Let's discuss tactics...

[Lazy Panda]

Indeedly, but you gotta do such things every once in a while to encourage people to try other ships and other paths .

That's true, the losing path for Ep.3 is quite well designed, but getting there requires you to fail a moderate to hard mission and then succeed an even harder mission (although is was nice to see

Spoiler

capships fight other capships with torpedoes (too bad your carrier is at the recieving end), battling against stealth fighters and Commodore Reismann in a cutscene)

 

[Grey Raven]

Hello all. I'm new to Standoff/Secret Ops and I'm having alot of trouble getting used to the slow projectile speed of Standoff. I've logged hours in the sim, but can't seem to get a hang on leading a target. Does anyone have any advice that might help pull me over the hump? Is there something I can do to make target prediction a little easier?

BTW - How do change the difficulty setting?

 

[cff]

Difficulty can be changed in the options menu. Press ESC while in space.

As far as leading the target goes - its a matter of practicing. Cant really give much help here. Play Secret Ops before you play Standoff - its easier. Also maybe it would be a good idea to start training with ships that have an ITTS system (simulator), so you see where you are supposed to aim (the green diamond).

 

[iamtheman83]

re. shooting practice

"As far as leading the target goes - its a matter of practicing. Cant really give much help here. Play Secret Ops before you play Standoff - its easier. Also maybe it would be a good idea to start training with ships that have an ITTS system (simulator), so you see where you are supposed to aim (the green diamond)" -- cff

That's good advice cff. The only thing I can add to that is pretty much what I've already mentioned. Just experiment in the sim on slow moving targets first, even if they're friendlies, and with each gun and practice with each ship to get a feel of how their speed changes the velocity of gunshots. For example, one of the hardest ships to nail is the Gladius, as its laser projectile speed is significantly lower than say a Rapier. If you can master the Gladius, you're doing very well.

The most important thing is to know gun ranges like the back of your hand and to always try to go in for close range shots. Even if you miss a few during close quarters, it is far better than wasting a volley at an out-of-range target then having a servere energy drain just as the enemy closes in.

When you aren't confident with your marksmenship at long range, which I'll admit, I myself am not as good as I want to be, it is a good idea to lead an enemy that is moving at a straigt angle (for instance, when they are conducting an attack run on one of your buddies). Switching to the longest ranged or most energy economical gun is a preference some people follow. It helps generally, although it depends on the situation.

Also, short bursts of afterburners and rolls help focus gunfire in a tight arc around a target making it harder for them to dodge within a certain radius of their evaisive options. Sorry if this sounds confusing - it's hard for me to find the right way to explain. You can't tell a painter how to paint step by step, they eventually do it themselves once they get the feel for it eh?

 

[Thunderbolt]

If your having trouble targeting the cats here are a few things that might help you

1) Invest in a good joystick if you don't have one. It takes time to get used to one but when you can perform complex barrel rolls and other nice maneouvers it really does add to the feel of the game as well as making it much easier to dodge kilrathi missiles as well as targeting.

2) Its difficult to hit targets further than a range of about 2400 so short bursts of afterburn to get close behind your target can help (just watch your wingmen dont try to blow you apart for getting in the way- thats can happen). But often the cats will just keep afterburning away from you if you chase them which is often too fuel expensive so either wait for them to attack you or choose another target

3) In the Gladius you might want to experiment by just using the particle cannons and not the lasers. I find that using the particle cannons against fighters with small cross sections such as Sartha's is preferble cause the lasers can't hit them (and it doesnt drain your capacitor as fast). But with larger fighters like the Drakhri both lasers and particle cannons seem to work ok

4)When your dog fighting be very careful about taking targets head on. usually the kilrathi will stop and turn about 180 degrees before firing at you which gives you a few seconds to unload a few volleys then when the cat is firing projectiles at you quickly do a 30-40 degree turn and twist your rudder about 90 degrees (if you have a joystick). Then you can circle around behind the cat and blast him without taking any damage. The result......... one toasted kilrathi

 

[Tigerhawk]

Another thing that helps when you're trying to maneuver and if you might find yourself shooting nowhere near where you want to go when you're coming out of a turn...use the afterburner in a very short burst. It'll straighten you out a lot quicker and your shots will be a lot more straight.

Continuing the slide while coming out of a turn is a good thing if you're trying to dodge fire, but 'burning helps you go forward much faster. Then again, sliding doesn't seem to affect all that much unless you're in a nimble fighter, but it still helps your firing solutions in turns.

That's just what I like to do, though.

 

[Tigerhawk]

4)When your dog fighting be very careful about taking targets head on. usually the kilrathi will stop and turn about 180 degrees before firing at you which gives you a few seconds to unload a few volleys then when the cat is firing projectiles at you quickly do a 30-40 degree turn and twist your rudder about 90 degrees (if you have a joystick). Then you can circle around behind the cat and blast him without taking any damage. The result......... one toasted kilrathi

True there. Confed fighters are generally a lot more maneuverable than their Kilrathi counterparts. I've found that you take take a few shots at long range, but just make sure to get out of the way before the Kilrathi shots reach your position. If you're able to get a few shots off and then break (I usually break right and up because you seem to be able to dodge faster that way), if they hold their course, you should be able to get a few dings in on their armor or core beforehand, which makes it easier when you come around to blasting his tail. Being nimble has its own advantages, and if you have that nimbleness, use it...it'll come in far more handy than sitting there taking shots for no reason.

 

[Iceblade]

Well, I was playing that Snakeir mission the other day with the gladius and I ran out of fuel shortly into the snakeir nav. This actually helped me considerably more that one would think as I was right on top of the Broadswords most of the time. (I am not sure if I even launched a single torp on the snakeir either. I still lost 2 broadswords and I think one wingman along with maybe other craft (didn't really count them). Man I remember this mission being a total pain in the but before (although this was probably the first time I have flown the mission in the gladius).

 

[Tigerhawk]

Well, I was playing that Snakeir mission the other day with the gladius and I ran out of fuel shortly into the snakeir nav. This actually helped me considerably more that one would think as I was right on top of the Broadswords most of the time. (I am not sure if I even launched a single torp on the snakeir either. I still lost 2 broadswords and I think one wingman along with maybe other craft (didn't really count them). Man I remember this mission being a total pain in the but before (although this was probably the first time I have flown the mission in the gladius).

Yeah, getting through the fighter screen with a Gladius is no easy feat. Seemed that, no matter what I did (stick close to the Broadswords, go out and meet the fighter screen head on), I lost every single torpedo carrier every single time. I was finally able to punch through it with another Broadsword and ripped the Snakeir to shreds.

I suppose, at some point, I should play through and take whatever result I get instead of hitting the Mulligan button every time I get shredded...

 

[iamtheman83]

re. Snakier mission...again...

Well, I don’t want to toot my own horn, but the tactics I described earlier about the Snakier mission, particularly the revised version, are pretty failsafe and reliable.

 

[Grey Raven]

"As far as leading the target goes - its a matter of practicing. Cant really give much help here. Play Secret Ops before you play Standoff - its easier. Also maybe it would be a good idea to start training with ships that have an ITTS system (simulator), so you see where you are supposed to aim (the green diamond)" -- cff

That's good advice cff. The only thing I can add to that is pretty much what I've already mentioned. Just experiment in the sim on slow moving targets first, even if they're friendlies, and with each gun and practice with each ship to get a feel of how their speed changes the velocity of gunshots. For example, one of the hardest ships to nail is the Gladius, as its laser projectile speed is significantly lower than say a Rapier. If you can master the Gladius, you're doing very well.

The most important thing is to know gun ranges like the back of your hand and to always try to go in for close range shots. Even if you miss a few during close quarters, it is far better than wasting a volley at an out-of-range target then having a servere energy drain just as the enemy closes in.

When you aren't confident with your marksmenship at long range, which I'll admit, I myself am not as good as I want to be, it is a good idea to lead an enemy that is moving at a straigt angle (for instance, when they are conducting an attack run on one of your buddies). Switching to the longest ranged or most energy economical gun is a preference some people follow. It helps generally, although it depends on the situation.

Also, short bursts of afterburners and rolls help focus gunfire in a tight arc around a target making it harder for them to dodge within a certain radius of their evaisive options. Sorry if this sounds confusing - it's hard for me to find the right way to explain. You can't tell a painter how to paint step by step, they eventually do it themselves once they get the feel for it eh?

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm kinda getting the hang of it (more hours in the sim). I'll try practicing with ITTS and see if that helps.

 

[GBOOM]

Didn't find the Snakeir mission too difficult. At the fist wave, worked with my wingman to take out a couple of Kamekh's quickly, then go after the fighters. At the Snakeir nav, I did a torpedo run on the bridge right away, before the fighters could close in. With the bridge out, I targeted one of the engine banks, and ordered my wingmen to attack it. Then I spend the next few minutes keeping fighters off their back (and mine). Be liberal with missiles here. Usually I'll hear when the first engine bank is down. During this time, Stingray called for the retreat. At that point, I'll make a second torpedo run on the Snakeir's engines. After the Snakeir is down, the Cats seemed to just give up; they just flew around lazily, not really trying to get away or attack, and they just lined up to die.... Using these tactics, I was able to beat this mission on the second or third attempt. Not really sure if the apathetic Cats were a bug or not, but it did make the mop-up action easier...

With all that aside, does anybody have any good tips for taking out ALL the capships in Clearing the Path? I've got it down to one Targu II left (sometimes two), but am ALWAYS out of torps at that point. I know that I could move on to the next mission and finish em then (and have), but I would like to, just once, nail all of those Cats the first time

 

[DangerousCook]

Didn't find the Snakeir mission too difficult. At the fist wave, worked with my wingman to take out a couple of Kamekh's quickly, then go after the fighters. At the Snakeir nav, I did a torpedo run on the bridge right away, before the fighters could close in. With the bridge out, I targeted one of the engine banks, and ordered my wingmen to attack it. Then I spend the next few minutes keeping fighters off their back (and mine). Be liberal with missiles here. Usually I'll hear when the first engine bank is down. During this time, Stingray called for the retreat. At that point, I'll make a second torpedo run on the Snakeir's engines. After the Snakeir is down, the Cats seemed to just give up; they just flew around lazily, not really trying to get away or attack, and they just lined up to die.... Using these tactics, I was able to beat this mission on the second or third attempt. Not really sure if the apathetic Cats were a bug or not, but it did make the mop-up action easier...

With all that aside, does anybody have any good tips for taking out ALL the capships in Clearing the Path? I've got it down to one Targu II left (sometimes two), but am ALWAYS out of torps at that point. I know that I could move on to the next mission and finish em then (and have), but I would like to, just once, nail all of those Cats the first time

There may be some good advice on the youtube Let's Play run-through of the game. The Youtube account is Adarisa, and he's a beast. Currently he's doing WC3, but there should be a lot of good advice in the Standoff videos (he plays on Nightmare to boot).

 

[Ilanin]

Why thankyou. (I'm Adarisa on Youtube. I think Ilanin was taken or something, can't remember precisely.) And just for you, I've updated the Standoff Guide for that mission, so it now actually contains useful (and accurate!) information. The relevant Guide page is [URL="https://www.wcnews.com/wcpedia/Episode_4_-_Winning_Mission_5_-_Clearing_the_Path[/URL]"]here. The video gives you a pretty decent idea of what you have to do, though it was also clearly before I'd found the clip fix function in Audacity because a lot of the commentary sounds horrible. *shudder*[/URL]