Surviving Community Goals in Open

[GG7]

I totally get that, and I respect the decision of those who want to only fly in Moebius. I'm only hoping to help out those Commanders who like to ride with the devil and don't mind getting blown up every now and then - or even all the time. [up]

No worries! I applaud you taking the time to put together what is a VERY helpful guide. (I did read the entire thing by the way)

My point was simply that when trying to advance a community goal with an unarmed transport ship, it tends to defeat the purpose of efficiency if you engage in that activity surrounded by griefers and various legends in their own minds.

The most fun I have had at a CG in Open was in my FDL, going after all these loud mouthed miscreants who were going around blowing up unarmed transports. The same idiots who honestly believed they stood chance against a fully Grade 5 engineered / A rated combat ship that shoots back.

Cheers.

 

[NecasekO]

I would add another piece of advice:

Always count with the possibility that you can get destroyed. Either you'll meet organized resistance, or some attacker will get lucky, or you'll encounter a new tactic that you're not prepared for.

So fly ships that you can afford to lose and make sure that the profit you make from a CG is more than what you may lose. Also, don't ever use those rare elite NPC pilots when flying a trade ship to a CG in Open.

 

[Tarman]

Uhuh,

And I'm sure every soldier in WW1 was convinced their lucky rabbit's-foot worked too... right up until the point where it didn't.

Hey, there's no point in being willfully reckless.
If there's things you can do to reduce the likelihood of an attack or, at least, make it more likely that somebody other than you gets attacked, go for it.
You don't have to be able to outrun the bear. You just have to outrun the guy next to you. [up]

I just think that it's luck of the draw whether you happen across a situation involving people who ARE sufficiently determined to ruin everybody's day.
When/if it happens, it won't matter if you have HRPs fitted, whether your shields are engineered or whether you tried to fly toward the station in an arc.

I'm not saying it's magic, but it's not mere luck either. Nothing saves you from everything ever; that's not a realistic proposition. But you can be smart and mitigate your circumstances to the best of your ability. For me the piloting strategies, tricks and procedures I've learned have kept me alive through a lot of situations where it was quite high chances to get home via rebuy screen. Some luck yes, but luck is gravy on top of preparedness.

I mainly don't want the advice in this thread to be discounted because someone is thinking "oh, well Ima get pincushioned every time anyways, why even bother", since there are some good tips here that keep survival chances very good in high-risk activities where the goal is to live and land. Hot CG running is a sport for me; otherwise to me CGs without hotzones are really really very painfully boring, and I am not even an allcombatalldayerryday kind of pilot. Unless there's some special kind of reward or purpose apart from credits it's just number counting with a spaceship glued on top that I could be doing literally everywhere else in the galaxy on my own terms and timeframes, and really doesn't interest me without the Han Solo gameplay included. Also as an added bonus, this kind of advice can also be used in everyday piloting any time a CMDR may suspect their latest dock is going to be a bit torchy.

I'd actually like to add planetary gravity braking techniques to the list. Pulling a fast enough approach to come in at top speed and using the planetary body's gravity well to decelerate makes for a more difficult interdiction target (and you will feel totally badass). You can attempt to use the planet as a blocking element against the vector of your hunter, to come right into the station with the planet to the rear. You can bleed off your extra a bit slower in a long loop-around if you're concerned for target-drop accuracy, or the power dive, where you attempt to cut in at the last possible second and bleed off all at once much closer to your LZ. With practice there's a good middle ground between the two approach styles, and it's useful for sheer time-saving on any approaches when not in imminent danger.

 

[jasonbarron]

FYI: There are usually far more human players in a Mobius session at a CG than you will ever see in Open. Minus the A-Holes of course.

That is not even close to accurate.

Also, for those trading in Open, I'll just leave you this. Rinzler's Git Gud to Trading in Open, as hilarious as it is relevant.
[video=youtube;Uh9AWV_BWo0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh9AWV_BWo0[/video]

 

[Vasious]

I generally don't respond to those who open their comments with a personal insult

Meh...


STUPID gameplay at its finest.

Well You came in with such a Sterling attitude of dismissing the OP and their advise as STUPID in all capitals, then feel you are the one begin insulted.

You are just reaping what you sow, don't act all holier than thou.

 

[Gunnet]

Might as well throw in my two cents worth of advice:

While you're keeping an eye out for potential threats, also try to identify players roleplaying as security forces. If you find any and decide to trust them (which is admittedly not a risk-free judgement call), make contact and help them to help you. It's far easier to protect a trader who sends a message when they feel threatened, accepts a wing request and turns their beacon on than it is to do anything about an interdiction which is already in progress half the system away.

If you end up in normal space with a pirate/ganker and a security ship, your only priority is escaping. The security player doesn't want you to risk your cargo ship trying to help them fight, you're not being rude or abandoning them by fleeing, just get out of there.

And feel free to just say hello. Patrolling can get lonely for a single security ship, and chatty traders are a godsend

 

[Spacecat]

Some good tips. I usually select a system but don't lock it in my nav panel as soon as I jump into a cg system, that way I can quickly select it and high wake out if I need to. Also:

1. Don't jump into a cg system without enough fuel to jump back out (learned this the hard way).

2. Don't get so distracted watching the radar that you overspeed on approach to the station, or you might get interdicted as you do so and get the dreaded 10 minute FSD cooldown, even though you submit (also learned the hard way).

3. If you do get the dreaded FSD cooldown (see above), don't rely on engineered thrusters and shields to hold out until you can high wake (also learned this the hard way, lol).

 

[M. Volgrand]

Meh...

I frankly can't see the point of doing any repetitive hauling missions in OPEN. Especially CGs where the number of low lifes parked outside the station, waiting to insta-kill anyone attempting to make a delivery seems like a self inflicted punishment so easily avoided.

Easily avoided by switching to a Private Group like Mobius, where you can still have the sense of community at one of these events, but free of the that has nothing to do with anything remotely approaching strategic.

Those who would attempt to blow you and your cargo up are there for only one thing... Their own selfish gratification at your expense.

STUPID gameplay at its finest.

First: some people, like myself, enjoy the added challenge of human interaction. Engaging just against NPCs is very easy, to be honest.
Second: Hey, there are terrorists in the galaxy! They will blow your ship, killing themselve because... potato? I don't think it is unfair play, rather a bit of spicy taste on it .


OP: Maybe you want to add my guide of blockade running? https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...ity-goals-and-PVP-The-art-of-blockade-running

 

[M. Volgrand]

FYI: There are usually far more human players in a Mobius session at a CG than you will ever see in Open. Minus the A-Holes of course.

I generally don't respond to those who open their comments with a personal insult, and continue to make disparaging remarks about another player's abilities to the end of their useless post. But I will make an exception in your case.

Try reading the ENTIRE POST next time before commenting and missing the entire point in the final comments you obviously failed to read.

A typical Mobius session during a popular CG usually contains double the number of human players than a typical Open instance at the same location.

Unlike you, I have done CGs in both modes many, many times. Playing in a PG that contains over 40 thousand active members is hardly akin to watching paint dry.

P.S. You obviously think you are god's gift to PvP combat. But you also have no idea how many hours I have put into this game. Including thousands of hours dedicated to combat. You want a 1v1 combat encounter with me?....Hit me up anytime. Just because I don't enjoy playing with GTA 5 Online rejects in ED doesn't mean I am not fully capable of kicking your butt with ease. And your embarrassing loss will be posted on YouTube.

And when your goal is to help a cause in the game, and maximize your time, the last thing anyone with a brain is going to do is run a gauntlet of idiots with missile racks. (The weapon of choice with the "self proclaimed" PvP Elite)

In all seriousness, GG7, we get it: You prefer to play in Mobius. Fine, good for you, have fun. Now, can you please let us talk about how we enjoy playing in open? Thank you very much.

 

[M. Volgrand]

That's it, in a nutshell.

Flying a CG in Open is like playing Top Trumps.
You play your card and wait to see if anybody has a better card than yours.
If they do, you're gonna lose.

Sure, you can engineer your modules and load your ship up with HRPs, MRPs and SCBs (all at the expense of the cargo which you're supposed to be carrying) but, let's face it, if you're doing a cargo CG it's probably for a reason that involves actually, y'know, hauling cargo rather than hauling a heap of shipboard defensive systems around, in which case you're probably going to find Solo mode the best course of action.

I actually disagree with you, simply because you are saying "Cards" meaning "Ships".
However, what makes a ship great its not just its loadout, but the pilot that is behind the controls. I have been dogfighting against an SDC cutter with my courier, when the cutter was way more engineered than my ship, didn't win but didn't die either. With a bit of skill and choosing the ship that fits your flight style, you should be able to survive to any situation if you are skilled enough.

 

[Dad Rock]

Done, that's a stellar guide right there! +1 Rep [up]

 

[lokvette]

Not everybody likes to play in easy mode
Personally think your type of game play is the equivalent to watching paint dry.
Don't call you stupid for missing out on a part of the game so many love. Your comments show that you don't spend much time in open but like spreading the propaganda of consta gank.
I bought a new account in the last sale and have played that for 2 weeks now, and not a single sign of the grievers that are reported to be killing a noob a second.
Reality is it's easy to avoid a gank and as soon as you have some basic evation tactics down most gankers will move onto lower hanging fruit.

But congrats for admitting you don't like a challange

Sometimes you just have to let the poster or post do the damage all by itself.
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Sorry I have nothing to add the OP, seen it all before more than once, but you know as long as people find it helpful all's good on that front.

 

[Valethar]

I bought a new account in the last sale and have played that for 2 weeks now, and not a single sign of the grievers that are reported to be killing a noob a second.

I'm not at all surprised.

Griefers do the ganking. Grievers are the ones who lament being ganked.

 

[Sonof Hibachi]

OP was giving excellent advice to those who wish to participate in CGs whilst in Open.

Please don't turn this into yet another Open v PG v Solo thread, there are already more than enough of those on this forum.

Hibachi, worried he sounds like a mod

 

[sovapid]

I'm not sure about the ship launched fighter, but I've never tried it while running a cargo cg. There is already so much going on (selecting high wake target, lining up high wake target, chaffing, boosting towards attacker etc). If you are doing it right and running immediately you are out of there pretty quick. Hopefully before the fighter can do much of anything and you'll lose the fighter.

I guess you'll be in there for a bit longer if you get hit by an fsd missile.

 

[HeavyGroovez]

Some solid advice.

I purpose built a Conda for CG hauling as I happen to enjoy the chaos. I always have a couple of warships parked up at the station as well so I can return any favours.

For me the biggest problem is not the gankers but the latency you get in busy instances, plays hell with the rendering and in the Rift that can be no fun at all.

CGs would be pretty dull without the bad guys.

 

[M. Grey]

Good advices there!

As for defensive weapons:
Add mines with Ion Disruptor (reboots drives) and Reverberating Cascade (hits shield generator) as experimental effect.
It does not have to be a grade 5 mod, grade 1 materials are easy to mass and you can use favor to get the experimental effect.

 

[ph1Lt0r]

Awesome advice! I use an engineered keelback to run blockades and sometimes turn and fight if I feel confident vs my opponent. Engineering is all fine and good, but you have to make sure you have a good pilot module, too

 

[znôrt]

2. Low waking is considered a suitable way to escape players in a Fer-De-Lance because the FSD takes longer to cool down than other ships.

citation needed?

my guess is you misinterpreted advice on submitting to interdiction, which indeed lowers cooldown for the submitter, but is unrelated to ship class ...

 

[Stealthie]

As for defensive weapons:
Add mines with Ion Disruptor (reboots drives) and Reverberating Cascade (hits shield generator) as experimental effect.
It does not have to be a grade 5 mod, grade 1 materials are easy to mass and you can use favor to get the experimental effect.

What are these "defensive weapons" of which you speak?

Big problem with ED is that you've got to deploy hardpoints to field any weapons (aside from the good ol' PD) and that means you can't spool up your FSD.

I built my whole Cutter around the idea of "defensive weapons" to start with.
After flying it for a couple of hours, I realised it was a completely pointless exercise and reconfigured it with weapons intended solely to dispose of annoying NPC ships.

When you deploy weapons it means you're fighting instead of running.
Even if you put a big dent in your opponent, you're still going to take damage that you wouldn't take if you'd started running immediately.

If you think you can fit weapons which will destroy an aggressor, go for it.
Those weapons cease to be "defensive" though.

I wish FDev would give us some defensive weapons (turrets perhaps?) which could remain deployed while an FSD is charging though.