Cadet I/Constructor escort
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Escorting your Constructors
At the beginning of the game the commander will almost always buy the following things: a miner, a teleport receiver constructor, an outpost constructor and, for most factions, a refinery constructor. We will focus on the constructors (the first ones bought in the game are called initial cons).
Objective
Your task is to deliver the constructor to its destination asteroid and make sure it builds there. Optimally, try to avoid the enemy detecting it's whereabouts.
You can either keep your constructor alive by nanning it, or shoot down the attackers trying to destroy it. Below we will be dealing with the scout solely, which is chiefly concerned with nanning. A mixture of fighter type craft and nans are necessary for proper escort duty. The main idea with fighter craft is to stick close to the constructors, and eliminate your enemy rapidly. Good aim is most essential! If your aim is not top notch, stick to scouts for escort duty.
Loadout
- Make sure you take a nan.
- If your faction is either Iron Coalition, Technoflux, or Belters you will have rescue probes available for purchase. Ask the commander for one. If you drop it somewhere safe before the firefight begins, all your podded companions will return home much faster than the enemy pilots in the same situation.
- Proximity mines. Fill your cargo with them.
- Missiles. Take one rack of seekers. They are good for shooting that probe 1k away and, if need be, you can lob them at attacking ships. Don't pack any more missiles - you are not going out there to dogfight! Fighters or interceptors should be close by if you need cover.
Phase one - safe sector
Once your constructors launch the commander directs them towards their destination rocks. If you are on either command, charlie, delta, or echo wing it will come in your chat log which sector this is, so you know without being told where to head. At this stage you will have either gone out scouting the map, waited at home until the cons launched, or the comm told the team where he is sending the cons beforehand and you are heading there already. If you're scouting the wrong part of the map then get back as best you can.
Your role is to be ahead of the constructors. That way you can spot and destroy enemy probes in their paths, detect enemy scouts, sometimes even find the aleph leading to the destination sector. Never stray too far away from constructor though, one sector ahead at most - less if enemy appear.
Make sure the sector the constructor is headed into is always actively scouted so that you have time to call out a warning in case the enemy is sitting there in an ambush. Remember not to follow stray enemy scouts and avoid any kind of dogfight!
Phase two - 'hot' sector
There are two most common reasons that will make you actively defend the constructor:
- Your constructor has been spotted and an enemy assault squad has reached the sector.
- The enemy commander sent his constructor(s) to the same sector as your commander.
Lose the missiles if the enemy doesn't have any scouts to reduce your signature. Take notice of your surroundings: are the numbers in your favor? Does the enemy squad see the constructor (yes, sometimes the enemy might forget to bring a scout!)? From which direction will the assault come? Try to note those things, especially the direction part. This is a good moment to drop your rescue probe, if you have one.
If the enemy reaches your constructor before it builds, make sure you keep a constant eye on it's health bar - nan it as soon as it's hull starts getting damaged. Remember a nanite repair gun only repairs hull, not shields. Drop a prox or two around the con, you probably won't kill anyone but you will force the attackers to avoid your mines.
The overall trick is to maintain an optimum distance from the constructor, not too close so you'll be easy pickings for enemy offense, not too far so you can't start nanning the constructor in time if it starts taking heavy damage. Also don't get too close to the con, because the AI will try to avoid a collision with you and slow down - you don't want to buy the enemy more time to kill it. "Boom and zoom" passes work well, nan the con, but make the enemy work if they try to get a bead on you.
When under fire use your sidethrusters to make yourself harder to hit, try not to die. Although the con is the primary target the enemy will have to kill the nans first. Keep an eye on your fellow teammates health (cycle your HUD view to maximum by pressing i) and nan them if you can! (This is called "cross-nanning"). Don't forget to deploy prox continously.
Phase three - on the rock
The constructor will need space to build! If you get too close to it, it will attempt to dodge you (just like in-flight) and, as a result, restart it's aligning sequence! Remember: always keep at least 100m distance from the con! Preferably 150m!
Epilogue
If you survived, there are still things to do! Look around, check if some of your fellow pilots don't need to be nanned up. More importantly, check for any friendly pods nearby, if there are some, pick them up.
| ← Floating technology | Miner defense → |
