Ask me anything / Training

[phalczen]

Nevertheless, I am sure we can all agree that the model of how much damage you would do, over time, against a stationary opponent at a fixed distance in dead center of targeting reticule is of limited practical value. Hence, why other posters have mentioned using Damage Capacitors to make every shot count.

And when Greezt replied to me that

Accuracy doesn't affect damage. Both accuracy and damage are linearly interpolated between the points listed on the tooltips, but they are separate stats.

I realized I had misspoke. Damage isn't linearly dependent upon accuracy as such. Rather, Accuracy is more of a gate to the rest of the damage formula. If hit=true then damage = function, if hit=false then damage = 0.

This is more than just a simple gate though, as there have been so many discussions on the power of evasion stacking, whether or not the devs should add accuracy capacitors to help out strike fighters, etc. It doesn't matter how much dps your build CAN put out, if a sizable proportion of the shots fired don't even hit.

 

It would be possible to model this, I would imagine. Accuracy vs distance would be graphically represented as a cone (accounting for the accuracy vs distance function and the accuracy vs tracking penalty function). If we take two opposing vessels, and assume an average evasion level based on uptime of DF, we can figure out the average chance to hit at any stationary point within the cone. That hit chance can then factor into the overall dps done to a vessel stationary at that point in the cone, almost like a weighted average. The total time (Tt) evaluated could be the time it takes to completely deplete your weapon power pool (in F1 state, without any TDM powerups or system ability buffs active) if firing continuously.

 

Unfortunately, we also need to account for gimballing. Even if you and the enemy vessel are stationary in space at the start of firing, if we look at any point outside the center of your firing arc and mouse dead zone, you will not stay at that accuracy for very long before your vessel will turn to bring that point into the center of your FoF, continually improving the Accuracy variable as it does so, at a pace determined by the turning rate of the vessel at full stop. Over the course of Tt your cumulative damage will increase as more of your shots are hitting, and that seems to be more than just a simple step function. That of course assumes you don't have any tremors as you move the mouse, no lag spikes in your connection delaying updates, your toddler doesn't tug at your sleeve to show you the lego robot he just built, and that you move the targeting reticule with your mouse in a path that represents the shortest path across your screen to the vessel. DPS then would be computed based on the damage done as the vessel was brought into the center of your FoF until your weapon power pool was depleted.

 

Now, its an over-simplification to say that if you have, say, a net 40% chance to hit, and your weapon does 1000 dps, that your net dps is 400. It would be more accurate to talk about a confidence interval and the mean of that CI, since over the course of Tt it is possible, however unlikely, that you do 0 dps if all your shots missed or 1000 dps if they all hit. But our simplification is suitable for discussion, and I'm not a statistician.

 

As if that wasn't enough, the model becomes a lot more complicated when one or both vessels are in motion, but if you looked at a specific trajectory of an enemy vessel through that cone you could compute the damage done as the enemy vessel takes that path. Since rate of fire is probably constant during the vessel's brief trip through your firing cone, the damage done is a set of discrete values rather than a continuous variable. However, this does assume that your reaction time is fast enough to make adjustments in how you are moving the mouse to bring the target to center while the enemy is moving along that pre-set path. YOU would need Jedi precognition to be able to know which path the vessel was taking to optimally adjust your reticule movement without observing the first few seconds of travel, but fortunately for the model we can plot the accuracy as if you are moving to the next spot on the path, rather than where the enemy currently is, perfectly leading the target. This of course means that the net hit chance may stay lower but improve suddenly as you move towards the next expected position.

 

I suppose it might even be possible to then use calculus to integrate all possible trajectories through your cone of accuracy to compute an average dps done to any vessel within the cone at any time. Then, you'd have to see how each capacitor alters that model and what effect it has on dps. Pretty "easy" if the rest of the model is done.

 

But alas, its been a long time since I've done calculus and statistics, and having a four year old and a pregnant wife don't lend themselves to modeling of this magnitude, especially when its outside my career. Besides, I'd rather pew pew. Although, going over all this in my head does give me a lot more respect for the developers who designed this combat engine. This is more than just high school calculus.

 

I would predict the differences are extremely small, because the impact of even a mastered capacitor is very small. Furthermore, in practice, since most of us plebeians do not have Jedi precognition, our ability to achieve that average dps on a target in motion through our firing cone even with us stationary is limited, further diluting the impact of the capacitor (or from a certain point of view, strengthening the case for the damage capacitor).

 

Does using a range capacitor to improve the chances of landing a shot increase your dps? Sure.

Does using a damage capacitor to make every shot that lands hit harder increase your dps? Absolutely.

Does using a frequency capacitor to increase the number of shots fired increase your dps? Yes.

 

TL,DR: Modeling the expected damage done to a starfighter in motion through your firing cone is very complicated and depends on factors likely much more significant than the capacitor choice. As I've read through the responses on the previous pages, it seems every ace pilot has very compelling reasons for choosing one cap over another and its gives all of us something to contemplate. I might try out a different capacitor with BLCs.

[Flusssaeure]

Sorry for interrupting the conversation but as a new player with about 10 matches played I probably have a few more basic questions.

 

1) Some companions increase the sensor range while other increase the sensor focus range. While I know what the sensor range is what is the sensor focus range?

 

2) Being from a German speaking server I help some guild members, with equally low numbers of matches played, by reading english guides and tell my not english speaking guild members what was written in them. As a result they usually ask me what to purchase and things like that. Which leads to the following question if we have bought the Sting, Razorwire and Mangler (yes imperial guild) are there any other ships that are worth purchasing when we fly together as a group? I read that Drakkolich prefer the Imperium and Bloodmark as support ships and ship 4 and 5 in the ship bar is that a consensus choice or are there other alternatives worth having and maybe alternating between players? What I mean with alternating between players is when we list as a group should player 1 use ship a und b while player 2 use ship c and d so that every situation is covered even from different players.

 

3) While it could be mixed with question 2 I think question 2 is long enough, what is the advantage of the Imperium as a Repair Probe carrier compared to the Legion? After bombers are usually more dureable than strike fighters I would imagine that the Legion should be more dureable and after a dead healer can't heal that would look like an advantage for the Legion.

 

4) Are there maps of the GSF maps outside of the game? With more experience I think knowledge of the maps will come by itself. But now as a new player I often struggle to find the right routes, for example to find the fastest way from the spawn point to the satellite. My worst enemy in that regard is Kuat Mesas with all it tunnels through the mountain. On that map I managed more than once to reach the enemy spawn point while trying to find where I have to leave the canyon to get to the satellite I wanted. And after the game is usually to fast to read a map while flying it would be nice to be able to look at a map before the game starts.

 

5) Will you, Drakkolich, upload more Youtube videos? While I am aware of your stream I went to youtube for the more guide like videos like Build / gameplay tutorials or the "weapon stats differences explained" video. And yes searching for informationes in a small video is a little bit easier than going through hours of stream to see where the information was.

[Danalon]

Sorry for interrupting the conversation but as a new player with about 10 matches played I probably have a few more basic questions.

 

1) Some companions increase the sensor range while other increase the sensor focus range. While I know what the sensor range is what is the sensor focus range?

 

2) Being from a German speaking server I help some guild members, with equally low numbers of matches played, by reading english guides and tell my not english speaking guild members what was written in them. As a result they usually ask me what to purchase and things like that. Which leads to the following question if we have bought the Sting, Razorwire and Mangler (yes imperial guild) are there any other ships that are worth purchasing when we fly together as a group? I read that Drakkolich prefer the Imperium and Bloodmark as support ships and ship 4 and 5 in the ship bar is that a consensus choice or are there other alternatives worth having and maybe alternating between players? What I mean with alternating between players is when we list as a group should player 1 use ship a und b while player 2 use ship c and d so that every situation is covered even from different players.

 

3) While it could be mixed with question 2 I think question 2 is long enough, what is the advantage of the Imperium as a Repair Probe carrier compared to the Legion? After bombers are usually more dureable than strike fighters I would imagine that the Legion should be more dureable and after a dead healer can't heal that would look like an advantage for the Legion.

 

4) Are there maps of the GSF maps outside of the game? With more experience I think knowledge of the maps will come by itself. But now as a new player I often struggle to find the right routes, for example to find the fastest way from the spawn point to the satellite. My worst enemy in that regard is Kuat Mesas with all it tunnels through the mountain. On that map I managed more than once to reach the enemy spawn point while trying to find where I have to leave the canyon to get to the satellite I wanted. And after the game is usually to fast to read a map while flying it would be nice to be able to look at a map before the game starts.

 

5) Will you, Drakkolich, upload more Youtube videos? While I am aware of your stream I went to youtube for the more guide like videos like Build / gameplay tutorials or the "weapon stats differences explained" video. And yes searching for informationes in a small video is a little bit easier than going through hours of stream to see where the information was.

 

1) Sensor focus only affects the range in which you're looking. Sensors affect a sphere around you. The sensor focus range is larger than the sensor range.

 

2) Which German Server are you playing on? If you're on T3-M4, we can try to fly together and I can explain some things.

Sting (Flashfire), Razorwire (Rampart) and Mangler (Quarrel) are the three most important ships, you can focus on playing with them before trying others. You should chose the ship you fly depending on the current situation in a battle. If you're flying as a group, each of you can specialize in a certain ship, but you shouldn't neglect the other ships, in case your group isn't full.

 

3) The Imperium (Clarion) has a more "bursty" heal than the Legion (Warcarrier). However, the Legion brings more utility when it comes to defending a Satellite.

 

4) The only map you can acces without playing the game is Lost Shipyards DOM via the tutorial. You'll learn the maps fast enough, but as a general advice: If you can't find a Satellite, use the indicators on the edge ouf your firing arc. They're always there and if you turn your ship in the direction of the indicator, you'll have the Satellite in view, as soon as the indicator disappears.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Danalon

[Ramalina]

Sorry for interrupting the conversation but as a new player with about 10 matches played I probably have a few more basic questions.

 

1) Some companions increase the sensor range while other increase the sensor focus range. While I know what the sensor range is what is the sensor focus range?

 

Sensor range is a sphere of detection around the ship.

 

Sensor focus is a cone of detection projecting from the front of the ship, and has greater range than sensor range.

 

 

2) Being from a German speaking server I help some guild members, with equally low numbers of matches played, by reading english guides and tell my not english speaking guild members what was written in them. As a result they usually ask me what to purchase and things like that. Which leads to the following question if we have bought the Sting, Razorwire and Mangler (yes imperial guild) are there any other ships that are worth purchasing when we fly together as a group? I read that Drakkolich prefer the Imperium and Bloodmark as support ships and ship 4 and 5 in the ship bar is that a consensus choice or are there other alternatives worth having and maybe alternating between players? What I mean with alternating between players is when we list as a group should player 1 use ship a und b while player 2 use ship c and d so that every situation is covered even from different players.

 

 

The Bloodmark/Spearpoint with Tensor Field is amazing in team play for domination games, expecially on the Denon Exosphere map.

 

The Legion is a good choice as a bomber in TDM matches. With Railgun Drone and Repair Drone it can make the much hated bomber-gunship ball tactic very effective.

 

The Imperium/Clarion is possibly the strongest healing support in team play with voice chat. Aside from being about as tough as a bomber, and somewhat faster, it uses Repair Probes instead of Repair Drone. This is important, because Repair Probes is an area of effect instant ability but Repair Drones is a deployed object which can and will be destroyed (often quite rapidly) by skilled opponents.

 

The down side to Repair Probes is that it only affects targets that are within range when it is activated, and requires more team coordination to use effectively. With a Repair Drone, if it isn't shot down, pilots of damaged ships have more time to get to the repair location.

 

 

 

3) While it could be mixed with question 2 I think question 2 is long enough, what is the advantage of the Imperium as a Repair Probe carrier compared to the Legion? After bombers are usually more dureable than strike fighters I would imagine that the Legion should be more dureable and after a dead healer can't heal that would look like an advantage for the Legion.

 

See response to question 2.

 

 

4) Are there maps of the GSF maps outside of the game? With more experience I think knowledge of the maps will come by itself. But now as a new player I often struggle to find the right routes, for example to find the fastest way from the spawn point to the satellite. My worst enemy in that regard is Kuat Mesas with all it tunnels through the mountain. On that map I managed more than once to reach the enemy spawn point while trying to find where I have to leave the canyon to get to the satellite I wanted. And after the game is usually to fast to read a map while flying it would be nice to be able to look at a map before the game starts.

 

Sadly there are not, at least in game. You can take a screenshot of the pregame map and the minimap, but those are only 2D and miss a great deal of the information about a 3D environment.

 

The normal way to learn the maps is to play a lot of games, and spend some time exploring during games. A fast scout build is a good choice for exploring.

 

You could also do some systematic exploration by flying through all areas of each map and taking screenshots that you could memorize later. At the very least you should look at the Damage Overcharge powerup maps that Drakolich has made.

[Drakkolich]

Sorry for interrupting the conversation but as a new player with about 10 matches played I probably have a few more basic questions.

 

That's what this thread is for questions! To be honest this is exactly the kind of post I was looking for when I made the thread. Keep that up for sure!

 

1) Some companions increase the sensor range while other increase the sensor focus range. While I know what the sensor range is what is the sensor focus range?

 

Sensor range is the radius around your ship in a circle that you can detect ships. If a ship is within this bubble you can see it. Dampening sensors on an enemy ship will reduce this range.

 

Example: You have 17500m Sensor range, an enemy has 2000m Dampening, as long as he is within 15500m of you in any direction you can see him.

 

Sensor focus range is a cone that is pointed out in the direction you are looking. If a ship is within this cone you can see it. Dampening sensors on an enemy ship will reduce this range.

 

Example: You have 20000m Sensor focus range, an enemy has 2000m Dampening, as long as he is within 18000m and is in front of you in the cone you can see him.

 

If we use both Examples together and an enemy is at 18000m of you directly behind you, you wouldn't be able to see him. However if you turned around you would.

 

I hope that helps clear up the sensor confusion, it honestly doesn't come up much as communication sensors overlap so much in GSF you can often see the whole enemy team.

 

2) Being from a German speaking server I help some guild members, with equally low numbers of matches played, by reading english guides and tell my not english speaking guild members what was written in them. As a result they usually ask me what to purchase and things like that. Which leads to the following question if we have bought the Sting, Razorwire and Mangler (yes imperial guild) are there any other ships that are worth purchasing when we fly together as a group? I read that Drakkolich prefer the Imperium and Bloodmark as support ships and ship 4 and 5 in the ship bar is that a consensus choice or are there other alternatives worth having and maybe alternating between players? What I mean with alternating between players is when we list as a group should player 1 use ship a und b while player 2 use ship c and d so that every situation is covered even from different players.

 

You have the best 3 already which is great. From there, we have a few choices you can round out a competitive loadout with.

 

- A Legion outfited with a Railgun drone, Seeker mines and Repair drone is very useful for Team deathmatch. You can deny a very large area to enemy Scouts, which gives your Gunships a great spot to setup or retreat too.

 

- A Bloodmark with Tensor field is a great tool to get a Domination match started, it gives a much needed speed/engine boost to your whole team in the beginning.

 

- A Legion outfited with a Interdiction drone, Seeker mines and Repair drone can be very useful in Domination to hold a very contested satellite. I typically only use this one when I can pair it with a Razorwire, as the two of them working together makes for one seriously hard satellite to take.

 

- An Ocula can be of great help to a player that mainly plays Sting as he can bring 2 different loadouts for different situations

 

- A Jurgoran can be of great help to a player that mainly plays Mangler as he can bring a Gunship loadout that is more powerful in close combat if that player finds himself constantly having to flee from just one enemy he can instead just engage them.

 

We have experimented quite a bit with the Imperium but at this point unless you have a full team of 8 players I can't really ever see a reason to bring one in a competitive environment.

 

My personal loadout is usually Sting, Mangler, Razorwire, Legion, Funship. This gives me most of my competitive options and something to play in the many games that aren't competitive, I often rotate the Funship for different things depending on my mood. However the most popular Funship is the Imperium which is probably why you heard it's usually in my loadout.

 

3) While it could be mixed with question 2 I think question 2 is long enough, what is the advantage of the Imperium as a Repair Probe carrier compared to the Legion? After bombers are usually more dureable than strike fighters I would imagine that the Legion should be more dureable and after a dead healer can't heal that would look like an advantage for the Legion.

 

This question is kind of hard to answer. To start off I personally think Repair probes are much better then Repair drone. The Probes can't be killed, your teammates don't have to wait around to get healed they can just keep flying doing what they need to do to win the game.

 

Now having said that, I feel the Legion while having the inferior healing tool brings a lot more to your team which is why we normally use it as the competitive healing option. Interestingly we don't often bring the Legion for it's ability to heal more for it's abilities to deny an area very well. It being able to heal is just a nice bonus.

 

I'd like to touch on your durability comment here. While a Legion may have more health then an Imperium, the fact that an Imperium has more shields, a very short cooldown missile break (Power Dive) and the ability to heal itself while still running makes it far more durable then the Legion in my opinion. However just living isn't really enough to make something competitive.

 

4) Are there maps of the GSF maps outside of the game? With more experience I think knowledge of the maps will come by itself. But now as a new player I often struggle to find the right routes, for example to find the fastest way from the spawn point to the satellite. My worst enemy in that regard is Kuat Mesas with all it tunnels through the mountain. On that map I managed more than once to reach the enemy spawn point while trying to find where I have to leave the canyon to get to the satellite I wanted. And after the game is usually to fast to read a map while flying it would be nice to be able to look at a map before the game starts.

 

There aren't any 3d maps out of a match of the game sadly. However you can see the 2d maps in my Damage overcharge maps thread here. You could also watch some of my YouTube videos of whatever map you're looking to get more familiar with, that way you can concentrate more on the scenery then flying or trying not to die.

 

5) Will you, Drakkolich, upload more Youtube videos? While I am aware of your stream I went to youtube for the more guide like videos like Build / gameplay tutorials or the "weapon stats differences explained" video. And yes searching for informationes in a small video is a little bit easier than going through hours of stream to see where the information was.

 

I can absolutely do more videos as I've often said I take requests on what players would like to see in them. I took a break from the game for a couple of months so that's why I haven't been uploading any content.

 

I usually just upload gameplay as that takes much less time, tutorial videos take me much, much longer to do as I write myself a script of things to talk about. Then because I have no idea how to edit, I make all my videos in one take, so if I mess up I have to restart the entire thing.

 

If there is a specific topic you'd like for me to make a video of, whether it's a ship build or a tutorial please let me know and I'll get started on it.

 

Thanks again for all the great questions, if you didn't understand any of the explanations don't hesitate to let me know and I can go over them in a different way.

 

I hope that helped.

[Flusssaeure]

Thank you all the answers are very clear. I only have new ones because of it.

 

Ramalina and Drakkolich mentoined a Legion / Gunship tatic for TDM, how exactly does the tactic look like? Currently most of my group found the Mangler the "most Noob friendly ship" so you got my interest.

 

How exactly does the Tensor field on the Bloodmark / Spearpoint works that you can give your team a speed boost? I havn't seen on in action so far.

 

If someone want the Ocula as a second Sting what builds make the most sense for both if the goal is to have two build to cover different situation? I am not sure if someone wants that, after I am not sure how many wants to spend cartel coins and most of my group consider the Sting the "most Noob unfriendly ship" but so far we have to see how my group develops.

 

After Drakkolich mentoined two Legion builds, one for TDM and one for Domination, does it make sense to use the Legion and the Onslaught as ship 4 and 5 or does that limit your option to much?

 

@ Danalon

 

Yes I am from T3-M4. I will send you a private Message tomorrow or at latest the weekend how to reach me ingame. After I fly usually with my guild would you mind giving a group advice instead of a single person? We have a TS server. Usually we are around 2-5 people. The main group is three people where one currently gets medical treatment and is not available and the other two just joint during the last two days and I have to see how much they like it.

 

@ Ramalina

 

I didn't realized that the Imperium and the Legion have two different repair systems. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

@ Drakkolich

 

I got the Imperium, Bloodmark loadout from your opening post in your ship build thread. There you wrote that this two are ure usually your ship number 4 and 5.

 

About the Youtube videos, take your time, but especially the combined build and gameplay tutorial where really helpfull. For similar reasons the "from stock to mastered" serie about the Sting was great because it showed the steps during the "leveling the ship" process. Most guides only write buy the components / updates first which have the most impact and show the final version of the ship. However as a new player you usually have no idea what components / updates have the biggest impact. That you went through the steps in your build tutorials and the "from stock to mastered" serie were a big upside for them after that helped to get an idea what is important and what is not.

 

As for specific whises I am probably still at the stage where I have to figure out what are the questions that I need to get answered so right now I don't have so many whises. However after the answers to my previous questions I definitly would be interessted in a Legion and a Bloodmark build / gameplay tutorial.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Flusssaeure

[MDVZ]

Thank you all the answers are very clear. I only have new ones because of it.

 

Ramalina and Drakkolich mentoined a Legion / Gunship tatic for TDM, how exactly does the tactic look like? Currently most of my group found the Mangler the "most Noob friendly ship" so you got my interest.

 

How exactly does the Tensor field on the Bloodmark / Spearpoint works that you can give your team a speed boost? I havn't seen on in action so far.

 

If someone want the Ocula as a second Sting what builds make the most sense for both if the goal is to have two build to cover different situation? I am not sure if someone wants that, after I am not sure how many wants to spend cartel coins and most of my group consider the Sting the "most Noob unfriendly ship" but so far we have to see how my group develops.

 

The drone carrier's role in TDM arises like so:

 

Gunships project firepower from a stationary position.

Multiple gunships covering each other is very powerful.

Scouts can get close to the gunships, kill them, damage them, force them to move and break their formation.

Drone carriers have rail gun drones that ignore evasion (rail guns on gunships don't), mines and repair drones that deny the area around the gunships from scouts.

 

The GS are anti-everything-but-scouts, the bombers are anti-scout, the combination of the two is only countered by more gunships than they have.

 

In practice, the bomber sets up a 'nest' that controls a region of the map that's easily defended, provides cover for the GS to move in and out of, and best effort is made to hold that position and kill anything that comes near it. You might thow in a scout-tank or two for flavour, so the enemy gunships are aiming at a threatening scout while your gunships are killing them.

 

Tensor makes all the ships in range go faster and regen engine.

 

There are lots of good T2 scout builds. Pretty much any combination of:

 

BLC

Quads

-

Clusters

Pods

-

Retro

Barrel

Power dive

-

Targeting telemetry

Blaster overcharge

Booster recharge

-

Regen

Turning

 

Is good for something, to varying degrees. The only constants are lightweight armour and large reactor. Disto is nearly constant, but some people like directionals on the T2, and that actually has a lot of merit if you want to play it like that.

 

Probably the most common pairing is one with quads and pods, the other with BLCs and clusters, each with whatever engine the pilot wants with each and probably both with TT. One is a great dogfighter and the other is a great sneaky hunter-killer.

Edited January 14, 2016 by MDVZ

[Archonitek]

After Drakkolich mentoined two Legion builds, one for TDM and one for Domination, does it make sense to use the Legion and the Onslaught as ship 4 and 5 or does that limit your option to much?

 

Not really worth the cc to spend getting the onslaught since both are support ships. A legion with rail or interdiction drone is enough to cover both tdm and domination matches.

[Drakkolich]

Thank you all the answers are very clear. I only have new ones because of it.

 

Ramalina and Drakkolich mentoined a Legion / Gunship tatic for TDM, how exactly does the tactic look like? Currently most of my group found the Mangler the "most Noob friendly ship" so you got my interest.

 

Gunships biggest weaknesses are Scouts because a Gunship has a very hard time firing while being chased, it's doable but difficult. The Legion's help counter this weakness by setting up anti-Scout zones. Railgun drones aren't affected by Evasion and are a great way to counter Scouts that like to stack Evasion. By using Seeker mines to protect your Railgun drone enemy Scouts have so many targets to kill before they can even think about engaging the Gunships, meanwhile the Gunships get to keep firing.

 

The really simplified version is place your Drones and Mines in one area and have your Gunships fire from or retreat too that area.

 

How exactly does the Tensor field on the Bloodmark / Spearpoint works that you can give your team a speed boost? I havn't seen on in action so far.

 

Tensor Field is a system component on the Bloodmark / Spearpoint. It boosts speed and turning to all allied ships within 4500m (can be upgraded to 5000m) by 15%. It can be upgraded to also boost turning and speed even more or even boost Evasion and Engine power regeneration.

 

By using this ability as soon as you spawn in on a Domination match you give your entire team this boost, since everyone is spawning at the same location. (Mind you on Denon most players will announce where they are going to Tensor to tell their allies which spawn to start at)

 

If someone want the Ocula as a second Sting what builds make the most sense for both if the goal is to have two build to cover different situation? I am not sure if someone wants that, after I am not sure how many wants to spend cartel coins and most of my group consider the Sting the "most Noob unfriendly ship" but so far we have to see how my group develops.

 

I myself like to have my standard Burst laser, Cluster missile, Barrel roll build on hand all the time. However a ship outfited with Quad lasers, Rocket pods and Retro thrusters is much better at ambushing enemy Gunships. So you might want to have these 2 different builds available, one to dogfight really well and another to ambush Gunships.

 

After Drakkolich mentoined two Legion builds, one for TDM and one for Domination, does it make sense to use the Legion and the Onslaught as ship 4 and 5 or does that limit your option to much?

 

You could use 2 Legions to outfit your bar, especially if you really want that to be "your" role in different matches. If you're constantly playing with the same group of players, you each often adopt roles for your group. Maybe one person is the dedicated Bomber, one is the dedicated Gunship. If you use this kind of style each can customize a loadout bar to excel in their chosen roles.

 

However if you're playing alone or with different people often I'd pass on 2 Legion builds and try to cover more bases.

 

@Drakkolich

 

I got the Imperium, Bloodmark loadout from your opening post in your ship build thread. There you wrote that this two are ure usually your ship number 4 and 5.

 

Ah ok that makes sense, I've written quite a few guides now and as the players I play with evolve or change I do too.

 

About the Youtube videos, take your time, but especially the combined build and gameplay tutorial where really helpfull. For similar reasons the "from stock to mastered" serie about the Sting was great because it showed the steps during the "leveling the ship" process. Most guides only write buy the components / updates first which have the most impact and show the final version of the ship. However as a new player you usually have no idea what components / updates have the biggest impact. That you went through the steps in your build tutorials and the "from stock to mastered" serie were a big upside for them after that helped to get an idea what is important and what is not.

 

As for specific whises I am probably still at the stage where I have to figure out what are the questions that I need to get answered so right now I don't have so many whises. However after the answers to my previous questions I definitly would be interessted in a Legion and a Bloodmark build / gameplay tutorial.

 

Alright I understand, I'll probably start writing up a script for a Legion build and gameplay video then. I was thinking of starting a new "from stock to mastered" series while using a Mangler. I really liked the idea of those videos but since I made the other one on Red Eclipse and I don't really have time to play in their play hours currently maybe I can make a new character on a different server and try it again.

 

I can't really see myself making a Bloodmark gameplay tutorial as most of the time we just have someone spawn on it in Domination use Tensor field and immediately self destruct. This gives 7 players the speed boost and lets that player swap to a more useful ship. We often have that player spawn in on an allies Hyperspace beacon so that he doesn't even lose much time with this maneuver and is straight back into the action.

 

Great questions and feel free to keep em coming.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Drakkolich

[Archonitek]

I've always wondered if repair drones have a 'charge' or 'resource' meter that gives it a cooldown for heals once it is used up. There have been quite a few times where I've settled down near one and it either takes a few seconds to begin healing me, or the drone thing with the green beam latches onto my ship but my health doesn't seem to increase at all until a few seconds later.

 

Or would it be more of a server side 'lag' issue similar to the one I remember as 'where you see the enemy ship on your screen isn't the same as where he is from his screen'?

[Drakkolich]

I've always wondered if repair drones have a 'charge' or 'resource' meter that gives it a cooldown for heals once it is used up. There have been quite a few times where I've settled down near one and it either takes a few seconds to begin healing me, or the drone thing with the green beam latches onto my ship but my health doesn't seem to increase at all until a few seconds later.

 

Or would it be more of a server side 'lag' issue similar to the one I remember as 'where you see the enemy ship on your screen isn't the same as where he is from his screen'?

 

I've definitely had moments where I was yelling at a repair drone to start healing me, but they are few and far between. This makes me inclined to think it's lag just like did.

 

Does it happen fairly often to you?

[Danalon]

I've definitely had moments where I was yelling at a repair drone to start healing me, but they are few and far between. This makes me inclined to think it's lag just like did.

 

Does it happen fairly often to you?

 

The Repair Drone only heals every 3 seconds, so I assume if you have to wait for it to engage you might have had bad timing with the drone's ticks.

[Bolo_Yeung]

The Repair Drone only heals every 3 seconds, so I assume if you have to wait for it to engage you might have had bad timing with the drone's ticks.

 

Hmm... I'd say its more like 5-6 seconds per each 120 heal.

[Danalon]

Hmm... I'd say its more like 5-6 seconds per each 120 heal.

 

Idk, tooltip states 3 seconds. Might feel longer because time perception varies.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Danalon

[Archonitek]

I've definitely had moments where I was yelling at a repair drone to start healing me, but they are few and far between. This makes me inclined to think it's lag just like did.

 

Does it happen fairly often to you?

 

Its not too often, but it is noticeable. I'm also wondering if its also due to my ping. I usually sit at around 250 - 350 so maybe it happens when i hit a spike.

[Greezt]

How does overcharged shield work with power to shields? I mean, does it work over the 20% shields you gain from the power to shields?

[ALaggyGrunt]

I would assume so.

 

I know I always F2 before hitting quick-charge, and it makes a visible difference there.

[Greezt]

It does? The only difference I've noticed is that it makes my shields charge faster. Anyway, since I use shield-power converter, I'm still not sure whether I should have power to engines or shields...

[ALaggyGrunt]

Those cooldowns recharge [fraction] of shield capacity. Power allocations change shield capacity, so pressing F2 right before a shield-restore cooldown means you get an extra... 5% over F4, ~15% over F1/F3. You can see the shield arcs change capacity on someone's ship when they change power allocations.

 

I think shield power converter restores a set fraction of a ship's shields, but I'm not sure.

[Greezt]

I'll have to try that out next weekend.

[Drakkolich]

How does overcharged shield work with power to shields? I mean, does it work over the 20% shields you gain from the power to shields?

 

Well you guys finally did it, I have absolutely no idea. I'm stumped on this one.

 

I have played so little with Quick charge and Overcharged shield, I just haven't had enough time to test or see anything about it.

 

Overcharged shield in particular is really hard to see whats going on, because your maximum shields and current shields are raised at the same time. With the way shields are visually represented as color for percentages it looks like nothing happens when you activate Overcharged shields.

 

Now if I were to guess, I'd say Overcharged and Quick charge shields were based on Base shield totals as most things in the game are based on base stats.

 

Sorry I can't be more helpful I will (cringe) try to fly more Quick charge and Overcharged shields in the future to find out.

 

Great Question Greezt!

[Greezt]

I don't really care about quick charge anymore... I only fly it on my starguard

 

But if you could test the overcharged shield, that would be great!

 

Thanks

[Danalon]

If you want to test shields, you should have someone of the opposite team doing it while targeting him and watching his shield bar on your hud. I think the target health bar bugs sometimes but the shields bar seems to be accurate. Edited January 20, 2016 by Danalon

[Greezt]

If you want to test shields, you should have someone of the opposite team doing it while targeting him and watching his shield bar on your hud. I think the target health bar bugs sometimes but the shields bar seems to be accurate.

 

I'll try that this weekend.

[Greezt]

Edit - Nevermind... Seems to have been a guildie with mastered CC Edited January 22, 2016 by Greezt