The long lost secret of Corvettes...

[Saturnyne]

I certainly hope this doesn't count as a "pointless post".

But it's a good tip for any beginners (or experts?) to Wing Commander 3.

In any case, I've found a way to take out those troublesome Kilrathi Corvettes in Wing Commander 3! Wanna know what it is? Well, just send $19.95...

Oh wait. I can't charge for that. Anyway...

The secret I've found, is approach the Corvette on any angle you like. If you have a missile lock and you're behind it, fire 2 or 3 at its engines.

Hit "L" to lock onto the Corvette, and continue your approach until your ITTS appears. Fire at the ITTS. If your missiles were dead on, they took out that annoying cannon on the back of the ship, leaving only lasers to blast your shields. When your outer shields start disappearing, turn around until they recharge, then begin another approach.

Here's a quick step if that's confusing.
- Approach the Corvette
- Hit "L" to lock on. Fire missiles if you want.
- When your ITTS appears (A new circle appears when you're close enough), fire at the ITTS, and don't aim at the Corvette itself.
- If your shields start to weaken too much, turn around and wait for them to recharge. Then, make another pass at the Corvette, and fire again.

You don't need afterburners... keep your distance as much as you can (different guns call for different distances, as you know), and keep an eye on your shield indicator! It stings when your shields are gone and you don't notice it.

Now to find out how many people already knew about this, but were hiding it away.

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[Earthworm]

Not a bad idea, but I consider wasting more than one missile at a corvette pointless. I'll stick to the autoslide or sheer power of the heavier ships.

 

[Saturnyne]

Well, you don't HAVE to fire missiles... but it helps in taking out that one turret.

With this strategy (It also works on destroyers), you'll take little to no damage if you're nimble enough.

I do believe that this post will promote me.

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[Earthworm]

Destroyers? All you have to do is park behind the rear (hm, I'm not talking dirty am I?) and fire away. I'd rather fire a missile at a Darket than a destroyer.

 

[Quarto]

Aye, destroyers are some of the easiest targets around

. Indeed, of the bigger capships, the only troublesome one is the cruiser, because the rear is so damned small you have to park within two metres or something to avoid getting hit by the turrets.

 

[Wedge009]

With such a vulnerability (of course that's what fighter defence is for) makes me wonder whats the point of capships. Like in SO, the Confeds have got the artillery cruiser for capships slugging, but the Nephilim? True they have the Kraken (and why is it called Narwhal in the mission objectives?) ship killer, but the other capships (minus the carrier and dreadnought) seem to be useless for fighting capships. It's almost as bad as the capships in WC1. I still miss AMG battles.

And how do you know how many posts you've made?

 

[Quarto]

I won't deny that the capships seem far too vulnerable to us, but... who do you think lobs all those capship missiles at us?

To check your number of posts just click on

.

 

[Mad Hatter]

You`re quite obsessed with corvettes, aren`t you Saturnyne? What`s the big deal with them anyway? Simply autoslide around them and shoot at the itts. No biggie.

 

[Penguin]

Mad Hatter: You tend to get obsessed with corvettes when they kill you a lot and stop you from finishing the mission.

Quarto: The recipe for killing cruisers in WC3 is as follows: full salvo of two torpedoes = crispy critters

Wedge009: The point of cap ships in games are to a) provide us with a big target to kill and b) provide us with a big target to protect. The Narwhal name was one of the original names for the bug cap ships before they got changed.

 

[Quarto]

What? You mean, I should waste torpedoes on a large capship, Penguin?

I'd rather save them for any Corvette that gets in my way...

 

[Earthworm]

Penguin, And what about those times when a 'bow is not available? Like when you go after Flint? Parking behind them and firing away is the best strategy when not in a bomber.

 

[Saturnyne]

I stand by my strategy for those corvettes... and Penguin understands me.

Corvettes were the bane of my existance for a while. But, times have changed... mwahahahahahaha...

My new bane is the pirates in WC4... the mission in Tyr, where you must take pictures of the base. The two ships on the planet's surface at the first nav always kill me. Always. Is there a better way?

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[Vondoom]

Not sure what your strategy is on this mission but take out the missle launcher on the surface first thing. It's easy to forget about it and those missles toast you fast. I always lock on it and fire a missle and fire guns straight at it to take out the missle it launches. Either the missle or guns will take it out and it's much easier to take out the remaining fighters once its down.

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There is no God but myself. No destiny but what I deem for me. I walk my path and no others, for I am free.

http://www.ntr.net/~vondoom

 

[Quarto]

Border Worlders, not pirates

. Anyway, like Vondoom said, at each nav point you should first fire off a missile (take IRs) at the missile launcher. You'll only barely have enough decoys anyway, so you really don't want that thing down there. Now, once you fire your shot, pick the next target - don't wait to see if the missile hits, because if it doesn't then you're probably dead anyway. Whichever Vindicator you choose, you must fly right up to its butt and fire an IR. Once done, take care of the second Vindicator, but don't use missiles.
Rinse, lather, repeat. As I recall, one of the nav points has three Vindicators instead of two. If you have enough missiles, try to fry two Vindicators with them - you really don't want to get into a protracted 2-on-1 dogfight in WC4

.
Also, at all costs, try not to waste any missiles on those Banshees. Usually you can quickly take the first one out by weakening its rear shields & armour, and then... er... crashing into it. This isn't really necessary though, if your aim is good.

 

[Cricket]

You could also try bringing the fight more towards the higher terrain. Nice thing about ground missions is that the fighters and misiles that come after you fly into the ground a lot as long as you can stay low. Just make sure you don't fly into it

 

[Earthworm]

As I recall, one of the nav points has three Vindicators instead of two.

Actually one nav point, the second, one has only ONE Vindicator.

For that mission I ussually load with Leeches (being Blair I try to keep the casulties minimal, especially since the BW is inocent

). They take 5 seconds to lock, as oposed to IR's 2 seconds, but more than once I fired an IR up a Vindicators tailpipe only to realize it suffered only medicore damage. Meanwhile the Leech will take care of them once and for all.

I consider using missiles on the SAM a total waste. Just afterburn towards them when you get to each navpoint and blast them with your guns (they won't even have time to fire more than two missiles). And than I leech all fighters. Before I get to the planet, I leech one of the Banshees, since two of those babies are more than a 'Cat can handle.



[This message has been edited by Earthworm (edited October 01, 2000).]

 

[Penguin]

Quarto: The most satisfying way to kill a WC3 cruiser is to get it with two torpedoes. I mean Maniac said it best: "Gotta let the torps fly and watch the cats fry." Besides I don't usually have much trouble with WC3 corvettes unless they're firing Skippers. Oh yeah is it possible to destroy the corvette before it fires the Skipper? My torp keeps missing.

Earthworm: In the mission where you rescue Flint she can generally be relied upon to get rid of the cruiser. I'm pretty sure there aren't any other missions where there's a cruiser and you can't fly the Longbow.

Saturnye: For that Tyr mission I think the best tactics are as follows:
Get rid of the turret ASAP. However you do it the turret's gotta die quick.
Save your meagre 6 missiles for any navpoints where the fighters outnumber you. 1 Imrec fired at extremely close range should make a Vindicator/Banshee go BOOM!
Don't fly too close to the ground because it slows your frame rate and you'll crash.
Keep an eye on that arrow on your HUD - it shows where the ground is.
When not using missiles park your ass (using AB) on the enemy fighter's tail and empty your gun pool up his ass. Pays dividends if your aim's good.
I once heard from somewhere that alternatively you could enable the camera then run in and photo the base then run away fast. If you put enough distance between yourself and the base the Vindicators will forget about you. I haven't tried this so don't come looking for me if you try it and it doesn't work.
Oh yeah don't sit on the Vindicator's tail for too long. That laser turret's a lot better then the ones in WCP.

[This message has been edited by Penguin (edited October 01, 2000).]

 

[Earthworm]

Earthworm: In the mission where you rescue Flint she can generally be relied upon to get rid of the cruiser.

Unfortunetly from my experience she isn't. Either I'll destroy some of the fighters and than quickly fry the cruiser, or she'll eject and when I land I'll get the cutscene where Cobra rescues her. So much work for nothing.

(BTW, I usually fly that mission in the T-bolt, so I at least have one torp).

I'm pretty sure there aren't any other missions where there's a cruiser and you can't fly the Longbow.

Probably, but I don't like flying the bow if it can be avoided.

Oh yeah don't sit on the Vindicator's tail for too long. That laser turret's a lot better then the ones in WCP.

He he, I've learned that the hard way more than once.

 

[Penguin]

Earthworm: In my experience you have to wax the fighters fast then help Flint. Yeah I also fly the TBolt too but by that time I've used my torp on the destroyer with the bioweapons. Sucks how they won't let your wingman stay on your wing.
As for the Vindicator's turret - I learned that the hard way once and once only. I remember I was chasing that Vindicator and the turret was spraying laser fire all over me. I looked at my shield indicator and my shield seemed to be regenerating fast enough to keep up with the laser fire. Boy was I surprised when that hole appeared in the middle of my HUD.
I'll never underestimate the laser again. BTW this was before I played the WC1 and WC2. The lasers there kick some serious crap. I thought 4 lasers on the Banshee was bad, check out the Jalthi - 6 lasers up front. Aaargh!!!!

 

[Earthworm]

Hm, well, if I try to take out the fighters Flint will go for the cruiser, and get destroyed in the process. I guess I'll just have to stick closer to her ship and try to take the punishment instead of her.

I thought 4 lasers on the Banshee was bad, check out the Jalthi - 6 lasers up front. Aaargh!!!!

Actually, not all of those are lasers, two or three of those guns are neutron guns.

[This message has been edited by Earthworm (edited October 01, 2000).]