What is the best scout ship and the best loadout for taking out Gunships?

[Trevor_the_Bruce]

Just getting back into playing GS again regularly with my brother. I need some advice on playing Scouts. I never played scouts much before (mained a Strike Fighter before) and it seems that they should be the best counter to the gunships that are abundant in the ques. It pretty much seems that gunships are there to counter the bombers (for good reason) but they also seem to take out our strike fighters pretty well also. So I'm trying to focus on becoming an ace with scouts and would like to ask everyone else's advice in what scout ship to get good at using and what loadouts (crew, DCD's, primary/secondary weapons etc..) are best for taking out the gunships. What do you Scout ace's use? What tactics do you use? Thanks in advance!

 

Side question: we made new characters on Harbinger and Ebon Hawk soley for just playing GS since our server we main on (Bergeren colony) doesn't have a large population playing GS. Any good guilds that we could join that are GS specific?

[Danalon]

If you want to focus on Gunship-killing, then the best option probably is a T2 Scout with Quads, Pods, TT, Powerdive, DF, Lightweight Armor, Regen Thrusters, Large Reactor and Range Capacitor. Crew: offensive: 6%acc/+ammo, defensive: evasion/shield-hp, engineering: reduced cost for blasters and boost

 

If you want an allround Scout then you should also use a T2 Scout but with BLC, Clusters and Retros with the rest of the components staying the same.

 

Generals tips for attacking Gunships:

Don't approach them in their field of view, try to sneak up from the side or behind.

If there's more than one GS, attack the one with the least cover.

Try to attack when the GS is charging it's rail, usually they have tunnel vision on their target when they do.

Use cooldowns wisely. If you slow down to attack you might want to use DF to avoid being shot by another GS. Use Powerdive to get behind cover.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Danalon

[Trevor_the_Bruce]

thanks a lot!

[DakhathKilrathi]

If you want an allround Scout then you should also use a T2 Scout but with BLC, Clusters and Retros with the rest of the components staying the same.

 

I don't personally feel like that last build benefits from retros more than Power Dive or Barrel Roll, but it's really a matter of play style. Solid advice regardless.

[Danalon]

I don't personally feel like that last build benefits from retros more than Power Dive or Barrel Roll, but it's really a matter of play style. Solid advice regardless.

 

I prefer Retros because they're a huge advantage in dogfights and I can use them to stay on target longer. I should mention that I'm using Booster Recharge instead of TT, because I hate running out of engine power.

 

Powerdive is a good choice because it works with empty engine power and has the shortest cooldown. Barrel Roll is useful but it's important to keep an eye on the engine pool when using it.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Danalon

[Nemarus]

Recommended builds are good.

 

As for guild, on The Ebon Hawk, Imperial side, I run Eclipse Squadron. We're probably the oldest, and potentially the largest GSF-focused guild on any server. We have the full range of skill in our pilots, from aces to newbies and everyone in between. See our website in my signature

[MDVZ]

To add to the above:

 

I personally prefer frequency capacitor, as a good GS will move, and frequency has a greater chance of getting an extra shot in. Range is certainly not wrong, though.

 

Speaking of range, do not open up on them at the edge of your range. Look at the damage and accuracy profiles of quads and BLCs (whichever you choose). Both are more effective at closer range, as with all lasers, but BLC distance tail off is severe. Best used within 2k, but closer is always better. Quads and pods are more forgiving of distance, because quads performance decreases less severely with distance. BLC/Cluster builds are further assisted by being as close as possible by reducing missile travel time, and therefore lock break opportunity.

 

Cluster is a mixed bag against them. Some will wait until the missile is launched to break with disto. This is a double edged sword, as it gives you a few shots with their evasion at a sub-optimal level but your missile won't land (while at least some pods will). Others will hit disto as soon as fired on and eat the missile to finish their shot (that's probably the wisest thing, as the lasers are more dangerous than one cluster). Pods give no missile lock warning, obviously, and the overall DPS is, I think, higher (or at least unstoppable, without evasion, which leads to...)

 

You *probably* want to go with wingman or running interference. I think that Wingman serves a pod n' quad better, as both those weapons have lower peak accuracy than BLCs and you will miss some shots against the passive evasion of a GS. It helps BLC/Cluster less because one weapon has higher accuracy already at close range, and the other ignores it. Note, 'Less', not 'not at all'. Both co-pilot abilities work well with both builds though, and I switch between them quite frequently. RI probably serves better against GS walls, where you want them to move more than die to break the formation, while not yourself being a free kill.

 

GS will generally use disto, but seem more inclined toward wingman than RI, on the whole (at least on TRE), so their peak evasion is rarely egregious and you will cause a lot of damage and kills without wingman, if you find yourself getting shot at a lot. RI is also better if your use of cover and angle of attack are still in early stages of practice.

 

Concentrated fire should be mentioned as well, for its synergy with TT and potential to allow you to just kill a GS before they can even decide to finish the shot they're in or not. It's benefit is too infrequent and short for me to use it, though. But hitting 1 and 4 on pod n' quad/TT then unloading at a GS can kill them (and anything else) hilariously quickly. Worth a mention.

 

Scouts attacking gunships is as much disruption as destruction, and you need to stay very mobile, and they need to be stationary to attack. To that end, by default (circumstances may well vary), if they move, move on, if they don't, they die. Assume that at least one more GS is targeting you at all times. Use cover as much as possible, choose your targets carefully, sneak in from the sides and on the way into your attack fly in erratically or in an arc, so they have to fire off centre, compromising their accuracy (both the game mechanic accuracy and their own actual aim).

 

Engine component is a matter of playstyle, as dakhath says, and I think retro, barrel and PD all have merits. Retros, for example, help with the GS that will try to get a close range rail or retaliate with their BLCs, and I've seen many rail shots from another GS pass infront of me after I slow to attack the one infront of me and retro back. Barrel gets you in, and more importantly, out, most reliably. I have little experience with powerdive and plan on trying it, so I can't speak from experience there, but it seems like it would provide the most unpredictable target while giving similar mobility to barrel, more often, at less cost (but great risk of falling victim to GSFs super-aces, the asteroids).

 

Other little rules:

 

Feedback shield hurts and fortress shield is a hilarious deathtrap.

 

Hope that helps.

Edited December 15, 2015 by MDVZ

[ALaggyGrunt]

Crew talent depends heavily on what's usually trying to kill you. If it's a burst laser scout, suppression is nice, because it will make it a lot harder for it to hit you. If it's a wall of gunships, you can leave that debuff on the one which gets away so he's got a lot harder time picking you off when he turns around, but usually RI is the one you want because it works against all of the gunships in the wall, or wingman so you can shoot through distortion field.

[Maulkat]

I am not a scout pilot, but you asked about guilds on Harbinger and TEH. No guild that I know of concentrates on GS only. Which faction did you make toons for?

On TEH, I am in Eclipse (imp) and Saberwing (pub). On Harbinger, there are several gsf oriented guilds, but the two with the largest number of pilots are Gone Sithing (imp) and Jawa's Order (pub).

Make sure you /cjoin gsf there as well and ask around.

[MaximilianPower]

Crew talent depends heavily on what's usually trying to kill you. If it's a burst laser scout, suppression is nice, because it will make it a lot harder for it to hit you. If it's a wall of gunships, you can leave that debuff on the one which gets away so he's got a lot harder time picking you off when he turns around, but usually RI is the one you want because it works against all of the gunships in the wall, or wingman so you can shoot through distortion field.

 

I used to fly exclusively GS, then spent a long time focusing on anti-GS scout builds (sort of a "know thine enemy" kind of exercise). T2 scout is the way to go. I've tried all sorts of builds, but ultimately settled on BLC/TT/clusters/DF, and I switch between BR and PDie. I'm terrible with pods, but a quads & pods build can be just as effective (or more so) in the right hands. Which are not mine.

 

Re: crew actives, take a long look at suppression. I used to use wingman but it's kind of unnecessary if you also run TT; I've tried CF, which is great versus bombers, but not optimal if you're gunship-hunting. RI is never a bad choice but I've concluded that for GS hunting, especially if you aren't facing a wall of them, suppression is a bit more helpful.

 

Re: guilds - as has been mentioned, Eclipse/Saberwing seem to be tops on TEH (though I haven't seen those guys in a while - bad timing maybe?) and Gone Sithing/Jawa's Order are good on Harb (as Maulkat noted). There's also SRW (Shadowlands Reconnaisance Wing), which started on SL but is pretty much on every server in one incarnation or another, and is probably the highest-profile GSF-only guild out there these days.

 

EDIT: linky to SRW site if you want to track us down.

Edited December 16, 2015 by MaximilianPower

[Trevor_the_Bruce]

Thanks guys! I was on Harbinger last night and I actually saw Danalon flying around on my team (my Imp characters name is Gokudo, my bro is Yakuza) and it was fun to be flying around with people like him that know how to fly their ships well. I honestly was the weak spot of the team (died 5 times) but as the matches last night progressed, I was focusing on what you guys have been saying and it helps a lot. I'm trying to get the ship req to unlock the S-13 Sting and get the loadouts people have been suggesting, but as far as playstyle and the loadouts that I am able to implement on my S-12 Blackbolt, I really appreciate the advice you guys are giving. In one of the matches I focused solely on one of their gunships and being patient and starting my shots into shorter range (mid to short instead of letting loose from long range) it was pretty effective since he/she never got into a good position to take out my teammates, whereas I blasted that pub to the cold depths of space a few times.

 

Was fun night of GS! its really refreshing to be playing GS again and it seems there has grown to be a good community of players. Way better than the toxic atmosphere ground pvp has sometimes. I noticed that some of the ace players that used to play GS on Bergeren Colony are now on Harbinger, such as White'wolf. It was fun to see so many people that I used to see regularly that are still playing and enjoying the game.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Trevor_the_Bruce

[Danalon]

[...] actually saw Danalon flying around [...]

It wasn't me. I'm from Germany and rarely fly on Harbinger because of the high latency. None of my characters is named Danalon except one for naming the strongholds on my main server.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Danalon

[Trevor_the_Bruce]

I am not a scout pilot, but you asked about guilds on Harbinger and TEH. No guild that I know of concentrates on GS only. Which faction did you make toons for?

On TEH, I am in Eclipse (imp) and Saberwing (pub). On Harbinger, there are several gsf oriented guilds, but the two with the largest number of pilots are Gone Sithing (imp) and Jawa's Order (pub).

Make sure you /cjoin gsf there as well and ask around.

 

I've made toons on both Imp and pub side on Harbinger, in the process of making an Imp and a pub toon on Ebon Hawk. I am unfamiliar with the /cjoin command. What does that do exactly? I've been inthe same guild my whle time playing and I was invited by my bro, so I've never had to actively look for another guild to join before. Not sure how effective it is to post LFG in general chat, but maybe that is a good way if you specifiy GS?

[Trevor_the_Bruce]

I'm currently not flying on Harbinger.

 

well shoot......there was a guy that had a character name spelled very similarly to your username on here and I was like "hey I seen that guys post on swtor.com! Cool!!!!!". My bad.

[Lavaar]

I've made toons on both Imp and pub side on Harbinger, in the process of making an Imp and a pub toon on Ebon Hawk. I am unfamiliar with the /cjoin command. What does that do exactly? I've been inthe same guild my whle time playing and I was invited by my bro, so I've never had to actively look for another guild to join before. Not sure how effective it is to post LFG in general chat, but maybe that is a good way if you specifiy GS?

 

The /cjoin gsf command adds you into a custom chat channel which exists on every server, both factions. It is where people in the GSF community go to find groups, discuss strategies, answer questions, gossip, and "reflect" on recent matches. It is a very useful place to be, and will be active no matter where you are in game. You can change the default colour from yellow through the "chat settings" so that you don't mistake the gsf chat text for mechanics information in-game as well. To type in the gsf channel after you join it, simple type in /4 to your chat box. I would encourage anyone who plays gsf to join this channel, as it is our version of the /pvp chat.

 

Regarding gunships, the information here has been very good, and will work the majority of the time. Against myself though, It may not work so well. I will often sit and joust you due to my build of laser cannons, quads, directional shields and retro thrusters on my T3 gunship, and more often than not I will win that joust (without a scratch to my hull) due to my massive front shield pool. I see more and more players these days emulating my build after facing it. In this case, you should try to sneak up behind the gunship with BLC while he is already engaged with another person, as the directional shields may be down on the rear, resulting in a quick kill.

 

See you in the skies! And good luck!

Edited December 16, 2015 by Lavaar

[MDVZ]

I didn't realise you didn't have a T2.

 

T1 build suggestion:

 

LLC

Pods

TT

Disto

Barrel/power die

Dampening

Lightweight

Regen

Frequency

 

It trades shield reactor for sensors, which is not a fair trade, but dampening does help by giving a possible maximum 6km sensor dampening, and LLCs are quite respectable but not as good as quads or BLCs. It's actually a pretty good GS hunter, and in that role its playstyle is the same as pod n'quad with barrel or power die. If you use this, it's perfectly good practice for its T2 equivalent.

 

If, when you get a T2, you go for BLC/cluster, you will have to re-learn a bit, but overall the pod n' quad type is harder to fly, so you should be fine. The main things are getting used to taking snap shots in small windows of opportunity in turning fights with BLCs, and using them in general as a 'click fire' weapon, because of their low RoF, and clusters are made for spamming (as opposed to pods, where you have to carefully judge when to fire them).

 

/cjoin gsf typed into general chat will connect you to the GSF chat channel so you can find groups and talk about GSF. (Edit: sniped above. Pun intended).

Edited December 16, 2015 by MDVZ

[Greezt]

I didn't realise you didn't have a T2.

 

T1 build suggestion:

 

LLC

Pods

TT

Disto

Barrel/power die

Dampening

Lightweight

Regen

Frequency

 

This is my personal favorite GS hunter, with barrel roll. The burst is incredible, so you can just as easily swap the systems ability to Booster recharge. The only thing you have to watch out for is GS with feedback shields, because without the reactor it hurts quite a bit.

 

Just make sure to hit line up for minimum tracking at close range (<2000m if possible) and mash all the buttons... It's incredible how fast ships die to this.

[Archonitek]

I didn't realise you didn't have a T2.

 

T1 build suggestion:

 

LLC

Pods

TT

Disto

Barrel/power die

Dampening

Lightweight

Regen

Frequency

 

It trades shield reactor for sensors, which is not a fair trade, but dampening does help by giving a possible maximum 6km sensor dampening, and LLCs are quite respectable but not as good as quads or BLCs. It's actually a pretty good GS hunter, and in that role its playstyle is the same as pod n'quad with barrel or power die. If you use this, it's perfectly good practice for its T2 equivalent.

 

If, when you get a T2, you go for BLC/cluster, you will have to re-learn a bit, but overall the pod n' quad type is harder to fly, so you should be fine. The main things are getting used to taking snap shots in small windows of opportunity in turning fights with BLCs, and using them in general as a 'click fire' weapon, because of their low RoF, and clusters are made for spamming (as opposed to pods, where you have to carefully judge when to fire them).

 

/cjoin gsf typed into general chat will connect you to the GSF chat channel so you can find groups and talk about GSF. (Edit: sniped above. Pun intended).

 

I suggest using Laser Cannon for the extra range.

[ALaggyGrunt]

Laser cannon have a much deeper kill zone than LLC. They're good all the way out to max range, and pick up very little tracking penalty.

[Krixarcs]

Recommended builds are good.

 

As for guild, on The Ebon Hawk, Imperial side, I run Eclipse Squadron. We're probably the oldest, and potentially the largest GSF-focused guild on any server. We have the full range of skill in our pilots, from aces to newbies and everyone in between. See our website in my signature

 

I advise any pilots new or old to ignore this protip. The ebon hawk at one time may have been a brilliant black beast but she has turned grey and weak in the past months. I have been trolling that server with a t2 gunship for 3 months and I have not come across any so called eclipse squadron members. The only good players I have seen are Sriia and Maulkat. And the latter of which actually runs the main GSF guilds on harbinger so she is merely moonlighting as an eclipse pilot. Where is this nemarus character hiding? I haven't seen him

 

 

And to that guy who recommends light laser cannons - you are doing it wrong mate. Only use blcs, quads, heavies, or regulars. The last three are more similar than most people like to admit because they all follow the same high range accuracy numbers. Light lasers are useless unless your nose is in your enemy's haunces.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Krixarcs

[Greezt]

That's just a matter of preference. Lights trade off range for DPS. I prefer lights, but if I take regular lasers I take the range capacitor. Also, with regular lasers you pretty much have to take TT, but with lights you can take any systems component you want.

[Krixarcs]

That's just a matter of preference. Lights trade off range for DPS. I prefer lights, but if I take regular lasers I take the range capacitor. Also, with regular lasers you pretty much have to take TT, but with lights you can take any systems component you want.

 

Sorry bub but you are misinformed. lights are nearly as bad as rapids, real horrible accuracy. you must be shooting fools if you think they are good. I used booster recharge with turning thrusters and light lasers once and it was rubbish compared to the same build with burst lasers. why would you purposely play something bad

Edited December 17, 2015 by Krixarcs

[MaximilianPower]

That's just a matter of preference. Lights trade off range for DPS. I prefer lights, but if I take regular lasers I take the range capacitor. Also, with regular lasers you pretty much have to take TT, but with lights you can take any systems component you want.

 

I agree, ultimately it's preference. I've seen people do really impressive things with LLCs - but I'm not one of them. For a long time I ignored LCs but once I switched to them, my dps literally doubled on the T3 scout.

 

I do understand that theoretical dps is higher with LLCs (which, I think, is probably why I stuck with them for so long), but for whatever reason, I guess I just find LCs a thousand times easier to use. YMMV.

Edited December 17, 2015 by MaximilianPower

[Greezt]

Sorry bub but you are misinformed. lights are nearly as bad as rapids, real horrible accuracy. you must be shooting fools if you think they are good. I used booster recharge with turning thrusters and light lasers once and it was rubbish compared to the same build with burst lasers. why would you purposely play something bad

 

Light lasers deal more DPS than lasers starting from ~2800m (without range capacitor), even with their worse accuracy.They deal more damage per shot, have better tracking and a larger firing arc. Why are they almost as bad as rapid fire?

[Greezt]

I agree, ultimately it's preference. I've seen people do really impressive things with LLCs - but I'm not one of them. For a long time I ignored LCs but once I switched to them, my dps literally doubled on the T3 scout.

 

I do understand that theoretical dps is higher with LLCs (which, I think, is probably why I stuck with them for so long), but for whatever reason, I guess I just find LCs a thousand times easier to use. YMMV.

 

I think it all depends on your play style. I tend to start shooting at gunships from as close as I can, and from a certain range LLC deal much more damage than lasers. If you're going to fire from medium range though, you'd be better off with lasers.