Newcomer / Intro Incursion: Competent ... how?

[Thanatiel]

I've tried to do that one for a while.

The previous level is trivial but on "competent", I just cannot find a way to kill the first one.
I usually die with my weapons down.

I can't tail him.
Whatever maneuver I try, the enemy ship is always facing me.
The best I've done so far was a kind of dance where we were locked face to face turning around a middle point until my shields failed.
Also, the ECM seem completely useless.

I've found a video about that one, but the guy spends the first minutes changing the power distribution and I'd rather not do that.

 

[Arsen Cross]

Check out this video where I do the challenge and talk about it.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=088rHKcoI3w

 

[Thanatiel]

Thank you but I don't think it's the same mission. Maybe it has changed since 2018.
The landing gear trick is great though.

The first thing the enemy ship does on mine is firing missiles. It does it every time it has a line of fire. I've just checked again and clearly see the white icons on the radar.
I've tried the "Elite" level and I can down the first ship easily but during the second wave I die to missiles pretty quickly.
I've tried to avoid them thrusting up/down/left/right and/or boosting but it's not very reliable (well, when I do it).

I'll watch and listen carefully for the next time I try. (My right hand and wrist are hurting from all the tries ^^).

 

[Arsen Cross]

I’ll run through that challenge and see what’s up.
As far as ECM is concerned that is a charge and release tool. How long it is being charged dictates the range it works at. Basically the range displayed during charge is a sphere in all directions of your ship and once the charge is released all ordinance within that radius will be destroyed.

ECM is hard enough to use that it’s mostly dismissed as once the charge is full you can’t hold it, it just releases.

shields have great defense against explosive damage from missiles but armor is terrible against it. You’ll want to make sure to put 4 pips to shieldsbefore every missile impact and charge and hold the ECM to destroy the missile when it gets in range. You can back away from the opponent to give yourself more breathing room to down the missile if needed and you can target the missile directly by binding and using the target highest threat hot key which will prioritize missiles.You can then use that target lock on the missile to gauge its range for countering it with the ECM.

 

[SciTrekker]

More pips to SYS = stronger shields.
More pips to ENG = better maneuvering
More pips to WEP = firing weapons lasts longer
Pip Management is a big factor to winning combat encounters.
Over time and with more experience, PM becomes easier and more instinctual.

If your hand and wrist are hurting from using a controller/joystick more in combat than non-combat activities (not sure why that'd happen with m&k), you may not have the best positioning of your controller/joystick. If ergonomically positioned, I hope the pain goes away with more play.

 

[Thanatiel]

I’ll run through that challenge and see what’s up.
As far as ECM is concerned that is a charge and release tool. How long it is being charged dictates the range it works at. Basically the range displayed during charge is a sphere in all directions of your ship and once the charge is released all ordinance within that radius will be destroyed.

ECM is hard enough to use that it’s mostly dismissed as once the charge is full you can’t hold it, it just releases.

shields have great defense against explosive damage from missiles but armor is terrible against it. You’ll want to make sure to put 4 pips to shieldsbefore every missile impact and charge and hold the ECM to destroy the missile when it gets in range. You can back away from the opponent to give yourself more breathing room to down the missile if needed and you can target the missile directly by binding and using the target highest threat hot key which will prioritize missiles.You can then use that target lock on the missile to gauge its range for countering it with the ECM.

Thank you it's very helpful.

More pips to SYS = stronger shields.
More pips to ENG = better maneuvering
More pips to WEP = firing weapons lasts longer
Pip Management is a big factor to winning combat encounters.
Over time and with more experience, PM becomes easier and more instinctual.

If your hand and wrist are hurting from using a controller/joystick more in combat than non-combat activities (not sure why that'd happen with m&k), you may not have the best positioning of your controller/joystick. If ergonomically positioned, I hope the pain goes away with more play.

Thanks, I got the PM part I think (not good at it yet but working on it).
I've got a "stronghold" for both the joystick and the throttle but there is no throttle available right now (and I'd rather wait for the VKB one to see if they have a 50% detent).
So at the moment the joystick is sitting on my desk.

On another hand, if I can manage not to squeeze it with all my strength when I'm being tense, it'll heal xD