Sick of getting destroyed?
Sick of running away all the time?
Finally want revenge?
Then start hunting!
Hey all! This is my second guide regarding PvP. My first guide (>click here<) is about avoiding and surviving PvP encounters while this guide is about engaging into PvP (and doing it somewhat right).
But first, this guide is not for everyone. The target group are players who seek some adventure in the heat of railguns and plasma accelerators and who are not already into PvP for ages. Those who prefare PvE bounty hunting and those who think that they don't suit fast paced decision making and concentrated manouvering of their ship without panicing will probably lose their time here now.
So if you are not interested in PvP at all, I advice you to leave now as you will probably waste your time here.
Table of contents:
1. Introduction
2. Step one
3. Step two
4. Step three
5. Conclusion
So you want to be a dangerous and feared pilot among the galaxy? Or do you just want to be able to defend yourself as you are sick of running all the time? What if I told you that it is indeed possible to get rid of some Anaconda pirate with just a Viper MK III? Heck, even an Eagle can do that. It isn't neccessarily about the ship, the pilot's skill is the decisive factor in a battle.
My intention is to help you. You don't have to agree with my suggestions and I believe there are other skilled commanders who would claim that what i will tell you now is somewhat useless but so do I claim other suggestions being useless (who on earth needs gimballed weaponary? Ugh.).
In the end it is once again about yourself. I try to help you what-so-ever and it is about you wheather or not you make use of this guide. I don't mind if you just keep on going, cya between plasma shots then!
But in all seriousness, this might be helpful for you if you are not experienced in PvP yet. below I will try to help you getting started in PvP so you can improve on your own and eventually become a really dangerous pilot. Now take a seat.
Step one - choosing the right ship:
You obviously need a good ship to start with. Wheather you are a wealthy merchant or just a pennyless mercenary. Since ships and credits don't decide the outcome of a battle, we will all start on an equal level (and therefore a ship). We all start here:
Welcome to your new ship. I don't care if you like it or not, I don't like it myself but I have to admit it is the best ship to get started into PvP.
It is relatively fast, agile, can deliver a decent punch while having enough defensive capabilities for mistakes.
The Vulture is cheap to buy and outfit in addition. With just 30 million credits you have an excellent loadout and enough money for some insurance bills.
I won't force you into this ship, alternatively you can also use a Viper but it simply lacks in power in terms of firepower and defnesive capabilities. You will probably get frustrated very fast.
The next question is: "How to outfit your ship?". So many modules, so many weapons and you probably don't even know anything about half of them.
The most important things about damage and defensives you need to know below:
- Weapons come in four damage types: Thermic, kinetic, explosive and 'raw'
- Shields recieve extra damage from thermic weaponary
- Hulls recieve extra damage from kinetic and especially explosive wepaonary
- A ram always deals 'raw' damage and ignores hull resistences.
So when it comes to your loadout you have to question yourself "What kind of opponent will I expect?". Since this goes more into the advanced PvP lecture I will leave this out and provide you an all-round loadout which suites almost every PvP scenario.
I will write a small note why I have chosen this module.
This loadout was generated with http://edshipyard.com and exported here. You better get familiar with this, alternatively you can use http://coriolis.io/.
[Vulture]
L: 3D/F Pulse Laser - Your primary weapon. Fixed so you learn to get rid of aiming assistence.
L: 3C/F Fragment Cannon - Your secondary weapon. Can be used against shields and hull effectively.
U: 0I Chaff Launcher - In case your opponent hasn't read this guide and uses aiming assistence.
U: 0I Heat Sink Launcher - Your heat sink is meant for cooling down your ship when using a shield cell.
U: 0I Chaff Launcher - Your secondary chaff launcher in case you need to fire a second one when the first one is reloading.
U: 0C Shield Booster - Just in case you get bursted down, a little help.
BH: 1I Military Grade Composite - Reduces hull damage from thermic and kinetic wepaonary by approximately 40%.
RB: 4A Power Plant - You need energy.
TM: 5A Thrusters - And speed as well, especially agility.
FH: 4A Frame Shift Drive - Convinience.
EC: 3E Life Support - I saved energy here, this may be dangerous.
PC: 5A Power Distributor - You need power, and this module is powerful.
SS: 4D Sensors - Lightweight sensores to increase agility and save energy.
FS: 3C Fuel Tank (Capacity: 8) - Comes with stock loadout.
5: 5C Bi-Weave Shield Generator - Saves energy, recharges faster.
4: 4A Shield Cell Bank - Your main shield source, use it carefully.
2: 2D Hull Reinforcement Package - Extra hitpoints (way too many of them since HRPs are broken at the moment IMO).
1: 1C Frame Shift Drive Interdictor - You are the hunter here, so you need a tool to hunt I guess?
1: 1A Fuel Scoop - Convinience.
Shield: 352,98 MJ - Actually more than an A-rated FAS
Power : 13,66 MW retracted (88 %)
15,58 MW deployed (100 %) - 0,02 MW wasted, nothing to worry about, still highly efficient.
15,60 MW available - Class 4A powerplant.
Cargo : 0 T - You hunt kills, not cargo.
Fuel : 8 T - Basic fuel tank.
Mass : 386,2 T empty
394,2 T full - 8 Tonnes of fuel.
Range : 14,69 LY unladen
14,69 LY laden
Price : 21.554.120 CR
Re-Buy: 1.077.706 CR @ 95% insurance
>Your power priorities are all on 1 except for the cargo hatch, fuel scoop and FSD-interdictor which should be on 2.<
Description: This is a shield loadout. Even though I gave you a Bi-weave shield doens't mean it is something different than a shield loadout. Your main shield strength source is neither the shield generator itself, nor the booster ... the shield cell bank is your main shield source and actually provides ALOT megajoules.
Let's do the math: As you can see your Vulture has ~ 350 MJs of base shield strength and your 4A SCB provides ~ 650 MJs in total. You have 4 shield cells so 650/4 = ~ 163. This means you almost recharge 50% of your base shield strength per cell so you start using a cell when at 50% shield strngth to not waste MJs and so overcharging your shields. This is still pretty easy to use, unlike other shield loadouts who have to hit the cell at almost 1% shield strength to get the most out of it.
You have the advantage of having some space for mistakes and you WILL do something wrong at some point. A good pilot also does things wrong but he/she knows what to do in the situation when it comes to a failure. Ultimately we all only learn from mistakes.
In case you manage to get your shields dropped, either through running out of cells or getting bursted (avoid rams) I advice you to run. An advanced pilot could still use this ship but you are probably unexperienced so just get out of there. Safety first. I gave you military alloys and a 2D HRP so you should have some time to get out of trouble.
Additionally, the Bi-weave recharges faster than other shield generators and you may be able to get back into the fight ... if you dare.
So much for your defensives, but what's about your offensive build?
Your pulse laser is for long range sniping since it is a hitscan weapon (no projectiles, instant damage, easier to use). The further you are away, the less damage it deals. At 500m it will start decreasing its damage. It can also be used to snipe sub-systems but that's also advanced PvP and I will not cover that in this guide.
Anyways, your pulse laser is meant to strip down shields and do a good DPS pressure. Your frag cannon is your secondary weapon and deals a good burst damage, even to shields. Use it at 500m meters or closer, especially when your opponent's shields are low. If they have already dropped shields, use both weapons as much as you can.
L: 3D/F Pulse Laser - Your primary weapon. Fixed so you learn to get rid of aiming assistence.
L: 3C/F Fragment Cannon - Your secondary weapon. Can be used against shields and hull effectively.
U: 0I Chaff Launcher - In case your opponent hasn't read this guide and uses aiming assistence.
U: 0I Heat Sink Launcher - Your heat sink is meant for cooling down your ship when using a shield cell.
U: 0I Chaff Launcher - Your secondary chaff launcher in case you need to fire a second one when the first one is reloading.
U: 0C Shield Booster - Just in case you get bursted down, a little help.
BH: 1I Military Grade Composite - Reduces hull damage from thermic and kinetic wepaonary by approximately 40%.
RB: 4A Power Plant - You need energy.
TM: 5A Thrusters - And speed as well, especially agility.
FH: 4A Frame Shift Drive - Convinience.
EC: 3E Life Support - I saved energy here, this may be dangerous.
PC: 5A Power Distributor - You need power, and this module is powerful.
SS: 4D Sensors - Lightweight sensores to increase agility and save energy.
FS: 3C Fuel Tank (Capacity: 8) - Comes with stock loadout.
5: 5C Bi-Weave Shield Generator - Saves energy, recharges faster.
4: 4A Shield Cell Bank - Your main shield source, use it carefully.
2: 2D Hull Reinforcement Package - Extra hitpoints (way too many of them since HRPs are broken at the moment IMO).
1: 1C Frame Shift Drive Interdictor - You are the hunter here, so you need a tool to hunt I guess?
1: 1A Fuel Scoop - Convinience.
Shield: 352,98 MJ - Actually more than an A-rated FAS
Power : 13,66 MW retracted (88 %)
15,58 MW deployed (100 %) - 0,02 MW wasted, nothing to worry about, still highly efficient.
15,60 MW available - Class 4A powerplant.
Cargo : 0 T - You hunt kills, not cargo.
Fuel : 8 T - Basic fuel tank.
Mass : 386,2 T empty
394,2 T full - 8 Tonnes of fuel.
Range : 14,69 LY unladen
14,69 LY laden
Price : 21.554.120 CR
Re-Buy: 1.077.706 CR @ 95% insurance
>Your power priorities are all on 1 except for the cargo hatch, fuel scoop and FSD-interdictor which should be on 2.<
Description: This is a shield loadout. Even though I gave you a Bi-weave shield doens't mean it is something different than a shield loadout. Your main shield strength source is neither the shield generator itself, nor the booster ... the shield cell bank is your main shield source and actually provides ALOT megajoules.
Let's do the math: As you can see your Vulture has ~ 350 MJs of base shield strength and your 4A SCB provides ~ 650 MJs in total. You have 4 shield cells so 650/4 = ~ 163. This means you almost recharge 50% of your base shield strength per cell so you start using a cell when at 50% shield strngth to not waste MJs and so overcharging your shields. This is still pretty easy to use, unlike other shield loadouts who have to hit the cell at almost 1% shield strength to get the most out of it.
You have the advantage of having some space for mistakes and you WILL do something wrong at some point. A good pilot also does things wrong but he/she knows what to do in the situation when it comes to a failure. Ultimately we all only learn from mistakes.
In case you manage to get your shields dropped, either through running out of cells or getting bursted (avoid rams) I advice you to run. An advanced pilot could still use this ship but you are probably unexperienced so just get out of there. Safety first. I gave you military alloys and a 2D HRP so you should have some time to get out of trouble.
Additionally, the Bi-weave recharges faster than other shield generators and you may be able to get back into the fight ... if you dare.
So much for your defensives, but what's about your offensive build?
Your pulse laser is for long range sniping since it is a hitscan weapon (no projectiles, instant damage, easier to use). The further you are away, the less damage it deals. At 500m it will start decreasing its damage. It can also be used to snipe sub-systems but that's also advanced PvP and I will not cover that in this guide.
Anyways, your pulse laser is meant to strip down shields and do a good DPS pressure. Your frag cannon is your secondary weapon and deals a good burst damage, even to shields. Use it at 500m meters or closer, especially when your opponent's shields are low. If they have already dropped shields, use both weapons as much as you can.
Alright. That's about the loadout. Now the next step.
Step two - remembering the golden rules of combat:
You now have a combat ready ship for PvP (heck, even for PvE. Perosnally I don't make a difference here but it is true that a full laser loadout is better suited for PvE since it has infinite ammo. Well, as long as you have fuel).
Now remember what I have said before. The pilot's skill is what counts in a fight. Good pilots do one thing right: Pip management.
Pip management is the most important task in every fight, even in PvE. Below the most important things you need to know:
Besides obviously recharging the capacicators faster with more pips used, there are also important passive effects.
- 4 pips to SYS cause your shields to reduce incoming damage of all types by approximately 58%
- 4 pips to ENG increase agility of your ship
- 4 pips to WEP have no passive effect
So you better get used to fast switch the pips for every little move you do.
Under heavy fire? 4 pips to SYS.
Need to turn and not under fire? 4 pips to ENG
Your opponent runs? 3 to ENG and 3 to WEP.
This is what you have to learn by yoruself and this is what determines the outcome of a battle. There are so many situations that require a certain pip setup so the best thing you can do is learning by yourself.
Okay good. Now besides pip management there is also something called "knowing your enemy".
For example, when I engage on a target I can tell with a 90% certainty how the outcome of the battle will look like. Just by the way my opponent is moving/flying I can easily tell how advanced (or unskilled) he/she is.
But there is something more than my instinct. The enemy's loadout. Guess how many times you have been scanned and engaged? This is because you have probably used an arbitrary loadout with mixtures of turreted and gimballed weaponary in combination with an ECM or point-defence-turret. Noone uses this at the moment since missiles (apart from torpedos) are utterly underpowered.
Anyways, check your enemy's loadout to determine what kind of opponent you face and therefore guess how skilled he/she is. Someone using a plasma loadout is probably more dangerous than someone using a pulse laser loadout.
For the beginning I suggest to only engage on lesss dangerous targets such as Diamondback scouts not using railguns, plasmas or frag cannons. All these weapons are burst weapons to score a kill quickly. Your Vulture will probably blow up faster than you can pull your opponent out of supercruise.
Your targets are pulse laser loadouts, Multicannon spammers and/or a mixture of both. Cannons don't deal much damage so also engage on them. But stay away from plasmas and rails and the like.
Good. let's assume you have found and enemy Python commander with three pulse lasers and two multicannons. You enagage and read on to ...
Step three - strategy:
You interdict the Python and let's say he has a 300k cr bounty on his head. Taste, eh? You are the hunter. You write the rules. My personal rule is "Shoot first, ask questions later." ... that doesn't mean you have to blow him up but atleast strip down his shields and destroy the drives or the FSD. Short: isolate him.
The first thing you do is deploying hardpoints and open fire with your pulse laser. But this Python is much stronger than you so he decides to shoot back. Welcome to the dogfight.
You have an advantage, though. Your ship is lighter, faster and more agile. Use your manouvering thrusters to move around your opponent, start playing with FA off but most importantly: Stay out of his line of fire!
A Python is a tanky and deadly ship. Incredible firepower, excellent defensives and even manouverable when in the blue spot. Now remember, know your enemy. This Python I just described has three large pulse lasers and two medium multicannons. Let's say they are gimballed. You have two chaff launchers.
What are you obviously gonna do? Right, use them. When he is shooting at you, use your chaff launcher and directly attack him. Use the second one if the first one reloads and you are still under fire.
However, keep in mind you actually don't want to face him. You want to stay behind his back so you don't really need chaffs anymore.
Okay, let's say the Python has low shields and wants to use a shield cell soon. You so want to avoid that and I have given you an all-round build. You are capable of deliver burst damage to a certain degree. What are you going to do is shooting with your pulse, put 4 pips into SYS, shoot with your frag right before you go for a ram. A ram deals alot damage at cost of your own shield strength. You obviously don't go for a ram if your own shields are low as well. Then just hope your opponent's cell doesn't pop in soon enough and keep shooting.
Now let's say this worked and you managed to pop the Python's shields. Your are the hunter, then start hunting. A Python is incredible sluggish in running away so it should be easy for your Vulture to hunt him down. In case he is still shooting back you just keep on fighting. You probably will experience alot of Pythons just low waking out and that's when you don't score a kill but that's okay for the beginning. I mean you just made a Python run away, no?
No? Your shields are down? Damn!
In case you get intro trouble:
That's my personal golden rule. Always keep a way behind your back for escape. So far I have only died twice. The first time was in a tournament where running would equal a loss so I just lost (against a good Anaconda pilot in my Assault Ship) and the second time I was annoyed by a wing of small stealth flies. Didn't want to fight this annoying build while eating my pizza so I just low waked out over and over again and gave them my kill in hope they would finally leave me alone (which they did). I didn't even fight back. But other than that I managed to escape every single time since the point where I got into my first Federal Dropship. Sometimes with a ridiculous amount of luck I have to admit.
But now to your Vulture. I gave you some extra hull strength and in combination with your small hitbox you should be able to run away. However, never ever run away in a straight line! Neither in normal space nor in supercruise. This is the most common mistake every unexperienced commander does and they pay with their ship for that.
Try to avoid fire and even if you just fly in circles (that doesn't mean spinning, flying circles is more than yawing or pitching, it's a combination of all three axis).
Since the Vulture is a relatively small ship, it has a low MLF (mass lock factor) so you are often forced to high-wake since this is not affected my the mass lock.
Your only task is to survive now. Set a destination to any given surrounding system and charge your FSD, while your FSD is charging, try to avoid fire by flying manouvers your opponent doesn't expect or hwat makes it hard for them to target you. There are many advanced ways to get out of there but this is a basic guide for PvP beginners so I will not cover them here.
And here you are on your own. Hunt or be the hunted one. This is survival, laws of the jungle and you decided to take part.
Conclusion:
This should help you opening the door to proper PvP and give you the ability to learn. Note that you will suffer losses at the beginning, everyone did. We only learn from our mistakes and this guide should help you to get into the right direction to compete in PvP.
So following my three steps will hopefully help you in achieving that.
Step one: Choose the right ship and loadout. You can browse through the internet or forum to find cool loadouts to suit your style. Classic RPG loadouts can be found everywhere like tank builds, assassin builds, assault (all-round) builds and the most weird creations like a T9 "bait" build.
My Vulture loadout is an assault build with one primary and secondary weapon. But feel free to experiment with all kinds of weapons (but stay away from missiles ..) and modules. However, I suggest you orient yourself at other builds since some moduels and weapons are underpowered and will get you frustrated very fast (ECM, PDT, Missiles, etc.).
Step two: Knowing your enemy is important. If you do know your enemy you can calculate your chances of winning and wheather or not you survive this. Also knowing what happens in the next several seconds is important but this is once more advanced PvP and I will not cover this here. There are certain properties you will learn to remember when looking and analyzing your oppoennts before you engage.
However, as said ... the most important task a pilot has to do is pip management. This requires your focus and will decide so many things in a combat scenario. I can't really help you there, this is where reflexes and habbits go. Pip management is obvious so there is much more practice required than I could help you with theory.
Step three: Strategy is your personal fighting style which you will develope over time. People will remember you for your style like "Oh, this dude with the plasma loadout." or "Damn, he can outmanouver me pretty good!". I have told you some basic strategies every good commander uses when fighting. Some might fight to death but I strongly believe they are capable of escaping if they wanted to.
Now don't forget that you will not be a master of combat after this guide. This guide should help you to open the door becoming one yourself. You could compare PvP with getting your driving license. At the beginning your get punched right in your face with information but then after some months it all went into habbit, reflexes and a general 'instinct' of how to behave on the streets with your car or bike. Certain things get done by themselves and the same applies for PvP.
For example pip management. I don't even look at my pips anymore. I just have certain 'presets' (no, not macros) on my HOTAS (For example RST-ENG-ENG-WEP-ENG) when doing a certain move. Actually, this comes pretty fast just by doing proper combat/PvP.
I'd be glad about any feedback and feel free to ask questions here or via a PM. If you really want to, you can check out my YT-channel (link in my signature "video logs") to watch some - I dare to claim - advanced PvP.
Again, you don't have to listen to my suggestions but in the end, didn't you want to become a little more dangerous? Why did you end up down here, reading through the whole guide, eh?
This guide should help you. It is just about you if you use this help or not. I learned on my own.
And that's it. Sorry for any typos and/or grammar mistakes. I will correct them later.
Fly risky! o7
- Crimson Kaim
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