Engineers Thank you Elite Devs!

[rbridd]

For the first time in over a year, I have found myself running away from a (single) NPC.

Pre 2.1, If I was interdicted, by anything, at any level up to elite, I just dropped, and fought it out. Can't remember losing, although taking an elite 'conda out with a viper sometimes took a bit of time.

Yesterday I had a chance to try out 2.1 for the first time since the update. I was trading in my Cutter as per usual, got interdicted... Unusual. Mostly NPCs stay away from me in a Cutter, but no longer!.
It was an elite FDL.
No problem. I'll drop, turn and face, and melt his face off
Well, after a 5 minute battle, I did emerge victorious, but with a severely battered Cutter.

The next trip, I was once again interdicted. It seems that a Cutter with 10Million in cargo is now a target for Pirates. I guess it always should have been.
This time an Elite 'conda.
No problem. I'll drop, turn and face, and melt his face off
Not this time...
After 10 minutes of sweat filled, panic stricken, turning, ducking and diving, both of our shields are down, but his rails are causing more damage than my 5 gimballed pulses, when I can even get them on target, and I'm down to 47% hull.
For the first time in a year, it's time to run...
from a NPC...
I'm so shamed!!!

Not only that, but he followed me back into supercruise and interdicted me again... and again.
I'm not going to duke it out with only 47% hull, and a still recovering shield, so run run and run again.
Eventually, I managed to shake him by getting close to the station, deliberately dropping, and waiting for him to follow me down.
As soon as he appeared on Radar, I super cruise out, giving me just enough time to reach the station.
Phew.


Really.
Good job devs.

Elite has finally become dangerous.

 

[Dread Lord]

unfortunately now they toned it all down thanks to the compainers - just when I came back and the game started to be fun through a bit more challenging NPCs they now removed all modded modules from NPCs... ist as mindnumbing easy as it used to be... I really hope they put them back in at some Point but my hopes are real low

 

[lysan]

For the first time in over a year, I have found myself running away from a (single) NPC.

Pre 2.1, If I was interdicted, by anything, at any level up to elite, I just dropped, and fought it out. Can't remember losing, although taking an elite 'conda out with a viper sometimes took a bit of time.

Yesterday I had a chance to try out 2.1 for the first time since the update. I was trading in my Cutter as per usual, got interdicted... Unusual. Mostly NPCs stay away from me in a Cutter, but no longer!.
It was an elite FDL.
No problem. I'll drop, turn and face, and melt his face off
Well, after a 5 minute battle, I did emerge victorious, but with a severely battered Cutter.

The next trip, I was once again interdicted. It seems that a Cutter with 10Million in cargo is now a target for Pirates. I guess it always should have been.
This time an Elite 'conda.
No problem. I'll drop, turn and face, and melt his face off
Not this time...
After 10 minutes of sweat filled, panic stricken, turning, ducking and diving, both of our shields are down, but his rails are causing more damage than my 5 gimballed pulses, when I can even get them on target, and I'm down to 47% hull.
For the first time in a year, it's time to run...
from a NPC...
I'm so shamed!!!

Not only that, but he followed me back into supercruise and interdicted me again... and again.
I'm not going to duke it out with only 47% hull, and a still recovering shield, so run run and run again.
Eventually, I managed to shake him by getting close to the station, deliberately dropping, and waiting for him to follow me down.
As soon as he appeared on Radar, I super cruise out, giving me just enough time to reach the station.
Phew.


Really.
Good job devs.

Elite has finally become dangerous.

Sorry, that will not last long soon it will be back to this.

Spoiler

[video=youtube;OSA_FhWBWCQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSA_FhWBWCQ[/video]

But ofc, I don't know as I didn't test it yet just my projected fears.

 

[rbridd]

Sorry, that will not last long soon it will be back to this.

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSA_FhWBWCQ

But ofc, I don't know as I didn't test it yet just my projected fears.

Its not.
I just got toasted by a NPC elite FDL hunting down my cutter on my normal trade route.
Turns faster than me...
Evades my gunsights.
4x Class 2 pulse turrets dont seem to touch him.
Run, and run again.
After 6 interdictions he finally wears me down and I sucumb.
I managed to reduce him to 85% hull with his shields down, but he's just to good for me.

I am flying FA off most of the time, but still cant get him anywhere near my sights for longer than half a second.

Still hard with pre 2.1 module loadouts.

 

[VR Jay Le Chardon]

There has been a lot of confusion on the topic of the newly buffed NPC's arising from the fact they got a new AI (great work SJA itreally revitalises the game. [I mean that sincerely not sarcastically] Had we had one update roll out SJA's new AI, and another give some of her minions SOME engineers upgrades, I suspect the community would have been cool with it. However, with it all at once giving us a seriously sharp AI fighting us with overpowered ships and some bugs giving them favourable things like rapid fire rail guns, plasma accelerators firing like multicanons, shields popping up for no reason etc... it simply was to much.

But today FD have taken the new toys from the NPC's, but let the minions keep their brains, which means we will be fighting a sharp AI algorithm flying against us in a comparable ship, rather than one that is like 40% better stats than ours + another favourable multiplier from the bugs.

it has been the biggest update to the game EVER, I dont think there has been any aspect of the game that has not been tweaked or transformed between 2.0.10 and 2.1.0.