There are a few fighter types where, you are pretty much forced to take a make that has a [1] key that is devoted to swapping between two different secondary weapons.

 

I REALLY HATE THIS (hence the title of the thread)

 

Can you please make me a ship, for each class of fighter, that DOES NOT USE THIS???

 

I feel the swapped component "feature" is a waste of a button. I mean...

You can press the ONE button, to swap out your weapon, so your B button does something different... OR, alternatively... what if that ONE button instead DID that alternative thing? It just feels like you are using more buttons to make flying a ship more complicated.

...I'm an older player. I have slower reflexes... and what almost always happens to me is I swap (sometimes on accident) so I'm always getting stuck with the wrong component swapped in, so my ship doesn't do what I want.

 

Plz. Make me a ship I don't have to manage this with.

This is a really odd request. Totally bizarre IMO.

 

First things first: No scouts or bombers get the X-CHG Weapon System, so they already do what you want. On the strikes, the type 3 strike (Clarion or Imperium) has a "system" ability on the 1 key.

 

Only the gunships always have to swap, and that's for a really good reason: you wouldn't want just one secondary weapon on them, and all their secondaries involve odd stuff with the mouse that you couldn't put anywhere else.

 

In any event, only five ships out of the twelve have this.

Plz. Make me a ship I don't have to manage this with.

I think you should try flying the Type 3 Strike Fighter, which is the Imperium impside and the Clarion for the Republic (they are functionally identical ships).

 

I recommend that you outfit it with:

• System: Repair Probes - This is your 1 button's single function. These heal you and nearby allies, and resupplly ammunition if you choose that on the top talent tier (and you should)
  _
  
• Primary Weapon: Rapid Fire Lasers - these are short range, but don't drain much energy per shot, and on the third talent tier get Armor Ignore, which makes blowing up turrets in Domination very easy.
  _
  
• Secondary Weapon: Proton Torpedoes - these are very long range, but lock quickly enough that you will have a good chance of catching an enemy ship with them. They are especially good against Bombers. Scouts and Strike Fighters will be tougher to land them on, but if they hit, they do a lot of damage.
  _
  
• Shield: Shield Projector - this has reasonably good shield strength, and if you activate it using your 2 button when you are close to allies, they will get a short bonus to restore their shields plus extra Evasion.
  _
  
• Engine Maneuver: Power Dive - Use this with the 3 button. this is a tricky one to learn, but after you upgrade, it costs 0 Engine Pool energy to activate. If you are flying level, it will do what the name suggests and you dive, but if you nose up and then use it, you can go forward. Once you get the hang of the motion, it's very good.
  ...and if you hate it, try Koiogran Turn, which gives you a nice long immunity to missile locks and a motion less likely to drive you into a rock.
  _
  
• Armor: Reinforced Armor - extra hull strength with this build is great, you can absorb a lot of damage.
  _
  
• Capacitor: any of them are fine. Frequency might pair best with Rapid Fire Lasers, making them even more rapid.
  _
  
• Reactor: Large Reactor - more shields is better.
  _
  
• Sensors: Dampening Sensors - this choice and component is largely inconsequential.
  _
  
• Copilot: this varies by faction. On Imperium, choose Blizz as your Engineering crewman and use Hydro Spanner. For the Clarion, use B-3G9, also for Hydro Spanner. This is your 4 button.
  

_

Normally, I would only suggest this build for Domination matches, but you could use it in Team Deathmatch, too. The Repair Probes are a good healing component that can help your team, and the Proton Torpedoes give you a nice long-range punch. You have enough healing power with the Probes and Hydro Spanner to sustain a couple hits before you need to seek cover.

 

Once you master Power Dive and don't faceplant into rocks (which we all do from time to time) you will be able to get out of trouble very effectively. This build won't do a ton of damage, but if you land some Proton Torpedoes, they do damage straight to hull, bypassing Shields, which is great. Try to stay in range of your teammates so you can really help them with timely heals. It's not a ship that is dependent on reflexes as much as it is on being able to use cover effectively.

 

- Despon

Edited November 16, 2017 by caederon

It's for exactly this reason that my Strike Fighter is a Clarion/Imperium, with a very similar component layout.

...although I certainly wouldn't mind additional Strike Fighter options without a [1] Key swap.

 

I guess my complaint has to do primarily with Gun Ships. I find that having a second weapon is utterly pointless. I'm not going to think to hammer someone's shields down with an Ion Railgun and then swap to a Slug Railgun to squash the hull. Using something like Torpedoes is also pointless; the ship is too slow and unmaneuverable to chase and lock onto anything. If someone has closed the distance with a Scout or a Strike Fighter, it's just a matter of time until I'm dead.

 

What would be far more valuable to me, to fit my style of flying, is an additional defensive component or System. An EMP pulse, Interdiction Mine... Hyperspace Beacon, maybe, to bring the team utility (or bring me reinforcements) or a Repair Probe would be something of a defensive cooldown for me, and also my allies.

II find that having a second weapon is utterly pointless. I'm not going to think to hammer someone's shields down with an Ion Railgun and then swap to a Slug Railgun to squash the hull.

 

Well, this might not be a playstyle that interests you, but imo it's an absolutely critical ability. I mean, sure, you could stick with slug rail 100% of the time and simply punch your targets silly, but each of the other railguns offer useful advantages. The classic T1 (Mangler/Quarrel) build brings ion & slug: ion softens the target, drains some energy, and also has an AoE effect (T4 upgrade) - meaning you can pop mines/assorted bomber trash from a safe distance, out of LoS. If you have the ion T5 slow upgrade, you can tap a couple of targets to debuff them, then switch to slug and have an easier time finishing them off. Or if you choose the other T5 option (reactor disruption), and you can land the first shot, you immediately gain an advantage in a GS vs GS duel.

 

Similarly, plasma rail applies a DoT effect, and an evasion or DR debuff. So you can spread some plasma around, and then your slugs will be more effective.

 

I get that it's a little cumbersome to get the hang of switching back and forth, but if you practice until it becomes habit, you will definitely find that two railguns are better than one.

Swappable weapons is what gives a ship part of its identity. Without swappable weapons you would lose out on a ton of ship diversity. The Pike/Quell would be too similar to a Starguard/Rycer. You also wouldn't have ion railgun Quarrel/Mangler or dogfighting Condor/Jurgoran.

 

 

If you really hate swapping that much and want a change from the Clarion/Imperium, I would suggest using the Starguard/Rycer and just never using the secondary.

 

 

Here's my build: http://dulfy.net/2013/11/16/swtor-galactic-starfighter/?link=dGEAAAARAwUDAwQD7ALsAfQC0AHgAuAB4AHgA+A=

 

 

I barely ever swap to my 2nd blaster on this ship anyways. The primary heavy laser cannons are the most useful blaster in almost all situations except close quarters fighting. You can switch to rapid fire lasers in close quarters, but I usually try to avoid doing that because if I get hit with EMP in the meantime then my 1 button will be locked out and I'll be stuck with the RFL for a long time. Also, retro thrusters work really well with heavy laser cannons because you can create some distance in a close quarters fight. I think it's a good beginner ship but it also has a fairly high skill ceiling as you master retro thrusters, centering your heavy laser shots, and power management. If you never use the 2nd blaster ever you're probably only missing out on like 5% of the ship's strength.

Edited November 16, 2017 by RickDagles

I guess my complaint has to do primarily with Gun Ships. I find that having a second weapon is utterly pointless.

 

LOL

 

Good grief.

 

They are massively important on gunships. Every weapon a gunship has is specialized for something. Plasma is the most accurate, and does the most in raw damage, but the damage can be mitigated and its killing power is pretty low. Slug has lower damage than the others, especially versus shields, where it gets no benefits, but has good shield piercing and totally ignores damage reduction. Ion does ok damage to shields, but very poor damage to hull, while applying powerful controls that your teammates or you can capitalize on.

 

 

I'm not going to think to hammer someone's shields down with an Ion Railgun and then swap to a Slug Railgun to squash the hull.

 

I was doing this from about the first day I played the game, and you should be as well. Ion railgun deals very poor hull damage, but is a good shot to lead with because it hurts their ability to escape or attack your allies.

 

There's another advantage: when you use a railgun, your railgun goes on cooldown. If you weapon swap immediately after you release the shot, you can begin charging your second railgun right away. Otherwise you would have to wait .88 to 2 seconds, depending on weapon and crewman, to begin charging your next shot.

 

You should absolutely be doing this.

 

If there's a problem with swapping weapons being on the "1" key, change it to a key you can press. Depending on your mouse, you may consider putting it on there. I just leave it on the "1" key because I play with most of my buttons mapped to be under my left hand, and the "1" key is easy to hit that way.

 

Using something like Torpedoes is also pointless; the ship is too slow and unmaneuverable to chase and lock onto anything.

 

This is a problem for just the type 2 gunship, where you can also run slug and plasma if you like. But proton has some good advantages too, because it is a really good weapon now. If your opponent presses distortion, you can begin locking a proton immediately. If you see someone at 11km use an engine break, you can begin locking a proton immediately. In these cases, which happen decently often, you don't have to chase opponents around, you just cast a missile and get hull damage or at least a break. It can be better to swap to proton than staying on slug. You also can swap when you need your weapon energy to regenerate. Again, this is not the strongest ship and you should consider avoiding it for that reason, but this strategy when playing it is one of the better ways to play it. It is certainly not better off as a slug-only machine.

 

If someone has closed the distance with a Scout or a Strike Fighter, it's just a matter of time until I'm dead.

 

Obviously swapping to proton doesn't help if you are in melee with a decent scout or strike, but NONE of your weapons on the type 2 gunship are good at that situation. That's a weakness of the ship, not a problem with swapping to proton torpedo when it is correct to do so.

 

What would be far more valuable to me, to fit my style of flying, is an additional defensive component or System. An EMP pulse, Interdiction Mine... Hyperspace Beacon, maybe, to bring the team utility (or bring me reinforcements) or a Repair Probe would be something of a defensive cooldown for me, and also my allies.

 

I don't really want gunships to gain any of these abilities.

IIRC you can change your GSF keybinds to anything you like - including mouse buttons and the scroll wheel.

 

- So you can use the mouse left-handed, or have the power options on your mouse with your lesser used system ability ( for instance) on a key close to your thrust /roll keys.

 

Press the cog on the menu strip, then go to preferences/ kebinds. Starfighter keybinds are on a tab at the bottom.

 

I for one have all the power conversions on my mouse - blasters, thrusters, shield, and reset to equal The systems and missile break keys match keybinds I use for the ground game. This means I can fly and rapidly change power while still looping, circling, strafing, rolling turning, banking, pulling up, diving, using system abilities etc.

 

Play around OP. - If you use a ship with swappable ordinance, there may be a keybind that suits you. - and you can save keybinds and use them on every character if you wish - or just note what works in starfighter and use that combo for all your pilots.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Storm-Cutter

IIRC you can change your GSF keybinds to anything you like - including mouse buttons and the scroll wheel.

 

I never tried it but in case it actually should work: Do not keybind anything on scroll if you want to play gunship. Gunship zoom is bound to scroll and as far as I know you can't rebind that.

I never tried it but in case it actually should work: Do not keybind anything on scroll if you want to play gunship. Gunship zoom is bound to scroll and as far as I know you can't rebind that.

 

Good point - I'm awful in a GS so very rarely play one.... I had forgotten that.

 

But I've flown like that since it was on the PTS - and never really changed my setup. - Maybe I'm just being peculiar. - Wouldn't be the first time.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Storm-Cutter

IIRC you can change your GSF keybinds to anything you like - including mouse buttons and the scroll wheel.

This isn't a keybinding issue at all. It's an "in the heat of battle, I will inevitably, and consistently always have the wrong thing swapped... and I would like the option to fly a gunship that doesn't swap out components at all."

 

If you really hate swapping that much and want a change from the Clarion/Imperium, I would suggest using the Starguard/Rycer and just never using the secondary.

Ewww. No.

 

Why would this suggestion make sense? Stop flying the one style of Strike Fighter that DOESN'T have swappable components (which I don't want) and instead start flying one of the other Strike Fighters that DOES have swappable components (which I do not want). Why would it make any sense for me to do this?

 

...and, with only 4 activatable buttons, if one of these buttons is a weapon swap, and you never use weapon swap... you're now running a ship that's literally 25% less effective.

 

I mean... I do fly Scouts and Bombers. Neither of these use a swappable component, and I'm perfectly happy with those options (although, really, I don't use either except to capture and hold satellites).

 

 

....I'd still like a gunship that doesn't have swapping railguns though. It would definitely suit my style of play better, even if it were less effective (in general), I'm sure I would be happier flying it.

Ewww. No.

 

Why would this suggestion make sense? Stop flying the one style of Strike Fighter that DOESN'T have swappable components (which I don't want) and instead start flying one of the other Strike Fighters that DOES have swappable components (which I do not want). Why would it make any sense for me to do this?

 

Well if you're not looking for advice then I don't understand the point of your post other than to just rant? The Starguard/Rycer is generally considered to be a stronger ship than the Clarion/Imperium even without the 2nd blaster. It's also probably easier to use.

Edited November 16, 2017 by RickDagles

Well if you're not looking for advice then I don't understand the point of your post other than to just rant? The Starguard/Rycer is generally considered to be a stronger ship than the Clarion/Imperium even without the 2nd blaster. It's also probably easier to use.

 

I don't fully agree, yeah it can be faster because of the thruster and barrel roll, quick charge shield is also good. Then there is the Heavy Laser Cannon but... the Clarion / Imperium has the combination of a reactor & armor, it can remote slice making the protorp (or another missile) unavoidable, or it can repair your own ship and other allies in range (repair probe). They are both pretty good.

Well if you're not looking for advice then I don't understand the point of your post other than to just rant? The Starguard/Rycer is generally considered to be a stronger ship than the Clarion/Imperium even without the 2nd blaster. It's also probably easier to use.

To be honest, this was a rant. I had a late night, and some disappointing dog fights... and in a less agitated state of mind, my post would have been more accurately titled something like "Learn me to gunship like not a noob" or something more accurate to my aggravation (using a gunship properly), although... also, side frustration that I find starfighters with a swap-out component to be very contrary to what works for me as a play style.

 

...Having said that, in no way, ever, is "you should try X!" when the complaint or concern is "I really hate X!" ever going to fly.

 

I fly a Clarion/Imperium, and am pretty happy with those as choices. I would still be happier with an additional Strike Fighter option that doesn't involve swapping the secondary weapon.

 

...and I'd still like a Gunship that also has a fixed Railgun, and uses a System instead of a Swap.

 

Other Dog Fighters, who I'm sure are better flyers than me (and I'm not being sarcastic), have explained how I should be opening fire with an Ion or Plasma Railgun and then swapping to a Slug once I've debuffed my targets engines, shields and/or hull... and how switching Railguns will actually let me fire faster. This is solid advice, and I can't argue with it... I just know that, in practice having an Ion/Slug combo will most often mean I'm hammering a raised shield with a Slug and then trying to blow apart a Hull with an Ion 19 times out of 20. Sometimes "what works best" has to be modified to "what will work for me as a player."

Lord Fell, have you tried running Plasma and Slug and just swaping after every single shot. Just take the extra accuracy on Plasma instead of the debuff and litterally don't care what railgun you're firing just keep swapping after every shot?

 

This should increase your Damage since Plasma does more raw damage then Slug and also let you fire faster. You also won't care at all about "getting lost" in what weapon you're on since you just fire whatever you're on and keep swapping after every shot.

 

This might be a middle ground for you.

 

 

I'd also like to point out that Siraka's point that the Rycer/Starguard can actually be a better ship then the Imperium/Clarion even without using the second blaster. It's shield,engine and laser options are just that superior to the Imperium/Clarions.

 

I'm definitely not against any idea to build a Gunship with no "swapping" secondaries but you'd have to give up a hell of a lot for it, just like the Imperium/Clarion does. It gives up so many good components for that ability, you'd have to do the same thing with a Gunship.

Lord Fell, have you tried running Plasma and Slug and just swaping after every single shot. Just take the extra accuracy on Plasma instead of the debuff and litterally don't care what railgun you're firing just keep swapping after every shot?

I haven't... but I think I'll give this a try.

 

Probably the ship to do this on is the Quarrel/Mangler. I'll have a look at your ship builds and... probably steal a build entirely from that.

I know the problem. I am now over 60 and my reflexes are not the best anymore. I don't like the switchover either, although you have more time with the GS than with a Star Guard. That's why I try to keep everything as simple as possible. Tensorscout, Minelayer in Domination, GS and the Clarion (with Remote Slicing) in TDM. I can handle the Pike quite well, too. And stay away from directional shields when the reaction is not so good.

I can understand your concern about the weapon switch, however not so for the sniper ship class.

 

It's important to have 1 ion cannon to wreck the shields and drain energy, basically making every target a sitting duck that just waits to be killed. The disable lock is real.

And then you only need 1 good hit/crit with either slug or plasma and that should give you a kill.

It's literally only 1 button to press. And it's the only logical sequence for sniper ships either way.

 

That said, having 2 primary weapons on other ships is kind of senseless.

Not gonna fly a Rycer or whatever its called with 2 different lasers because here you use your main laser against the shields and the rockets againt the hull. It' really a waste of an ability there.

I did some fighting on my T3 Gunship the other night. Now, this ship is nearing mastery, but my mastered Railguns are Slug & Ion. I made a point of swapping so that my Ion was up first... and then hitting the Swap every time I fired. Now... probably this means that sometimes I was shooting the wrong kind. But I did find that I was throwing out more shots, and getting more kills.

...no, taking a kill shot with an Ion Railgun is not at all efficient, but you can still do it. Especially if you just slapped them silly with a fully mastered Slug.

 

I know a huge part of the crappy games I was having that spurred the creation of this post to start was straight up rust. My server was too dead for pops. After a long time, I'm flying again. Another problem of course, is that I'm up against a much bigger... and probably more skilled pool of flyers. We had good pilots on BC, for sure... but there are a lot more of them out there now.

I did some fighting on my T3 Gunship the other night. Now, this ship is nearing mastery, but my mastered Railguns are Slug & Ion..

 

T3 has no Ion. You mean the T1?

That said, having 2 primary weapons on other ships is kind of senseless.

Not gonna fly a Rycer or whatever its called with 2 different lasers because here you use your main laser against the shields and the rockets againt the hull. It' really a waste of an ability there.

 

But the primary weapon swap on a Starguard/Rycer allows you to do pretty much exactly the same thing you just described for gunships: ion cannon to strip shields (and drain engine or weapon power), then switch to HLC for the kill.

 

Another option is using HLC for long-distance shots, then swapping to RFL when your enemy gets closer. It's much easier to hit a nearby target with RFL than HLC. In a turning battle, you aren't likely to land HLC, and it's hard to maintain a missile lock. But you can definitely get some RFL shots to land.

 

tl;dr primary weapon swap is absolutely not senseless. There are multiple ways to make good use of this ability.

I disagree with you there.

As previously stated, you do your main damage against hull with rockets.

So having 2 lasers is redunant on that kind of ship.

You do not get the hard disable that sniper ships get with their ion cannon either.

In a heated fight you won't even really get in a situation where you have the time to fully utilize the approach you stated above. It's kind of a 1% niche that nobody I've ever seen in gsf uses.

Cheers!

I disagree with you there.

As previously stated, you do your main damage against hull with rockets.

So having 2 lasers is redunant on that kind of ship.

You do not get the hard disable that sniper ships get with their ion cannon either.

In a heated fight you won't even really get in a situation where you have the time to fully utilize the approach you stated above. It's kind of a 1% niche that nobody I've ever seen in gsf uses.

Cheers!

 

I am the 1%.

It's kind of a 1% niche that nobody I've ever seen in gsf uses.

Cheers!

Here is a

of weapon swapping on the T1F in use. At short ranges, Heavy Laser Cannon is disadvantaged.

 

In Domination matches, the weapon swap becomes even more useful. If you are running a HLC / Rapid Fire Lasers combo, it is very much to your advantage to use RFL when in engagements near the satellites. If you are weaving around the vanes, and generally using a satellite for cover while fighting Bombers or other enemies that are tight to the structure, the shorter range laser can be very useful.

 

Don't dismiss the T1F's Ion Cannon. While it doesn't pair especially well with Proton Torpedoes as a Secondary Weapon, Ion Cannon is a powerful weapon in its own right and will synergize well enough with Concussion Missiles (which are a very viable choice of Secondary). Limiting yourself to only Ion Cannon would be problematic, so having another blaster to swap to is quite useful.

 

- Despon

I disagree with you there.

As previously stated, you do your main damage against hull with rockets.

So having 2 lasers is redunant on that kind of ship.

You do not get the hard disable that sniper ships get with their ion cannon either.

In a heated fight you won't even really get in a situation where you have the time to fully utilize the approach you stated above. It's kind of a 1% niche that nobody I've ever seen in gsf uses.

Cheers!

 

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. But this is certainly not a 1% thing. Every good T1F pilot I know does indeed regularly swap primary weapons, whether it's RFL/HLC or ion/HLC, depending on circumstance (as Despon describes above). Those combos do a ton of damage. Maybe a volley of blaster fire doesn't do as much damage as a single protorp, but it adds up. Quickly.

 

If you're planning to rely on "rockets" (secondaries) and sticking with one blaster, why not use a Pike/Quell? I don't see the point of even taking a Starguard/Rycer if you're never going to swap primaries.