Advanced piloting techniques: Difference between revisions

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[[Category:PvP]]

[[Category:PvE]]

~~How to manually pilot your ship~~

This may have been done before, but I've become interested in the personal skill aspect of ship piloting, and I thought I'd compile some of the little things I've picked up over the past couple months into one place. I did this over the past two weeks while I was hauling things around, so it's kinda long but I would appreciate any feedback even if you just skim it. If it's useful I may try to pretty it up. Here goes:

~~Rookie manual piloting guide, or: Skills that you can’t buy on the market~~

This guide is meant to be a compilation of the various things that separate capsuleers from monkeys. There is more to piloting a ship than locking a target and pressing a button, after all. I won’t be going into too much detail here – you can find more specific guides somewhere else. I also welcome additions and corrections as long as they are made in a loving manner.

~~The question I want to answer is~~, in a one on one fight between two equal ships, how do you get the upper hand and come away with the win? A similar question would be, in a swarm of 15 tacklers hurtling towards an enemy fleet, how do you keep yourself alive when frigates are popping all around you?

So, in a one on one fight between two equal ships, how do you get the upper hand and come away with the win? A similar question would be, in a swarm of 15 tacklers hurtling towards an enemy fleet, how do you keep yourself alive when frigates are popping all around you?

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'''Directional and system scanner''' The system scanner recently received an overhaul and is now much easier to use. It will scan the system for Cosmic Signatures, which are a less advanced version of actual sites found with exploration. If you have scan probes fitted, they will integrate to form a much more powerful system scanner. Look for an exploration class for more details.

The directional scanner a tool on every ship that can scan a radius of around 14 AU around you. It can ~~pick up anything seen in~~ the ~~overview,~~ and ~~you can actually use specific overview settings to filter the results. You can then narrow~~ the direction of the scan from 360º to 180º all the way down to 5º to figure out where something is. ~~Some good ideas are~~ a filter for scanning for probes that are looking for you, scanning for ships at a gate from a faraway recon safespot, or looking to see if there are cans in an asteroid belt to flip (kidding). If you turn on ~~brackets~~ in ~~space you will see~~ the ~~icons for gates and planets and stations, etc~~. ~~You can then click on your own ship and use the little box to line yourself up with those places for precise scanning~~. ~~There is a video~~ and a ~~class recording in the Library~~.

The directional scanner a tool on every ship that can scan a radius of around 14 AU around you. You can manipulate the scanning range and the direction of the scan from 360º to 180º all the way down to 5º to figure out where something is. There is a video and class recordings on this in the [http://classes.eve-ivy.com/ archive], and a [[Directional Scanner Guide|detailed guide]] on this wiki.

'''The Overview''' The overview is the primary way you get information about what’s going on around you in space. If it’s set up properly, you should be able to play the game just by looking at overview information, and not even looking at your ship and what it’s doing. I won’t go into the details of overview settings, but suffice to say ~~it is~~ very important. In this guide we’ll mostly be concerned with its ability to display an object’s distance and velocity (including radial, transversal, and angular components). In addition, by looking at the ship icons in the overview, you can tell whether you have been locked onto (flashing yellow targeting box), or have been aggressed against (solid red box).

'''The Overview''' The overview is the primary way you get information about what’s going on around you in space. If it’s set up properly, you should be able to play the game just by looking at overview information, and not even looking at your ship and what it’s doing. I won’t go into [[Varius_Arcturus'_Overview_Guide|the details]] of overview settings, but suffice to say they are very important. In this guide we’ll mostly be concerned with its ability to display an object’s distance and velocity (including radial, transversal, and angular components). In addition, by looking at the ship icons in the overview, you can tell whether you have been locked onto (flashing yellow targeting box), or have been aggressed against (solid red box).

'''Throttle''' The velocity control (where your velocity is displayed) lets you manually choose what velocity you want to travel at, up to your max velocity. Ctrl-space will stop your ship as long as you are not in warp. If your warp drive is active, but you are still aligning, ctrl-space will work. If you use a custom throttle velocity, you'll have to set it again after you jump through a stargate, since it resets to full speed again.

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-----

The second major topic has to do with tracking mechanics. Damage from both turrets and missiles is affected by how the ships are moving. ~~To really understand~~ tracking ~~I recommend the official~~ guide at http://www.hostile.dk/files/eve/eve-tracking101.swf. ~~Some basics~~:

The second major topic has to do with tracking mechanics. Damage from both turrets and missiles is affected by how the ships are moving. You can read about the details of tracking [[Gunnery_Guide#Tracking|here]] and try a neat flash-based guide [http://www.hostile.dk/files/eve/eve-tracking101.swf here]; and you can read about the details of missile damage [[Missile_Launchers#Damage|here]]. A boiled down summary:

* the higher your ~~transversal~~ velocity, the harder you are to hit with turrets.

* the higher your angular velocity, the harder you are to hit with turrets.

* the higher your absolute velocity, the less damage you take from missiles.

* the smaller your signature radius ~~compared~~ to ~~the weapons being fired,~~ the less damage you take.

* the smaller your signature radius, the harder you are to hit with turrets (provided you move) and the less damage you take from missiles

So given these facts how can you sway a fight in your favor? Well first you have to assess the situation and decide what angle you want to take. Are you better at offense or defense? In fact the relevant numbers are the time it will take you to beat your opponent’s tank versus the time it will take him to break your tank. Your only goal is to make that first time less than the second time, which you can do through increasing damage or increasing survivability. It might work better to use examples:

So, given these facts how can you sway a fight in your favor? Well first you have to assess the situation and decide what angle you want to take. Are you better at offense or defense? In fact the relevant numbers are the time it will take you to beat your opponent’s tank versus the time it will take him to break your tank. Your only goal is to make that first time less than the second time, which you can do through increasing damage or increasing survivability. It might work better to use examples:

==== Two identical ships, but one is using artillery (long range, bad tracking) and one is using ~~cannons~~ (short range, good tracking). ====

==== Two identical ships, but one is using artillery (long range, bad tracking) and one is using autocannon (short range, good tracking). ====

Let’s say I’m the artillery pilot. I know that artillery do less damage per second than ~~cannons~~. But if I can maintain a range of 20 km, I know that I can damage him but he can’t damage me – I’ll win in the end. So I can set my orbit to 20 km, or if I want to do more damage, I can keep him at a 20 km range so my transversal goes down and my guns track easier.

Let’s say I’m the artillery pilot. I know that artillery do less damage per second (DPS) than autocannon. But if I can maintain a range of 20 km, I know that I can damage him but he can’t damage me – I’ll win in the end. So I can set my orbit to 20 km, or if I want to do more damage, I can keep him at a 20 km range so my transversal goes down and my guns track easier.

If I’m the autocannon pilot, I know I have to get up close in order to do any damage. Once I’m there, if I go into orbit I’ll have maximized my transversal so I’ll see an advantage because my guns track better than his.

You might notice that in this situation, whoever has the higher speed and agility is going to have a decisive advantage~~, because~~ they will control the range of the fight so their guns are doing maximum damage, and they will be able to set an orbit around the other ship such that they will take minimum damage.

You might notice that in this situation, whoever has the higher speed and agility is going to have a decisive advantage: they will '''control the range of the fight''' so their guns are doing maximum damage, and they will be able to set an orbit around the other ship such that they will take minimum damage.

If you are the slower ship in this situation, it’s an uphill battle but it’s not over. Taking another example:

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==== Thermodynamics ====

~~You should also know what~~ the ~~overheated range~~ of ~~a webifier is~~. ~~Thermodynamics is one of the biggest “edges”~~ you ~~can have in a battle. It’s described nicely at this page~~, but ~~basically~~ you ~~“overclock” your modules so they perform better but they take damage~~. ~~http://wiki.eveonline.com/wiki/Heat~~.

The Thermodynamics skill lets you overheat modules, at the cost of damaging them. Usually this just gets you more oomph -- more DPS from guns, stronger jam strength on ECM jammers, &c -- but overheating webs, warp disruptors and warp scramblers increases their range, letting you catch the enemy earlier, or hold them at a longer range for a short while. You can read a detailed guide to overheating [[Overloading|here]].

==== Adapt ====

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 [[Category:PvP]]
 [[Category:PvE]]
-How to manually pilot your ship
-This may have been done before, but I've become interested in the personal skill aspect of ship piloting, and I thought I'd compile some of the little things I've picked up over the past couple months into one place. I did this over the past two weeks while I was hauling things around, so it's kinda long but I would appreciate any feedback even if you just skim it. If it's useful I may try to pretty it up. Here goes:
-Rookie manual piloting guide, or: Skills that you can’t buy on the market
 This guide is meant to be a compilation of the various things that separate capsuleers from monkeys. There is more to piloting a ship than locking a target and pressing a button, after all. I won’t be going into too much detail here – you can find more specific guides somewhere else. I also welcome additions and corrections as long as they are made in a loving manner.
-The question I want to answer is, in a one on one fight between two equal ships, how do you get the upper hand and come away with the win? A similar question would be, in a swarm of 15 tacklers hurtling towards an enemy fleet, how do you keep yourself alive when frigates are popping all around you?
+So, in a one on one fight between two equal ships, how do you get the upper hand and come away with the win? A similar question would be, in a swarm of 15 tacklers hurtling towards an enemy fleet, how do you keep yourself alive when frigates are popping all around you?
@@ Line 24: / Line 18: @@
 '''Directional and system scanner''' The system scanner recently received an overhaul and is now much easier to use. It will scan the system for Cosmic Signatures, which are a less advanced version of actual sites found with exploration. If you have scan probes fitted, they will integrate to form a much more powerful system scanner. Look for an exploration class for more details.
-The directional scanner a tool on every ship that can scan a radius of around 14 AU around you. It can pick up anything seen in the overview, and you can actually use specific overview settings to filter the results. You can then narrow the direction of the scan from 360º to 180º all the way down to 5º to figure out where something is. Some good ideas are a filter for scanning for probes that are looking for you, scanning for ships at a gate from a faraway recon safespot, or looking to see if there are cans in an asteroid belt to flip (kidding). If you turn on brackets in space you will see the icons for gates and planets and stations, etc. You can then click on your own ship and use the little box to line yourself up with those places for precise scanning. There is a video and a class recording in the Library.
+The directional scanner a tool on every ship that can scan a radius of around 14 AU around you. You can manipulate the scanning range and the direction of the scan from 360º to 180º all the way down to 5º to figure out where something is. There is a video and class recordings on this in the [http://classes.eve-ivy.com/ archive], and a [[Directional Scanner Guide|detailed guide]] on this wiki.
-'''The Overview''' The overview is the primary way you get information about what’s going on around you in space. If it’s set up properly, you should be able to play the game just by looking at overview information, and not even looking at your ship and what it’s doing. I won’t go into the details of overview settings, but suffice to say it is very important. In this guide we’ll mostly be concerned with its ability to display an object’s distance and velocity (including radial, transversal, and angular components). In addition, by looking at the ship icons in the overview, you can tell whether you have been locked onto (flashing yellow targeting box), or have been aggressed against (solid red box).
+'''The Overview''' The overview is the primary way you get information about what’s going on around you in space. If it’s set up properly, you should be able to play the game just by looking at overview information, and not even looking at your ship and what it’s doing. I won’t go into [[Varius_Arcturus'_Overview_Guide|the details]] of overview settings, but suffice to say they are very important. In this guide we’ll mostly be concerned with its ability to display an object’s distance and velocity (including radial, transversal, and angular components). In addition, by looking at the ship icons in the overview, you can tell whether you have been locked onto (flashing yellow targeting box), or have been aggressed against (solid red box).
 '''Throttle''' The velocity control (where your velocity is displayed) lets you manually choose what velocity you want to travel at, up to your max velocity. Ctrl-space will stop your ship as long as you are not in warp. If your warp drive is active, but you are still aligning, ctrl-space will work. If you use a custom throttle velocity, you'll have to set it again after you jump through a stargate, since it resets to full speed again.
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 -----
-The second major topic has to do with tracking mechanics. Damage from both turrets and missiles is affected by how the ships are moving. To really understand tracking I recommend the official guide at http://www.hostile.dk/files/eve/eve-tracking101.swf. Some basics:
+The second major topic has to do with tracking mechanics. Damage from both turrets and missiles is affected by how the ships are moving. You can read about the details of tracking [[Gunnery_Guide#Tracking|here]] and try a neat flash-based guide [http://www.hostile.dk/files/eve/eve-tracking101.swf here]; and you can read about the details of missile damage [[Missile_Launchers#Damage|here]]. A boiled down summary:
-* the higher your transversal velocity, the harder you are to hit with turrets.
+* the higher your angular velocity, the harder you are to hit with turrets.
 * the higher your absolute velocity, the less damage you take from missiles.
-* the smaller your signature radius compared to the weapons being fired, the less damage you take.
+* the smaller your signature radius, the harder you are to hit with turrets (provided you move) and the less damage you take from missiles
-So given these facts how can you sway a fight in your favor? Well first you have to assess the situation and decide what angle you want to take. Are you better at offense or defense? In fact the relevant numbers are the time it will take you to beat your opponent’s tank versus the time it will take him to break your tank. Your only goal is to make that first time less than the second time, which you can do through increasing damage or increasing survivability. It might work better to use examples:
+So, given these facts how can you sway a fight in your favor? Well first you have to assess the situation and decide what angle you want to take. Are you better at offense or defense? In fact the relevant numbers are the time it will take you to beat your opponent’s tank versus the time it will take him to break your tank. Your only goal is to make that first time less than the second time, which you can do through increasing damage or increasing survivability. It might work better to use examples:
-==== Two identical ships, but one is using artillery (long range, bad tracking) and one is using cannons (short range, good tracking). ====
+==== Two identical ships, but one is using artillery (long range, bad tracking) and one is using autocannon (short range, good tracking). ====
-Let’s say I’m the artillery pilot. I know that artillery do less damage per second than cannons. But if I can maintain a range of 20 km, I know that I can damage him but he can’t damage me – I’ll win in the end. So I can set my orbit to 20 km, or if I want to do more damage, I can keep him at a 20 km range so my transversal goes down and my guns track easier.
+Let’s say I’m the artillery pilot. I know that artillery do less damage per second (DPS) than autocannon. But if I can maintain a range of 20 km, I know that I can damage him but he can’t damage me – I’ll win in the end. So I can set my orbit to 20 km, or if I want to do more damage, I can keep him at a 20 km range so my transversal goes down and my guns track easier.
 If I’m the autocannon pilot, I know I have to get up close in order to do any damage. Once I’m there, if I go into orbit I’ll have maximized my transversal so I’ll see an advantage because my guns track better than his.
-You might notice that in this situation, whoever has the higher speed and agility is going to have a decisive advantage, because they will control the range of the fight so their guns are doing maximum damage, and they will be able to set an orbit around the other ship such that they will take minimum damage.
+You might notice that in this situation, whoever has the higher speed and agility is going to have a decisive advantage: they will '''control the range of the fight''' so their guns are doing maximum damage, and they will be able to set an orbit around the other ship such that they will take minimum damage.
 If you are the slower ship in this situation, it’s an uphill battle but it’s not over. Taking another example:
@@ Line 130: / Line 124: @@
 ==== Thermodynamics ====
-You should also know what the overheated range of a webifier is. Thermodynamics is one of the biggest “edges” you can have in a battle. It’s described nicely at this page, but basically you “overclock” your modules so they perform better but they take damage. http://wiki.eveonline.com/wiki/Heat.
+The Thermodynamics skill lets you overheat modules, at the cost of damaging them. Usually this just gets you more oomph -- more DPS from guns, stronger jam strength on ECM jammers, &c -- but overheating webs, warp disruptors and warp scramblers increases their range, letting you catch the enemy earlier, or hold them at a longer range for a short while. You can read a detailed guide to overheating [[Overloading|here]].
 ==== Adapt ====