The knowledge assembled here is the work of the entire Pilot community over the span of more than 2 years. Many different pilots deserve credit for the final product.
The pilot profession shares some similarities with the ground professions, but it differs in a number of important ways. First off, anyone can be a pilot no matter their ground profession. Training comes from your various pilot trainers, not automatically as you gain xp, and is based both on xp gained and your progression through your squadron's missions. Lastly, you can only be in one squadron at a time, but unlike the ground game, it is possible to leave your squadron to move onto another or even a different faction if you meet that faction's requirements without needing to delete your character and start a new one.
Starting Out:
First off, here's an overview of what will be many players' first flying experience, the missions in the new player tutorial.
Once you've run the tutorial and are ready to join a side, the pilot profession is composed of three different factions, each of which has three available squadrons to join. To join a faction, simply pick one of the trainers listed below for that faction. You must be the same GCW faction to join the Rebels or Imperials, but your GCW faction does not matter for the Freelance trainers. Here are the recruiters and initial trainers for each squadron:
Freelancer: Recruiter Location: Gil Burtin (-1174, -3647) Bestine, Tatooine
Smuggler Alliance: Dravis, Mos Eisley, Tatooine, Back room of cantina (3429,-4788) SWGWiki Guide
Note: this squad is lightly Rebel-aligned. Your final mission will be against the Star Ravager (Imperial Corvette). Also, you cannot attack Hutt ships and, during Tier 2, cannot attack Valarian ships.
Note: this squad is heavily Imperial-aligned. RSF pilots can only hurt Imperial ships if they are a Rebel on the ground and go Overt at a Rebel Space Station (this will leave you open to PVP attack!) and your final mission will be against the Corellian Corvette (Rebel Corvette). You cannot attack RSF ships.
Note: this squad is true neutral. On your final mission, you may choose to destroy either a Rebel or Imperial Corvette. You cannot attack CorSec ships.
You can find a complete list of trainers and recruiters here.
If you don't have one already, your first squadron trainer will provide you with a starter ship (though some trainers may need more prodding than others). These ships will have all the basic parts you need to complete your first missions, but you may wish to buy others from the bazaar or your local shipwright. To load up these new parts, simply open up the "Manage" screen from the ship terminal in the starport where your starter ship is parked and you'll be able to swap parts in and out.
This Friday Feature (Star Wars Galaxies Star Charts!) should provide a location and description of almost every space station, hyperspace point, and point of interest in the galaxy. If you want to know the closest hyper point to a system's space station, or where to go to get to Deep Space, or you're just interested in checking out some of the galaxy's more interesting locations, give it a look.
New Ships, Parts, and Certifications:
As you advance, you will become certified to fly new ships and equip them with higher-level components. New ships are granted every fourth box of pilot skills, starting with Box 2, while new components come every fourth box, starting with Box 3. For a breakdown of all the available components, what they do, and what their stats mean, I recommend checking out this Friday Feature (Understanding Ship Components by Thunderheart. Here's a quick primer on what you're looking for in component stats.
Note, however, that unlike most aspects of the ground game, higher-level ships and components aren't necessarily better. They're often superior, but your choice of ship may depend heavily on your style as a pilot, and if you're close to filling up your ship's mass capacity, it may be wise to use some lower-level (and thus lower mass) components to fill out your ship. These are both things you'll get a handle on as you continue to fly.
Your trainer will often give you reward items in the form of components or clothing once you talk to him after the successful completion of a mission. These are usually handed out without notification, so be sure to check your inventory for new loot after each mission to make sure you aren't accidentally selling valuable reward loot to the chassis dealer.
Missions, XP, and Training:
Pilot training isn't necessarily granted each time you fill your xp box, nor is it always necessary to have xp to train a new skill. At some tiers, advancement is based solely on missions completed, while at others you'll require both missions and xp. Requirements for training at each tier are as follows:
Tier 1 (Boxes 02-05): xp and missions
Tier 2 (Boxes 06-09): xp and missions
Tier 3 (Boxes 10-13): missions only
Tier 4 (Boxes 14-17): xp and missions
Master Box (Box 18): two missions only. Once you train to 4444 (Box 17), xp does not matter for you. You do not have to grind the 7.5 million xp to master. You must complete the two master missions, no matter what, to master.
A complete list of trainers and their locations can be found here.
Changing Pilot Factions:
To switch squadrons or if, for some reason, you need to restart your current squadron, follow these steps:
Make sure you have at least one open slot for your new starter ship.
Go see the pilot recruiter for your faction. Not your trainer, but the recruiter. For instance, if you're a Freelance Pilot, you'll need to see Gil Burton in the Bestine hotel on Tatooine.
"Resign" from your current pilots' faction.
Go see a faction recruiter (if needed) to quit your ground-based faction. [You must be a combatant and not "on leave" to resign from a ground faction.]
You will need to start over with your new pilot squadron from scratch. Your space xp will be set to zero when you resign your pilot skills.
NOTE: For each Pilot faction (Alliance, Imperial, Freelance) that you master a squadron in, you will receive the "Previous Faction Master Bonus". The maximum bonus is 3x, if you master at least one squadron from each faction. This bonus adds to the normal Space Combat Experience you earn, for a total xp of 1x/kill for 0 faction masteries, 2x/kill for 1 faction mastery, 3x/kill for 2 faction masteries, and 4x/kill for 3 faction masteries. You don't get a bonus for each squad mastered, but for completing any of the three squads in a given faction.
Corvette Master Mission:
The final mission to achieve mastery in your pilot squadron is to destroy a Corellian Corvette. This mission can be extremely challenging for new pilots, but former pilot correspondent MonsofoLexius spent an amount of time neither reasonable nor sane tracking the habits of this capital ship. The following info and advice is his, with updates by NarfBlinko.
Corvette Spawn Information:
The Corellian Corvette spawns on about a two hour timer.
The Star Ravager spawns on about a two-hour timer if not destroyed and a 1 and a half-hour timer if it was destroyed.
Both may be seen in Kessel at the same time.
The escorting gunboats can be very difficult to kill for newer pilots.
The Rebel Corvette (Corellian Corvette) enters at approximately 7556 -7372 -7428 and exits at approximately -6545 4888 6204. (Waypoints observed on Corbantis server.)
The Imperial Corvette (Star Ravager) enters at approximately 7605 7522 7248 and exits at approximately -6613 -271 -6216. (Waypoints observed on Corbantis server.)
NEVER LEAVE THE ESCORT GUNBOATS UP WHEN DOING THIS MISSION! While leaving them up no longer prevents the next Corvette from spawning, they do tend to lag down the exit area.
To Complete the Corvette Master Mission:
You must have the Corvette master mission in your datapad. Check your datapad before leaving the Admiral. If you don't have it, Converse with the Admiral again.
You must be in Kessel and within range when the Corvette is destroyed.
A member of your group must have done damage to a subsystem on the Corvette at some point on the mission. Thanks Paladon
You will NOT have to go to the trainer and retake the mission if you die during your Vette run. Repair and get right back out to Kessel to continue the fight.
To Do Damage to a Subsystem:
Target the Corvette.
Select a subsystem using the '[' and ']’ keys.
Hit that specific area with your guns or a missile. For those on your first trip, this can be tougher then you think. Watch for the xxx% of the system to go down when you hit it.
A: This will vary from server to server. As I track them down, I'll list them.
Bria: swg.Bria.Chat.pilot
Corbantis: swg.corbantis.c.pilotslounge
Shadowfire: swg.shadowfire.Chat.Pilots
Chimera: swg.europe-chimera.chat.pilots
Wanderhome: swg.wanderhome.chat.pilot
Wanderhome: swg.wanderhome.chat.WPC
Eclipse: swg.eclipse.chat.sfc
Tempest: swg.tempest.chat.space
Flurry: swg.flurry.chat.fsc
Chilastra: swg.chilastra.chat.ChillySpaceChat
Infinity: swg.europe-infinity.chat.IPC
Starsider: swg.starsider.chat.sfc
Ahazi: swg.ahazi.chat.sfc
Intrepid: swg.intrepid.chat.DS
Gorath: swg.gorath.chat.sfcb
Tarquinas: swg.tarquinas.chat.TarquinasPilots
Kettemoor: Kettespace
Q: How do I use Droid Commands?
A: You need both a Droid Interface (DI) and, depending on your ship chassis, a Flight Computer or Astromech, in addition to the actual commands or programmed chips. A detailed list of each command and more information can be found in the Complete Droid Command FAQ (work in progress) by Washell
Droid interfaces can be looted or crafted by a shipwright.
Flight computers/astromechs are crafted by Engineer Traders only. Astromechs are for X-wings, Y-wings, Z-95s, ARC-170s, and Eta-2 Actis Interceptors only and count against the droid limit in your datapad. Flight computers are for all other ships and do NOT count as a droid in your datapad. They are certified in Box 5, 9, 13, and 17 of the pilot skill wheel and are separate from the DI certification. REBEL NOTE: Youwill most likely end up running both flight computers and astromechs, but the astromech can have other functionality besides being a flight droid. Ask your favorite Engineer for more info. Astromechs, as they count against the droid limit, are tradable and nameable. Flight computers are NOT able to be named.
Each faction has a set of commands they can program or load for free. ANY pilot of ANY level can use ANY program from ANY faction as long as they can squeeze it in the FC/droid they are certified for. You can use programs from the other two factions (or ones you can not program yet) by buying or trading for chips that already have the commands programmed.
Q: How do I get GCW points in space?
A: Red-Dwarf has created a FAQ for this. You may find it here.
Q: How do I easily link and unlink my weapons for a group fire/chain fire effect?
A: CNevyn has written up a nice guide describing how to use some macros and an alias to do this. You may find it here.
Q: What causes the Kessel switch?
A: The mighty Freedom Station in Deep Space, invulnerable since the Combat Upgrade of eons ago, has been breached. The destruction of this station triggers a change to Kessel. See Halyn's guide to the issue here.
Q: What's up with Weapon Overload 3?
A: Weapon Overload 3 used to be bugged so that instead of increasing Reactor Drain and EPS (Energy Per Shot) per weapon, it decreased them. That bug was fixed with Publish 27, meaning many pilots are seeing a big change in the way they outfit their ships and act in combat to deal with capacitors actually running out of energy.
Q: What does the "LUCKY" flytext mean in space?
A: Occasionally when you kill an NPC the "LUCKY" tag will appear over your ship. According to Thunderheart, it means you got more xp for the kill, and has nothing to do with getting a critical hit or dealing more damage. This has also been confirmed in this Friday Feature.
Q: How can I get the YT-2400?
A: Here's the beginning and here's the conclusion.
Q: How do I know how much Space XP I have?
A: Liquor has written up a simple guide to show you how to view this information. You can find it here.
Q: You can get ground xp in space?
A: Yep, it's true. You get 9% of the XP gained from killing a ship as ground Combat Experience.
Q: Where do I find the RotW ships?
A: They're all quest-granted. The missions for these ships start here:
The Advanced X-Wing, Vaksai, and Imperial Guard Interceptor quests all begin with missions out of Kashyyyk space station. The latest guide for these can be found here.
The Y-8 mining ship quest starts with a man named Flash Harrison on the first floor of the Kachirho tree cantina. He'll send you on a variety of space mining and combat missions around the galaxy before you'll eventually earn the Y-8. Guide can be found here.
The Eta-2 Actis Interceptor (Jedi Starfighter) quest starts from a pile of bones outside the Nightsister Stronghold on Dathomir. Find the datapad on the corpse (it's on a 30-minute spawn timer; if it's not there, either wait around or come back later) and take it to Admiral Krieg in the bunker in Kachirho to get started. You'll need to be an Imperial ground combatant to start these missions and to talk to the mission giver.
The ARC-170 begins with the Queen of Naboo in Theed Palace. You'll need to be a Rebel on leave to do this quest.
The Belbullab-22 (Grievous' Starship) takes place entirely within the Myyydril Caverns on Kashyyyk. You'll need to make your way to a robot outside a gate deep within the caves to begin the mission, which consists of killing a very powerful (currently level 92) robot and his two henchmen.
The Eta-2 Actis Interceptor and ARC-170 both require you to have the certification (Box 14) and complete only their quests yourself in order to be able to fly the ship. The Vaksai, RGI, and Adv. XWing require you to have the certification (Box 14) and only have the “Has acquired 5 Badges…” badge.
For those who like walkthroughs, here's one that includes all the Clone Relics quests from RotW, including the ARC-170, Eta-2 Actis Interceptor, and Nym's Starmap quests.
A: Try checking the pilots listed here or your galaxy forums. Check also to see who posted a "please add me" last in the thread. They might not have been added to the list yet.
Q: Does the Black Sun Ace Helmet still drop?
A: Yes. The Black Sun Ace Helmet is an extremely rare piece of loot that drops from any Tier 4 or higher Black Sun ships. You can kill literally thousands upon thousands of Black Suns without finding a single one, so if you’re dedicated to finding one, be prepared to spend a lot of time hunting.
psikobunny wrote a nice guide for finding a Black Sun helmet here.
Q: What pilot faction can I be if I'm in __________ faction on the ground?
A: Ground and space factions are linked as follows:
Ground Civilians can ONLY be Freelance Pilots
Ground Imperials can be an Imperial or Freelance Pilot
Ground Rebels can be a Rebel or any Freelance Pilot
Q: How do I get faction points in space?
A: All you have to do is go overt at any factional space station, then start killing Rebel NPCs if you're Imperial or Imperial NPCs if you're Rebel. They'll give you FP in varying amounts, depending on the tier and type of the ship you kill. Freelancers will be able to declare for the same faction they are on the ground. If you don't have a ground faction, you won't be able to gain FP.
You used to have to be an Imperial or Rebel master pilot to get into and gain FP in Deep Space, but that's changed with publish 27. Now pilots of all levels and freelancers can get FP in Deep Space. However, to get FP there you do still have to declare at a factional station before you hyper to Deep Space.
Since the introduction of the GCW ranking system, faction points now only influence how ground NPCs react to you. They are no longer used to determine your GCW rank nor used to purchase factional perks.
You can find the locations of all factional space stations as well as those needed to travel to Kessel or Deep Space here.
Q: How do I land at the theme parks?
A: Check out this thread. For Smuggler's Alliance/Jabba's Palace, you can also see this thread.
And no, nobody’s found a slash command to target nearest enemy player yet, though having a Saitek X52 flight system or a Belkin Nostromo n52 will allow you to map this to a more useful place *wink wink nudge nudge*.
Q: What does 'POB' mean?
A: Short for "portalized object," though you can also think of it as “Player On Board.” POB basically means "something you can walk around in." The Yacht, YT-1300, Decimator, Nova Courier, Y-8, and YT-2400 are all POB ships. The Krayt, Aggressor, Y-wing, and ARC-170 (in addition to the POB ships) are all multi-player.
Loads of credit to those who have come before, most notably SSSnuggles, TomoRainer and MonsofoLexius.
Legend: (Tier) Ship Name: Resource Amount Approximate Mass [P: Pilot controlled guns / T: Turret controlled guns] Number of missiles [Ship hard caps on various stats] Images of ships with Texture Kits applied
Stat definitions and how to determine them: Spdx (Speed Multiplier): Determined by dividing the maximum speed seen in space by engine top speed, then dividing by 10. Acc: How quickly you gain speed. Determined by taking maximum Engine Speed without overload divided by the time it takes to go from full stop to full throttle. Dec: How quickly you lose speed (slow down). Determined by taking maximum Engine Speed without overload divided by the time it takes to go from full throttle to full stop. Pitch/Yaw/Roll: Measurement of how quickly your ship responds to commands to change direction in a Nose Up/Nose Sideways/Rotational direction. Determined by converting the values found in the upper left-hand corner of the V screen (Component Management Screen) in space from Radians to Degrees (1 radian = 57.296 degrees). PYR values on engines are listed in Degrees.
(Tier 4) Advanced X-Wing: N/A Resources 180k mass [P: 3 Guns] 1 missile [Spdx 0.95(Foils Closed) 0.90(Foils Open) Acc 250 Dec 300 Pitch 300 Yaw 200 Roll 150] The Advanced X-Wing is a quest-given ship. The Advanced X-Wing has 6 textures that match textures 1-6 on the standard X-Wing.
(Tier 5) B-Wing: 150k Resources ~240k mass [P: 4 Guns] 2 missiles [Spdx 0.85(Foils Closed) 0.80 (Foils Open) Acc 100 Dec 150 Pitch 50 Yaw 50 Roll 25] All 8 Textures
(Tier 5) YKL-37r Nova Courier: 150k Resources ~5m mass [P: 0 Guns T:+2] 3 missiles [Spdx 0.80 Acc 50 Dec 50 Pitch 50 Yaw 50 Roll 37.5] All 6 Textures
(Tier 0) TIE-LD: 5k Resources ~12k mass [P: 1 Gun] 0 missile [Spdx 0.95 Acc 500 Dec 500 Pitch 600 Yaw 600 Roll 300]
(Tier 1) TIE Fighter: 15k Resources ~20k mass [P: 1 Gun] 1 missile [Spdx 0.98 Acc 400 Dec 500 Pitch 500 Yaw 500 Roll 250]
(Tier 1) Heavy TIE Fighter: 50k Resources ~95k mass [P: 1 Gun] 1 missile [Spdx 0.98 Acc 400 Dec 500 Pitch 500 Yaw 500 Roll 250]
(Tier 2) TIE/In: 30k Resources ~40k mass [P: 1 Gun] 1 missile [Spdx 0.97 Acc 400 Dec 600 Pitch 300 Yaw 300 Roll 200]
(Tier 3) TIE Bomber: 60k Resources ~190k mass [P: 2 Guns] 2 missiles [Spdx 0.85 Acc 100 Dec 150 Pitch 50 Yaw 50 Roll 25]
(Tier 3) TIE Interceptor: 60k Resources ~50k mass [P: 1 Gun] 1 missile [Spdx 1.00 Acc 400 Dec 600 Pitch 300 Yaw 300 Roll 150]
(Tier 4) TIE Advanced: 80k Resources ~65k mass [P: 2 Guns] 1 missile [Spdx 1.00 Acc 400 Dec 600 Pitch 300 Yaw 300 Roll 150]
(Tier 4) TIE Aggressor: 80k Resources ~120k mass [P: 1 Gun T:+1] 1 missile [Spdx 0.95 Acc 200 Dec 300 Pitch 150 Yaw 200 Roll 100]
(Tier 4) Imperial Guard TIE Interceptor: N/A Resources 80k mass [P: 1 Gun] 1 missile [Spdx 1.00 Acc 400 Dec 600 Pitch 300 Yaw 300 Roll 150] The Imperial Guard TIE Interceptor is a quest-given ship.
(Tier 5) TIE Oppressor: 150k Resources ~170k mass [P: 2 Guns] 3 missiles [Spdx 0.90 Acc 350 Dec 350 Pitch 100 Yaw 100 Roll 50]
(Tier 5) VT-49 Decimator: 150k Resources ~5m mass [P: 0 Guns T:+2] 3 missiles [Spdx 0.80 Acc 50 Dec 50 Pitch 50 Yaw 50 Roll 37.5]
All 6 Textures The Sorosuub 3000 is given as a veteran reward to anyone who has played for more then 180 days.
(Tier 5) KSE Firespray: 150k Resources ~210k mass [P: 2 Guns] 2 missiles [Spdx 0.90 Acc ? Dec ? Pitch 100 Yaw 100 Roll 50] All 6 Textures You earn the Firespray schematic through Reverse Engineering. Every Master Pilot gains certification in it.
(Tier 5) Y-8 Mining Vessel: N/A Resources 5m mass [P: 1 Gun T:+4] ? missiles [Spdx ? Acc ? Dec ? Pitch ? Yaw ? Roll ?] No Textures The Y-8 Mining Vessel is a quest-given ship. Every Master Pilot gains certification in it.
(Tier 4) ARC-170: N/A Resources 125k mass [P: 1 Gun T:+2] 1 missile [Spdx 0.97 Acc ? Dec ? Pitch 400 Yaw 400 Roll 200] The ARC-170 is a quest-given ship. All 3 Textures
(Tier 4) Eta-2 Actis Interceptor: N/A Resources 90k mass [P: 2 Guns] 1 missile [Spdx 0.95 Acc 500 Dec 500 Pitch 400 Yaw 400 Roll 200] The Eta-2 is a quest-given ship. All 6 Textures
(Tier 4) Belbullab-22: N/A Resources 90k mass [P: 2 Guns] 1 missile [Spdx 0.95 Acc 500 Dec 500 Pitch 400 Yaw 400 Roll 200] Both Textures The Belbullab-22 is a quest-given ship.
(Tier 5) YT-2400: N/A Resources 5m mass [P: 0 Guns T:+2] 2 missiles [Spdx 0.80 Acc 50 Dec 50 Pitch 50 Yaw 50 Roll 37.5] Textures ? The YT-2400 is a quest-given ship.
For a side-by-side size comparison of all ships (excluding the monstrous Y-8 and the YT-2400), go here.
Message Edited by NarfBlinko on 01-21-200704:37 PM
Some of our regular posters have been kind enough to write guides and discussions for us on piloting skills. If you would like to have your own added please reply to this thread with a link to your post. Basics:
If you would like...please post Links to Leaph's PVP starship guide, his Awing guide, my Oppressor guide and any other ship guides that have been created...I believe I have seen others in the past...
Updated nearly all links to new, non-PreNGEArchive posts. Updated nearly all image links in the ship post. Updated ship stats that I knew of...please post the new info for the Aggressor if you know it and for any ?? in the post.
(Tier 4)A-Wing: 80k Resources ~65k mass [SP: 1 Gun] 1 missile [Spdx 1.0 Acc 40 Dec 60 Pitch 250 Yaw 250 Roll 125] All 7 Textures
No advanced engine grapics? Got something against them Narf? lol
Advanced A-wing engine = UGLY.
I usually prefer the advanced engine designs, but not on the A-wing.
-=-Rhiana Fox-=-KSE Firespray "Mistress"-=-Queen of Firesprays-=- -=-Rhiana' on the Starsider Server-=-Saffra on the Ahazi Server-=-Rheine on the Chimaera Server-=-
"Fighter pilots make movies. Bomber pilots make history!" - Old Bomber Pilot Barroom Chant
