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Pro Tips to Make You an Ace!

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Iain Baker:
Gameplay Tips

Ship Classes


•   Freespace’s capital ship class system is a little nuts, and it may seem confusing and counterintuitive, especially if you have played Wing Commander, Homeworld, watched Babylon 5 etc. In ascending order (smallest to largest) they are;


•   ‘Gunboats’ (Cretheus, Custos etc.) #C. Note that this is a non-retail classification and they are sometimes simply called light cruisers.

•   Light cruisers (Fenris, Aeolus, Cain, Rakshasa etc.) #C

•   Heavy cruisers (Leviathan, Lilith) #C

•   Corvettes (Deimos, Sobek, Moloch #Cv

•   Frigates (Iceni, Karuna) #Fg

•   Destroyers (Orion, Typhon, Hatshepsut, Demon, Ravana etc.) #D

•   Super destroyers (Lucifer) #SD

•   Juggernauts (Sathanas, Colossus) #J


•   Note their suffixes, where the # indicates the faction and the letter indicates the unit class. For example - GTC Aeolus, SD Demon, PVCv Sobek etc.

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The ETS System


•   Use the ETS system to its fullest! Ensure the key binds are easy to use, this includes the equalise energy settings key bind.

•   Shifting energy to weapons will not make them more powerful, but it will make you able to use them for longer before they have to recharge. Low energy use weapons, such as Avengers (FS1) Subachs and Mekuhs (FS2) can usually be fired continuously without running out of charge on default ETS settings.

•   If using low energy use weapons, you may be able to allocate some of their energy to shields and engines to receive small boosts to both - without a firepower penalty.

•   High energy use weapons such as Banshees (FS1) or Maxims and Kaysers (FS2), may require you to shift energy to guns. This is especially true for ships with lots of guns such as the Erinyes.

•   ETS settings do not affect secondary weapons (missiles, bombs, rockets etc.)

•   Shifting energy to shields will cause them to recharge faster – handy for recharging your shields quickly in the lulls in combat.

•   Maxing out engine power will increase top cruising speed and allow you to use the afterburner for longer.

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Flying


•   To cover distance more quickly – or to beat an opponent in a race – ‘pulse your afterburner’. This means tapping the afterburner to use lots of short bursts. This will cover distance more quickly than using your afterburner constantly to the point it runs out and you then have to wait for it to recharge. Combine this with maxing engine power for best results.

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•   If your craft has the glide ability there is a slightly cheaty way of travelling long distances quickly. Simply increase your speed to maximum and hit the afterburners. As soon as you reach your craft's top speed, engage glide. You will now coast along at this speed without using any energy. You can even divert power to weapons and shields without losing speed. Just remember to equalise the ETS setting once you come out of glide again.

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•   When you turn left or right you roll slightly too. You may need to correct for this by rolling after your turn if you wish for things to remain ‘level’.

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•   Rolling your fighter left or right can help you to line up shots against enemies with thin profiles, and to compensate for some fighters’ widely spaced guns.

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•   Think of ‘increase thrust’ as your accelerator, ‘decrease thrust’ as your break and ‘afterburner’ as your nitro booster, and act accordingly.

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•   You turn faster if you come to a halt. This can be useful in dogfights against agile opponents. Just remember to speed up again afterwards.

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•   Auto-matching speed is extremely useful. Remember that you can still manually override this by pressing the accelerator, brake or afterburner. You will then return to matching speed once you stop pressing these buttons.

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•   Most FS ships do not have a ‘reverse gear’, so cannot fly backwards. Bear this in mind when close to capships, bases etc.

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•   Note that it takes time to slow down, so be careful not to crash into something.

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•   The ‘Shelton slide’ or ‘slide by shooting’ from Wing Commander sort of works in FS, although not quite as effectively as FS’s inertia is different. To perform one;

•   Afterburn towards but slightly off axis to an oncoming fighter.

•   Then as you pass them, slam on the breaks while turning inwards to face them.

•   Momentum will carry you a short distance along the vector you were travelling, so you should end up somewhere in their rear 60 degree cone, perfect for shooting them up their tailpipes. Unfortunately, this will probably mean having to shoot what will probably be a full strength shield quadrant.

•   The ‘Glide’ feature used in some campaigns arguably makes this even more effective than in Wing Commander, as it allows you to move a near unlimited distance independent of what direction your fighter is facing.

•  Glide can make obtaining scans of moving capships easier too. (Fly parallel with it at a range of 150m or less from the subsystem you need to scan, match its speed, press glide, face towards the subsystem and it should scan automatically. Rinse and repeat as necessary.)

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Iain Baker:

Weapons


•   Linking primary weapons results in a reduced rate of fire and increased energy usage. Sometimes it is better not to link them, especially if using a mixture of general purpose primaries and special purpose primaries.

•   Although most fighters / bombers only have two primary weapon banks, there might be more than two guns in a bank. For example, the Hercules MK1, Ares and the Tauret have four guns in one bank (Quad bank) and two in the other (standard dual bank) for a total of six. The Erinyes has two quad banks – i.e. four guns in each bank for a total of eight. The weapons loadout screen will show which bank is which.

•   Placing a general purpose weapon in a quad bank and a specialist weapon in a standard dual bank is often an effective combination.

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•   The target lead indicator is less reliable if using two different primaries at the same time. This is especially so if the weapons have very different projectile speeds.

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•   In FS1 the Avenger is actually more effective than the Prometheus in terms of DPS (Damage Per Second)

•   In FS2 The Subach and Meku are actually more effective than the Prometheus Retrofit (Prom R) in terms of DPS.

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•   The Flail, Morning Star, Lamprey etc. guns are useless gimmicks. Simply killing things quickly with standard primaries almost always works better.

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•   Disruptors are effective at taking out subsystems without damaging the target’s hull. This is crucial in disable missions.

•   They are also pretty good at taking out turrets – although you will have to get uncomfortably close to do so.

•   They also have half decent shield damage, and so can be used as anti-shield weapons in a pinch.

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MAXIMS

•   Maxims are amazing!!! They excel at;


•   Bomb intercept,

•   Sniping cap-ship turrets from outside AAA beams effective range of 1500 meters.

•   Wrecking anything below a heavy cruiser that doesn’t have shields.

•   They also out-range pretty much everything allowing you to stay well out of weapons range of weapons platforms, sentry turrets etc.

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•   Their only downsides are that they are largely ineffective against shields and use up a lot of energy.

•   In some campaigns, they have limited ammo too, although this can usually be replenished in-mission via the support ship.

•   Equipping the Maxim in a quad mount or higher will likely use up energy too quickly. Standard two gun mounts are usually sufficient. Tri gun mounts - such as on the Ursa are ok too, although you may need to shift energy to guns.

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•   If you are in charge of wingmen’s loadouts try equipping everyone that has two-gun banks with one bank of general-purpose weapons and one bank of Maxims. This will improve their effectiveness considerably, especially in missions with enemy capships, transports, sentry guns etc.

•   If a medium bomber – such as a Taurvi - is approaching from a long distance, get in front of it at maximum Maxim range and let rip. Although the Maxim isn’t great against shields, if the bomber is coming in a straight line and you keep it under constant fire it will eventually weaken its front shield enough for missiles to finish the job. When it gets to within the range of your other primaries switch to those. (This tactic is possibly not recommended on campaigns with limited ammo.)

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TREBUCHETS


•   The Trebuchet (AKA ‘Treb’) is also amazing. It outranges pretty much everything, including AAA beams, making it perfect for sniping turrets. It is arguably even better at this than the Stiletto type missiles as it cannot be shot down. It is pretty powerful too – on normal difficulty twin Trebs will take out a beam turret on anything smaller than a Lucifer or a Sathanas in one hit

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•   It was designed to be an anti bomber weapon and it excels at this too. Its range means you can take out bombers at long range before they get close enough to launch their missiles, and they have enough punch that twin Trebs will take out most bombers in one hit. (Although heavy bombers such as Nephilims and Seraphims may take three Trebs or more).

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•   The Treb’s only downsides are that;


•   It has a noticeable cool down which restricts your rate of fire.

•   It is also quite large, so most fighters cannot carry many of them, and some are unable to carry any at all.

•   Their rearm time with support ships is quite long too.

•   It has a fairly lengthy lock on time and it isn’t agile enough to track high speed targets, which makes it unsuitable as a dog fight weapon. When in close combat, swap to dogfighting missiles and/or use primaries.


•   NB – A.I. pilots using retail A.I. are unable to use Trebs due to a bug, even if the mission assigns them Trebs by default. If you can alter their loadouts, you should swap their Trebs for something they can actually use.

•   Note that campaigns using the upgraded ‘Fury AI’ enable A.I. pilots to use Trebs.

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•   1 x general purpose primary (Subach, Meku, Prom S, Kayser, Balor etc.), 1 x Maxim primary, 1 x secondary bank of Trebs and 1x secondary bank of dogfight missiles is a great all-round loadout for anything other than disabling missions or bombing runs.

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•   Dumbfire rockets can be used as an additional primary bank and can significantly reduce the TtK (Time to Kill) against most fighters and bombers. They are also useful for strafing runs against transports, freighters, light cruisers etc.

•   Note that A.I. pilots in campaigns using retail A.I. are unable to rapid fire their dumbfire rockets. This makes them less potent than yours. But Fury A.I. fixes this too.

Iain Baker:
The Support Ship

•   Call for a support ship before you need it to minimise wait times.

•   In most campaigns there is no limit to how often you can rearm, so use and abuse this.

•   Note you must be stationary to rearm.

•   Trying to fly away while still docked will abort the rearm but will also damage both your fighter and the support ship, so only do this in an emergency.

•   If you are docked and the rearm sequence is taking too long you can order it to abort the rearm. Aborting the rearm will cause the support ship to detach safely. Depending how long the support ship was docked this may result in a partial rearm.

•   Some campaigns enable the player to partially repair their hull via the support ship. If so, make use of this during lulls in combat.

•   If a support ship is trying to dock in the middle of a dogfight it is best to abort the rearm and try again later when it is safe. Remember, support ships explode violently if destroyed by enemy fire hitting them by accident.

•   Some missions have a limited number of support ships, so you will need to be careful how you use them.

•   You can order a supply ship to depart which will cause it to jump out. You can then request it again when you need it.

•   Some secondary weapons take longer to rearm than others. Generally speaking the larger the missiles the longer it takes. The exception to this are the swarm missiles, which are small but take ages because there is so many of them.

•   If a support ship is far away when you call for it - say 4000M or above - It can be quicker to order it to depart. It will then jump out. Then call it back in again and it will jump in much closer to you, thus skipping the intervening distance. Who says Terran and Vasudan ships can't do tactical micro jumps 😉

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BUG FIX: Sometimes when requesting a resupply the support ship becomes unresponsive. If this happens, abort the rearm via the communication menu, then request a rearm again.

If that fails to work, open up the comms menu and order the support ship to depart. Once it has jumped out, call it back in again.
 
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Iain Baker:

Combat - General


•   In some missions, it is best to stay close to allied ships and take out enemies from a distance with Maxims and Trebs.

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•   It is often best to hang back and send in wingmen first, then attack the enemy that attacks them. They will be either guardianed with plot armour (i.e. invulnerable) or expendable. You are neither.

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•   In missions where you have command over multiple wings, it is sometimes best to hang back at a position from which you have a view of the battlefield, and concentrate on controlling them instead of dogfighting yourself. Once in the middle of a dogfight, your situational awareness will go down dramatically and it is hard to assign orders when you have your hands on the flight and weapon controls.

•   You can assist by ‘sniping from the sidelines’ with Maxims and Trebs.

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•   If your hull starts taking hits, break off. Your shields recharge on their own, your hull doesn’t.

•   In most campaigns, your hull cannot be repaired in-mission either.

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•   If you continue to fire at a fighter after you have launched a missile at it the missile may miss. It is sometimes better to break off and let the missile do its work, then finish it off with gunfire if the missile/s did not destroy it completely.

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•   Be careful not to get fixated on a target, as bad things can happen when you are not paying attention to other events going on.

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•   If a fighter is proving too difficult to hit, stop shooting at it and stop chasing it. Let it put some distance between you. Chances are it will then turn around to attack you, which will make it easier to hit. Obviously be careful not to get yourself killed doing so.

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Taking out Heavy Bombers

• Wearing down the shields of heavily shielded targets - such as Nephilim or Seraphim bombers - can take a long time. This might be time you don’t have if you have other things to kill. Secondly, the longer it takes, the longer you will be subjected to its defensive turret fire. To take it out more quickly, concentrate your fire on one shield quadrant, and then the armour under it. This may be easier said than done if it is manoeuvring a lot of course. Note that auto-aim makes this more difficult as autoaim aims for the centre of a target.

• Targeting then destroying a bomber’s weapons system will prevent it from launching bombs, which will significantly reduce the threat it poses to friendly capital ships. This may be quicker than destroying the bomber outright, especially the larger ones. Be aware that it may still be able to use its primaries and its defensive turrets.

• Targeting then destroying a bomber’s engines will leave it stranded in space. If you can do this before it gets to within bomb range it probably won't be able to launch its bombs, again, greatly reducing its threat to friendly cap ships.

Iain Baker:

Combat - Against Capships


•   AAA beams are a huge danger to both yourself and A.I. pilots. Ideally, try to take out a cap ship’s AAA beams from beyond the AAA beams maximum range – which is 1500 meters in most campaigns. Trebs and Maxims are perfect for this.

•   Enemy Flack guns are very annoying, especially on bombing runs where they can make it almost impossible to gain missile lock. Again, snipe from a distance where possible.

•   Capital ship fired anti-fighter missiles are less of a threat than you might think on most difficulties in most campaigns. Flack and AAA beams should be given higher priority. Thankfully, hardly anyone equips cap ship missile launchers with Trebs.

•   Hardly anyone equips cap ship turrets with Maxims either, since this would make it almost impossible to hit them with bombs, and cap ships would defang each other in no time.

•   ‘Blob turrets’ on capital ships are almost a zero threat. To easily avoid being hit by them, fly in a zig zag pattern, especially if flying away from one.

•   What they are good at however is intercepting bombs, however their low rate of fire can leave them overwhelmed if they are saturated with warheads.

•   The blob turrets of freighters, transports and the like are actually more of a threat due to their faster projectile speed and the concentration of them such ships tend to have.

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•   Larger vessels, such as destroyers, tend to have proportionally fewer point defences than cruisers, corvettes and frigates. If you can take out some of them on one side it may create a blindspot where its other defences can’t hit you, especially if you are close to its hull.

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•   In some campaigns taking out the ships engine subsystem/s will deactivate its weapons as well.

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•   If expecting a BoE (Battle of Endor) type mission (i.e one with lots of capships) it is often best to swap the fighters in the other wings you control for bombers, then order them to ‘dogpile’ the enemy capships while you protect them from enemy fighters and defang the capships with Trebs and Maxims.

•   If you want them to save their bombs for more important targets, then target the low priority capship and order them to ‘ignore my target’. You can always order them to attack it later once the higher priority threats are dealt with.

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•   A capship with its main anti-capital weapons destroyed is no longer a major threat to allied cap ships, and can largely be ignored. Don’t waste time trying to kill it if other capital ships still have their anti-capital ship weapons functional.

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•   The ‘threat hierarchy’ to allied capital ships is roughly as follows, in descending order (highest to lowest);


•   Main 'Juggernaut grade' anti-capital ship beam weapons (Such as the four main guns on a Sathanas)

•   Main ‘Destroyer grade’ anti capital ship beam weapons (Such as the LReds on a Ravana, Demon and Lilith).

•   Heavy bombers and their bombs, and torpedoes fired from capital ships.

•   Medium ‘corvette grade’ beam weapons.

•   Medium bombers and their bombs.

•   Light ‘cruiser grade’ beam weapons. (Such as those on a Cain, Rakshasa or confusingly, a Moloch)

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•   The Lilith heavy cruiser, due to being armed with a destroyer grade beam weapon is a higher priority threat than the larger but under armed Moloch corvette.

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•   Since light cruisers are quite vulnerable to fighter grade weaponry they can be taken out easily by dogpiling them with fighters. If you have three or more wings at your disposal this is often quicker than trying to completely ‘defang’ them first, although you should still try to destroy its beam weapons. (Perhaps defang its beams yourself while the rest of your fighters lay into it in general.)


•   Note that due to a bug, the ventral (bottom) AAA of a Rakshasa can shoot through its own hull. (Unless the campaign creator/s have taken the time to fix it for their campaign.)

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• Heatseeker missiles are surprisingly good at taking out capital ship turrets, although you will have to get within AAA range to do so.

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