I have no problem killing just about any other ship in the game, but the Viper III's are just infuriating. The ability to simply outrun everything else in the game means than even when I manage to get one to low hull they just run away and leave me without the kill.
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Newcomer / Intro How do you kill Viper IIIs?
- Thread starter Lord Baron Von Vaderham
- Start date
- What ship are you in?
- What context are you fighting in - RES or conflict zone?
- What weapons are you using?
I have taken out a Viper 3 in my mandalay when he asked what I was hauling and a scan revealed him as "wanted". I have long range engineered pulse lasers x 4 aad engineered thrusters but I tend to keep my speed in the blue zone as I twist & tur tokeep him in my sights
But I'd be interested in your ansers to the questions posed by 100thMonkey
But I'd be interested in your ansers to the questions posed by 100thMonkey
Usually any of about four medium ships, Krait mk.2, Python mk.2, Mandalay, or Mamba (not yet engineered). I occasionally go out in the Sidewinder for fun but I don't expect to catch anything in that. Different load outs for different ships, shock cannons, frag cannons, actual cannons, lasers, and missiles have all been in the mix. Normally on missions.
The vipers just out run me and love to dolphin up and down. It's so freaking annoying.
Shoot them until they explode 
Is the Mamba not yet engineered or are none of the ships engineered?
Properly outfitted, the Viper Mk. III has the highest unengineered cruise speed in the game. They shouldn't be outrunning any of the ships you mention above, however. In fact, they shouldn't even survive the first salvo of, say, five frags from the Krait II or six frags on a Python II.
Are you running fixed weapons or gimballed?
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Only the mamba is engineered. The others are various other levels of engineered. I usually use gimbals on most weapons because I'm a terrible shot with fixed weapons and the tracking makes hitting small ships much easier. Again, I have no problem with killing anything else in the game, particularly in my Frag Krait mk. II. Cobras die before they know what hit them. Same goes for Viper IVs. While I can usually work over a Viper III on the first pass, I never seem to kill them. In the few seconds it takes me to flip around, they're haulling out of there.
I'm of the opinion that in PvE, gimballed weapons are just better. Gimballed frags are my favourite weapon. For Viper Mk. IIIs, I usually get really close and manoeuvre so I'm pointing at the fuselage from 'above' - Vipers are small. They're not quite as skinny as the Cobra, but the same approach should work.
I'd suggest finishing the engineering on the Krait or Python. Both sholuld be able to keep up with a Viper NPC with G5 dirty + drag.
Yeah but for Frags, chaff doesn't really matter because you're usually so up close that you'd hit the enemy with a broadside anyway. Other, especially longer range, gimballed weapons are a PITA with chaff spamming NPCs.
Make sure when you "flip around" that you are not at max speed but in the blue sweet zone of your speedometer
I still think gimballed weapons are better - NPCs are dumb. Chaff just means you have to stop shooting for a few seconds.
I mean if you end up shooting a chaffing NPC, you can always just untarget them. The issue with fixed weapons is that the damage increase is more than offset by the reduced time on target. If I were to be using multicannons, I'd generally go for Enforcers, but there's no real reason, imo, to use multicannons or cannons anyway (apart from Concord cannons, which I haven't unlocked yet).
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I noticed the NPC wanted ships when attacking have similar attack patterns. They charge you, flyby, flip around charge again, the most common tactic. I think the key is to not play the same tactic and for you to flip around 1/2 speed in the opposite direction, the direction attacker is headed as it approaches and catch attacker’s tail. It’s difficult to catch small ships like Vipers and Eagles. Takes practice.
I use a Federal Corvette, engineered to G5 (plus experimentls) on every possible module. Two huge pulses, one large. Two medium, two small MC's. *
* This is the only way I can win a fight because my ship-to-ship fighting skills are completely naff.
* This is the only way I can win a fight because my ship-to-ship fighting skills are completely naff.
There is only one NPC combat pattern: Point at enemy ship. Shoot. Fly forwards. When distance <= 500m, boost. Turn. Repeat.
