Do SLF pilots take longer to rank up since Frontier threw them an escape pod?

[Dagwit]

I'd always understood that SLF pilots ranked up quite quickly but I'm currently ranking up my first and it doesn't seem that speedy a process. Is it in fact no slower than it's ever been, or has progress been slowed since January as quid pro quo for being able to keep them alive (which, actually, I don't think would have been an unreasonable thing for Frontier to have done if indeed that's the case)?

Incidentally, the other thing I'd heard about SLF pilots is that they get much better once they reach the rank of Dangerous, and yes, that's certainly the impression I've been given by the lovely Isabella.

 

[ADAMtheWELSHMANz]

They (and you) only get xp when your target is the same rank or higher.

If they seem to be stuck it's time to go hunting Elites and give those harmless Sideys a break

Took me 2-3 hours to get mine to master, at which point she actually started contributing more to the fight.

At Elite in a fixed beam Taipan they can make a big difference, allowing you to run more kinetic weaponary as they'll act almost like another large beam on targets shields.

 

[Hooplah]

NPC pilots get better flying your SLF ships. Starting with the lowest combat ratings they get better with the lowest cost. Starting with the best they cost a lot more getting to Elite status. Meanwhile if you are going for the rating of combat Elite they take away 50 percent of the points you need to accomplish this. After you make Elite have fun in combat getting them to Elite.

 

[Achtung-Goomba]

I've just come back to the game recently but my co-pilot is rated Expert, he flies the AX SLF to keep the Thargoids off me while I'm rescuing or salvaging. My Keelback really isn't set up as a fighter but in the handful of tangles I've had with Thargoid scouts (just once I think an interceptor dropped in and my fighter and mothership were melted in short order...) I've definitely noticed his exp bar growing slightly.

 

[smiths121]

NPC pilots get better flying your SLF ships. Starting with the lowest combat ratings they get better with the lowest cost. Starting with the best they cost a lot more getting to Elite status. Meanwhile if you are going for the rating of combat Elite they take away 50 percent of the points you need to accomplish this. After you make Elite have fun in combat getting them to Elite.

Totally missed they now had an escape pod. I was going to ask if they still take XP away from the Commanfer, so thanks for that.

Simon

 

[nafnist]

My pilot and I both started as Expert.
Now he is Deadly and I'm still Expert.
what lol

 

[Bob McBobblehead]

I got my NPC pilot to Elite by jumping into NHSS with Thargoid scouts. It still took ages, but each scout counts as an elite grade kill.

 

[Achtung-Goomba]

My pilot and I both started as Expert.
Now he is Deadly and I'm still Expert.
what lol

As long as he doesn’t start demanding you ‘git gud’ or he’s getting the sack...

 

[Dagwit]

They (and you) only get xp when your target is the same rank or higher.

You do get (diminishingly little) XP for killing ranks up to three ranks lower than yours. See the table in the Elite Dangerous Wiki:

[https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Combat]
Source: https://youtu.be/wVD0Mw-Hbgo


I've just realised, mind you, that I've been assuming that the rank difference that matters is the SLF pilot's, not mine, though I've not seen that explicitly stated anywhere. If anybody knows one way or the other.....*

That apart, I should have said I understand how ranking up SLF pilots works. I made combat Elite last year so I'm not bothered about Isabella leaching XP from me. I'm currently raising her from Dangerous to Deadly by farming a CNB, because I prefer human NPC targets to Thargoid Scouts; but when she makes Deadly efficiency may dictate a trip out to the Pleiades.

Has anyone ranked up a pilot both before and after the January changes and noticed any difference in the speed of the process?

*Edit: based on the way Isabella's progression has slowed as she's ranked up, though, I'd guess it's hers rather than mine.

 

[jacozilla]

Had a Master rated pilot who died few months before rebuy NPC pilots option came around, took break - came back, and got new Harmless pilot to start training up.

My Commander is Master rank with ~70% progress, so have plenty of combat targets at or above my rank, and it does seem like it takes significantly longer to level up my pilot. I don't mean like 2x or anything that huge, but conceding it is completely subjective but 'feels' like at least 50% slower.

I distinctly remember leveling my first pilot and getting out of Harmless was super fast...my current new pilot is still Harmless with ~60% progress after 2 sessions of multi-hour play.

 

[Postal]

I just got a harmless pilot a week or so ago and hes already master. I'm elite and do alot of combat zones so his progression has been pretty quick.

 

[Bottom Hat]

I've had a couple now. One Elite, and the other started out as Mostly Useless when I got him recently.

They both however, seem to have the same ability when it comes to getting friendly with the front of my ship. Muppets.

 

[BDelacroix]

My pilot and I both started as Expert.
Now he is Deadly and I'm still Expert.
what lol

Yea, I didn't let Ms. Farmer outrank me. Once I made elite, I brought her back out. Sadly she died in a basilisk attack. I now have her replacement up to dangerous, but they keep getting new hair cuts every other patch.

 

[Xious]

It's been a while since I hired an extra pilot. The novelty wore off kind of quick.

Has anything changed except the escape pods?

 

[Dagwit]

Has anything changed except the escape pods?

That's what I was wondering. But since I never hired an SLF pilot until credits became meaningless and they became immortal, I have no personal experience on which to judge.