Cosmic's Top 5 Tips for Galactic Starfighter

[Spartanmbtheobe]

Cosmic's Top 5 Tips for SWTOR Galactic Starfighter

 

Hello and welcome to my top 5 tips for Galactic Starfighter, so you want to be a better fighter pilot huh? Well sit down for a few minutes and I'll tell you some tricks to make sure your topping the boards every match and maximizing your requisition gain.

 

1. Power management

 

Power management is currently massively under used in galactic star-fighter at the moment but it is in fact crucial to everything you do, whether it be attacking or going on the run. In the lower left hand of the screen is your power management display, you can see three bars. The left hand bar is your weapon systems, the centre shields and the far right is engines. By pressing f1 to f3 you can change your power distribution thereby giving you a boost to your chosen systems. For gaming mouse users you these keys are also rebind-able to optimize your preferred play style.

 

Always remember to actively manage your power in a battle to suit what you need, if you need more speed go for engines, more fire-power go for weapons and so on.

 

2. Choosing components to complement your play-style

 

One of the best things about Galactic StarFighter is the level of customisation you have available. Components allow you to customize the base statistics of your ship and allows you to tweak the way your weapons, shields and engines work. Depending on your style of play whether you like to be the fast hit and run scout, the damage dealing strike fighter or the long range gunship, you need to choose and upgrade components that complement your play style. For example if you prefer to use your missles instead of your blasters, its worth investing in the missiles trees, giving boosts to things like firing arcs, reload times and damage.

 

It's also good to experiment with components and find what you feels suits you best and then start the process of upgrading those components to level 5.

 

3. Selecting your co-pilot

 

Crew members give you a variety of passive abilities to your ship, it's really worth looking through them to make sure your getting the maximum benefit of your crew. Your co-pilot not only offers passive abilities but an active ability too. Now some will say to choose a co-pilot with an ability that complements your style, such as if your a damage dealer, choose something that affects your weapons. I however disagree..

 

If you have selected your components to complement your play-style I think you should try and strengthen your shortfalls. I myself play a heavy hitting strike fighter and have outfitted my components to really give boosts to my weapons, I also play the majority of matches with my power management set to weapons, however by doing this it makes me somewhat squishy. I mainly choose to play with a co-pilot who offers the hydro spanner healing ability, so when I am taking hits, I can at least put up some form of defence. My advice is to choose a co-pilot who strengthens your weak points.

 

4. Use your abilities!

 

It's very tempting, to play Galactic Starfighter solely with the two mouse buttons and movement keys, I know I did at first. I cannot stress how important your hot-bar abilities are not only for offence but for your survivability. The hot-bar abilities switch your secondary weapons, use your co-pilots ability’s and your engine ability. It is essential to use these abilities to escape locked missiles, close on your targets, boost your damage and more. Really take time to get to know your abilities and how and when you should use them, they will save you from being killed constantly.

 

5. Capping is more important than kills

 

I cannot tell you how many matches have been lost simply because people get drawn out from the capture points to go chase kills. Currently the only type of match in the game is domination, capture the three points to build up score, yet instead of focusing on these objectives, you see people flying round the map trying to get kills.

 

The amount of requisition you are awarded at the end of the match is not solely down to kills, in fact if you spend the entire match just chasing the enemy, not only will you not get the amount of kills you want, you'll end up the bottom of the board every time. The best thing to remember is the enemy wants the objectives so why waste time chasing them when you can be at the objective and let them come to you, by doing this you'll earn defending medals, capture medals, assists and kills. Doing all of these in a match will ensure you get medals, help win the game and of course end up topping those boards. Doing these five tips will ensure that you maximize the potential requisition gain at the end of every match and it will ultimately be the difference between 4 kills and 16.

[Spartanmbtheobe]

Let me know what you guys think and if you have any tips too!

[paowee]

Here . I'll watch your vid later. A bit late right now for me >_<

 

Get as much medals (aka ship requisition per match as you can)

 

Combat

• Annihilator - 30k damage dealt
  
• Destroyer - 20k damage dealt
  
• Combatant - 10k damage dealt
  
• Ravage - 8 kills
  
• Ace - 5 kills
  
• Quick Draw - 2 kills
  
• Fighter - 8 kill assists
  
• Support - 4 kill assists
  
• Assassin - get 1 solo kill
  

 

Objective Play

• Demolisher - Destroyed 8 defense turrets
  
• Siege - Destroyed 6 defense turrets
  
• Assault - Destroyed 2 defense turrets
  
• Offense Basic - Capture 1 objective points
  
• Offense Bronze- Capture 2 objective points
  
• Offense Silver- Capture 3 objective points
  
• Offense Gold- Capture 4 objective points
  
• Defense Basic - Defending for 1 minute
  
• Defense Bronze - Defending for 2 minutes
  
• Defense Silver - Defending for 4 minutes
  
• Defense Gold - Defending for 6-8 minutes(?)
  

 

Total = 20 medals (so far..)

 

edit: 18 medals = ~939 ship requisition = http://swtorboard.org/2013/12/09/farming-medals-ship-requisition/

Edited December 9, 2013 by paowee

[renegadeimp]

12 medals gives an average of 700-1k req, depending on which medals you gained.

 

Full 20 would probably be around the 2k mark

Edited December 9, 2013 by renegadeimp

[Sarlegant]

I'll add a couple...

best defensive keybind...

keybind your targetting ability, most especially the last attacker to an easy key.. the moment you hear a tone from being locked on, or see any tracers or indication of incoming, hit that keybind.. abort what you was doing, addressing your attacker is possibly your best defense.

 

think 3D... because we start at the launch point, and fly to points A B or C, we tend to get into straight and level flight. We approach our targets from the sides. From a gaming the game point of view, our radar is 2D... it points which direction to fly, side to side, and you target pip disappears when you're close on your target, however, if you're above or below, you don't have visual... IF you approach your target from above for instance, you'll get a few moments of flying out of the sun.

[Wainamoinen]

Get as much medals (aka ship requisition per match as you can)

Handy medal list, but medals don't earn you requisition points. They're separate, though you can earn them for similar actions.

 

For instance, I switch ships a lot during a match (assuming I die). This means I often won't rack up the damage / kills / whatever on a single ship that earns lots of medals (they don't carry across ships). So I end the match with low/mid medals, but over 1,000 Ship Reqs.

 

If you want lots of medals, stick to one ship. It's just that that may not be the best way to win, or get the most requistions overall.

 

To OP: nice list of some basic tips, GJ.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Wainamoinen

[Danylia]

5. Capping is more important than kills

 

I cannot tell you how many matches have been lost simply because people get drawn out from the capture points to go chase kills. Currently the only type of match in the game is domination, capture the three points to build up score, yet instead of focusing on these objectives, you see people flying round the map trying to get kills.

Good list OP, and the last point cannot be stressed enough. I guess it's inevitable and even more or less understandable - people want and expect dogfights, the Starfighter is still very new and fresh, and it happens in normal PVP as well - but when I see a single Scout literally trolling three of my comrades all around the map while satellites are taken from us, I want to smash my keyboard.

[Sarlegant]

funny that... I spent the 5K to get myself a Flashfire... but did not abandon the Novadive. That bird is setup for speed and evasion.. I literally fly though a heavily defended satelite, sprayen and prayen, trying to draw chasers.

The funny part, I'll be back to your satelite before you will, if only one of you pursue.

 

I like to start alot of missions with that Novadive... I can generally get that A or C Sat capped... I'll then linger in the shadow of the Sat, while my engine energy regenerates... then afterburn at a vector to turn on the approaches to the Sat... there is generally my first Gunship kill waiting for me.

 

anyway, back to the point... it is a valid tactic for 1 fast Novadive to tie up 2 or more enemies in hit and runs.

[Vis-Tecum]

I would add try to stay coordinated as best you can and help out others. team work = win [most of the time ]

 

if you see someone on your team with a fighter or two on his tail don't just fly by thinking well they are not attacking me, help him out get behind them, make them break off the pursuit and then hopefully your ally is not running to hard and can help finish off the attackers with you. help people engaged and don't get upset about people stealing your kills dead is dead and if you have a surprise wingman helping you then be grateful your team is working together even if you think you had the kill

 

when a scout gets to the sat and starts capping protect them from incoming attackers, its hard to stay close to the sat and dogfight at the same time don't leave them to solo cap, this is usually fairly easy because all the attention is on the scout dogging against the sat and you can clear out the enemies for the cap. the capping scout should also be helping kill enemies around the sat if they are not being actively targeted

 

watch the mini map and know what your team is doing and what the other team is doing, watch for coordinated pushes. and be aware of friendly and enemy positions, who's a threat, who needs help, don't leave a capped sat unguarded, you can leave but stay close and watch for turrets disappearing, again watch the mini map to see how many are attacking

 

also pay attention to chat and learn how to take the time to call incoming / your position, be as specific as you can in the short windows you can type, don't just say "a" use tells like "help above A" "alone defending A" "going to help at A" "kill [player name] below A" "covering between A and B" "gunship under sat at C" "clear gunship around C"

 

basically team work, team work, and more team work.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Vis-Tecum

[Serrit]

Thanks Spartan, nice and informative post :-)

Agree with everything you said, and

 

5. Capping is more important than kills

 

cannot be stated enough. Along with Vis-Tecum's comments about about teamwork and being reactive - and especially brief comms via Ops chat.

 

My tip to add is don't shy away from just denying an enemy point if you've already got the other 1 or 2 capped. Just fly crazily around that satellite and cause as much frustration as you can. This will hopefully keep enemies focused on that point rather than trying to break the others - and the ease of pressure on your team may lead to backup arriving.

You won't get any points for denying (unlike defending), but it can be a key move in securing victory.

[Mazikeen]

5. Capping is more important than kills

 

I cannot tell you how many matches have been lost simply because people get drawn out from the capture points to go chase kills. Currently the only type of match in the game is domination, capture the three points to build up score, yet instead of focusing on these objectives, you see people flying round the map trying to get kills.

 

The amount of requisition you are awarded at the end of the match is not solely down to kills, in fact if you spend the entire match just chasing the enemy, not only will you not get the amount of kills you want, you'll end up the bottom of the board every time. The best thing to remember is the enemy wants the objectives so why waste time chasing them when you can be at the objective and let them come to you, by doing this you'll earn defending medals, capture medals, assists and kills.

 

This is actually true of the normal Warzones as well, something it seems the majority of players cannot grasp.

[Spartanmbtheobe]

Thanks everyone much appreciated!

[Yorumi]

Another thing I think cannot be stated enough is help your teammates. Look for people being chased by enemies and help them. There are so many times, specially when I'm flying my strikes which are harder to escape battles in, where I have 2 to 4 fighters behind me and all my allies are just ignoring more the entire time. Winning a turning battle is hard, picking off someone trailing an ally is easy. You'll either kill them or chase them off your ally getting your ally back into the fight to help others.

 

I've found that right now people are far to focused on getting their own kills and arn't really paying any attention to their allies.

[Spartanmbtheobe]

Another thing I think cannot be stated enough is help your teammates. Look for people being chased by enemies and help them. There are so many times, specially when I'm flying my strikes which are harder to escape battles in, where I have 2 to 4 fighters behind me and all my allies are just ignoring more the entire time. Winning a turning battle is hard, picking off someone trailing an ally is easy. You'll either kill them or chase them off your ally getting your ally back into the fight to help others.

 

I've found that right now people are far to focused on getting their own kills and arn't really paying any attention to their allies.

 

Agreed assists are just as good as kills!

[JacenKalo]

Cosmic's Top 5 Tips for SWTOR Galactic Starfighter

2. Choosing components to complement your play-style

 

One of the best things about Galactic StarFighter is the level of customisation you have available. Components allow you to customize the base statistics of your ship and allows you to tweak the way your weapons, shields and engines work. Depending on your style of play whether you like to be the fast hit and run scout, the damage dealing strike fighter or the long range gunship, you need to choose and upgrade components that complement your play style. For example if you prefer to use your missles instead of your blasters, its worth investing in the missiles trees, giving boosts to things like firing arcs, reload times and damage.

 

It's also good to experiment with components and find what you feels suits you best and then start the process of upgrading those components to level 5.

 

The experimenting part is probably what I've found to be most vital. For example, with the starting strike fighter, you get the defensive maneuver to do a 180 degree turn. which is useful if someone has a missile lock on you, but it doesn't really help you get into a position to counterattack or go on the offensive (you get a small window potentially, but not much). However, Retro thrusters shoot you backwards and still break missile locks, meaning that they can be incredibly useful in dogfights when you just can't shake an enemy off your tail. (just throw it in reverse and BAM you're now on the offensive).

 

There are many other components I've found that can be used in more than one way to benefit you in a fight, and experimenting to find the right balance is perhaps the most critical thing I've found

[Sirdannik]

 

My tip to add is don't shy away from just denying an enemy point if you've already got the other 1 or 2 capped. Just fly crazily around that satellite and cause as much frustration as you can.

 

I start almost every match in my novadive and rush a satellite. A lot of times an opposing scout will arrive simultaneously. If this is the case, I tend to hit power-to-shields and just stay as close as I can to the sat (while still allowing myself room to maneuver a bit), for as long as I can. I usually don't even fire at all unless someone jumps out into my cross-hairs.

 

Hugging the satellite while altering speed and direction (once you get the hang of close quarters flight) won't get you on top of the leaderboard (won't get you any req/medals either actually) but if both teams cap one of the other sats, it will prevent the enemy team from taking an early lead.

 

If your team manages to cap both other sats, it will prevent the other team from scoring at all as long as you survive, which will give your team an increasingly hefty lead over them.

 

All-in-all, this is an excellent tactic to use imo, and one that may often go unused simply because it won't net you any req directly.

[Sharee]

5. Capping is more important than kills

 

I cannot tell you how many matches have been lost simply because people get drawn out from the capture points to go chase kills. Currently the only type of match in the game is domination, capture the three points to build up score, yet instead of focusing on these objectives, you see people flying round the map trying to get kills.

 

I think this needs a disclaimer.

 

As a general principle, it is correct. But there are situations where going after an enemy will help your team much more than trying to cap a sat at all costs.

 

Example: While in staging area before the match starts, you see there is an excellent gunship pilot on the enemy team. You don't recognize any other names on either list, which means they are most likely all average/weaker pilots. You know that if the gunship pilot gets a free reign, he will rack up kills in the high teens, completely wasting your team, and the enemies will win simply because the opposing ships keep exploding around them.

 

In this case, it is imperative that you actively seek out this gunship, and stick to him like glue the whole match. It is up to the rest of your team to take care of satellite capping.

Edited January 4, 2014 by Sharee

[Armonddd]

In this case, it is imperative that you actively seek out this gunship, and stick to him like glue the whole match. It is up to the rest of your team to take care of satellite capping.

 

That's completely true, but it's also a much more advanced tip than I think Cosmic is aiming for. A novice pilot simply won't be able to stick to a gunship (of any skill), and an average pilot will find himself respawning a lot when the skilled gunship realizes what's up. A skilled pilot can and should do this, but also doesn't need these tips.

[Zharik]

The funny thing about "dog-fighting away from satellites"... if you are doing it, then at least 1 enemy is as well. So at a minimum that is a wash. If 2+ enemies are trying to kill you in no-man's-land, then your team has a numerical superiority elsewhere. This is particularly noteable in 8 v 8 matches. The trick is to recognize when you are in a pack of teammates all hunting the same target... then PEEL OFF! We've all done it; make a kill, hit tab for the nearest enemy and turn to fire... along with 2-4 other friendlies who just hit tab as well.

 

Also, winning a 1 on 1 dog-fight makes them respawn and waste time flying back to the action. Taking a long time to do this could be a difference maker though.

 

I never ignore the satellites, but I have been known to be a hunter/harasser for extended periods of time. Usually to great effect.

[Armonddd]

The funny thing about "dog-fighting away from satellites"... if you are doing it, then at least 1 enemy is as well. So at a minimum that is a wash. If 2+ enemies are trying to kill you in no-man's-land, then your team has a numerical superiority elsewhere. This is particularly noteable in 8 v 8 matches.

 

I would do this if I can pull two or more guys with me, but if it's a 1v1, then once I kill the guy, I'm at the disadvantage of not capping the satellite. In open space, my victory gains nothing. At a satellite, my victory has a tangible benefit.

[Zharik]

I would do this if I can pull two or more guys with me, but if it's a 1v1, then once I kill the guy, I'm at the disadvantage of not capping the satellite. In open space, my victory gains nothing. At a satellite, my victory has a tangible benefit.

 

The guy you killed didn't "cap a satellite" either... Like I said, at the worst it is a wash. And if you can't get back into the fight faster than a guy who has to respawn... I can't help you.

 

- Gerrik

[Armonddd]

The guy you killed didn't "cap a satellite" either... Like I said, at the worst it is a wash. And if you can't get back into the fight faster than a guy who has to respawn... I can't help you.

 

- Gerrik

 

If two people are fighting on a satellite, the winner caps the satellite.

 

If two people are fighting in the middle of nowhere, the winner gets nothing.

[Verain]

If two people are fighting on a satellite, they circle endlessly unless one has burst laser cannon.

 

If two people are fighting in the middle of nowhere, both are useless.

 

Fixed this for you :/

[Armonddd]

Fixed this for you :/

 

If that's what happens on your teams, I feel sorry for you.