Brand new

[Rechter]

1- I did the intro mission just the other night. I am on a low pop (POT5) server. The que hasent popped the last 2 nights.

2- I will, when the que pops, try the second starter ship to see how I like it.

3- Should I unlock other ships, or upgrade the first one you can start with? I like it but have yet to try others.

4- Is there a server, East coast, that has a good starfighter player base?

I really enjoyed the 1 match I got to play.

[Lavaar]

Welcome to GSF! New players, please grab the intro mission from the PvP terminal on the fleet after this game. You will earn the fleet req to buy both the razorwire(imp)/rampart(pub) and the mangler(imp)/quarrel(pub). Also type /cjoin GSF into your chat box to join the gsf chat channel.

 

This is my standard copy/paste I try to put into GSF games I play with newer folk in attendance. The first two ships are very tough ones to fly effectively, and I would not recommend flying them to start with, let alone upgrade them. DO NOT use fleet requisition to upgrade the first two ships, instead use your 5000 fleet req to purchase the rampart bomber and the quarrel gunship (both 2500 fleet req) and practice using those, as they are very effective team-play ships right out of the box, and are both effective top-level ships for competitive GSF play. POT5, unfortunately has seen a steadily declining playerbase, as a lot of the skilled players have left for more populous gsf servers (harbinger, shadowlands) recently, however, it is our hope that a new wave of pilots will form on these servers without the interference of high level premades causing trouble for new players.

 

Pot5, I believe, also uses a custom chat channel called /pilot that you can join as well. Use these channels to hopefully find some groups and discuss your matches, as well as finding answers for any questions you may have. You have made the right first step by visiting us on the forums here, and there are a lot of great resources and guides available (stasies guide, stickied at the top is a prime example) to help you learn to fly.

 

Good luck, and happy flying!

[DakhathKilrathi]

Harbinger isn't an east coast server, but it is the most active server right now. Once upon a time, I would have suggested The Ebon Hawk as a good East Coast server to play on, but the queue dies earlier than it used to. Matches are consistent, but only before midnight. I don't play on Shadowlands enough to make a suggestion regarding that server.

 

There are a lot of helpful guides in this forum. Here's a short list to get you started:

Stasie's Galactic Starfighter Guide

Pincer's Guide

Despon's Guide

 

And then of course there's mine, which is linked in my signature. If you have any more questions, this is the place to ask. Let us know what server you end up playing on; I'm sure someone would be happy to group with you for a few games.

Edited September 18, 2015 by DakhathKilrathi

[Rechter]

Thanks peoples! Other than accidently running into an object and self destructing 3 times, I found the u-turn option of the first fighter ship very cool. I most assuredly do not want to be a bomber, but will try all the other ships. There are more controls than I realized at first, and I will have to acclimate to them. Also before I forget, can I hook up a joystick for this, or a gamepad?

I dont stay awake past midnight Eastern time, I wake up around 530-6am for work. I dont want to server xfer, but would not rule it out. I will probly wait to see how the population picks up after the xpac release, and new movie.

[Danalon]

Thanks peoples! Other than accidently running into an object and self destructing 3 times, I found the u-turn option of the first fighter ship very cool. I most assuredly do not want to be a bomber, but will try all the other ships. There are more controls than I realized at first, and I will have to acclimate to them. Also before I forget, can I hook up a joystick for this, or a gamepad?

I dont stay awake past midnight Eastern time, I wake up around 530-6am for work. I dont want to server xfer, but would not rule it out. I will probly wait to see how the population picks up after the xpac release, and new movie.

 

The turn maneuvers are considered less useful than other maneuvers. They neither let you get away from an enemy nor you can use them as an offensive option.

The three "best" maneuvers (in alphabetical order) are:

Barrel Roll - allows you to get away a great distance but has a long cooldown.

Power Dive - has the shortest cooldown and doesn't cost engine power and gets some distance between you and an enemy; the only disadvantage is the curve you fly during the maneuver, which needs some time to get used to.

Retro Thrusters - allow you to to "fly backwards" for a short time, very useful in close quarters combat or dogfights, best offensive maneuver because it can be used to get into or stay in a better firing position.

 

No, there's no joystick support.

[David-Scanlon]

If you enjoy gsf and want to play it then switch server to harbinger. I was on pot5 for months with 1-3 pops every 2 weeks now I get pops every time I que within 20-30 mins

[Rechter]

Thanks, I dont like barrel roll, it has killed me a few times now. The que seems to be popping later at night, but it is now past a normal work nights bed time. I am going to reserch some other servers.

Can I customize the weapons, shield, and all the different components on any given ship, within reason? If so Ill take the longer path of haveing 1 sweet ship I have made my own.

[Drakkolich]

Thanks, I dont like barrel roll, it has killed me a few times now. The que seems to be popping later at night, but it is now past a normal work nights bed time. I am going to reserch some other servers.

Can I customize the weapons, shield, and all the different components on any given ship, within reason? If so Ill take the longer path of haveing 1 sweet ship I have made my own.

 

Hi Rechter and welcome to GSF. As far as servers go I would strongly recommend Harbinger as it has a huge population so you can get queue's at all times of the day no matter what timezone you are in. I myself live in an eastern timezone and play there and the ping doesn't bother me at all.

 

There are many guides out there to recommend good builds for your ships but if you are determined to do it on your own I have a few resources to help you read up on possible combinations you might want to try.

Here is a link to the Dulfies site which has a Galactic Starfighter Build Calculator.

With this you can read all the possible components on each ship and figure out how you want to proceed from there.

 

If you prefer videos to reading I have many videos setup to help new players out on my Youtube channel(Link in my signature), however they are tailored to specific builds/ships.

 

A long time ago I recorded a very long winded GSF tutorial with tons of useful information in it. (I had some sound issues when recording them so hearing my teammates is little difficult) Here is the link to those 2 videos.

Video 1 and Video 2

 

 

If you're interested once you've decided on a paticular ship build feel free to let me know and I can make a video tutorial on how to play to be the most effective. (I can also show you what I would change with said build to improve it if you desire)

This goes for anyone else reading this too, anytime feel free to toss me a build and I'll try to get a video up of me playing it with some commentary.

 

If you are anyone else has any specific GSF questions feel free to toss them in this thread and I'll answer them for you.

 

Hope that helps.

Edited September 19, 2015 by Drakkolich

[Rechter]

Thanks, Ill look into harbinbger a little bit, and I am not set in stone do it on my own, I just wonder the full extent of customization, for a ship? If I can basically build any ship up with my prefered shield type, engine manouver type... and so forth, then that would be cool.

[Danalon]

Thanks, Ill look into harbinbger a little bit, and I am not set in stone do it on my own, I just wonder the full extent of customization, for a ship? If I can basically build any ship up with my prefered shield type, engine manouver type... and so forth, then that would be cool.

 

Every ship has a set of components that can be used and you can choose freely between them.

 

Here's the link to the GSF build calculator. You can see what's possible there.

[Rechter]

Thanks, also my name is taken on Harbinger, so that looks to be a no go

[tunewalker]

Thanks, Ill look into harbinbger a little bit, and I am not set in stone do it on my own, I just wonder the full extent of customization, for a ship? If I can basically build any ship up with my prefered shield type, engine manouver type... and so forth, then that would be cool.

 

As is said there is a lot of "within reason" for ship builds. Some weapons and abilities just dont synergize well, and some stuff is just weak. Like any engine that isnt a maneuver can not break a missile lock so is considered much weaker then any that is a maneuver. Rapid fires are generally considered pretty bad as well, but I am sure you could feel that, with how little damage they do and how close you have to be. Beyond that it really can be pilot preference.

 

For Example while others dislike K-turn, it does have a short CD like Retro's and is very good for staying on a node and dodging missiles. As most I would recommend eventually learning the other maneuvers, but that will take time so just go at your own pace for now, but for the most part most ship builds are in some way viable, if not always optimal. Strikes are currently unfortunately just a ship type that currently falls under the "in some way 'viable', but very much not optimal" category right now Quick charge shields on scouts are another one of those high recommended against options as other shields can do everything quick charge does better. There is a lot out there in GSF, and it takes time, but if you are having fun that time can blow by. Little by little maneuvering becomes easier, power management becomes easier, and timing abilities come easier, before long you will recognize the equipment of the thing being flown against you which helps a lot when it comes to figuring out a counter.

Edited September 19, 2015 by tunewalker

[MaximilianPower]

Thanks, I dont like barrel roll, it has killed me a few times now. The que seems to be popping later at night, but it is now past a normal work nights bed time. I am going to reserch some other servers.

Can I customize the weapons, shield, and all the different components on any given ship, within reason? If so Ill take the longer path of haveing 1 sweet ship I have made my own.

 

in defense of barrel roll: personally I find it to be the most predictable maneuver, and the thus hardest to screw up. It simply vaults you straight ahead, making it useful not just as a missile break but also as a way to haul *** across the map. you just have to plan a bit, but the same can be said for any maneuver.

 

granted, I've used it thousands of times, but even early on I just found it easier to use than anything else. any maneuver is going to take some practice to really get the hang of - and even the best pilots still self-destruct now and then (hence the terms "retrocide", "power die" and the like). I suggest selecting a maneuver you like, and then practicing the hell out of it. They're pretty much all viable, depending on your play style.

[RickDagles]

As mentioned, K-turn is pretty great to use around a satellite because you can break a missile without leaving the satellite. That can be critical in keeping a sat green or blue for your team. However, if have distortion field missile break then you can accomplish the same task with less effort. And I think Strikes are the only ships that don't have both Kturn and DF available. The problem with the Strikes is that they suffer from lack of firepower and mobility. Kturn doesn't help either of those. Retro thrusters help the firepower department and barrel roll helps in the mobility department. The ship that actually may benefit most from Kturn is the Condor. When combined with directional shields you can make a quick getaway from a Gunship duel. However, powerdive also accomplishes this at 0 engine cost and a 10 second cooldown.

Retro thrusters also accomplish this and give you the added benefit of increased jousting ability vs scouts.

 

TL;DR K-turn is a good component but there are always better choices you can use.

[Telos]

dont listen to them... the first ship you should buy is the t2 scout (sting/flashfire). it is easily the most effective ship in the meta.

[Drakkolich]

dont listen to them... the first ship you should buy is the t2 scout (sting/flashfire). it is easily the most effective ship in the meta.

 

That is usually the third ship we encourage new players to buy Telos. It's just that the T1 Gunship and Bomber are half the price of it. So you get 2 really good meta ships with very different playstyles to test out faster. The T2 Scout is very very good yes, but it's probably harder to learn as a new pilot as well.

[Telos]

i guess i just assumed he wanted to have fun.

[DakhathKilrathi]

i guess i just assumed he wanted to have fun.

 

Yeah, it's not like you have an agenda or anything...

 

 

if you main in gunships and/or bombers, you are automatically just bad.

 

gunships and bombers are how people with little skill can still be relevant. unfortunately, gunships and bombers are so OP in the current state of the meta, that nerfing them at this point would cost half the active gsf players... the fact that getting rid of these two wastes of ships would mean more players jumping in to gsf games to actually dogfight (what star wars is all about) hasn't occurred to anyone.

 

 

To the OP: This guy has no idea what he's talking about. The Flashfire/Sting is a good ship, and you will want one eventually, but the others are probably right in suggesting you pick up the two cheaper ships first. You should spend a little time in a scout, a bomber, and a gunship. Decide which playstyle you like most and go from there. Drakolich has plenty of videos that might help already, and you should take him up on his tutorial offer. It'd be really helpful.

 

I know you said your name was taken on Harbinger, but maybe you can replace some of the characters in it to get what you're after anyway. If not, let us know where you do end up playing.

Edited September 20, 2015 by DakhathKilrathi

[NeverEvar]

If you are on Harbringer feel free to look me up.

 

I fly on Etriganek and iirte on Republic side.

 

As for T1 Bomber and GS, i consider them: "Easy to learn, difficult to master" As for the T2 scout it`s "medicore to learn, insanely hard to master" Thou the T2 sting is the ship with so many good builds, that is really fun to try all of them

[Rechter]

Yea thanks peoples. Ill have to hope for a giant pvp server merger. My name is taken on Harbinger, so thats not happening, and I dont play republic, never will.

[nyghtrunner]

<-- Undisputed King of Retrocide

in defense of barrel roll: personally I find it to be the most predictable maneuver, and the thus hardest to screw up. It simply vaults you straight ahead, making it useful not just as a missile break but also as a way to haul *** across the map. you just have to plan a bit, but the same can be said for any maneuver.

 

granted, I've used it thousands of times, but even early on I just found it easier to use than anything else. any maneuver is going to take some practice to really get the hang of - and even the best pilots still self-destruct now and then (hence the terms "retrocide", "power die" and the like). I suggest selecting a maneuver you like, and then practicing the hell out of it. They're pretty much all viable, depending on your play style.

 

You know, the funny thing about Barrel Roll (to be slightly more on topic), I pretty much can't use it on a Type 2 Scout anymore. Or anything other than Retros. The muscle memory is too ingrained... I just kind of process that the time to Retro for best advantage is "NOW!", and my hand is hitting the button before my brain has caught up enough to even say, "WAIT! You're not!! ..." So I hit my Engine for tactical advantage, and go vaulting into the side of a satellite or something. It's actually kind of humorous.

 

Yet on a Gunship, Type 1 Scout, etc, I am just fine with Barrel Roll.

 

Anyway, Retro is kind of like Barrel Roll in reverse. It "simply vaults you straight [back]". You just need to use the Force to make sure the way back is clear, since you can't see it. ("With the blast shield down, I can't even see, how am I supposed to fight?" "You're eyes can deceive you, don't trust them.")

 

And for what it's worth, and as someone who loves Scouts and the T2 in particular (Sting for you), I agree. Getting the Type 1 Bomber and Type 1 Gunship should be priority. If for no other reason than to learn how to fly, since the scouts are the squirreliest...

Edited September 21, 2015 by nyghtrunner

[RickDagles]

Yea thanks peoples. Ill have to hope for a giant pvp server merger. My name is taken on Harbinger, so thats not happening, and I dont play republic, never will.

 

Do you think you'll get to keep your name if there's a server merger? Just use an alt code and get a slightly different version of one of the letters in your name. It's easy.

[Cuffwin]

1- I did the intro mission just the other night. I am on a low pop (POT5) server. The que hasent popped the last 2 nights.

2- I will, when the que pops, try the second starter ship to see how I like it.

3- Should I unlock other ships, or upgrade the first one you can start with? I like it but have yet to try others.

4- Is there a server, East coast, that has a good starfighter player base?

I really enjoyed the 1 match I got to play.

 

Hey man I also started on that server and the GSF is sadly is not very popular, unfortunately those pvp servers are so dead they really should merge them all. I ended up transferring for 90 cartel coins to The Shadowlands server and fnally got to really enjoy GSF

[Linuxizer]

Yea thanks peoples. Ill have to hope for a giant pvp server merger. My name is taken on Harbinger, so thats not happening, and I dont play republic, never will.

 

Just wondering, what happens when you try to transfer and your name is already taken? Does Bioware give you a free rename?

[Lavaar]

Just wondering, what happens when you try to transfer and your name is already taken? Does Bioware give you a free rename?

 

Yes, in fact, it is a very cheap way to rename toons. Make a character on the new server with the same name as yours, try to move yours and then rename it, then delete the one you just made. voila!