Engineers What boost speed would you recommend for running from NPCs?

[kalniel]

I rolled a nice grade 4 FSD for my first engineer mod.. but it runs hot and heavy. As I kit up the long range hauler/explorer Asp, I am now re-considering dirty drives because high waking soon after scoping might get a little toasty. So I'm trying to figure out whether 5A clean drives will be fast enough to run (and conversely, if I can find the stats anywhere, whether 5D+some kind of tuning might be an alternative. I found out from experience 5D alone wasn't enough ).

 

[Kzak]

5A drives with Dirty Drives level 3 or better. That should get you to ca 430-450 m/s boost speed, which is comparable to a Cobra Mk III and lets you outrun just about any NPC.

I had 5A drives on my Asp with DD3, upgraded to DD5 which let my Asp boost at 510 m/s.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

I only have clean drives on my Orca. They are great, 515 max boost, 330 cruise on two pips and cool.
I think clean drives on an Asp should be fast enough to escape most NPCs with ease, though Clippers have always been the bane of my Asp.

 

[GJ51]

[h=2]

What boost speed would you recommend for running from NPCs?[/h]
Ludicrous

 

[Andurol]

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/images/icons/icon1.png What boost speed would you recommend for running from NPCs?


Ludicrous

Lol, not only would you outrun them, you would completely miss where you were trying to go. Just make sure you take a 5 minute break after you finally stop. Smoke if ya got em.

But me, I just boost, chaff, and drop mines. first 2 boosts, 4 pips to eng, 2 to sys, then as I drop mines, switch to 2 eng, 4 sys. enough time to jump, or half the time, the mines just take them out.

(edit) and this is with no mods.

 

[sbdags]

My Python boosts to about 370+ which is more than adequate for running away.

 

[AreZee]

I think about 375 m/s is a fairly safe spot to run away from NPCs. My shieldless Trading/Smuggling Cutter (752t) can boost away from threat after submitting to interdictions. By the time they have finished their chit-chat and start firing I'm usually 3.5 km away from them and their gunfire doesn't do any harm anymore.

 

[goemon]

for me, critical speed is an unmodified a-class thrusters vulture/AspE = 390 m/s, even better if you can hit the 406 m/s of an unmodified maxed FDL/FAS/courier.

hitting 440 m/s (cobra mkiii/clipper speed unmodified) is very very safe.

you can do the math by 440/unmodified speed, 406/unmodified speed, 390/unmodified speed with speed of your actual build at coriolis, and check out the blueprints at inara.cz ... whether you boost away with 460 m/s or 515 m/s makes nearby no difference pve.

 

[5miley]

My Python boosts to about 370+ which is more than adequate for running away.

back before I was doing smuggling runs in a unarmed Python ...
all stock modules, I was getting just under 350
managed to get away.
Even if it was a particularly aggressive NPC, maybe 1 or 2 rings of shields depleted before finally high waking

 

[kalniel]

for me, critical speed is an unmodified a-class thrusters vulture/AspE = 390 m/s, even better if you can hit the 406 m/s of an unmodified maxed FDL/FAS/courier. hitting 440 m/s (cobra mkiii/clipper speed unmodified) is very very safe. you can do the math by 440/unmodified speed, 406/unmodified speed, 390/unmodified speed with speed of your actual build at coriolis, and check out the blueprints at inara.cz ... whether you boost away with 460 m/s or 515 m/s makes nearby no difference pve.

Thanks. Will have to take values from outfitting rather than coriolis build since the latter doesn't account for mass changes due to engineering or the effect of changing the optimal mass rating. Current build is this: https://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/0pft...t0iv62i2f.Iw18WQ==.Aw1+gzCCMBMIg===?bn=bubble But I'm pretty sure my actual current mass is nearer 444 tons, admittedly that might have been with some junk in cargo. Can check tonight. Oh yes and fuel 405+32+8 cargo = 445t, so already over the minimal mass for 5A thrusters and getting slightly less than the full maximum bonus. Add a 5t heavier FSD and nearer 460t. I'll lighten up a bit for the role though so should get back to closer to 420.. though chances are the mod will reduce optimal mass to below 400... feels like going round in circles a bit!

 

[HOGSHAWRABB1T]

I too have a Cobra MK3 with 4A thrusters and powerplant however to escape I have been loading all my hardpoints with mine launchers and when I get interdicted trading as I did last night by 2 ships (Cobra MK3 & Viper) I submitted dropped 6 mines pip pip pip pip to engines take off like a Rabbit while dropping 4 mines every 2 sec leaving a wake of destruction. I dropped about 30 mines during my escape last night killing one NPC and escaping to FSD as they fell away damaged.
Really cool way to escape.
Previously I tried fighting them and lose every time so now the Rabbit runs and drops its pellets in its wake

 

[goemon]

Thanks. Will have to take values from outfitting rather than coriolis build since the latter doesn't account for mass changes due to engineering or the effect of changing the optimal mass rating. Current build is this: https://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/0pft...t0iv62i2f.Iw18WQ==.Aw1+gzCCMBMIg===?bn=bubble But I'm pretty sure my actual current mass is nearer 444 tons, admittedly that might have been with some junk in cargo. Can check tonight. Oh yes and fuel 405+32+8 cargo = 445t, so already over the minimal mass for 5A thrusters and getting slightly less than the full maximum bonus. Add a 5t heavier FSD and nearer 460t. I'll lighten up a bit for the role though so should get back to closer to 420.. though chances are the mod will reduce optimal mass to below 400... feels like going round in circles a bit!

i wouldn't get obsessed with those numbers ... did a detailed calculation for my python... difference is 8 m/s boost speed ;-)

so, as far as i don't use those small size enhanced performance thrusters as with my ciurier, which react to every ton more or less, i go with coriolis as a guesstimate ...

 

[kalniel]

i wouldn't get obsessed with those numbers

*blinks*

What am I playing this game for but to get obsessed with numbers? [haha]

But seriously, it's only because it's an either/or junction - using numbers to decide for me is appealing

 

[d8veh]

Obviously, the faster the better, but I'd say the minimum safe boost speed is somewhere arount 350 to 380. You can go lower, but you will take a few hits. You'll still be OK as long as you have good shields, chaff and point defence. The slower your boost speed, the more shields you need.

 

[goemon]

*blinks*

What am I playing this game for but to get obsessed with numbers? [haha]

But seriously, it's only because it's an either/or junction - using numbers to decide for me is appealing

if you like to do it, this thread gives the numbers depending on thruster class and ℅ of optimal mass:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...plained-in-one-simple-table-(Rating-and-Mass)

- link in thread to the base speed of ships ;-)

 

[Pville_Piper]

My T6 has been avoiding combat pretty well with a 426 boost... Most of the time I loose the other ship by the 3rd or 4 boost.

 

[Andurol]

my type-7 mining had speed 184, boost 307. 2 mining lasers and 2 mine launchers.

dropped into a ring, waited for the random pirate to scan me with nothing but limpets in my hold. He scanned, made some snarky remark, and left.

I mined to my hearts content.

After my hold was full, I headed the few jumps to sell.

The few times I was interdicted while heading back to sell the millions of credits worth of mining cargo, this happened.

interdicted by some silly npc pirate. submit. deploy my hardpoints, full pips to eng, 2 on sys, boost, boost, he's now directly behind me, start dropping my mines. Mines deployed, boost. Now he's hitting me. Pop chaff. Switch to 4 pips to sys, leaves 2 on eng. boost when I can and mine when I can. easy run away and high wake. Or, half the time, unless it's something big chasing you, he just keeps running into your mines and finds the honorable death.

 

[Devari]

What boost speed would you recommend for running from NPCs?

This really depends on your ship because this determines what you will need to run from and what can masslock you effectively. Generally I consider a boost of 400 m/s is enough to outrun most unmodified NPC ships and this can generally be achieved fairly easily with a Grade 3 dirty drive tune on most ships. I currently use Grade 3 dirty drive tuning for all my ships (except my Type 9) and these ships have "heavy" builds with military alloys and few if any weight-saving features. My Python and Diamondback Explorer both have a boost of 400, my Asp is 420, my Courier and Vulture are both 448 and my Clipper is 516. The only ships I have that can't reach 400 boost are my Keelback and Type 9 so if I am interdicted while flying those ships I sometimes need to jump away to escape NPCs since I can't outrun the NPC ship. In practice however other than my Clipper which can easily outrun any NPC ship I find that my Python is actually my "safest" ship to fly if I expect to be interdicted because my multipurpose fit is capable enough for combat that I can destroy most interdicting ships fairly quickly. The only ships I ever run from in my Python are the occasional Elite Anaconda which I can easily escape with 400 boost. In comparison my Asp with a boost of 420 can usually escape most NPCs but could be vulnerable to being masslocked by a larger/faster ship such as a Clipper so it actually has a lower margin of safety for escaping NPCs despite having a higher boost speed than my Python, simply because I might need to run away from encounters against small/medium ships in my Asp that wouldn't really threaten me at all while flying my Python.

 

[kalniel]

This really depends on your ship because this determines what you will need to run from and what can masslock you effectively. Generally I consider a boost of 400 m/s is enough to outrun most unmodified NPC ships and this can generally be achieved fairly easily with a Grade 3 dirty drive tune on most ships. I currently use Grade 3 dirty drive tuning for all my ships (except my Type 9) and these ships have "heavy" builds with military alloys and few if any weight-saving features. My Python and Diamondback Explorer both have a boost of 400, my Asp is 420, my Courier and Vulture are both 448 and my Clipper is 516. The only ships I have that can't reach 400 boost are my Keelback and Type 9 so if I am interdicted while flying those ships I sometimes need to jump away to escape NPCs since I can't outrun the NPC ship. In practice however other than my Clipper which can easily outrun any NPC ship I find that my Python is actually my "safest" ship to fly if I expect to be interdicted because my multipurpose fit is capable enough for combat that I can destroy most interdicting ships fairly quickly. The only ships I ever run from in my Python are the occasional Elite Anaconda which I can easily escape with 400 boost. In comparison my Asp with a boost of 420 can usually escape most NPCs but could be vulnerable to being masslocked by a larger/faster ship such as a Clipper so it actually has a lower margin of safety for escaping NPCs despite having a higher boost speed than my Python, simply because I might need to run away from encounters against small/medium ships in my Asp that wouldn't really threaten me at all while flying my Python.

Thanks. Flying an AspX. A quick grade one clean drive with nice rolls got me a 405 boost speed. With enough re-rolls I should be able to hit 420-430 with a grade three clean I guess.

 

[Trinity Star]

My Cutter with Lv5 Dirty Drive Tuning can boost to 469, that's clear off scanner range even before they get the time to issue their first threat...