I suck at this

[isaqueMar]

It is very difficult to play, the controls are difficult, if you have a ship for beginners and your enemy has a ****** ship you die quickly, I do not know when I'm upside down or normal, I shoot at enemies and they hardly take damages, it's annoying

[Armonddd]

Stick with it. Practice makes perfect, and your skill level is much more important than your upgrades. Once you get the hang of getting people in your sights and realizing when to break off because you can't take many more shots, you'll like it much better.

[dancezwithnubz]

practice young padawan, practice.

 

if there's one thing beginners have trouble with, it's power management. the F1-F4 keys switch power between engines, shields, weapons and 'default' (do not use 'default', it sucks for everything)

 

i re-mapped these to my mouse scroll wheel. flick forward for engines, pull back for blasters, shift + back for shields. you should be switching these around on a regular basis.

 

game starts: flick forward for engines, roll-boost-roll to a node. waiting for incoming? power to shields, got someone in your sights? power to weapons. bootsing to next node? engines.

 

yes, upgrades ARE an advantage, i won't deny that. just hang in there for a week or so. play your dailies and don't get discouraged when you get nailed. spend a match or two just exploring the maps and getting used to nailing turrets (you'll get requisition!). if you like strikes or scouts, designate yourself as a gunship escort if there's a good gunny on your team.

 

please, don't give up. this game has SO much potential it's mindblowing.

 

after a short while, something will click and you'll find yourself at the top of the damage output board.

[Armonddd]

You definitely earn requisition for killing turrets, as other bro said, but also bear in mind that if you're in a close match, you'll do your team a lot of good and earn some req just by chilling on a satellite. If there's people coming in, you'll earn req for killing them near the satellite (though you have to stay close). If you're on your own, you can practice weaving in and out of the solar panels. First weave between the large gaps, then weave "vertically" around the satellite (you'll pass through/next to the beams of light on top and bottom), then switch between the two (i.e. randomly change direction while circling), then make your way between the tiny gaps between solar panels, then do it all while holding forward (while going straight-ish) and backwards (while turning, to make the turn sharper), then do it all while boosting (you'll need to tap boost just long enough to get to the edge, then make a sharp turn). Edited January 25, 2014 by Armonddd

[Tenacity]

I can see how the controls might take some getting used to, but I took right to them. Probably because I spent several years playing an old space combat sim called Freelancer that uses almost an identical control scheme - aka flying/aiming simultaneously with the mouse.

 

What was said about power management is spot on as well. I talk to a lot of other players that do poorly, and 90% of them say they never change their power settings - they either leave it all to one system or split evenly between them. When GSF first went live I played several matches and didnt even know about the power system (didnt run the tutorial until after several games), but once I did the tutorial and found out I could change my power settings I started doing twice as good in those matchups.

 

I switch my power allocation constantly - engine power whenever I'm boosting or going between points, shield power when I start taking hits or know I need to survive at a heavily contested point, and weapon power at all other times. Your weapons do a great deal more damage when you have power directed to them, something like a 30% increase, so it's vital that if you're going to be shooting anything other than missiles or torpedoes you put power to the weapons when firing, it isnt just about regenerating the yellow bar.

 

Picking your ship is important too. When GSF first launched I went straight to the scout, and honestly I did pretty well in it. I tried the strike fighter for a few games and hated it, primarily because I tried flying it the same way I flew my scout. When I started doing GSF on my jedi, I went for strike fighters only and never flew the scout, and learned how to put the strike to much better use - and it's since become my favorite ship class.

 

In general, from my experience and playstyle at least, scouts are hunter-killers. Aside from grabbing the objective points right at the start of the match, the main thing scouts do best is hunt down and destroy individual enemies. They're great at killing uncoordinated strike fighters and gunships (and even other scouts) when flown aggressively, and they can get all over the map to support allies very quickly.

Strikes, on the other hand, are defenders. Most people will say they're "multi-purpose fighters", but in reality the strike fighter shines more at objective defense than any other role right now. If you want to run off and dogfight in the middle of nowhere (though, really, you shouldnt do that in an objective based match), fly a scout - the strike fighter can sit on a satellite and drop incoming enemies before they ever get in range to contest your control. Strikes are also great support fighters, able to take down enemies that are attacking their allies - but never expect to win a dogfight with a good scout unless you vastly surpass him in skill and upgrades.

[Zharik]

What was said about power management is spot on as well. I talk to a lot of other players that do poorly, and 90% of them say they never change their power settings - they either leave it all to one system or split evenly between them. When GSF first went live I played several matches and didnt even know about the power system (didnt run the tutorial until after several games), but once I did the tutorial and found out I could change my power settings I started doing twice as good in those matchups.

 

I switch my power allocation constantly - engine power whenever I'm boosting or going between points, shield power when I start taking hits or know I need to survive at a heavily contested point, and weapon power at all other times. Your weapons do a great deal more damage when you have power directed to them, something like a 30% increase, so it's vital that if you're going to be shooting anything other than missiles or torpedoes you put power to the weapons when firing, it isnt just about regenerating the yellow bar.

 

Energy management is a powerful tool, but don't get sucked into "I NEEDZ MOHR GUNZ!" all the time... you sacrifice a pretty big chunk of shields when on higher engines or weapons. I actually find that running even levels works well for me in tight-twisting dogfights, where I need weapons, engine boosting and shield regeneration.

 

Moral of the story: experiment and learn how you do with it at various levels and use what works best for you.

[Armadyil]

Hi, ill also tried to help you As the others said, practicing is very important; the first day i was lowest on pretty much all damage charts, the 2nd day i started to rise and the rest of the 1st week i was in the middle, after that usually in the top.

 

Here's some tips:

 

1. First fly in practice mode (the '?' in the hangar), to learn controls. My most difficult point was the targeting (E for directly in view, tab for closest and R for last attacker).

 

2.

if there's one thing beginners have trouble with, it's power management. the F1-F4 keys switch power between engines, shields, weapons and 'default' (do not use 'default', it sucks for everything)

I dont fully agree. While he is right that switching is more effective, I'd leave it alone at first: its far more damaging to forget that you have full power to engines in a dogfight than to learn to handle it at the start. Press F3 while flying to the battlefield, then F4 and leave it at that at first; that leaves you with less to worry about and it isnt bad.

 

3. My starting problem: the targeting system (it might just be my problem, but i turned out targeting enemies 20 klicks away and being blasted to pieces). You can only damage the enemy your targeting. Shoot at the circle ahead of your enemy!!! Press tab to target your closest enemy, this is the basic option if you currently dont have a target. Press R to target your latest attacker; good against gunships and if youre being damage w/o knowing where fire came from. Press E to target enemy in sight; good for gunships (tip 5) and if youre seeing an enemy chasing a friend or capping a satelite. But be aware that you shouldnt target enemies too far away.

 

4. Dont get discouraged by strong enemies. If most enemies have 4+ ships, theyve played a lot of games and probably are better than you. Just keep practicing.

 

5. Target gunships. At the start of the game, look which enemies fly gunships and focus them when you see them. They are snipers and will kill you when left alone.

 

6. Use cover. Im not saying 'hug satelites', but with lots of enemies, a quick fly through a satelite or around a asteroid can keep enemies off track and breaks missile locks.

 

7. As people said before, your build-up isnt that important, but here is some advice anyway;

Star Guard/Rycer: Prim Weapon: Doesnt matter that much, just look at options and pick what seems best. There are no rly bad choices. Be aware that ion cannon is only good against shields and so youre forced to switch. Id leave that one alone while youre learning. Sec Weapon: Just go concussion, best imo.

 

Novadive/Blackbolt: Prim Weapon: Again; most options are good. Sec Weapon: More difficult, Most pick rocket pods, but practically only good against stationary targets (gunships, satelite huggers and turrets). Dont pick sabo probe. Thermite missiles... << than striker's missiles, but create threat by their missile lock, forcing enemies to break it, which is good. Problem is that they are just bad until Tier 4, so free choice here, but the nova dive doesnt get its strenght from secundairy weaps anyway. Systems: Either Booster Recharge or Targeting Telemetary. Booster recharge mainly stops your worrying about engine power; letting you specify in speed and play in F1 almost all time. Targeting Telemetary is a more offensive/utility option, but youll need to watch Engine power somewhat more.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Armadyil

[renegadeimp]

Protip for new players. STOP DOGFIGHTING. Seriously, go hug a satellite when it pops. defend it for 2 mins, fly over to another sat as it caps, defend for a min.

 

You will get much more req that way than mindlessly killing players, and faster req = faster upgrades = you can kill stuff easily.

[Ashnazg]

Most importantly, remember that there is no upside down in space.

 

Shift your mentality

[archifikoss]

Some tips that work towards improving:

 

- Stay frosty - if you play calmly you will not only shoot better, you will also be more aware of your surroundings (as well as ship damage which is sometimes easy to neglect), you'll crash into things less often, you won't misclick or waste abilities. Think on your toes but don't be hasty. It's very important.

 

- Manage your power - very important. I tend to power my weapons when shooting at people, my shields when receiving damage in tight areas or defending a point, and my engines at basically any other time (I play scouts mostly).

 

- Don't shoot wildly - pay attention to your targeting UI and blaster power.

 

- Adjust your controls - lower mouse sensitivity and maybe change your keybinds. What I find most comfortable is to bind targeting to my mousewheel (I have wheelup for closest, wheeldown for enemy hitting me, wheelclick for target under reticule) and power switching to mouse buttons (note: I use a Naga so I've bound 1 to weapons, 2 to shields, 3 to engines and 4 to default, but you could easily use your other mouse buttons + shift modifier for that). Kept my actives at q,e,r,f.

 

- Don't get drawn into long fights - stay near the nodes. You are useless to your team if you're off chasing a random scout halfway around the map. Chances are, he's listening to Yakkety Sax and laughing while you vainly chase him around.

 

- Find the playstyle that suits you. I personally prefer fast and nimble scouts, but your niche could be sniping people with a gunship. And don't bother with "FOTM" setups if they don't suit your playstyle. It's a game and meant to be fun! Just choose your ship according to your playstyle and build it up to bolster it.

 

- Keep an eye on the map, see where you can be more useful. GSF is a team effort even if you're in a solo match.

 

- Practice and persistence pay off. It will take a while but you'll get better.

 

Good luck!

[BallisticID]

Pick. Your. Shots.

 

don't just shoot all willy nilly, shoot when your crosshair is in the middle of their projected path reticle. doing this will vastly increase you damage output and can also help your survivability as shields do not regenerate while you are firing your weapons

[Armonddd]

Pick. Your. Shots.

 

don't just shoot all willy nilly, shoot when your crosshair is in the middle of their projected path reticle. doing this will vastly increase you damage output and can also help your survivability as shields do not regenerate while you are firing your weapons

 

Wait, what? I was pretty sure that was space missions only. Will absolutely have to test this.

[Gronkagin]

It is very difficult to play, the controls are difficult, if you have a ship for beginners and your enemy has a ****** ship you die quickly, I do not know when I'm upside down or normal, I shoot at enemies and they hardly take damages, it's annoying

 

Yes you do. But here's the good news, WE ALL DID! When we started we all sucked. The flight mechanic in this game is a litlle weird and takes dome geting used to. Fly the intro, but don't do the objectives, just fly around the map. Get a feel for flying fast next to and through the tight spaces. It's a great way to practice. Here's another hint, get over wanting to orient yourself up or down. Just ignore it. You upgrade your ships by getting the requisition to buy the upgrades. The fastest way to get requisition is to capture, hold, defend the nodes. Shooting turrets also gets you more requisition than shooting fighters, IIRC.

 

Don't get mad, get better, by practicing!

 

See you in Space!

Edited January 25, 2014 by Gronkagin

[RebekahWSD]

Pick. Your. Shots.

 

don't just shoot all willy nilly, shoot when your crosshair is in the middle of their projected path reticle. doing this will vastly increase you damage output and can also help your survivability as shields do not regenerate while you are firing your weapons

 

Yeah is this confirmed?

[Armonddd]

Pick. Your. Shots.

 

don't just shoot all willy nilly, shoot when your crosshair is in the middle of their projected path reticle. doing this will vastly increase you damage output and can also help your survivability as shields do not regenerate while you are firing your weapons

 

Yeah is this confirmed?

 

Tested this earlier with Kasl. Shields absolutely do regenerate while firing blasters. There is, of course, a delay between taking damage to a shield arc and that arc regenerating, but it's unrelated to whether or not your blasters are firing.

[silvershadows]

Shields don't regen while firing blasters in the RAIL space combat game. That doesn't apply to GSF.

[QuinMantha]

There's a great guide out there for newer pilots which I like to show pilots that are getting upset. It helps that I actually know the guy who wrote it, have flown with him many, many times, have a profound respect for his ability, and he gets accused of cheating maybe three times a week, so that should tell you how effective he is.

 

http://www.ebon-hawk.net/home/m/6118040/viewthread/9997397-kantherions-korner-kanths-guide-to-galactic-starfighter-tactics/page/1

 

It's brief, it's funny, and it helps put things in perspective.

 

To it, however, I would add these points: Everybody has their own playstyle, and different ships will fit that playstyle.

 

There is also no such thing as a kill-steal, only dead Imps.

 

In Rep-vs.-Rep matches, think of them as simulator runs, and if you hate what some guy out there did to you, just remember, it's nothing personal, and you're going to LOVE it when he puts that treatment on the Imp who's sticking to your six like a mynock in your next match.

 

And most importantly, when you find yourself getting emotional about GSF, it's time to unplug. Being angry about games happens, but don't let that game ruin your day. There's plenty more to TOR to partake in and enjoy without banging your head against a wall on GSF. Nobody's putting a gun to your head to make you queue. Unless they are. In which case, I say, cooperate, give them what they want, don't make any aggressive moves, and it'll all be over.

[Helig]

Easy way for a beginner to contribute - run a booster recharge Scout with some basic Armour penetration upgrades on missiles. Zap across the entire map, blowing up enemy turrets. Capture undefended nodes, run away if you're being shot (booster recharge+power to engines gives you arseloads of boost energy). Even if you don't capture nodes, destroyed turrets will lure some enemy ships away to the sat to defend it, meaning less fighters to deal with for your buddies.

 

You can also assist your teammates by shooting enemies that are on their tail - and remember - you have arseloads of Boost - whenever you're getting shot, just boost to another Sat, recharge a little and come back. Harassment is a very potent psychological weapon, too.

 

Practice, and, little by little, you'll be able to fly and fight very well.