1. Intro 2. Basics 3. Equipment 4. Droid Commands and Special Commands 5. XP Locations and Grinding 6. Mission Walk through (Coming soon) 7. Chassis Stats 8. Contact Info
1. -=Intro=- I'm writing this guide do to the problems I've had finding an all in compassing guide for Imperial pilots. Rebs/Privateers much of this will apply to you guys as well so read on :-)
Much of this information can be found from other sources, I just found a need for a consolidated guide. Cheers to all everyone on the forums and those who have written guides before this!
I'm not much of writer (or speller!) so bear with me. English is my native language even if it doesn't appear to be so! :-D
Please feel free to plagiarize this to the fullest extent! I could care less about the credit.
*** Shameless plug: If you find this useful feel free to /tip Maudee on Bloodfin :-D
2. -=The Basics and Some Tips=-
You've got your starter ship. Now what? Time to do your first few missions. They're very easy check the mission guide if you need help. (MISSION GUIDE COMING SOON) All done? Great! On to leveling.
Unlike other skills, piloting skills must be trained in box order. ie. ALL tier 1 boxes must be filled to move on to tier 2 boxes and so on. Great, well what should I pick first?! As a rule of thumb *always* level your equipment/component box first. I can't stress this enough! The npc ships get amazing shields/armor so the increased firepower is very helpful.
*** EXCEPTION - when moving from tier 3 to tier 4, pick chassis size over equipment first. You'll have enough trouble fitting your level 6-7 components onto your ship. Let alone level 8-9 components (which basically take up all of a light fighters mass). ***
Ok. Got your equipment box first? Good. Next train the chassis size box. The order for the last two are up to you. I'd suggest astrodroid first. Especially in tiers 2, 3, and 4.
Why use this order? 1. Big weapons/Shields/Engines are a good thing. Get them as quick as you can. 2. Chassis size is also very important. Bigger chassis means less trouble getting that monster weapon and shield installed. 3. Astrodroids are useful. Exploit them to the fullest! (explained under equipment section) 4. Bomber Strike and Pump Reactor won't win missions for you. Faster, stronger, and better protected ships will.
Ok. So you know the template order. On to some basic flying tips.
- Get a joystick. The mouse works surprisingly well. But a joystick with a good amount of buttons and a throttle control is your best friend. (A built in throttle works just as well. No need to get crazy and spend 100 bucks on a separate throttle control too! But they are nice, hehe.) Dronayus's Joystick Buyers Guide Here.
- Assign easy access targeting controls. "Nearest enemy" is very important, as are "Target under rectile" and "nearest friendly".
- Assign "Next Component" (forget the name, it't something like that, hehe) targeting to a hotkey on your joystick. Taking out engines, reactors and turrets is VERY important!
- Use your group fire modes! (the G key by default) Proper fire group control is very important in the later tiers when your allowed more than one main weapon/missile launcher.
- The lead target rectile isn't perfect. Use it when directly behind a ship. Use it as a guide when following a ship that is banking. (You'll love how far off it is when following A-Wings) Bottom line... use your shots as tracers.
- Optional: I find having the X axis as roll is better than the default of yaw. Put yaw on your pedals or Z axis.
- When making hard turns use pitch, roll, AND yaw. They stack to some degree making tighter turns possible. Accurate use will take some practice.
- IMPORTANT: Proper throttle control is key. Keep one hand more or less dedicated to the throttle. Remember that each ship has a ideal turning speed between 40-90%. Find it and use it!
3. -=Equipment=-
So what's the best configuration? That depends on the situation and your flying style. And for all you new pilots, this is just a reference. It gets very hard to fit in the components you need and sometimes things have to be sacrificed. I remember laughing at a few of my early TIE fighter configs, which were basically flying giant guns :-)
Chassis: Bigger is better.... usually. However, the TIE bomber is a tank. Why? Different chassis have different max acceleration and maneuvering max capabilities. The TIE Bomber takes an expert pilot to dogfight with. I'd suggest picking fighters when you have the choice. God bless the TIE Advanced!
Reactors: Find the lowest mass with the highest output. You won't have a problem with power until the higher tiers.
Engines - Max speed vs. maneuverability: A lot of players (and ship writes... shame on you!) seem to think that the only stat on an engine that matters is max speed. I can't stress this enough.... the yaw/pitch/roll rates are VERY important. You'll have a hell of a time dog fighting when you're always chasing ships that can out turn you. High Y/P/R rates make it significantly easier to hit targets. This means more damage in a faster period of time, which means more kills and less stuff shooting at you. Don't get me wrong max speed is important, especially for some of the missions. Just don't sacrifice YPR rates if you don't have to!
Weapons: The big kahuna. The most important piece of equipment! Appropriate selection is imperative, especially for us Imps who only get one gun until tier 4! This could get lengthy...
What type should I use? Blasters, Ions, or Disrupters? Well this ones tough. Disrupters do an average of .72 to armor, this sucker is the armor buster and we'll get to it later. Ion Canons are the opposite, doing .72 on average to shields. And finally, your average blaster which does around .47 to both shields and armor.
So which to use... Blasters: They are very versatile which is important for us Imperials who only get one gun until you get the tier 4 chassis. But is it the best weapon? Probably not... I'd suggest using it for the first tier or two while the NPC shield strength is still manageable.
Disruptors: Amazing at destroying armor which means destroying ships. So obviously this is the best weapon, right? Not exactly. There are two reasons why. a. Armor doesn't regenerate. Shields do. b. Higher tier ships have amazing shield strength and *important* amazing shield regeneration rates! So shooting shielded targets with a disrupter is, quite frankly, a pain in the ass. Unless it does astounding damage and you never miss, shield regen will make your life miserable.
ok then...
Ion Cannons: Most people scoff at the ion cannon because its tough to get those big armor/component damaging shots in. But as stated above. Shields regenerate. Ion's own on shields... which means you'll be doing hull damage much faster than with disrupters or blasters. If you only have one gun slot it is *very* important to try and get a damage ratio of at least .75 shield and .25 armor. A .6 shield .4 armor would be ideal (***except for the .65 to shield and armor guns... which we'll get to soon).
Special loot guns: Occasionally you loot guns with high damage to both shields and armor (.65/.65 and up). Even if it has slightly less max damage than your other energy weapons, calculate the damage out and determine which is better. Even if you do slightly less damage to shields, usually the great ratio is worth it. Watch the energy/shot requirements though, as these guns can have very high energy costs. 25+ energy/shot with your average capacitor means you won't be able to maintain firing for long. (A side note: These can be reverse engineered by ship writes to make some amazing weapons)
Multi Gun combos: Rebs, Freelance, and late tier Imps get the joys of multiple guns. But this brings up a good question.... Is it better to equip two similar weapons, or one disrupters and one ion canon? Oddly enough I prefer two of the same. Why you ask? Shooting a shielded target with both an ion canon and a disrupters is wasteful of capacitor energy. Think about it... you're shooting two weapons with similar energy/shot requirements and doing, at best, 50% of the damage you throw out. Ok fine, you plan on shooting the target with the ion canon first and then switching to the disrupters once the shield is down. Good plan but... you're damage per second will be no better than a ship equipped with one gun. However if you have two of the same gun, you can fire at twice the rate, effectively doubling your normal damage with the same shield busting damage ratio.
Ok so the argument goes as follows. Doing double damage with two of the same yields the same damage ratio doing twice the damage and it's balanced damage! However, using a disrupters and ion canon at the same time yields appears to yield a 1/1 ratio. But in reality it's a .5/.5 because you're doing .7+.3 to shields and .7+.3 to armor. Don't bother, get two regular blasters if this is what you're looking for. Not to mention aiming with two different weapons firing at the same time can be interesting. Bottom Line: Two of the same is better.
Weapon Power consumption and Two Weapon Mass Issues: With one weapon, your goal is to reach a ratio of power used to capacitor regeneration rate that is about equal. This will allow you to fire near indefinitely. With two weapons firing grouped this obviously becomes tough. However you're throwing out so much damage so fast that's its ok. Just use the best capacitor you can find and fire when you have a good chance of a hit.
Regarding mass and multi weapon configurations. *****REMEMBER****** Sometimes two level 5 weapons is better than one level 7! Compare mass, total damage, and power consumption to determine which is best.
See missiles information below.
Capacitors: Regen rate is everything. Pick based on regen rate, then mass, then max available power.
Shields: Shields vs. Armor- Obviously shields come before armor. They recharge. Choose based on max power/recharge rate vs. mass. This should be your second priority after weapons. Player made shields are quite good. Use them until you RE something better.
Droid Interfaces: (See droid commands in section 4) Droid interfaces can be slightly confusing. Basically you want a smaller number for speed. Which is actually more of a "delay" than "speed" rating. Now here is the best part. I've got a couple level 1 interfaces that have speeds around 14. And I've got a few level 10 interfaces with speeds in the thirties. Bottom line... lower is better, even if its a lower level interface. If you happen to find one of these (they're getting rarer) thank your lucky stars that you can get such a low speed with only 500 mass :-D
Boosters: Boosters are optional, but if you can squeeze one in DO IT. These things will save your life over and over again. Don't save them for that "one time you really need it." They recharge fast. Use them to pull up on enemies and evade fire. They have a few important stats. Speed is obvious, a fast booster is good. However a slightly slower booster with a lower energy consumption rate and a high max energy pool is better. Don't forget to look at the recharge rate as well. I've found great level 3 boosters that I still use to this day because of the low mass.
Armor: This should be pretty obvious. High armor rating and hit points is better. Lower mass is better. Don't sacrifice weapons/shields/engine due to armor. With a good shield and some piloting skills you can skip it all together through the lower tiers. (Do try and fit something in the rear at least though as that is where you'll get hit most of the time. Get your mind out of the gutter.)
Missles: A short rant on missile launchers. Missiles are so appealing. The high damage/level vs. standard weapons is very misleading however. Is it better to do 1000-2000 damage 10 times before landing to refuel, or 300-800 damage on a much faster energy weapon indefinitely? Number 2. Missiles are fun to use but keep this in mind... 1. The mark I and II's are weak. (except space bomb) 2. High level missiles are exceedingly expensive :-( 3. They take up valuable mass. 4. They have limited ammo. Many of the missions require killing 20+ enemies! 5. This isn't TIE Fighter vs. X-Wing where 1-2 missiles will kill a target. If you're lucky one missile will take out the rear shields! 6. Countermeasures nullify missiles. A countermeasure with LESS mass requirements and generally with more/the same amount of uses easily stops incoming missiles.
Missiles have their uses. Mark II space bombs tear apart capitol ships and higher tier ships can carry up to three launchers. But until the upper tiers, ONLY ADD MISSLES LAUNCHERS IF YOU HAVE EXTRA SPACE. Everything else comes first.
Finding equipment: Ok so you know how to put together a good configuration, but where do you get this stuff? If you've got some cash sitting around head out to your favorite shopping areas and start shopping for the needed components. Don't go too crazy. You'll be growing out of stuff quickly, not to mention looting tons of good items. It is advisable to save up and drop the 20-100k for those monster weapons when you open a new equipment skill box. The time you will save using the right weapon will make it worth your while.
I suggest hooking up with a ship write and striking a deal. Give him all your space loot at cost (equipment level X 1000) and in return get discounts on special order components and chassis. Don't forget to ask for a heads up on any great reverse engineered products before they hit the vendor!
I'm a player on Bloodfin and I've had some serious trouble finding a well stocked ship vendor. I'll try and update this guide as I find some good shopping locations on Bloodfin.
Bloodfin Shops worth noting: (Mail me in game if you'd like me to check out your shop. If I'm impressed I'll add it to the list. In game name on Bloodfin: Maudee)
SHOP LISTINGS Use /waypoint when you reach the destination planet to add to your datapad.
SOLIS Starships located outside of Coronet Waypoint 524 -5532
4. -=Droid Commands and Special Commands=-
Droid Commands: Use and abuse these. Weapon overcharge 3 + Capacitor Overcharge 3 = Devastation. And lets not forget about Engine Overdrive! *NOTE* You CAN use droid commands from cross pilot professions. Find a reb/freelance who will trade you chips! *NOTE* Level 4 Overcharges cause decay quite fast. Stick to level 3's for the most part. *NOTE* If you plan on using an overcharge be sure to include the corresponding normalization program as well.
Weapon Overcharge 1-4: Gives a boost to weapon power while sacrificing energy. Useful if A. you have a great capacitor, or B. You have the Capacitor Overcharge command as well.
Engine Overcharge 1-4: Boosts engine speed AND Y/P/R rate! Use this as soon as you can fit a droid interface! I won't fly without it!
Capacitor Overcharge 1-4: Boost to capacitor charge rate (and max energy pool?) great when used with Weapon Overcharge.
Shield Reinforcements (Front-Back and Light-Extreme): These are important. Find a rebel willing to trade these to you. Need to escape? Put all shield power to the rear and hit Engine Overdrive and your booster! Attacking a gunboat? Put the front to heavy to soak up those damn turret blasts!
Reactor Overload: Increases reactor output. Useful to squeeze out that last bit of energy that is required.
Special Commands: (I'm only familiar with the Imperial specials so that's all I'll mention)
Pump Reactor: Temporary boost to reactor output. (Does anyone ever use this?!)
Nebula Blast: Creates an explosion which damages enemies. (Only useable in a nebula) Can't say I've ever used this.
Bomber Strike 1-3: Calls in a TIE Bomber attack on selected target. Useful for taking out big targets in various missions. (aka. tier 3 gunboat mission and the corvette)
5. -=Grinding Experience (good locations)=-
Tier 1: Stick to your home planet and kill tier 1 and 2 ships. They're pretty easy to find and kill.
Tier 2: Lok - Nym's Hovel: Great for finding tier 2 and 3 ships. Go for the freelance ships, they tend to be pretty slow and easy to kill here.
Tier 3: Tier 3 is mission based, don't bother grinding!
Tier 4: Kessel is the best place. Go for B-Wings, Y-Wings, X-Wings, and gunboats for crazy XP! Kessel can be found by going to the Delerium Sea (or something like that, I forget the name) in the Endor system and flying to the nearest space station. Open your comm and you'll be allowed access to the Kessel sector and Deep Space sector.
6. -=Mission Walkthroughs (Coming Soon)=-
7. -=Ship Statistics=-
Props to Odan_Pazzmarr and Odan Starfleet Designs for this information! Check out the original guide at Here.
Imperial:
TIE Light Duty: 5k Resources - novice ship - 12k mass Projectile Weapons: 1 Missile: 0
TIE Fighter: 15k Resources - level 1 cert - 20k mass Projectile Weapons: 1 Missile: 1
Not to mention aiming with two different weapons firing at the same time can be interesting.
