Elite: Game talk

Sampi Ogonek
today, 6:52pm
Kasumi Goto[…] (and the preengineered AX missiles which are on offer for the CG here but those are mostly just useful for Titan bombing and slaughtering Thargoid transport trucks, aka Orthrus… I have barely seen any players actually use them to the end of exerting Thargoid hearts, probably for the same reason original shard cannons and plasma chargers are frowned upon - not very good at their job… in case of those missiles, I wager it is comparatively slow shot speed which makes even slight changes in direction from an Interceptor just result in missing completely)

The fact AX missiles (unlike shards) are completely useless for destroying Interceptor hearts might also play a part.

Indy*cries* "It's OK, AspX. The mean commanders can't hurt you when you're in storage. Soon."

Don’t worry, there are other people who like the AspEx. (Like, um, me.⁠)

That said, I engineered my exploration-oriented AspEx build to be fast enough to outrun most Thargoid trouble-makers. And if I replace the thrusters and the power distributor it can outrun even Basilisks easily, at the cost of a slight range reduction, of course.
Indy
today, 6:53pm
MeowersWell, at least it isn't an Asp Scout...

You're not wrong. I've been wanting to figure out "uses" for every ship, so I could "collect them all". However, there are some which I just can't seem to make "useful". At least not in the current meta with other options available.

For example:
Even my "BioFlyer" Dolphin is a bit of a stretch. Sure, it works well for ExoBio in many ways, but honestly a Viper would be faster (moving around the planet).

Still, I don't "have to" have uses for every ship. I just enjoy tinkering with them.
Kasumi Goto
today, 7:32pm
Sampi Ogonek
The fact AX missiles (unlike shards) are completely useless for destroying Interceptor hearts might also play a part.

That is also a good point, I suppose. I imagine the intent from Frontier was to use missiles for exertion and AXMCs to target the hearts but good concepts in theory don’t always work out in reality. Especially when the multis were still fixed only and probably just a godawful experience to actually try using reliably.

… as for the matter of the Asp Scout, I don’t know what they were thinking when they designed it.

I also tried an AspX once and was immediately put off by the paper shields that drop on the slightest bump into something, plus the engine sounds made me want to destroy my hearing. I don’t know why I haven’t sold it because it’s not getting used as module storage.
Indy
today, 8:33pm
Kasumi Goto
Sampi Ogonek
The fact AX missiles (unlike shards) are completely useless for destroying Interceptor hearts might also play a part.


That is also a good point, I suppose. I imagine the intent from Frontier was to use missiles for exertion and AXMCs to target the hearts but good concepts in theory don’t always work out in reality. Especially when the multis were still fixed only and probably just a godawful experience to actually try using reliably.

Are AX missiles, shards, and AXMCs effective for facing off with Interceptors, especially for players that don't have Guardian stuff yet?

I ask because I have a friend who is interested in doing more AX stuff, but doesn't necessarily want to grind. (Helping them get through the Engineer grind, currently.)
Miner Willy
today, 8:41pm
Anyone else getting lots of Mauve Adder disconnects this evening?
Meowers
today, 8:43pm
AXMCs can be somewhat okay against smaller Interceptors, and they're also a 'meta' weapon against Scouts and Hunters, as far as I know. Not the infernal rage of Modshards to the face or cold precise Gauss-sniping, but they can get the job done eventually.

p.s. Yeah, better answer below. I'm just kind of busy at the moment and can't write long stuff.
Kasumi Goto
today, 8:43pm
You can easily solo a Cyclops with AX multicannons and have a good tool to dispose of Scouts at the same time, Glaives(angry spinny Thargoid throwing star) too. Wouldn’t bother with the missiles, the only thing they are good at is exerting hearts.

Shard cannons are also Guardian tech. The basic ones are the standard tech broker unlock and kind of meh, ok at exerting hearts but their shot spread basically covers the entirety of an Interceptor even if you’re really close to it. Modified shard cannons, which are the ones you want to be using, they are available only as a “purchase” which requires one Guardian weapon blueprint per, well, weapon, plus a couple other items.

If you have your friend go down the multicannon route - the one I would highly recommend - make sure they buy the gimballed Enhanced version, available for credits at any of the rescue megaships, and an enhanced xeno scanner, which will provide both basic target identification and upon running a detailed scan of an Interceptor, allows subtargeting of the hearts.
Indy
today, 8:59pm
Kasumi GotoYou can easily solo a Cyclops with AX multicannons and have a good tool to dispose of Scouts at the same time, Glaives(angry spinny Thargoid throwing star) too. Wouldn’t bother with the missiles, the only thing they are good at is exerting hearts.

Shard cannons are also Guardian tech. The basic ones are the standard tech broker unlock and kind of meh, ok at exerting hearts but their shot spread basically covers the entirety of an Interceptor even if you’re really close to it. Modified shard cannons, which are the ones you want to be using, they are available only as a “purchase” which requires one Guardian weapon blueprint per, well, weapon, plus a couple other items.

If you have your friend go down the multicannon route - the one I would highly recommend - make sure they buy the gimballed Enhanced version, available for credits at any of the rescue megaships, and an enhanced xeno scanner, which will provide both basic target identification and upon running a detailed scan of an Interceptor, allows subtargeting of the hearts.

That sounds great. They recently made a quick AXMC Vulture build to join me in ShinDez with my Chieftain. They enjoyed it and started a Krait Mk II build (from AXI). I'll help them integrate the advice you provided into their new build.

(Thank you to you too, Meowers. I appreciate your quick answer/summary as well!)
Meowers
today, 9:19pm
Indy(Thank you to you too, Meowers. I appreciate your quick answer/summary as well!)
You're welcome. But I highly recommend getting real stuff, and real AX stuff glows cyan. One or two evenings of grind could lead to having way, way more fun in AX, and, speaking practically, improve the creds-to-time ratio by shredding the bastards to bits way faster. There are lots of videos with Guardian guns and what they do to Thargoids. Hells, even I have some of those. So it's up to your friend to decide.
Episparh
today, 9:19pm
MeowersWell, at least it isn't an Asp Scout...

I never build 3 ships.
1. I cannot have because of FDev.
2. Needs so much materials for what the ship can offer.
3. Is utter garbage.

I wonder who cannot guess the ships.

Indy

You're not wrong. I've been wanting to figure out "uses" for every ship, so I could "collect them all". However, there are some which I just can't seem to make "useful". At least not in the current meta with other options available.

For example:
Even my "BioFlyer" Dolphin is a bit of a stretch. Sure, it works well for ExoBio in many ways, but honestly a Viper would be faster (moving around the planet).

Still, I don't "have to" have uses for every ship. I just enjoy tinkering with them.


Probably the best small exploration ship. Not the best jumper but decent combination of jump range , number of optional internals and speed. Mine jumps 51ly , boosts to 591 m/s, have all the essentials for long range exploration and 300ish MJ shields. DBX is slow floating t*rd in comparison.

Last edit: 24 Sep 2024, 9:29pm
Kasumi Goto
today, 9:22pm
Episparh

I never build 3 ships.
1. I cannot have because of FDev.
2. Needs so much materials for what the ship can offer.
3. Is utter garbage.

I wonder who cannot guess the ships.

I can guess 1 and 3…
Cobra MKIV and probably the aforementioned Asp Scout that is literally worthless for anything except maybe exploring and worse than its dedicated sister ship… actually, it is maybe good for exploding it when flown by NPCs


But I’m not sure which one 2 is.
A T10?

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