Visited the Golconda for my first time earlier today in my
exploration Mamba and was torpedoed just as I scanned the last log uplink...starting a fight that lasted 30 minutes before I was able to read them.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BM8KzFhXJo
Certainly could have been bit boring for spectators when my CMDR was nailed with the second volley of torpedoes and had to withdraw for several minutes to repair and restore his shields. Still, despite some mechanisms that I don't particularly enjoy, I find encounters like these to be a fun, educational, and suitably organic.
Regarding the educational part, I always try to identify my mistakes and make an effort to correct them. In this particular case the ones that stood out were:
1. Being too stingy with my heatsinks early on...had I used them as I was kiting around the first salvo of torpedoes, they could have lost me as a target and perhaps even reacquired the launching vessel. I was trying to drag them into my opponent, but this was probably doomed to fail as long as they were still locked to me.
2. Not dumping all of my torpedoes in my first salvo. I was trying to avoid excess heat build up, but the first salvo was one torpedo short of knocking out the Cutter's shields.
3. Accidentally wasting my last two torpedoes. I had thought I was on a different firegroup, so that salvo was unintentional.
4. Not realizing my opponent still had torpedoes remaining and allowing myself to be hit by his second salvo.
No matter how the fight goes, or how bland it appears on the surface, there is always something to learn from it.