Newcomer / Intro The Harmless' Guide to the Galaxy

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Many thanks from a returning commander from the '80's!

(Had a feeling that gimballed weps are best, will try out the Beam laser/multi cannon combo!)

Right on Commander!
 
Yeah it is a bit more advanced than the rest of the stuff in there, but I've answered questions on assassination missions so many times I figured I might as well put the info in there!
 
As a new Elite player: Thank you very much!
This was very informative, and I probably should have read this earlier, to minimize my frustration ;)

This game has a lot of mechanics, which is most easily obtained by reading forum and/or seeing YT videos, so compiling it into a "Beginners Handbook" is more than welcome. Keep it up! :D
 
Great quick start guide! Even after many hours in the game I still learned some important details! Thanks a lot.
 
- These are highly paid (150k or more) missions to kill the toughest enemies in the game; elite ranked pilots flying highly equipped Anaconda ships.- You won't be able to attempt these when you start out; you'll need a Viper equipped to the tune of 2-3 million to do them reliably.
- Once you have a well eqiupped Viper however, with a bit of focus these missions can be completed with a minimum of risk and can be very profitable.
- This is my recommended technique:


- Scan with KWS at the start for extra goodness (obviously!).
- Sub-system target his power plant or FSD (you can sometimes finish him by destroying these while his hull is still up near 30%).
- 4 pips weapons, 1 pip in the others.
- Keep him between 1-1.5km by setting your thrusters to about 25% reverse. You'll need to control this throughout the fight; you're in danger if you let him get much closer than 1km.
- Lasers for the shields, lasers and multis for his hull (I pack 2x Class 1 gimballed pulse lasers, 2x Class 2 gimballed multi-cannons).
- If your weapon power gets low, multis only for a while to let heat drop.
- Circle around him using lateral thrusters, spamming your chaff as often as possible and using a shield cell when your shields drop to 1 ring. (I pack 1 chaff and an A3 shield cell).
- You *must not* let your shields drop. If you get distracted and forget to use your shield cells and your shields drop, power up your engines to max and get over 3km away from him, and hope he's not packing missiles. Once your shields have returned, use a cell to max them and return to the routine.
- His plasmas can also drop your shields in a single hit, but as long as you're using your laterals constantly and maintaining the correct distance you won't get hit by these at all.
- Once you have the technique down you'll reliably kill him before his shields have even had a chance to reset, 3-4 minutes tops, and with 3 shield cells to spare.


- The above assumes a Viper with full 'A' grade internal equipment (except 'D' life support). I suspect that it would be possible with 'C' grade equipment, with 'A' grade shields, shield cell and power distributor, but haven't tested this
I'd like to add some extra info to doing this with a cheaper setup. my viper is as follows:

2 x class 2 fixed multi-cannon
2 x class 1 fixed multi-cannon
KWS
Chaff launcher

Reinforced alloys
C3 Power plant
B3 Thruster
B3 FSD
D2 Life Support
A3 Power Distributor
D3 Sensors
C2 Fuel tank
B3 Shield Cell Bank
D3 Shield Generator
2 x Misc Internal (Cargo at time of writing to qualify for 6T missions, but there was a fuel scoop on previously)

This setup costs about 1 mill, so much cheaper than the 2-3 mill suggested in the guide.

I run them in a safer manner and have stopped using Chaff and only need shield cells for the initial engagement and if i make a mistake.

Using the fly backwards trick in this guide I try to keep 2 to 2.5KM away from the anaconda. At this range my shields are regenerating with 2-3 pips faster than I am being hit. I have 2-3 pips in weapons and often 0 in engines.

A kill eats about half of my ammo. I am too far away for sub-system targeting to help. If the authority ships join in the fight I then consider closing into range for a power plant kill. 2-3 authority ships act like chaff for soaking up the turret fire!

If things go wrong and my shields crack (often during initial engagement before I am out to kiting range) I boost past the conda and then spiral away with 4 pips in shields and 2 pips in engines, boosting whenever a missile is fired. I wait till my shields are up, boost them to full then turn and try to get back into kiting range. I have found this is most often when I am fumbling to get the KWS scan done at the sime time I'm trying to target the power plant. So now I focus on just the KWS as I reverse out to range and forget about subsystem targeting unless the authority ships arrive.

As you can see my shields are a lot weaker than suggested, yet with the multi-cannons and a 2+ KM range they are more than enough to cope with any stray shots. This does require a steady aim, but that is a lot easier given the small changes in ship positions out at that range.

I hope this helps some budding commanders get into the assassination game a bit earlier!

Fly fun :)
 
Smuggling tips

I've not done much in this, it's more of a checklist I run through if I've hit an innocent by mistake and want to pay off my fine.

When in super cruise and you are getting close to your destination disable every module EXCEPT the following. I like to do this near my destination to reduce the chance of having modules offline if I'm interdicted.

Disable all but these:
  • Thrusters
  • Sensors
  • FSD
  • Life support

You want to keep an 8KM bubble around the station and do not enter that bubble until you are ready to sprint for the front door. It might be safer to stay even further away, this is where more experience would be useful to know a more solid number. You can try lining up in supercruise by ensuring you are in a direct line between the station and the planet.

Flying round the station is not a big problem though as it also gives you ship time to vent heat.

When you are 8KM away from the docking entrance and ready for your final run disable the following modules

Disable These:
  • FSD
  • Life Support (you really don't want to be out here longer than 5 mins anyway!)

now carefully align with the station, hit full speed, boost and request docking permission.

As you get closer to the station enable silent running. by now your ship should be low on heat and you should be able to easily get inside the station before your heat builds up too much. I tend to be using my thrusters to touch down when i hit 100% heat, and we don't take damage until we hit 150%.

do NOT forget to disable silent running when you are docked and moving into the hanger. then turn on all the other modules, there is no rush now, there is air to breathe and you are safe.

please note if a scan starts before you enter the airlock it will continue while you are inside. this is why i enable silent running during the final approach even if i can't see any authority ships bearing down on me.

you can further improve this by disabling sensors after requesting docking permission. personally I like to keep actions to a minimum. you can also turn thrusters off or flight assist off, for me the risk of a crash does not seem worth it when my heat build up is just fine for a brief period of silent running. naturally tumbling in with FA and thrusters off and ice on the screen is far more awesome (i'm sure some of you have seen that vid! certainly got me excited to play the game), but i'm happy just to bring my ship home in once piece and not put undue risk on a costly insurance payout for a measly 400cr fine!

hope this helps!
 
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