Fauston rocked my world

[masonator]

Ok, so I'm new. I've been rockin' my newb ship, cruising around...did a couple of upgrades (3 cargo holds, Ice Spear Cannon, etc...) and thanks to mining I had some pretty good coin in the bank. So I decide to upgrade my frame to the Pulsar, install a Metal Vapour Laser, more shields and more fuel. Enough mining, it's time to engage my primal side in some space-bourne combat.

Where first. Well, the excellent new online guide says that lots of new pilots head to Fauston to try their skills, so that's my first stop. I plot course for the Fauston gate (my first gate jump!) and engage the jump drive.

So into Fauston I go. Immediately my radar spots a Saber. That's my guy. Ok, so plot an intercept course, put a bit more energy into shields, just to be safe. "Missile detected" Oh oh. Ok, countermeasure. My Echelons have a lock -- fire one! fire two! Let's see how you like that Mr......hey...why is my ship shuddering? Why are my shields dropping? What the... Ok, yeah...I'm space dust.

I didn't even see the guy behind me own me.

So, should I be avoiding Fauston until I have a better ship?

-masonator

[MMaggio]

No. You just need to be more alert. Don't attack anything but "Red's". When you start your attack run, come in fast at a tangent to the target. Keep you speed up, it is your primary self defence weapon. Let him waste his missiles, wait till they close on you, then turn at right angles to the incoming missiles and start dropping CM's like there was no tomorrow. You can also try to shhot down the missiles. Then close on your primary target as fast as you can blasting all the way. When you pick one target, stay with it till it's killed.
Remember, "speed" is your best friend.
Now before anyone criticizes my suggested tactics, I admit it's just one of many attack possibilities and there are variations on all of them. Just keep your speed up, use your IDS to your advantage whenever possible, stay aggresive and don't switch targets till it's destroyed.
Have Fun

[Vice]

Excellent advice from MM there, I would just expand a bit on the 'be more alert' point by adding keep an eye on your 3D radar. Hostiles can really be sneaky

[masonator]

Ok, so I tried again. I got 3 kills before I had to jusp to a asteroid field to escape. There were 6 on me by the time I left. That zone is WAY hostile!

[MMaggio]

Awwwww.... I have bad news for you.....
It gets even worse!!;)

[Archangel]

I like worse lol. Really geting a kick out of combat in this game. Theres just so many diffrent manuvers wateing to be learned. I just gotta move that quit key though, keep thinking its reverse.

[Mechanical]

I haven't tried doing any bribing yet, but if I bribe one ship does that make his buddies leave me alone as well? This hadn't really occurred to me, but now that I think about it, that's the only way it would make much sense to bribe anyone. I can always take out one ship, it's his six or seven buddies that give me trouble.

Do your actions affect the price of the bribe? For instance, if I've gunned down 60 of his buddies, is he going to need a little more money to make him forget about it?

I also have a little trouble with the ranges. By the time they're in range to bribe, there are five missiles coming at me, I'm fumbling around with the F keys and then they're out of range again.

[Vice]

I haven't tried doing any bribing yet, but if I bribe one ship does that make his buddies leave me alone as well?

No, very ship specific. So you'll either need to be fast with the trade console or good with your combat skills.

Do your actions affect the price of the bribe? For instance, if I've gunned down 60 of his buddies, is he going to need a little more money to make him forget about it?

Not really, hostile is hostile. But the kind of ship you're flying around in, your rumored reputation, and your estimated wealth does have an impact on how much they expect from you.

I also have a little trouble with the ranges. By the time they're in range to bribe, there are five missiles coming at me, I'm fumbling around with the F keys and then they're out of range again.

Fast bribing is a tricky skill to master. One method is to drift away at a speed that keeps your targeted ship at a distance of around 800-900, long enough for you to complete the trade request and counter any missiles. As you get faster, you'll rely on that method less and less. But it really helps.

[MMaggio]

Sounds like you need a good controller so you don't have to "fumble around" with the keys.
I hope you know that you can also re-assign any key to any other key if that would make it more comfortable for you.

[Mechanical]

Unfortunately, even if it were a big red button implanted in my forehead, I would still fumble around with it.

I always go through this sort of stage in space-combat games, before I've developed and practiced particular strategies, where I make a lot more work out of combat than is really necessary. Once I've got it down a little better I become an electric-death spweing machine, coolly switching from one target to the next as I vaporize my enemies. It's probably going to take me a few weeks to get there. This is just against the AI too though, it will probably be months before I even stand a chance in multiplayer combat.

So, the only reason to bribe someone is if you think you won't be able to defeat them? Can I bribe them and make them my allies, or does it just make them leave me alone? Do my bribes stick? If I come back to the system later will the ships that I bribed before still leave me alone?

How persistent are the ships in general? Are they each tracked individually so that if I spend all day wiping out reds in a sector there will be fewer reds there at, at least for a while?

Since I haven't gotten very far yet, I assume I will come across enemies that I'd much rather bribe than fight. I'm mostly just gunslinging around Fauston for now, so they probably aren't worth the money but I suppose I should learn how to do it now.

Thanks guys.

[MMaggio]

If you bribe a red, he will leave you alone as long as you are in that system. That does not apply to his friends. If you leave the sysrem and return, then it's "new game" all over.
Two things affect your bribe potential. One your ship/weapons, and two, your rep. Once you have established yourself in the game/system as a competent and powerful enemy, then it is easier to bribe.
Hope that helps...

[Vice]

So, the only reason to bribe someone is if you think you won't be able to defeat them?

Maybe, maybe you just don't have the time, maybe you don't want to spend the money to use missiles, maybe you'd rather offer a trade to them for something they are carrying rather than fighting them for it. There can be a number of reasons you may not want to fight them.

Can I bribe them and make them my allies, or does it just make them leave me alone? Do my bribes stick? If I come back to the system later will the ships that I bribed before still leave me alone?

You can make them your 'allies' in the sense they won't attack you and may agree to consider trade offers. But to join your fleet, they need to be at a friendly level and that take a huge bribe. Bribes can last, but to see an effective change in overall reputation, you'll need to bribe several ships, I'd suggest at least 10-15 or so, then save your progress before departing the system (or even after each bribe) to make sure you don't lose the reputation progress you gained. If you die before saving, you'll have to start over and you know, it can take a while send a lot of bribes.

There is also a chance you'll start to receive bribe offers from AI ships in weaker systems once you become powerful enough.

How persistent are the ships in general? Are they each tracked individually so that if I spend all day wiping out reds in a sector there will be fewer reds there at, at least for a while?

Temporarily, yes, it just depends on how far away reinforcements are. If you are away from high traffic areas, it can take a lot longer for reinforcements to fly in. If you are in a high traffic area, there are often plenty of reinforcements in the area.

[Mechanical]

Ah, very good. Thanks Vice & MMagio, that helps a lot. I think I've got a grasp of it now. It's going to be rough going to begin with for sure.

I'm just going to have to keep up my combat practice. It's actually going pretty quickly though. I still haven't managed a bribe, I think, because I'm not approaching the enemies correctly. By the time I'm in bribing range I've already got too many missiles to deal with. I'm putting myself into a situation where there's just a glut of enemies coming at me from all angles and I should be maneuvering around them as though the swarm were a single entity. I need to work on my tunnel vision.

Mostly, I just gotta work on keeping my cool though.

Can my status within a sector change? Is there something I can do to make a once hostile (or fair/moderate/etc.) sector into a friendly sector or otherwise move amongst the various levels?

Thanks a lot. I'm really enjoying myself.

[Vice]

Can my status within a sector change? Is there something I can do to make a once hostile (or fair/moderate/etc.) sector into a friendly sector or otherwise move amongst the various levels?

Yes and yes. It will take a lot of bribes, but it is possible. Keep an eye on the navigation console and the reputation level listed there. Once it moves from hostile to moderate, save your progress and continue if you want to keep improving your reputation.

[tha_rami]

Bribing a ship during combat can be beneficial. Sometimes a green ship (even if bribed) will help you out. If you want to be sure about that then bribe, then hire for your fleet.