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Despon's Guide to Killing Gunships


caederon

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So, you want to kill gunships. Oh boy, who doesn't? Can't live with em, can't live without em. OR COULD YOU? Probably not, as long as bombers are still around. What to do, then... what to do?

 

Killing gunships is the ultimate nerf! When they're dead, they can't shoot you or your team. Even better, when they're running around, or tied up with a melee fight, they STILL can't help their team a whole lot. Here is a guide to help you deal with that OP battle beast, the gunship.

 

1. Know Your Enemy

 

It should not take you long to figure out who the threats are in a given match. Look at the opposing team in the pre-flight minute. If you recognize a tough gunship pilot, call it out to your teammates. Let them know someone, let's call him 'Bespon,' is probably going to go for the Damage Overcharges in TDM, and will likely be blowing you up unless someone does something about it.

 

"But," you protest, "I'm new and don't know who these people are!" Try asking your teammates. Failing that, assume that any gunship pilot is a threat, because they are. That said, inexperienced gunship pilots are easy to deal with. They make a lot of common mistakes, which I'll get into later.

 

Look at which gunships the opposing pilots have selected.

 

If they have picked the Quarrel/Mangler (or the Cartel variant that looks like a flying V), aka the T1 gunship, you can expect that they will be dousing your team with Ion Railgun bursts. They may be using Feedback Shield, which you must be aware of when you're engaging them with lasers. They will primarily be looking to support their team's attacks and will often focus on breaking up your team's bomber incursons.

 

If they have picked a Comet Breaker/Dustmaker (or the Cartel equivalent that looks like a Winnebago with garbage cans attached to it), aka the T2 gunship, they are almost always less of a threat than those who have picked the other types. They are incapable of dealing with enemies at close range, and often choose Fortress Shield, which renders them immobile and is basically a death sentence when facing pilots who know what they're doing. They lack ion railgun, so are less of a threat to your team's bombers.

 

If they have picked a Condor/Jurgoran, aka the T3 gunship, they are going to be mobile and quite capable of short range combat. They lack Ion Railgun, so they are less of a threat to your bombers and defensive zones than the T1 gs. They make up for this by being very efficient hunters and by being difficult to kill.

 

By knowing your enemy, you can decide on the best approach for dealing with them.

 

2. Fly Smart

 

It's easy to assume that gunships are invulnerable death machines when you eat railgun shots and die before you even reach the action. Your goal, then, is to make it difficult for the enemy gunships to hit you before you get into weapons range. I'm going to put this next point in caps and might even bold it because it is really, really important.

 

DO NOT FLY STRAIGHT AT GUNSHIPS AND EXPECT TO LIVE.

 

If you grit your teeth and fly with resolute determination in a straight line at that gunship, chances are they will blow you up while shaking their head in disapproval at how easy you just made it for them. At least, I hear that jerk Bespon does it all the time.

 

Use terrain obstacles to prevent gunships from getting line-of-sight on you. There are lots of opportunities on every map to make your approach under cover. If you find yourself in the open, weave and use your defensive Systems or Copilot abilities if you have any.

 

Try approaching enemy gunships from above or below, or fly past them and get behind them before you open fire. This will force them to turn, move, or run to deal with your attack. Getting them out of their comfort zone makes them an easier kill. Forcing them to deal with you keeps them from sniping enemies at long range.

 

3. Load up on Evasion

 

Your ship's Evasion stat is the hard counter to railguns. Gunships rely on the Accuracy stat to reliably land their railgun shots. Even a perfectly aimed rail shot will be dodged if the target's Evasion is high enough and the random to-hit roll is in their target's favor. It is not uncommon for a scout with high Evasion to dodge five or six shots in a row purely based on their build's focus on that stat. Targeting Telemtry, Distortion Field, and Running Interference are all commonly used to boost Evasion.

 

4. Open Fire

 

Know your weapons' ideal ranges. When you are at that sweet spot, open up with everything you've got. You want to do as much damage in as short a window of time as is possible when facing gunships (and, indeed, pretty much all other ship types as well). Save your offensive abilities until you're just about to open fire.

 

Be aware of Feedback Shield. If you are hitting the enemy gunship with your lasers and suddenly blow up or take a lot of damage when it doesn't seem they are even shooting at you (or facing you), they are running Feedback Shield. Secondary weapons do not trigger Feedback shield, so missiles, rockets and railguns are always safe to use against a gunship. Wait for the glowy shield aura to disappear from around the enemy gunship before you resume your primary weapon attack. Sometimes, if you have enough health, you can absorb one Feedback burst, but if the gunship draws you into a protracted melee fight, they may live long enough for the cooldown to expire and will trigger it again.

 

5. Don't Overpursue

 

If a gunship is determined to run from a close-quarters engagement, let them. There are likely other threats to deal with closer to your objectives. If the gunship is running, it is not shooting, which is a victory for your team. If the gunship activates their defensive abilities (usually Distortion Field, sometimes with Running Interference) and uses their engine maneuver to bail out on an engagement, don't chase them. Watch your back when returning to allied territory, but as long as you're keeping the gunship from lining up their railgun shots, you are helping your team. Be aware that they may return, but it will take them a moment to get back into the action.

 

6. Use Teamwork

 

It will become apparent eventually who the really troublesome gunship pilots are. If their name keeps showing up on your screen in red, "Bespon killed ______" over and over, it may require the focus of more than one pilot to deal with them.

 

It is extremely difficult for any gunship to deal with two attackers at once. Even very skilled gunship pilots will find it both distracting and hard to handle a pair of determined attackers.

 

Even in situations where the enemy team is fielding many gunships, there is often a large skill gap between their pilots. If you can correctly identify the gunship that is likely to cause you the most trouble and double or triple-team them, the rest of your teammates can work on the easier targets.

 

7. Identify Inexperienced Gunships

 

Stock gunships are very easy to destroy before they are equipped with proper defensive components. Even experienced pilots will have trouble remaining alive under fire in an unupgraded gunship that lacks maneuverability and shield strength.

 

You can often identify an inexperienced gunship pilot by watching for whether they remain focused on powering up a railgun shot while they are under direct fire. If they seem unaware of their shields falling while they are scoped in, use that knowledge to alter their standing on your threat assessment.

 

Any gunship using Fortress Shield is easier to deal with than one which does not. At first, it may seem like the greatly increased shield strength is a significant advantage, but immobility is a heavy price to pay for extra shields. Most gunship pilots will realize this fairly early on and switch to a build that doesn't root them in place. If you find yourself up against a gunship using Fortress Shield, it is likely they are inexperienced and can be dealt with accordingly.

 

Determine which laser the enemy gunship uses when in close combat. Burst Laser Cannon has a distinctive sound and appearance, and is very dangerous at melee range. If the enemy gunship is not using BLC (or in the case of the T2 gunship, does not have the option), stay at close range until they either die or run. It is likely that gunships not fielding BLC are being flown by inexperienced pilots.

 

8. Recognize Inevitability

 

Sometimes, you are put on a bad team. If you are being picked apart by enemy gunships, and your team seems to have no answer, it is not because gunships are OP. It is because your team doesn't have the knowledge and skill to deal with them, and lacks the fluidity to adapt their tactics to adjust for the situation.

 

Conclusion

 

The preceding information on how to deal with gunships only covers the basics. There are more advanced techniques and strategies to learn, but if you internalize the information in this guide, you'll be on your way to helping your team and making yourself a better pilot.

 

Despon

 

*for those new to GSF, check out Despon's Guide to GSF for Total Beginners

Edited by caederon
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Nice guide. I'd add a few things:

 

1. Before you make your attack run on a gunship, sit in a safe spot and regain 100% engines. I would recommend sitting behind a rock (LoS) about 10000-15000m away from the gunship of interest. Once you have all of your engines and cooldowns ready, then make your attack run. One of the biggest mistakes that scout players do is try to make an attack run when they only have 50% engines. Then they complain about OP ion when the first hit completely shuts them down. Even AoE splash damage can end your day if you aren't smart with your engines.

 

2. Try to attack gunships from behind whenever possible. This is important for three reasons: A - they may not see you coming. B - if they run after you hit them with your initial shots, you can usually get 1 or 2 more shots in before they get out of range; if you had been shooting them from the front or side then you won't be able to get any extra shots in once they decide to flee. C - if they do see you coming, they at least have to turn around to shoot you. This leave them open to railgun shots from your own encroaching teammates.

 

3. Before shooting a gunship, check your HUD to see what buffs/debuffs he currently has. If the player is using feedback shield, you want to hit F2 before shooting your first shot. This absorbs most of the damage, and then you can switch to F1 (note: you must have nearly full health for F2 to work like this so don't attempt this if you've already been shot once - in that case just shoot clusters or rocket pods).

 

4. Before making your attack run, do a scan for enemy railgun drones and seeker mines. If necessary, save your distortion field missile break to deal with one of the seeker mines. Don't linger in the danger area for too long. I usually bail as soon as my running interference is about to end. Don't try to be a hero, just play distraction long enough for your gunship buddies to create havoc, then return to your repair drone and plan your next attack run.

 

Determine which laser the enemy gunship uses when in close combat. Burst Laser Cannon has a distinctive sound and appearance, and is very dangerous at melee range. If the enemy gunship is not using BLC (or in the case of the T2 gunship, does not have the option), stay at close range until they either die or run. It is likely that gunships not fielding BLC are being flown by inexperienced pilots.

 

5. This is definitely true except for one rare exception - the Condor/Jurgoran regular laser/retro/cluster build. While it is good to stay close to this build, make sure you are ready to hit the engines hard as soon as you see this ship use retro. Obviously try to fly the most perpendicular path in reference to the enemy Condor/Jurgoran.

Edited by RickDagles
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Guns before missiles if you're going for the kill. Missiles make an annoying beeping sound, so they'll know you're there if they've got sound.

Guns... don't. If you start locking a missile before trying to actually kill a gunship, it will know there's a threat.

 

If you just want it to run, a missile lock will usually get the point across.

 

Distortion field is broken-good. Once I chased a double-lock-break gunship with a Pike. Lock a missile, it barrel rolls. Lock another missile, it pops distortion field and starts turning around (it didn't go for cover). And lock a protorp, pop wingman, set directionals back (ion rail), hit it... close, shields double-front (slug). I got it, but was dead in the water immediately after.

 

If there's one with good situational awareness (some of them are nearly impossible to sneak up on), attack from directly above or below relative to the map. The red arrow which represents your ship will be less obvious.

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Determine which laser the enemy gunship uses when in close combat. Burst Laser Cannon has a distinctive sound and appearance, and is very dangerous at melee range. If the enemy gunship is not using BLC (or in the case of the T2 gunship, does not have the option), stay at close range until they either die or run. It is likely that gunships not fielding BLC are being flown by inexperienced pilots.

 

Or experienced pilots on new characters or on stock nights. Just sayin'. In addition to the T3 gunship possibility that someone mentioned above.

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I like this advice, though I would recommend beginners consider specific tactics for domination matches:

1. If a gunship is threatening the satellite you can always move to the other side of the satellite. This is very frustrating to solo gunships without good bomber/scout support and they will often come to you. Most opponents are not coordinated enough to get both sides of the node covered efficiently. If you are the only one on your team under the satellite, make sure you do not leave it to chase gunships if there is an opponent on or next to the satellite.

2. If you are on the satellite, you will not have the luxury of flanking a gunship unseen. However, you can still use a scout to get the advantage on them by moving out with an evasion cooldown (running interference, distortion field), flying a little to the side or top/bottom (pick a spot roughly 4000m to the edge of the gunship).

3. If the gunship retreats, go back to the satellite or engage a second gunship. Some of the best gunships really protect their K/D ratio. This is easy to diagnose and exploit if you are thinking about it. They will yo-yo the whole game.

4. If the gunship(s) get run all over the place, allowing your team to solidify the satellite, it does not really matter if you die. It is a trivial point and the respawn is usually quick. (exception: Denon with no friendly hyperspace beacon).

5. Gunships on the satellite are more of a bomber problem than a gunship problem. If they are there by themselves, dive to the other side of the satellite and then chase them down. Watch out for the sudden stop they can do that you cannot do.

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I came across this on Reddit /r/rswtor thanks so much for this and contributing to the community.

 

I haven't really done too much star fighting yet and the few times i did a didn't do so great :)

 

I'l refer to this when i get to that part of the game.

 

I will add it to the Space Combat - Guide Links page of SWTORCGR 4.0.

 

If you write more guides in the future or have some I might have missed please leave a link at:

SWTOR Community Guides and Resources - SWTORCGR : Great for New players and Veterans.

 

I would then add the link to the collection or you could post a link directly on the appropriate spreadsheets at SWTORCGR 4.0.

 

Thanks for your contribution :)

 

*****

 

Made a new category page on Space Combat for your guide if you know of any other current Space Combat guides please let me know.

Edited by DorjeeVajra
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If you write more guides in the future or have some I might have missed please leave a link at:

SWTOR Community Guides and Resources - SWTORCGR : Great for New players and Veterans.

*****

Made a new category page on Space Combat for your guide if you know of any other current Space Combat guides please let me know.

Thanks for dropping in! I actually do have another guide you might benefit from:

 

Despon's Guide to GSF for Total Beginners

... and thanks to Sriia for posting on Reddit! She actually wrote a pretty great beginner's guide, too:

Tips For Newer GSF Players

 

... and thanks to the rest of you for contributing more great info on gunship hunting tactics! I'll integrate what I can into the main post, though my instructions were meant more as a basic overview and people can certainly scan down the thread to dig into the more advanced info you present.

 

Now go kill some gunships!

 

... but not mine. The rest of them, though. Get em!

 

Despon

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I hate to say it chaps but none of these strategies would work against me, just ion spam sometimes gets me when I get over confidence and have no way to break the line of sight and strafe

 

then again i am the best scout pilot now, so it would be interesting to see T2 scout Krixarcs vs T2 GS krixarcs. id pay to see that. maybe its time i took on a pilot to train. i hear siphania was not satisfied with drakkolichs training

Edited by Krixarcs
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Gunships(mostly t1) have their solid amount of weaknesses, mostly their defensive ability cooldown time.

 

A good strategy is to provoke them to use both of them fast(even very good pilots are not free of this flaw) So provoking them to use in close time disto and engine gives you an edge.

 

Some GS when chased after BR tend to turn around and charge a low charged ion at chasing a chasing ship, to avoid when GS is starting to turn, change your attack angle, to attack it from a bit below, from the sides or from above. Also start locking AFTER your target is in your weapons optimal range. Lock on sound is a big give away.

 

If you are using directional shields, be familiar with the ability to "hide" your shields when enemy Gunships is charging it`s ion rail. After you got hit with ion , you can bring your shields back forward, without much dmg taken to hull or to shields

 

Also make note that even if you are using disto and RI you are hard to hit, but not impossible to hit. So don`t get cooky kid

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thanks for the post Despon!

 

What advice would you have for dealing with teams of gunsips? (aka 2 or 3 gunships working together to cover each other/blow people up in 2 shots)

 

Do things like upgrading your sensor dampening help? Or do abilities that reduce gunships sensor range help? I upgraded fully a NovaDive scout with the EMP field in hopes that it would be effective vs Gunships since it lowers their accuracy (by 10%) and also their sensor range (by 5000m) plus eventually you can unlock its ability to disable shield or engine abiltiies. Do you gunship pilots notice any EMP field users vs you and is it even effective?

Edited by Trevor_the_Bruce
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The troublesome part about EMP field is that the range is only 5 km, by which point you're already so close that railguns are less than ideal.

 

It can help prevent a gunship from running effectively, and if gunships are stacked too close together might even let you go after two gunships in a single pass.

 

TT is what it would replace, and in general the 8% evasion bonus from 15 km to 0 km is a better deal defensively than 20% acccuracy penalty at 5 km or less, and while the engine disable of EMP field can really hurt a gunship's ability to run a certain amount of sneakiness in approach with the burst damage of TT with Quads ( or LC) and Pods tends to be about as effective or more effective in terms of ensuring a kill.

 

In team play if one EMP scout can cripple the engines of 3 or more gunships with a couple of other scouts helping get the kills before the debuff wears off, it might be worth it. That takes very coordinated play though. Smart gunship pilots would counter by just spreading out more.

 

 

In terms of groups of gunships, the usual counters are either coordinated groups of scouts, larger or more skilled groups of gunships, or a single gunship expert abusing either Ion Railgun on a T1 or the mobility of a T3 to gain enough tactical advantage over enemy gunships to be able to kill them faster than they can respawn and fly back to the battle. A really good scout pilot can try stacking evasion and fly in devious ways to pressure multiple gunships, but that can unreliable depending on the number and skill of the gunships and the availability of good cover for approach and escape.

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What advice would you have for dealing with teams of gunsips? (aka 2 or 3 gunships working together to cover each other/blow people up in 2 shots)

...

Do you gunship pilots notice any EMP field users vs you and is it even effective?

I had a big long (probably overly wordy) reply written for this when of course, my browser retro thrusted into an asteroid and self-destructed the whole thing. I'll try to sum up my thoughts in a much more brief fashion.

 

If you're fighting 2-3 coordinated gunships (and remember they don't have to be on voice to be coordinated, good tactical awareness goes a long way) then you need some teamwork from your side, and general competency in bringing offensive pressure on them. If the enemy gs lack bomber support, get up in their face and make them either run or pay attention to scouts in their midst. While they're distracted, your side's gunships should be able to drop Ion on them or pick them off.

 

Not all gs pilots are equally skilled, and unskilled or inexperienced ones are easy targets. Identify which of the enemy gs is the main threat, and call it out. Either focus the main threat with one or more of your teammates to get them on the run (or kill them), or pick off the lesser threats which will leave the main threat exposed.

 

Try to flank them, determine which angle exposes you to the fewest attackers and gives you the most cover.

 

Ramalina went over EMP Field pretty well, but I will add that I have seen it used very effectively. If you've ever flown with/against or know of Willie, you may have seen this in action. He often ran a T1 scout with EMP field set to disable engine abilities. He'd buzz by the main gs threat and EMP them, leaving them stranded while his gunship teammates moved in to Ion Railgun them into total inaction. Willie would then swing back around and finish them off. EMP Field works best if you have good teammates who can take advantage of the opportunity you're creating for them. If you solo queue into bad teams a lot, it won't help you as much.

 

Despon

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I make it a point to kill every gunship I see. I hate em. Frankly, they do more to ruin gsf than anything else. Also, and this may seem odd... but I kill/run off more GS's in my bomber than any other ship. It seems quite a few GS drivers don't know what to do when you drop a minefield around them.

 

Any other ship, engage and dogfight. Make a mistake? Run away or burn a CD and have another go at it. Make a mistake in a GS duel? Congrats, you're ash. What is that you ask? What if there are *gasp* multiple gunships? (like there always seem to be?) Well, you are in for a boring match of hide and seek where you will get "you are not contributing" warnings while you run for your life.

 

They either need to get rid of these ships entirely OR give them all the vulnerabilities of mobile artillery (make them slow and give them no armor/shields - a small price to pay for the ability to one shot an opponent).

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I make it a point to kill every gunship I see. I hate em. Frankly, they do more to ruin gsf than anything else. Also, and this may seem odd... but I kill/run off more GS's in my bomber than any other ship. It seems quite a few GS drivers don't know what to do when you drop a minefield around them.

 

Any other ship, engage and dogfight. Make a mistake? Run away or burn a CD and have another go at it. Make a mistake in a GS duel? Congrats, you're ash. What is that you ask? What if there are *gasp* multiple gunships? (like there always seem to be?) Well, you are in for a boring match of hide and seek where you will get "you are not contributing" warnings while you run for your life.

 

They either need to get rid of these ships entirely OR give them all the vulnerabilities of mobile artillery (make them slow and give them no armor/shields - a small price to pay for the ability to one shot an opponent).

 

 

...did you read the first post?

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...did you read the first post?

 

Did you read mine? Guess not, I'll shorten it.

 

How to kill gunships /rantoff version: Think outside the box - your bomber may be your best friend. What if GS+X? Run. What if mistake? Die.

 

Better?

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Did you read mine? Guess not, I'll shorten it.

 

How to kill gunships /rantoff version: Think outside the box - your bomber may be your best friend. What if GS+X? Run. What if mistake? Die.

 

Better?

Not really, because it doesn't help anyone. The point of this guide was to present a broad overview of tactics that are successful ways of dealing with gunships. Gunships aren't OP, they don't ruin the game, and in fact they fill a vital role in the game balance of GSF. Understanding the weaknesses of all the ship classes (and their strengths) is an essential part of becoming a better pilot. Unfounded anger-based ranting doesn't help anyone, including you, to improve and deal with the challenges of the game.

 

Why not try playing a gunship for a while, and see what you think of your survivability against quality opposition? You'll gain a new perspective on the place they have in GSF. There is no good that comes of mindless rants that lack a foundation in understanding the roles the various ship types play in the game.

 

Despon

Edited by caederon
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Not really, because it doesn't help anyone. The point of this guide was to present a broad overview of tactics that are successful ways of dealing with gunships. Gunships aren't OP, they don't ruin the game, and in fact they fill a vital role in the game balance of GSF. Understanding the weaknesses of all the ship classes (and their strengths) is an essential part of becoming a better pilot. Unfounded anger-based ranting doesn't help anyone, including you, to improve and deal with the challenges of the game.

 

Why not try playing a gunship for a while, and see what you think of your survivability against quality opposition? You'll gain a new perspective on the place they have in GSF. There is no good that comes of mindless rants that lack a foundation in understanding the roles the various ship types play in the game.

 

Despon

 

I notice that a lot of the people who are the most ravenously upset with gunships are the same pilots who will REFUSE to pilot them since they have some sort of unfounded bias against them, and believe they are "easy mode" or "cheap". Way back in the day when I was a t2 only pilot, I actually held similar views, discounting the performance of a gunship pilots and thinking they are less skilled than the scouts who actually have to "work" for their kills.

 

After playing one for even a small amount of time, however, you realize the skillset is quite nuanced and it is by no means a walk in the park. In certain situations, the gunship can be more difficult to pilot since you have a much more limited set of tools when dealing with enemies that are up-close and personal or determined to take you down.

 

Don't knock it till ya try it.

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I hate to say it chaps but none of these strategies would work against me, just ion spam sometimes gets me when I get over confidence and have no way to break the line of sight and strafe

 

then again i am the best scout pilot now, so it would be interesting to see T2 scout Krixarcs vs T2 GS krixarcs. id pay to see that. maybe its time i took on a pilot to train. i hear siphania was not satisfied with drakkolichs training

 

I liked how everyone completely brushed this post off. I would link a screen of baby reiyn showing the strategies work but that's too much effort and it's probably a mistake to even acknowledge the post at all =p

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Good guide, I'll throw in my 2 cents worth...

 

1) Gunships, love'em or hate'em ARE a necessary evil in GSF. They are the hard counter to bombers and without them bombers would be dominant. So the better/quicker you learn to deal with them the more you & your team-mates will benefit. A gunship's greatest weakness is ambush attacks & constant harassment. They need to sit still to focus their shots, keep them moving.

 

2) Gunship "aces" (and I reserve that title to a select few), are consistently the most disruptive force in a GSF match because if left un-molested will rack up a lot of kills quickly and are also extremely difficult to take down. It takes good team coordination to handle gunship aces. GS aces need to be focused and constantly harassed, failing to do so almost always spells victory for your foes. Sometimes the best move you can make is to harass and "slow down" a gunship ace. If you can drop his/her tally from 20+ kills down to 10+ kills then that might be enough for your team to squeak out a victory. Which leads to my next point...

 

3) Gunship ace "groupies", usually the pilot(s) that isn't (aren't) as good as the ace but loves to rack up kills while covering their rock-star counter-part. They feed off the noteriety of their fellow gunshipper, hiding in the shadows these devious pilots can rack up a lot of kills while satisfying their fetish. This can be a really hard tactic to beat, it's extremely frustrating to deal with & together a groupie team can dominate a match easily.

 

4) Gunship Line (Wall), a group of gunships lined up to the rear, sniping enemies. You should try to pick off the most "to-the-rear" gunship first since all other weapons will be focused forward of you & by the time they can react, you'll have already taken out a GS (or 2) and taken cover, preparing for another run. Using these hit-and-run tactics are very effective, it disrupts the focus of a gunship line and forces them to focus in the rear instead of picking off easier targets to the front. This tactic is even more effective if you have 2 skilled scout pilots flanking from opposite sides in a pincer attack. This will ruin a gunship line's day. They'll spend so much time running from scouts that all their easy prey will not be shot up. Using Damage Overcharge is highly effective in this situation since you obliterate gunships very quickly, you should be able to knock off 2 if not 3 gunships before they can react as you're flanking with DO. If you choose to focus the first gunship you see as opposed to the very last gunship on a line then their buddies will chew you up. Be aware of your situation & choose your targets wisely. Use LoS behind an asteroid or in a shipyard to avoid gunships targeting you, recoup your cool downs and regain shields (targeting telemetry & wingman are very important for ambush attacks). Do a quick scan while you're waiting to assess your next target, do a quick target search, if you notice all the gunships have your name in their targeting reticule THEN YOU ARE DOING YOUR JOB. Also take this moment to scan for any nearby damage overcharge (red) or weapon enhance (yellow) nodes. The yellow ones are huge for replenishing your rockets, especially when you're behind enemy lines with no repair drones nearby.

 

Finally,

 

4) Gunship Nest (Ball), perhaps the most notorious tactic in all GSF & the one everyone loves to hate. Gunship Nests are when gunships and bombers coordinate so that gunships are heavily supported & protected by bomber mines & drones. It is very effective, it is easy to implement & difficult to counter because it requires a high level of teamwork and coordination to be successful against and many pilots find it boring/counter-skill & denounce it as "submarine warfare" but never-the-less you will encounter this tactic. The tactic is successful because it negates scouts from swarming gunships because railgun drones, mines etc are all good at killing scouts so you have to strip this layer of defence away before you can get to the gunships. It requires that scouts coordinate with gunships who spam ion AoE to destroy the mines/drones so that the scouts can move in for the kill. The problem is, the enemy gunships are searching & targeting those other ion spamming gunships because they know it's what's needed to counter them so the match gets bogged down to hide-and-seek "submarine warfare" tactics between static gunships and you feel like you're playing Silent Hunter instead of a traditional Star Wars dog-fighter star fighter game.

 

Good luck.

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  • 4 weeks later...
I liked how everyone completely brushed this post off. I would link a screen of baby reiyn showing the strategies work but that's too much effort and it's probably a mistake to even acknowledge the post at all =p

 

I thought the exact same thing when I read this. :D

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Nice to be reminded of how GS hunting works.

 

A note tho' that if you're breaking in a new ship and it isn't upgraded much, you're better off keeping the GS from firing main weapon(s) by hit-and-fade tactics rather than trying-and-dying for the kill.

 

-How about a guide to counter:

3 GS at ~5km spacing, each with bombers in tow with mines, drones and repair/ HB, just zerging to your satellites or perched in their 1/4 of the TDM map and setting up shop?

:)

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