Ship Builds & Load Outs I need help with some strategy in PvP Open Play

[MarauderW]

Hello CMDRs!

TL;DR is at the bottom, so I am the type of player that gets bored of games fast, and I wanted to get into Elite by becoming a pirate. I understand that being a pirate requires you to know the inside out of both your ship's systems, the weapons you use, how to fly, who to engage etc. But I am saying f- it I'll do that anyway even if I get blown away 200 times a day. So I was thinking me with my friend how we can down ships fast and my suggestion was:

- 1 ship equipped with pulse lasers to down shields fast at close range then disengage. Cobra MKIII.
- 1 other ship equipped with torpedo + small / medium rocket mounts to blast a ship into smithereens. Viper MKIII.

I am unsure if this setup is efficient, from a weapons perspective. I love missiles but the problem also that I saw is the limited / small nr. of them you can hold on your ship, is there any way we can increase the ammo count for them?

Please feel free to suggest anything to improve the above, what we truly want is to play with other people, in the end. Not just NPC ships. That gets boring after a while.

Also we do not wish to focus solely on piracy but I guess it's a good trial by fire as any to learn the mechanics of our ships and their respective loadouts.

TL;DR My friend and I want to try long range missle/torpedo combo with quad pulse lasers for getting shields down fast, is that a viable strat to ambush other ships?

 

[Ceekay]

Interesting concept, I'm no PVP expert but I'd suspect you'll have trouble taking down engineered shields on anything much bigger than a Cobra 3, ideally you want to fit beams for max shield DPS but even engineered the C3's PD will struggle with sustained dual medium beams the best option for the Cobra would be rapid fire fixed pulse and a weapon focused PD.

Add armour, reinforced shields, boosters etc essentially fit enough protection to to allow the ship to stipp the targets shields and withdraw, an iCourier would be an interesting alternative small fast big shields and decent weapons array.

https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/cob...VV1ooAYBAAA=.EweloBhBGA2GAcICmBDA5gG2SGF9A===

For the hull killer you want a ship with lots of hardpoints Cobra 4 or an Asp so you can fit as many torpedo's as possible other weapons to consider are frag cannons you do need to get close but you do have higher DPS than torpedos and a LOT more reloads!

 

[MarauderW]

Interesting concept, I'm no PVP expert but I'd suspect you'll have trouble taking down engineered shields on anything much bigger than a Cobra 3, ideally you want to fit beams for max shield DPS but even engineered the C3's PD will struggle with sustained dual medium beams the best option for the Cobra would be rapid fire fixed pulse and a weapon focused PD.

Add armour, reinforced shields, boosters etc essentially fit enough protection to to allow the ship to stipp the targets shields and withdraw, an iCourier would be an interesting alternative small fast big shields and decent weapons array.

https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/cob...VV1ooAYBAAA=.EweloBhBGA2GAcICmBDA5gG2SGF9A===

For the hull killer you want a ship with lots of hardpoints Cobra 4 or an Asp so you can fit as many torpedo's as possible other weapons to consider are frag cannons you do need to get close but you do have higher DPS than torpedos and a LOT more reloads!

Awesome, thank you very much for the help and response! One quick question, I am unsure what engineers actually are? My friend and I only kind of randomly kill wanted npcs in a belt and didn't get into more in-depth gameplay.

Now we are both bored and sated with npc's, wanting some more interactive gameplay. But we're still scrubs that didn't get the gist of the game yet.

 

[StiTch]

TL;DR My friend and I want to try long range missle/torpedo combo with quad pulse lasers for getting shields down fast, is that a viable strat to ambush other ships?

What you largely need to plan is your method of extracting cargo - through threats and their compliance, or their disabling and removal of it against their will?

Missiles have a single realistic use for piracy: very quick destruction of a ship that won't comply, if fear is to be your weapon of choice. Many will suggest using them for thrusters, and then once they've had a single attempt at it, realise it doesn't work because a ship with thrusters blown out continues to drift through space at the velocity it was going at when the thrusters died. Thusly your cargo ends up spread across space, and they can repair their thrusters in the time it takes you to get more than a couple units cargo.

If you want any method of removing cargo against their will you basically need hatch breakers, and anything to disable them in a fairly static manner. My recommended method for this is something that melts their power plant. Full cannon loadout could well do it. Just make sure once the PP is out you stop firing, as any shots to a 0% PP have a random chance of insta-blowing the ship. Once disabled, apply hatch breakers (they work through shields so can be applied before power plant smashing or if shields decide to come back online). Then tell the target that if they move before you're done they get the less friendly treatment

One quick question, I am unsure what engineers actually are?

They're dudes that engineer your ship to make them more powerful.

I'm sure there's a guide around somewhere but engineers will drastically improve what your ship is capable of.

 

[MarauderW]

What you largely need to plan is your method of extracting cargo - through threats and their compliance, or their disabling and removal of it against their will?

Missiles have a single realistic use for piracy: very quick destruction of a ship that won't comply, if fear is to be your weapon of choice. Many will suggest using them for thrusters, and then once they've had a single attempt at it, realise it doesn't work because a ship with thrusters blown out continues to drift through space at the velocity it was going at when the thrusters died. Thusly your cargo ends up spread across space, and they can repair their thrusters in the time it takes you to get more than a couple units cargo.

If you want any method of removing cargo against their will you basically need hatch breakers, and anything to disable them in a fairly static manner. My recommended method for this is something that melts their power plant. Full cannon loadout could well do it. Just make sure once the PP is out you stop firing, as any shots to a 0% PP have a random chance of insta-blowing the ship. Once disabled, apply hatch breakers (they work through shields so can be applied before power plant smashing or if shields decide to come back online). Then tell the target that if they move before you're done they get the less friendly treatment




They're dudes that engineer your ship to make them more powerful.

I'm sure there's a guide around somewhere but engineers will drastically improve what your ship is capable of.

Ah we didn't even think about the cargo, all we wanted was mass murder and indiscriminate removal from space through force! But, this changes quite a bit our initial plan, thank you for the guidance, we'll try these hatch breakers and see how they work!

Also thank you for the engineers info, we'll go more in guides later as the forum is more packed with people who can give you a straight no answer.

Thank you again CMDR!

 

[StiTch]

Ah we didn't even think about the cargo, all we wanted was mass murder and indiscriminate removal from space through force!

Ah if this is the case, then full rack of missiles it is!

Just be aware that against someone prepared for PvP they will probably be engineered, and you'll find that taking their shields down with a couple of lasers suddenly becomes quite a different story.

If you would like any in-game PvP tips or practice duels, just add "CMDR StiTch!" as a friend and pop me a message.

 

[MarauderW]

Ah if this is the case, then full rack of missiles it is!

Just be aware that against someone prepared for PvP they will probably be engineered, and you'll find that taking their shields down with a couple of lasers suddenly becomes quite a different story.

If you would like any in-game PvP tips or practice duels, just add "CMDR StiTch!" as a friend and pop me a message.

Yeah! I can already tell we have to spend a bit more time in the game to fully grasp how every little detail works when we go full combat. It's quite sad that this is the most fleshed out part of the whole game.

Thank you for your invite CMDR Stitch! We'll definitely consider it, and if we encounter you in the deep black please have mercy! xD

I kid, we deserve none lol.

 

[Mystweaver]

Hello CMDRs!

Hey there! Just some idea's from the other side (my player group specifically hate all horrid pirate scum... but we like to have something to shoot at).

Bare in mind, from the outset that Pirating is horribly unprofitable... it is however, considerably fun! You will find in your travels that even though you are a pirate, there is a good chance you'll be attacked by just about anyone without cause so you'd better be prepared to defend yourself.

As already mentioned above, a lot of us have engineered ships. They give a distinct and considerable edge.

In order to get access to these beefy upgrades however takes a considerable investment of time as well as activities you may not be interested in (such as needing to travel 5000 ly or mining 500 tonnes of old cabbages from an ice field).

I think those who have bothered would all agree however that the investment in time is worth it.

If you want to pirate well, you will need something to strip your targets shields ASAP. Depending on your target will depend on what is possible but the easiest option regardless or target would be to take out specific sub systems - in particular the power plant.

Be aware however, that some commanders (myself included) work our subsystems so that even of you take out our PP, we can still get away... If however, you were to take out my FSD drive or Thrusters then I will have to stay and fight or surrender.

Module sniping is tricky. If you have gimballed weapons, you have to stay close to your target and hit from the right angle. If you have missiles, it can be a little easier - especially taking out the thrusters of a fleeing target!

Biggest tactical tip to give however of course - don't fly without re-buy

Happy hunting you nasty horrid scumbag. See you in the black

 

[MarauderW]

Happy hunting you nasty horrid scumbag. See you in the black

Aw shucks thank you! I see, we don't particularly wish to grind as I have so little limited time to play during a day, but I am sure we'll find a way, just so we are on equal footing to people with engineered ships.

I heard somewhere that you can bind a specific hotkey to target a specific subsystem, we'll try to see if it works / if we can bind these somewhere easy to reach (prolly mouse side buttons).

I know, pirating bleh... the problem is it's the most fun we are having in the game by a long shot, it's quick to get into and considering our rebuy's consist of a measly 300k (I think? Or less), eh why not.

Thank you for your info as well! See you in the black you unlucky stardust runner you!