Help with Combat Missions

[Fyren]

Hi guys!

I've had the game for a week now and, so far, I've been doing mostly Exploration and Boom data delivery missions with a little bounty hunting in RES's for a change of pace.

I've settled in a system to go up the ranks with the feds but I'm having a very hard time with combat missions. So far, the only one I've succeeded was "kill 16 pirates". Had to go back to base to buy an FDS Interdictor but it was worth it.

Because the rank-up missions seem to be combat-oriented, I decided to park my Asp and bought a more expendable Viper mkIV. Trying to put it through its paces but it's not working out so well.

- Kill such-and-such Pirate Lord (rank or generic). Where the heck is he? A star system is a really big place. Needle in a hay stack kinda big. There's gotta be something I'm missing. Yeah, I scan the system (with ADS) or check the Nav Beacon and I get a message that some info has been added to my nav computer. Where? The mission description has not changed. The only clue I could find was an icon beside one planet name (ball-shaped, not the blue planetary-landing icon)*. Because it was the only planet with such an icon, I went to the planet, stood around for 10 minutes, and did not find anything. Another time, I tried checking the USS's but they were all "Degraded emission" kinds. I've failed 3 of those already, one of which was a rank-up mission.

- Massacre such-and-such bad guys in a conflict zone (generic). Mission level was "Harmless". Once in the target system, all conflict zones I coud find on the nav computer were "High" level. Went to one of them, all enemies were Deadly or Elite. Yeah, some of the good guys are around, but either they get the kill first because they too are Deadly or Elite, or I get singled-out by a bad guy and have to hightail it out of there to save my ship.

Thanks in advance!

* By the way, is there a legend somewhere for those icons?

 

[Wasp0]

You have an ASP after one week, EHH Lad, back in my day i was still in a viper after a week.

Thats nothing i used to lick road clean wit Tounge!! (Reference.......Look up 4 Yorkshire men from Month Python).

Seriously, you doing OK. I find having a ADS when doing kill missions a bonus as you don't have to stop off at Nav Beacon. The planet where your kill is shown in your Nav screen by the planet symbol next to it (Once you have scanned the system) as you have already found, also it is in your Texts (Comms Panel). Just go to this planet and fly around. You will see a Special USS called 'Mission Target' pop up. Drop into that and Kill Pirate/Deserter/General/Whatever....

For combat pratice go to a High Res Site and find 'Wanted' targets that are around your skill level and not powerful ships, or follow the police ships around and join in what they shoot at....Remember to scan them first before shooting otherwise you WILL become the next target.

Fly Safe.

 

[evanevery]

Hi guys!

I've had the game for a week now and, so far, I've been doing mostly Exploration and Boom data delivery missions with a little bounty hunting in RES's for a change of pace.

I've settled in a system to go up the ranks with the feds but I'm having a very hard time with combat missions. So far, the only one I've succeeded was "kill 16 pirates". Had to go back to base to buy an FDS Interdictor but it was worth it.

Because the rank-up missions seem to be combat-oriented, I decided to park my Asp and bought a more expendable Viper mkIV. Trying to put it through its paces but it's not working out so well.

- Kill such-and-such Pirate Lord (rank or generic). Where the heck is he? A star system is a really big place. Needle in a hay stack kinda big. There's gotta be something I'm missing. Yeah, I scan the system (with ADS) or check the Nav Beacon and I get a message that some info has been added to my nav computer. Where? The mission description has not changed. The only clue I could find was an icon beside one planet name (ball-shaped, not the blue planetary-landing icon)*. Because it was the only planet with such an icon, I went to the planet, stood around for 10 minutes, and did not find anything. Another time, I tried checking the USS's but they were all "Degraded emission" kinds. I've failed 3 of those already, one of which was a rank-up mission.

- Massacre such-and-such bad guys in a conflict zone (generic). Mission level was "Harmless". Once in the target system, all conflict zones I coud find on the nav computer were "High" level. Went to one of them, all enemies were Deadly or Elite. Yeah, some of the good guys are around, but either they get the kill first because they too are Deadly or Elite, or I get singled-out by a bad guy and have to hightail it out of there to save my ship.

Thanks in advance!

* By the way, is there a legend somewhere for those icons?

Assassination Missions: Once you scan a system, or visit the beacon, the job in your task panel should indicate which planet you need to go (I've never seen it fail). You should also get the little orange globe next to a planet in your Nav Panel (also never seen it fail). You might have to fly around aimlessly once you get to the planet before the mission USS pops up. Not sure what can be done to increase the speed in which it shows up. I don't think anything you do really matters. I think it just waits a random amount of time before it pops up. Usually, I just throttle back, put my head back, and rest my eyes until I hear the "Mission Target Detected" announcement. (0-5 mins worst case - usually a minute or so)

Massacre Missions: They are what they are. Try staying out at the fringes and stick with your faction. Do not get isolated. Only pick off the stragglers you can match with. If the screen "turns red" supercruise out of the instance and come back. You did "align with a specific faction" (in the FUNCTION tab on your RIGHT SIDE PANEL) when you entered the zone, right? (Don't just start shooting stuff!) There is a fairly steep learning curve on how to work a Combat Zone. I would avoid those missions unless you are willing to take the time to learn how best to work them... You can get creamed pretty quick in a Combat Zone if you are not careful.

For combat practice, I would recommend going to a Nav Beacon and just scan for wanted ships. Unless your carrying some cargo, or wanted yourself, you can pick and choose which ships you want to engage. Unlike a CZ, no one will bother you unless you are wanted, carrying cargo, or you pick a fight with them...

 

[Squid Gumbo]

On a separate note, make sure your ViperIV is combat ready! That was my first combat ship, and she really performed pretty well until I upgraded to a Vulture. With a balance between FA-On and FA-Off, (as well as making use of her powerful lateral thrusters!) can make all the difference. What loadout are you using for it? As stated above, it's best not to get isolated in CZs, but some good Res Site hunting can prove to improve skill, rank, and credit balance.

 

[seko]

You have an ASP after one week, EHH Lad, back in my day i was still in a viper after a week.

Thats nothing i used to lick road clean wit Tounge!! (Reference.......Look up 4 Yorkshire men from Month Python).

Seriously, you doing OK. I find having a ADS when doing kill missions a bonus as you don't have to stop off at Nav Beacon. The planet where your kill is shown in your Nav screen by the planet symbol next to it (Once you have scanned the system) as you have already found, also it is in your Texts (Comms Panel). Just go to this planet and fly around. You will see a Special USS called 'Mission Target' pop up. Drop into that and Kill Pirate/Deserter/General/Whatever....

For combat pratice go to a High Res Site and find 'Wanted' targets that are around your skill level and not powerful ships, or follow the police ships around and join in what they shoot at....Remember to scan them first before shooting otherwise you WILL become the next target.

Fly Safe.

You were lucky! We used to dream of licking road clean wit Tounge!! - I was still in a sidey after a week

 

[Fyren]

You have an ASP after one week, EHH Lad, back in my day i was still in a viper after a week.

A 5-day exploration trip paid for it (+/- 24 hours of gameplay). I was headed for many more systems but I figured it was time to check out more activities before I decide what I like and dislike.

Seriously, you doing OK. I find having a ADS when doing kill missions a bonus as you don't have to stop off at Nav Beacon. The planet where your kill is shown in your Nav screen by the planet symbol next to it (Once you have scanned the system) as you have already found, also it is in your Texts (Comms Panel). Just go to this planet and fly around. You will see a Special USS called 'Mission Target' pop up. Drop into that and Kill Pirate/Deserter/General/Whatever....

Thanks! I'll give it another try!

 

[Hossi]

Assassination Missions: Once you scan a system, or visit the beacon, the job in your task panel should indicate which planet you need to go (I've never seen it fail).

Sometimes, very rarely the target just flies around in supercruise (close to the main star), you wont get a mission update in this case. He will interdict you most of the time, otherwise you need an interdictor by yourself (extremly rare, happend only twice to me).
Quite often you will be send to to another system to meet a informant, just to fly back again to the same system. The informant will cruise around in supercruise, you have to follow on ther wake after they drop.

 

[Fyren]

On a separate note, make sure your ViperIV is combat ready! That was my first combat ship, and she really performed pretty well until I upgraded to a Vulture. With a balance between FA-On and FA-Off, (as well as making use of her powerful lateral thrusters!) can make all the difference. What loadout are you using for it? As stated above, it's best not to get isolated in CZs, but some good Res Site hunting can prove to improve skill, rank, and credit balance.

I cannibalized the Cobra I used for exploration for some of the parts (and sold the Cobra) :

3A power plant (instead of 4E, going to switch to 4A when I find one)
4D Thrusters
4A FSD
2D LS
3D Distributor
4C Fuel tank

3A Shields (but will strip the cargo and install 4A shields later)
3E cargo
3A FSD Interdictor
3D Module reinforcement
1C ADS

2X 1G gimballed Pulse lasers
2X 2F gimballed Multi-cannons

OI Heat sinks
OC KWS

Unfortunately, the system I'm in is not too hot for outfitting...

Any input for improvements is welcome!

 

[Fyren]

You should also get the little orange globe next to a planet in your Nav Panel (also never seen it fail).

That's the one I was referring to. Good to know it's what I was supposed to be looking for! I'll give it another try. Thanks!

 

[evanevery]

Sometimes, very rarely the target just flies around in supercruise (close to the main star), you wont get a mission update in this case. He will interdict you most of the time, otherwise you need an interdictor by yourself (extremly rare, happend only twice to me).
Quite often you will be send to to another system to meet a informant, just to fly back again to the same system. The informant will cruise around in supercruise, you have to follow on ther wake after they drop.

I've never been interdicted by a target, although I did have one recently drop into a Nav beacon I was scanning. I thanked him for saving me a bunch of time before I melted him.

I have done the "informant" thing and it is a huge pointless waste of time... Yes you do need to drop into their wake...

However, I have absolutely NEVER EVER needed an FSD. I used to equip it for assassination missions but quickly learned there was no need to tie up the resource. (I honestly don't even remember if it uses an internal or utility slot) I used it once on some poor unsuspecting NPC just to ensure I knew how to use it, but now I simply ignore the associated mission tip...

 

[evanevery]

That's the one I was referring to. Good to know it's what I was supposed to be looking for! I'll give it another try. Thanks!

Using the Orange Globe on the Nav Panel is convenient, but the Mission Description in your transactions tab is your most authoritative bet. It will specifically tell you which planet you need to go to for that particular mission.

If you have more than one mission running, you will want to know what you will be expected to do at each independent planet. The Nav panel won't tell you which mission goes to which planet. For example: If your doing both an assassination mission and an illegal salvage mission, you'll probably want to do the assassination BEFORE the salvage as you will want to minimize your time in-system with illicit cargo...

 

[Fyren]

Yes you do need to drop into their wake...

Would you explain please? (remember, 1-week old noob here...)

However, I have absolutely NEVER EVER needed an FSD.

How do you shoot down a target in SC? Follow it until it drops to normal flight?

(I honestly don't even remember if it uses an internal or utility slot)

Internal.

Using the Orange Globe on the Nav Panel is convenient, but the Mission Description in your transactions tab is your most authoritative bet.

I could swear it didn't update... I'll pay more attention.

 

[evanevery]

Would you explain please? (remember, 1-week old noob here...)



How do you shoot down a target in SC? Follow it until it drops to normal flight?



Internal.



I could swear it didn't update... I'll pay more attention.

When you are in SC, and a ship drops into normal space. you will see a white box where their wake ended. (Just like you will see a wake box when a target goes from normal space into SC). If you want to follow the target out of SC, target the wake box just like you would a station, USS, or CZ and use the 7-second rule to intercept it.

AFAIK there is no way to shoot down a target from SC. In theory you would use an Frame Shift Interdictor to pull them out of SC and then you can fight them. However, I've NEVER EVER had to do this. I'm not sure the FSI has any actual use unless you are pirating a target... You simply don't need it for assassination missions. You go to the planet, stay in slow SC, hang out till the target is announced, and then drop out into their location/instance.

Forget the FSI - you don't need it for what you are trying to do regardless of what the mission description says. Just go to the planet, stay in SC, and wait a few minutes. Your target will come to you...

 

[Drelthar]

Hi guys!

I've had the game for a week now and, so far, I've been doing mostly Exploration and Boom data delivery missions with a little bounty hunting in RES's for a change of pace.

I've settled in a system to go up the ranks with the feds but I'm having a very hard time with combat missions. So far, the only one I've succeeded was "kill 16 pirates". Had to go back to base to buy an FDS Interdictor but it was worth it.

Because the rank-up missions seem to be combat-oriented, I decided to park my Asp and bought a more expendable Viper mkIV. Trying to put it through its paces but it's not working out so well.

- Kill such-and-such Pirate Lord (rank or generic). Where the heck is he? A star system is a really big place. Needle in a hay stack kinda big. There's gotta be something I'm missing. Yeah, I scan the system (with ADS) or check the Nav Beacon and I get a message that some info has been added to my nav computer. Where? The mission description has not changed. The only clue I could find was an icon beside one planet name (ball-shaped, not the blue planetary-landing icon)*. Because it was the only planet with such an icon, I went to the planet, stood around for 10 minutes, and did not find anything. Another time, I tried checking the USS's but they were all "Degraded emission" kinds. I've failed 3 of those already, one of which was a rank-up mission.

- Massacre such-and-such bad guys in a conflict zone (generic). Mission level was "Harmless". Once in the target system, all conflict zones I coud find on the nav computer were "High" level. Went to one of them, all enemies were Deadly or Elite. Yeah, some of the good guys are around, but either they get the kill first because they too are Deadly or Elite, or I get singled-out by a bad guy and have to hightail it out of there to save my ship.

Thanks in advance!

* By the way, is there a legend somewhere for those icons?

You've done everything right.

You just didn't know that there is a literally random time based chance of finding the mission target.

Here is the history;

In earlier versions of the game, you took missions and just went to a system, then waited around, and, at random, unknown signal sources would turn up

You drop into them, and hope it's your mission.

They eventually changed this to have a specific stellar body around which, a specific signal source would appear.

This is a vast improvement.

However, for some insane reason, they didn't remove the random timer.....

I have no clue why, you just flew to the place! Spawn the thing!

Or at least, make it have a max time of twenty seconds, preferably with a scanning animation (even more preferably, with a bit of scanning gameplay!!!!)

The improvement is huge, but incomplete.

Anyway, to answer your question. You did everything right, you just need to wait longer around the planet until a specific blue signal source with mission objective in its name to appear, with a voice saying mission objective located.

As for the message, it's in your inbox (Comms panel, top left) and tells you the planet.

It is also marked by the icon you noticed.

And is also in the mission text, in transactions (left panel)

 

[Fyren]

Thanks everyone! I was able to locate the blue USS in the last two missions. Slowly getting the hang of it!