What is the best region to begin learning combat?

[PapaRosario]

I read in some other threads that Talison Conflict is the easiest warzone and the best place to start learning how to fight. I keep dying when I accept those contracts where a fight is about to begin and I'm supposed to go and help out. I'm probably just really terrible at fighting. Is there any better place to learn how to fight? Or maybe I customized my ship poorly? Here is the ship that I am currently using:

Frame: Starmaster, 2 crew (Engineer, Weapon Ops), 8 equipment slots, 8 secondary weapon slots, and max countermeasures.

Level 7 Engine
Level 10 Shield
Level 5 Cargo Bay (so I can do trade runs faster)
Level 5 Fuel Tank
Level 5 Wing System

Equipment:
Mine/Tractor Beam
Shield Boost X5
Shield Recharger
Auto CM Launcher
Anti-Missile System
Mantis Jump Drive
Afterburner Drive

Missiles:
Excalibur

Weapons:
Particle: Class 14 Phantom Cannon
Beam: Class 5 Fusion Laser

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

[Capt_Caveman]

try olympus or talison conflict

[EN4CER]

Olympus is a great starting area for combat. I recommend taking non-combat missions there as you almost always end up fighting a straggler.

[Sinbad]

Talison is said to be the easiest of the warzones, but I still wouldn't recommend starting your combat training in any warzone. Olympus is generally the place to begin. Just fly around near a station for a bit and you usually get one or two hostiles showing up that you can practice on.

[PapaRosario]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I guess it will be a good idea for me to stay out of warzones for now and look for lone enemies just exploring around.

[DaveK]

EDIT: Bit of a spoiler

Missiles:
Excalibur

Weapons:
Particle: Class 14 Phantom Cannon
Beam: Class 5 Fusion Laser

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

I still use Excal because they recharge without a lot of messing around flying to various places to reload- experienced pVp combat pilots carry a variety of specialised missiles though, but pVp is very different to AI combat

Download the Hints and Tips Guide (from SeeJay's website) and look at the section about cannon performance: It might seem obvious to use the highest class of particle and beam cannon, but detailed tests have shown that C1 or C2 are better in many ways - they don't run out of energy and don't seem to take longer to kill. They also have a decent range. Beam cannon by themselves are equivalent of chocolate teapots though they do do damage a bit quicker when used together with particle cannon, though the combo uses energy much faster than the sum of the two cannon. Given a choice I would carry two IceSpears rather than any particle/beam combo. Most of the time I use particle alone (I have a posh stick with a two level trigger!)

I'm NOT a combat expert but I can kill AI faster with a C2 particle cannon (range 700 - matched by the C8 Maxim) in a furball than with any other combination. I'm playing with a C1 Flarebeam (advice from a very good combat pilot) at the moment because it has the longest range of any cannon @ 750. The IceSpear and FlareBeam never run out of energy when used alone, even when used continuously for ever!

The story that beam weapons take down shields is a myth - just look at the data in the H&T Guide



[Edited on 26-7-2012 by DaveK]

[Marvin]

I disagree about Olympus. There are other "Fair" systems where you'll run up against fewer uncles and cousins who come running to assist enemy guild or rebel pilots at every turn of a contract. Try Pices, for example.

[Busch]

In support of Marv, et. al., Talison Prime system is generally Fair to all pilots. Try StarPort 1102 for starters. It's a "hardwired" game station, and the contracts pay slightly better than the Main Talison station. Also, working for the law-n-order factions here is a better paying option (imhyco), than working the other side of the street. Talison Prime also contains the Talison Conflict Zone (here in after TCZ), should you wish to "wet yer blade", so to speak. Be advised, TCZ is primarily a "military operations" area, aka: war zone. The Alliance welcomes all pilots to aid in the Great Effort against the Vonari. (it's the only way to build/acquire military ranking points in the game) *Hint-I think.

P.S. P-R: Ya got a well crafted ship, likely unequal to anything the "Reds" could throw at you. Looks a nice power/shield/weapons bias. With the additional crew, it appears a fearsome weapon!

[Edited on 7-27-2012 by Busch]

[PapaRosario]

Interesting, so it might be a good idea for me to switch out the C14 particle cannon for a C2 or C1 particle cannon. What about the laser? It doesn't seem to really drain my weapon energy too much. Should I just stick with the C5 laser? Also, what is this military ranking? Is there anywhere that I can learn more about what it is and what benefits it provides?

Edit: Also what do you think I should get rid of in order to increase my crew slots? I was thinking about dropping some countermeasures because I don't need to have so many on me all the time. I can just go and restock often. The secondary weapon I need to have max slots so that I can use Excalibur. Maybe I can drop a couple of equipment slots as well.

Also, do you think it would be a good idea to drop the Afterburner drive? The one thing that I don't like about it is that it makes the afterburner completely unavailable if my ship is low on energy. I'm thinking about getting rid of it unless it's generally considered to be very useful.

[Edited on 7-27-2012 by PapaRosario]

[Edited on 7-27-2012 by PapaRosario]

[Marvin]

The main game folder contains an on-line Readme with more information on both civilian and military ranks. As for the afterburner drive: I don't use one. I rely on the thrust multiplyer and normal A/B ... no need to improve on that combination. All the other stuff depends on your style of combat.

[-splosives-]

The story that beam weapons take down shields is a myth - just look at the data in the H&T Guide



[Edited on 26-7-2012 by DaveK]

This isn't exactly true.

While it is true that particle cannons are best used alone to do more damage, the beam weapon does damage to all 4 shields at the same time, instead of only one.
So basically, if you fire only cannon, you will damage frontal shields only, which can be augmented so it will take a long time to deplete them.
If you use a beam, you will simultaneously bring down all shields, so augmentation is a lot less effective. In a PvP battle, you cannot get through shields with only particle cannons (at least not if he has a shield recharger).
It is optimal to start by firing cannon and beam, and once your target is low on shields, switch to particle only to do maximum damage.

[PapaRosario]

Is it possible to change any settings which make it impossible to target neutral or friendly ships? I just had a mission where I fired on a ship that was near my enemy. Right after my enemy was destroyed, the target switched to my ally and I shot at it. I'm just worried that I might actually destroy one of my allies by mistake who might be low on shields. So yeah, any way to switch off weapon tageting on friendlies?

[Marvin]

Word has it that when you shut down your HUD, the missiles go ballistic. Other than that, keep cycling the targeting computer to confuse your missle(s). Because, yeah, if you hit a friendly ship (especially a Navy fighter), the pilot can get really upset. In a war zone, it can be terribly inconvenient.

[49rTbird]

Or keep switching the chosen target (cycle them) and that will confuse the remaining missiles until they expire.