Ships Learning to aim fixed weapons. . .

[Pharreze]

After a long while of no combat at all, only gimballing my way through RES to unlock engineers, I'd like to be able to participate more fully in CGs, etc... what ship (if you had to choose) would you recommend for learning how to aim? I thought I'd start with lasers before moving on to other weapons - I took an Eagle into a CG confict zone and although I didn't die (yay) I didn't get a single combat bond... gotta practice! Money and engineering is mostly not an issue, although preferably I won't be feasting on rebuys while I pick this up lol

Thank you!!!!

 

[sinisalo]

Fixed beams are perfect for learning. The beams themselves are like a constant tracer so you have that visual feedback that you need to learn to shoot them right. Rails for example are hard to judge, but if your beams are on, the rails will be too.

But I'd suggest getting out of that Eagle. Don't listen if you really love it. But Eagles are death traps, made of fragility and hope. I'm not one to usually get in the way of people's ship choices, but the Eagle really doesn't have what it takes to clean up in CZs in my opinion which is worth what you've paid for it

What beams don't help as much with are weapons with slower shot speed, like plasma or even multicannons. But I think beams are a good place to start.

 

[Three Stars]

As far as projectiles…long range fixed cannons are great learner’s weapons. They’ll have their shot speed doubled to make them easier to hit with. You’ll be able to get used to shooting at the circle and only have to be correct with your aim for a millisecond. They also use practically no WEP, so you can go hog wild firing them without overheating and with 4 pips in SYS for max protection for you, or in ENG if you want to fly around a bunch.

Put two large fixed ones on a Chieftain, gimbaled lasers or whatever elsewhere, and go nuts.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

Chieftain is a great platform for fixed weapons, whichever type you want to try. It is agile with quite fast yaw rate and the weapon hard points all converge in a tight group. I find keyboard and mouse with mouse left to right movement set to control yaw easiest.
I'm far from the best at combat, but I can hit fast moving Thargoid scouts with Guardian Gauss cannons with it half the time. These weapons are essentially an anti Xeno combat version of railguns.

 

[WeComeInPeace]

...gotta practice!

That is basically it. Muscle memory. As my friend said the other day: "Watching a Youtube video about drumming will teach you how to beat the drums, but it won't make you a drummer".

With regards to the ship: I went to Colonia once. It was kind of boring. Then I bought an Eagle and started bounty hunting. I liked the challenge. Never get hit, while taking your time to pick the opponent apart with those tiny weapons. Great training. However, it's a lot easier in a Vulture. It won't break, and with two large beam lasers, it will get the job done in a jiffy.

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

I'm not really good with fixed weapons, but from what I learned, the best advice is: Just do it. I still have never used fixed lasers or MCs, I'm just to lazy for that . But when I decided to give PAs and railguns a try, I engineered me a set of plasma slug units and fitted an extra fuel tank, so I would not run out of ammo; efficient for the PAs and long range for the railguns. With those, I just went to a HazRes or compromised nav beacon and went to town. Going to RES sites with cops turned out to be counter productive because they would kill the prey before I could line up my first shots.

I'd imagine you would need a sturdy ship though, because you might need to tank quite few hits in the beginning - I was a bit overwhelmed with aiming and evading at the same time at first. Also don't take on wings, even if they were a piece of cake with gimballed guns .

Another thing: Don't mix different projectile weapons on one fire group; the different reticles can get very confusing. If I mix at all, I stay with one kind of projectile and one kind of hitscan weapon.

Try the plasma slug experimental. Great for training, because missing doesn't waste what little ammo you have. Just watch your fuel level . I actually liked it so much, my bounty hunting Krait is fitted with five efficient plasma slug PAs and an extra class 5 fuel tank, and it is so much fun, plus you can stay in a HazRes forever. Smaller pirates like eagles explore in one volley - you could call it NPC ganking . They are not as efficient as the laser/MC combination for me, but the fun factor is much bigger.

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

Oh, the plasma slug experimental requires the unlocking of Bill Turner, so you'd need to do that first if you haven't already. Also, don't go to a CZ to learn .

 

[Miscellaneous]

After a long while of no combat at all, only gimballing my way through RES to unlock engineers, I'd like to be able to participate more fully in CGs, etc... what ship (if you had to choose) would you recommend for learning how to aim? I thought I'd start with lasers before moving on to other weapons - I took an Eagle into a CG confict zone and although I didn't die (yay) I didn't get a single combat bond... gotta practice! Money and engineering is mostly not an issue, although preferably I won't be feasting on rebuys while I pick this up lol

Thank you!!!!

Try a Cobra

 

[Rebel Yell]

IMHO the most viable small platforms to learn fixed weapons are Viper Mk3/4 and the Vulture.

Learning on those will also prepare you to learn how to use the best medium ship for fixed weapons in the game: the FDL.

The Cobra Mk3 isn't bad but the bottom hardpoints have worse convergence vs. the Viper... the Cobra Mk4 has better convergence but it's not as nimble.