I suck at dogfighting, at least in PVP - my records in Tie-Fighter (1995) were somewhat better than in GSF.

But I don't want to be a ballast for my team neither I want to forget about GSF.

So which ship should I choose so I could do... Something? Now I have 25k fleet reqs so I should choose wisely...

Well a good old fashioned strike fighter nowadays is a solid choice especially since you can try to stay at range and use missiles to defend teammates who are in the middle of the furball.

A T2 strike is even more useful for this due to having 2 missile types

A t3 strike can have healing probes with ammo which is always useful in any match type

Bombers are useful for area denial especially on Dom matches where holding sats is essential to win

Gunships can clear mine laden sats and again support teammates in dogfights with ion bursts.

Mainly though If you're uncomfortable dog fighting the big key is on Domination matches. Get to a Satellite ANY Satellite and STAY there. Bodies on Sats is one of the most difficult things ive found to teach newer pilots. they see an enemy and chase after them, whats worse is if that enemy is a vet who knows he has help heading to the sat the rookie just left he will lead the rookie on a merry chase while his teammates clean up and take the sat the rookies no longer defending, then he can kill the pilot at their leisure.

Stay on Sats it doesn't matter if the enemy pilot runs away that's actually a good thing it helps you more then him.

Also call out for help in ops chat. say enemy inc to A or B or C or whichever and how many, keep your team informed as to the status of the sat youre on. B clear, B 2 incoming etc etc

Communication is one of the most important aspects of GSF that gets lost sometimes. letting your team know that you are heading to a certain sat or a specific grid box on a TDM map.

on a TDM map the best you can do for your team is STAY ALIVE. I know its a bit of a duh comment but youd be surprised how many people keep throwing themselves into the jaws of death or engaging people WAY out of their league when they should be staying with the group and protecting their wing man.

GSF is very much a team game. work with your teammates to aid them where needed and you will be fine.

Working with a team is kinda difficult when you suck at English and/or are dedicated solo-player without guild/"friends". But I've got your point.

So, bomber looks like the way to go for me - I mean, it is bulky and heavy, it wasn't designed for dogfights in the first place, so my gameplay would be a little easier: put mines and turrets around control points and then sit in a convenient place - that's what I can do, I guess.

Thanks for the guide.

Just to chime in.

You don't need perfect english to communicate with the team.

In ops chat if there are any messages it is most often stuff like:

beacon b/c, tensor top, inc a, DO B2, repair C3 or stuff like that.

Only sometimes you find stuff like don't engage too much or attack this or that node. Because honestly most often you don't have enough time to write sth more specific. Also you can read a lot of what your team is trying to do on the minimap. Since you can see where your teammates are you can also guess what they are doing there and act accordingly.

And a message that might make you happy: Dogfights don't happen that often and can be evaded. There are also people complaining about there being not enough dogfights, so don't worry.

Bomber is relaxed for sure, but they can be hard to fly since they are quite clunky and if you fly a good T2 bomber with repairs in TDM you can easily find yourself outside of the action just sitting around. Also they are not as bulky as the name indicates. In my experience some Strike Fighters are more endurant than bombers.

Ships that I can recommend you in the beginning would be the following:

T2 Strike Fighter Pyke / Quell: With Quick-Charge Shield in F2 (Power to Shields you have really strong shields) and missiles are easier to aim than laser cannons in the beginning.

T3F Clarion / Imperium: This ship can be really difficult to kill with its Repair probes. Though its shields aren't that beginner friendly. CP can be nice but can be basically ignored if your enemy has armor ignore and Directional shields can be quite tricky for new pilots (though quite rewarding once mastered).

T1B Rampart / Razowire: This is the classical bomber for domination normally used with a hyperspace beacon. Like all bomber it is quite slow and clunky and its defenses aren't as good as you might think they are. (less shields than Strike fighters but a bit more hull)

T2B Warcarrier / Legion: Kind of the typical TDM bomber though also used in DOM. Here you have drones that can help and normally repair drones (please go for ammo refill, since it helps a lot of people). Its defenses are even weaker since you have repair drone as a shield which doesn't give you any boni besides a drone that can heal you.

What you also might consider is a Gunship since they have a max range of 15km with their railgun they normally stay outside of the enemy attack range.

Anyway like catsi said play for the objective. In DOM stay on the satelites either to cap them or to defend them and in TDM go for kills or try to deny them by staying alive. Additionally in the beginning I can recommend Hydrospanner as a crew ability for more heals =)

I know this sounds like boilerplate feel good crap, but really just play what you enjoy. Strike fighters kill better, scouts are faster, gunships plod but can really punch (and a good gunship pilot can really take over a game), bombers find a hole and skulk around in it the whole game.

I was the guy dragging down his team for quite a while, but over time I got better and, while I'm never going to be the best player, I'm almost always an asset. It just takes time.

Just to chime in.

 

 

Ships that I can recommend you in the beginning would be the following:

T2 Strike Fighter Pyke / Quell: With Quick-Charge Shield in F2 (Power to Shields you have really strong shields) and missiles are easier to aim than laser cannons in the beginning.

 

T3F Clarion / Imperium: This ship can be really difficult to kill with its Repair probes. Though its shields aren't that beginner friendly. CP can be nice but can be basically ignored if your enemy has armor ignore and Directional shields can be quite tricky for new pilots (though quite rewarding once mastered).

 

T1B Rampart / Razowire: This is the classical bomber for domination normally used with a hyperspace beacon. Like all bomber it is quite slow and clunky and its defenses aren't as good as you might think they are. (less shields than Strike fighters but a bit more hull)

 

T2B Warcarrier / Legion: Kind of the typical TDM bomber though also used in DOM. Here you have drones that can help and normally repair drones (please go for ammo refill, since it helps a lot of people). Its defenses are even weaker since you have repair drone as a shield which doesn't give you any boni besides a drone that can heal you.

 

Do you have build recommendations for these ships?

Sorry for the late reply, I wanted to write earlier xD

What EmilmcUgly said is true in my opinion. People will definitely prefer one ship over the other and be better at the ships they prefer and thus help the team more. Until they are good enough to contribute in most ships. Though I think you will only contribute this way once you have a rough understanding of how stuff works in this game. (Like better at shooting - a scout that can't hit will never be helpfull even if you enjoy it)

So about my personal recommendations for these ships. I won't go into detail about complete builds since you can find some in the forums like here http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=752217

Components that I would recommend in the beginning since they are rather easy to use and learn are the following:

T2strike (Pike / Quell): With this ship I would go for EMP missile and Cluster Missile in the beginning since they have a rather big firing arc and a fast lock on. Definetly stay with Quick-Charge shield since it is really good these days. Efficient target s also sth I would recommend. With this you can first work on your ability to lock on missiles and once you are good with that you can slowly try to incorporate more and more laser hits in it. Also on a side notice people always try to evade missiles no matter how experienced the attacker is.

T3 Strike (Clarion / Imperium): Later on Remote Slicing is a really good option on this ship. In the beginning I think a combi with Repair Probes, Directionals, Power Dive and Hydrospanner is a good option. This way it can be very tanky and it can heal a lot. Making it easier to work on your survival skills. Options like LLCs and Torps (or maybe EMP) are also good tools.

T1 Bomber Rampart / Razorwire: A good start with this ship is getting seismic mines and interdiction mines, get the upgrades that reduce their Cooldown. Basically you are set with that. The advantage of bombers is that they can do damage via mines / drones that work on autopilot basically. Good option would be Hyperspace beacon to get your teammates close to you and Overcharged Shield or Charged Plating (only if you can reach 99% DR while activating the ability).

T2 Bomber Legion / Warcarrier: Here I would recommend interdiction sentry drone and seeker mines in the beginning. Same as above, except that this bomber is always a welcome sight in TDM if it has a repair drone. Especially if it also refills ammo.

What also might be an idea if you are newer and still struggle with not crashing or engine maneuvers use Charged Plating (Shield active + Armor Component + Crew). It gives you 99% Damage reductiuon. This basically means that when you crash into a surface you don't take damage. The same is true when you use engine maneuvers ;D (You can get the set up on the T2 + 3 Strike and the T1 Bomber). The downside is that this shield is useless against weapons that ignore Damage reduction.

I hope this helps a bit. But the first step in really contributing is getting more familiar with GSF. In my opinion these things can give you a better entry. After you feel comfortable in your skills you should try out the different ships and pic your favorite ;D