Cadet PRS Contructor Escort

Advanced Con d

Refresher Cadet I lesson on con d.

As with the lesson on miner d, Cadet I focused on the mechanics of con d and Cadet II will focus on avoiding having your con come under attack at all.

Think ahead

Obviously you want to deprobe the route that the con will take. But cons move along at a fairly slow pace and don't stop to strip mine helium rocks, so if you wait until they launch and the comm orders them ahead before you move out, chances are you won't have enough time to deprobe. Thus you need to think of game strategy.

Where are the enemy mining? Where will they be mining next? Do you have a base near those sectors? If not, could your team push a con next to their sector easily? If yes, then that is probably what your comm will do. Scout out the route between your garrison and that sector.

Where are you mining? Once that sector is stripped, will your comm mine an adjacent sector? Will he push a ref or outpost there for the miners to unload at? If yes, as above.

Where is the enemy's techbase? Which aleph would it be easy to bomb from? Can you push a base to the sector that aleph leads to? If yes, same as above.

What tech path does your comm want to go? Where are those tech rocks? Do you have a teleport near those rocks? If no, chances are your comm will build a tele before building the tech con. So scout the route.

And so on and so on. The point is, you need to think of where you want a base so that you can do what you need to do to win the game - and then make as easy as possible for the comm to put a base there.

Enemy contact

So you're scouting well ahead of the con by your lonesome ownsome and you come across some enemy. What do you do? Depends on what ship they're. Here are some rough suggestions:

• Enemy scout heading to the sector your con will come from.
  • Do your best to stop it.
  • As you're both scouts with similar speeds this can be quite difficult. Try, anyway. Warn your team if you don't have a chance of stopping him and he's sure to eye the con.
• Random enemy fighters looking to whore.
  • Lead them away from the aleph.
  • Try and lose eye if you can, then fire guns to attract them away from the aleph.
• Large enemy group pushing their own con.
  • Warn on team chat that they're pushing too.
  • Try and head back through the aleph to start proxing it.
• An unescorted con.
  • Depends how far ahead of the rest of the con d you are, and if the enemy con is heading directly towards your con.
  • Because as soon as you attack it enemy defence will start heading in.
  • If it's heading to your fellow con escort, warn them to prepare a welcoming party at the aleph.
  • If it's building in the sector then try and delay it (unless it's a ref con, in that case let it build so it'll attract miners).
• An enemy base
  • Depends on a lot of things, such as what type of base it is, what techpath the enemy is, whether the enemy are busy, how far it is from the aleph, how much escort you have with your con.
  • Considering that a minor station has a scan range of only 2400m, and a standard con has a signature of about 150%, then if it's 4k or more from the aleph chances are your con can enter uneyed.
  • If the enemy can reinforce the sector quickly then you're probably better off building your con short.
  • Anyway, that decision is up to the comm (assuming he isn't busy). Your job is to keep the base eyed to see if any enemy launch to attack your con.
• Enemy miners mining.
  • DO NOT DISTURB.
  • Leave them to mine with no idea you're there.
  • Once the con is in and builds then all your team mates can launch an attack.
  • Attacking them early will just attract enemy defence lowering your con's chances of planting; and make them retreat before your teammates can help, lowering your chances of killing them.

Aleph camping

In certain circumstances you know there will be hostiles in the forward sector. Perhaps they're even camping the aleph to stop you coming through. In this case using your prox to prevent them from rushing through the aleph and killing your con is a good idea.

Planting Sector

As soon as you enter the forward sector that your constructor is going to plant in, take a quick look around to gain a good insight into the situation you and your constructor is in. This can be done by using your HUD or can be done using the F3 sector map, either one will give you a quick overview of your current surroundings.

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 along with a bunch of interceptors)? 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.

Tip: Cross-nanning, as always, will improve your team's chances of success.