A few questions about Warzones

sbchris05 · Post by **sbchris05** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:38 pm

Hi,

I'm brand new to the game, but I've RTFM already.

I've been gearing up to get into the fight, and I can hold my own OK through Fauston, but Talison is missile central and my Saber is getting pounded. Repair costs and missile reloads are killing me, so how do I get into a military craft?

I searched the forums and I gather that you need to find a carrier to get in on the military hardware. I read in a post that Sierra is a warzone with a carrier, so off I go to Sierra and I find a hostile Navy instead, although I'm neutral to the Navy in Talison. Why is that, and how do I increase my faction with the Navy in Sierra if I'm KOS?

I guess I'm asking how do you get into the war without going broke grinding faction? There's gotta be an easier way to get into the navy without farming millions of credits so I can afford to grind faction...right?

Any help appreciated.

Post by **Vice** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:42 pm

Sierra has a war zone in it, the entire system itself is not a war zone. Head up on the nav map until you find the gate labelled 'Sierra Warzone', then take it.

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 2:36 am

Hello sbchris05, welcome to the forum and the Sim. C U out there sometime soon.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:11 am

Hi sbchris05, Welcome to the Game and Forum! There is also a Carrier in Saphire in Erato I believe. You can get military craft there. The Carriers are also marked with a blue blip on your radar just like Stations Fly towards the blue blips that do not look like Stations or Constructors!;)

sbchris05 · Post by **sbchris05** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:53 am

Thanks for the welcome and all the help!

OK, I found the carriers in Sierra War Zone and I can access the military crafts in the shipyard (hearty thanks!) I do have a couple more questions before I sink the money into a fighter.

1. I see no mercenary craft in the carrier bay, so I wonder, how do I get a back on a mercenary craft afterwards? Do civilian yards buy back military craft at cost?

2. 5M to get into a Ferret is kind of steep. With fuel and weapons prices the way the are in combat zones, can you pay for your upkeep out of the navy missions alone, or will I have to periodically get back to work to finance the Navy's war?

3. When I try to build the ferret, it is -20 assembly by default no matter how much room I make on my saber. Do I need to transition to the ferret from a bigger mercenary craft, or is there some other way to make up those -20?

Thanks for all the help , folks.

[Edited on 8-14-2009 by sbchris05]

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:38 am

Originally posted by sbchris05
Thanks for the welcome and all the help!

OK, I found the carriers in Sierra War Zone and I can access the military crafts in the shipyard (hearty thanks!) I do have a couple more questions before I sink the money into a fighter.

1. I see no mercenary craft in the carrier bay, so I wonder, how do I get a back on a mercenary craft afterwards? Do civilian yards buy back military craft at cost?

2. 5M to get into a Ferret is kind of steep. With fuel and weapons prices the way the are in combat zones, can you pay for your upkeep out of the navy missions alone, or will I have to periodically get back to work to finance the Navy's war?

Thanks for all the help , folks.

Yes, you can trade military crafts for civilian at stations shipyards. And yes in the beggining doing missions you can up keep your costs if you have the right equipment, if not you can loose your credits to missiles and fuel and repair costs!

sbchris05 · Post by **sbchris05** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:45 am

When I try to build the ferret, it is -20 assembly by default no matter how much room I make on my saber. Do I need to transition to the ferret from a bigger mercenary craft, or is there some other way to make up those -20?

Thanks for all the help.

Post by **Vice** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:57 am

1 - You have a couple of options. You can trade your civilian ship toward a military ship, or you can store your civilian ship at the local station hangar, then take a copy to the carrier for exchange to a military ship (much more expensive though, best done once you are pretty wealthy).

2 - Depends on your abilities and tactics. You can make a small profit on military missions if you're careful with missiles, good with guns, and minimize your damage. If you find your account dropping though, you may want to take on some civilian jobs for a while. Usually, a player's skill builds as they gain experience and learn effective combat tactics where they don't need to rely on civilian jobs to help cover the costs of military operations.

3 - Yes, change the fuel tank to a smaller unit. The Ferret is quite small and has limited fuel capacity, it can't hold the larger tank you had in your civilian ship.

verbosity · Post by **verbosity** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:26 am

Originally posted by sbchris05
5M to get into a Ferret is kind of steep. With fuel and weapons prices the way the are in combat zones, can you pay for your upkeep out of the navy missions alone, or will I have to periodically get back to work to finance the Navy's war?

Hi and welcome,

Actually there are missiles that cost more than that!

As you progress and your rank ( civilian I believe ) increases you'll be offered more cash for missions ( in the same way they pay Tom Cruise more to make films more than they do me).

It is also possible ( if difficult in a ferret ) to make a profit of the military missions, a few factors are involved. Firstly keep your costs down ( try not to use missiles, use a repair system ), another factor to consider is that you gain from unlocking higher up military ships. Doing the military path on its own is long and slow ( faster if you're online though) and you'll miss out on some items that are only found in hard to reach / hidden locations. There are also several civilian frames that might provide you with a combat advantage over the ferret ( depending on your combat style ).

sbchris05 · Post by **sbchris05** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 7:12 am

That fuel tank tip was a life-saver! I'm flying a ferret in the Sierra war Zone now, and it's lively for sure.

I'm all for grinding rank for better fighters. I flew the entire Wing Commander series, so massive dogfights feel like home-coming week

As far as money goes, I find that selling some choice items in a war zone can be quite proffitable. Enough to keep me in repair and loaded.

Thanks for all the help.

Wiley · Post by **Wiley** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 2:30 pm

Just in case nobody's mentioned it to you, Excalibur missiles take up your entire missile rack, but they also regenerate every 30 seconds. This means that, while the weakest missile available, they're free, which can help when you're relatively broke.

I get by with them fairly handily, though cap ships take a little longer to kill.

Wiley.

sbchris05 · Post by **sbchris05** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 7:38 pm

That's a great piece of advice, Wiley!

That missile pack sure saves on reloads, but neither the Ferret or the Aries can carry it, so you're right, flying a Phoenix with 8 hardpoints is the way to work my way into a Wraith more efficiently.

Thanks for the tips!