Hi guys,

I've researched the below terms yet still not 100% sure about them, so if someone can provide a layman's explanation for the below, I would really appreciate it:

1) Sensor focus

2) Difference between shield regen rate and shield regen delay

Eg. Isn't it a regen rate and regen delay the same thing? However they can be acquired as separate stats in the Minor Component section.

3) Evasion - does this one even do anything?

4) Sensor range vs Sensor communication: I'm guessing you need to have enough range first to be able to communicate enemy location with other ships; just like #2 above these two separate stats seem very similar.

Mucho gracias in advance.

Karim

Hi guys,

 

I've researched the below terms yet still not 100% sure about them, so if someone can provide a layman's explanation for the below, I would really appreciate it:

 

1) Sensor focus

 

2) Difference between shield regen rate and shield regen delay

 

Eg. Isn't it a regen rate and regen delay the same thing? However they can be acquired as separate stats in the Minor Component section.

 

3) Evasion - does this one even do anything?

 

4) Sensor range vs Sensor communication: I'm guessing you need to have enough range first to be able to communicate enemy location with other ships; just like #2 above these two separate stats seem very similar.

 

Mucho gracias in advance.

 

Karim

Okay so.

1) Sensor focus. I assume you mean sensor focus range? Which is a crew passive option. Think of Sensor focus range as a cone in front of you. I'm going to bring in No.4 here too as its directly related. Sensor Communication range is how far you can transmit the location of other ships to an ally. Sensor radius range is how far you can pick up another ship in a circle around you with you being in the dead center of the circle.

2) Regeneration delay is the time delay before your shields will start to regenerate again after taking damage. Regeneration rate is how fast they will regenerate once they have started regenerating. Your shields are not always regenerating - hence "delay" and "rate" being separate things.

3) Evasion is the direct opposite of Accuracy. In short, Evasion is a Random Number Generator that can cause a shot that is otherwise dead center, to miss. So for example if I have all my evasion buffs active on my scout, it briefly gives me 76% evasion. What this means is that you have a 76% chance of missing me, even if your aim is perfect. IF you were using wingman, which buffs your accuracy by 20%, then that would reduce the chance of you missing me by 20%. Bringing it down to a 56% chance of you missing me. Does evasion work? Absolutely it does! But don't rely on it, because sometimes the dice roll against you, and you still get hit, even with a lot of evasion active.

Luc covered your questions very well, but I'll just add, that communication ranges only have to overlap for you to send/receive the information.

So if I have a Communication range of 15000 and you have a communication range of 15000, as long as we're 30000 from each other we'll be able to share our sensor information.

Thank you for your eminent support Luc; you always jump in with help and it is widely recognized across the forums, discord and even in-game channels. Thanks again. Also thanks for the addition Drakk; well noted.

Regarding sensor focus range (the crew ability), I can imagine it being a cone in front of me but does that cone help see my enemy better? Target and shoot them better?

Also I understand from your explanation on shield regen, everytime you take damage, the shield regen delay resets again? And the delay must be applied before actual shield regen rate kicks in.

Are there scenarios where you would advocate using one over the other?

Regarding sensor focus range (the crew ability), I can imagine it being a cone in front of me but does that cone help see my enemy better? Target and shoot them better?

In order to see ship with the targeting ui, the red box basically, or to show up when you tab through targets, a ship you wish to target must be in sensor range, or in sensor range of an ally that you're in communication range with. If they are not in sensor range, they are effectively invisible. **

These days it's mostly of significance in duels between sneaky and highly skilled gunship pilots. Below 15 km sensor stealthing basically doesn't work, so it's a matter of if one gunship can only see the default range, but the other gunship has full damping, it can loiter just outside of railgun range, wait till the other gunship is distracted, then sneak in to 14.9 km and shoot them. Sensor Focus cone is handy here, because it reaches out longer than the Sensor Radius around the rest of the ship. So you can use it like a searchlight to "illuminate" and see damped ships trying this trick.

**I believe technically the model of the ship is still drawn, but at the ranges where this occurs due to camera perspective a ship is smaller than one pixel, so effectively invisible.

Also I understand from your explanation on shield regen, everytime you take damage, the shield regen delay resets again? And the delay must be applied before actual shield regen rate kicks in.

Correct.

Most people go with shield regen most of the time. The idea being that you need to LOS in GSF so frequently that you'll have plenty of chances to regen, so you want to regen really fast in those cases. If you plan on getting hit very frequently, like maybe in some ship builds tailored for being on the satellite in Domination games, then you might choose regen delay, provided the rest of the ship build meshes with that.

Are there scenarios where you would advocate using one over the other?

Components and crew choices are supposed to compliment each other, based on what build characteristics you are going for. So if you are flying a Gunship, and you are using lightweight armor and range sensors, then you should compliment that in your crew by using options that further add to your evasion (Response Tuning in crew passives gives 5% evasion) and one that further increases range of your sensors.

Evasion Scouts would likewise always use 5% evasion from crew. I normally use faster shield regen too, but you could use larger pool, which pairs well with large reactor. Arguably faster shield regen should pair with regen reactor. But you can pair it the other way like I do.

If you were using a Strike with no evasion (beyond the stock 7%) and you were running Quick Charge Shield, then you would want to pair that with larger shield power pool and faster shield regen in crew passives (both of those are in the same person) as they compliment what QCS already does.

IF you are flying a Scout which has to engage at very close range, accuracy buffs are essential, since shooting at close range is much harder. So increased weapon accuracy and wider arc both compliment a Scout's typical build of Wingman co-pilot very well.

You get the idea. Think about your ship, what build you are going for, and enhance those features using Crew. Look at my ship build thread, or Drakolich's or Srii'as etc etc, to see what component and crew choices we are pairing.

There is a lot to learn for GSF noobs and the game is not very intuitive. I really want to thank Luc and others for there replies to our questions across the GSF forums.

Personally I’m not a fan of video info (even though lots of it is great) because it goes in one ear and out the other too easy for me. I really like written explanation that I can reference and read between matches. Video works great for me with tactics and strategy, not so much on builds or the nitty gritty.

In saying that, has anyone made a spread sheet with the different builds and setups. What crew, skills and combos work best for different game play? Are there any theory crafters among the community that have worked out the differences based on maths?

It would also be great if the forum mods would sticky all the guides and useful threads. Or maybe someone can make one all inclusive thread that links all the guides, threads and posts in one and the forum mods can sticky that thread. It’s a little bit of a pain trying to find all these when using a phone.

Here is a list of helpful threads for you. I very much understand wanting stuff in text / writing. If that works best for you, why not. I would still suggest watching the odd video when you have grasped something in writing, just to see what it should look like in game play, and to learn the buff / debuff icons / animations. But this list of threads will help you.

https://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=963283&highlight=curated - Drakolich compiled a list of threads a while back. Everything is here from total newbie guides to advanced stuff, and his ship builds.

https://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=994008 - Sriia's guide for beginners

https://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=993310 - my ship builds

When it comes to builds, you'll find that top players converge on the same builds. There are certain most effective meta builds for each ship, and often multiple meta builds for one ship depending on role and preference. But you will rarely see a top player deviating from one of those meta builds, because they have done all the experimentation and arrived at the same conclusions as every other top player. Among the lesser to mid tier skilled players, you will see lots of different unusual builds which are less effective. Though the lesser to mid tier player often does not realize the build they are using is not as effective as can be. They tend to be compensating for something they struggle to do, which the top tier player does not have to worry about. I don't want to sound conceited here, its just the way it is. I still encourage experimentation, its good to know what works and what doesn't. But keep one eye on what the top tier players run, and as you progress it will become clear why they run those builds.

I am not sure if anyone has ever made it all into a spread sheet. Perhaps someone else could pass comment on that. Drakolich and co certainly used to do the maths though. There are clear mathematical reasons why certain builds are better than others, and they tested all of that in a very clinical way. Maybe Drakolich will elaborate on some of the mathematics of the game. I read and understood it, but never really remembered the details. Maths isn't my thing. But mostly it comes down to how RNG works and which weapons combinations deal out the most burst damage.

I think those three links cover you. Drakolich's compiled list has a lot of threads there to keep you busy. Sriia's guide is excellent, and you can compare Drakolich's builds to mine and see that there is not much difference.