Does chaff work vs NPCs?

Thinking primarily here of breaking gimbal and turret weapons lock.I can't really be sure myself, and if not, then it's a slot I can use for something else.Thanks.
 
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it does; obviously only against gimbals and turrets. and a lot of NPC run fixed weapons.

before 1.6. i have run 2 chaff for CZ and RES; since 1.6. i mainly run 1 chaff. npc loadouts have changed a bit.
 
Chaff is useful on small ships generally, but on big ships only to protect you from module-sniping npc's if your shields are down.
Prey that they don't have fixed weapons. Npc's with fixed weapons are a nightmare if you wanna run away

Waah ninjad by goemon [haha]
 
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In the current version of the game (2.1.05) chaff has a very small effect on NPCs (turrets and gimballed weapons). I don't use chaff anymore. I think a shield booster is more effective.
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In version 1.x of the game chaff worked quite nicely against NPCs giving 20 sec of protection (if not too close to the target). In version 2.0.x I found NPCs ignored chaff (only worked a little bit against gimballed weapons.). I filed a bug report but the "fix" apparently was to make chaff work only a little bit against NPC turrets and gimbals.
 

Deleted member 110222

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I'm thinking of replacing my chaff launchers with shield boosters.

The reasoning for this is A) I want to improve my evasive skills, and B) I think aliens will be completely unaffected by chaff anyway.

Plus since 2.1, shield boosters look kool.
 
I have replaced my Chaff launchers with PD turrets. In 2.1 I cannot rely on Chaff the way I did in the pre 2.1 days. I would go either PD turrets or Shield Boosters.
 
It's quite decent against groups of npcs as long as your ship isn't gigantic. I run one on my FDL and it has definitely earned its utility slot. Fighting ships with turreted weapons can be a right pain without it, since there are few places to hide from their damage. Having said that, chaff isn't the pve god-weapon it used to be. NPCs run fixed weapons and since chaff requires power in sys to reload, good luck using it when your shields pop.
 
It does work against some of them, but so many now run fixed weapons these days that I think it's a better investment to simply have better shields... For PVE now (on most ships) the only defensive measure worth bothering with is shield boosters and heat sinks for SCBs..
 
I've given up with chaff now. I think for bigger ships that shield boosters are more useful if you have enough power. Probably chaff is better/necessary on small ships.
 
On Large ships is pretty useless. Even if gimballed goes crazy, the still manage to hit the shield/hull of the adversary if you keep proper distance.
 

Brett C

Frontier
Chaff does work against NPC's. If it does not, let me know with verifiable proof. I know last week when i was using it, the npc had a difficult time. Comes down to ship size.
 
Thanks all for the quick replies.

Flying a Python, so I think the general consensus is take off the chaff launcher and replace with a shield booster :)
 
Using chaff you can still be hit as their weapons will fire wildly. If you are really close then you will still be hit.
 
Thanks all for the quick replies.

Flying a Python, so I think the general consensus is take off the chaff launcher and replace with a shield booster :)

For what it's worth, I think that would be insane. 2 shots of chaff are going to reduce far more damage than on SB is going to give you. I don't care if you're flying a corvette, annie, python, cutter, viper, eagle or whatever. Chaff works very well, you just need to position your ship so the smallest profile is presented when you use it (though you should be doing this against gimbaled and turreted enemies anyway). Chaff is particularly useful when you need it most, multiple assailants. Pop chaff and get out, you're shield booster is nothing against the concentrated fire of 6 enemies, but all 6 are essentially nullified by 1 chaff.
 
Chaff definitively works, although you will still take some hits.

PD also definitively works, but you must pay some attention on where you put it (them).

If your shields drop, silent running also works, although like chaff, you will still take some hits.

4 pips in SYS also works, the incoming damage is reduced by more than 50%.

Shield boosters work... if the base shield is strong. Shield boosters increase shielding by percentage, meaning if the base shield is crap, the boosters won't make any miracles.

If you need to run, not running in a straight line also works. Running in a straight line is pretty much like twerking your thrusters in your attackers crosshairs.

All or most of these combined, and death becomes entirely optional.
 
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