Cadet II/Miner escort

Advanced miner defence

Refresher Cadet I lesson on miner defence

In the Cadet I lesson we focused on how to defend a miner that is under attack. In Cadet II we focus on how to prevent a miner from coming under attack. It goes without saying that you should be out with the miners to defend them, not sitting in base coordinating.

Check the situation

Even if you're not on miner defence it is a good idea to check on your team's miners whenever you have a spare moment in base. It will allow you to keep tabs on where they are, where they're going, and who is doing anything about it (friend or foe). That said, this section assumes you're about to head out on miner d yourself:

Situation 1: No other miner D

This is the penultimate worst situation (the worst being no miner D whatsoever). At this point feel free to "motivate" your team to get some more miner D, particularly if the enemy have been hitting your miners hard.

Sometimes having no miner d is acceptable, for instance it is very early game and they're in a "safe" sector, or if there is a teleport and/or base in the sector, or if the enemy team is being forcibly locked down to one sector on the opposite side of the map. But there are always exceptions to the rule. During early game even a single scout can kill a miner, if it's committed enough (see the Cadet II lesson on "Scout as a combat craft"). If the helium rock being mined is far from a teleport and/or base then defence will not be able to reach it in time. If the enemy is Tac. If the enemy has a small group of squadded players or well-known "miner whores" that are likely to work together to kill your miners.

Being the only one on miner d can be quite stressful or incredibly boring. By yourself you can not expect to stop the enemy, your main task is to start the miners retreating the instant they're threatened, and perhaps try to survive long enough to nan one of them. Top tips:

• Figure out where the nearest point of reinforcement is. If you're sup or tac this will be a teleport, if exp then an outpost.
  • During an attack send the miner there immediately.
  • If you can, send the miner to the refinery first so it will unload its current load. Especially important if it is unlikely to survive the attack.
• Don't let miners spread out if the enemy are nearby (or tac).
  • This is especially important if you're mining a sector where you don't have a ref or outpost because the miner will try and leave your sector entirely.
  • If a miner has finished order it to yourself and wait until you've collected them all, then escort them back to base in a group.
• Pay attention to background noises.
  • Your HUD will bleep whenever a new enemy enters the sector, even if they avoided eye.
  • It is a good idea to panic and send the miner immediately back to base.

Refresher Cadet I HUD lesson.

Situation 2: Acceptable miner D

For the purposes of this article, acceptable miner D is a nan for each miner, and roughly the same number of interceptors/fighters as there are miners. So, in this situation we are assuming you have one miner to protect (for now).

If your miners are not immediately under attack you can spend a little time ensuring their safety. Look for probes around the He rock, between the He rock and the refinery, between the miner's entry aleph and the He rock, between the He rock and the exit aleph, between the you get the idea. Everywhere your miner is going to be flying, attempt to deprobe it.

If one (or more) aleph leads directly to an enemy sector KEEP THAT ALEPH PROXED. Nothing slows down an enemy raid quite like a wall of prox. Work in shifts with another scout so one of you can return to base for a reload.

Before your miners finish harvesting the sector peek through into the next sector and see if it's clear, of camps and probes.

If your miners come under attack it's all hands on deck to keep them alive long enough for your escorting fighters to boost over to the threatened miner to defend it. Be prepared to abandon your miner if the enemy are focusing on a different one. Of course, you run the risk of the one you left dying while you're away, especially if the enemy has stealth fighters.

Situation 3: The final miner

You're down to your last miner and most if not all of your team is crowded around to defend it. Don't think you have safety in numbers, if anything your job just got harder. Now the enemy will know they can't ignore the nans and will come gunning for you. You need to keep an eye on your fellow nans to try and keep them alive, and keep dodging about so the enemy can't hit you (but your fellow nans can - a bit of a conundrum).

Also of importance is pod pickups, if you're in position to grab pods without letting the miner die, do so. IC, and TF can benefit from a beacon or rescue probe near the rock being mined.

Defending vs. Tac

For starters toggle your radar to All so you can immediately see any missiles that are launched by the enemy. It can give you a couple of seconds warning to start retreating that miner. Second, take extra countermeasures. Third, pester your comm into getting you CM2 or 3.

Stealth fighters will attack in one of three ways:

1. Wait until a miner strays from the group and then pounce.
2. Ignore the nans and hope their utility cannons can outdamage them.
3. Start picking off the nans before moving in on the miner.

Your best defence is:

1. Don't let the miner stray beyond your capabilities to defend it. If you do, blame yourself for its death.
2. Focus your nan on the miner and hope they can't outdamage you.
3. Don't remain a stationary target. Change which directions you're heading so hunters can't predict where to fly. Focus on cross nanning.
4. Pack extra countermeasures and quickfire missiles. Quickfires work great against stealth fighters.

There is a good chance some stealth fighters will pick off the nans and others concentrate on the miner. Especially in a pick-up-game where the attacking pilots don't talk to each other. Heck, I've even been in the scenario where a light int has popped the nans, then boosted away (with the fighter escorts running after him), just to leave it open for the stealth fighter.

The best you can do is react to what is happening. As a priority keep you nan tracked on the miner. If you get a missile lock call out ~-nx (Need repairs!); if you hear a fellow say that then try and cross-nan them.

Controlling the AI

The best miner defenders don't just sit and watch the miners, they take an active role in controlling the miner to maximise the amount of money coming in while minimising the opportunities the enemy team have to destroy it. They will anaylse the map layout to decide which sector to mine next, they will choose which rocks to mine and in which order, so the miner ends the sector nearest to where it is heading next. They will relentlessly study the minimap surrounding their sector to glean any hints of an enemy attack before it has begun. Hell, they'll even tell the team where to bomb next so that they can mine safely!

Of course, as a newbie, you're just as likely to make a mistake and waste the miners' time as you are to save them from doom. But here are 4 tips that should be within your grasp:

1. After a miner has unloaded itself make sure it heads to a fresh, full rock if possible. 9 times out of 10 it is better to start a new rock than to travel all the way back to the old rock for the dregs.
2. Once a miner has been damaged by the enemy it will want to retreat and repair, regardless of whether all the enemy have been destroyed and it has been nanned all the way back up. Every time you hear the sound effect "I don't get paid enough for this" grab the miner and order it back to the rock to finish. Crack that whip!
3. When a large enemy attack approaches don't wait for the comm to react, get that miner out of there! If possible order it to the closest refinery first so that even if it dies you get the money for its current cargo. A miner pays for itself with one load of He3.
4. If a miner is coming under attack a fair distance from you (3 or 4k) order it to head towards you. This will help prevent you shooting past it in the opposite direction. On the other hand, once you've met up you will both become sitting ducks.

Tip: Left-click the miner to select it, press Enter to open the chatbox, and type ctrl-g me to give it an order to Go-To you, then press Enter to send the order. "Me" always refer to you, no matter what call sign you log in as. You can use autohotkey to bind all this to a single key.