I like to think that I'm grown up enough to know that when you discover you were wrong about something, you make amends.
And I was wrong about the combat.
You see, for the last few weeks I have been exclusively focusing on being a trader, doing trader things and living the trader life.
Traders are not built for combat.
And traders have had a really hard time of late with the way NPCs have evolved.
I was one of them.
What made it worse for me was that before I became a trader, I was a hardcore bounty hunter through and through.
I lived for combat and (I would like to think) I was good at it.
I could even dispatch all but the most hardcore of pirates in my trade vessel of choice (whichever it was).
But that all changed when the NPCs hired a new combat trainer!
Following that event, I struggled to survive (let alone win match-ups) against the deadly and elite pirates that frequented my system.
Still, I put that down to being stuck in a T-9. Obviously that was the reason for my failure.
So after fleeing many an interdiction, I got into my first Conda.
This was going to be the change I needed! Oh yes! Pirates beware!....
Only it wasn't.
Ok, sure - I was killing the pirates, but the damage taken by my ship meant excruciating repair bills.
I just didn't get it. I was sure that Frontier had screwed up and didn't want to admit it.
Or at least that it must be NPC bugs or something.
So then, after much more trade-grinding, it suddenly hit me.
I was in a Conda, but I still wasn't kitted out for real combat. I was hauling goods, not kicking rear!
The problem lay in trying to multi-class up; I was using the odd combat as a break from the tedium of trading, but it isn't supposed to work that way!
I flew home, then re-specced out my Conda from top to bottom. Good shields, boosters, cell banks, chaff, decent weapons.
And I headed out to my old Hi-Res site.
And... wow... it all came back! The excitement! The panic when you do something stupid! The shouts of "FIRE ZE MISSILES!"
The. Joy.
And I realised: I was wrong.
And I'm sorry.
I love this game so much.
And I think I love being a Bounty Hunter more...
The challenge isn't half what I thought it was. I was simply fighting with both arms tied behind my back.
It really does make a difference.
On a final note, I did have this thought, however: With a well-kitted Conda, I was rinsing through most enemies, sure. Ok, so a 5-wing of Vultures tore me a new one, but that was my fault for getting a little too brave! Ahem!
That all said, I do wonder how I would fare in a more "average" loadout on a smaller ship.
You might say that you need the good equipment to do the best job; but you need the credits to buy that equipment first, too!
For me, trading has provided that option.
TL;DR - this is the end of the post.
And I was wrong about the combat.
You see, for the last few weeks I have been exclusively focusing on being a trader, doing trader things and living the trader life.
Traders are not built for combat.
And traders have had a really hard time of late with the way NPCs have evolved.
I was one of them.
What made it worse for me was that before I became a trader, I was a hardcore bounty hunter through and through.
I lived for combat and (I would like to think) I was good at it.
I could even dispatch all but the most hardcore of pirates in my trade vessel of choice (whichever it was).
But that all changed when the NPCs hired a new combat trainer!
Following that event, I struggled to survive (let alone win match-ups) against the deadly and elite pirates that frequented my system.
Still, I put that down to being stuck in a T-9. Obviously that was the reason for my failure.
So after fleeing many an interdiction, I got into my first Conda.
This was going to be the change I needed! Oh yes! Pirates beware!....
Only it wasn't.
Ok, sure - I was killing the pirates, but the damage taken by my ship meant excruciating repair bills.
I just didn't get it. I was sure that Frontier had screwed up and didn't want to admit it.
Or at least that it must be NPC bugs or something.
So then, after much more trade-grinding, it suddenly hit me.
I was in a Conda, but I still wasn't kitted out for real combat. I was hauling goods, not kicking rear!
The problem lay in trying to multi-class up; I was using the odd combat as a break from the tedium of trading, but it isn't supposed to work that way!
I flew home, then re-specced out my Conda from top to bottom. Good shields, boosters, cell banks, chaff, decent weapons.
And I headed out to my old Hi-Res site.
And... wow... it all came back! The excitement! The panic when you do something stupid! The shouts of "FIRE ZE MISSILES!"
The. Joy.
And I realised: I was wrong.
And I'm sorry.
I love this game so much.
And I think I love being a Bounty Hunter more...
The challenge isn't half what I thought it was. I was simply fighting with both arms tied behind my back.
It really does make a difference.
On a final note, I did have this thought, however: With a well-kitted Conda, I was rinsing through most enemies, sure. Ok, so a 5-wing of Vultures tore me a new one, but that was my fault for getting a little too brave! Ahem!
That all said, I do wonder how I would fare in a more "average" loadout on a smaller ship.
You might say that you need the good equipment to do the best job; but you need the credits to buy that equipment first, too!
For me, trading has provided that option.
TL;DR - this is the end of the post.
