SLFs in general PvE (Not specifically thargoid hunting)

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Hi

i like a bit of fun with SLFs. Is there much advantage (other than eyecandy) to unlock the guardian ones or is it really just for fun and they are essentially different skins

or are the guardian SLFs objectively better. (and if there is a difference is it mostly do do with thargoid hunting or do they work with normal ships too)

thanks

 

[Aashenfox]

The Guardian SLFs are objectively worse in both DPS and defense, than a fixed beam/heatsink taipan, from what I have read (not first hand info, so take as such).

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

The Guardian SLFs are objectively worse in both DPS and defense, than a fixed beam/heatsink taipan, from what I have read (not first hand info, so take as such).

good to know then, thanks. i shall not make them a priority then

 

[Deleted member 182079]

Yeah I only unlocked one of them (the shard cannon one) and found it decidedly fragile, especially when using them against Thargoids. Since I lost my Dangerous SLF pilot and only hired and fired Expert pilots for a while, I started to get shot of SLF's altogether until I'm Elite Combat. Too much faffing about with them otherwise and them taking half my rank progression is hard to swallow.

If you grind for Guardian stuff, I recommend the FSD booster first, then perhaps Power Distributor (4% power bonus which is very useful) Powerplant (gets a bit hotter but no more need to engineer the PP), and if you're into Thargoid hunting the Gauss.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

The guass cannon one is pretty good.

NPC's have godlike accuracy with them, and they're easy to spot.

Still very weak though.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

The guass cannon one is pretty good.

NPC's have godlike accuracy with them, and they're easy to spot.

Still very weak though.

My current Challenger Goid hunter has 3 small Gauss, 1 AX MC turret and 3 remote flak launchers fitted. Works quite well if only I could control the bleedin thing better via Xbox pad and FA Off and aiming for the exposed hearts. Must be alot easier with KB&M.

 

[Lily from anim.o.v.e]

the issue is if any of them hits a fart bubble, they are guaranteed to die.
I really have no idea anymore what shields in this g universe are for if just some clouds cannot be shielded away.

 

[pato]

i have the trident only but its isnt as good as taipain beam. in CZ taipan is more stable and in res or nav u can use basically everything. but if u use them to hunt small ships which you dont want to fight because lazy then taipan beam is still better. didnt try the others tho

 

[Deleted member 182079]

Anyways back OT, I was quite disappointed with the Guardian SLF as I planned them to be distractions for the Thargoid swarms. They last maybe 10 seconds after launch and I spend too much time relaunching and issuing orders. Just not worth it and may as well stick to the standard AX SLF if you must (which I wouldn't bother with either now - just git gud with the remote flak launcher instead, which is quite satisfying once you do).

Edit: just realised the OP was after non-Thargoid experience... ooops. Never mind me.

 

[Stinja]

I unlocked the Plasma Autocannon (Trident?) one, and it seems "ok" for PvE, but the Taipan is probably better (Elite NPC pilot). This is RES or random PvE combat (pirate lord, cargo missions etc), as in CZs they definitely die quicker, but TBH I haven't used them anywhere near as extensively as other SLFs.
Infinite ammo is a bonus over the other Guardian SLFs, which iirc had limited ammo.

One thing I do like about the Guardian SLF is it's cockpit. So if you're using it to explore with, you get a more bubble/AspX-ish type view. I do wish you could shuffle the seat forwards a few more feet though, and see sideways better.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Anyways back OT, I was quite disappointed with the Guardian SLF as I planned them to be distractions for the Thargoid swarms. They last maybe 10 seconds after launch and I spend too much time relaunching and issuing orders. Just not worth it and may as well stick to the standard AX SLF if you must (which I wouldn't bother with either now - just git gud with the remote flak launcher instead, which is quite satisfying once you do).

Edit: just realised the OP was after non-Thargoid experience... ooops. Never mind me.

actually it is good to know about both so thanks

all info is good info.

 

[zebcarter]

I actually like them a lot, and if necessary use the Javelin against human and the Lance against AX targets. They really can help and they definitely look absolutely cool.
And...if you constantly lose them, try ranking your pilot to Elite

 

[Stealthie]

Having recently unlocked the Guardian SLFs and replaced my billionaire SLF jockey, I've been spending a bit of time in CZs to train up my new SLF pilot and take the opportunity to play with the Guardian SLFs.

In a nutshell, I can't say I've noticed the extra damage they're supposed to be capable of inflicting.

You'll be in a CZ, the Guardian SLF will attack a ship and it's hull might drop by, say, 35% rather than the 15%-20% damage a Taipan or Condor could inflict.
Okay, that's nice, I suppose.
Trouble is, when a Guardian SLF takes fire it almost inevitably ends up getting destroyed.
Conversely, a regular SLF can usually withstand 3 or 4 attacks before it gets destroyed.

Attack with a Guardian SLF and it inflicts 35% damage, gets shot and goes boom.
Attack with a regular SLF and it does 15% damage, gets shot, evades, counter-attacks, does another 15% damage, gets shot again, evades again, counter-attacks again, does another 15% damage, gets shot and goes boom.
Net result: 35% damage vs 45% damage.
Regular SLF does more damage before getting spaced.

It's well worth going to unlock the Guardian SLFs though.
It's a fun thing to do and they are fun to fly too.
There's probably something they're good for as well.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

I actually like them a lot, and if necessary use the Javelin against human and the Lance against AX targets. They really can help and they definitely look absolutely cool.
And...if you constantly lose them, try ranking your pilot to Elite ��

My now deceased Dangerous lvl pilot did show promise alright, and enjoyed him taking out pirates while I kept mining in my turreted T10 in a RES. But it cost me a lot of credits and more importantly Elite rank to employ them. So until I obtain Combat Elite myself, I'll steer clear of SLF's. Really would like an Elite pilot some day but that's a future project.

Agree that the audiovisuals of the Guardian Fighters are very nice. They just didn't compare overly favourably compared to stock ones IME in terms of performance.

 

[Dutchman141]

I recently unlocked all three of them and they're indeed not better then the stock SLFs.
From those three the Trident is my favorite and against normal npcs it performs okay with a deadly crew in it.
Trident with green colored lasers makes up for a great lightshow though.

 

[zebcarter]

My now deceased Dangerous lvl pilot did show promise alright, and enjoyed him taking out pirates while I kept mining in my turreted T10 in a RES. But it cost me a lot of credits and more importantly Elite rank to employ them.

Hmm...if you complain about the pilot costing you credits and at the same time spend your time mining, I'm tempted to call that slightly skewed priorities

 

[Deleted member 182079]

Hmm...if you complain about the pilot costing you credits and at the same time spend your time mining, I'm tempted to call that slightly skewed priorities ��

I'm not mining for the credits (at least not prior to 3.3 going live), but I enjoy the gameplay activity itself once in a while, especially in a RES with an SLF deployed as that livens up things a bit (and the bounty vouchers are a nice little bonus).

It's a shame that "inactive" pilots aren't truly inactive, or I'd already train up another permanent pilot. Again, credits aren't really my main concern these days although it does bug me a little that they take a sizeable cut (over time) despite not being on duty.

 

[Morbad]

I've flown them in multi-crew, and I can see some use for the railgun Guardian SLF, but none of them are going to compete in general utility with the fixed beam Taipan (in the hands of a CMDR) or GU-97 (in the hands of NPC crew), and the MC Condor is still a more useful PvP pursuit craft.

 

[XW_Ziggy]

I use the MC condor for hull-heavy scenarios and the Plasma Taipan for shield heavy. I can't remember where the thread is but I'm curious if anyone remembers the one I'm thinking of where the SLF plasma damage was explained in detail. Is some of it absolute damage like plasma accelerators you can fit to your hardpoints? That assumption is pretty much the only reason I'm using one.

Under the same logic, do the guardian SLF weapons behave the same ways as their hardpoint counterparts?