Battle tips

## Tips on battles, ship-to-ship

When fighting another ship, it helps immensely to remember the positioning of the ship’s turrets, and what is in them. Scanning before you initiate a fight is ALWAYS a good idea, if only to refresh your memory on what the ship has if it’s a stock model, or, if it’s a + version, to warn you of any nasty surprises it might have lurking under the hood. There are too many “tiny” things about fighting to list them all, but this guide will do its best to explain the finer points of fighting.

First of all, learn to respect the AI. It is very good at figuring out how to best dodge incoming fire, and how to position shields to soak up said fire if it cannot dodge. It is pretty good at using the weapons it has at its disposal. A good example of this can be seen when fighting a Magnus EQ (stock), where it will stay more on the side that has the Plasma III gun, and it will ration its expendable munitions. That being said, it is not so good at fighting the player. It will almost always deploy countermeasures against missiles, if it has them and if you are hostile. If that is unavailable, chances are it will snipe the incoming missile with a low-tier weapon, if it can. It will try to flank you. However, it does not know when to “cut its losses,” or when it is outmatched. That is why you will still get attacked by bounty hunters in Flyers when you are piloting Overlords or the like. This can be, and often is, the downfall of many of the AI ships. This is also why taking out Bandit factions in a single ship can be so dangerous – none of the ships that you are fighting are going to care about the damage they take, they will still keep attacking. Typically speaking, attacking a hostile takes precedence over any other objectives.

Second of all, learn what the different faction personalities mean. Honorable means that the faction typically will respond to distress calls that are (condition 1) not caused by the player (assuming that it’s not an ally of said faction), and (condition 2) not originating from factions that are hostile with them, on poor grounds, or have anything less than a “normal” personality. They usually get angrier when you attack other honorable factions, which will lower your relations with said factions faster. They are also very happy when you do jobs for them or take out “bad” factions. Through the usage of the ship stealing glitch, it is possible to see their default aggression rating, which is usually set to normal to mid. Aggressive factions tend to not repair, which can be problematic if said faction is a mercenary you like to use. Their aggression level is typically set to just a little below the max, which means that they will prioritize damaging the enemy over protecting their ship, and they won’t pace their energy usage, which can cause them to run out of energy mid-fight. Normal personalities will have aggression set to the middle, as will honorable factions and possibly crooked factions (unconfirmed). It is at this time unknown what evil bandit factions have their aggression set to, due to the difficulties in obtaining control of an evil faction’s capital ship. Generally speaking, the various equipment dealers seen in the universes will have their aggression levels set to low. Note that aggression levels apply only to ships; turrets of any faction, regardless of its personality, will attack all enemies immediately and whenever the laser recharges enough to shoot.

Third, learn your ship. Smaller ships usually have good turn radii, but that is not always the case. Thunder frigates turn at an abysmal rate, which can be deadly in a fight. That being said, they can cart around enough firepower to demolish a bandit faction (at least the stations, assuming you’re using Interceptor missiles). More expensive does not always mean better in a fight. An upgraded Shuttle can easily beat a stock Hauler model just by sticking close to its hull and firing away. A Flyer-X can relatively easily beat an Ares with the same tactic. And of course, Overlords suffer from the same vulnerability due to their design – all major guns facing forwards. It is technically possible to beat an Overlord in even a stock Ranger, though it is exceedingly difficult to do so. So, here are the pros and cons of the ships.

* Rangers and Raptors are both weak ships. Raptors are more useful because of their three turrets which face forward, but they can be attacked from behind because of this. They have excellent turn rates, making flanking for enemy ships a very hard prospect. However, due to their weak hulls and shields, they are not recommended for heavy combat with anything above a shuttle. Rangers are practically useless, so better to leave them in the stockyard. They can be used for mining, but due to their weakness, it may be the case that your ship dies to Bandits before it can pay for itself. Both have extremely limited arsenal choices, though, which further decreases their viability in combat.

* Shuttles are actually relatively capable fighters when upgraded. A fleet of merely 6 of them, with maxed upgrades (Laser II’s and Mine II’s, Shield 300, max engine and capacitor, and ECM II’s), can make mincemeat of a Magnus-EQ in short order. They will likely need repairs afterwards, but the way they tear into enemies is quite terrifying. The problem is that they easily run through their energy stockpile if using Photon Bursts or Plasma guns, and the latter takes forever to recharge. Also, they have only 2 guns, limiting their damage output, and both face forward, making getting flanked a dangerous prospect.

* Hornets are dangerously fast ships, with incredible turn rates and decent shielding and weapon capabilities. That being said, they are still relatively weak ships. Fairly low hull strength limits its staying power in prolonged engagements, and all of its guns face forward, making it vulnerable to its rear. It is excellent for “bombing runs,” or “smashbangs,” the former being launching missiles at an enemy target and running away, and the latter being ramming into an enemy ship or station and releasing mines (this will only work on Overlords, damaged Creons, Haulers, and Ares class ships, and of course Magnuses). A combination of those two tactics can dispatch Laser turrets in short order, especially when using Mine II’s. When upgraded to the max, Hornets are effective bandit suppression vessels, and their insane speed and turn rates allow them to outflank any other ship, as well as outrun even lancers in some cases (Plasma weapons rarely hit Hornets, as is the case with much other ordnance based weaponry or Photon Bursts).

* Pioneers are surprisingly capable fighters, with incredible turn radii. This makes it easy to keep up a constant rate of fire concentrated on the enemy shields. It has three turrets capable of firing forwards, and 2 that can fire back (one is an all-round turret). Upgraded to the max, it is a smart choice for fighter support. However, turning the ship slows it down, making it less effective than a Flyer-X despite its greater hull strength. Its weakness is that it comes stock with rather weak weaponry, especially Pioneer-P classes, which come stock with only a single Laser I, a poor tradeoff for having a mere Micro Passenger module installed. They are not as fast as flyers, being able to only reach about 38 units of speed.
* Ventures are a more trade-oriented type of frigate, with minimal weaponry stock. However, when fully upgraded, they can be used as an effective supporting vessel. Due to the large cargo hold, they can provide a decent missile support system. (further edits to this section will be added as I experiment with the Venture).
* Haulers are trade-oriented freighters, and have the largest cargo bay out of any of the free ships. They have fairly decent shielding capabilities, and can cloak, making them effective trade vessels, but are somewhat lacking when it comes to defending their cargo when stock. They make very effective missile launching platforms when given Military Launchers due to their large cargo capacity, and as such can easily clean sectors of stations by themselves. They turn rather poorly, however, and are otherwise unsuited for combat.
* Drakes are combat-oriented frigates, but come stock with relatively weak weaponry and shielding, on top of sporting top speeds of barely 27 units. One turret bay is left empty when stock. However, once upgraded, the Drake is a powerful ship in combat, with an exceptional turn rate and a fairly good power generation rate. It is suitable for a "tank" role protecting major stations, drawing enemy fire away from the devastating but defensively weak laser turrets. It lacks a mine bay, which can be a hindrance to its usage (check on this).
* Orion frigates are speedy combat-oriented frigates that have a somewhat larger cargo bay than Drakes, and can soak up a bit more damage. They have a lesser turn rate, and come stock with an autocannon to the rear, which is somewhat useless on a ship that size. They are the most powerful vessels, statistically speaking, that can be purchased in-game without the Capital Ships or Thunder Frigate packs. They are useful patrollers and can absorb high amounts of damage before succumbing to enemy fire, a trait that can be annoying when fighting them yourself. They have poor acceleration and cost a fair bit to repair, so keep that in mind when distributing damage.
* Thunder frigates are unlocked by purchasing the Thunder Frigate pack and are a rather large improvement upon the Orion frigate, with a larger cargo hold and a higher speed, plus one more turret and a lower repair cost. That being said, they still have an abysmal turn rate. Like the Hauler, they are excellent missile launching platforms due to their high cargo capacity. Their effectiveness in combat depends mainly on the capabilities of the player, despite their shortcomings, and since they have excellent armor, recharge rates, speed, and shielding capabilities, they must not be underestimated, even when stock.
* Overlord cruisers are quite possibly the most devastating ship of all when upgraded. They boast a top speed of only 26 units when upgraded, but the extreme power they can boast at their peak is quite terrifying to behold. They are effective bandit destruction ships, with a fully-maxed ship being able to destroy entire factions by itself, if used correctly. The -A model has five turrets facing forward, and two back, making it an excellent ship for charging the enemy head-on. When given a high-level generator and equipped with Laser V's all around, and Shields 1500 installed, it can shrug off firepower for an extended fight. With a mere 100 units of cargo space, it is not an especially effective trading vessel, but as a military ship it excels. When fighting, keep the front to enemy ships/stations so that you may keep a continuous barrage of firepower hitting the enemy. Three shots from Laser V's in the same shield bank will immediately destroy a stock Hornet; 4-5 will eviscerate a stock Flyer and occasionally a Flyer-X.