Cadet I/Weaponry

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Weapon Basics

Energy weapons

Energy weapons consume energy. Your ship's energy can recharge itself. This is useful when attack runs are expected to be long-lasting, since you don't have to worry about ammo and can store more items in the cargo bays, since no ammo has to be stored. However, during a fight, running out of energy can be devastating. If you use energy consuming equipment, the problem can come up quickly. These items along with energy weapons will deplete your energy in seconds.

Energy weapons fire energy, which travels much faster than particles. This means that you don't have to lead your shots as much because the bullets travel faster, making aiming a bit easier when you don't have a lead indicator.

Particle weapons

Particle weapons consume ammo. The ammo, indicated on your HUD, will reload itself when completely depleted (review the lesson on managing your cargo for reload details). You have to bring ammo packs if you wish to be able to reload your weapons. When you run out of ammo, your weapons will be of no use to you, and you might as well eject them into space to lighten your ship.

During a fight, running out of ammo can be costly, but not as much as it is for energy weapons. Here, you wait a few seconds for the reload to be completed. However, if you have no ammo left at all, you're done for in terms of weaponry. Make sure you keep your weapons filled with ammo if not in combat.

Aiming right...for real

Your HUD displays a reticule that indicates whether you are aiming at your target or not, as we have seen in a previous lesson. However, this reticule is not entirely accurate. A green reticule does not mean that you will surely hit your target. It means that you are quite close to hitting it or are hitting it with at least one weapon. You have to look at the bullets themselves and verify if they're hitting. Only a few talented pilots are able to hit their targets with all their bullets in all kinds of situations, which causes devastation upon their targets. Note that most pilots don't look at their bullets and therefore miss with most of their ammo, making themselves easy targets for good pilots. Hitting with all your bullets requires not only that you aim well but also that you rotate your ship properly so that all your cannons are capable of hitting the ship.

Sometimes, certain types of assaults require you to combine energy and particle weapons on the same ship. While this saves on ammo, it's a tough break for aim. Indeed, your HUD will only indicate whether one of your weapons is hitting the target. As we've seen, energy bullets travel faster than particle bullets, and so you need to aim both weapons differently. In those cases, your best bet is to get closer to your target, making it possible to aim all your weapons at the enemy. Unfortunately, this is exactly the opposite of what you would do against an interceptor, since getting too close generally gets you killed quickly. Again, simply look at your bullets, and try to make them all aim.

Tip: Once you have the basics of this game down, consider switching to another aiming reticule. A lot of players use just a tiny dot.

Moving around

When dogfighting, you'll also want to dodge bullets as you're fighting. Use your sidethrusters and boosters to move around the place. Using sidethrusters can be very effective, since bullets that have already been fired in one direction will go straight, while you will move from them. When your adversary fires in one direction to hit you, you can move in an unpredictable direction to avoid the bullet. What good pilots do is simply change sidethrusting direction every second or so. Do not use opposite thrusters when doing this. For example up then down. This will cause you to sit still for a moment that will allow the opponent to destroy you quicker. Go with other combinations such as left/up or down/right as examples.

Rotating your ship is also helpful. If you're taking fire from a ship afar, rotating your ship to expose the smallest surface is the best thing to do. Similarly, in dogfights, always try not to expose your larger surfaces. The best example is with the GigaCorp Stealth Fighter. Indeed, this ship is extremely slim when looked at from the front. However, going under or over it, you can see its large, rectangular surface. As such, it is easy to fire at if you manage to move over or under it and hit the large surface. Conversely, SF pilots will try not to expose this large surface, and turn their ship in consequence. Most ships are designed so that their thin surfaces are also the ones exposed when the ship is facing a target, so that a pilot can both fire at a ship and expose the least surface.

Using alephs and minefields is also a great tactic. If your ship can mount them, you can deploy minefields and attempt to draw your enemy in it. For example, as a scout, you can fly straight and away from your enemy, using your high speed. As the enemy is following you with a booster, you can lay a minefield in which the enemy may fly and get destroyed. If in proximity of an aleph, you can use it to hide from bullets/missiles, which cannot go through alephs. You can also go inside the aleph, and turn around so that you're ready to fire at your enemy as he enters the aleph. You can even go through the aleph, deploy a minefield, and wait for the enemy to either pass through it or abandon the fight.

Tip: It takes four seconds for all types of mines/deployable objects to activate. Timing is crucial!

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