AX Combat #3
29 Aug 2021Da9mrd
Well since my last AX Combat entry I have engaged the Thargoids in combat on numerous occasions, I moved my AX base of operations from the Witch Head to the Asterope region. This was mainly due to it being closer to the bubble and my home station.I had been engaging Non Human Signal Sources, threat level 3 and 4, primarily using Guardian Gauss Cannons and/or Guardian Plasma Chargers, as I'm still crap using fixed weapons I found it would take me some time to kill all the scouts, I could possibly do two threat level fours, as long as there were only 4 scouts in each, the good news was that I took less damage each time and had learned to avoid the caustic clouds and remove the corrosive substances, I was getting better.
Then by chance while reading up on the subject I discovered AX Multi-Cannons, I equipped my Krait with 4 turreted versions and a class 3 laser and hey presto I'm destroying scouts like there's no tomorrow, the only thing slowing me down now was the lack of threat level 4 signals or running out of ammo. After a while this became monotonous so I started to mix Gauss with Cannons, Gauss to try and better my aim with fixed weapons and Cannons when a scout became tiresome and wouldn't die.
Filled with my new found confidence and skill at killing scouts, I decided to start on the threat level 5's, I wanted a Cyclops.
I had read a lot on the subject and thought I understood about the hearts and how to take one out, I refitted my Krait and off I went, over a few days I must have engaged dozens of Cyclops, all with the same results, me running before I met the rebuy screen, it would be the norm for me to return to the station with my hull between 10 and 5%.
At the end of each days missions and if I had time, I would read up again on the subject, I have read more on AX combat so far than on any other subject in ED.
I brought my Cutter over and refitted it for AX combat, I found I could stay engaged for longer with the Cutter before eventually having to retire, I tried the Remote Release Flak Launcher on the swarm with little success until I found an article that mentioned that when using the flak launcher you will be given an onscreen indication on when to release the trigger, D'oh!
Once I had figured out how to exert the heart I started to have success, a heart, then two hearts, then two hearts were the norm, I even learnt how to avoid or take care of the swarm. I switch between the Krait and Cutter testing out what I'd learnt, the Krait more manoeuvrable, the Cutter soaking up more hits. My new found nemesis was the lightning attack, I kept forgetting, FA off and boost, kept getting caught, then disaster, the Cutter met the rebuy, oh why couldn't it have been the Krait, gutted.
Unfortunately at this moment in time I don't seem to be able to progress, the best I have done is two hearts with the third exposed before having to retire. I've lost the Cutter twice and the Krait three times, often returning to port heavily damaged, each time after loosing the Cutter I became more cautious and have made little progress.
I do like the new location though and have toyed with the idea of relocating my home port to this area, I have seen many commanders in my travels in and around the nearby systems, I was a little concerned at first as I'm not rigged for human combat and have lost quite a few ships to unprovoked attacks in the past, but after scanning the other ships and seeing they were all rigged for AX as well I began to relax, I have even had several invites to join groups while here, but as I'm an anti-social old sod and to stubborn to give up on the solo Cyclops kill or ask for help, I have not taken up their kind offers, maybe another time.
I'm currently a little disillusioned on my progress with the Thargoids at present so need to take some time out. I'm currently re-engineering my DBX, I may have found I can increase it's jump range further, it's current max range is 75 and after playing around with EDSY, I may be able to get it up to 80, I'm thinking of taking a trip to Colonia, I have been piloting a ship for awhile now and have done a few deep space missions in the past but always to unpopulated/rarely visited areas, this will be my first to another human populated region. I will revisit the Thargoid issue another day, I'm determined to get that solo Cyclops kill.