Ships Which ship-launched fighters work best with high-skill AI crew?

[Youda]

Hello. I have a question that i haven't been able to find a satisfying answer anywhere.

I've hired an Expert crew that is already half way to becomming Dangerous. Which fighter will work best for such crew with high level of skill?
a) Is it better to go with a more maneuverable fighter or a tougher one? How good is AI at avoiding being shot?
b) Rather fixed or gimballed weapons. Is high-skill AI able to use the fixed weapons effectively?

I'm confident these questions have a definitive answer, it's just hard to find it and even harder to try it all myself. Can you share your experience?

 

[Felix DiCestria]

They're good with fixed weapons, being known as aim bots by some.
I have an Elite in an AX taipan. They're able to hold substantial numbers of Scouts and even take some out alone on occasion.
They aren't good at avoiding acid which would be the main cause of SLF loss.

 

[Speedcuffs]

Fixed beam Taipan.
Pretty much all I use for SLF crew now.

 

[SushiCW]

I'm a fan of the Condor with multicannons, they do really excellent sustained damage. NPCs are also really solid with any of the fixed-beam options.

 

[Three Stars]

Another vote for fixed beam for general use, or the multicannon condor for complimenting thermal heavy ships and/or finishing off fleeing ships.

 

[Vardaugas]

Are the plasma fighters underperforming or why the preference for either of the damage types?

 

[Morbad]

Fixed beam GU-97.

Are the plasma fighters underperforming or why the preference for either of the damage types?

Terrible effective range and accuracy due to projectile velocity. Also, I don't think SLF plasma is absolute damage; it's a thermic/kinetic mix, IIRC.

 

[SergMx]

Fixed beam GU-97.



Terrible effective range and accuracy due to projectile velocity. Also, I don't think SLF plasma is absolute damage; it's a thermic/kinetic mix, IIRC.

It seems that we are not talking about personal control, and I think in the case of the elite computer control - rates of speed, accuracy, etc. can not be taken into account. The important indicator is DPS.

 

[Morbad]

I think in the case of the elite computer control - rates of speed, accuracy, etc. can not be taken into account.

In my experience, they are even more important when it comes to NPC control, because NPCs all try to fly the same way. Most importantly, they favor rotation over translation and have no ability to anticipate. It's more of a numbers game, but raw DPS means little if they can't stay on target, and against smaller craft especially, NPCs are very poor with slower SLFs or non-hitscan weapons.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

By hiring an expert and training them up you'll end up paying them a lot more than hiring a basic one and training them.

 

[SergMx]

In my experience, they are even more important when it comes to NPC control, because NPCs all try to fly the same way. Most importantly, they favor rotation over translation and have no ability to anticipate. It's more of a numbers game, but raw DPS means little if they can't stay on target, and against smaller craft especially, NPCs are very poor with slower SLFs or non-hitscan weapons.

It is strange, I always thought that the speed and accuracy of a computer is better than a person who controls essentially analog input.

 

[Morbad]

It is strange, I always thought that the speed and accuracy of a computer is better than a person who controls essentially analog input.

They can be, but NPCs in Elite aren't programmed to have superhuman capabilities, and they certainly aren't very smart. With the same ships, configured the same way, most decent CMDRs will mop the floor with Elite NPCs.

 

[Gordon Freeman IV]

Fixed beam Taipan.
Pretty much all I use for SLF crew now.

Those things will wreck any other SLF especially the guardoan ones as they have all shield no hull

 

[Darkman Returns]

Reddit post I found useful when first outfitting my ship with fighters. The advice worked for me and I use the GU-97 GELID F for the reasons stated in the post, only losing a fighter when the SLF is attacked by 2 or more ships at once. Otherwise the GU-97 is so nimble it just dances around the target, providing a great distraction to NPCs.

 

[Youda]

Reddit post I found useful when first outfitting my ship with fighters. The advice worked for me and I use the GU-97 GELID F for the reasons stated in the post, only losing a fighter when the SLF is attacked by 2 or more ships at once. Otherwise the GU-97 is so nimble it just dances around the target, providing a great distraction to NPCs.

Thanks. If that's true what he says, it seems it's best to equip a combination of GU-97 with fixed beams and Condor with fixed multis, and launch depending on other circumstances.

 

[d8veh]

Hello. I have a question that i haven't been able to find a satisfying answer anywhere.

I've hired an Expert crew that is already half way to becomming Dangerous. Which fighter will work best for such crew with high level of skill?
a) Is it better to go with a more maneuverable fighter or a tougher one? How good is AI at avoiding being shot?
b) Rather fixed or gimballed weapons. Is high-skill AI able to use the fixed weapons effectively?

I'm confident these questions have a definitive answer, it's just hard to find it and even harder to try it all myself. Can you share your experience?

The fighter with fixed multi-cannons is the one for PvE. The NPC crew is much much more accurate with it than with the plasma one and it does a lot more damage, but the main use of the fighter is to distarct the target ship while you blast it with your ship. If you set the fighter on it first and wait until it lands a shot before opening fire yourself, the enemy will chase after the fighter and not use its chaff while you continuously blast it, which shortens the time to kill a lot. Any crew above competent can manage that, and that fighter can last as long as 3 hrs of continuous battles. In that time, I think the most that have popped is 3. It depends on what the enemies you encounter. Wings of fast ships are what usually get it.

It's worth starting with a Harmless crew because they rank up very quickly past competent, but a harmless one will only take 10% of your money when Elite. If you hire a competent one, it takes a lot more (15%?) when it gets to Elite, which you're stuck with for the rest of the game or until you get rid of them for good and start again.

 

[d8veh]

It is strange, I always thought that the speed and accuracy of a computer is better than a person who controls essentially analog input.

When engineers were introduced, they buffed the AI at the same time. Too many players got blown up and they all complained, so FD dialled back the AI algorithms somehow to make the battles more even.

 

[Northpin]

Hello. I have a question that i haven't been able to find a satisfying answer anywhere.

I've hired an Expert crew that is already half way to becomming Dangerous. Which fighter will work best for such crew with high level of skill?
a) Is it better to go with a more maneuverable fighter or a tougher one? How good is AI at avoiding being shot?
b) Rather fixed or gimballed weapons. Is high-skill AI able to use the fixed weapons effectively?

I'm confident these questions have a definitive answer, it's just hard to find it and even harder to try it all myself. Can you share your experience?

SLF? Depends on the mothership.

If i use a ship with lots of lasers (no to depend on ammo too much) then i will use a Condor with Fixed Multi-cannons (Rogue F) and i keep them on a very short leash - that is they will always focus my target

If I use a ship with much varied weapon types then i use Taipan or Gu-97 with fixed pulses (Aegis F) - mainly because they have the PDT which gives them an extra chance when they lose shields (against missile spam)
The Aegis F Taipan/GU-97 is also good on it's own - they can kill a small ship like an eagle or viper by themselves - so i usually dont keep them permanently on focusing my target. Which means their usage pattern is much more varied - i send them to take agro or to finish/leech on some target while i deal with some other target and so on.

 

[Vingtetun]

Fixed beam taipan for me as well.
With my NPC now at Elite, it rips into ships in CZ's and has enough staying power to last whilst I finish them off.

I often leave him a cobra or viper to take out on his own whilst I sort out some of the more dangerous ships.

 

[SergMx]

When engineers were introduced, they buffed the AI at the same time. Too many players got blown up and they all complained, so FD dialled back the AI algorithms somehow to make the battles more even.

I remember this but you are wrong. There is no equality whatsoever. They just weakened them. And what I do not understand in a game where there is a classification level pilot (beginner, deadly, etc.,) almost no level of complexity. The enemy novice dies quickly, the enemy of the elite trying to escape.