Overpowered NPCs?

I don't know what "Robigo" is. I'm guessing it isn't in my neck of the woods. I might have enough credits for an anaconda in 24 weeks. I just bought a shiny A-rated Eagle yesterday for running missions with lower rebuy than the Cobra. It's nice.

Haha Mr Attitude, what is this "relevant experience/credential" you're tasking me with boss? If I haven't got there after 6 weeks perhaps it takes more time commitment than I can spare, or maybe I just suck. But...wait, aren't we here to have FUN?
 
No, NPCs are not overpowered. The problem lies with the ship. Without wingmen and the ability to hire npc wingmen a dedicated trader will have trouble agsinst dedicated combat ships.

Not so. If the ship is running good shields, if pips are in shields - any trader can easily avoid being destroyed by any NPC. If you had an NPC wingman, you would have an NPC wingman flying around your wreckage under the same scenario.
 
Unshielded ships... God that bothers me. This game is called Elite Dangerous.

Nothing more dangerous than flying paper ships! Try it sometime...

OP...those class 4 guns are amazingly strong...whether on a FDL, Anaconda, or a Corvette!

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Not so. If the ship is running good shields, if pips are in shields - any trader can easily avoid being destroyed by any NPC. If you had an NPC wingman, you would have an NPC wingman flying around your wreckage under the same scenario.

A couple of shots with class 4 plasma accelerator is going to tear down just about anything smaller than a Python.
 
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It's not the NPC being over powered, it's the players not being skilled enough and know how to properly defend themselves .-.

NPCs are nowhere near powerful enough to be a real threat, even to trading ships.

I look forward to the developers working in the AI department to make NPCs much more competent than they currently are.

To be frank and honest.... I don't think you understand what I am talking about. ;)

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I wouldn't say overpowered, but I was close once:

(Skip to 29 seconds, was watching a Keyori Video which I mute at 29 seconds)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chB2-bYCOm0&t=29s

Not sure what ship you are in, but yeah.... that NPC would have killed me off in a few seconds...

That said, my critique is about Solo play, not Open play... did you play Solo or Open? Because Open play, this is what I would excpect.... not in Solo play though.
 
Not so. If the ship is running good shields, if pips are in shields - any trader can easily avoid being destroyed by any NPC. If you had an NPC wingman, you would have an NPC wingman flying around your wreckage under the same scenario.

Well... the shields got eaten through in about 1-2 seconds, tops. That was with 2 on systems. Lets say that I would have had 4 on systems instead, we are now talking about 2.2 increase in shields which would yeld another 4 seconds... so... shields eaten up in 6 seconds, and the hull in about 3. That is about 9 seconds, and my cooldown on the FSD is 10.

And... I want to remind everyone that I am talking about Solo Play, where there is no option to have wingmen or any sort of help and that there is a balancing issue going on. Such an NPC should not spawn in Solo play. Period.

Thank you. :)
 
And... I want to remind everyone that I am talking about Solo Play, where there is no option to have wingmen or any sort of help and that there is a balancing issue going on. Such an NPC should not spawn in Solo play. Period.

Why? Whats the point of armored traders if unarmored traders can survive everything? If you factor in your losses you probably still made more than you've had had with a similarly priced multirole ship. If its the principle of being beaten that upsets you, you can sacrifice some profits for a ship that can defend itself better.
 
Well... the shields got eaten through in about 1-2 seconds, tops. That was with 2 on systems. Lets say that I would have had 4 on systems instead, we are now talking about 2.2 increase in shields which would yeld another 4 seconds... so... shields eaten up in 6 seconds, and the hull in about 3. That is about 9 seconds, and my cooldown on the FSD is 10.

And... I want to remind everyone that I am talking about Solo Play, where there is no option to have wingmen or any sort of help and that there is a balancing issue going on. Such an NPC should not spawn in Solo play. Period.

Thank you. :)

With all due respect, what the hell are you talking about.

NPCs dont get magic damage buffs.

You could have run with stronger shields, armor, or unless you are in a T-9 evading interdiction in the first place is always an option.
 
This sort of elitism is what drives me away from this game. :/ How about taking some time to understand other people, and be friendly and helpful?

Heh...

If only people have the attitude of a student when they are inexperienced, but few do, at least on this forum, so people receive what they deserve.

Edit:

Read the context of the conversation.
 
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To the OP:
Elite Dangerous is a game that has combat elements to it. If you want to play it in a style focussed on trading, you still can't neglect some basic combat and evasion skills. The t7 is pretty hopeless in combat so consider a more multipurpose vessel like an Asp. Also practise the tutorial missions until you can beat all but the last one, as no matter how good your ship is you need to know how to fly.

The comment on here about NPCs not being challenging is fair - even Elite NPCs are massively inferior to a reasonable human.
You should also be able to reduce the chances of being interdicted by sticking to safer systems.

In any case it would help your cause to start with an assumption that it isn't the game that is wrong. A better way to state your case would be to say "I'm having some difficulty with NPC interdictions - is this a common problem and does anyone have any tips?"
 
Never actually flown a Type-7, but I did once escort a player in an unshielded, unarmed Type-7 in my armed Type-6 those were the days just after wing bonuses.

Some people play in pseudo "iron man mode", so do not and even have ship destruction as part of their plan (its very viable in a Type-6 for example).

Just some tips, I did spend 2 weeks in a Type-6 doing gun running against players (i.e. every interdiction is a big bad ship, often with mates) last year so have some thoughts for you.
Boost, Boost,Boost in a straight line and then Jump is not always the best tactic, so do not put yourself in the position of being your only tactic. .It depends on the baddie!

1) Before you even get into supercruise understand the risk form the system's security levels, look for factions in states that indicate more crime such as lockdown etc. It may be a suprise to you, but hauling into the middle of a conflict zone comes with more risk than hauling to nice profitable systems in an economic boom.
2) When you arrive in a system for the first time in the day check the pending status of the factions - anything yo need to worry about in the future?
3) Always begin by trying to win the interdiction mini-game
4) Try to have a high wake target rather than your station selected - certainly in a Type-6 when just about everything having a go at you also mass locks you. You know which planet your aiming and sometimes you will not have time to select a target after being interdicted, so aim and prepare your escape route. I was reminded of this - this very weekend when being a rebel in Anlave.
3) When interdicted in SC the attacker will go red - have a button bound to next hostile or similar to immediately select them. See what they are!
4) Based on what you see decide to fight or submit - why submit if they potentially as fast as you, can mass lock you? If your lucky you may know their combat status as well at this point.
5) If you lose or submit, the next thing to decide is which direction to run in. Sometimes with the bigger ships you are better off using FA-off to turn and boost past them, as they take an age to turn and you will get more distance that way.with only secondary weapon hits - It depends on how combat the ship is, your own pitiful turn rate, and whether it mass locks you or not. The higher the combat rating the more chance of railguns or better.
6) Assuming you make it towards your destination station as you get close to the planet or planetary system take a look at the NPCs around - decide when to change your target from your high wake escape system to your actual destination for final approach go past the planet if the potential baddies are behind you, having a next target button bound lets you go through the other ships in the game. The targets tab on the left panel lets you quickly see if there is anything really bad (heaviest ships at the top).

Also:
Always have chaff, shield boosters, and cell banks even on a trader if you want to run - you need to equip the ship to perform the role - guns are optional and it may be better to use the weight elsewhere to aid in running. The alternative is accepting some lose of income to pirates. Depending on where you are the latter and the state of the minor factions, it is sometimes the right choice. The situation can change in a system so keep an eye on it.

When running away try jinking a bit something like FA-off, yaw left, roll left with up thruster to make a circle movement is fairly easy to start with.

Simon
 
Add me OP, we can trade together.

CMDR Odan Brota

The Type 7 is incredibly fragile, that's why many people jump to the Clipper ASAP. My strategy was to keep 4 pips in sys, allowing your shield to absorb 150% more damage before dying. Also, utilize chaff or shield boosters.

You probably got interdicted by something huge.
 
It is very interresting to see that there are so many dense people in this thread that even lacks the ablility to read what I have written. Please re-read all of what I have written, and then come back. If you, for some reason, still don't get it, then, refrain from commenting.
 
Add me OP, we can trade together.

CMDR Odan Brota

The Type 7 is incredibly fragile, that's why many people jump to the Clipper ASAP. My strategy was to keep 4 pips in sys, allowing your shield to absorb 150% more damage before dying. Also, utilize chaff or shield boosters.

You probably got interdicted by something huge.

Thanks. :)

But I'm quite fine in my Type-7... and, to be honest, neither you or me, even in a wing, would last if the NPC that I encountered would spawn. But thanks for offering me help. :) Very kind of you!

And, again, I want to remind everyone that Solo mode should have a different balancing compared to Open mode.

If that is not something you (gamers) wants, then... why is there even a Solo mode avaliable?
 
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Yes,since 1.3 it's getting worse and worse,besides pulling the plug off the wall ,there's Nothing you can do about it.
The game went from entertaining players to entertaining npc's in a few months.

This is actually a tactic that I am using now with persistent NPCs in systems where the nearest station is more than 1000 Ls away (those that chase you throughout the whole system, indirecting you every 5 seconds). I just hit Escape, Save and Exit... I have a 15s cooldown on the save, then I save, exit, start the game again and the NCP is gone and I did not loose anything. :D

And, again, I am playing Solo mode.
 
Yes,since 1.3 it's getting worse and worse,besides pulling the plug off the wall ,there's Nothing you can do about it.
The game went from entertaining players to entertaining npc's in a few months.

I think there are plenty of Players who would love to be challanged in an NPC fight. But that is the trick... in Solo mode, I would expect the game to spawn enemies that are on equal terms as myself. As I mentioned before, I have lost my ship+cargo many times, but I could track it back to me doing the wrong things in a sort of "happy panic". :) And, it didn't take seconds for those NPCs to bring me down... it was minutes of struggle, and I lost. That is the difference, and that, again, is what I would call ballanced.

That is also why I've never posted about it before, because it was my desicions and failed tactics that got me blown to peices.

This time, though, an overpowerd NPC that I couldn't have done anything about, blew me to pieces in seconds. In SOLO mode. Those that defends this just do not have any idea about good game-design, and, I am pretty sure that Frontier is on my side regarding this.
 
To the OP:
Elite Dangerous is a game that has combat elements to it. If you want to play it in a style focussed on trading, you still can't neglect some basic combat and evasion skills. The t7 is pretty hopeless in combat so consider a more multipurpose vessel like an Asp. Also practise the tutorial missions until you can beat all but the last one, as no matter how good your ship is you need to know how to fly.

The comment on here about NPCs not being challenging is fair - even Elite NPCs are massively inferior to a reasonable human.
You should also be able to reduce the chances of being interdicted by sticking to safer systems.

In any case it would help your cause to start with an assumption that it isn't the game that is wrong. A better way to state your case would be to say "I'm having some difficulty with NPC interdictions - is this a common problem and does anyone have any tips?"

Uhm... not sure where to start...

I've played this game for a good year now... I've been indirected quite a lot of times by NPCs in Solo play. My estimate on my success of escaping the agressor is about 70% success (as in getting way without a scratch, except shields taking the hit though), 20% that were a struggle where shields were penetrated, and somewhere with 10-75% of my hull intact. 10% where I actually died in the process of trying to escape.

In all these scenarios, we are talking about minutes of struggle. In those 10% where I lost, I still had a fighting chance. Lets say 5-10 minutes of struggle untill I lost.

Again, that is cool.... 5-10 seconds, where whatever I do, I am :):):):)ed; not so much.

Again, I have to remind you that I am playing SOLO mode. <--- This seems to not get into most of the responders brains?

I get a feeling that people on this board doesn't get that single fact; Solo mode means that I am alone, and forced to play alone. I can't have wingmen, I can't have any type of external protection, and I still see that people are suggesting things that just do not exist in SOLO mode.

For anyone who doesn't get it; SOLO MODE, means that you are playing the game in a Single Player mode; you will never meet or interract with other players, you can not form wings, you are...simply put... on your own against/with NPCs.

Spawning an NPC that kills you in less than 10 seconds in SOLO mode, is a balancing issue. Period.
 
With all due respect, what the hell are you talking about.

NPCs dont get magic damage buffs.

You could have run with stronger shields, armor, or unless you are in a T-9 evading interdiction in the first place is always an option.

I have the best shields I can equip in a T-7 without sacrificing the bulk of cargospace, which defeats the purpose of a cargo ship. :) What I did not have, were 2 things:

1) I had engines on 4, Systems on 2 (it should be the other way around).
2) I did not have shieldboosters.

And, you seem to not understand what I am talking about here. It might be a potential bug in the game where OP NPCs can be spawned in SOLO MODE (which means: Single Player).
 
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