Ask me anything / Training

[Greezt]

I've never done the math on this... I think Verain has... So my answer won't be specific in terms of numbers, but...

 

There's no effective "recently consumed" rate for shields, but there is a delay before they start recharging. I forget how long it is, but effectively, every time you get hit on an arc (front/back), the shield takes that damage, and doesn't recharge for a second or 3. If you're hit again, the recharge delay is reset.

 

Turbo Reactors reduce the time before the shields start to recharge. If you have a maxed turbo reactor, it will start to recharge 60% faster, so if the delay is 3s, then it becomes something in the ballpark of 1.37s.

 

The Regen reactor increases the speed at which they recharge.

 

Then just the basic Large Reactor adds to the shield size.

 

That's a simple sum of the differences between the reactors.

 

Fair enough, but in that case my problem is with the tooltips. Both gsf and dulfy's tooltips show a "when recently consumed" increase in the regeneration reactor's features (although it doesn't seem to show an increase in any case). That means that regen reactors have actually only half their abilities. Same goes for overcharged shields.

[Drakkolich]

Thanks, that makes sense. I have another question I've asked before, but was missed. Since shields have no "recently consumed" regen rate, what's the use of turbo reactors? Half their ability is wasted.

 

I really think it's only there to increase the "recently consumed rate" on Quick charge shields. If you get the last upgrade on Quick charge shields it lets you regenerate 60% of your shields at all times. (which is basically what recently consumed means)

 

I haven't done much research on it but as far as I know all other shields have no recently consumed rates and would get no benefit the extra "recently consumed" regen rate on those reactors.

 

 

I know this answer isn't as final as most of them are, but I've just never seen anything to make me want to go do research on this.

[Greezt]

I really think it's only there to increase the "recently consumed rate" on Quick charge shields. If you get the last upgrade on Quick charge shields it lets you regenerate 60% of your shields at all times. (which is basically what recently consumed means)

 

I haven't done much research on it but as far as I know all other shields have no recently consumed rates and would get no benefit the extra "recently consumed" regen rate on those reactors.

 

 

I know this answer isn't as final as most of them are, but I've just never seen anything to make me want to go do research on this.

 

I'd like to test it, though, out of interest.

Is there any way to do that? Would it show a different number on the ship specs window? Or would I need to run a timer after being shot?

 

Edit: is there even a way to know how much shields I regened?

Edited October 19, 2015 by Greezt

[Drakkolich]

When you lock missiles on your streams you always do a sort of wiggle with your ship (I noticed this with the long-lock ones). Does that help the lock?

 

I know exactly what you're talking about too, it's just really hard to put into writing.

 

Alright so first lets start with the wiggle itself, I roll my ship ... a lot. I'm constantly making sure that my ship is in perfect position so that I never Yaw the ship. (turn right of left) This gives me more turning speed as Pitching (up or down) in GSF is a HUGE turning boost. The turning boost is about a 65% increase on all ships.

 

Now when I'm locking a missile especially the long lock on types I'm constantly rolling so that I can pitch the ship to track the target. This gives me more turning speed to be able to track them. (Tip when locking missiles don't aim for them to be at the middle of your firing arc you want to put them in the back half of your arc so that you are leading them a little, basically make it so that if you stopped tracking them they would pass right through the middle of your arc)

 

So that's one of the reason you see me roll so much when following targets while locking on.

 

 

Now the "Wiggle" you are talking about is a really interesting thing that came about because of the ridiculous mouse sensitivity I use. You see unlike most pilots that turned down their mouse sensitivity for GSF I never did, I still had my set to my Starcraft 2 settings when I started playing. (Which is really freaking fast)

 

Just to give you an idea from bottom left corner to top right corner of my monitor, my mouse moves about 3/4's of an inch on my mouse pad.

 

Now when I'm tracking someone for a missile lock you really have to be smooth in your movements and with that high sensitivity I found many times I would drop that lock if I moved my mouse too follow them. So what I do instead is roll the ship towards me yawing this slows my turning speed down with ever moving my mouse and it's also very predictable loss in speed once you get the hang of it. It's like a throttle for turning I just roll from pitch to yaw and back again as I need more or less turning speed.

 

Again I have no idea if you're going to understand what I'm talking about so please let me know if you need me to explain it. Maybe I'll have to do a video to show what I'm talking about.

 

I hope this answered your question.

[Drakkolich]

I'd like to test it, though, out of interest.

Is there any way to do that? Would it show a different number on the ship specs window? Or would I need to run a timer after being shot?

 

Edit: is there even a way to know how much shields I regened?

 

The only current way we have found to measure shield regeneration is in percentages and it's to have someone on the enemy team targeting you and relaying what they are seeing.

 

There is currently no way to see on your own UI exactly how much shields you are regenerating. I'll give this some thought on how to test this, I'll let you know if I come up with anything.

[Greezt]

I'm not sure I got you right... Do you yaw on purpose, in order to move slower when locking on a missile? I've never changed my mouse settings for gsf, so whatever it is you're doing might really help me out.

[Drakkolich]

I'm not sure I got you right... Do you yaw on purpose, in order to move slower when locking on a missile? I've never changed my mouse settings for gsf, so whatever it is you're doing might really help me out.

 

Yes exactly I yaw on purpose to slow my turning when tracking a target I'm locking a missile on. The reason it looks liek a wiggle is I change the amount I'm yawing/pitching really fast based on how the target changes his speed.

[Greezt]

Could you talk about the wiggle thingy on your next stream? I never catch them live, but I try to watch them when I have the time.

 

Thanks:)

[Drakkolich]

Could you talk about the wiggle thingy on your next stream? I never catch them live, but I try to watch them when I have the time.

 

Thanks:)

 

Ya ofcourse I can, the trick is to remember to do so. I'm currently writing myself a note to do it on post it and putting it on my monitor here's hoping.

[Svarthrafn]

Question about setting up my Sting:

 

I've been flying strikes since a little after GSF launched. I used to have a Sting on another character, but with level cap increases and no unique class content I decided to just do everything on one character from now on for simplicity sake.

 

So I'm doing the Sting all over again. I remember using quads, clusters, and blaster overcharge back in the day. Melted pretty much everything even if suboptimal. As I said though, I've been in strikes almost exclusively since then.

 

I like a relaxed flying style. I lurk on the outskirts of engagements and slash in for quick strikes while trying to limit my penetration into the fray and using range as much as possible. This also helps deal with my somewhat high latency which makes knife fights frustrating for me, hence I avoid them.

 

What is the best way to set up my new Sting for my flying style? I don't want to waste too much req experimenting around. Also, I hate rocket pods. They're good, but I hate them.

 

Thanks.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Svarthrafn

[Drakkolich]

Question about setting up my Sting:

 

I've been flying strikes since a little after GSF launched. I used to have a Sting on another character, but with level cap increases and no unique class content I decided to just do everything on one character from now on for simplicity sake.

 

So I'm doing the Sting all over again. I remember using quads, clusters, and blaster overcharge back in the day. Melted pretty much everything even if suboptimal. As I said though, I've been in strikes almost exclusively since then.

 

I like a relaxed flying style. I lurk on the outskirts of engagements and slash in for quick strikes while trying to limit my penetration into the fray and using range as much as possible. This also helps deal with my somewhat high latency which makes knife fights frustrating for me, hence I avoid them.

 

What is the best way to set up my new Sting for my flying style? I don't want to waste too much req experimenting around. Also, I hate rocket pods. They're good, but I hate them.

 

Thanks.

 

Alright so high latency Sting build with no rocket pods and an easy escape strategy.

 

Alright first I think using Quads/Clusters is probably your best bet for your proposed flying style. However you must keep in mind that you won't have any armor penetration what so ever so anything with Damage Reduction (Charged plating is the big one to watch out for) will straight up counter you and you will have to disengage and acquire a new target.

 

For our systems ability I think Targeting Telemetry would be really good here, as it adds damage to both our Quads and Clusters and has a 50% up time once upgraded. It also gives a small Evasion boost so you can use it while escaping if you forgot to use it on the attack.

 

For shields I think the best bet especially for short attack runs is Distortion field. It gives you a second missile break as well as a huge Evasion boost while active. This is perfect for the in and out flying style you described.

 

For engines I'd go with either Power Dive or Barrel Roll these two will help you with your escape plan once you decide it's time to leave. Power dive goes a shorter distance but costs 0 engine power and has half the cooldown of Barrel roll. Barrel roll however is much easier to predict then Power dive since you just go straight and closes distances much faster allowing you to escape much faster. I leave this one to you, the differences between these two engines really feel like player preferences in my eyes, if you don't mind spending the extra 3500 requisition I suggest upgrading them both to their second upgrades and testing each one for a few games to see which you like better.

 

For the minors I would go with Damage Capacitor, Large reactor, Lightweight armor and Regeneration thrusters. These are pretty standard minors for a Quads/Clusters Sting build, you could grab Range Capacitor for the extra range on your Quads too but personally I prefer when their ranges line up with the clusters anyways.

 

As for your co-pilot ability I'd suggest Wingman or Running Interference depending on if you want an aggressive or defensive cooldown.

 

 

This build would be very much a Gunship hunter, you would find the nearest Gunship you can and just stick to him until you either run out of cooldowns or he dies. Once you run out of cooldowns you just use your engine maneuver to get out of range (15000m+) wait for them to come back up and then find the same or another Gunship to hunt down. You're going to struggle with killing Bombers because of the lack of armor penetration so I'd try to steer clear of them as much as possible.

 

 

Well i think that's everything I hope this helps you out with your build and feel free to ask more questions about it. If you'd like I can make a video showing myself flying it just so you can see what the playstyle would look like. Let me know if that would interest you.

[Svarthrafn]

Awesome, thank you! Edited October 21, 2015 by Svarthrafn

[Greezt]

I have just started flying a warcarrier, and was wondering about the armor component.

 

I know how good evasion is, but what about more hull? Is it worth considering in a warcarrier? Specifically because you'll generally be near a repair drone, so maybe tanking a couple of extra shots is worth it (since you'll be able to win the fight and heal up).

 

Maybe together with hydrospanner?

[Archonitek]

I have just started flying a warcarrier, and was wondering about the armor component.

 

I know how good evasion is, but what about more hull? Is it worth considering in a warcarrier? Specifically because you'll generally be near a repair drone, so maybe tanking a couple of extra shots is worth it (since you'll be able to win the fight and heal up).

 

Maybe together with hydrospanner?

 

Reinforced armour boosts yours health from 2000 to 2400, which means at best you are tanking one to two extra shots from most weapons. Your biggest threat in matches is a gunship zeroing in on you when you are out in the open. If your shields are stripped, then a slug rail gun will still take two shots to kill you, regardless of the 400 extra hp, where as having extra evasion means that they may potentially miss one of their shots giving you overall survivability.

 

I'd also suggest taking running interference to improve evasion rather than hydro spanner. 125 hull isn't worth much in repairs, and having bonus evasion helps even more.

[Drakkolich]

I have just started flying a warcarrier, and was wondering about the armor component.

 

I know how good evasion is, but what about more hull? Is it worth considering in a warcarrier? Specifically because you'll generally be near a repair drone, so maybe tanking a couple of extra shots is worth it (since you'll be able to win the fight and heal up).

 

Maybe together with hydrospanner?

 

It really depends on where you plan to use the Warcarrier in my opinion.

 

If you're using it in Domination I'd probably go with Lightweight + Running Interference (to help counter Gunships) or Deflection + Wingman (to help counter other Bombers on the satellite)

In Domination it's very hard to keep a repair drone up for long periods of time as you generally put it on the satellites to aid your allies and the satellites is where the enemy wants to be.

 

Now if you're using it in Death match to setup a nest for friendlies you become the center lynch pin of your team, they always have somewhere to retreat too and you don't end up taking much damage yourself as it's more important to stay alive then actually shoot at people. For this strategy I use Reinforced armor and Suppression. Suppression is great to use on Scouts chasing your teammates or even Gunships that stray too close to you. I like Reinforced armor here because you're generally playing really defensive anyways and getting that extra 400 health back is super easy, it lets you absorb those 2-3 shots over and over again.

 

 

So it really just depends on what you want to use it for, as a general do everything build I'd recommend the Lightweight + Running interference if you're just starting up. It's very easy and helps to offset your weaknesses to Gunships.

 

 

As a last note Hydrospanner is only good on a full Damage reduction ship (Even then there are other options that are equal if not better), the heal is so pitiful it's never worth it on anything else. Especially a ship that can already heal itself.

[Greezt]

Thanks, I plan to play it in deathmatches, not domination. I have some experience with the rampart, but none with the warcarrier, so do you think I should start with running interference/lightweight armor, or can I skip straight to reinforced?

[Drakkolich]

Thanks, I plan to play it in deathmatches, not domination. I have some experience with the rampart, but none with the warcarrier, so do you think I should start with running interference/lightweight armor, or can I skip straight to reinforced?

 

Still really depends on what you plan to do with it in Deathmatch. If you're going to hold a specific spot for your teammates and play position control I'd go Reinforced/Suppression. If you're just playing it solo and want to kill as many people as you can in it then play Lightweight/Running Interference.

 

Reinforced is really only good if you're playing ridiculously defensive all game, because then you can keep taking advantage of the fact that you can heal up that extra 400 health consistently. In one single engagement Lightweight will most likely absorb more damage then 400, but being able to heal it over and over is what makes it a cool choice on the Warcarrier.

 

 

In total the minors only cost 6000 requisition to buy and master so really it is something that's totally viable to swap back and forth and see which style you prefer.

I myself run the Reinforced/Suppression setup, it works really good with a solid team.

[Ryuku-sama]

If you fly solo tho....

 

In Domination I would go with Deflection instead of Lightweight. Deflection actually let you tank one more Seismic which is huge. It will also help you survive against anything but BLC scouts and Slug. And to neuter those, I use Suppression.

 

For TDM, I would go with Lightweight and Suppression. Reinforced isn't worth it in any situation but the rare case you can repair start repairing damage at higher HP percentage which is actually a rather small advantage over Lightweight. Lightweight will often allow you to evade an edga shot which is way stronger. And, if you're using your Warcarrier in both TDM and Domination, Deflection still wins out against your biggest threat on the node : Seismic mines.

[Greezt]

Actually deflection makes the least sense to me... If I'm in a control fight with another bomber, he'll likely have heavy lasers, and that means deflection is worthless. Scouts all have BLC with armor pen/rocket pods, and in some cases both. And gunships are gunships... It would make sense (only for a very specific strategy) if I could get a high reduction and tank mines like a rampart can, but that's not an option on the warcarrier, and anyway I want to fly it on deathmatch, not domination, so control fights are much more rare.

 

And drako, I know it's only 6000 requisition to complete a component, but currently I'm only playing in the weekends, and 6k requisition is something I'd rather spend on upgrading existing components... It's ~10 games, after all

 

Edit: 10 games to master both armor components, of course:)

Edited October 25, 2015 by Greezt

[Greezt]

Another question: which crew member would you take for suppression?

[Drakkolich]

Another question: which crew member would you take for suppression?

 

Scorpio / Lord Scourge

 

Actually deflection makes the least sense to me... If I'm in a control fight with another bomber, he'll likely have heavy lasers, and that means deflection is worthless. Scouts all have BLC with armor pen/rocket pods, and in some cases both. And gunships are gunships... It would make sense (only for a very specific strategy) if I could get a high reduction and tank mines like a rampart can, but that's not an option on the warcarrier, and anyway I want to fly it on deathmatch, not domination, so control fights are much more rare.

 

Everything you're saying makes alot of sense and is why other then 1 Legion/Warcarrier in heavy trench war Domination games we don't bring one. The defleciton is indeed to make fights vs other Bombers easier (mine related) however like others have said Lightweight will definitely benefit you more against everything else.

[Greezt]

I'll give it a try over the weekend, and see how it goes.

[Ryuku-sama]

Actually deflection makes the least sense to me... If I'm in a control fight with another bomber, he'll likely have heavy lasers, and that means deflection is worthless. Scouts all have BLC with armor pen/rocket pods, and in some cases both. And gunships are gunships... It would make sense (only for a very specific strategy) if I could get a high reduction and tank mines like a rampart can, but that's not an option on the warcarrier, and anyway I want to fly it on deathmatch, not domination, so control fights are much more rare.

 

HLC? You should never get hit by more than one hit before LoS'ing the enemy bombers.. BLC scouts will burn through everything you have anyway. Lightweight won't make you avoid a BLC+TT shot.. And it does more than 400 damage a shot so Reinforced is out. Rocket shouldn't hit you. Unless you're surprised or you try to facetank a scout, the scout will peel soon enough between Seekers and Interdiction and you shouldn't be lined up enough to be hit by Pods or HLC. The only things against which using Lightweight would help you is a gunship.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Ryuku-sama

[Greezt]

HLC? You should never get hit by more than one hit before LoS'ing the enemy bombers.. BLC scouts will burn through everything you have anyway. Lightweight won't make you avoid a BLC+TT shot.. And it does more than 400 damage a shot so Reinforced is out. Rocket shouldn't hit you. Unless you're surprised or you try to facetank a scout, the scout will peel soon enough between Seekers and Interdiction and you shouldn't be lined up enough to be hit by Pods or HLC. The only things against which using Lightweight would help you is a gunship.

 

I still disagree. Getting hit by two HLC shots is exactly 1 second, so chances are you will be hit by more than one shot in any altercation (unless you were already less than half a second away from LoSing the bomber/fighter). If you have full shields when assaulted, the enemy will need ~6 shots to strip your shields clean. That's 3 seconds, enough time to LoS and drop a mine, but you still take almost 300 damage to your hull (unless they have increased shield damage for some reason). In this case, an extra 400 hull is exactly what you need.

 

A scout deals ~660 DPS against shields with TT and crits with BLC at max range. If you add rocket pods, you get another 397 DPS against shields, and 154 straight to the hull. If you can LoS the scout in 2 seconds, the 400 hull is great. If you can't, you're dead anyway.

 

Against a gunship, deflection will help only against ion and ion aoe. Ion generally comes before a slug, so the best solution is LoS anyway. But if I were hit by a GS, there's no real difference between evasion and more hull to a bomber. The accuracy would be 95% at 15k after running interference, lightweight armor, crew member buff and wingman... So reinforced armor might even give me a better chance of survival (if the GS didn't load up enough on the second slug shot).

 

You probably knew all that, I'm just pointing out why I think it's worth trying out reinforced armor.

[RickDagles]

I run reinforced armor on both of my T2 bombers, but the other options are pretty solid too. IMO it's similar to the range vs. damage vs. frequency capacitor debate. Good at different things, but all solid.

 

Another thing that's really cool about the T2 is that there are so many viable co-pilot options. Running interference, suppression, wingman, in your sights, hydrospanner, and even servo jammer are all worthwhile. Even nullify + deflection armor might be good in the right hands.

Edited October 27, 2015 by RickDagles