Okay, since 2.1, I have been fighting with the basic truth that being a non-combatant in Elite dangerous (mining/cargo/mission) has changed. My lighter ships just can't compete with the new AI.
Now, to be fair, I can beat them down with a Vulture, but that's ALWAYS been the case. it's a combat monster.
After several days of testing, I developed this build, and have been using it with much better results. The build is less important than the tactical changes.
https://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/2pft...24.Iw18WQ==.MwBjYJhCZ4EYyPsVAWNQ?bn=SweenyTod
this build is specifically for scavenging. It harvests materials for boosting your ship with Engineers. This means, it's utterly full of bits to scan and refine, and just can't fight well.
So. I run, and I built it to run like a scared jackrabbit. They follow and I align them DIRECTLY behind me while boosting away. I then drop three shock mines, and wait a couple of second for him to reach them. The pirate is knocked for a loop for up to five seconds.
I make sure to align him behind me again, and boost once more if he's too close. Then once he's facing me again, I drop three more mines.
I do this until his shields go down. Then I do it again.
Eventually, he'll veer off and pop his drive to run away. Then I flip, chase him down, and hammer him with homing missiles until he stops being an annoyance.
This works on wings of small ships as well, since they often bunch up behind you.
On the other hand, heavy warships tend to melt you in mere seconds, but they did that before anyway. Make sure to just boost and spam mines until you can jump with those. Even if you get their shields down, they only need ONE good hit to tear you apart. Don't risk it.
That's my take on it, anyway. Run away. Use sneaky weapons. Run some more.
And yes, it's actually fun. They vary it up JUSt enough to make it a challenge.
Now, to be fair, I can beat them down with a Vulture, but that's ALWAYS been the case. it's a combat monster.
After several days of testing, I developed this build, and have been using it with much better results. The build is less important than the tactical changes.
https://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/2pft...24.Iw18WQ==.MwBjYJhCZ4EYyPsVAWNQ?bn=SweenyTod
this build is specifically for scavenging. It harvests materials for boosting your ship with Engineers. This means, it's utterly full of bits to scan and refine, and just can't fight well.
So. I run, and I built it to run like a scared jackrabbit. They follow and I align them DIRECTLY behind me while boosting away. I then drop three shock mines, and wait a couple of second for him to reach them. The pirate is knocked for a loop for up to five seconds.
I make sure to align him behind me again, and boost once more if he's too close. Then once he's facing me again, I drop three more mines.
I do this until his shields go down. Then I do it again.
Eventually, he'll veer off and pop his drive to run away. Then I flip, chase him down, and hammer him with homing missiles until he stops being an annoyance.
This works on wings of small ships as well, since they often bunch up behind you.
On the other hand, heavy warships tend to melt you in mere seconds, but they did that before anyway. Make sure to just boost and spam mines until you can jump with those. Even if you get their shields down, they only need ONE good hit to tear you apart. Don't risk it.
That's my take on it, anyway. Run away. Use sneaky weapons. Run some more.
And yes, it's actually fun. They vary it up JUSt enough to make it a challenge.
