Basic Combat Pointers
24 Mar 2017Relick
Basic Combat Pointers
Pip Management
Dynamic pip management is arguably the most important skill for a CMDR to have for not only combat in general, but especially PvP. Pip management is the kind of thing that you can never get enough practice doing. Even if you think your pip management is good, still work on trying to shuffle them around even more. You can go to Coriolis and look at the chart it gives you for each ship on how pips affect maneuverability. Remember, unless there is a tactical reason to not have 4 pips to systems when under fire, you should always have 4 pips to systems when under fire (one such example for a tactical reason would be if your shields dropping would not be a huge deal for you, or if you REALLY need to keep shooting. It's honestly super situational, hence the general rule of thumb to always have 4 in SYS when taking fire).
When you are not taking fire, it is of the utmost importance that you divert your pips to what needs recharging. 4 pips to ENG (as opposed to 0) in an A-Rated Clipper results in just over a 100% increase in: pitch, roll, and yaw effectiveness, and in maximum speed. 4 pips to WEP will obviously keep you shooting for longer. The ability to redistribute your pips on the fly will allow for you to fire for longer periods of time, even if you don’t have many pips in WEP very often (putting them there to recharge and taking them away when it’s close to full). Just remember that you generate TONS of heat when trying to fire with no energy in your WEP capacitor.
The "Six Directions of Movement"/ENG and Boosting
On the matter of ENG and boosting, always do your best to allow your ENG capacitor to recharge as much as possible after a boost. Boosting gives your ship its maximum maneuverability for a short period of time, regardless of how many pips you have in ENG. Because of this, conservation of your boosts for the appropriate times is also a huge deal. A bad boost will not only place you in a bad position, but it will also waste energy from your ENG capacitor, and thus will waste precious distributor resources when you start to recharge it. Boosts are best saved for “heave” and “sway” directional realignments/maneuvers (using FA Off for maximum effect), and sparingly along the “surge.” Surge boosting often results in an overshoot of your target, and if they react quickly enough then you have just given them a clear shot on your rear until you can get around and face them again. This is bad for 2 reasons; you now have to make the decision to put your pips into SYS or ENG (which I guess is sort of one reason). ENG will turn you around faster, but they will be shooting at your reduced shields. SYS will soak more damage, but you will turn slower. I lean towards SYS in this situation, because you will soak more damage than you would avoid by turning faster.
Staying on Target, and Flight Assist-Off
Obviously, staying on target is also important. Keeping your target in your firing arc as often as possible gives you the maximum potential DPS. Good pip management can make a world of difference in this department, as it allows you to turn and maneuver more quickly. However, no mastery of pip management will save you if your opponent is a capable FA-Off pilot. Turning off your flight assist allows your thrusters (and your boost) to move your ship at your maximum speed in any direction. In addition to the release of that restriction upon your ships maneuverability, turning off your flight assist also allows you to pitch tremendously faster. This is key for staying on your target. Even if all you do is toggle your FA on and off for small periods of time, you will notice dramatic increases in your maneuverability.
Power Priorities
Do not forget to set your power priorities so that if your plant is taken out you aren’t left drifting. When your power plant is shot out, you drop to 50% power capacity. If you set your power priorities appropriately, then you can keep top priority modules operational in the event of catastrophic power loss. You can see in this build that if my plant is taken out, I will have enough overhead to keep fighting (or to run away
)
Don't ever be afraid to ask anyone in the Legion for a duel, or for some additional pointers! We try and get together somewhat-often and practice with each other, and I am always down for a duel
Dynamic pip management is arguably the most important skill for a CMDR to have for not only combat in general, but especially PvP. Pip management is the kind of thing that you can never get enough practice doing. Even if you think your pip management is good, still work on trying to shuffle them around even more. You can go to Coriolis and look at the chart it gives you for each ship on how pips affect maneuverability. Remember, unless there is a tactical reason to not have 4 pips to systems when under fire, you should always have 4 pips to systems when under fire (one such example for a tactical reason would be if your shields dropping would not be a huge deal for you, or if you REALLY need to keep shooting. It's honestly super situational, hence the general rule of thumb to always have 4 in SYS when taking fire).
When you are not taking fire, it is of the utmost importance that you divert your pips to what needs recharging. 4 pips to ENG (as opposed to 0) in an A-Rated Clipper results in just over a 100% increase in: pitch, roll, and yaw effectiveness, and in maximum speed. 4 pips to WEP will obviously keep you shooting for longer. The ability to redistribute your pips on the fly will allow for you to fire for longer periods of time, even if you don’t have many pips in WEP very often (putting them there to recharge and taking them away when it’s close to full). Just remember that you generate TONS of heat when trying to fire with no energy in your WEP capacitor.
The "Six Directions of Movement"/ENG and Boosting
On the matter of ENG and boosting, always do your best to allow your ENG capacitor to recharge as much as possible after a boost. Boosting gives your ship its maximum maneuverability for a short period of time, regardless of how many pips you have in ENG. Because of this, conservation of your boosts for the appropriate times is also a huge deal. A bad boost will not only place you in a bad position, but it will also waste energy from your ENG capacitor, and thus will waste precious distributor resources when you start to recharge it. Boosts are best saved for “heave” and “sway” directional realignments/maneuvers (using FA Off for maximum effect), and sparingly along the “surge.” Surge boosting often results in an overshoot of your target, and if they react quickly enough then you have just given them a clear shot on your rear until you can get around and face them again. This is bad for 2 reasons; you now have to make the decision to put your pips into SYS or ENG (which I guess is sort of one reason). ENG will turn you around faster, but they will be shooting at your reduced shields. SYS will soak more damage, but you will turn slower. I lean towards SYS in this situation, because you will soak more damage than you would avoid by turning faster.
Staying on Target, and Flight Assist-Off
Obviously, staying on target is also important. Keeping your target in your firing arc as often as possible gives you the maximum potential DPS. Good pip management can make a world of difference in this department, as it allows you to turn and maneuver more quickly. However, no mastery of pip management will save you if your opponent is a capable FA-Off pilot. Turning off your flight assist allows your thrusters (and your boost) to move your ship at your maximum speed in any direction. In addition to the release of that restriction upon your ships maneuverability, turning off your flight assist also allows you to pitch tremendously faster. This is key for staying on your target. Even if all you do is toggle your FA on and off for small periods of time, you will notice dramatic increases in your maneuverability.
Power Priorities
Do not forget to set your power priorities so that if your plant is taken out you aren’t left drifting. When your power plant is shot out, you drop to 50% power capacity. If you set your power priorities appropriately, then you can keep top priority modules operational in the event of catastrophic power loss. You can see in this build that if my plant is taken out, I will have enough overhead to keep fighting (or to run away
)Don't ever be afraid to ask anyone in the Legion for a duel, or for some additional pointers! We try and get together somewhat-often and practice with each other, and I am always down for a duel