Is Targeting The Power Distributor Pointless?

[sewerratuk]

Just out of curiosity - don't the side harpoints bug out sometimes and prevent you from firing? It's not a problem with the multicannons, but I'd get pretty angry if I was lining up a PA shot and it stopped charging in the middle...

Yes, I have both linked to together but many times only one will fire. When I had gimbal cannons fitted I figured it was the fins on the bottom blocking a clear shot (one reason I went to fixed) but that shouldn't make a difference with PA's

 

[DragoonKnight]

What weapons are you using?

On my FAS (2 large pulse lasers, 2 medium multicannons) I can kill a power plant on an NPC anaconda and it'll have ~20% hull left. I think positioning is also important to actually get hits on the power plant.

On a side note - anyone else thinks this is a bit silly? I'd imagine that a destroyed / disabled distributor shouldn't, well, distribute power (alternative, less drastic solution, lower power redistribution by 50%). I'm not saying that the current implementation isn't balanced (I lack PvP experience), but it just doesn't feel "right" - you know what I mean.

From an engineering standpoint, There are ways to design around that. For example In my company we have Variable Frequency Drives that are used to power and control large motors. If the VFD fails, our control systems are designed such that the motors still run. You lose speed control and they run at full speed, but they still work. Same thing with the power distributor I imagine. You cant distribute pips, but systems still get power.

 

[Antoniius]

But surely during combat you change your pip settings??? I do, in a long battle i'll do this literally tens of countless times??? Am i missing something?

Thanks

You are doing it right. You need (especially in bigger ships) to constantly change your pip settings.

 

[Antoniius]

When my shields get low, I boost out, retract hardpoints, add pips to sys and let them regenerate. Works for me (PVE). I'm not much good at PVP. Could that be one of the reasons? :S

I too just play PvE, even if i prefer big ships (yay, i know the story about men with bigs cars.... ). I want to underline that it has stated many times that the Sys pips do NOT increase shield regeneration (that is fixed and is the same for any ship in game) but only shield resistance!

 

[Mysturji]

YES !!! (Certainly one of the reasons)



I combat almost exclusively in a Vulture, (god bless her!), certainly until the FDL has it's makeover!!, But even when maneuvering to get in the best firing position, i pip change constantly, i pip change if i need more shields if i have been careless and taken a few cheap shots!! I simply could not fight without pip changes.

Is this just me? Perhaps i am wrong?????

OK, thanks. I'll try that. I might be able to manage without the shield booster and SCB's if it works

 

[Pantsless]

In a Anaconda I set 4 pips to the weapons and one pip each for systems and Engine and usually this works as the fire power will boil most small ships in no time and you can keep on the rear of bigger ships. If you need to dogfight smaller ships just put it in reverse.

 

[ocflyer]

Assuming that the Anaconda that you fought was an NPC, then it is probably safe to say that it wasn't an Elite. I believe the NPCs don't manage energy until they get to Deadly or Elite. If that is the case, then the NPC probably had the energy pips set to balanced mode (2 to sys, 2 to eng, 2 to wep) and can easily fight without a distributor, although I think it is lame on FD's part to make a distributor only responsible for controlling the pips setting as it should also affect the ability to transfer power from the capacitors to the various systems. On a separate note, you can fight in a Vulture with balanced energy settings because the Vulture is a mean, lean, fighting machine (notice my avatar is a vulture for good reason), depending on the configuration. An inability to change pips in a Vulture may not be optimum but it wouldn't prevent me from killing a reasonably high ranked NPC.

 

[Zee Axiom]

So to answer my own thread's title... Yes. It's pointless. At least against NPC's it would seem. I could see doing it against a player at exactly the right moment being rather crippling.

And that's really disappointing. I really wish FD would do more to make targeting decisions more than just "pick drives, powerplant, or hull".
The 50% power output thing was a good idea, hell, even the random pip assignment idea is better than nothing.

 

[tawittle]

if your Power distributor malfunctions during combat it changes around your pips randomly. (this only applies to CMDRs)

Not sure what happens when the PD is turned off/destroyed. I would assume it stops adding power to your capacitor ( no more energy recharge) but others are saying it just keeps your pips the way you had them prior to the PD being destroyed/disabled.

If your PD gets low it's a very very big problem because pvp combat heavily relies on manipulating your pips.