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Ask me anything / Training


Drakkolich

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This is for newer pilots or intermediate ones that have any questions or want advice. I am an avid pilot on The Bastion server, I have over 2500 games played and have mastered all 10 ships twice.

 

Feel free to ask any questions about GSF, be it how to fly, what builds I like or think are good, or anything else you can think of, and I will try my best to answer them all to everyone's satisfaction. If you're not a subbed player and can't post on the forums feel free to send any questions to my character on The Bastion named "Drakolich" Empire side and I can answer them there.

 

Additionally, if anyone is interested I'd love to teach people how to play better. This would be done via twitch streaming and mumble so i can see you fly and chat with you at the same time. If there is overwhelming interest I can schedule players, but we can cross that bridge if we get to it. Also if anyone wants to watch me fly I am able to stream as well.

 

Looking forward to everyone's questions! :)

 

Edit: Hey guys just wanted to give an update on all this stuff up here for anyone still looking for answers!

 

I'm now up to about 6000 games played and mostly play on The Harbinger due to everyone using low cost server transfers to hit the big population servers. Same name "Drakolich" on Empire and "Drakolích" on Republic.

 

I'm still here to answer any GSF questions anyone might have my knowledge has improved quite a bit since I made this thread. I know most players wanting to ask aren't going to want to go through all the pages to read every question so if we get repeat ones that's fine.

 

As before I'm still willing to teach anyone through twitch live streams and I've been for the past year taking video submissions from players and going through them with the player to point out areas they might improve in.

Edited by Drakkolich
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I just have one question... How can I aim better!!!! I consistently hit 40% accuracy and I always feel like **** when I joust and die cuz I can,t hit my target who have no evesion buff up. And it's even worst under 1000m where I can empty my weapon energy with ion and never getting one shot on his shield.
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I just have one question... How can I aim better!!!! I consistently hit 40% accuracy and I always feel like **** when I joust and die cuz I can,t hit my target who have no evesion buff up. And it's even worst under 1000m where I can empty my weapon energy with ion and never getting one shot on his shield.

 

Well aiming is just practice, one of the easiest ways to help aim better is to hold the "S" key to slow your ship down. You can also play with your mouse sensitivity until you find that right spot for you that lets you turn/track enemies fast enough and be able to keep your cursor on them. When you are under 1000m the reticule can behave wierdly sometimes you actually have to lead it on the edge of the direction they are flying instead of aiming for the dead center. (this is especially true with burst lasers)

I hope that helps :)

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Eggs evolved long before chickens did.

 

And before long the eggs will evolve venomous fangs and stingers. Then wait in your refrigerators waiting to strike. Soon we will be but vassals to our great shelly overlords as they use us as incubation drones!

 

In all serious, aiming is mostly just practice. And 40% is really a pretty decent hit percentage. Generally only the best pilots can do consistently better than that. And even not that if they're up against experienced opponents.

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Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

 

 

Sorry, couldn't resist bro. ;)

 

NP I'm glad everyone's having fun ^^ Well if i had to guess right now id say it was an egg from a different species that was mutated or evolved. I really have no basis for it though just a guess. :)

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I just have one question... How can I aim better!!!! I consistently hit 40% accuracy and I always feel like **** when I joust and die cuz I can,t hit my target who have no evesion buff up. And it's even worst under 1000m where I can empty my weapon energy with ion and never getting one shot on his shield.

 

Another thing to think about it the tracking penalty when you fire off center. All weapons have it some more than others. If you are having trouble hitting someone try to get them in the center of your firing arc. If you can't then maybe you need to disengage and try something else.

 

PS This is a good thread. Hopefully you get more questions.

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I would be curious on hearing your thoughts and/or recommendations regarding the playstyle of the latest Scout and SF.

 

Most people do not seem to play these ships very much, and there is not much information out there on them. As somebody who has mastered these ships, what comments do you have on them to maximize their performance and fun factor? Do you agree with Stasie's component recommendations?

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I would be curious on hearing your thoughts and/or recommendations regarding the playstyle of the latest Scout and SF.

 

Most people do not seem to play these ships very much, and there is not much information out there on them. As somebody who has mastered these ships, what comments do you have on them to maximize their performance and fun factor? Do you agree with Stasie's component recommendations?

 

http://www.constantwarfare.com/clarion - Here is a guide for the Clarion. I consider Pylan to be really good in this class as he's always been amazing in support ships (and lethal in a pike). Definitely check it out. Hanak plays the T3 scout and knows how to deliver some tensor field. I'll see if I can't gleen anything from talking to him (or will just tell him to post his know how). All I know is that as a support ship, playing with yourself is no where near is fulfilling as playing with a friend

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DRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- something I have said countless times as the lock on alarm is BEEMING out of my surround sound speakers, with my scout in hellish flames without anymore energy for engine boost to clear out or an object to hide behind.

 

There have been many times when the Republic starfighters see Drakolich and his goon squad on the imperial list before a match begins, where I had to give a good moral speech to balance out all of the negative and fearful comments made on the republic side, like.

 

"**** WE ALREADY LOST!" "There is no way we can win this one" "Game over man, GAME OVER!" .. etc

 

With that said, I have much respect for you and Anastasie as a fellow starfighter. I have also flown with you a few times and one or two times with voice chat. I can confirm that Drakolich seriously knows what he's talking about. Any consistent starfighter on the Bastion server would agree.

 

Here's my question.

 

I noticed that over 93% of the time, when I come after you to at least to try to slow down your kill rate, there are always two or three other aces winging you, who basically blow me out of the stars, if you don't. It's pretty obvious you fly with the best as much as you can.

 

What are your favorite group strategies for taking sats and for racking up kills and for which maps?

 

Which key do you use for your voice chat, while flying?

 

Whose your favorite wingperson, and why?

 

Do you use the F key and/or the number pad to look around while you fly? If so, for what reasons? Is it to stay close to your squad, or is it to look for boosts?

 

Do you have a memorized path to pick up boosts?

 

And did you really master 10 starshipships? Holy ****balls man.

 

And if I choose to interview you about your GSF skills and your guild for SWTORStrategies, will you be down?

Edited by HiddenPalm
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Thanks for the advice. I consider myself a mid skill pilot and I would like to get a few tips on getting better at dog fighting. I have recently, with the new strikes, started playing around and have had a ton of fun. I tend to get a lot of assists and not a ton of kills per match.

 

What I seem to have the most trouble with is really is some games I just seem to face opponents with really fast missile locks. I cannot seem to evade quickly enough and end up with some quick deaths. Quick deaths = not a ton of fun. I know they will happen, but I am interested in learning any tips which will help when those 1 or 2 other pilots are on my 6.

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Thanks for the advice. I consider myself a mid skill pilot and I would like to get a few tips on getting better at dog fighting. I have recently, with the new strikes, started playing around and have had a ton of fun. I tend to get a lot of assists and not a ton of kills per match.

 

What I seem to have the most trouble with is really is some games I just seem to face opponents with really fast missile locks. I cannot seem to evade quickly enough and end up with some quick deaths. Quick deaths = not a ton of fun. I know they will happen, but I am interested in learning any tips which will help when those 1 or 2 other pilots are on my 6.

 

If its fast missile locks, the question is what kind of engine maneuver are you using and what ship are you flying the best reactions are almost ship dependent from what I have seen. Though drak may have one that is more universal.

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I would be curious on hearing your thoughts and/or recommendations regarding the playstyle of the latest Scout and SF.

 

Most people do not seem to play these ships very much, and there is not much information out there on them. As somebody who has mastered these ships, what comments do you have on them to maximize their performance and fun factor? Do you agree with Stasie's component recommendations?

 

I also fly the clarion a lot, I still with Quads and Thermites with charged plating. With concentrated fire for extra damage with the quads

 

This build is great in Dom matches, and alright in TDM. The reason its great for dom matches is it can hang with bombers using charged plating and if you can land a thermite on one its GG, since your Quads now effectively have 100% armor pierce.

 

It also works well in TDM as you can land Thermites on people that just barrel rolled, or force them to maneuver thus allowing others to missile lock. Further more Holding the lock on a target you have a beat on ususally means they hold on to DF or to their maneuver waiting for you to launch allowing you light them up with lasers.

 

 

If they decide to maneuver to avoid the lasers and fly in a less dangerous to laser manner then you have a chance to instantly start locking again. Thats a situational call though.

 

There is this "refill station" idea where scouts can go to mine layers to refill ammo but personally I think in both TDM and in Dom, this ship is just better for that role.

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I would be curious on hearing your thoughts and/or recommendations regarding the playstyle of the latest Scout and SF.

 

Most people do not seem to play these ships very much, and there is not much information out there on them. As somebody who has mastered these ships, what comments do you have on them to maximize their performance and fun factor? Do you agree with Stasie's component recommendations?

 

So the new ships are very interesting, the scout is very useful in a premade/team setting. Tensor field is really good at getting a bomber where it needs to go in domination, which pretty much eliminates its vulnerable time of sitting recharging engines in the middle of nowhere just to get to a node. The loadout I used almost exclusively cause i couldn't find another i liked was light laser, ion missile, tensor, distortion, snap turn. I found with light laser maxed for dmg to hull you could ion someone slow them down with the ion missiles, then go in with light lasers ridiculous dmg to hull for the kill.

 

As for the new strike, stasie and I still argue about it to this day :p. I like a charged plating, dmg reduction build for it with repair probes speced into ammo. I use quads and thermite torps on it. Engine maneuver is pretty much player specfic but i would def go with a missile break one. Basically it becomes a very slow tank support ship, that has infinite missiles and can heal its very durable hull. Grab yourself a rocket pod spamming buddy and watch the fireworks as you constantly reload him. With this build you really need to learn which weapons can pierce armor and learn to avoid them at all costs or call for your wingman to help, not to mention your basically gunship food if you're out in the open vs one.

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-I noticed that over 93% of the time, when I come after you to at least to try to slow down your kill rate, there are always two or three other aces winging you, who basically blow me out of the stars, if you don't. It's pretty obvious you fly with the best as much as you can.

 

What are your favorite group strategies for taking sats and for racking up kills and for which maps?

 

Which key do you use for your voice chat, while flying?

 

Whose your favorite wingperson, and why?

 

Do you use the F key and/or the number pad to look around while you fly? If so, for what reasons? Is it to stay close to your squad, or is it to look for boosts?

 

Do you have a memorized path to pick up boosts?

 

And did you really master 10 starshipships? Holy ****balls man.

 

And if I choose to interview you about your GSF skills and your guild for SWTORStrategies, will you be down?

 

-Yes most of the time I'm flying in a premade and on mumble with them and if someone is on me I can't shake easily or if im just setting someone up for an easy kill I call it out. Although lately i rolled a new alt on bastion just to see what soloq ing only feels like and so far im having a good time of it.

 

-So group strategies for taking sats thats a tough one cause there are so many. A few examples are using tensor field to get a bomber to the node and then sending the scout to deal with any threats off the node like gunships. Another is cycling multiple bombers in on a node by using hyperspace beacon just after the other dies so you instantly spawn back in on the node. For dislodging a bomber I like to bring a gunship or two and pincer the node not giving them anywhere to hide. (I hope that answers what you were looking for.)

 

-I use my thumb button on my razer mamba for push to talk that way my left hand is completly free to do w/e it needs to while flying (which is usually alot with all the power cycling)

 

-So I use the f key very little when actually fighting, almost all of us run communication sensors on our ships which have sensors so the whole map is lit up even if I'm at a node where nothing is happening. I'll use f then to look around and call important targets or other things for my team to deal with, so I'm just sitting at a node doing nothing. I actually use the key C alot more then anything and mostly for line of sighting gunships. I bound "look behind" to the T key pretty much just for when using retros if i have time i look back to see whats there.

 

-I don't have a path cause the power ups are random, I do however know where they all are.

 

-I actually have all 20 ships mastered, 10 on each side, you can see I have all the achievements for it in my signature.

 

-I'm definitely for an interview just let me know when :)

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Thanks for the advice. I consider myself a mid skill pilot and I would like to get a few tips on getting better at dog fighting. I have recently, with the new strikes, started playing around and have had a ton of fun. I tend to get a lot of assists and not a ton of kills per match.

 

What I seem to have the most trouble with is really is some games I just seem to face opponents with really fast missile locks. I cannot seem to evade quickly enough and end up with some quick deaths. Quick deaths = not a ton of fun. I know they will happen, but I am interested in learning any tips which will help when those 1 or 2 other pilots are on my 6.

 

Alright so right off the bat dealing with missiles on a strike is a big pain, cause you have to learn to line of sight the guy locking you. Now if said missiles are clusters that's only a 1.3 second window to put something between you and him. The main thing to remember is always wait until the missile is in the air before using your engine maneuver, this is even more important with all the engine nerfs last patch. If you don't have an engine maneuver available for the next missile try playing very defensively basically not trying to kill anyone just dodge and weave threw stuff to break the locks. Once your engine maneuver is ready again you can go back on the offensive and try to kill again, waiting again for that next missile to be in the air to use it. Another helpful thing is everytime they start locking a missile and your engine maneuver is ready start planing where you want to aim to use it, so you don't just barrel roll into an asteroid once the missile is in the air.

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Hi Drak, nice to have someone who is prepared to help people along. :w_cool:

 

Quick Qs, - How do I survive longer with Gunships?

 

I have mastered Strike, Scout and Bomber, but good GS play eludes me. I mainly use them if I feel we're on a winning side/ winning streak. - I can target ships okay, and use them for mine / defence turret clearing okay. - So point and shoot seems to be going in the right direction. - But I usually get 1-2 shots off and then draw all the aggro from the opposition. - best GS I have is a quarrel which is about tier 2/3 across most upgrades - Though I went for damage and defence before speed/manoevre. Though once a pack is on me, no fancy flying can shake them off.

 

Im pretty good at flying around stuff, asteroids, sats, mesas etc. So I don't often die to the scenery! - But with GS being slow and lumbering -its not like a scout that can whip around an obstacle in 2 seconds!

 

AM I better off seeking out the protected satellites for extra longevity, or finding a friendly bomber who'll keep me safe? What crew can you reccommend? I play imp and Pub side and have most of the companions available to unlock. Is slug railgun a good option? - I have that maxed.

 

I play on the Progenitor Pub side slightly more than imp - to level up alts mostly.

 

Any help would be appreciated. THX muchly!

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I can help with some gunship questions. I play with Drak, but he didn't give me permission to snipe his questions :p

 

Quick Qs, - How do I survive longer with Gunships?

 

I have mastered Strike, Scout and Bomber, but good GS play eludes me. I mainly use them if I feel we're on a winning side/ winning streak. - I can target ships okay, and use them for mine / defence turret clearing okay. - So point and shoot seems to be going in the right direction. - But I usually get 1-2 shots off and then draw all the aggro from the opposition.

 

So, first of all, when the entire team swaps to you, that's not at all bad. When you have more than two people on you, you are disrupting their team very very much.

 

Second, I recommend you have the distortion field missile break ASAP, the reduced cooldown on barrel roll ASAP, and, though it is a lower priority, the extra speed or turning tier is important (I always run speed, but I'm not sure it's inherently the best- it's definitely what works better for me though).

 

Large reactor, and C2N2/Blizz as your engineering companion.

 

 

- best GS I have is a quarrel which is about tier 2/3 across most upgrades - Though I went for damage and defence before speed/manoevre. Though once a pack is on me, no fancy flying can shake them off.

 

Absolutely correct! You can't outfly them, but you can greatly reduce the damage they do to you.

 

Im pretty good at flying around stuff, asteroids, sats, mesas etc. So I don't often die to the scenery! - But with GS being slow and lumbering -its not like a scout that can whip around an obstacle in 2 seconds!

 

The scout has to match the speed of its prey or it will overfly, right? So when I have an asteroid, I will fly close to the asteroid, with the most threatening scout targeted. When I see him close to a close enough distance, I will boost and go left or right slightly, sometimes strafing a bit too. Then I release the boost after just a brief moment.

 

This has two effects: a poor scout may actually overfly you (you can right click to stop if you are pretty sure this will work). Any scout, even a good one, will have to boost to chase, and could end up a bit further behind than he would like to be, and may end up losing LOS for his blaster a bit.

 

I also alternate between max and lowest velocity whilst orbiting any defensive structure- max speed, then boost, then if I want to sharply turn, bank in the direction, yaw in that direction, while holding slow throttle.

 

With this, you should avoid presenting too much target to your opponent. Asteroids are acceptable for this, but the scaffolding is the wildest, as is anything that has a little narrow niche in between. You can kind of post on the cylinders in the mesas as well.

 

AM I better off seeking out the protected satellites for extra longevity, or finding a friendly bomber who'll keep me safe?

 

Bombers make nests. If you can, snipe from in the nest or near it, and target enemy gunships first, then other long range threats (including bombers if you have mastered ions). When enemies decide to come to you, you can run back through the minefield.

 

What crew can you reccommend?

 

There is some depth of play there, but I recommend and play on my main:

 

Imperial

Engineering: Blizz - I don't need 13% reduced blaster cost most of the time. Extra engine pool helps a lot. The 13% engine thing is not negotiable. This is the best companion for your type 1 gunship.

Tactical: Salana Rok- I really like Wingman, but you don't have to. I use this right as I'm about to squeeze of a shot versus a scout, and it really lowers that miss chance. Running Interference is another great option.

Offensive: Jaesa Williams- Accuracy is amazing, and the extra angle helps with your burst lasers and your railguns. You could go with some with bypass, but I recommend strongly against it nowadays on Empire.

Defensive: Vector is the only choice here.

 

Republic: C2N2, Qyzen Fess, Akaavi Spar, Nadia Grell- As empire, this gets you Wingman, but you could also try Nadia Grell.

 

Wingman is not the only good copilot ability: you can also use Running Interference or even Bypass.

 

 

I play imp and Pub side and have most of the companions available to unlock. Is slug railgun a good option? - I have that maxed.

 

Yes, slug is really good. In T4, make sure you have accuracy. T5 is your choice- the crit can surprise end someone, but the 10% damage is better throughput and you'll get used to how much damage each pull does. Slug is most of what you want with the class. Once you have ion railgun mastered, you can use it to be disruptive to the enemy, especially if they are clumped- but it isn't really worth messing with before that.

 

 

 

I hope this helps some!

Edited by Verain
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Hi Drak, nice to have someone who is prepared to help people along. :w_cool:

 

Quick Qs, - How do I survive longer with Gunships?

 

I have mastered Strike, Scout and Bomber, but good GS play eludes me. I mainly use them if I feel we're on a winning side/ winning streak. - I can target ships okay, and use them for mine / defence turret clearing okay. - So point and shoot seems to be going in the right direction. - But I usually get 1-2 shots off and then draw all the aggro from the opposition. - best GS I have is a quarrel which is about tier 2/3 across most upgrades - Though I went for damage and defence before speed/manoevre. Though once a pack is on me, no fancy flying can shake them off.

 

Im pretty good at flying around stuff, asteroids, sats, mesas etc. So I don't often die to the scenery! - But with GS being slow and lumbering -its not like a scout that can whip around an obstacle in 2 seconds!

 

AM I better off seeking out the protected satellites for extra longevity, or finding a friendly bomber who'll keep me safe? What crew can you reccommend? I play imp and Pub side and have most of the companions available to unlock. Is slug railgun a good option? - I have that maxed.

 

I play on the Progenitor Pub side slightly more than imp - to level up alts mostly.

 

Any help would be appreciated. THX muchly!

 

Alright so first ill start by saying in my opinion there is only 1 good gunship build at the moment. I'll list it here so that you can reference it.

Quarrel

Burst lasers : armor pen + hull dmg

Slug Railgun: Extra accuracy + Crit chance

Ion Railgun: Aoe dmg + No regen after hitting someone

Distortion Field: Breaks missile locks

Barrel roll: this talent is very player specific

Armor: Lightweight armor

Reactor: Large reactor

Magazine: Regeneration Extender

Sensors: Dampening

Crew: Copilot ability running interference (defensive option) or wing man (agressive option)

offensive: you want +6% accuracy and +2 degrees firing arc

defensive: you want 5% evasion + 10% shield pool

Tactical: basically just find the one with the co pilot ability you want to use (I prefer running interference)

engineering: engine pool 10% and engine effiency +13%

 

Playing defensive on a gunship is pretty much the same thing as any other ship, only difference is its very hard to shoot at someone chasing you and anyone save bombers can catch you. The important parts are to use both distortion and barrel roll only to break missiles that are in the air, never break before they launch. If fighting vs another gunship or a scout thats using rocket pods so theres no lock on just pop both evasion cooldowns. After the cooldowns you have to decide between two things, either go ALL IN and try to kill him just as he gets to you by shooting him once or twice with ion+slug and then killing him with burst, or finishing your shot and running to something that can help you kill whatever is chasing you.

 

When solo q ing its hard to get other pilots to kill whats after you, so basically you just run to them and hope they start shooting the things on you. Try to always barrel roll towards team mates and give yourself some terain to break future locks and laser attacks with. (If you barrel into open space and no one is there to help you, you're basically just dead now) Barrel roll and distortion have the same cooldown so which one you use first really just depends on the situation if you need to finish a shot distortion the missile and then start running afterwards.

 

A few tips when running especially from multiple ships, when you barrel roll try to end up behind some los and then stop boosting to let your engines regen a little once they catch up and round the corner you can then start running again, the idea is just to hop from one cooldown to the other with distortion and barrel roll.

 

If they are spaming you with short lockon missiles (cluster missiles) they only do about 850 dmg fully upgraded, let the first one land then break the second and that way your shields will have time to start to recharge barring him hitting you with lasers ofcourse. So against cluster try to let atleast 1 land before you break the next 2. Since your build has such high evasion you probably will regen that missiles dmg worth of shields by the time we get to missiles 4.

 

I think i covered alot if you still want more help let me know and maybe we can get in a voice chat and I can talk you threw it. I hope that helped :)

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Solid answers. Thanks! I got a long distance work weekend (graveyard shift) coming up. Ill write up the interview questions there then hit u up here via messaging by Wednesday when I get back to the cockpit. Good job at passing down what you know via this thread. We'll help get the word out!

 

Here's another question. What exactly did Commander William Adama mean when he said:

 

"Sometimes, you have to roll a hard six" - Adama
Edited by HiddenPalm
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