I don't *want* to be able to kill Anacondas in my Cobra!

Vandraman

V
I got interdicted by an Anaconda in my Cobra. Decent fight, but took it down. It was exciting.

I took an elite Anaconda mission and killed that too. Close fight, exciting, and I won.

My problem is this - I want there to be more challenge in the NPC opponents. I appreciate the short term thrill of taking down the best evil pirate in the best evil ship. But the aftermath of those two encounters is - what more is there to do in combat? Rinse and repeat? Bounty hunting is quite easy andrepetitive. And I am NOT saying I'm a great combat pilot, I really am quite bad.

It strains plausibility that I can take down such a huge battlecruiser. I want to be vlown apart by that type 8 plasma cannon. I want him to laugh as my lasers skim off his huge shields. I want to NEED allies or good thrusters, or to be the most amazing combat pilot who executes a perfect takedown. That way I have something to strive for!

Same when trading. I shouldn't be able to fly my type 7 without weapons and shields and go for days without loss (actually I tend to keep them on for 'roleplaying' reasons, but I feel like a doofus for carrying extra weight and tying up my cargo hold needlessly). It's SO SAFE.

PLEASE GIVE US MORE DANGER! Or at least the option to increase the difficulty! That would keep me more interested in the combat side of things for longer.
 

Poseidal

Poseidal
The Anaconda isn't a battle cruiser, it's a frigate at most. If you compare it to a Farragut, it isn't that different in size to the Cobra compared to how small both are compared with one.
 

Stein

Stein
Very good point, OP. If you can take down the game's ultimate challenge (elite anaconda) in a cobra - what's the point in grinding to get your own anaconda?
 

Shads

Shads
I think they overdid the interdiction nerf. In beta you had a 50/50 change of getting interdicted during every trip but they changed it and now you hardly ever get interdicted.
The AI need beefed up. NPC's should target sub-systems and the larger ships should have more varied loadouts. They almost all use gimbaled beams so chaff makes them almost harmless. More of them should have multiple missile loadouts or fixed weapon loadouts.
 

robdood

robdood
I agree Mr OP, as I am mainly enjoying being a bounty hunter. A real shame that the game is so barebones in terms of combat missions. Why the assassination missions as ALWAYS Anacondas I have no idea.

Are you playing open? Because I find hunting real players so much more satisfying (and difficult!)

It's also daft that the only real way to be able to afford the bigger combat ships is through trading. It would be nice to have a mission tree for the main factions that results in you 'earning' a new ship as a reward. It's a bit cheeky that you bust a gut earning loads of rep, then the Federation are like "oh you've done so much work for us, we're going to thank you by letting you buy a Clipper for an extortionate amount of cash. What do you mean we don't pay you enough?!"
 
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Jaiotu

Jaiotu
If the Cobra can't take an Anaconda then you've got a huge continuity problem going all the way back to the first game in the series.
A well upgraded Cobra has always been a match for an Anaconda. The Cobra is faster and more nimble.
Now... when FDEV releases the Fer-de-lance... that's something else. If they nerf the Fer-de-lance I'll be really upset. Only the best pilots with the best upgrades should stand a chance and everyone else better have to RUN!
 

Valethar

Valethar
Vandraman said:
It strains plausibility that I can take down such a huge battlecruiser.
Click to expand...

Yet Luke killed the Death Star with an X-Wing. :D

NPC AI seems to vary in capabilities, and its possible to get an inept AI who has some seriously BA weapons that it doesn't use effectively. It's also possible to get a 'smart' AI who fights well even though the weapons loadout isn't necessarily optimal. I actually like that it varies, it's a little more 'realistic' in that respect. Just because you have a beast of a ship doesn't always mean that you know how to use it. After all, some people have more money than sense. :D

A difficulty slider wouldn't be a bad thing, as far as the AI goes. It would definitely ramp up the challenge, especially on the bigger ships.
 

Mohrgan

Mohrgan
I can't. Anacondas, Pythons, even NPC controlled ones kill me every time. I know that means I suck, that much is obvious. But, the point I'm making is that the relative ease in killing these things is because of players like me. Those of us new to sim-sh type game, or just plain bad. I bought my 1st Flight Stick to play E: D. I would have bought a H.O.T.A.S. type controller, but I was so clueless, I had no idea it would make a difference.
.
I don't cry about being blown from the heavens, I'm getting better So think of the poor fools/n00bs like me when you call for more challenging AI. I would have to stoop to trading to afford any fights, lol. Let's see if we can convince FD to introduce a Difficulty Slider. Let any other sucky players out there, like me, keep our ego boosting dumb AI, and those of you with normal skill push up the difficulty.
.
P.S. I argue that the ease in which you can become stupidly rich trading is not because of any game mechanic, or bias on FD's part. It's because of the third party Profit Calculators. People will claim that they don;t use them, but we all know the truth. Even a fool like me found on of those, and has benefited from it.
 
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Azulkb

Azulkb
CaptainKremmen said:
Yes, the "challenge" from the hostile NPCs of the galaxy needs a heap of work.
Click to expand...

sure but not always and not for build only for skilled people.
elite dangerous is for skilled people, beginner people, people with keybord, people with thrumaster and another tools.
personnaly if we want keep this game for large audience :

ai must scale with rank, ship, and place (system anarchy perhaps more dangerous) but we need keep beginner etc...
so perhaps a cursor in pref for ai : with 3 mode. Default (ai scale etc but ai like now). 10% much harder. 30% much harder.
 

Shads

Shads
Mohrgan said:
I can't. Anacondas, Pythons, even NPC controlled ones kill me every time. I know that means I suck, that much is obvious. But, the point I'm making is that the relative ease in killing these things is because of players like me. Those of us new to sim-sh type game, or just plain bad. I bought my 1st Flight Stick to play E: D. I would have bought a H.O.T.A.S. type controller, but I was so clueless, I had no idea it would make a difference.
.
I don't cry about being blown from the heavens, I'm getting better So think of the poor fools/n00bs like me when you call for more challenging AI. I would have to stoop to trading to afford any fights, lol. Let's see if we can convince FD to introduce a Difficulty Slider. Let any other sucky players out there, like me, keep our ego boosting dumb AI, and those of you with normal skill push up the difficulty.
.
P.S. I argue that the ease in which you can become stupidly rich trading is not because of any game mechanic, or bias on FD's part. It's because of the third party Profit Calculators. People will claim that they don;t use them, but we all know the truth. Even a fool like me found on of those, and has benefited from it.
Click to expand...

Difficulty slider?.....havent played many online games have you
 

Vandraman

V
Valethar said:
Yet Luke killed the Death Star with an X-Wing. :D
Click to expand...

I know you're joking here, but my concern is that this is the myth E:D is selling us for an instant buzz. When you realise almost everyone is 'Luke' and all the Death Stars are lumbering useless space junk, it takes quite a bit of the thrill out of it. Even ignoring the fact we have no single player narrative element to build up to the 'climactic' battles - you just pick them over and over from the menu in every space station.

To the people suggesting PvP, sure, that is more challenging. But I'm really interested in finding a challenge from the AI, I hope that's ok with you. That's really the game experience I remember from Elite.

[I enjoy co-op PvP but I find individual PvP often leads to some undesireable behaviours.]
 

Poseidal

Poseidal
Anaconda is a bit ship, but it's not that big compared with the Cobra; certainly not Death Star size and not even close to Star Destroyer size.

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The size is more similar to the comparison between Millennium Falcon and X-Wing. (Though the Elite ships are larger)
 

CATPAIN KIRK

CATPAIN KIRK
The difficulty should really be increased. I understand that programming a challenging AI is difficult, but at least increase their shields, Hull and DPS - beyond what's actually possible if necessary - wouldn't be the first game compensating poor AI with cheating.

I'm a below average pilot, so I should have to run from an equally sized elite AI opponent.
 
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