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Newcomer / Intro Point defence or shield boosters?
- Thread starter Ben Sevil
- Start date
Well, point defence is always nice but only 1 in maybe 8 ships will use missiles against you and point defence isn't absolutely guaranteed to stop a missile. It depends what you're using your ship for? If it's an AspX then I wouldn't take it into combat in the first place, if I was to choose anything it would be a chaff launcher and heat sinks to escape combat. Shield boosters are always good if you don't mind the weight and have plenty of energy to work with.
Dear Cmdr Sevil,
If you are not playing in Open then combat is a voluntary activity and why would you want to take an Asp, of either breed, into combat? There are much better ships available for that sort of thing.
For once I am going to disagree with Cmdr Maymo, equipping gizmos like chaff and heatsink launchers to make it easier to escape combat is an admission that you shouldn't be in combat to start with. Why add weight and cost when with a bit of sensible flying you will never need such stuff. Alternatively, fit out a ship designed to fight, to, as our American friends might put it, kick bottom and take names. My favourite in that respect used to be the Vulture but that was in 2015 and fashions change; I am told the ship in favour amongst the combat in-crowd is currently the Adder, or, for the real connoisseur of ED violence, the Eagle.
If you are not playing in Open then combat is a voluntary activity and why would you want to take an Asp, of either breed, into combat? There are much better ships available for that sort of thing.
For once I am going to disagree with Cmdr Maymo, equipping gizmos like chaff and heatsink launchers to make it easier to escape combat is an admission that you shouldn't be in combat to start with. Why add weight and cost when with a bit of sensible flying you will never need such stuff. Alternatively, fit out a ship designed to fight, to, as our American friends might put it, kick bottom and take names. My favourite in that respect used to be the Vulture but that was in 2015 and fashions change; I am told the ship in favour amongst the combat in-crowd is currently the Adder, or, for the real connoisseur of ED violence, the Eagle.
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Deleted member 38366
D
Personally, I'd put the following on an AspX :
- Chaff
- Point Defence
- Shield Booster
- (pick whatever you like, if no idea... another Shield Booster is never a bad thing)
IMHO when it comes to Utility Slots and general allround Gameplay :
- Chaff is a mandatory item for me, will always get one Slot
- Point Defense is almost a mandatory item for me, will get any available 2nd Slot (beware of placement... for any Ship I intend to fight with, I like it located on front & top if possible, my Large Ships also get a 2nd PD placed on lower rear)
- Shield Boosters help alot, no harm in carrying them on all slots not used otherwise
- Heat Sinks or ECM are kinda Optional, although Heat Sinks generally very useful for prolonged Exploration or Smuggling (can't recall having actually fired my ECM, only my Large Ships have it equipped)
(all with respect towards a pure Solo/PvE Player, Open/PvP has its own rules when it comes to Meta Equipment)
PS.
I remember hopping into a Threat 4 USS in my trusty Eagle... Just for kicks and it just received Grade 5 Thermal Shield Mods.
Was fun buzzing all those NPCs opening up on me - until I misassessed and lost Shields.
1 second later, I had what looked like 5-10 Seeker Missiles on my tail... needless to say, the Eagle didn't quite make it
- Chaff
- Point Defence
- Shield Booster
- (pick whatever you like, if no idea... another Shield Booster is never a bad thing)
IMHO when it comes to Utility Slots and general allround Gameplay :
- Chaff is a mandatory item for me, will always get one Slot
- Point Defense is almost a mandatory item for me, will get any available 2nd Slot (beware of placement... for any Ship I intend to fight with, I like it located on front & top if possible, my Large Ships also get a 2nd PD placed on lower rear)
- Shield Boosters help alot, no harm in carrying them on all slots not used otherwise
- Heat Sinks or ECM are kinda Optional, although Heat Sinks generally very useful for prolonged Exploration or Smuggling (can't recall having actually fired my ECM, only my Large Ships have it equipped)
(all with respect towards a pure Solo/PvE Player, Open/PvP has its own rules when it comes to Meta Equipment)
PS.
I remember hopping into a Threat 4 USS in my trusty Eagle... Just for kicks and it just received Grade 5 Thermal Shield Mods.
Was fun buzzing all those NPCs opening up on me - until I misassessed and lost Shields.
1 second later, I had what looked like 5-10 Seeker Missiles on my tail... needless to say, the Eagle didn't quite make it
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CMDRs, thank you.
Oh, I'm a trader through and through, flying an AspX for now. However, if I'm ever successfully interdicted, I'd like to be able to put up a bit of a fight.
Would chaff still be mandatory as a solo-playing trader? I've seen some posts that NPCs (being managed by the computer) ignore chaff.
Oh, I'm a trader through and through, flying an AspX for now. However, if I'm ever successfully interdicted, I'd like to be able to put up a bit of a fight.
Would chaff still be mandatory as a solo-playing trader? I've seen some posts that NPCs (being managed by the computer) ignore chaff.
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I would have two shield boosters, depending on energy available and weight penalty to choose which ones, and two point defence turrets set up to cover top and bottom and fore and aft as well as possible, the one on the bottom is also there to defend the cargo hatch from limpets.
I wouldn't bother with chaff or ecm on anything other than a pure combat build in part because neither of them is automatic.
Chaff only works on gimballed or turreted weapons and NPCs are quite fond of the various fixed weapons.
I wouldn't bother with chaff or ecm on anything other than a pure combat build in part because neither of them is automatic.
Chaff only works on gimballed or turreted weapons and NPCs are quite fond of the various fixed weapons.
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NPC ships using fixed weapons will ignore chaff, but it will help against gimbals, chaff throws off gimballed weapons (a lot).
For a trader in a T6 or AspX interdiction isn't pleasant if you can't avoid it. A chaff launcher will give you the precious seconds needed to get back into supercruise and a heat sink launcher can be used to dampen your thermal signature so enemies lose their lock on you (temporarily silent running without losing shields and other complications).
The AspX isn't a fighter, be very careful about taking other ships on. If you know you're about to be interdicted then identify the ship type and pilots combat rank using your contacts menu......if you see something unsavoury coming at you then your bag of utility tricks may save you from visiting the rebuy screen.
Deleted member 38366
D
Coming to think about it, AFAIK NPCs only ever use these as fixed Weapons :
Plasma Accelerators
Railguns
Can't recall ever seeing an NPC using fixed Lasers really. I actually don't think they carry these.
So against most NPCs and/or most of their Weaponis carried, Chaff is quite effective and take alot of heat off the own Ship while active.
Plasma Accelerators
Railguns
Can't recall ever seeing an NPC using fixed Lasers really. I actually don't think they carry these.
So against most NPCs and/or most of their Weaponis carried, Chaff is quite effective and take alot of heat off the own Ship while active.
Lots of NPCs have fixed lasers. They tend to be the small lighter types.
It was pointed out to me yonks ago (pre Engineers) that instead of the 6A shield gen I was running with, fitting a 5A plus two 0A boosters was stronger and gave me more cargo space to haul rares around in.
However, I still fit my AspXs with 2PDT (front and back), Chaff and Heatsink launcher and a 6A shield gen. I even leave these utility slots like that when I trip-off into the black, although trading a PDT for a heatsink (to give 2) for longer trips.
I don't do combat, I just like to survive.
It was pointed out to me yonks ago (pre Engineers) that instead of the 6A shield gen I was running with, fitting a 5A plus two 0A boosters was stronger and gave me more cargo space to haul rares around in.
However, I still fit my AspXs with 2PDT (front and back), Chaff and Heatsink launcher and a 6A shield gen. I even leave these utility slots like that when I trip-off into the black, although trading a PDT for a heatsink (to give 2) for longer trips.
I don't do combat, I just like to survive.
Interesting, Mr. Yorks. Please may I ask how long you have been using this defensive loadout?
I wonder you see because since I came back to the game a bit over three months ago I have never been successfully interdicted and never been fired on in that short distance between dropping out of supercruise and arriving at a station. I have run all sorts of cargo into all sorts of systems, though my odd bout of smuggling has been by accident, but I have not had to get involved in any combat. My cargo carrying ships have been for the most part a T6 and a T7 but even with those flying bricks winning the interdiction mini-game is currently trivial. So I don't bother with defensive loadouts, though that may change if and when the pendulum on the mini-game swings back again.
2 years - even yough missiles were useless back then.
I have the habit of just submitting - I don't see the point in doing the mini-game unless I'm in my destination system and it is a long-haul to the station and I get stuck in chained interdictions (somtimes I h-jump out and back).
Thanks, Mr. Yorks, I thought you might have been using that loadout for long period of time. We all use strategies, in life as well as in our gaming, that have worked in the past and continue to work even though the criteria that lead to those strategies, or habits as they have become, are no longer present and said habits may now actually be harmful.
My standard setup on utilities for lightweight up to military composite is
-chaff
-heatsink
-pointdefense
-shieldbooster
If you are using reactive surface composite and some MRP's you can easily scrap the PD against another SB.
If you are using no shieldcells you can maybe scrap the heatsink against another SB.
And if you are using extrem tough prism shields + SCB, you can swap the chaff against another SB.
But all other scenarios i would always recommand my own setup on a 4 utility ship. Chaff, heatsink and pointdefense are very worthfully in both PvE and PvP.
The ASP has a good placed utility slot on the top back of the ship which is perfect for a pointdefense. Most people pull to the enemy so missiles wpuld come from above and when running, the PD can shoot backwards and protect through this your thrusters.
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I will point out here that the T7 is one of the most agile ships in Super Cruise and therefore is extremely difficult to interdict, even I usually win the mini game when in a T7.
Oh, I agree, Mr aRJay, the T7 is a beautiful ship to handle and belies its size in supercruise. I run mine configured for 264 tons of cargo (sorry but I like my docking computer) and it is a dream for a newish trader doing bulk cargo runs - I can usually make, without stress, about 750,000 per trip or, to put it another way about 3 million per hour once I have the route scouted out. Like the T6 really, it is one of the unsung heros of the game.
However, my point here in this thread is how easy it is, currently, to avoid interdiction, at least against the NPC, and thus what a waste of money and mass fitting defence stuff is.
To me it doesn't matter how easy it is to win the mini-game, it is just the annoyance of going through it. Most of the times I get hit by an interdiction is when I am en-route in multiple-hop journeys. It is quicker to just submit then h-jump when the cool-down finishes. As I said above, when in the destination system I might play the mini-game, usually I just submit then supercruise away or h-jump out and back again if it is a long-haul and likely to be chain interdictions. The only time I vary this is if the interdictor is a mission-generated pirate (you know the type) as they are persistent, in those cases I either play the minigame or submit and try to toy with any powerful-type to see if security turns up at which point I join in the attack. (I don't particularly care for pew-pew you see.)