Tips for a Domination NovaDive

[LordByrondathird]

Looking for some tips for turning my NovaDive into an effective scout for capturing satellites in Domination.

 

Specifically, should I be using Laser Cannons, Light Laser Cannons or Rapid Fire? Which is most effective at clearing out turrets?

 

Also, any tips for taking on a bomber running around a satellite?

 

Any tips in general?

 

Thank you much in advance for any info!

[Ramalina]

There are pretty complete builds listed in the Stasiepedia stickied at the top of this forum.

 

That said, get the armor piercing upgrade on Rocket Pods, Laser Cannons, and (optionally) Targeting Telemetry.

 

Really important thing to keep in mind is that the Novadive/Blackbolt is not good at tanking incoming damage, so not getting hit that much is really important.

 

Don't ignore Gunships, don't ignore drones, don't ignore turrets, don't ignore other scouts. If you let them shoot at you the normal result is a rapid death.

 

Use Line of Sight obstacles for cover (example, attack a satellite from the side so that only 1-2 turrets can shoot at you instead of all 3) and also use your speed and boost endurance to go from a safe area, make an attack, and then flee back to a safe area again.

 

Situational awareness and hit and run tactics are a really good fit for the T1 scout.

 

Read the guide and check out Drako's tutorial videos though, very worth it.

[Archonitek]

As a general rule the novadive/blackbolt should be attacking bombers and gunships before they set up on a satellite. Without any cover they can be chewed up pretty quickly with laser cannons and pods.

 

If you do have the unfortunate task of trying to take out a bomber on the sat then park your ship below the sat and point up. Laser cannons give you the range advantage against mines and most bombers tend to do circles beneath the satellite so that should give you a decent amount of time to shoot them down.

 

Most people will suggest taking distortion field for the extra evasion and missile break, however you can think about grabbing the Shield to Engine Converter. This will give you more engine power to either reach a satellite to reinforce it or for you to run away from a bad attack. You are sacrificing evasion, missile lock and a bit of shield however.

[Donlan_Yllvei]

[quote=Archonitek;8589466

 

Most people will suggest taking distortion field for the extra evasion and missile break, however you can think about grabbing the Shield to Engine Converter. This will give you more engine power to either reach a satellite to reinforce it or for you to run away from a bad attack. You are sacrificing evasion, missile lock and a bit of shield however.

 

I've never heard anyone suggest this before. I gotta say it sounds crazy. The nova is all about not getting hit. It has plenty enough engine juice as is. Take distortion field 100% of the time. There just no way that extra engine power will *ever* equal the benefit you get from a second missile break.

[Ryuku-sama]

I've never heard anyone suggest this before. I gotta say it sounds crazy. The nova is all about not getting hit. It has plenty enough engine juice as is. Take distortion field 100% of the time. There just no way that extra engine power will *ever* equal the benefit you get from a second missile break.

 

And you'd be wrong. The best Novadive aces actually use StE. The engine you gain back is so huge you can run a double speed set up without Booster Recharge so you get TT. The StE build sacrifies survivability but you gain so much mobility or burst it is wort it. StE is more of a TDM component but plenty effective in Dom.

[Nemarus]

TLDR version: The only reason to ever fly a NovaDive is if you're going to use one of its two unique components: Shield-to-Engine Converter (aka StE or S2E) or EMP Field. S2E is valid for one very specific build (which I use to great effect), but it is really only useful in TDM.

 

And while EMP Field might be useful for Domination, it is crippled by its limited range and overlong cooldown.

 

For TDM, I highly recommend trying a S2E NovaDive. For Domination, I'd recommend a Flashfire, Quarrel, Condor, Warcarrier, or Rampart. Anything else and you're really trying to squeeze blood out of stone or whatever.

 

Longer version:

 

I'm about as big of a fan of the Blackbolt/NovaDive as anyone, but only for TDM.

 

For TDM, a NovaDive with Shield-to-Engine Converter is a competitive build with unique capabilities and a signature role. It can race around the map collecting power-ups (DO in particular), outflank enemy formations, outrun Flashfires/Stings, and overall dictate the terms of its engagement. It even gets some utility out of Dampening Sensors, since it can wander the outlying areas of a map and scan for vulnerable targets while being invisible to their sensors.

 

Dampening Sensors, combined with high Scout base sensor range means it can also watch a pursuer for the moment when that pursuer loses it on sensors and gives up pursuit. This enables the NovaDive to do true hit and fade attacks. It rushes in (ideally with DO or other power-up), gets kills using Targeting Telemetry, MLC's and Pods, then outruns the Flashfires/Stings that try to retaliate. If they are smart, they give up early--in which case the NovaDive can see this and turn around to make another strike. If the pursuers are dumb, they exhaust their engine energy and end up dead in space, and vulnerable to the NovaDive's allies.

 

Often times, I'll continue to rack up kills even as I'm perpetually leading a trail of Flashfires or Stings that are vainly trying to get me in range for Clusters and BLC's. And I can pretty much pretend Strikes don't exist (except as food). Bombers I ignore, except when I have DO and can kill them rapidly from 5500m out. The only real threat to it are Gunship formations--but again, playing smart, you can flank Gunships. At best, you get behind them. At worst, you turn them away from your allies, enabling your friends to charge their formation.

 

While the S2E NovaDive loses out on a bit of Evasion and a missile break by not having Distortion Field, it spends so much time boosting that it doesn't have to put up with many missile locks--and Power Dive is more than adequate for the few that it does need to dodge.

 

This build represents what the Scout playstyle should've been. It's a lancing, flanking light cavalry that requires smart management of range and positioning for success. And in TDM, this role is entirely valid and super fun to play--mainly because you're almost always boosting.

 

In Domination, this role is much less valuable. Flanking doesn't do much good when all of your enemies are sitting on satellites, and they know that you need to come to them. Moreover, the ability to pick your targets is not relevant when you are mandated to clear out entrenched Bombers in order to win.

 

So if you're not using S2E on you're NovaDive, what is the point of using one? The only other unique component NovaDive gets is EMP Field, which is ultimately not very useful due to its limited range and overlong cooldown.

 

So if you aren't using S2E or EMP Field, there's nothing unique that the NovaDive offers. You might as well be in a Flashfire or Spearpoint. The Flashfire has BLC's with armor piercing, which are a must for taking out Charged Plating Bombers and Satellite Turrets. The Spearpoint gives your team a group speed buff at the start of a Domination match. Continuing to use a Spearpoint for the rest of the battle is not something I would recommend for anyone but absolute aces looking for something new to try. But if you want to, you can at least use Repair Probe to try and justify staying in the ship for the duration of a match.

[havokhead]

Taking Power Dive (no power consumption & quick cool down) means you don't really need the second missile break unless you're constantly under heavy focus and can't catch a break. But usually by then you have to bug out anyway.

 

Novadives (Blackbolts) can be useful at grabbing poorly defended sats in a Dom match but are weak at holding sats against bombers. Well placed seismic mines, concussion mines and railgun drones can really hurt a scout fast. Two bombers coming in on your sat pretty much means you're abandoning it if you're a solo defender. You can LoS everything else to survive until reinforcements arrive.

 

If your goal is to simply scout out & grab undefended or poorly defended sats then I'd use Shield to Engine, Booster Recharge & Speed Boost so you can reach all over the map very quickly. (Especially the B satellite on Denon Exosphere map where you'll be the first to cap it). In this case I'd use Laser Canons & Rocket Pods to dispatch Defense Turrets quickly.

 

However, if your goal is to take and hold a satellite as long as possible in a scout then I'd sacrifice your mobility for more survivability. In this case I'd take Distortion Field over StE Converter as the extra evasion and missile break adds to your defences in a static area. I'd probably replace Booster Recharge with Targeting Telemetry in this case as well since your goal is more destroying enemy craft approaching your sat. I'd also swap out your laser canons for Light Laser Canons as they're more useful in the tight confines of LoS sat defence. Again, if opposing bombers are involved then don't try to tough it out against them, you'll loose. If there's another friendly or 2 helping you defend then let them hug the satellite while you swoop out and flank whatever is attacking. Get away from those mines & drones and help your team by hunting that gunship who is most likely on over-watch for his bombers. If bombers are approaching your sat then go out and attack them before they get dug in on the satellite. Bombers are very vulnerable out in the open on approach. Even if you don't destroy the bombers outright chances are you've weakened them considerably and made them pop some defences, mines & drones so they're much more vulnerable and in-effective even though they've reached the satellite. In this scenario I'd always target the gunship first, as the bombers have forced you off the sat and now your vulnerable to gunships out in the open. The bombers are gonna take the sat anyway or at least let heavies duke it out with heavies. You have the speed & firepower to handle the gunship so use it.

 

Some people might try to persuade you to take EMP Pulse, I would argue against that. The range on EMP pulse is too limited and the damage more stuns drones & mines then destroys them. You'll have to enter railgun drones, missile drones & Defense turrets ranges to use it effectively and you'll barely survived that if at all. I've experimented with using Barrell Roll, kamikaze-ing through the defences while split-second timing Distortion Field and the EMP Pulse and although very fun it's rather ineffective compared to an ion spamming gunship who can safely & effectively dispatch of those defences or even a T1 bomber can simply eat up those defences with his defensive cool downs and mines. Basically, you'll be sacrificing the strengths of your fighter - mobility & firepower for a gimmick that probably won't even work.

 

These suggestions are Dom Map specific, the T1 scout is a versatile ship with lots of components and play-styles. I've tried to give you advice on the specific role(s) you requested. Good luck & have fun.

 

EDIT - Damn as usual Shayd beat me to the punch a split-second sooner.....KILL-STEALER!!....

Edited November 4, 2015 by havokhead

[Nemarus]

 

However, if your goal is to take and hold a satellite as long as possible in a scout then I'd sacrifice your mobility for more survivability. In this case I'd take Distortion Field over StE Converter as the extra evasion and missile break adds to your defences in a static area. I'd probably replace Booster Recharge with Targeting Telemetry in this case as well since your goal is more destroying enemy craft approaching your sat. I'd also swap out your laser canons for Light Laser Canons as they're more useful in the tight confines of LoS sat defence. Again, if opposing bombers are involved then don't try to tough it out against them, you'll loose. If there's another friendly or 2 helping you defend then let them hug the satellite while you swoop out and flank whatever is attacking. Get away from those mines & drones and help your team by hunting that gunship who is most likely on over-watch for his bombers. If bombers are approaching your sat then go out and attack them before they get dug in on the satellite. Bombers are very vulnerable out in the open on approach. Even if you don't destroy the bombers outright chances are you've weakened them considerably and made them pop some defences, mines & drones so they're much more vulnerable and in-effective even though they've reached the satellite. In this scenario I'd always target the gunship first, as the bombers have forced you off the sat and now your vulnerable to gunships out in the open. The bombers are gonna take the sat anyway or at least let heavies duke it out with heavies. You have the speed & firepower to handle the gunship so use it. .

 

The problem with this is that you can do the above build/tactic in a Flashfire without losing anything--and in fact you gain the crucial Burst Laser Cannons. You also get access to Cluster Missiles (which I'd recommend over Pods, since get Armor Piercing from BLC's). And you get a Reactor, to be even more durable.

 

This is why I wish the NovaDive and Flashfire were more distinct--at least in terms of components that people actually would use in Domination. EMP Field was clearly BW's attempt at fixing that, but that component really needs a much shorter cooldown to be effective.

[havokhead]

Agree with you 100% Shayd but the OP asked for advice on a T1 scout Dom-specific build so that's what I gave him.

[Nemarus]

Agree with you 100% Shayd but the OP asked for advice on a T1 scout Dom-specific build so that's what I gave him.

 

I know. But unless the OP is a bored ace looking for a challenge, trying to make a T1 scout for Domination is an uphill battle, and I want to make sure that's crystal clear

[jmonka]

...if you're not using S2E on you're NovaDive, what is the point of using one? The only other unique component NovaDive gets is EMP Field, which is ultimately not very useful due to its limited range and overlong cooldown.

 

So if you aren't using S2E or EMP Field, there's nothing unique that the NovaDive offers. You might as well be in a Flashfire or Spearpoint. The Flashfire has BLC's with armor piercing, which are a must for taking out Charged Plating Bombers and Satellite Turrets...

 

I’d just like to point out that for those pilots that don’t want to shell out $15-$20 per ship, per toon, just to be able to have both a dogfighting scout and a gunship hunter on their bar, the Novadive would seem to me to be a very viable option; Equipping the flashfire with BLC+Clusters and relegating the novadive to a LC+Pods hunter build.

 

...Alternatively, I suppose they could just be like me and be too stubborn to want to turn in the keys on their Novadive despite being able to get a little more bang-for-their-buck from it's angry cousin. In that case they might just want to figure out how to best utilize what they have in the lovable Novadive.

 

To get to the original questions, I would reiterate what Ramalina pointed out to take out turrets; pods with the first upgrade (ignore armor) are your best asset for this and typically Laser Cannons mesh very well with pods. -Certainly avoid the sadly underperforming Rapid Fire Lasers whichever weapon you choose.

 

Like Archonitek said, when it comes to bombers, as a rule you *always* want to get the bomber before it gets near the sat. Out in the open you can do some serious damage to the bombers as long as you don’t let yourself eat their mines; once they get under cover though they become a lot harder to dislodge particularly in a Novadive. If a bomber has gotten to a sat you are fighting for, as a rule it is a *very* bad idea to circle with them in a Novadive (that is playing their game -and bombers are natural counters to scouts- so the only real way to win their game is not to play). Instead attack from above or below (depending on where they are at) Like Archonitek said. Bombers of average skill or less will often just sit there or keep circling the same side of the sat and if they do that you can take shots at them starting from 5-6k out and eventually kill them (and pods are again an asset when facing bombers, Laser Cannons are better than the other two against bombers as well since they have more range to keep you away from the mines). If the bomber is very good he will most likely try to LoS you by flying to the opposite side of the sat (in this case it would help a lot to have a buddy there to finish him once you chase him to the other side), in the event he does flip sides don’t give into the temptation to close the gap and circle with him on the flip side (once again circling the same sat as a bomber is playing his game –you don’t want to play anyone else’s game but your own in a Novadive) Instead use your speed and endurance to boost a bit past the sat (steering clear of mines) and once on the side he has moved to repeat the process of engaging him starting at that 5-6k range from above/below him.

 

Again to reiterate what was said before, the Novadive (especially the LC+Pod) is best at hit-and-run tactics and it performs fairly poorly in drawn out turning fights.

 

S2E is great in TDM but in my experience I have found the lack of an additional missile break is much more noticeable in Dom where you will need to spend most of your time within 20k or less of a given satellite condensing the missile lock opportunities the other team has on you. If you use Powerdive it may not matter much, but if you want to use a different engine component it's possible that you may find the lack of additional missile break to hurt you more than it helps.

 

I know I’m a fairly unorthodox Novadive pilot, but I would humbly offer that Booster Recharge is not a bad component to consider for domination matches (it’s my system of choice –I consider engine power to be my most valuable resource and if I’m flying a scout I tend to be leaning on the spacebar anytime I’m not shooting –and sometimes even then). You lose a fair amount of burst offense by not using Targeting Telemetry but you gain a lot of mobility in the event you need to rapidly get from A to C to counter a threat, etc. In addition, the instant boost T5 evo for booster recharge (the one that gives you an instant 20% of your engine power back) means that even if a gunship surprises you while you’re sitting on a sat and tags you with an AoE Ion rail you can simply put the throttle to the wall, sprint out and engage the gunship, popping your booster recharge once your engine pool gets near the empty mark. Basically, Booster recharge gives you a lot of mobility without costing you a missile break while also providing insurance against Ion Spam that tends to be prevalent near sats in Dom matches, The price for this however is a lot less burst on offense. For my flying style I find it's worth the price, most don't though which is why so few experienced scout pilots use it so your mileage may vary.

 

Speaking of burst, to play devil’s advocate against my own suggestion, Targeting Telemetry adds a *lot* of burst offensive potential which is why it is the usual choice. The best thing about TT in relation to your questions is that it makes killing those pesky bombers a bit easier (and the quicker bombers are gone the better for a scout), but it does mean (somewhat) limiting your ability to get from one satellite to another rapidly if you decide you don’t want to run S2E with it.

 

At the end of the day, on a Novadive, S2E+TT is probably the best option in TDM, and Disto.Field+ TT is probably best in Dom (though usually a BLC+Cluster Flashfire is more effective here if you aren't in love with the Novadive). That said, I find Booster Recharge to be a fairly good compromise that works nearly as effectively (for me at least) in both situations *assuming* you aren’t willing/able to simply add a second scout with an alternate build to your bar so you can have one build best suited for each.

 

I hope this helps.

[RickDagles]

And you'd be wrong. The two of the most vocal Novadive aces actually use StE. The engine you gain back is so huge to them you can run a double speed set up without Booster Recharge so you get TT. The StE build sacrifies huge survivability against gunship players that know how to center shots properly as well as bombers that know how to strategically pop railgun drones but you gain so much mobility or burst it is wort it to them. StE is more of a TDM component but plenty effective in Dom.

 

Fixed it for you.

 

 

I'm sorry but I don't want to suggest for a new player to waste his valuable requisition with a strange niche build that only seems to be viable by two players on Ebon Hawk.

 

 

There are plenty of top NovaDive pilots that have zero mobility problems with regen thrusters and powerdive. I've used both builds very extensively and the evasion build is much much better against good players. I actually stack evasion even higher and pick running interference over wingman.

 

Regular Lasers (crit, shield damage)

Pods (ammo, range)

Target telemetry (8% evasion, crit bonuses)

Powerdive (speed)

Distortion field (missile break)

Range capacitor

Lightweight armor

Regen thrusters

Dampening sensors

 

Crew:

Offensive - Kira Carsen

Tactical - Akaavi Spar

Defensive - Tanno Vik

Engineering - Yuun

Copilot - Tanno Vik (running interference)

 

 

For what it's worth, I made the records thread for top 5 in kills with that build. It doesn't really lack firepower as long as you aren't trying to shoot through distortion field and you are very good at centering your shots.

 

 

I'd say the best NovaDive/Blackbolt player is from Shadowlands. Kira Carsen. He runs a similar build to the one listed above. I think he uses damage capacitors, wingman, and extra turning on his engine move.

 

 

The StE build is actually a lot of fun to use. But if we're going to break it down logically, the only advantage it gives to the more standard build is a 10% boost to speed. Giving up 9% passive evasion and a button that breaks a seeker mine and gives a 35% evasion boost for 6 seconds while you tunnel a gunship or railgun drone is a HUGE loss. I don't agree with the idea that the StE is better at picking up damage overcharges and other orbs. I never have a problem getting orbs, and it is very common for me to attack with at least 2 powerups on board.

 

 

 

So if you aren't using S2E or EMP Field, there's nothing unique that the NovaDive offers.

 

This isn't entirely true. There are a few reasons to run the more standard DF build:

 

1. You don't have a Skybolt/Ocula and you'd like to run your Flashfire/Sting with BLC/cluster and still be able to use something similar to Quad/Pod setup.

2. You do have a Skybolt/Ocula but you want to run it with a different type of build than Quad/Pod/Powerdive (i.e. Quad/Pod/Retro or BLC/pod or Quad/cluster or Blaster Overcharge Quad/freq capacitor) and still have a Laser/Pod build with Powerdive.

3. Regular lasers have 5% more accuracy, less power drain, and lower tracking penalty than quads (1.2% vs 1.5%). Some people are willing to sacrifice the small drop in DPS for the increased accuracy.

 

I personally prefer regular lasers to quads and still use NovaDive/Blackbolt all the time in serious TDM games. On Harbinger Impside I have an Ocula so I use that instead. It uses the same exact build listed above except for the quads and shield reactor . On paper the extra 260 shields is nice to have against railgun drones and feedback shield but it still feels almost identical to the Blackbolt to be honest.

 

For TDM, a NovaDive with Shield-to-Engine Converter is a competitive build with unique capabilities and a signature role. It can race around the map collecting power-ups (DO in particular), outflank enemy formations, outrun Flashfires/Stings, and overall dictate the terms of its engagement. It even gets some utility out of Dampening Sensors, since it can wander the outlying areas of a map and scan for vulnerable targets while being invisible to their sensors.

 

The DF build can do all of this. It doesn't need the extra 10% speed thrusters to get away from Sting/Flashfire since those players typically go with short range BLC and extra turning on the engine move rather than speed. And if for some reason he does get close enough and your power dive is on cooldown, you can pop DF for 6 seconds of invulnerability until your power dive is ready again. If the battlescout is really giving you that hard of a chase, just fly back to your bomber nest and he will either die or give up anyways.

 

 

Dampening Sensors, combined with high Scout base sensor range means it can also watch a pursuer for the moment when that pursuer loses it on sensors and gives up pursuit. This enables the NovaDive to do true hit and fade attacks. It rushes in (ideally with DO or other power-up), gets kills using Targeting Telemetry, MLC's and Pods, then outruns the Flashfires/Stings that try to retaliate. If they are smart, they give up early--in which case the NovaDive can see this and turn around to make another strike. If the pursuers are dumb, they exhaust their engine energy and end up dead in space, and vulnerable to the NovaDive's allies.

 

Again, the DF build can also do this. When you use that sensor pursuer trick against a good gunship player you may be walking into a trap because he could be charging a railgun and hit you with it even though you think he's targetting someone else (based on the HUD). I've heard more than one ebon hawk player talk about how much they like it when you guys try that trick on them.

 

And I can pretty much pretend Strikes don't exist (except as food).

 

Because strikes are usually a threat?

 

 

Bombers I ignore

 

Hmm a build that conveniently ignores 1/3 of the meta ships.

 

On basically every server except The Ebon Hawk and Progenitor, you can almost guarantee that the enemy will be fielding at least 1 Legion/Warcarrier. Often there will be two. And if the enemy team is stacking scouts hard, most good players will recognize it and stack up to 4 bombers. Because it works. In this case you wouldn't want to fly any type of scout obviously. You'd want to switch to a Gunship.

 

But suggesting a new player use a build that has to ignore bombers? That's not good.

 

 

Taking Power Dive (no power consumption & quick cool down) means you don't really need the second missile break unless you're constantly under heavy focus and can't catch a break. But usually by then you have to bug out anyway.

 

Yes you do. The DF missile break is extremely effective when you are taking on the bomber+gunship combo. With this, you can killl the railgun drone while popping DF to break the seeker mine, then target the gunship and turn it to dust. There is no scenario here where a properly supported gunship can be taken down with StE. Instead your shield-less hull will instantly go from green to flaming red when you are hit with one railgun drone, and then you'll have to power dive away before you can kill anything because seeker mines are suddenly a HARD counter to your ship.

 

 

 

I know it's a pretty decent and VERY FUN build overall. I know it works especially well for you guys on your server. I love using different niche builds like StE. But it's not something that we should be forcing onto new players.

Edited November 5, 2015 by RickDagles

[jmonka]

Hmm a build that conveniently ignores 1/3 of the meta ships...That's not good.

I would argue that Nemarus was correct about ignoring bombers: Remember the context he was speaking about was flying a Novadive in TDM. In such a situation the only consistent way an equally skilled bomber can really kill a scout is if the scout goes into the area that the bomber is denying –at which point the bomber can very easily kill the scout. Nemarus was explaining the tactics used to hunt in TDM that focused on high mobility and taking out high priority targets (gunships) or targets of opportunity. Typically a well flown bomber will not be sticking his neck out of cover enough to be a target of opportunity since the scout risks serious punishment by encroaching on a minefield.

 

Usually the LC+Pods Novadive would take out drones/mines between him and the high priority targets (gunships), hit the selected target, then bug out in order to rinse and repeat said tactic. Diving on a bomber that has any reasonable amount of cover whether from his own deployables or from allies is a disadvantageous situation for the scout and would only be advisable if the scout had changed the rules of the engagement (ie is packing a DO).

 

Of course, as you said the best tactic is to change to using a gunship if the foe starts stacking bombers since scouts can’t do much against them very easily. However, the OP’s question was specifically how to go about dealing with a bomber when flying a Novadive in Domination. The answers people have given in this thread have tried to explain the best approaches to dealing with a bomber if you are in a novadive and can’t/don’t want to suicide just to bring a gunship back. I think (not wanting to speak for Nemarus) Nem was just trying to expand on tactics for Novadives to use against bombers in a TDM setting: Namely, avoiding them for the most part just like how you would (typically) try to avoid engaging an equally skilled gunship if you were flying a bomber since in each of these match ups, with an equal playing field, no powerups and equally skilled pilots, it’s a losing proposition.

 

Yeah he suggests a build that typically wants to ignore 1/3 of the meta ships, but that is simply advising to play to your ships’ strengths instead of looking to find situations to put it into that bring all of its weaknesses to bear. How would the norm of suggesting a bomber build that would likewise ignore an entire archetype in the meta be any different?–and as far as I know there are no particularly successful gunship hunting bomber builds.

 

 

Again, the DF build can also do this. When you use that sensor pursuer trick against a good gunship player you may be walking into a trap because he could be charging a railgun and hit you with it even though you think he's targetting someone else (based on the HUD).

I'm inclined to believe that he was speaking more of a pursuing scout/strike rather than a pursuing gunship like you suggest … I think many good scouts learn to not pay much heed to who a gunship is targeting but instead to pay attention to which direction they are facing. If the gunship is still facing you, then of course it makes no sense to turn right back into him unless you like eating slugs to the face; After all, if you did just fall off his sensors you will no doubt show right back up as soon as you start moving back toward him so if he's been charging a rail exactly what you said could happen would.

 

On the other hand, a scout that is pursuing you will (usually) be keeping you targeted since it’s easier to anticipate which way they need to turn to close the gap with the lead indicator showing. In such a situation once the pursuer goes from targeting you to targeting nothing it’s not such a bad thought to reposition to engage the pursuer since you will now be engaging them on your own terms and not on his, presumably giving you the advantage if you anticipated the situation correctly. In this case I think such advice, while not an absolute, is a fairly useful rule of thumb to go by.

 

 

Giving up 9% passive evasion and a button that breaks a seeker mine and gives a 35% evasion boost for 6 seconds while you tunnel a gunship or railgun drone is a HUGE loss.

 

Am I very wrong? I was thinking Railgun drones (as well as Mines and I *think* all the other armed drones’ lasers) do not respect evasion so it wouldn’t matter if you have 0% evasion or 1740% evasion; if the railgun drone targets you then you *will* get hit. (Drak or someone else that’s tested it more recently than me please correct me if I am indeed wrong here).

 

Not saying that the defensive benefits of Distortion Field in the other areas are insignificant, but (assuming I am remembering right that Rail drones ignore evasion) against railgun drones the S2E build is only weaker if you take the hit with your shields down but on the other hand, the extra speed and engine power can help you get into firing range to destroy the drone or out of the drone’s own range slightly faster so I’m not sure it is definitively worse than DF in this one aspect (dependent on the pilot’s style).

 

The DF build can do all of this. It doesn't need the extra 10% speed thrusters to get away from Sting/Flashfire since those players typically go with short range BLC and extra turning on the engine move rather than speed. And if for some reason he does get close enough and your power dive is on cooldown, you can pop DF for 6 seconds of invulnerability until your power dive is ready again.

 

…Also, as an aside I would say from my own experience DF is by no means an “immunity” to a BLC sporting scout. It certainly helps especially if the scout chasing you is firing from the very maximum range, but it by no means makes you entirely invulnerable to them.

 

That said, I don't disagree with your point that DF would tend to be the more 'friendly' component for a newer pilot to use since it gives more room for error (and it honestly doesn't feel as funky to use the first few times you take it out like S2E does). Though since scouts tend to take longer than the other 2 archetypes to get a basic feel for anyway, it might not be an insurmountable obstacle to also spend that time learning to use the more advanced shield component as well.

Edited November 7, 2015 by jmonka

[RickDagles]

I would argue that Nemarus was correct about ignoring bombers: Remember the context he was speaking about was flying a Novadive in TDM. In such a situation the only consistent way an equally skilled bomber can really kill a scout is if the scout goes into the area that the bomber is denying –at which point the bomber can very easily kill the scout. Nemarus was explaining the tactics used to hunt in TDM that focused on high mobility and taking out high priority targets (gunships) or targets of opportunity. Typically a well flown bomber will not be sticking his neck out of cover enough to be a target of opportunity since the scout risks serious punishment by encroaching on a minefield.

 

Good luck sneaking up on a skilled gunship that isn't within the 10k range of railgun drone. If the gunship leaves this safe zone, he will be actively checking the radar to ensure that there are no nearby scouts he needs to run from. And even then, he will always be within barrel roll/power dive range away from railgun drone, seeker mines, and LoS (not to mention gunship teammates).

 

 

Usually the LC+Pods Novadive would take out mines/drones between him and the high priority targets (gunships), hit the selected target, then bug out in order to rinse and repeat said tactic. Diving on a bomber that has any reasonable amount of cover whether from his own deployables or from allies is a disadvantageous situation for the scout and would only be advisable if the scout had changed the rules of the engagement (ie is packing a DO).

 

Wrong. Before killing a gunship you need to kill the railgun drone. Yes, ignore the bomber, but don't ignore his tools.

 

 

Of course, as you said the best tactic is to change to using a gunship if the foe starts stacking bombers since scouts can’t do much against them very easily. However, the OP’s question was specifically how to go about dealing with a bomber when flying a Novadive in Domination. The answers people have given in this thread have tried to explain the best approaches to dealing with a bomber if you are in a novadive and can’t/don’t want to suicide just to bring a gunship back. I think (not wanting to speak for Nemarus) Nem was just trying to expand on tactics for Novadives to use against bombers in a TDM setting: Namely, avoiding them for the most part just like how you would (typically) try to avoid engaging an equally skilled gunship if you were flying a bomber since in each of these match ups, with an equal playing field, no powerups and equally skilled pilots, it’s a losing proposition.

 

Yes, and my point is that its even more of a losing proposition when you lose DF.

 

 

Yeah he suggests a build that typically wants to ignore 1/3 of the meta ships, but that is simply advising to play to your ships’ strengths instead of looking to find situations to put it into that bring all of its weaknesses to bear. How would the norm of suggesting a bomber build that would likewise ignore an entire archetype in the meta be any different?–and as far as I know there are no particularly successful gunship hunting bomber builds.

 

A ship doesn't have to be awesome at killing all 3 meta ships in order to be a good ship, but it needs to be able to survive against all three ships. The StE has ZERO chance to survive against a centered wingman slug railgun. It's a simple matter of mathematics. 128% accuracy vs. 24% evasion. You don't even need to be dead-center to have a 100% chance of hitting. And as I already stated, the build sucks against railgun drones and seeker mines too. The DF scout can survive against slug railguns and seeker mines long enough to kill the railgun drone.

 

 

 

On the other hand, a scout that is pursuing you will (usually) be keeping you targeted since it’s easier to anticipate which way they need to turn to close the gap with the lead indicator showing. In such a situation once the pursuer goes from targeting you to targeting nothing it’s not such a bad thought to reposition to engage the pursuer since you will now be engaging them on your own terms and not on his, presumably giving you the advantage if you anticipated the situation correctly. In this case I think such advice, while not an absolute, is a fairly useful rule of thumb to go by.

 

Sure, but how does this have anything to do with StE?

 

 

 

Am I very wrong? I was thinking Railgun drones (as well as Mines and I *think* all the other armed drones’ lasers) do not respect evasion so it wouldn’t matter if you have 0% evasion or 1740% evasion; if the railgun drone targets you then you *will* get hit. (Drak or someone else that’s tested it more recently than me please correct me if I am indeed wrong here).

 

Correct, but it stings a lot less when you actually have full shields. The StE build will likely not have full shields unless he got a blue orb.

 

 

Not saying that the defensive benefits of Distortion Field in the other areas are insignificant, but (assuming I am remembering right that Rail drones ignore evasion) against railgun drones the S2E build is only weaker if you take the hit with your shields down but on the other hand, the extra speed and engine power can help you get into firing range to destroy the drone or out of the drone’s own range slightly faster so I’m not sure it is definitively worse than DF in this one aspect (dependent on the pilot’s style).

 

 

The build I listed actually kills railgun drones before they can fire at you once, so the 10% speed boost is irrelevant. As a scout you have to moreso worry about freshly dropped railgun drones that you didn't expect. The pre-existing ones are easy food.

 

 

 

…Also, as an aside I would say from my own experience DF is by no means an “immunity” to a BLC sporting scout. It certainly helps especially if the scout chasing you is firing from the very maximum range, but it by no means makes you entirely invulnerable to them.

 

It is near immunity with full evasion unless they get super close and lucky.

 

 

 

That said, I don't disagree with your point that DF would tend to be the more 'friendly' component for a newer pilot to use since it gives more room for error (and it honestly doesn't feel as funky to use the first few times you take it out like S2E does). Though since scouts tend to take longer than the other 2 archetypes to get a basic feel for anyway, it might not be an insurmountable obstacle to also spend that time learning to use the more advanced shield component as well.

 

Calling it a more advanced component is like calling fortress shield more advanced than distortion field on a gunship. It's an inferior component. It only slightly excels at farming noobs.

 

 

Vexxial and I used to love playing against the StE build. It was basically like shooting a fast version of a strike fighter except 1/3 the HP. I don't think I've ever played in a game against StE where the user didn't have at least 10 deaths at the end of the match.

 

 

Look, if you guys want to continue to support a suboptimal build then go ahead. I'm just saying it doesn't work against good players and you're wasting this new player's time.

Edited November 6, 2015 by RickDagles

[Ryuku-sama]

Correct, but it stings a lot less when you actually have full shields. The StE build will likely not have full shields unless he got a blue orb.

 

Just to expand on this. A correctly built StE scout will always have more shield than a Disto scout unless it's coming out of a long engine burn. A Disto Nova runs with -10% shield while a StE Nova runs with +25%. The active only burns 10% or 18% base shield depending on how you interprete T2's upgrade. Even worse case, you still end up with 12% more base shield than the Disto Nova. A good StE scout will never StE often enough to burn through its shield unless it is necessary to open gaps.

So, in fact, assuming you play properly, against a gunship and a railgun drone,the StE scout would have the best chance since it can tank the drone once while bursting the gunship. If the gunship runs, it can LoS the drone then chase or kill the drone depending on the situation. Seekers are more of a problem but their low range means you don,t have to fly intoit...Just don't over extend into a bomber playing field. And a Disto Nova won't be any more useful against a bomber in Dom or TDM than StE Nova. You won't have any more burst to kill the bomber....Disto only allows you to kill gunships in the middle of a bomber nest slighty better... But doing so in any scout is suicide anyway. Proper counter to a nested gunship is more gunship until the enemies switch to scouts.

[Archonitek]

Look, if you guys want to continue to support a suboptimal build then go ahead. I'm just saying it doesn't work against good players and you're wasting this new player's time.

 

I think it's better if we lay out all the available options for the OP to look at and let him chose what he believes will help him the most since he specifically asked for tactics to fight against bombers in dom matches.

 

And I do agree that d-field is a safer option for T1 scout's, especially for players just starting out.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Archonitek

[jmonka]

Usually the LC+Pods Novadive would take out mines / drones between him and the high priority targets (gunships), hit the selected target, then bug out in order to rinse and repeat said tactic. Diving on a bomber that has any reasonable amount of cover whether from his own deployables or from allies is a disadvantageous situation for the scout and would only be advisable if the scout had changed the rules of the engagement (ie is packing a DO).

Wrong. Before killing a gunship you need to kill the railgun drone. Yes, ignore the bomber, but don't ignore his tools.

That is exactly what I was saying actually. (bolded for emphasis)

 

A ship doesn't have to be awesome at killing all 3 meta ships in order to be a good ship, but it needs to be able to survive against all three ships. The StE has ZERO chance to survive against a centered wingman slug railgun. It's a simple matter of mathematics. 128% accuracy vs. 24% evasion. You don't even need to be dead-center to have a 100% chance of hitting.

I'm thinking this difference of opinion might have more to do with difference between flying styles than anything.

I believe the S2E build relies almost completely on not giving the gunship a chance to get that near-centered shot (of course that is impossible to achieve all the time, but by making quick (and erratic) runs at a target and then immediately fading/LoSing before the gunship can center another shot the pilot can limit the number of clean shots the gunship can actually take). Meanwhile the DF option is entirely superior if you plan to stick around within range of any foes for any amount of time, if you want to have more time to line up your shot and/or if there are multiple gunships triangulating their fire toward you when you make the run.

To be fair I run DF myself for the reasons mentioned in my first post so I am not going to claim that S2E is inherently better since I've got much less time in the cockpit using it than those that run it as their primary build, and I find DF works better for me as well, however during the time I have run with S2E I've found it to be useful enough to believe it worth mentioning as an option for TDM if it happens to fit a player's style better.

 

It is near immunity with full evasion unless they get super close and lucky.

You are correct and I apologize if I was being pedantic. I simply wanted to clarify for new pilots so they wouldn't misunderstand to think they could pop DF and stop running for that 6 seconds while all the BLC shots flew past them harmlessly (since if the BLC scout got close enough they'd start landing).

 

 

Calling it a more advanced component is like calling fortress shield more advanced than distortion field on a gunship. It's an inferior component. It only slightly excels at farming noobs.

I think calling it a more advanced component is more like calling Directional shields, rather than fortress, a more advanced component: namely similarly to Directionals it requires much more attention and understanding of how to manage its use to gain the most benefit (and minimize the largest detrimental qualities it has). I never intended "more advanced" to mean "more powerful/better" and perhaps I should have chosen different words to express what I meant.

Personally I think DF is (for the typical pilot) a better choice. I do however believe S2E is a component that *can* be very potent in the right hands.

In either case though it is a component that requires quite a lot more care in managing when and how to use it to it's fullest potential and thus is not as easy to simply pick up and excel at the first time out as would be the average component that works similarly to the next one (ie overcharged shields, charged plating, and quick charge shields all to some varying degree require you to simply push "2" when you need a shield boost and forget the component the rest of the time (yes optimized use of these examples is a lot more involved than "mash 2 for shieldz" , but overall they do not require as much of a re-think of when to and when not to activate the shield component as S2E and they don't tend to require as much constant awareness/attention from the learning pilot as something like Directionals or S2E. After all, if you just mashed S2E every time it was off cooldown you're basically flying without shields, and if you never used it then obviously why equip it -learning the proper situations to use it in is where it is different and why I called it more advanced).

[RickDagles]

So, in fact, assuming you play properly, against a gunship and a railgun drone,the StE scout would have the best chance since it can tank the drone once while bursting the gunship. If the gunship runs, it can LoS the drone then chase or kill the drone depending on the situation.

 

Except this is an example of poor play. You should never purposely be eating railgun shots like that. You quickly kill the railgun and then attack the gunship. Otherwise you are playing into their game and will always lose against equally skilled opponents.

 

Seekers are more of a problem but their low range means you don,t have to fly intoit...Just don't over extend into a bomber playing field.

 

Any bomber player with half a brain will protect his railgun drone with seeker mines.

 

Disto Nova won't be any more useful against a bomber in Dom or TDM than StE Nova. You won't have any more burst to kill the bomber

 

A DF Nova will be able to park itself under a node and shoot the bomber while evading enemy fire for 6 seconds. Potentially even longer with TT/RI 23% evasion boost. A StE Nova is killed almost immediately by slug railguns if it tries to do this.

 

....Disto only allows you to kill gunships in the middle of a bomber nest slighty better...

 

Disto does it WAY better. Your meagre 24% evasion is boosted to an incredible 91% in an evasion scout. Even if the enemy gunship centers you perfectly with wingman, he still only has a 43% chance to hit you. Realistically he won't be able to center the evasion scout completely, so it's more like a 35% chance to land. Hitting a StE build? Almost 100% chance of connecting unless the gunship player has terrible accuracy.

 

 

But doing so in any scout is suicide anyway.

 

It's not suicide at all if you know how to do it properly and stack full evasion. I do it all the time.

 

 

Proper counter to a nested gunship is more gunship until the enemies switch to scouts.

 

Nope. Proper counter to a nested gunship is ion gunships and scouts.

Edited November 6, 2015 by RickDagles

[RickDagles]

That is exactly what I was saying actually. (bolded for emphasis)

 

It's not what you're saying though. If you waste time killing the seeker mines first, then the railgun will slug you hard.

 

 

I'm thinking this difference of opinion might have more to do with difference between flying styles than anything.

I believe the S2E build relies almost completely on not giving the gunship a chance to get that near-centered shot (of course that is impossible to achieve all the time, but by making quick (and erratic) runs at a target and then immediately fading/LoSing before the gunship can center another shot the pilot can limit the number of clean shots the gunship can actually take).

 

At takes you at least 2 seconds to line up and tunnel a target -- the gunship will be happy to wait for you to do this, and he will land a full slug on you every time. I think the difference of opinion is related to how you don't usually fly against multiple competent gunship pilots.

 

 

Meanwhile the DF option is entirely superior... if you want to have more time to line up your shot and/or if there are multiple gunships triangulating their fire toward you when you make the run.

 

Yes. This is exactly what I'm saying.

 

however during the time I have run with S2E I've found it to be useful enough to believe it worth mentioning as an option for TDM if it happens to fit a player's style better.

 

Sure, but it's a bit insane when a handful of pilots that only play on Ebon hawk claim that the best Novadive aces in the GAME use this inferior build.

 

 

Personally I think DF is (for the typical pilot) a better choice. I do however believe S2E is a component that *can* be very potent in the right hands.

 

Yes, but so can a Pike. It doesn't make it good.

[Ryuku-sama]

Except this is an example of poor play. You should never purposely be eating railgun shots like that. You quickly kill the railgun and then attack the gunship. Otherwise you are playing into their game and will always lose against equally skilled opponents.

 

Except you won't. The enemy gunship will not try to tank you so you will have the time to LoS the drone.

 

Any bomber player with half a brain will protect his railgun drone with seeker mines.

 

Another reason why even a Disto scout shouldn't go in a nest. You will waste your evasion to break a seeker and eat the slug the enemy gunship will throw at you once you get in his face.. Bacause smart gunships won't be in the middle of the nest long if they see you coming.. THey will reposition 7-8 km away and slug you when Disto drops while you just finished killing the drone.

 

A DF Nova will be able to park itself under a node and shoot the bomber while evading enemy fire for 6 seconds. Potentially even longer with TT/RI 23% evasion boost. A StE Nova is killed almost immediately by slug railguns if it tries to do this.

 

And why would a Novadive expose itself to Seismic and Interdiction on a node?? In Dom, Railgun Drone is useless.. Interdiction is better. And Mines are way more common. Doing that versus a good bomber will end up with you in a Seismic and a red hull.

 

Nope. Proper counter to a nested gunship is ion gunships and scouts.

 

No. Proper counter to a murderball where bomber are covering gunships is a 8 gunships team until the bombers starts switching to scouts or gunships where you will want to switch to either bombers and gunships or scouts.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Ryuku-sama

[RickDagles]

Except you won't. The enemy gunship will not try to tank you so you will have the time to LoS the drone.

 

Sure you can LoS the drone after it hits you once or twice. And then you have to pray that a gunship doesn't finish you off with a quarter charge railgun shot.

 

 

 

Another reason why even a Disto scout shouldn't go in a nest. You will waste your evasion to break a seeker and eat the slug the enemy gunship will throw at you once you get in his face.. Bacause smart gunships won't be in the middle of the nest long if they see you coming.. THey will reposition 7-8 km away and slug you when Disto drops while you just finished killing the drone.

 

The drone does not take 6 seconds to kill. Once you kill the drone you hit the boost again and fly evasively. You are right that good gunship players will move before you shoot them or as you're shooting them. But then you're doing your job -- deroosting gunships. If their gunships aren't shooting, that allows your teams's gunships to move in uncontested. At this point your gunships can shoot their gunships as well as bombers/railgun drones. With good coordination you can push the enemy team back and fortify the position with your own bomber. Now you've got control of damage overcharges and the game is in your favour.

 

Sometimes you can get your gunship teammate to ion the railgun drone/seeker mines before your assault, but this is more of a luxury and not entirely necessary unless the enemy team is stacking 2-3 bombers in the same area.

 

 

And why would a Novadive expose itself to Seismic and Interdiction on a node?? In Dom, Railgun Drone is useless.. Interdiction is better. And Mines are way more common. Doing that versus a good bomber will end up with you in a Seismic and a red hull.

 

For the same reason a gunship can go under the node and not die to mines. The gunship has a range of 15000 and the scout has a range of 5750 (range capacitors) or 5250 (damage capacitors). Both ranges far exceed the range of mines. It's easy to do. Try it.

 

 

 

No. Proper counter to a murderball where bomber are covering gunships is a 8 gunships team until the bombers starts switching to scouts or gunships where you will want to switch to either bombers and gunships or scouts.

 

Are you saying 2-3 bombers + 5-6 gunships? Then yes 8 gunships would counter that because you essentially have 2 or 3 more gunships than them. But if you are talking about fighting a properly coordinated bomber ball of 1-2 bombers, 4-5 gunships, and 2-3 scouts then your 8 gunship strategy will not work very well.

Edited November 6, 2015 by RickDagles

[Linuxizer]

Siraka, thanks for mentioning me. The best Blackbolt/NovaDive pilot is Nemarus, without question. I also suggest the OP to fly the Sting/Flashfire with armor piercing BLC in Domination, but I understand that it can take a long time just to buy the ship. An average player earns maybe 180 fleet req per battle if he's a subscriber (120 if not). The Introduction to Starfighter mission also grants 5000 fleet req which should go to the T1 Gunship and T1 Bomber. The next 10000 fleet req should go to the T2 Bomber and T2 Scout. If he flies one battle per day, this takes > 5 weeks.

 

There are other good reasons to fly the Blackbolt and NovaDive in Domination. They look better than the Sting, Flashfire and IL-5. LLC and LC sound better than BLC. There are 12 ships and it's fun to fly all of them. If the OP doesn't have a T2 Scout, he may contribute more in a Bomber or Gunship than a T1 Scout against a competent enemy team, but if the enemy team is much stronger, it's less miserable to fly a T1 Scout

 

On to the original questions...

 

Specifically, should I be using Laser Cannons, Light Laser Cannons or Rapid Fire? Which is most effective at clearing out turrets?

 

Also, any tips for taking on a bomber running around a satellite?

 

Any tips in general?

 

Thank you much in advance for any info!

 

1a) Laser Cannons.

 

1b) They are all mediocre against turrets. Upgrade the Rocket Pods to Level 1 (armor piercing) ASAP.

 

2) It depends:

 

If it is an expert T1 Bomber with Charged Plating, get some teammates to help.

 

If it is a rookie Bomber defending and circling the satellite horizontally, kill mines, kill turrets, kill drones, go 5000m below the satellite, look up, stop, and fire away. Obviously, if there are other people shooting at you, stopping in open space will get you killed very quickly... but it might still be worth it if you manage to do a lot of hull damage, respawn, and resume your attack.

 

If the Bomber is attacking and you are the only defender, you can't go 5000m below. Shoot any mine within the 3 second arming window. Shoot any drones. Follow the Bomber at short range (maybe 400m to 600m) and center your shots and keep shooting him. If you get overwhelmed with mines and drones and are about to die, hide in a groove to buy a little time.

 

3) In a balanced match, fly your Scout against enemy Gunships, and let your teammates in Gunships, Bombers and Strikes take care of the enemy Bombers. Only sprint to the satellite at the start, or to help finish off damaged Bombers, or to steal undefended enemy satellite, or to try to save a satellite.

 

4) You're welcome!

 

Interesting debate on DF vs. StE. My 2 cents: For Domination, I would choose DF, even in Denon, and even Level 0 DF over Level 0 StE (as may be relevant to the OP). For TDM, I still don't recommend StE for newer players. The experienced players have all clearly made up their minds already and don't need my recommendation

 

If anyone is interested, here is my T1 Scout build:

Laser Cannons (crit, shield damage), occasionally Light Laser Cannons (tracking, shield damage)

Rockets (ammo, plasma warheads)

Targeting Telemetry (Target Prediction, Precision Targeting)

Distortion Field (missile break)

Power Dive (turning), occasionally Barrel Roll (turning)

Lightweight Armor

Frequency Capacitor

Regeneration Thrusters

Wingman

+13% engine and weapon efficiency

+6% accuracy and +25% ammo

+5% evasion and +10% shield pool

[RickDagles]

If it is a rookie Bomber defending and circling the satellite horizontally, kill mines, kill turrets, kill drones, go 5000m below the satellite, look up, stop, and fire away. Obviously, if there are other people shooting at you, stopping in open space will get you killed very quickly..

 

You can actually survive a long time if you swapped your TT component for the evasion and dropped wingman for running interference. I would also not bother wasting time killing the mines, that's a job for ion. I typically only worry if there's a rare railgun drone since you out-range everything else.

 

 

If the Bomber is attacking and you are the only defender, you can't go 5000m below. Shoot any mine within the 3 second arming window. Shoot any drones. Follow the Bomber at short range (maybe 400m to 600m) and center your shots and keep shooting him. If you get overwhelmed with mines and drones and are about to die, hide in a groove to buy a little time.

 

Again, try going below with max evasion. It works great. I'm surprised you bother with the chasing techniques, I abandoned that entirely a long time ago unless I have BLC. It just feels like you could be so much more useful doing anything else. It's playing into the bomber's game if you chase him like that. Maybe you're just a lot better at it than I am.

 

[quote=Linuxizer;8597908

]In a balanced match, fly your Scout against enemy Gunships, and let your teammates in Gunships, Bombers and Strikes take care of the enemy Bombers. Only sprint to the satellite at the start, or to help finish off damaged Bombers, or to steal undefended enemy satellite, or to try to save a satellite.

 

True, but there are usually opportunities where you can get a really good line on a bomber and melt him before he realizes his mistake. This is true even in high skill games.

 

 

Not to discount Nemarus' skills because he is a good pilot....but IMO you are much much harder to hit and you have a similar offensive output. When I've played against Nemarus he routinely does super high damage numbers and a decent amount of kills, but he almost always dies like 10+ times. It's not good for the team when your top player accounts for over 1/5 of your teams TDM deaths IMO.

 

 

Anyway that's enough from me. Maybe I'll swing by Ebon Hawk and see if StE players are any more threatening now than they were 6 months ago.

Edited November 6, 2015 by RickDagles

[Drakkolich]

Am I very wrong? I was thinking Railgun drones (as well as Mines and I *think* all the other armed drones’ lasers) do not respect evasion so it wouldn’t matter if you have 0% evasion or 1740% evasion; if the railgun drone targets you then you *will* get hit. (Drak or someone else that’s tested it more recently than me please correct me if I am indeed wrong here).

 

Just wanted to touch on this.

 

Railgun drones do indeed ignore all Evasion of their target. However the other drones (Interdiction and Missile) and defense turrets all are affected by Evasion.

 

Let's just throw up some lists for everyone for fun.

 

List of things unaffected by Evasion:

 

All missiles (Except Rocket pods)

All mines

Railgun Drone

Missile Drone's Missile (Not it's lasers)

 

 

List of things affected by Evasion:

 

All Lasers

All Railguns

Rocket pods

Missile and Interdiction Drone's lasers

Defense turrets (Including Capital ship turrets)

[Danalon]

Other things not affected by evasion:

Interdiction Drone's interdiction effect

DoTs once they're applied

Copilot abilites

EMP

 

Does anyone know if Ion Railgun's cleave is affected?

Edited November 7, 2015 by Danalon