Domination Basics

[Lazycrane]

I see people posting good tips/tricks around how to pilot ships, but I do not see much on strategy around winning Domination game. So here are some tips that hopefully helps new pilots. (And less frustrating games for me )

 

First of all, some basic info about Domination,

 

Domination is about how long you can keep more satellites than your opposing team. It is NOT about how many ships you shot down.

 

Please note:

Green satellite = Good

Red satellite = Bad

White satellite = Neutral

 

You have to keep at least 2 satellites in order to win. That means 2 green satellites at the top of your screen at all times. If you see 2 or 3 red satellites, you are in trouble.

 

In order to capture, you have to fly very close to satellite. If you are the one capturing the satellite, you will see green shield thingy around your ship while capturing. If you see that, don't fly off! Wait until the shield thingy is gone (means satellite completely captured). If you have your teammates with you in this process, you capture satellite faster.

 

==================================================

Having said that, here are some tips:

 

- Make sure you watch those 3 satellite icons at the top of your screen. When a satellite is blinking or white (instead of green or red) on your HUD, it means it is being contested. Do your best to get to that satellite and help capture or keep it. Note: If you are protecting another satellite, you should probably stay. But if you are chasing some enemy ship, drop it and go help NOW!

 

- If you see little dots around the satellite icon, that means turrets are still up. While turrets are up, the satellite cannot be captured. This does not mean you can leave it alone even if the satellite is blinking because there is a good chance whoever is attacking that satellite takes out those turrets pretty quickly.

 

- So if you see no dots around the green satellite icon and the icon is blinking, you have to act quick and go help that satellite. Otherwise, it will be captured very soon.

 

- If the satellite icon is blinking and there are no dots, and it is still not turned white, that means your teammate is furiously protecting your satellite. Unless you are protecting another satellite, you better fly fast to help!

 

- If you ARE the one protecting the satellite. Make sure you STAY WITHIN CAPTURE RANGE of satellite at all times. I cannot stress this enough! This may not be easy for newbies but once you fly out even a little bit, your satellite will be taken. So stay alive by using defensive cool downs and flying defensively (slow down-speed up-stop randomly while hugging the satellite) and hope your teammates will come and help soon. You do not want to stop completely and sit under satellite as this makes you an easy target for gunships/experienced fighter pilots.

 

- Very often, I see my teammate capture a satellite and immediately fly off to chase some enemies and some sneaky enemy fighter comes in and recapture the satellite. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing this happen. Make sure you stay within the capture range of satellite while your enemies are nearby.

 

- One note about hugging satellites: If you are having problem killing someone flying circles around the satellite, and IF you have your teammate(s) within capture range, you may want to fly downward a little to get some distance between you and your enemy ship to get missile lock. But this is a big IF. If there is no teammate around, do not do this or your satellite will be taken.

 

- If your team has control over "A" or "C", you will be able to spawn from closer base ship. See Dulfy's "New Player Guide" for pics and guides on this. She's got excellent info there.

 

- Be aware of the overall situation by pressing "M" to see the map.

 

 

Happy hunting!

[renegadeimp]

Req numbers (rough):

 

Per kill : 10

Per Sat Cap : 100

Defending a sat : 1/sec

 

 

Now, which makes the most sense to do throughout the game? Dogfighting or actual attack and defend strats?

[JadedJasper]

Good luck capturing satellites if you don't shoot people down. :-P

[renegadeimp]

Good luck capturing satellites if you don't shoot people down. :-P

 

Big difference between defence and capping sats, and blatant dogfighting for no reason 30k away from a sat.

[JadedJasper]

I don't think that's so clear. Gunships are typically 15k away and you can't just ignore them, plus the good ones will Barrel Roll away and quickly be ~30k from the node... Yet it still often makes sense to keep on them until their Thrust runs out.

 

So, put another way, good luck capturing nodes if you let Gunships just sit at 15k. Very often it makes sense to boost out and gun them down, then return to the satellite.

 

Similarly, if the other team has a pilot that's just dominating I'll keep on them when I get a chance, regardless of distance from a node. Conversely I hate it when someone does this to me; perhaps they're not "winning" directly, but if they stop me from getting 50k+ damage that definitely makes a difference. You get double Req for winning, which matters more than how many satellites you capture or foes you smoke.

 

 

A more important angle I think is what to do when you die. Generally I try to head off to a a 3 turret node. Typically simply hugging the satellite after popping turrets isn't enough -- you'll have to gun down whoever is there first.

Edited January 20, 2014 by JadedJasper

[JadedJasper]

Oh, and yet another angle. Early in a match I'll speed to a node and often capture it, either because the other team is slow or they just went somewhere else.

 

I think then it's clearly better to immediately boost out to a neighboring node where the action is hot, or to intercept any late comers before they reach the node I just took. Letting them come in and hump the satellite isn't nearly as effective in my experience.

[Elly_Dawn]

Jasper, it seems to me you are speaking as if holding a satellite does not include shooting down enemies, the 2 are not mutually exclusive to one another... i shoot down my share of Scouts and Strikes that try to take a Sat i'm defending, without losing the Sat... if they want to boost to reinforcements i let them and target the next sly one trying to sneak in while thinking i'm off chasing his buddy... Edited January 20, 2014 by Elly_Dawn

[Lazycrane]

When I see a lone gunship sitting at 15km from the satellite I am defending, all I do is hide behind the satellite. The gunship may shoot turrets out, but s/he can't take the satellite. I do sometimes go out and take out the gunship, but only when I know there are no other enemy ships around.

 

I made the list to educate new players, but perhaps there are so called veterans who can learn from this.

[Armonddd]

When I see a lone gunship sitting at 15km from the satellite I am defending, all I do is hide behind the satellite. The gunship may shoot turrets out, but s/he can't take the satellite. I do sometimes go out and take out the gunship, but only when I know there are no other enemy ships around.

 

I made the list to educate new players, but perhaps there are so called veterans who can learn from this.

 

The problem is, if literally anyone else is around the satellite, you get to choose between a missile up your arse or a railgun in your cockpit.

[SammyGStatus]

My GS is usually parked about 17000km (estimate) away from the sat in the beginning. After we've captured a node and the fights have been shot down, I fly up directly on top of the node. Being high allow for me to speed down (potentially allowing me to go undetected because other fighters have engaged the enemy ship), and to rain some hellfire from above on circling ships that go beyond the edges of the sat underneath. There are too many new people still just trying to dogfight, but when you coordinate with people (I had 6 of my guildies with me last night in vent and we were able to dominate) it makes a huge difference. This isn't a deathmatch. The goal is to win, not get the most kills (Although my gunship usually does both )

[Lazycrane]

The problem is, if literally anyone else is around the satellite, you get to choose between a missile up your arse or a railgun in your cockpit.

 

 

Even when that happens, I do not fly out of satellite's capture range. I try to stay out of LOS of gunship as much as possible (stay one side of satellite) and make tiny circle running from fighter/scout as long as possible and pray my teammate realize my satellite needs help.

 

If I fly out, I forfeit my satellite immediately.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Lazycrane

[Armonddd]

Even when that happens, I do not fly out of satellite's capture range. I try to stay out of LOS of gunship as much as possible (stay one side of satellite) and make tiny circle running from fighter/scout as long as possible and pray my teammate realize my satellite needs help.

 

If I fly out, I forfeit my satellite immediately.

 

Oh... I would blow you up, then.

 

I'd rather forfeit the satellite and have a chance at taking out the gunship and thus taking back the satellite, than almost guarantee my own death (unless the other guy is an absolute moron, in which case we win anyway) and thus lose the satellite anyway.

[Zharik]

Even when that happens, I do not fly out of satellite's capture range. I try to stay out of LOS of gunship as much as possible (stay one side of satellite) and make tiny circle running from fighter/scout as long as possible and pray my teammate realize my satellite needs help.

 

If I fly out, I forfeit my satellite immediately.

 

Obviously you've never fought a gunship with a tier 4 ion railgun... AOE hits you 100% of the time if you are in cap range of the sat and he hits a turret. And praying for help from your team is not a great idea imho.

 

Granted your actual response my vary depending on what you are flying and its loadout.

[Zharik]

Big difference between defence and capping sats, and blatant dogfighting for no reason 30k away from a sat.

 

Why is it SO hard to understand that sometimes to defeat the enemy you have to DISRUPT THEIR PLANS.

 

*sigh*

[Lazycrane]

Oh... I would blow you up, then.

 

I'd rather forfeit the satellite and have a chance at taking out the gunship and thus taking back the satellite, than almost guarantee my own death (unless the other guy is an absolute moron, in which case we win anyway) and thus lose the satellite anyway.

 

Well I have kept satellite in those situations long enough to get my teammates support plenty of times. I choose to stay because I know it's not a guaranteed death from experience. For me, guaranteed enemy capture is a lot worse.

 

Obviously you've never fought a gunship with a tier 4 ion railgun... AOE hits you 100% of the time if you are in cap range of the sat and he hits a turret. And praying for help from your team is not a great idea imho.

 

Granted your actual response my vary depending on what you are flying and its loadout.

 

I have been shot by those nasty ion cannons. But I was not aware they can shoot through obstacles like satellite. If that's the case, indeed, I would be doomed.

 

Why is it SO hard to understand that sometimes to defeat the enemy you have to DISRUPT THEIR PLANS.

 

*sigh*

 

I agree that you have to be able to act instinctively at times. But if everyone tries to "disrupt" enemy plans by going after gunships 30km away, we are almost certainly lose the game. I have seen plenty of those self acclaimed "aces" ignoring the dire need of satellite protection.

 

Anyways, I wrote up the list so that new players can get general idea how they can maximize the chance of winning Domination game. I am sure there are situations where you have to act totally different, but I thought at least they should know the basics.

[Armonddd]

I have been shot by those nasty ion cannons. But I was not aware they can shoot through obstacles like satellite. If that's the case, indeed, I would be doomed.

 

The thing to remember is, there are very few mechanics that gunships respect. Line of sight is one of them; primary targets are another. A gunship shooting a turret will actually drain more energy from people around the satellite via spherical aoe (i.e. aoe that ignores line of sight/effect) than he would if he shot them directly (the aoe hit drains 18 power to the direct hit's 10). This is why I say you're doomed; you won't have any power left to do something when the gunship's buddy shows up.

[ptwonline]

Good luck capturing satellites if you don't shoot people down. :-P

 

It can be done if the other side is undisciplined. I've seen one side score several hundred points and ending up with almost zero kills.

[renegadeimp]

Even when that happens, I do not fly out of satellite's capture range. I try to stay out of LOS of gunship as much as possible (stay one side of satellite) and make tiny circle running from fighter/scout as long as possible and pray my teammate realize my satellite needs help.

 

If I fly out, I forfeit my satellite immediately.

 

Why pray they realise? Spam it in chat. its what its there for.

[Lazycrane]

Why pray they realise? Spam it in chat. its what its there for.

 

I think I would be pretty busy just flying in that situation.

[Zharik]

It can be done if the other side is undisciplined. I've seen one side score several hundred points and ending up with almost zero kills.

 

That just means that the side with actual skilled pilots (the ones who can GET kills) ignored a satellite from the beginning. I see it way too often, random pilot I have never seen before,"Top 4 hit A, bottom 4 hit B ignore C." Which is the stupidest plan ever. It allows teams with zero piloting/gunnery skill to score a few hundred points without firing a shot.

 

Even if you send 1 speedy scout to C (In my example) you may slow them down significantly or get a freebie if the enemy is dumb and left it uncovered.

[dancezwithnubz]

as a general rule, if I cap a sat at the start of the match (which I usually do in a fast scout) and see multiple bogies inbound, i'll loop out wide and come in on strafing runs rather than try and play hummingbird around the sat.

 

hummingbirds are leaving themselves wide open to Ion Railgun love-tap cheese (where the full Ion Railgun debuff applies from a tap, rather than a full charge). there's enough fully upgraded gunships out there that hanging around a sat and playing dogfight with the strikes/scouts is a very bad idea.

 

so, I loop out wide and come in from the same direction they approached (dampening sensors is very handy here). Often, I find myself able to attack their gunship support in the rear.

[Zharik]

as a general rule, if I cap a sat at the start of the match (which I usually do in a fast scout) and see multiple bogies inbound, i'll loop out wide and come in on strafing runs rather than try and play hummingbird around the sat.

 

hummingbirds are leaving themselves wide open to Ion Railgun love-tap cheese (where the full Ion Railgun debuff applies from a tap, rather than a full charge). there's enough fully upgraded gunships out there that hanging around a sat and playing dogfight with the strikes/scouts is a very bad idea.

 

so, I loop out wide and come in from the same direction they approached (dampening sensors is very handy here). Often, I find myself able to attack their gunship support in the rear.

 

Also engaging them before they get to the satellite is a smart idea too. Keep em fighting away from the satellite and if they try to run for the satellite then you can eat their tailpipes alive with a nice long burst.

 

Also, if you do the same thing over and over they enemy will figure out a way to counter you. Being a little spontaneous is a good thing.

[QuinMantha]

Agreed! I hate it when a Scout circles around to my six!

 

I think I surprise a fair number of them, though, by paying attention to the notches on my proximity sensors. Barrel Roll out just as they're setting up to pounce. However, that makes me less effective, because instead of sitting in place and giving people bloody noses, now I've got to worry about this Scout not letting me go.

 

But, then, that's where a fully-upgraded Feedback Shield comes in handy...heh heh...