If you're brand new to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Elite Dangerous, combat is probably something yo🍬u're keen on trying out. Mining😼, pirating, and exploration can all come later. You want to blow something up. Now.
Combat is incredibly refined in Elite Dangerous with a mish-mash of complex systems and balancing mechanics that allow for a lot of customization. However, those tiny tweaks and changes are 💜usually reserved for experienced players. As a new pilot, you probably only want to know a few things: what's the best ship? The best weapon? How does combat actually work? We've got you.
So, How Does Combat Work In Elite Dangerous?
Combat is one of the available Pilot roles in the game, alongside 𒆙more peaceful activities like mining and trading. Her💝e are some things you should really know about combat before you get stuck in:
Ranking System
There is a ranking system in Elite Dangerous that governs the skill-rating of Pilots. It begins with Harmless, which you will be at the beginning of the game, and ranges all the way to Elite.
We recommend you steer well clear of fighting with any Elite-class ships early on. If༒ you do, by some sheer skill or blind luck, manage to take an Elite ship down you will be rewarded with an immense pile of🏅 experience points.
Piloting Your Ship During Combat
Elite Dangerous is a complicated game, there is no hiding from it. Piloting in the game will sometimes feel as fiddly and complicated as if you were flying a real spaceship. Don't wor🤡ry, with time all those flashing things on your HUD will st𒊎art to make sense.
You should begin by practicing with your Thrusters. These govern the movement of your ship and are essential during space combat. Dogfights often break out with each ship dodging, weav🧜ing, and trying to get a clear shot.
Tips for your early combat adventures:
- Practice, practice, practice - Don't take on any high-level bounty hunting missions or engage in combat until you're completely comfortable with how your ship maneuvers and fights.
- Pip Management, or Energy Management - These are the flashing things we just mentioned, you'll see SYS, ENG, and WEP on your HUD. All of these things need energy. You need to manage where the energy is allocated in your ship. Each ship will have a different amount of energy available. As a side note, the Sidewinder isn't great for this. You want to upgrade as quickly as you can.
The Sidewinder Starter Ship...Isn't Great
Every player embarks on their Elite Dangerous journey with the same ship: the Sidewinder. This baby ship isn't completely useless (it will take you from Space point A to Space point B) but is of no use for high-level combat missions.
Instead, you want to take your first few steps towards a Resource Extraction Site. We've covered these areas already in our 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Bounty Hunting guide, but in short: Resource Extraction Sites are often overflowing with NPC ships that can make an easy, juicy target for low-level bounty hunting missions. Grab a fuel scoop, your Sidewinder will neeꦫd one, and head out in search of some RES.
General tips to make early credits at RES:
- You can cheese the system by getting the last hit on fighting NPC ships, if you hit the bounty target last, you get the reward.
- Try not to tangle with any players in a Conflict Zone. You'll get exploded.
- Your Sidewinder will need some modifications before it's combat-ready, including a Fuel Scoop, Basic Shields, and at least one weapon.
How To Outfit Your Ship For Combat
At the very beginning, outfitting your Sidewinder for combat is as easy as chucking on a Fuel Scoop, Shields, and a basic weapon. These are all available right from the get-go. As you progress, and your ship is upgraded, you will likely start looking at more useful tools: the Chaff Launcher, Heatsink Launcher, Shield Cell Bank, etc.
Some tips for the early game ship builds:
- Ammo runs out. When it runs out you need to return to a base and restock. It's best to opt for a weapon that doesn't require ammo, like a laser weapon, if you plan to sit by a RES site for a long time.
- Laser weapons seem great, but they're actually way harder to manage. They chuck out a lot of heat and require loads of power to run.
- The upgrade priority list for your ship's gear should look something like this: power first, weapons second, then shields, armor, and thrusters.
For more info on the best upgrades in Elite Dangerous, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:check out our full guide here.
Best Ships For Combat In Elite Dangerous
There is a whole range of combat ships in Elite Dangerous (we already compiled a 168澳洲幸运5开ಌ奖𝄹网:list of the best combat ships in the game) and honestly, a lot of the late-game stuff comes d♉own to personal preference. That being said, we can recommend one ship for a straight upgrade beyond the Sidewinder: the Viper MkIII.
Viper MkIII
The Viper is cheap at just over 140,000 credits, and comes with the Hardpoints necessary for a pretty reliable PVE build. Once you're in the Viper you can be more confident with your ability to take down bounty hunter targets and start making some real cash. We still wouldn't venture too far into the PVP side of thi🀅ngs. Not yet.
A sample combat Viper build might look like this:
- Lightweight Alloy, Power Plant, Thrusters, Life Support, Power Distributor, Sensors, Fuel Tank (these are the essential parts of your ship)
- Shield Generator, Shield Cell Bank, FSD Interdictor
- Lasers, at least two, and you should probably go for the Multi-cannon
- Kill Warrant Scanner (you need this for Bounty Hunting) and the Shield Booster
Get familiar wi🌺th your new setup and then get out there.