Back when I was into CQC, I switched to the base Condor just because I was tired of the salt in my inbox.
Powerup control is the key to winning CQC. Even if your piloting skills are average, if you can farm those powerups, you'll do fine. A lot of new folks don't understand this, and assume its gear based, when the outfitting options are sidegrades at best.
There are plenty of people proficient enough with lasers to tag you when silent/cold. All they have to do is put the dot on you.
Powerup control is the key to winning CQC. Even if your piloting skills are average, if you can farm those powerups, you'll do fine. A lot of new folks don't understand this, and assume its gear based, when the outfitting options are sidegrades at best.
There are plenty of people proficient enough with lasers to tag you when silent/cold. All they have to do is put the dot on you.
I actually tried, but the system is very slow to use, and after 3 attempts to flag one of them, I would be killed and bounced out of the menu to respawn before I could get it off. Literally, I spawned in, went straight to the player list and was scrolling through to find the name, and that same player would appear instantly and kill me again. I just couldn't get it done in time. It's really bad.
Sorry, let me quote what I wrote in the chat:
"There's NO WAY."
That's abuse?
"I'm recording as of now."
That's abuse?
Okay. I guess. Hope you feel better soon.
This is basically what I expected, and I'm not surprised. An experienced player -- one who obviously understands and has mastered the mechanics so very well -- immediately responding to a new player that has had a negative experience with the game mode by taking time to explain how the mechanics work and disspell some misconceptions...
...Oh...no...wait...
Just posturing, posing, and biting their thumb at the noobs that don't freakin' get it. Followed by eye-roll after eye-roll. I'm supposed to humor this with ongoing discussion, right. Not responding anymore, unless you intend to offer something constructive.
So it's possible for a single ship to constantly have extra weapon's damage? I guess that could explain some of it. The problem there, though, is that they also seem to have outrageous levels of shields (non-gold, so no power-up), and they're maneuvering as if all 4 pips were on engines. Which brings me to:
Yup, I read up on the mode ahead of time, and was expecting what I experienced on that first day. Tried all sorts of different power configs just to see how it would go, and I'm actually pretty quick at rebalancing / reconfiguring on the fly. I'm not seeing anything on my end that results in the level of shield resistance of certain other players, though. I mean, if they're causing such outrageous levels of damage, and able to maneuver so tightly...then that means they don't have the pips in systems. If they do have the pips in systems, strengthing the shields, and I have mine on in engines (which I usually do when engaging), then I should definitely be able to gain at least a little bit of an edge in maneuverability...which I don't.
They simply don't take damage at the same rate (even in an identical ship with identical weapons, mostly referring to Gu-97 with Burst Lasers). If we both engage, head-to-head, with full shields, I'll get the drop on them, hit them 2-3 times before they come around, then continue firing (and hitting). I'll just barely begin to darken the first ring of their shields. In return, they'll spin about on me, face me down, and using the same burst lasers, cut through my shields and hull in about 5-7 hits. Boom. I'm working on their second ring, and they've already destroyed my craft. How? If it happened only once or twice, I'd say, maybe a power-up, sure. But it's happening every single kill, every single match. (Sometimes, they don't have the power up because I have the power-up.)
Let me just clarify that I am not receiving that type of extreme damage and encountering that type of crazy shield resistance from other players. Normally, if I get the drop on another player, we'll have a good bout before one of us splashes the other one. As in, when we hit each other with the same weapons, we do the same damage.
It's not, oh, I'm being hit from my 5 o'clock -- immediately drop chaff, boost, and come about...oh I'm already dead. There's no game.
Whether it's fair play or not, it's no fun. There's no game when these players are on. If it's not cheating, then the imbalance means newer players without the upper-tier gear and knowledge of the maps / power-up locations are just being hazed by vastly more experienced and effective players. In that case, I don't see why they don't just build matches based on player rank, like most MP games. Might encourage more people to stick around. As I'm normally in matches of only 2-3 people anyway, it won't really make much of a difference. Except to balance things out. (And if there are hackers futzing about, as I'm very willing to believe, why are they still here? How can they not have been found? There's almost no one playing it.)
Not in my case. The only things I've ever typed into chat are what I posted above and I typed "Nope," once when I had had enough of the spawn-instakilled-spawn-instakilled loop and just logged off. A lot of people try to spin negative criticism as some sort of angst or whining, but that type of antagonism doesn't work on me. I don't spend time trying to smack-talk people in chat. And I don't get baited into back-and-forth cutting wars simply trying to appear like I've got the bigger "sword hilt". Life is too short.
___
Another weird thing I noticed in the vids was that a few of these individuals often display different ships when the game shifts to the kill-cam. It does happen with some regularity, so maybe that's just a display bug.
Well, maybe I'll try a bit later and see if I can get a pattern down. Honestly, while I guess the idea of "Power-Ups" is fairly typical for game modes such as this, I don't feel they really add anything to the experience here. Elite is a smarter game than that. To that end, I actually avoid grabbing them unless I'm trying to stay alive. On the whole, I'd love game modes that remove them and just leave the gameplay to be decided by piloting skill and effective use of a ship's build.
Deleted member 192138
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Here's how to succeed in CQC: realise it's all about learning a route to farm powerups then go back to playing main game because that's boring af.
That was my overall reaction after the 3rd day. Simply no reason to suffer through "the curve". Especially if all it means, in the end, is I'm going to be facing mostly brand new players in a turkey-shoot. I'd rather be facing other players at my rank / gear / knowledge level so that we could have a match.
(Again, my Day 1 was excellent. Nearly full matches; nothing seemed funny; lots of back-and-forth. Great fun! Haven't seen anything like that since.)
LOL, don't listen to Barnard17 because he wasn't very successful at CQC and even pretty average players beat him. That salt.
CQC isn't for everybody. But if you give it time and learn you may get addicted.
My first week of CQC I was obliterated by CQC veterans.. they were looping all sorts of PUs, I didn't know what was happening.
But I didn't just walk in and called everybody a cheater.
How to be successful in CQC Arena?.. you need this attitude...
CQC isn't for everybody. But if you give it time and learn you may get addicted.
My first week of CQC I was obliterated by CQC veterans.. they were looping all sorts of PUs, I didn't know what was happening.
But I didn't just walk in and called everybody a cheater.
How to be successful in CQC Arena?.. you need this attitude...
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LOL, don't listen to Barnard17 because he wasn't very successful at CQC and even pretty average players beat him. That salt.
CQC isn't for everybody. But if you give it time and learn you may get addicted.
My first week of CQC I was obliterated by CQC veterans.. they were looping all sorts of PUs, I didn't know what was happening.
But I didn't just walk in and called everybody a cheater.
How to be successful in CQC Arena?.. you need this attitude...
That's a bit better.
Firstly, I wasn't "calling everybody cheaters". Don't be obtuse. I was stating very accurate feedback about what the experience of the game mode is like out-the-gate for a new player. What I said was: It's either gross imbalance, or people are cheating. Either / or. Not sure. Only played for 3 days, and only seeing certain performance from certain people and NOT everyone else I've run into. That draws attention.
If you don't care for that feedback, please don't start putting words in my mouth and getting all defensive. And you make it sound like others don't know what it's like to get into a game that takes a long while to master. Take a breath. Been gaming since the '80s, as I said. It's clear to me when something is well balanced and engaging, and when something has relatively significant issues. Just because you happened to love it and were willing to dedicate all that time toward getting into it doesn't mean that others are going to have the same experience.
And that's the issue at hand:
Very, very, very few people seem to be willing or interested, or it wouldn't take 5+ minutes to join a game. It wouldn't be borderline impossible to join a TDM or CtF match without finding a full group of players on Discord first. People wouldn't join in, then instantly quit within that same match. Constantly.
Hence, the feedback. Cause and effect. If they want the mode to be successful, it's obviously not a shining beacon of popularity yet, is it?
CQC is doing just fine, finding DM matches is easy. CQC is just not for everyone, but that's ok.
You can always join CQC Discord as they arrange TDMs in the evenings. TDMs sometimes happen on their own but that's usually on weekends.
CTF isn't popular at all, it's not as straighforward as DM and TDM as idealy it requires voice comms that CQC players barely use (even in my CQC Discord days we hardly used it ever), and XP from CTF / time played is usually lower. Many people grind CQC rank so XP / time matters to them.
You can always join CQC Discord as they arrange TDMs in the evenings. TDMs sometimes happen on their own but that's usually on weekends.
CTF isn't popular at all, it's not as straighforward as DM and TDM as idealy it requires voice comms that CQC players barely use (even in my CQC Discord days we hardly used it ever), and XP from CTF / time played is usually lower. Many people grind CQC rank so XP / time matters to them.
CQC has a huge learning curve, and can be especially rough and potentially frustrating for new players as you’ve experienced. As with anything new, it’s good to have some preparation before jumping in. Every top player has been where you are. They’ve just taken their lumps, learnt from better players and improved. Eventually, if you stick with it, you’ll start to become competitive and get that grin of satisfaction when you get kills on the high rank guys. You’ll then start to be one of the good players yourself that the new guys are complaining about!
Here are some quick tips to help you or anyone else new to CQC get started:
- Learn the maps and learn where the powerups are. If you’re flying past one, take it anyway, even if you don’t need it. Deny it to anyone else until it respawns. Until they are memorised, you can use the left panel to target and locate them.
- Each ship has countermeasures, use them. A lot of new players forget. The Condor and Gu-97 come with chaff as standard, the Eagle has heatsinks and the Sidey has SCBs. You can swap and change to different loadouts to match your playstyle as you level up.
- Practice good pip management. 4 pips to systems when under fire. Keep your capacitors charged between fights so your WEP doesn’t run out at a critical moment and your ENG charged so you can boost to escape or evade.
- Stick to cover. Unlike the main game, you need line of sight to target a ship, so use the structures and asteroids to your advantage. Don’t hang around in open space where everyone can see and target you. Watch your radar. If you can see them, they can see you. Don’t fret if you crash into rocks. Even top tier players crash into them, it’s part of the fun.
- If you have time, watch some CQC matches on YouTube from experienced players. When starting out, I learnt a lot from doing this.
- Join the CQC Discord. A lot of the players you are up against will be there, and can offer you help and explanations on gameplay mechanics.
- If you’re dying a lot when trying to learn the maps, take the Sidey. Put your pips at 4-2-0, go for the shield powerups and hit the SCB when you are down to around 1 ring of shields. You will be so annoying to kill that most players will leave you alone, and those who try will likely get shot in the back by someone else.
Oh don’t forget — Deathmatch is about stealing as many kills as you can lol. Again, you don’t have to be an ace, just pay attention who’s around you.
See two people battling it out? Shoot the weakest and try to get credit for the kill, before turning on the other guy.
Even if you don’t get credit for the first kill, you’ll get assist points, and a easier kill on the second target.
See two people battling it out? Shoot the weakest and try to get credit for the kill, before turning on the other guy.
Even if you don’t get credit for the first kill, you’ll get assist points, and a easier kill on the second target.
I get beaten by most. Don’t care. Dont expect instant gratification, after a bit you’ll get thereabouts. I know I won’t ever be top ten, don’t care. Just love the blast. Go on. It’s just a laugh!
Deleted member 192138
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Weak talk Musketeer.LOL, don't listen to Barnard17 because he wasn't very successful at CQC and even pretty average players beat him. That salt.
CQC isn't for everybody. But if you give it time and learn you may get addicted.
My first week of CQC I was obliterated by CQC veterans.. they were looping all sorts of PUs, I didn't know what was happening.
But I didn't just walk in and called everybody a cheater.
How to be successful in CQC Arena?.. you need this attitude...
But what you're saying is that if you no-life the same four arenas you too can learn the loop to farm the power ups ...
I stopped doing CQC after one match where camping the weapons power up at the centre of the map I got 19 kills to one death.
Matchmaking in it is awful, there aren't enough players, the progression grind is made all the more painful as a result, and at the end it all comes down to who's most efficient at farming power ups.
It's monotonous, repetitive, and boring. But we're all very impressed that you and Sol are the main people no-lifing it to get your stats up so that you and Sol can pat each other on the back with how high your stats are getting. I guess.
19 kills and 1 death.. wow man... those opponents must have been the lot of streamers you were playing with - Cupkake girl and her audience.
I remember how quickly you were quitting when real cqc players were joining the match
This thread delivers. Thank you, friend.
Deleted member 192138
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Trying so hard to talk big about your prowess in a dead game mode that hasn't been touched or balanced by the devs in literally years, because nobody plays it apart from a tiny handful of no-lifers, when the only reason you're as strong in it as you are is your dependence on loop farming power ups. Observe as I try to care less ... nope, can't find it. Maybe if you put some of that effort into the game mode that doesn't have the arcade flight model, people outside of CQC would recognise your name.19 kills and 1 death.. wow man... those opponents must have been the lot of streamers you were playing with - Cupkake girl and her audience.
I remember how quickly you were quitting when real cqc players were joining the match
Um... there's lots of people in this thread recognizing him as a CQC pro. They clearly do more than play CQC.
Sounds like you're the salty one, bud.
It's a CQC thread, I don't understand why you even bother to post here.
I ignore threads about things that are not my cup of tea.