on your distance, they will not be able to pitch around to target you before you are shooting away at their rear. This is often MUCH superior to the FA off turn.

I did this often when killing elite anacondas or pesky players in cobras or other powerful ships:


[video=youtube;RXj3Avv5PVk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXj3Avv5PVk[/video]

 

[Antmax]

Asp pitches really well with A thrusters. Better than a Viper . But it is so big and slow offering a large surface area and slow to change direction with lateral thrusters. It's fairly easy to get a good angle on one but they soak up quite a lot in shields if you pick up a fresh one. I'm in conflict zones where everyone is armoured and has cannons of some kind. Navs are a bit easier.

 

[ChubbyBunneh]

Sometimes if they won't cooperate you should just play their game and boom & zoom.

Get a full charge on your weapons, go in hot boosting with 2 pips engines and 4 pips shields. Dump your weapon capacitor on them and boost away. Because you fly past so quickly and your shields have 4 pips you shouldn't take much damage. Be careful not to crash into them as you fly by.

When you're at a safe distance, 4 pips to weapons to recharge and then repeat these strafing runs until you get their shields down. Anacondas have super easy to hit drives, I would suggest targeting those on NPCs. I don't think they know how to repair them yet.

 

[NewYears1978]

Just remember Peppy's advice:

1- Never give up.
2- Trust your instincts.

Thumbs Up

Lateral thrust is your friend. The Viper pitches like a freaking asp, despite being 2 or three times smaller than a cobra..

The one thing I miss from my viper-vulture transition is it's ability to boost around a target. Learn to do this and you'll be very very happy. NEVER try to turn fight anything more agile than an Asp. For Sidewinders and eagles, reverse thrust into blue zone while thrusting down when you overshoot or they turn in on you. One trick you can do is combine both pitch and yaw as you turn, as it seems to turn around a second or two quicker that way.

A favorite maneuver of mine is boosting sideways while yawing the opposite direction to move around a target while keeping them in view. For example, I'll boost right and yaw hard to the left, pitching and rolling as needed. This moves you around your target in a semi circle while keeping them in view, and depending on your distance, they will not be able to pitch around to target you before you are shooting away at their rear. This is often MUCH superior to the FA off turn.

I did this often when killing elite anacondas or pesky players in cobras or other powerful ships:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXj3Avv5PVk

I use Lateral thrust probably more than anything..and when I posted this topic I was getting frustrated in the combat zones because things were just zooming off or past me. I've found now that the direct Anaconda missions go quite differently (I guess due to the multitude of ships the enemy behaves differently). I was able to keep pinned on him almost the entire fight he didn't zoom off or whip around very often if at all. A couple times I had to regroup when I either accidentally rammed the Anaconda and lost my shields (okay, it was just once lol) but for the most part is was a breeze.

I also use the thrust and turn combos almost always. I have never tried side thrusters and yaw though. I always use Pitch and up/down thrusters..I will try to mix it up

Sometimes if they won't cooperate you should just play their game and boom & zoom.

Get a full charge on your weapons, go in hot boosting with 2 pips engines and 4 pips shields. Dump your weapon capacitor on them and boost away. Because you fly past so quickly and your shields have 4 pips you shouldn't take much damage. Be careful not to crash into them as you fly by.

When you're at a safe distance, 4 pips to weapons to recharge and then repeat these strafing runs until you get their shields down. Anacondas have super easy to hit drives, I would suggest targeting those on NPCs. I don't think they know how to repair them yet.

I employed this tactic a few times last night on those pesky ones that wouldn't sit still. It took more time however the dmg taken is significantly less, so it works out. Thumbs up.

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I've realized that ships are just more prepared for combat in the combat zones (go figure) and thus even a small ship there is much harder to take out than ones in a mission or Nav Beacon/Extraction site.

That's what was throwing me was the Anaconda's in the Combat zones. They were nothing like the Elite one that I fought for the mission, the mission was much easier, except that I was the Anaconda's sole target.