Looking for tips on...

[Frank]

All powerplants must die.

But doing so does lead to an awkward minute of sitting near the ship, neither of you moving, and you just ticking it's hull down until it reaches 0%. Rarely does the AI self-destruct.

I don't know if it's a placebo effect, but once I've got a powerplant down to zero, I'll switch to another sub-system so that the weapons fire is going someplace that isn't dead already.

If you run out of targets, follow the cops. They will home in on any wanted ships.

If the baddies aren't spawning fast enough, you can always leave the area and come back in again.

 

[Deleted member 110222]

Hang on, aren't you almost strictly a non combat pilot?

PS For the most part, solid advice all around already. If you should ever desire a wingman, feel free to add me and I'll swing by some time.

You're quite correct, but with Engineers on the way, I have a hunch getting a higher combat rank will be beneficial, required even.

Hence my sudden purchase of a Viper.

 

[KCURTOR]

A safe way to take on wings of 3 or so (I wouldn't recommend any more unless you're in a wing yourself) is to wait for them to start attacking a poor Miner. Once the wing is engaged, youre free to engage them yourself. Whichever ship you attack will break off and fight you, but the others will still be locked onto the Miner. Take them down one by one with little to no pressure, easy peasy

 

[Bieltan]

In a hi-res, follow the authority ships around and pile in on whatever they fight. Be wary of fighting wings as you may well wind up the focus of 2 or more ships.

In a Haz Rez, as you are flying a Viper, pick your fights wisely. Lone ships are easy pickings, wings should only be engaged after serious consideration. 3 eagles isnt so bad. A Python and 4 Gunships is probably best avoided lol.

Tank your ship as much as possible. HRPs, Bulkheads, Shield Boosters up to the nines. Durability is key, you can roll with way more punches (you'll have to eat a broadside sooner or later), it allows you to shrug off the attentions of minor wingmates that sometimes accompany larger ships, and if you decide you bit off more than you can chew, they allow you to escape alive. Also, flying back to the station for repairs after every 1-2 fights will hamper your earnings and progress.

Finally, I would advise considering picking up a Vulture. Its an absolute wrecking ball of a ship. If you want to wing up, I'm usually found in HIP 8865 (theres something else here that you'd be interested in too).

 

[Deleted member 110222]

Well I just took my Viper into a High-RES, and I've taken the advice to remove the FSD interdictor in favour of extra HRP's. It was fun. And makes money much more quickly than mining. I took out An Imperial Clipper, Federal Dropship, and two Anacondas. Nearly had an Asp Explorer when the wing of SAV's I was flying with got taken out by a third Anaconda. Had to high wake out, but managed to avoid hull damage.

650,000 credits earned in twenty minutes. I'll be having another go this evening.

 

[Fray]

I'm in a Cobra III built for exploration, so I tend to stay clear of any instance with the words 'high' or 'strong' in... But I have started dipping in and out of normal RES's in friendly systems, for a change of pace and some creds.

I would like a dedicated fighter, but at the moment I just don't have the funds for any decent classes, and the entry/mid level ships seem to suffer too many compromises.

 

[HBK]

Many of the advices are good. But there is one that trumps them all: Never, ever, engage a wing alone. Not unless they are already engaged (in which case, technically, you are not "alone"). Or unless they're a wing of Novice Sideys. Or maybe unless it's a wing of two and one of them can be quickly disposed of (like an Eagle).

Even a fully decked out warship like a Murder Lance will take a beating when facing a host of Eagles, or worse, Vipers. You may be able to kill one of them relatively quickly, but by the time you get to the second one, you'll already have lost a fair chunk of your shields, which while you will then probably be able to kill the third one without collapsing shields, will leave you with an empty shield which will prevent you from engaging this tasty Elite Conda who just showed up.

And while SCBs are a nice tool, you'll want to keep'em for pure "emergency combat recharge".

 

[Deleted member 110222]

I'm in a Cobra III built for exploration, so I tend to stay clear of any instance with the words 'high' or 'strong' in... But I have started dipping in and out of normal RES's in friendly systems, for a change of pace and some creds.

I would like a dedicated fighter, but at the moment I just don't have the funds for any decent classes, and the entry/mid level ships seem to suffer too many compromises.

http://coriolis.io/outfit/viper/23A3A3A2A3A3A2C27270p0p000m2940272j.AwRj4yyA.Aw18gjEA

This is the build I am using on my Viper. It's only just over 2.6 million from LYR space.

She works great for PvE bounty hunting. Perfectly capable of killing Anacondas in a 1v1 situation. Just aim for the powerplant when his shields go down.

 

[Bieltan]

Many of the advices are good. But there is one that trumps them all: Never, ever, engage a wing alone. Not unless they are already engaged (in which case, technically, you are not "alone"). Or unless they're a wing of Novice Sideys. Or maybe unless it's a wing of two and one of them can be quickly disposed of (like an Eagle).

Even a fully decked out warship like a Murder Lance will take a beating when facing a host of Eagles, or worse, Vipers. You may be able to kill one of them relatively quickly, but by the time you get to the second one, you'll already have lost a fair chunk of your shields, which while you will then probably be able to kill the third one without collapsing shields, will leave you with an empty shield which will prevent you from engaging this tasty Elite Conda who just showed up.

And while SCBs are a nice tool, you'll want to keep'em for pure "emergency combat recharge".

I engage wings all the time in my tanked FAS...

I once solo'd a distress call when on the way for repairs. 1 wing of 3 ships, followed by 2 wings of 7, followed by a 'conda and 2 vultures. Wouldnt do that in my FDL. My FAS on the other hand is a sheer battering ram constructed of pure seething fury!

 

[UnhappyDev]

Many of the advices are good. But there is one that trumps them all: Never, ever, engage a wing alone. Not unless they are already engaged (in which case, technically, you are not "alone"). Or unless they're a wing of Novice Sideys. Or maybe unless it's a wing of two and one of them can be quickly disposed of (like an Eagle).

Even a fully decked out warship like a Murder Lance will take a beating when facing a host of Eagles, or worse, Vipers. You may be able to kill one of them relatively quickly, but by the time you get to the second one, you'll already have lost a fair chunk of your shields, which while you will then probably be able to kill the third one without collapsing shields, will leave you with an empty shield which will prevent you from engaging this tasty Elite Conda who just showed up.

And while SCBs are a nice tool, you'll want to keep'em for pure "emergency combat recharge".

Hmm...I'm not very good at combat but I'm not scared of NPC wings of eagles/vipers when I'm in the FDL. 1 hit from the C4 PA will destroy the shields and much of the hull of these ships.

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

anything with a wanted label gets sent to abyss that's all you need to know in a RES, Scan them with the KWS if they're a M ship or above, anything smaller isnt worth it when there are other ships to be dispatching (takes longer to scan them than kill them) - Besides you'll just end up with a cluttered transaction list full of unclaimed bounties in random systems (perhaps they will "fix" this in 2.1 ).

if its a wing of 2, target the smallest, they will be dead long before the larger ships knows what the hell is going on.

If its a wing of 3 depends how confident you are, i would open fire, picking off the quickest kills first.

a wing of 3 NPC conda's well again i find this fun, others may not. (asteroids are your friend here, condas can't pilot through them that well)

a decent RES should be target after target until you've had enough i normally spend an hour in a HAZ RES before jumping back out to claim roughly 2-3 million credits depending on what targets were available

Low RES - mainly small / medium ships, plenty of security vessels to help you out too
High Res - mainly medium ships some large not often though, less security but still sometimes they pop up, NPC's tend to be deadly or above in rank (i.e they carry some decent modules rather than just a pulse laser and a bag of crisps in their class 6 slot)
HAZ RES - Mainly large ships or FAS/FDS, no security but each ship has easy 100k or above bounty on their head, NPC's can be elite and are obviously better equipped and better pilots

on larger ships target the power-plant subsystem you can kill them alot quicker

 

[Deleted member 110222]

I appreciate the help guys. Right now I'm more than confident in 1v1 scenarios. Like I said earlier, I killed two Anacondas... Knowing how my pips work helps a lot.

If I attack a wing, then the local SAV's are already hitting them. If the wing isn't prior engaged, I won't bother them.

 

[Reina Kaede]

I appreciate the help guys. Right now I'm more than confident in 1v1 scenarios. Like I said earlier, I killed two Anacondas... Knowing how my pips work helps a lot.

If I attack a wing, then the local SAV's are already hitting them. If the wing isn't prior engaged, I won't bother them.

You can go one step further and let the cops almost kill a wanted person, get a shot in when their hull is super low, and get full credit for the kill.

 

[Bieltan]

Alicorn, I figured seeing as you were stepping out of your preferred domain, I'd do likewise. Dug out my Python, kitted it up for mining and had a go. Its quite calming, almost filled my hold halfway in 30 minutes, after a little fumbling around working it all out. Something satisfying about seeing a bunch of precious metals in the hold. And I swatted a daft pirate on the way to my mining spot

 

[Fray]

http://coriolis.io/outfit/viper/23A3A3A2A3A3A2C27270p0p000m2940272j.AwRj4yyA.Aw18gjEA

This is the build I am using on my Viper. It's only just over 2.6 million from LYR space.

She works great for PvE bounty hunting. Perfectly capable of killing Anacondas in a 1v1 situation. Just aim for the powerplant when his shields go down.

Pft, I took out an Anaconda 1v1 in my Cobra III when I didn't even know subsystems were a thing. ;-)

Are the A2 life support and A1 scoop necessary? No idea if they'd improve efficiency at all, but wouldn't a D support cut a little weight, and a lower scoop shave off a little energy draw?

I have considered the Viper IV a few times when I've looked, but I suppose a III would be a much cheaper way to augment playstyles with a dedicated fighter.

 

[Crash Landing]

Dont forget know when to quit, no shame in making your excuses and leaving for five, till the shields regen, or popping of to the local for repairs or a rearm.

 

[electricmayhem]

Can't rep, sadly.

Thanks. Yeah, I had a feeling attacking wings would be a bad idea.

On the powerplant, I'm guessing that it's something I want to target on medium & large pad ships?

yes , I normally start tagging power plants on Pythons, Clippers, all of the Federal ships, and the anaconda. I've noticed that if you let the cops or the AI do some damage to their shields. You can hammer away on a module without to much effort.

 

[SteelyColt]

Vindicator Jones does a really good job of showing you how to best utilise a Viper Mk3 in a Haz RES

https://youtu.be/Uj7Tv6Hkzks

Enjoy!

 

[B Wald]

When fighting large ships, do your best to stay behind them, and stick close, so their biggest guns can't target you.