Guide to Corvettes...Combat. [X3 Guide]
Posted: Mon, 5. Dec 05, 19:46
After reading people complaining that corvettes are a pain in the hiney to use, I've decided this may be a good idea... But no promises as to how helpful it may be.
My preferred choice is the Argon Centaur.
Reasons:
-It has more than one turret (if I need them) But I often only use 1 (the rear turret).
-Decent Speed- Good for charging.
-It's AHEPTs are perfect for most situations.
Loadout
If you're using the centaur don't bother with the side turrets (if you have them all attacking, they start to drain too much energy from your main weapons.) I suggest the rear turret be used for missile defence, stick a HEPT on it anyways. (side turrets may be used with IREs as Missile defence).
What You Can Handle
Recently, a post on another topic by someone suggested the technique used in taking down M4s was ineffective. They suggested many things, one being that slowing down is a bad tactic... not only that, but if you come across too many M4s, then your shields will go down. Here's a little note, you can't take on large groups, you can't go into a Xenon Sector without any support, the M4s will of course rip you apart, this guide is primarily for taking down pirate groups, of varying sizes, but not more then 5 or 6, they'll shred you to pieces.
Basics of target choice:
When in combat I will suggest you go for the biggest ship first, especially any Novas as they cause the most pain with their rear turret... then Falcons, Then M4s (I may take Buzzards out first: They use the Particle Accelerator Cannon (PAC) which is strong against shields... and if I'm not mistaken they can also mount HEPTS (one M4 has the capability).
Combat - The Approach
I will start with a suggestion, if you have a joystick, and it has a POV hat on the stick, try and get this set to your ships strafe (comes as standard with all ships). Reason I suggest this is I've seen a few people (family+friends) not use the strafe, by the time they reach their enemy, their shields have often gone... so strafe is now a must for fighting in corvettes, and can be the decider between the win or lose. (Otherwise consult your controls and the manual to find these strafe settings and change them as necessary to allow easy access on your keyboard).
Approach
Using the strafe drive allows you to avoid the first fired shots of an enemies HEPTs (if against M3s), this saves a good portion of your shields.
When just outside of firing range (when the cross appears) you can start firing, but you may wish to wait until you're near them, and when they start firing.
By this time you are in the dogfight!:
In this, if you decide to avoid using the throttle much, then use the strafe to help you in the direction you are turning, it may tighten it slightly, and gives your opponants another challange to try and hit you.
M3s
When fighting M3s wait for the crosshair (tracker) to flash blue, this is when your weapons have chance to lock on and are more likely to hit. Just give a few quick bursts, this will weaken the shields, and make the enemy turn (this also works to your advantage, as when the enemy turns, it means you turn... hopefully avoiding any direct hits by any other persuars). Carry on until all enemy M3s are wiped out.
M4s
By now, you should've wiped out all the M3s, but wait... it's not all over yet, M4s can be nasty opponants, due to speed, and occasionally larger weapons. When dealing with them, you try and stick to the tactics of the M3 fighting, but slow down, if they're so fast (above 200) then it is wise to let the enemy come to you, as they shoot off, and turn round for another attack run. When they start to come back, track them, wait for them to get close, and let rip with a long burst of HEPT plasma. And repeat until they are dead.
The reason for slowing down, is so you get a better trace on them when they turn round to come back at you. If you slow down, then there's more distance when they turn round to trace them, and fire upon them. Bare in mind that strafe drive should be used to avoid as many hits as possible, so can barrel-rolling and other techniques that may make you sick
M5s
These are the most annoying, but there is little danger of these ever passing your shields. If all the M3s and M4s have been dealt with, then it may be possible to reduce your speed to 0. And wait for them to do their attack runs. Blast them when they get close, hopefully they won't last a second.
(The last technique was developed after watching some M3s attack a Pirate base, and how the lasertowers just whiped the space dust away with them. So I though, lets just sit and wait, using the Corvette as a lasertower.)
This makes an end to my guide, as of now. If anybody wants to add anything, be my guest (PM me or Reply to this... I will include your name.)
Happy Hunting,
RavenIII
PS: I want this to become a good guide to corvette battling, so input is more than welcome (as mentioned above, your username will be included).
-----------------
Added Stuff - By RavenIII
-----------------
Okay, after a few more months of time in corvettes, I'm still in them anyway, I've played about with another type of corvette, in this case, the Split Dragon. I like the style and firepower of this ship, but found it abit... lacking, for me anyway, here are my reasons.
Bad:
1) Less Shields (I find myself in danger many a time).
2) Bigger Profile (Means a bigger target for the enemy).
- These were my biggest and only gripes with it.
Good:
1) Extra Firepower 8xAHEPTS does last longer. (I should have used PPCs... my biggest mistake)
2) The Extra Speed, you can out-class most m3s with the speed.
-----------------
Added Stuff:
-----------------
James_2k
Dont forget a couple of escorts, even m5s will help distract the enemies for a time
shadowfawx
My piece of advice and what saves me the most headaches is this:
You are not a Spanish Galleon, your cannons do not fire only once you are broadside your enemy. Do not allow yourself to be presented to your enemy this way.
You should always (as impossible as it may seem) keep the smallest target prescense to any enemy, no matter what their size.
This also allows effective use of the strafe drive.
With practice you will notice about 30% of the shots intended for you miss.
DarthVodka
Firstly, I do not consider myself an expert in any sense of the word but since I've also seen several posts by people saying they have difficulty in the Centaur and since I have never had any difficulties, maybe something here might help someone.
Shields:
Should be obvious but in case anyone has overlooked this the Centaur can carry 3x 125mj shields. Use them!
Weapons Inventory:
8x BHEPT
8x BPAC
8x MD
4x ID
3x APSG
You have excellent storage space. Use a little of it to carry the necessary tools for a wide variety of tasks!
Standard Loadout:
4x BHEPT (weapon group 1)
4x MD (weapon group 2)
Rear and side turrets 3x BPAC
Weapon harpoint positions:
1 = Left, top
2 = Left, middle
3 = Left, bottom
4 = Top, left
5 = Top, right
6 = Right, top
7 = Right, middle
8 = Right, bottom
Positioning your weapons in the best hardpoints for your style of fighting can make a difference. If you don't believe me experiment a bit for yourself and watch where your shots go in the target cam!
Turrets:
IMHO the rear and side turrets are invaluable particularly against swarms of M5s. BPACs are an excellent choice here as shot velocity is higher than HEPTs and therefore the probability of hitting your target is also higher. Often some of the M5s in a fight will have been taken out by the turrets by the time I've taken care of the M3s/M4s with the forward weapons.
I do not find the turrets to drain battery power too much, even with 4 BHEPTs mounted in the front hardpoints. However this will come down to your style of fighting. If you choose when to fire carefully and don't waste your shots there is little problem. Of course having some MDs to switch to if the juice does run out never hurts either Wink
A word of warning: if carrying multiple surplus weapons your turrets WILL switch to whatever weapon they consider best for a given situation. However they will not choose area effect weapons like IDs or PSGs.
With all turrets in use, the Centaur has excellent fire coverage but there is a weakness. Directly underneath the Centaur is unprotected by the turrets. When fighting I find myself rolling to ensure the belly of the centaur is towards the area of space with the least hostiles in it, therefore affording all turrets a firing opportunity.
Strategy - Station defense:
If rushing to the defense of a station being attacked by pirates, try to position yourself between the station and the pirates. On your approach roll so the belly of the Centaur is towards the station (or more accurately the station is at the bottom of the screen while the pirates are at the top), and switch your turrets to a less aggressive stance such as missile protection. On a number of occasions I have inadvertently P***ed off the station I was trying to protect with over zealous turret fire. If you can draw the attackers away from the station with a couple of mosquitos before engaging them, better still.
Strategy - Typical encounters:
Set turrets to protect ship/missile defense. When engaging a typical pirate group, say 2 or 3 falcons with a couple of busters or harriers I can usually take out 2 falcons or their equivalents with 4xBHEPT by rushing straight at them before becomming entangled in a dogfight Then once engaged inside the pirate group, moving on to the M4s I am constantly adjusting the roll and strafe of the centaur but most importantly speed to help turn. In this situation I rarely go above half speed.
Strategy - M5 swarms:
If I find myself up against a swarm of fast M5s at close quarters I change turret setting to Attack All Enemies, reduce speed to about 20m/s - just so i'm not the proverbial sitting duck - and turn into them at full swing as if trying to crash into them. All the while strafing and rolling so that the rear and side turrets have line of sight. In this situation the turrets often get the kill before the front weapons come to bear.
Strategy - Kha'ak clusters:
Command console/attack all enemies. Turrets to attack all. Switch to external view, sit back and enjoy the fireworks with your beverage of choice. Once the bottom of the cup has been reached mop up any stragglers and continue on your merry way Smile
Wingmen:
Don't underestimate their usefulness in many situations. My preferred set up is two Nova Raiders each equipped with 4 front AHEPT and 1 rear set to missile defence, and two capped Xenon L's each equipped with 4 BPBEs.
Kockaspiton
Side turrets are very usefull if you equip them with Mass Driver, they don't drain energy, its good for missle defence and attacking too.
biggie1447
When attacking capital ships such as xenon use 8 BHEPT in the front and MDs in any turrets. Fly strait at them once in their range use the strafe drive to fly sideways and up or down to avoid enemy fire. Once in range of your weapons fire untli you depleet energy reservs and then head away from them and let your energy recharge. Watch out for any fire coming at you when flying away because PPCs HURT! Rinse and repeat. The shields won't have enough time to recharge to any level worth worry and once the shields are down, sinara sucker.
johnstrt
Might be worth adding that IonDs can be very useful. If you're just fighting in a crowd, they can strip the shields off a lot of opponents quickly, and your turrets can often finish off M5s immediately. They're also very good for taking out missiles and for capping: combine them with some MDs and a lot of ships will surrender quickly. Best not to use them, though, if you have wingmen.
More generally, if you're planning to hang out in the Xenon or Khaak sectors, then it's important to learn how to run in an M6: big swarms of fighters will take you down eventually, however good you are. To take them out, you need to separate them, and it's generally possible to do this, by drawing their attention and then turning and running: they'll follow, but become strung out, with the quickest at the front. You can turn back, take these ones out, and then repeat unil you've worked your way through all of them. This works with a Centaur, but is even more effective - and necessary - with a Dragon (especially with some PPCs for long-range sniping). While retreating, of course, you can switch to your rear turret and have a pop at the closest pursuers.
_____
-To all, thanks for your input - keep it coming.
- Edit: 18/02/06 (See Added Stuff - by RavenIII)
- Last Edit: 24/06/06 (See "What You Can Handle" and changes to "M4s")
My preferred choice is the Argon Centaur.
Reasons:
-It has more than one turret (if I need them) But I often only use 1 (the rear turret).
-Decent Speed- Good for charging.
-It's AHEPTs are perfect for most situations.
Loadout
If you're using the centaur don't bother with the side turrets (if you have them all attacking, they start to drain too much energy from your main weapons.) I suggest the rear turret be used for missile defence, stick a HEPT on it anyways. (side turrets may be used with IREs as Missile defence).
What You Can Handle
Recently, a post on another topic by someone suggested the technique used in taking down M4s was ineffective. They suggested many things, one being that slowing down is a bad tactic... not only that, but if you come across too many M4s, then your shields will go down. Here's a little note, you can't take on large groups, you can't go into a Xenon Sector without any support, the M4s will of course rip you apart, this guide is primarily for taking down pirate groups, of varying sizes, but not more then 5 or 6, they'll shred you to pieces.
Basics of target choice:
When in combat I will suggest you go for the biggest ship first, especially any Novas as they cause the most pain with their rear turret... then Falcons, Then M4s (I may take Buzzards out first: They use the Particle Accelerator Cannon (PAC) which is strong against shields... and if I'm not mistaken they can also mount HEPTS (one M4 has the capability).
Combat - The Approach
I will start with a suggestion, if you have a joystick, and it has a POV hat on the stick, try and get this set to your ships strafe (comes as standard with all ships). Reason I suggest this is I've seen a few people (family+friends) not use the strafe, by the time they reach their enemy, their shields have often gone... so strafe is now a must for fighting in corvettes, and can be the decider between the win or lose. (Otherwise consult your controls and the manual to find these strafe settings and change them as necessary to allow easy access on your keyboard).
Approach
Using the strafe drive allows you to avoid the first fired shots of an enemies HEPTs (if against M3s), this saves a good portion of your shields.
When just outside of firing range (when the cross appears) you can start firing, but you may wish to wait until you're near them, and when they start firing.
By this time you are in the dogfight!:
In this, if you decide to avoid using the throttle much, then use the strafe to help you in the direction you are turning, it may tighten it slightly, and gives your opponants another challange to try and hit you.
M3s
When fighting M3s wait for the crosshair (tracker) to flash blue, this is when your weapons have chance to lock on and are more likely to hit. Just give a few quick bursts, this will weaken the shields, and make the enemy turn (this also works to your advantage, as when the enemy turns, it means you turn... hopefully avoiding any direct hits by any other persuars). Carry on until all enemy M3s are wiped out.
M4s
By now, you should've wiped out all the M3s, but wait... it's not all over yet, M4s can be nasty opponants, due to speed, and occasionally larger weapons. When dealing with them, you try and stick to the tactics of the M3 fighting, but slow down, if they're so fast (above 200) then it is wise to let the enemy come to you, as they shoot off, and turn round for another attack run. When they start to come back, track them, wait for them to get close, and let rip with a long burst of HEPT plasma. And repeat until they are dead.
The reason for slowing down, is so you get a better trace on them when they turn round to come back at you. If you slow down, then there's more distance when they turn round to trace them, and fire upon them. Bare in mind that strafe drive should be used to avoid as many hits as possible, so can barrel-rolling and other techniques that may make you sick
M5s
These are the most annoying, but there is little danger of these ever passing your shields. If all the M3s and M4s have been dealt with, then it may be possible to reduce your speed to 0. And wait for them to do their attack runs. Blast them when they get close, hopefully they won't last a second.
(The last technique was developed after watching some M3s attack a Pirate base, and how the lasertowers just whiped the space dust away with them. So I though, lets just sit and wait, using the Corvette as a lasertower.)
This makes an end to my guide, as of now. If anybody wants to add anything, be my guest (PM me or Reply to this... I will include your name.)
Happy Hunting,
RavenIII
PS: I want this to become a good guide to corvette battling, so input is more than welcome (as mentioned above, your username will be included).
-----------------
Added Stuff - By RavenIII
-----------------
Okay, after a few more months of time in corvettes, I'm still in them anyway, I've played about with another type of corvette, in this case, the Split Dragon. I like the style and firepower of this ship, but found it abit... lacking, for me anyway, here are my reasons.
Bad:
1) Less Shields (I find myself in danger many a time).
2) Bigger Profile (Means a bigger target for the enemy).
- These were my biggest and only gripes with it.
Good:
1) Extra Firepower 8xAHEPTS does last longer. (I should have used PPCs... my biggest mistake)
2) The Extra Speed, you can out-class most m3s with the speed.
-----------------
Added Stuff:
-----------------
James_2k
Dont forget a couple of escorts, even m5s will help distract the enemies for a time
shadowfawx
My piece of advice and what saves me the most headaches is this:
You are not a Spanish Galleon, your cannons do not fire only once you are broadside your enemy. Do not allow yourself to be presented to your enemy this way.
You should always (as impossible as it may seem) keep the smallest target prescense to any enemy, no matter what their size.
This also allows effective use of the strafe drive.
With practice you will notice about 30% of the shots intended for you miss.
DarthVodka
Firstly, I do not consider myself an expert in any sense of the word but since I've also seen several posts by people saying they have difficulty in the Centaur and since I have never had any difficulties, maybe something here might help someone.
Shields:
Should be obvious but in case anyone has overlooked this the Centaur can carry 3x 125mj shields. Use them!
Weapons Inventory:
8x BHEPT
8x BPAC
8x MD
4x ID
3x APSG
You have excellent storage space. Use a little of it to carry the necessary tools for a wide variety of tasks!
Standard Loadout:
4x BHEPT (weapon group 1)
4x MD (weapon group 2)
Rear and side turrets 3x BPAC
Weapon harpoint positions:
1 = Left, top
2 = Left, middle
3 = Left, bottom
4 = Top, left
5 = Top, right
6 = Right, top
7 = Right, middle
8 = Right, bottom
Positioning your weapons in the best hardpoints for your style of fighting can make a difference. If you don't believe me experiment a bit for yourself and watch where your shots go in the target cam!
Turrets:
IMHO the rear and side turrets are invaluable particularly against swarms of M5s. BPACs are an excellent choice here as shot velocity is higher than HEPTs and therefore the probability of hitting your target is also higher. Often some of the M5s in a fight will have been taken out by the turrets by the time I've taken care of the M3s/M4s with the forward weapons.
I do not find the turrets to drain battery power too much, even with 4 BHEPTs mounted in the front hardpoints. However this will come down to your style of fighting. If you choose when to fire carefully and don't waste your shots there is little problem. Of course having some MDs to switch to if the juice does run out never hurts either Wink
A word of warning: if carrying multiple surplus weapons your turrets WILL switch to whatever weapon they consider best for a given situation. However they will not choose area effect weapons like IDs or PSGs.
With all turrets in use, the Centaur has excellent fire coverage but there is a weakness. Directly underneath the Centaur is unprotected by the turrets. When fighting I find myself rolling to ensure the belly of the centaur is towards the area of space with the least hostiles in it, therefore affording all turrets a firing opportunity.
Strategy - Station defense:
If rushing to the defense of a station being attacked by pirates, try to position yourself between the station and the pirates. On your approach roll so the belly of the Centaur is towards the station (or more accurately the station is at the bottom of the screen while the pirates are at the top), and switch your turrets to a less aggressive stance such as missile protection. On a number of occasions I have inadvertently P***ed off the station I was trying to protect with over zealous turret fire. If you can draw the attackers away from the station with a couple of mosquitos before engaging them, better still.
Strategy - Typical encounters:
Set turrets to protect ship/missile defense. When engaging a typical pirate group, say 2 or 3 falcons with a couple of busters or harriers I can usually take out 2 falcons or their equivalents with 4xBHEPT by rushing straight at them before becomming entangled in a dogfight Then once engaged inside the pirate group, moving on to the M4s I am constantly adjusting the roll and strafe of the centaur but most importantly speed to help turn. In this situation I rarely go above half speed.
Strategy - M5 swarms:
If I find myself up against a swarm of fast M5s at close quarters I change turret setting to Attack All Enemies, reduce speed to about 20m/s - just so i'm not the proverbial sitting duck - and turn into them at full swing as if trying to crash into them. All the while strafing and rolling so that the rear and side turrets have line of sight. In this situation the turrets often get the kill before the front weapons come to bear.
Strategy - Kha'ak clusters:
Command console/attack all enemies. Turrets to attack all. Switch to external view, sit back and enjoy the fireworks with your beverage of choice. Once the bottom of the cup has been reached mop up any stragglers and continue on your merry way Smile
Wingmen:
Don't underestimate their usefulness in many situations. My preferred set up is two Nova Raiders each equipped with 4 front AHEPT and 1 rear set to missile defence, and two capped Xenon L's each equipped with 4 BPBEs.
Kockaspiton
Side turrets are very usefull if you equip them with Mass Driver, they don't drain energy, its good for missle defence and attacking too.
biggie1447
When attacking capital ships such as xenon use 8 BHEPT in the front and MDs in any turrets. Fly strait at them once in their range use the strafe drive to fly sideways and up or down to avoid enemy fire. Once in range of your weapons fire untli you depleet energy reservs and then head away from them and let your energy recharge. Watch out for any fire coming at you when flying away because PPCs HURT! Rinse and repeat. The shields won't have enough time to recharge to any level worth worry and once the shields are down, sinara sucker.
johnstrt
Might be worth adding that IonDs can be very useful. If you're just fighting in a crowd, they can strip the shields off a lot of opponents quickly, and your turrets can often finish off M5s immediately. They're also very good for taking out missiles and for capping: combine them with some MDs and a lot of ships will surrender quickly. Best not to use them, though, if you have wingmen.
More generally, if you're planning to hang out in the Xenon or Khaak sectors, then it's important to learn how to run in an M6: big swarms of fighters will take you down eventually, however good you are. To take them out, you need to separate them, and it's generally possible to do this, by drawing their attention and then turning and running: they'll follow, but become strung out, with the quickest at the front. You can turn back, take these ones out, and then repeat unil you've worked your way through all of them. This works with a Centaur, but is even more effective - and necessary - with a Dragon (especially with some PPCs for long-range sniping). While retreating, of course, you can switch to your rear turret and have a pop at the closest pursuers.
_____
-To all, thanks for your input - keep it coming.
- Edit: 18/02/06 (See Added Stuff - by RavenIII)
- Last Edit: 24/06/06 (See "What You Can Handle" and changes to "M4s")