Destroying Stations

[ulukinatme]

New pilot here, recently bought EL and having a blast. I've been doing some research and based on what some have said it doesn't appear you can destroy AI stations in EL. Apparently there's something called a Station Detonator in EM, but I haven't confirmed if they're in EL, and from what some have said you can't destroy AI stations in EL anyway.

However, while playing around tonight I was successful in destroying two weapon turrets attached to the AI station actually named Evochron in the Sapphire Quadrant. On one attempt I died shortly after the turret was destroyed, on the second attempt I survived and got the message that I have to "Save before leaving the sector to confirm station change." I went ahead and saved, and the weapon turret I destroyed is still gone.

I guess my question is...CAN you destroy AI stations, or are turrets the only destructible component (Haven't had any luck dropping shields on any other components yet)? I'd like to wipe the Alliance completely out of Sapphire for roleplay purposes, I'd be a little sad if this station remains despite most of their current ships in this quadrant being destroyed. Am I wasting my time trying to destroy this station?

[Marvin]

You can destroy any and all stations (and their components), be they default (AI) or be they player-built.

[Raven0]

Finding and destroying the shield modules will make it easier to take down the rest. Other modules have to be within a certain distance from a shield generator to be protected IIRC. If you see green shield indicators in your target display, look for a shield module nearby and take it out. If not, blast away. Just watch out for missiles...

[ulukinatme]

Thanks for the replies. Do you need one of these Station Detonators to take out a station, or can I take it apart piece by piece with my standard weapons? I spent several minutes trying to put a dent in a Shield module, with nothing in range to attack me, and I don't think I put a dent in it's own shields.

[Marvin]

Station detonators don't exist in EL. You'll need to find more powerful conventional weapons if in SP ... or buddies to assist if in MP.

[ulukinatme]

Hmmm, I'm using a Fusion Beam to try and bring the shields down, but most of the time it doesn't look like it does anything. Maybe I'll need to experiment in the Weapons Lab, thanks again for the replies.

[Marvin]

IM hasn't attacked a station for quite awhile. Maybe we should see just how more difficult it's become since last we tried.

[ulukinatme]

Alright, I think I see what my problem was. First, the weapon turrets I took down first were probably lightly shielded compared to the other ones I tried destroying. I thought taking out the turrets first would be the safest bet, but there were shield modules I could hit safely once a few turrets were out of the way. Second...most of my testing was done trying to hit these things with my Beam weapon and not a Particle Cannon...yeah. I thought the shielding on these things needed to be dropped with Beams the same way as ships. I must have destroyed the first turrets with my Particle Cannon and didn't realize it at the time. So...everything is gravy now. Took down 3 full stations tonight without too much trouble. Thanks again for all the input!

[Marvin]

Took down 3 full stations tonight without too much trouble.

You're hired (I think Vice needs to add "destroy station" to the hired-hand options).

[XenonSurf]

At a first glance, shield modules seem to be invincible even with the best beam / particle weapons. I found a trick to place myself at a distance of 300-400 and be out of reach from the turrets, but I could just fire forever... No damage whatsoever, the shields don't go down a jota.
There must be a very short penetrating delay for the best missiles in order to take them out, I didn't succeed yet.

But I noticed that firing with beams against the shield modules will somehow take down the turret's shields (or was it a NPC ship that has taken them down?)

I only have succeeded in destroying 1 turret up to now, I flyby at 3000 speed in Inertial with 10 seconds full-firing.
I cannot say if the turret respawns when you leave the sector because I was destroyed afterwards and had to reload the game...I greatly hope they DON'T respawn

XenonS


[Edited on 6-5-2016 by XenonSurf]

[matchbox2022]

I think multiplayer attacks are the only way now

[ulukinatme]

Took down 3 full stations tonight without too much trouble.

You're hired (I think Vice needs to add "destroy station" to the hired-hand options).

Yeah, I actually tried hiring some NPCs to assist with the damage during my testing, but I don't think they were very useful outside of eating some missiles. It would be helpful for SP mode.

At a first glance, shield modules seem to be invincible even with the best beam / particle weapons. I found a trick to place myself at a distance of 300-400 and be out of reach from the turrets, but I could just fire forever... No damage whatsoever, the shields don't go down a jota.
There must be a very short penetrating delay for the best missiles in order to take them out, I didn't succeed yet.

But I noticed that firing with beams against the shield modules will somehow take down the turret's shields (or was it a NPC ship that has taken them down?)

I only have succeeded in destroying 1 turret up to now, I flyby at 3000 speed in Inertial with 10 seconds full-firing.
I cannot say if the turret respawns when you leave the sector because I was destroyed afterwards and had to reload the game...I greatly hope they DON'T respawn

XenonS


[Edited on 6-5-2016 by XenonSurf]

Shield modules aren't invincible, but I noticed that some modules are stronger than others based on their proximity to other modules. That's one reason I had such a tough time taking down the first station. After I cleared the first few turrets I was able to safely attack one of the shield modules on an end of the station configuration, it was weaker than the rest. Once that first Shield module was down everything got a lot easier.

I found the easiest way to solo a turret is to fly as fast as possible into the side of the turret. If you stay up against it's side the guns can't hit you. You can still eat missiles, but if you stay in Inertia mode once you're up against it then it makes the chaff more effective and if you have an Anti-Missile component loaded it can help too. I crafted a special Fusion gun with low energy cost /w high damage and fire rate, that allowed me to burn through the strong shields and destroy the first components.

I think multiplayer attacks are the only way now

Nah, not all of them anyway. It may depend on the station setup and how many shields are linked closely together, but I was still able to solo the stations. Some stations were easier than others. One of the outposts in Sapphire only had one Shield module I think. The Evochron station had 3 Shield modules, that one was much harder to crack. Multiplayer coordination would definitely make things easier.

[Marvin]

Well, we tested it today in Sapphire and managed to take out the station (with a few casualties).

[ulukinatme]

Well, we tested it today in Sapphire and managed to take out the station (with a few casualties).

There's a particularly nasty station in Sapphire in sx: 2 sy: 0 sz: -1 if I remember. There are 4 Shield modules either next to each other or in close proximity of one another, each bolstering the other's power. I needed missiles just to take the first one out.

[Marvin]

That's probably not the one we attacked. We were planning to replace the destroyed ALC station with an FDN station but, since it was a default station, Caleb will likely restore it anyway. But it was a good test to see if we could still actually take down a defended station.

[XenonSurf]

Thanks to share all this information
Ah, the Weapon Lab, I forgot this one!
My action takes place in Olympus, I (ALC) have built 2 stations in the vicinity of an isolated FED station (not the one in the asteroid field). Here too, a couple of shield modules are placed close together. Maybe I have chosen a too difficult station to attack for my first trial...I will try to focus on the turrets first next time.

Just to say: My 2 own stations are never at risk in SP: one has a command module only, that is: most vulnerable, but it never got attacked by NPC ships AFAIK.

XenonS

[ulukinatme]

Thanks to share all this information
Ah, the Weapon Lab, I forgot this one!
My action takes place in Olympus, I (ALC) have built 2 stations in the vicinity of an isolated FED station (not the one in the asteroid field). Here too, a couple of shield modules are placed close together. Maybe I have chosen a too difficult station to attack for my first trial...I will try to focus on the turrets first next time.

Just to say: My 2 own stations are never at risk in SP: one has a command module only, that is: most vulnerable, but it never got attacked by NPC ships AFAIK.

XenonS

You don't always have to take out the turrets first, but it can help. Sometimes all you need to do is take 1 or 2 out, then you can safely reach some of the Shield modules to destroy them...then it gets a LOT easier to clear the rest of the station.

I was able to take out all of the Alliance Stations in Sapphire as of last night, and there are a lot of them! Some in Nebula, some with multiple Shield modules next to each other, and one next to a star which sucks you in with it's gravity while you're attacking the station! That one was fun, especially when trying to save your game in that sector.

Now that I've had some success taking down stations, I found it gets much easier taking down new ones. Before you start attacking, scout out the station layout to determine where they're weakest at. Try to find all the Shield modules before you begin an attack, determine if any can be destroyed without having to engage Turret defenses. Occasionally if you find 3-4 Shield modules right next to each other you will need Missiles to help destroy one of them, but the rest should become easier to kill as a result.

If you're looking for a good station to practice on, try to find one with only one Shield module. I ran into a few Outposts like that, those are the easiest ones to destroy as the Turrets all go down quickly (Some weren't even shielded as they were too far from the Shield module to receive the benefits). Also keep in mind that you can often hit station targets from further distances than MDS allows because MDS always targets the center of a station module. You can hit these modules well before you get an MDS lock on, which makes it easier to snipe Shield modules and it helps keep you out of the range of the Command station module's short range cannon.

Keep practicing, it gets easier once you've taken down a few. I still die on occasion, some of those missiles refuse to be chaffed, but I'm clearing stations far quicker than when I began.

[DaveK]

Anyone tested ease of city demolition compared to stations? Several months ago cities were easy to destroy (from a TW) - A couple of us just walked towards modules, firing and they went boom within seconds. The whole city went down in a couple of minutes

[Marvin]

The trouble with attacking cities is that it gets you nowhere ... except a bit of self-satisfaction. Why? Because, if there is no enemy station in the same sector, then the city is open to both sides, FDN and ALC. And, if there is an enemy station in orbit, taking down the station will return the city to IMG status. After that, building your own station will realign the city as well.

[DaveK]

I was thinking in terms that if they are still as easy as they were it might be worth asking Vice to beef their defences up a bit so recreational demolition pilots don't get tempted to clear cities just for the pleasure of watching modules go boom. At least they would have to work for the privilege.

[ulukinatme]

I haven't tried destroying cities yet, for the reasons Marvin listed above. I also don't have a Terrain Walker yet, been too busy working on my ship and clearing the Alliance out of Sapphire.

[XenonSurf]

...recreational demolition pilots

:P:P

Haaaah, that's a prime entry in the new EL Evochron vocabulary

XenonS

[Marvin]

It could be a new clan: the RDP.

[ulukinatme]

I'm down with RDP

[DaveK]