The Thargoid interceptors
10 Mar 2020Jonny_saturn
These are the big ones, forget scouts – this is where it gets much trickier. A well armoured and engineered ship is a must and only the AX experimental or Guardian weapons will do. Heat sinks, shield cell backs (SCB's), shield boosters, hull and module re-enforcements, an AMFU, a Field Shutdown Neutralizer and a Xeno-scanner are all often useful – some are essential, some can be omitted with a bit of experience. Its down to practice, experience and personal preference on how you set up for the fight. Is having the SCB and AMFU going to save you more hit points in the long run vs. the additional hull re-enforcements? Is that heat sink launcher or Xeno scanner worth having in place of additional shield boosters? This the sort of thing you have to decide upon. There are so many possible methods and set ups, and dealing with the interceptors themselves is not straightforward in itself – there are different weapons that the interceptor will use against you. Fighting one is like learning a dance routine, success coming when you are able to pull off the moves you need to again and again, with a decent accurately.There are four main types of interceptor, each getting progressively tougher, but even the first type ‘Cyclops’ takes many sessions of training and a monumental effort to overcome. Practicing just being around them helps, even fighting them - but with an escape plan in the back of your mind. Keeping distance and knowing when to run. A fast ship is essential.
The Cyclops variant
Next up the pecking order is the ‘Basilisk’. At first glance, the stats don’t seem that different to the Cyclops, and you can be excused for thinking that they wont be too much of a step up. But the Basilisk is a much more dangerous opponent. You have to hit it more to get the hearts exerted, of which you’ll ultimately have to destroy 5 of instead of 4 versus the Cyclops. It has more Thargons in its swarm – 64, not 32. But the biggest difference is the speed – its much faster than the Cyclops, so can’t easily be outrun. All of these differences create a much harder opponent, to the extent that taking on the Basilisk demands a complete re-think in my interceptor engagement strategy. My hit and run tactic used in the Krait against the slower Cyclops had become a reliable routine, but I’ve not got the speed in the Krait to completely outrun the Basilisk.
The Basilisk variant. This is recognised by the decorative patterns towards the edges of the petals
The Medusa variant is back to Cyclops speed once again, but yet more hearts are needed, more shots to exert and damage the hearts and still larger numbers in the swarm, from 64 with the Basilisk to 96 with the Medusa. A solo is possible, but there is no room for error and ammo synthesis is a must. I will have to be really on my game with these.
The Medusa variant. The Medusa has similarly decorated petals to the Basilisk, but with the addition of barbs on the outer edges and also near the central region
Finally, the Hydra variant. The mother of all Thargoids. 128 Thargon swarm size that will form rings and elaborate manoeuvres to evade flak shots. 7 hearts to exert and heavy armour. Again a solo versus these is possible, but it would have to be a flawless performance that no doubt will take a lot of time and will involve many repairs, shield boosts and synthesis of ammo on the fly. Maybe one day.
For now, I’m up against the Cyclops once again. This time, new configurations and most importantly, a new engagement strategy before I take on the Basilisk. I have been using the Federal Corvette, a surprisingly manoeuvrable ship for its size, but capable of heavy shield and hull re-enforcements. It’s a little slow though, so cant get away to safety as quickly as some other ships. I still also find myself gravitating back towards the Krait MkII. But the biggest change from previous engagements is the tactic used. Instead of the hit and run, I will be trying to attack the interceptor and swarm closer, within a couple of km rather than running away to 8km+ out of range between heart takedowns. As they get too close, I will use that slow turn rate of the interceptor to my advantage and boost past it to gain some distance again. Without a ship capable of 550+ km/sec, I’ve no chance to get away completely from the Basilisk, using the hit and run-far-out-of-range method.
Although I’m confident of winning the fight against the Cyclops, I still need to practice and hone my skills, which include; quick and effective use of the flak cannon to destroy the swarms, picking off the heart and using the heat sink at the right time. Probably the hardest thing I’m finding right now is keeping the right distance from the interceptor during direct engagement. Too close and you’ll get seriously stung by the lightning bolt, too far and you cant hit the ship or pick off the hearts.