Training mission - I can beat the training fighters every time, am I ready for combat?

[GDMNW]

My in-game combat experience is limited to evasive manoeuvres while waiting for my FSD to recharge after submitting to interdiction. I've been shot to death just the once because I forgot that you can't jump when your weapons are out and I'd taken a couple of pot shots. After that I thought my FSD was shot out and by the time I realised my mistake my ship was shot to pieces.

This experience helped me realise that I can't focus on evasion. I need to learn to fight.

I've gone back to basics and have started working my way through the training missions. I've made it past the fighters and after four or five iterations I'm getting better at keeping them in my sights and it's taking me less and less time to beat them both. I've started working on the lone sidewinder mission too and I can now beat that scenario reliably although I'm trying to bring down the time it takes.

(Weirdly I keep trying to crane my neck in a desperate attempt to get my ship to turn more quickly - anyone else do that?)

Im curious about how realistic these scenarios are. Once I can reliably and quickly beat that aggressive sidewinder am I only just getting started still or will I be a reasonably competent dog fighter when I jump back into the game?

PS - I now see why everyone loves gimballed weapons. Those things make it so easy to hit the other ship. I don't feel half as bad now about how much work it was to get my lasers lined up on the other ships I have tried to engage with

 

[Defacto]

Generally I actually find the ingame ships to be less competent than the ones in the training mission. It does vary, though.
You'd probably do all right.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

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[CMDR Generic EventHandler]

You will do fine, out of the missions you can fit gimballed weapons and don't forget to boost up / down in the opposite direction of the turn to make it tighter.

You should try TrackIR / EdTracker or one of the other head tracking options. It really brings the game alive, then your actual head movements help

 

[GDMNW]

Some great comments, still can't get over how speedy this forum is. Thanks guys.

Interesting point you make there Falconfly - why are sidewinders interdicted more than other ships?

 

[drpaul]

Some great comments, still can't get over how speedy this forum is. Thanks guys.

Interesting point you make there Falconfly - why are sidewinders interdicted more than other ships?

Do a quick targetting with the 'G' key and see what the level of the pilot is and the type of ship. If it is a sidewinder or eagle and they are harmless, go for it. Don't forget you can use reverse thrust to keep them in front of you and gimballed weapons are more forgiving.

 

[Tetsuko]

You should be just fine if you get interdicted by an NPC. Try going into an RES that's spawning Sidewinders (leave and reenter to reset it if it's popping Cobras) and use those to practise on. Be prepared to leg it if more than one take a dislike to you - they occasionally run in packs. After that you can work up to the nastier stuff like Nav point pirates and Conflict Zones, though I wouldn't recommend them until you get a decent ship and upgrade it a bit. Viper or Cobra at a minimum, though Eagles can be fun.

BUT, don't for one second imagine any of this will prepare you for facing player CMDRs. A lot of them will kill you before you can blink.

Edit - If you are already craning your neck to look around you obviously have the Right Stuff - time to buy an Oculus Rift!

 

[GDMNW]

BUT, don't for one second imagine any of this will prepare you for facing player CMDRs. A lot of them will kill you before you can blink.

Edit - If you are already craning your neck to look around you obviously have the Right Stuff - time to buy an Oculus Rift!

I've thought about picking up a rift. Sounds like a lot of fun!

I like the idea of graduating through the different instances of enemies. Shall I stick with training or shall I get straight in to RES fights until I feel ready to move on?

Finally is it worth getting to be very good at using fixed weapons or should I make the jump to the more forgiving gimballed weapons?

 

[Tetsuko]

Get straight to RES fighting and rack up some real kills - even if you die in a Sidey it isn't going to cost you much.

As for weapons I'd go to gimbals, they are a lot better when you move on to slightly less manoevrable rides. Fixed takes a bit more skill and does a bit more damage, but you get no extra creds for a kill with fixed I would only move to fixed on an Asp, where all the weapons are tightly grouped and fire straight ahead - small to medium sized targets can be taken out in one pass with fixed weapons on an Asp. On Vipers and Cobras the lower weapons get masked in turning fights and you need to angle up a bit. Gimbals help them stay on target a bit longer. They also help a lot in a jousting fight when the target whizzes past above or below you.

 

[Lupin]

Look out for the difference between NPC and other players. As I understand this NPC solid triangle or square, players hollow/outline triangle or square.

Sadly there are some players looking for trouble, so best to run and fight another day when you have better understanding of combat and better ship.
I've used this quote before but always relevant "good against remotes is one thing. Good against the living? That's something else."

 

[Deleted member 38366]

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[Splendour]

Most NPC's won't interdict a ship they think they can't take on in combat, hence the Sidewinder and Hauler are the most targeted.
Some NPC's are just crazy though, and will try and interdict top end ships while flying a sidewinder without shields

 

[GDMNW]

There are scripts that decide how often and by what type of NPC you'll get interdicted (System Security will also be a relevant factor - expect things to be worse in i.e. an Anarchy System ruled by a majority Pirate faction).
From personal experience - in a Sidewinder, basically every Wanted NPC and his grandmother will interdict you
(not all do of course, but 2 Interdictions in a ~5 Minute timeframe is nothing unusual)

It also seems the type of Equipment carried on your Ship adds some variation to that, but that's just a gut-feeling based off observation over time.

In a Sidewinder, most of these Interdictors will be rather low-ranked NPCs (normally, but not always), so you'll either have a good fighting chance - or an opportunity to just get out of there.
Same is still valid for i.e. the Eagle or the Hauler.

Seems to get less as soon as you run anything bigger than that - I can't recall seeing any NPC Interdiction when I fly around i.e. a Python, in comparison.

All good to know. I'll have to get some fighting done and get away from that harmless label.