Disclaimer! My findings are purely based on my own subjective experience fighting in Hi-RES.
Relevant details/ factors:
- 3 different systems (Beta-1 Tucanae, Nevet, Ingwaz)
- 5 different ships (Eagle, Viper, Vulture, Python, Anaconda)
- All ships ‘A rated’
- My current rating is Master
- I don’t jump in/ out to get a better instance – I’ve been taking what the RES gives me
- Time spent per ‘session’ – roughly an hour or so in the RES (basically until ammo runs out!)
There are so many variables in this game (which IMO makes it great) plus variables in my pilot style and skill compared to other players.
Covered with all the above caveats this is what my extremely unempirical ‘study’ found:
Rate of increase for progressing rank (% increase on Master) was by far the fastest using the Anaconda when the spawn is smaller ships. Nearly 3 times as much!
For earning cash a spawn of larger ships turned in more profit, far more than twice that of the smaller ship spawn.
Cash return and rank increase was significantly poorer using the Eagle or Viper. But this may reflect how much longer and harder it was to get each kill.
It’s hard to draw conclusions ‘per kill’ so I can only comment on what worked for me as a return on the investment of my time.
It seems that the more kills of higher rank the better for rank increase, largely irrelevant of how ‘good’ their ship is.
More powerful ships may well still be a factor. But for me not enough to outweigh the longer time it takes to bring one Dangerous/Deadly Python down versus quickly evaporating a bunch of Dangerous/ Deadly Sidewinders. The reverse is true for earning cash.
Using a smaller ship to bring down big ships might increase rank gain but not enough for it to show to me in stat terms. This may reflect the increased time to take them down but still the cash reward/ rank gain is not ‘efficient’ versus a deadly sidewinder slaughter fest in the Anaconda.
So, conclusions (for me anyway!)
For rank progression: Hi RES with lots of small ships with high ranked pilots. Doesn’t really matter what ship you use, whatever kills the quickest.
For earning cash: Hi RES with lots of big ships with high ranked pilots. Again doesn’t really matter what ship you use, whatever kills the quickest.
Of course it could just be I am really good at bullying the little guys but poor when it comes to picking on someone my own size!
Perhaps most importantly it may have been the least ‘productive’ for grinding cash/ rank but for me the intense dogfighting with the Viper in a small ship/ high rank spawning RES was by far the most fun!
I’d love to hear if other pilots are getting very different returns and what is different about their ship spec and approach.
Relevant details/ factors:
- 3 different systems (Beta-1 Tucanae, Nevet, Ingwaz)
- 5 different ships (Eagle, Viper, Vulture, Python, Anaconda)
- All ships ‘A rated’
- My current rating is Master
- I don’t jump in/ out to get a better instance – I’ve been taking what the RES gives me
- Time spent per ‘session’ – roughly an hour or so in the RES (basically until ammo runs out!)
There are so many variables in this game (which IMO makes it great) plus variables in my pilot style and skill compared to other players.
Covered with all the above caveats this is what my extremely unempirical ‘study’ found:
Rate of increase for progressing rank (% increase on Master) was by far the fastest using the Anaconda when the spawn is smaller ships. Nearly 3 times as much!
For earning cash a spawn of larger ships turned in more profit, far more than twice that of the smaller ship spawn.
Cash return and rank increase was significantly poorer using the Eagle or Viper. But this may reflect how much longer and harder it was to get each kill.
It’s hard to draw conclusions ‘per kill’ so I can only comment on what worked for me as a return on the investment of my time.
It seems that the more kills of higher rank the better for rank increase, largely irrelevant of how ‘good’ their ship is.
More powerful ships may well still be a factor. But for me not enough to outweigh the longer time it takes to bring one Dangerous/Deadly Python down versus quickly evaporating a bunch of Dangerous/ Deadly Sidewinders. The reverse is true for earning cash.
Using a smaller ship to bring down big ships might increase rank gain but not enough for it to show to me in stat terms. This may reflect the increased time to take them down but still the cash reward/ rank gain is not ‘efficient’ versus a deadly sidewinder slaughter fest in the Anaconda.
So, conclusions (for me anyway!)
For rank progression: Hi RES with lots of small ships with high ranked pilots. Doesn’t really matter what ship you use, whatever kills the quickest.
For earning cash: Hi RES with lots of big ships with high ranked pilots. Again doesn’t really matter what ship you use, whatever kills the quickest.
Of course it could just be I am really good at bullying the little guys but poor when it comes to picking on someone my own size!
Perhaps most importantly it may have been the least ‘productive’ for grinding cash/ rank but for me the intense dogfighting with the Viper in a small ship/ high rank spawning RES was by far the most fun!
I’d love to hear if other pilots are getting very different returns and what is different about their ship spec and approach.
