This was mentioned in the intro thread where I announced my return, After being out of the game for a year combat is…different, to say the least. In my past experience I NEVER manually recharged shields. That’s not a boast, because it wasn’t any great skill on my part. It’s a commentary on the AI piloted pinatas of times gone by.
Now I find that I have to recharge shields in all but the most routine fights, like a lone pirate in an other than fighter type craft…maybe. And I am occasionally taking discretion as the better part of valor and just evading. (I prefer that term as opposed to “running away”)
Anyway, it seems like a little discussion of actual strategy and tactics might finally be worth having, since the enemy is at last putting up a bit of a fight. For my part, strategy point number one is that the AI pirates do not adapt nearly as well as I do to the slower speeds of combat in atmosphere, so I am doing my best to get to a planet, particularly if I am outnumbered.
Yes. I too find myself sometimes leaving battle to visit the Space Station…to resupply…that sounds good.
Anyway, carrying supplies to recharge shields in now a very good idea.
It used to be that destroying supply depots was simple. Find the manufacturing facility, land in the free take-off area, walk to the door, lob a grenade, walk in, get the coordinates, walk back to the ship, fly to the coordinates, no reason to land - just use the ship to blow it up, fly around a bit until the sentinels no longer look for you and fly away.
Now it’s find the facility, land at the doorway, lob the grenade, run and get the coordinates, run back to the ship before the hanger-ons show up, fly to the coordinates, destroy the depot from the air, immediately try to leave the atmosphere and use the pulse drive. If still being followed in space then get to the galactic map and warp to a different system and then return.
I find that the new ‘cargo’ slots look really good if one is kept stuffed to the brim with sodium. No bumbling sideways on the recharge menu, and if I burn through a thousand sodium I am fighting too many fights that I should have been running from.
It feels a little more realistic now. And having a variety of weapons really helps. I like to blast their shields away with my regular photon cannon and then finish them off with a missle.
For your shields, don’t forget the Starshield Battery crafted from 50 Tritium and 20 Gold. Both of which can be picked up from asteroids. You can purchase the blueprint on the Anomaly
Okay, so I admit that I habitually scrap the rocket launcher in the start ship. And that in the previous paradigm of “enemy fighters” just being pinatas I never really thought to use a valuable space to reinstall it.
But wow, it’s a one hitter quitter once you get their shields down. Very fun!