Cadet I/Miner defense
| ← Constructor escort | Signature → |
Miner defense
It's simple really - you need tech to beat the enemy. You need money to buy the tech. You need miners to get the money. You need to defend your miners.
In this lesson we are going to cover the different scenarios that you'll encounter on miner duty and how to best react. In Cadet II we cover how to control miners and plan your team's mining strategy to minimise exposure.
Objective
Your task is to deliver the miner to a destination asteroid and patrol the area making sure it can mine undisturbed. Sounds simple? Well, think again. The enemy team will do whatever they can to destroy the miners, or at least force them to retreat temporarily thus slowing your team's economy.
When a miner is under attack there is two things you can do - nan it to keep it alive longer, or kill the enemy to make it die slower. As Cadet is an introductory course it is reasonable to assume you're not skilled enough to kill a vet faster than they can kill a miner, so we're going to focus on being a scout escort. Fighter/interceptor escort is covered in the Cadet II course.
Loadout
- Take a nan. Always! Your scout is rendered almost useless without one. Either mount it in your gun slot, or pack it into cargo. Never escort miners in a scout without a nanite gun!
- Proximity mines. These are your friends, take a bunch. Preferably fill your cargo with them. Some pilots even forgo taking a gun in order to take an entire cargo full of prox!
- 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 spare missiles - you are not going out there to dogfight! Fighters or interceptors should be close by if you need cover.
Spot any similarities to the last lesson? ;)
Miners outbound
Let's say your commander has ordered your miners into a neighboring sector and you're escorting them there. At this point you should be flying in front of the miners using your scout's sensors to sweep for hostiles ahead. Destroy any probes you encounter to keep the miner from being seen, the enemy won't come in force if they don't know where the miners are. If nothing needs your attention you could even fly out of your way to pick up cash boxes. Don't venture more than 2k away from the miners though - less if the enemy is tac.
Once you make it to the destination sector the miners will split up and head to the various He3 asteroids in the sector. This is where your job gets tough because the HE rocks are usually spread far enough apart that you can only cover one miner at a time. The challenge is picking which miner is going to need the cover. Normally a good bet is to cover the rock closest to enemy controlled territory. Fly ahead of your chosen miner to its rock and fly a quick circuit around the He3 rock checking for probes.
If you discover a probe too late and think the miner was eyed, say so on team chat.
Miners mining
Your miner is at the rock mining merrily. You need to be at your most alert now because a stationary target is the easiest to hit. Furthermore the enemy will quickly detect the drop in HE and do their best to interrupt your mining operations. Be prepared. Keep turning your scout around so your powerful forward sensors cover all approaches, especially the miner's rear where its own sensors are the weakest.
Action stations (Small attack)
Your scanners have picked up a small incoming enemy attack group, say 2 to 3 fighters. Stay back from the fight, try to avoid eye, and wait until the miner's shield is at about 10%. Then rush in and repair it. For small assaults, by the time you need to start repairing your escort should have killed at least one of the attackers.
Upon seeing your blue donuts of love the attackers will probably switch to shooting at you. Good, they're not shooting the miner. Now lead them as far from the miner as possible before dieing. With a bit of luck they'll be so busy shooting at you they won't realize you're leading them away from the miner. The more time you give it to get away the better.
The more likely scenario is that one of the attackers will be gunning for you while the others focus on the miner. So do you run and save your own skin as a dead nan is a useless nan, or hang around and try to keep the miner alive? down before turning their attention on the miner. That's why we recommend not getting eyed in the first place.
The best answer is both and neither. If you hang around the chances are you'll be podded before the miner's shields are even down. Fly away and the attacker will forget you to help kill the miner. The best reaction is to start doing flybys. Head away from the miner for 2-3 seconds then turn to face it again. Nan it as you pass it. Keep going out the other side then turn and do another pass. Keep moving in a S pattern repairing on each pass.
Tip: A stationary scout is a dead scout.
Battle stations (Large assault)
For larger assaults you are going to need some cunning. First make sure the commander knows to move the miner. While it heads back to base get in front of it. Engage vector lock and turn around so you're now flying backwards. Most scouts are agile enough that your reverse speed will closely match the miner's top speed. Start dropping your prox mines in front of the miner and the attackers should fly through them as they tail the retreating miner.
As always once the miner starts taking hull damage you need to repair it. Use you left/right and up/down thrusters to keep yourself moving at all times making yourself as difficult a target as possible. Keep those blue donuts of love on the miner. Your job is to keep that miner alive an extra 10-20 seconds, buying time for your reinforcements to arrive. You'll likely be in a pod by the time they arrive but as long as the miner lives you can rest secure in the knowledge that you're helping your team win.
If time allows, don't forget to give your defenders a little loving too. Swing and give them a blast of the nanite gun as you circle the miner, but only if the miner is healthy itself - remember the miner is #1 priority.
Rinse cycle
Congratulations your miner has topped off its tanks with He3 and is lining up at the green door to unload. Job finished right? Time to grab a fighter and go shoot stuff right? Wrong! It is time to dock and replenish any missiles or prox mines you used on your last outing.
This is the most common mistake made by new pilots in Allegiance. They think that just because the miners have not been attacked in the last few minutes that the danger has gone forever and they can leave the miners undefended. This is the kind of slip-up that veteran miner hunters rely on. They will lurk and wait for the defenders to get bored and leave before swooping in for the kill.
Once you're on miner D you're on miner D until your commander tells you otherwise. We won't lie, it is a boring job most of the time. But someone has to do it. Plus the recognition you will gain by other pilots will pay off in the long run for you!
| ← Constructor escort | Signature → |
