Newcomer / Intro In game combat training mission?

[JM Sable]

Hi, I started following the in-game training missions. To learn about combat, I was directed to Boyle Terminal at Styx, but when I got there I have no idea what to do!
There was no further message when I arrive there.
I see there is "Styx Military Academy" there, so maybe I should choose a mission from their list ?

 

[Maymo]

Are you talking about the mentor missions?

Honestly, if you’re trying to learn combat for the first time I’d recommend YouTube over anything found in game.
Bounty hunting is still very profitable for a new player and there’s some great videos out there...

Taking the wrong combat mission in the stock sidey could lead to very early rage quitting!

 

[Para Handy]

Hi, I started following the in-game training missions. To learn about combat, I was directed to Boyle Terminal at Styx, but when I got there I have no idea what to do!
There was no further message when I arrive there.
I see there is "Styx Military Academy" there, so maybe I should choose a mission from their list ?

In that minor faction's list of missions you should see the mentoring one you are looking for. I have not done that one but checked the trading one last week on a clear save account and that is where it showed up.

 

[MoonRacer]

Hi, I started following the in-game training missions. To learn about combat, I was directed to Boyle Terminal at Styx, but when I got there I have no idea what to do!
There was no further message when I arrive there.
I see there is "Styx Military Academy" there, so maybe I should choose a mission from their list ?

I would not do that. In game missions can help, but if you want combat, pure and simple, without risk for your ship, do the training missions. There are several training missions, in the start menu you find training simulations. The problem with some of this missions is, that they are very hard to complete. Under the 'Challenge Scenarios' Tab you will find also combat training missions. I recommend doing things in the following order:

1. Training Videos: Watch the provided training videos, they are linked in the launcher. Also look for newer (not older than a year or so) combat tutorial videos made by players on YT. Many of the are quite well done. This will help a lot.
2. Training: Basic Combat Training. You have two enemies, the first is a pushover, the second is much harder. You should try the mission, until you manage to finish it. There is bit of hand holding, which only gets in the way. You are talked to without pause, which I found very distracting. Also some weapons are enabled later, which is confusing. It was done with the best intentions, but failed for me, sadly. So - if you are too annoyed by this mission you can skip it, but ensure to use the first enemy to learn guiding your ship!
3. Challenge Scenarios: Incursion: Mostly Harmless. Here you are not talked to without pause, but have a series of different ships jumping in, with various difficulties, but all of them are fairly easy! You have a ship with fixed lasers, which is also interesting. I am bad in combat, but I managed to do this mission in the first try!

As soon as you manage to do the 'Incursion: Mostly Harmless' simulation, you are (IMHO) quite ready for the games combat. As long as your combat rank is low (Harmless, Mostly Harmless) you will receive very easy adversaries. Just keep in mind to look at the mission descriptions. A mission for a beginner which pays a lot (much more than 100.000 credits) you should rather avoid, since there is a possibility of harder enemies.

One comment: The 'in-game training missions' will receive a new meaning starting tomorrow! The reason is, that after the patch tomorrow you can start the training simulations from the game, you will leave the game (just like logged off to the main menu) while doing them. Please do not confuse this with the state now! I am not aware of training missions in game, there may be some easy missions, but I would prefer the training simulations. Nothing can go wrong in training, if you lose your ship, you just restart without any consequences in game!

Also - if you are completely new you should consider to play the training simulations today, and reset your commander tomorrow after the update, since you will receive a lot of small benefits, including a newbie area! So if you have not played a lot up to this point, consider a reset. While you will loose your current progress you will experience the new newbie area. But you must decide if loosing your current progress is worth it.

Hope this helps - fly safe

 

[Para Handy]

....
I see there is "Styx Military Academy" there, so maybe I should choose a mission from their list ?

Here it is:

Opening gives:

Thought I'd check it out. 🕹

 

[JM Sable]

hmm ..ok , thanks. I didn't see any combat mentor missions. But also I did not know to look for that!. I try again.

 

[JM Sable]

Are you talking about the mentor missions?

Honestly, if you’re trying to learn combat for the first time I’d recommend YouTube over anything found in game.
Bounty hunting is still very profitable for a new player and there’s some great videos out there...

Taking the wrong combat mission in the stock sidey could lead to very early rage quitting!

Right ! Mentor missions was what I should look for.
Everyone on YouTube makes it look so easy. I can hardly land without smashing into something.

 

[Maymo]

Right ! Mentor missions was what I should look for.
Everyone on YouTube makes it look so easy. I can hardly land without smashing into something.

Totally normal!

My advice would be to start with simple trade/cargo missions, fit a docking computer so you can do them easily/quickly. Upgrade your ship and experiment with new ones, learn outfitting.
Then maybe get a Viper3 to play with and learn bounty hunting once your credit balance is up.

 

[Chris Simon]

Right ! Mentor missions was what I should look for.
Everyone on YouTube makes it look so easy. I can hardly land without smashing into something.

Then maybe you should focus on that first?

The only thing you need to know about combat before you learn to fly is that you can always run. US Navy also doesn't "teach" pilots by sitting them into an F/A-18 and sending them into a warzone.
Focus on flying itself, first. Learn to use the vector thrusters, develop a feel for ship's movements and inertia, so you know how it behaves, practice approach and landings, if you still have your free Sidey parked somewhere (or you're flying it) spend an afternoon zipping around and through the stations.
When you're sure the ship does exactly what you ask her to do and you are confident in her handling, THEN start thinking about combat.

 

[JM Sable]

I restarted in solo mode and the Mentor missions finally showed up.
off to give it a shot now.

 

[Para Handy]

I restarted in solo mode and the Mentor missions finally showed up.
off to give it a shot now.

I just gave this a go in my recent clear-save account as I had never done it before.

I think it should be renamed the "Rebuy Screen Tutorial"

OK so I didn't get destroyed but if I was a newbie that didn't know what they were doing I am sure I would have.

What sort of "combat mentor mission" sends a new commander (probably in the starter sidewinder) up against an "Expert" furrydancer?

So my advice - if you are going to do this, plot a high-wake course before entering the mission target signal source.

 

[JM Sable]

I manged to complete the mission. 1000% easier than the combat training off the main menu.
and yes, starter sidewinder, but the 'pirate lord' also had a sidewinder.
Another 10k in the kitty, how many more missions before I can afford a Viper I wonder ?

 

[Para Handy]

I manged to complete the mission. 1000% easier than the combat training off the main menu.
and yes, starter sidewinder, but the 'pirate lord' also had a sidewinder.
Another 10k in the kitty, how many more missions before I can afford a Viper I wonder ?

Oh so it was the nasty program that decided I should have an expert Fer-de-lance to entertain me? LOL

Glad you had fun and didn't "die".

 

[Chris Simon]

Oh so it was the nasty program that decided I should have an expert Fer-de-lance to entertain me? LOL

Glad you had fun and didn't "die".

if previous experience present {
// kill
} else {
// go easy on them
}

 

[MoonRacer]

Oh so it was the nasty program that decided I should have an expert Fer-de-lance to entertain me? LOL

Glad you had fun and didn't "die".

Yes - seems to be so, at least with some missions and also while flying. Lately I (Mostly Harmless, and deserved) had two pirates, the first one would haven taken me on while starting from a moon, where I had found some goodies and am occupied escape pod. With this in my cargo some NPC spawned in with a name like 'Inspector SoAndSo' who told me, he had traveled a long way for the things in my cargo hold. Which probably was because it was well inside the bubble, but an unpopulated system. I targeted him and he was in a Sidewinder. He also could not get into a interdict position, so I ignored him and High Waked out, as I had planned anyway. Now I regret doing this, because I am curious what an 'Inspector' is.
In the next system a normal pirate interdicted me, and since he too was in a Sidewinder I submitted. I am in a lightly engineered Viper MK 4....
He did not stand a chance, if I were better in combat I would have let getting him away, I pitied the poor guy

And this seems to be normal, maybe also with missions, as long as you do not take on too high level or wing missions. So maybe both, your combat rank and the rank of a mission (if there is any) determines the enemy?

 

[Chris Simon]

Yes - seems to be so, at least with some missions and also while flying. Lately I (Mostly Harmless, and deserved) had two pirates, the first one would haven taken me on while starting from a moon, where I had found some goodies and am occupied escape pod. With this in my cargo some NPC spawned in with a name like 'Inspector SoAndSo' who told me, he had traveled a long way for the things in my cargo hold. Which probably was because it was well inside the bubble, but an unpopulated system. I targeted him and he was in a Sidewinder. He also could not get into a interdict position, so I ignored him and High Waked out, as I had planned anyway. Now I regret doing this, because I am curious what an 'Inspector' is.
In the next system a normal pirate interdicted me, and since he too was in a Sidewinder I submitted. I am in a lightly engineered Viper MK 4....
He did not stand a chance, if I were better in combat I would have let getting him away, I pitied the poor guy

And this seems to be normal, maybe also with missions, as long as you do not take on too high level or wing missions. So maybe both, your combat rank and the rank of a mission (if there is any) determines the enemy?

The ring types are listed in the system map (ordered from inside out), btw.

 

[Para Handy]

.......... So maybe both, your combat rank and the rank of a mission (if there is any) determines the enemy?

Quite correct. There are two separate conditions - mission-linked enemies are determined by the mission description. Random NPC encounters are scaled with (but not limited to) your combat rating (+1 if you have a higher rating in another category).

In the case I mentioned above, I was a recent clear-save commander, "Harmless" ranked - undertaking the Mentor Mission I think it was a bit weird to give me a "Expert" Fer-de-Lance as mission target. So I was glad to see that the OP had a more sensible opponent.

I am a bit confused as to why the game might consider that my commander was not a new, harmless pilot - seems bogus, unless SJA has earmarked me for special treatment from her minions (I don't remember being rude).

 

[Chris Simon]

Quite correct. There are two separate conditions - mission-linked enemies are determined by the mission description. Random NPC encounters are scaled with (but not limited to) your combat rating (+1 if you have a higher rating in another category).

In the case I mentioned above, I was a recent clear-save commander, "Harmless" ranked - undertaking the Mentor Mission I think it was a bit weird to give me a "Expert" Fer-de-Lance as mission target. So I was glad to see that the OP had a more sensible opponent.

I am a bit confused as to why the game might consider that my commander was not a new, harmless pilot - seems bogus, unless SJA has earmarked me for special treatment from her minions (I don't remember being rude).

Wouldn't put it past her (I mean, not targeting you, personally, but some other mischief)

As for the ranks, Expert is four ranks above Harmless, so it's within the possibility.
Unless otherwise specified by mission rank, RES difficulty etc... you generally see NPCs within about 4 combat ranks around you. For ranks other than combat, the median is lowered by 2 (I've read somewhere), meaning that, for example being "Broker" in trading counts as being "Competent" in combat when comes to spawning opponents.

 

[Para Handy]

Wouldn't put it past her (I mean, not targeting you, personally, but some other mischief)
...........

Out of interest (and because tomorrow is another clear-save day) - I did another clear save, just took the default sidewinder on the welcome mission (had to clear save twice to get that mission to appear for some reason) then on to the combat mentor mission (in a different system to above) and this time got a Harmless NPC but it was a Cobra MkIII. Luckily for me it didn't shoot much (obviously really helpless) but it took ages for the stock sidewinder's pulses to destroy it.

That account has the Mercenary Edition so I wonder if the fact that it comes with an Eagle (which I didn't use) is skewing the NPC spawn?

Anywayup - it is all of less import than a gnat's fart as it is all change tomorrow. (I was just bored jumping in DW2 today - I need to stop scanning every system.)

 

[Chris Simon]

Out of interest (and because tomorrow is another clear-save day) - I did another clear save, just took the default sidewinder on the welcome mission (had to clear save twice to get that mission to appear for some reason) then on to the combat mentor mission (in a different system to above) and this time got a Harmless NPC but it was a Cobra MkIII. Luckily for me it didn't shoot much (obviously really helpless) but it took ages for the stock sidewinder's pulses to destroy it.

That account has the Mercenary Edition so I wonder if the fact that it comes with an Eagle (which I didn't use) is skewing the NPC spawn?

Anywayup - it is all of less import than a gnat's fart as it is all change tomorrow. (I was just bored jumping in DW2 today - I need to stop scanning every system.)

I've got the "eplorer's finger" as well, but I actually stopped caring and trying to not do it in the bubble and just press that Disco button automatically after every jump in every ship. Now that they all have ADS anyway, it at least makes sense.

As for the spawning problem - maybe we think too hard about it. Maybe it's, just like many other things in Elite, a half-baked mechanic where nobody really bothered to actually SET the spawning rules.