Combat Zone performance?

[Silver96camaro]

Hi! New to the game and looking to get an idea of how quickly I should be clearing combat zones solo. Been playing for about a month and loving it. Playstation in case that makes a difference. I generally use a krait mkII or clipper. Don't have anything engineered yet. I've seen times of 8-15 minutes thrown around a lot but it seems to vary based on when it was posted. I try to find groups of 2v1 or 3v1 and jump in with a deployed fighter to make it 4 or 5v1..... But within seconds it always seems to be me 1v1. And it takes me forever to kill things. So I guess I'm also looking for what weapons I should be using for the krait mkII or clipper. Or even suggestions for other ships (preferably that can use a fighter hanger).

Thanks!

 

[Haradrim]

There's an unfortunate lack of balance with combat since 2016 after engineering started so it's kind of all over the place. You kind of need it for conflict zones because NPCs have bulletsponge engineered hulls. From what I've noticed, enemy AI will completely ignore everyone else the second you start shooting at them. I've heared low intensity conflict zones have lesser engineered ships, but I'm not sure if that's true or not.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

You ned to engineer - your vanilla guns are just peashooters now.

 

[St0rmFury]

There's an unfortunate lack of balance with combat since 2016 after engineering started so it's kind of all over the place. You kind of need it for conflict zones because NPCs have bulletsponge engineered hulls. From what I've noticed, enemy AI will completely ignore everyone else the second you start shooting at them. I've heared low intensity conflict zones have lesser engineered ships, but I'm not sure if that's true or not.

IIRC, low/med/high intensity affects how many ships you need to destroy before winning the conflict, and also spec-ops & capital ship spawn chance.

All ships are engineered the same regardless of intensity.

 

[Ashnak]

I'm somewhat dubious about the use of an SLF in a CZ, unless you can reliably control which ship it should attack (and have a pilot good enough to not accidentally nick your - then former - allies). That said, if you still want to use a SLF, I'd probably set up a Plasma/Beam or Plasma/Rail Krait Mk.II.

If you can omit the SLF, my go-to ship for CZs is a Mamba - huge focussed Plasma on top, a couple of efficient/thermal vent beams on the mediums and some Cytos on the smalls.
Beams to deal with anything small and agile, Cytos to strip the shields from anything sufficiently large and slow to permit me getting close, Plasma to punch through the hulls and make their PP explode.

 

[Dillon Fallon]

First off, I'd suggest avoiding highs unless you've got something particularly devastating (One of the big 3 with g5 everything), you're happy to chip away at everything with lasers or don't mind having to resynth ammo.

With CZs you do need to be more aware of your build than other areas of combat as getting jumped by spec ops hurts and you need something that will bunch through proper combat fitted NPCs (as opposed to pirates with limpet controllers, cargo bays, etc. that you see in a Haz RES or comp nav beacon).

I'd also suggest being comfortable using fixed weapons, at least as an option when attacking large and medium ships. Once you've found a build setup you like and you're comfortable with it, medium CZs in less than 10 minutes should be very much doable. Also, if you're worried about 1v1s, one tip is to try and fly around with your spec ops. If you can stick with them, you'll generally roll over anything in your way. Getting comfortable with 1v1s would be no bad thing though, although do pick your target. Some ships, like the Vipers, can get you bogged down if you're not careful. Alliance ships can be difficult as well, unless you can snipe out those overly exposed drives first.

As for builds- what ship did you have in mind? I should even have my CZ Beluga saved somewhere so there's lots of options.

 

[Voidwizard1]

If you are doing a combat zone, yes engineering your ship is very helpful or you are in for a difficult time.
The enemy ships, especially Spec Ops are tougher by far.

You do not have to use a large ship, you can use any type you want. I often use a Cobra Mk III, Vulture, Federal Assault, Python, Federal Gunship, etc. and do not have many problems. The Corvette and such are fun too. It would of course depend on your level of skill and fun desired.

I also use gimballed weapons the most often by far. I have even used partial turreted on some of the big ships and it works also. Fixed are ok, but with my injuries it is more difficult but can be enjoyable for a bit.
I use a ship launched fighter on some ships and have experienced very few problems. Know the commands, generally attack my target and to call it back to the ship.
Fight smarter, do not get bogged down by multiple enemies, retreat a bit and reengage when needed.

I have always just used regular ammo, but you can synthesize the more powerful stuff if you like.
Generally I can do a few combat zones on 1 normal payload of ammo and when empty I return to the station and take a break for a few hours to rest (injuries) but as mentioned you can synthesize more and stay out longer.

Have fun Commander o7

 

[Legoshi Brown]

The Clipper can quite easily solo CZs if you’re smart about it. First thing you’ll wanna do is get your Powerplant beefed up for power output, because engineering things in specific ways can add a lot of power drain and you’ll want that extra capacity. Clippers are also extremely fast and agile for a large ship, so take advantage of that and go for Dirty Drive Tuning for your thrusters. You’ll top out at over 600 meters per second when boosting, and not far short of 500 with 4 pips of power to the engines cruising. For a ship that’s as heavy as an Anaconda, that’s insanely fast, This will make it so if any AI ship chases you, you can leave them in the dust in seconds, and open the range enough that they’ll eventually forget about you.

This might sound crazy, but I swear it works. Run 4 Gimballed Multicanons on your Clipper. Give at least 2 or 3 of them a Thermal Effect to help bash down shields quicker. Once you’ve done that, go into your Contacts Panels, go to the Target Tab, and snipe the Powerplant of the other ship, this generally but not always, be done when you’ve got a shot at the middle of a ship. Bringing a Powerplant down to 0% integrity, then hitting it a few more times, will cause instant destruction regardless of Hull Integrity. This is where the speed and agility come into play. Find a target that’s distracted, get on their tail, batter their shields down, and blow up their Powerplant.

Using this sort of setup and strategy, I can reliably solo High Intensity Combat Zones with my Clipper and only have to do a refill of my ammo once as the kills come quick and easy if you pick your targets well.

As for how long Combat Zones will take with this setup… I don’t know what my best times are for Medium and High Intensity, but my average for Low Intensity is probably… 7 minutes? My record is 5 minutes with 9 kills.

 

[Silver96camaro]

Appreciate all the stuff to think about. I seem to average 20-30 mins for a low and between 45-60 for a high if I'm doing all the objectives. The combat isn't difficult. Just very time consuming. I've been primarily going with turreted beam lasers and seeker missiles (my aim is trash). I'm guessing that's why it takes so long. I'm figuring that engineering should be a priority and I should probably work on my aim. Lol. And though I said clipper, I meant cutter. It's a behemoth and I love using it, but I think due to my choice of weapons / lack of engineering I'm just having a hard time killing things quickly.

 

[Legoshi Brown]

And though I said clipper, I meant cutter,

You should give the Clipper a shot with the sort of setup I told you about. The Cutter is more of the tank that takes an entire squadron to knock its shields down, if you’re running 8A Engineered Shields with every Utility Slot using an Engineered Shield Booster. There’s also a LOT of internal space for Hull and Module Reinforcements. I don’t know the optional weapons for the Cutter though because effective she undoubtedly is, it’s just not the one for me. As you’ve probably noticed, it turns like an iceberg despite its good, for its size, straight line speed.

The Clipper is more of a turn and burn “knife” fighter. You get those Thrusters to Grade 5 and she’ll turn with the Eagles in Combat Zones. As in, she can kept pace with their agility. The Cutter is a great ship of run properly, but for me, the exciting high speed and agility of the Clipper are more my style.

Word to the wise though, if you do try doing a Combat Zone in the Clipper, use a Bi-Weave Shield so when your shields go down, and they will if anyone gets on your tail, you can get them back up quick.

 

[rrobes]

Engineering came along and introduced the combat/mats grind, you need to engineer 'cause the NPCs are engineered, the time to kill takes longer 'cause the ship defenses are aggressively balanced against weapons, hence "bullet sponging" and slow kill rates 1v1, plus the very active chaff.

Even with a fully engineered Corvette, considered one of the best choices in PvE will take time to kill the CZ NPCs. Only when you tag team the targets will you decrease the times significantly.

As to an SLF in a CZ, they are suicidal and require too much time trying to keep it alive, also NPCs seem to target the SLF quite actively.

As to weaponry, my Corvette has 3 MCs and 4 rails all fully engineered and with experimental effects and again, time to kill can be lengthy, it's just the nature of the game.

Outside of CZs , NPCs are really vulnerable to a Corvette but if you downsize, it can be more of a challenge.

Good luck!

 

[St0rmFury]

You should give the Clipper a shot with the sort of setup I told you about. The Cutter is more of the tank that takes an entire squadron to knock its shields down, if you’re running 8A Engineered Shields with every Utility Slot using an Engineered Shield Booster. There’s also a LOT of internal space for Hull and Module Reinforcements. I don’t know the optional weapons for the Cutter though because effective she undoubtedly is, it’s just not the one for me. As you’ve probably noticed, it turns like an iceberg despite its good, for its size, straight line speed.

The Clipper is more of a turn and burn “knife” fighter. You get those Thrusters to Grade 5 and she’ll turn with the Eagles in Combat Zones. As in, she can kept pace with their agility. The Cutter is a great ship of run properly, but for me, the exciting high speed and agility of the Clipper are more my style.

Word to the wise though, if you do try doing a Combat Zone in the Clipper, use a Bi-Weave Shield so when your shields go down, and they will if anyone gets on your tail, you can get them back up quick.

I don't deny the clipper's speed & agility, but there's too little hardpoints for a large ship and their convergence is ugh.

 

[Legoshi Brown]

I don't deny the clipper's speed & agility, but there's too little hardpoints for a large ship and their convergence is ugh.

Yeah I can’t deny those. Gimballed weapons are all but a must for the Clipper, but it does make Module Sniping easier and if you can detonate a Powerplant reliably, it doesn’t really matter how many or how big your weapons are.

The best way to picture the Clipper is as a Medium Sized ship with Large Ship internals and the inability to land on Mediums Size pads. Thats more or less what she is.

Actually it may handle more similarly to Small Size ships, because she can leave most Mediums in the dust in seconds, and has comparable, if not slightly underwhelming, agility compared to some Small Size ships. Hell, in one instance, after nearly dying sending a Capital Ship packing, I got bounced by a player in a Cutter. I just put all power to engines and started boosting away. By the time he turned around to get aimed at me, I was already long gone and out of range.

Im rambling at this point, so to summarize, just imagine the Clipper isn’t a Large Ship, because she isn’t one in almost every respect.

 

[Dillon Fallon]

A Clipper is an easy thing to sort out for CZs (when you know how anyway). What you need is the tried and tested route of paying Zachariah Nemo a visit and getting 4 gimballed frags on it. Large hardpoints should be overcharged and either incendiary or screening shell, one medium should be overcharged and drag and the other do g3 high capacity or overcharged (depends on how quickly you burn through the ammo) and corrosive. Then fill it with hull reinforcements heavy duty/deep plating and a module reinforcement.

Frags have a wide spread so you want to be right on top of the target, which is great because you want to be up close and personal as rams from a Clipper do not end well for the other ship, especially if you can simultaneously fire off your frags into it while boosting into them.

Anyway, here's my build and I have no problems with doing CZs in comfortably less time than 10 minutes (but then I've also been playing the game for nearly 4 years). Just remember to put 4 pips to sys if the shield has dropped every now and again to speed up recharge as a class 7 biweave takes a lot of juice from a class 6 distributor.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

s.orbis.zone

 

[Legoshi Brown]

A Clipper is an easy thing to sort out for CZs (when you know how anyway). What you need is the tried and tested route of paying Zachariah Nemo a visit and getting 4 gimballed frags on it. Large hardpoints should be overcharged and either incendiary or screening shell, one medium should be overcharged and drag and the other do g3 high capacity or overcharged (depends on how quickly you burn through the ammo) and corrosive. Then fill it with hull reinforcements heavy duty/deep plating and a module reinforcement.

Frags have a wide spread so you want to be right on top of the target, which is great because you want to be up close and personal as rams from a Clipper do not end well for the other ship, especially if you can simultaneously fire off your frags into it while boosting into them.

Anyway, here's my build and I have no problems with doing CZs in comfortably less time than 10 minutes (but then I've also been playing the game for nearly 4 years). Just remember to put 4 pips to sys if the shield has dropped every now and again to speed up recharge as a class 7 biweave takes a lot of juice from a class 6 distributor.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

s.orbis.zone

Best case scenario it’ll take me a few months to even start on that as I’m about 60,000 LY from The Bubble, but thanks for the info and I’ll look into trying that and see how it treats me.

Good news is that I’ll have more than enough Cartographical Data, like excessively excessive more than enough to cozy up to Yoru when I get back.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I used to go with a hull-hardened FAS into CZ solo but since they changed module damage and turned the bullet sponge to eleven that isn't much fun anymore. Anything without decent shields is prone to cause problems. Hull tanking became entirely moot.

 

[Vandaahl]

I used to go with a hull-hardened FAS into CZ solo but since they changed module damage and turned the bullet sponge to eleven that isn't much fun anymore. Anything without decent shields is prone to cause problems. Hull tanking became entirely moot.

Yeah, I remember. I was buying Elvis records around that time...

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Yeah, I remember. I was buying Elvis records around that time...

Who's Elvis?

 

[Gentleman_Raven_]

I was really thinking about going into CZ's because bounty hunting is a bit random.
Really good advice on here, thank you.

 

[Ashnak]

Who's Elvis?

That young whippersnapper with the guitar and the elastic hips.