How do you...use your Pips ?

cmdrzeeez

C
Still learning guys so i have a question...

In Combat whats the best use of pips ? or does it depend on your ship


Is it better to go all into shields or weapons......

I fky a Federal Gunship even fully engineered the shields don't seem too good so if i'm interdicted i put all pips to shields,boost away, launch my fighter then all pips back into weapons and engage.......its been working ok but i always end up down to the hull by the time i destroy my target........

I'd like to hear how more seasoned pilots do this in combat
 

Crank Larson

Crank Larson
When firing, I'm all pips to weapons. Looking for a target and I'll have pips to system and engines, the number of pips depending if my shields need recharging or not.
 

Dsign

Dsign
Guees it depends on your ships aswell. If you're looking for shield tanking, you might want to pip your system more. If you're looking at heavy and quick damage, weapons.

I usually pip my engines, since I'm really bad at combat and always end up running away :')
 

Marklar_

Marklar_
I juggle them constantly depending on the situation. Basically, power shields when being shot and weapons when not, but it's more complicated than that and depends a lot on build and playstyle.
 

Vedmo

Vedmo
It usually takes me several seconds to notice that I can't pop chaff or that my shields aren't recharging, but when I do I move some pips to system.

Sometimes I notice my weapons aren't going off anymore and move some pips to weapons.

When smashing my boost button no longer does anything, I move some pips to engines.
 

Morbad

Morbad
The best use is always having them where they need to be when they need to be there, which is far easier said than done. Basics are easy, but really mastering pips takes a good bit of muscle memory and experience.

Best way to learn is to get an unengineered smaller ship, where the distributor is not at all forgiving, and do some experimenting.
 

Freelancer Knux

Freelancer Knux
To help master pips do the training missions over and over. Moving pips to sys when under fire, then to engine to sit on your target and then weps to unleash the pain.

Also now your ship in this case you are flying a hull rank so your shields will go down alot
 

Hanerib

Hanerib
Don't forget to put pips to ENG when doing sharp turns. Some ships, like Mamba, won't turn very well without doing this.
 

Vardaugas

Vardaugas
As few pips as needed in weapons to keep them firing, the rest goes into shields and engines.

And should some desperate newb find this thread in a search engine: Default keybinding for distributing pips are the arrow keys.
 

dm06

dm06
Hanerib said:
Don't forget to put pips to ENG when doing sharp turns. Some ships, like Mamba, won't turn very well without doing this.
Click to expand...

or Anaconda.
I prefer do not play with pips keeping combats as simple as possible. Depends on ship. If no shields - non need pips on sys, all mulicannons - as low pips on wep as possible, rest are on eng.
 

Hullreaver

Hullreaver
Regarding op, depends on build and whether facing or behind. Generally, with enough power and good distributor, when facing, full sys, 1 eng and 1 weap, when behind 3 to weap, 2 eng and 1 sys. Also, constant tweaking depending on where power is needed.
 

cmdrzeeez

C
Wow an art form it would seem......great replies guys i've mapped the pips to my flight stick hat switch so far its easier than the keys i was using............seems to work well all to weapons as i have engineered pulse lasers and frag cannons they strip npc's shields in seconds with full power to weapons....fs last week i was running away from interdictions now the damm npc's are running away from me can't finish em off before they jump away lol.....next lesson is learning to target individual systems....... whew never a dull moment in elite
 

Sup3rfluiD

Sup3rfluiD
cmdrzeeez said:
Still learning guys so i have a question...

In Combat whats the best use of pips ? or does it depend on your ship


Is it better to go all into shields or weapons......

I fky a Federal Gunship even fully engineered the shields don't seem too good so if i'm interdicted i put all pips to shields,boost away, launch my fighter then all pips back into weapons and engage.......its been working ok but i always end up down to the hull by the time i destroy my target........

I'd like to hear how more seasoned pilots do this in combat
Click to expand...

Constant adjustment is the key to combat pip management.
Poor performance with this holds back most pilots until the penny drops.

Do not listen to any contrary advice that advocates a specific setting - they're wrong.
 

SkyB

SkyB
Do pips in Sys still improve your overall shield resistance/ hp or does the capacitor just get recharged faster.

What are the benefits of 4 pips in Sys over lets say 2 besides recharge?

At Eng this allows for faster turns
At Wep it is just capacitor rechargde for all I know
At Sys it should increase your overall shield strenght by 2.4 I believe
 

Daniel Cloudsifter

Daniel Cloudsifter
This really depends on your ship and it's build. How engineered is everything (e.g. efficient weapons, dirty drives, etc.)?

On some of my ships I use the default 2-2-2 for most of the encounter. Other times, I dump more power into relevant systems depending on what I'm trying to do. I have macros set up for use with Voice attack that quickly change my pip settings faster than any person could possibly key it in. The setting are:

Set Cruise: 2-4-0 (for general, non-combat speed OR maximum speed to escape) - config I use when taking off
Set Guard: 4-2-0 (Max shield reinforcement, with power to maneuver) - config I use when landing
Set Attack: 3-0-3 (Combat - when I need decent power to shields and weapons and no extra power to engines); Also very easy to manually change this to 4-0-2 or 2-0-4 with one keypress, if necessary.
Set Assault: 0-2-4 (For chasing down and smiting ships that are running or not firing on me)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom