Need help with dogfights

[Palmski]

It also depends on what ships you are trying to hit. I'm relatively new to this version of the game but I find that big ships like Pythons are easy to take down (or at least out of the fight) at 20km+ range as they are big and easy to hit*.

Trying to hit a Krait at that range just isn't going to happen - at least for me - too damned small and also a tiny profile so difficult to see coming straight for you. They can hit you easily enough as the Cobra III is a big ship by comparison.

The approach I usually take with a large group of pirates is to inject past them which will usually pick up one or two fighters who can keep up. Take these down and then spin round and head back to snipe at the bigger, slower ships. Divide and conquer.

* This sometimes seems to confuse the AI and the escort ships tend to mill about rather than attacking you quite so vigorously. An unwelcome side effect but it does make such combat a lot easier.

[Rxke]

Get yourself the Witchspace fuel injectors. When you swing around to face them use the fuel injectors to rapidly close the distance between you and the bad guys. That reduces their advantage in targeting and hitting you, and levels the playing fields. You can then take them out in a furball.

My suggestion is to get in real close that you're in an arm wrestle, rather than closing to a distance where you can see them to shoot at them. Close quarter dogfighting negates their long distance sniping, and your superior dogfighting will be an advantage.

That's what I do, too, but with a twist... If you get attacked, fuel-inject towards them, and 'pass' (overshoot, what's the right expression in English?) them, so that they have to turn around (you have to turn, too, but I find that computer controlled adversaries are slower in that respect than us humans This gives you an advantage.

[Cody]

If you get attacked, fuel-inject towards them, and 'pass' (overshoot, what's the right expression in English?) them, so that they have to turn around (you have to turn, too, but I find that computer controlled adversaries are slower in that respect than us humans

Yep, that works... all the tricks of the trade (and 'overshoot' does nicely).

[Smivs]

It also depends on what ships you are trying to hit. I'm relatively new to this version of the game but I find that big ships like Pythons are easy to take down (or at least out of the fight) at 20km+ range as they are big and easy to hit*.

Trying to hit a Krait at that range just isn't going to happen - at least for me - too damned small and also a tiny profile so difficult to see coming straight for you. They can hit you easily enough as the Cobra III is a big ship by comparison.

The approach I usually take with a large group of pirates is to inject past them which will usually pick up one or two fighters who can keep up. Take these down and then spin round and head back to snipe at the bigger, slower ships. Divide and conquer.

* This sometimes seems to confuse the AI and the escort ships tend to mill about rather than attacking you quite so vigorously. An unwelcome side effect but it does make such combat a lot easier.

I adopt a similar approach, but the other way round sometimes. If you take-out the Capital ships first (Pythons, Fer De Lances), the fighters often seem aimless, they just hang there and wait to be killed.
Also, with practice you will master targeting even small ships. The crosshairs have a 'sweet spot', not necessarily dead centre, and once you've found it you'll be able to accurately target even very small ships from a great distance.

[Commander McLane]

I adopt a similar approach, but the other way round sometimes. If you take-out the Capital ships first (Pythons, Fer De Lances), the fighters often seem aimless, they just hang there and wait to be killed.

This method has a drawback, however, if you're also interested in the loot and not only in the kill. I usually go for the small ships and especially escorts first. The capital ship (Python) I spare for the finish, rough him up until he starts throwing sparks, and then kill him from very close. Under ideal conditions he then spawns all his containers right into my fuel scoop and I don't have to go much container-hunting.

If you kill the Python first, on the other hand, his cargo will have spread across your scanner by the time you have killed the small ships, and you have to do a tedious job fishing the containers one by one.

Also, with practice you will master targeting even small ships. The crosshairs have a 'sweet spot', not necessarily dead centre, and once you've found it you'll be able to accurately target even very small ships from a great distance.

Ah yes, I forgot this very valuable piece of advice. While doing target practise, you always have to aim slightly above the point you want to hit. This is because your lasers originates from beneath your viewpoint. From there it shoots straight forward, and at the same time you are looking straight forward. But the crosshairs represent the centre of your viewpoint, not the centre of the laser's "viewpoint". Therefore the laser always hits a little below your crosshairs.

Rule of thumb: If your laser comes from the bottom of your screen, you have to aim your crosshairs a pixel or so above your target. (If your laser comes from the top of your screen, you would have to aim below your target, and so on). This is basically the secret of scoring hits from the distance.

[Cody]

Oh yes... as McLane says, save the fat, juicy Python till last, then gut him slowly.

[Smivs]

I adopt a similar approach, but the other way round sometimes. If you take-out the Capital ships first (Pythons, Fer De Lances), the fighters often seem aimless, they just hang there and wait to be killed.

This method has a drawback, however, if you're also interested in the loot and not only in the kill. I usually go for the small ships and especially escorts first. The capital ship (Python) I spare for the finish, rough him up until he starts throwing sparks, and then kill him from very close. Under ideal conditions he then spawns all his containers right into my fuel scoop and I don't have to go much container-hunting.

If you do go for the Python first, it can be worth holding back when he 'sparks'. Often they have an escape pod and if this ejects the ship is 'dead' and will show as a white blip on the scanner. You can then capture the pilot and get a nice bounty (or even a juicy insurance payout if you rescue a civilian), finish off the escort fighters and then go back to the Python. You can then finish it off nice and close as described above...wait till you can see the whites (reds?) of their eyes. Use single laser bursts as this avoids destroying any of the cargo pods.

[snork]

If you do go for the Python first, it can be worth holding back when he 'sparks'. Often they have an escape pod and if this ejects the ship is 'dead' and will show as a white blip on the scanner. You can then capture the pilot and get a nice bounty (or even a juicy insurance payout if you rescue a civilian), finish off the escort fighters and then go back to the Python. You can then finish it off nice and close as described above...wait till you can see the whites (reds?) of their eyes. Use single laser bursts as this avoids destroying any of the cargo pods.

When I was still with the Cobra3, and the cargo hold usually full, I tried to do this most of the times.
An abandoned Python is a lot easier to find again after I dock, sell stuff and relaunch than those small cargo pods. The Python being so big and usually so bright, I can easily see it, beyond scanner range I think.

2 abandoned ships (I took care of the pilots) - the Cobra to the right is ~4 km away.

[masona2]

Wooow!

What a wealth of information on combat and tactics.

Thanks people, this, I think, is going to prove VERY useful.

[Chrisfs]

Wooow!

What a wealth of information on combat and tactics.

Thanks people, this, I think, is going to prove VERY useful.

We aren't The Friendliest Forum This Side Of Riedquat (TFFTSOR-tm) for nothing. Though it must be said, the friendliness clearly does not extend to fat slow pythons who have taken it into their heads to shoot at us first.

[Commander McLane]

Though it must be said, the friendliness clearly does not extend to fat slow pythons who have taken it into their heads to shoot at us first.

Actually it's worse than that. I am not even friendly to fat slow Pythons who shot at me second.

An abandoned Python is a lot easier to find again after I dock, sell stuff and relaunch than those small cargo pods. The Python being so big and usually so bright, I can easily see it, beyond scanner range I think.

Have you heard about the ETT Homing Beacon? Very useful device, if you have a spare missile pylon. And it is fully recyclable (read: you can re-scoop it after use and fire it again).