Thargoid Combat: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
mNo edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| (15 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
[[File:
'''Thargoid Combat''' is the most difficult content available in ''[[Elite Dangerous]]''. It requires a combination of advanced ships, specialized modules, and high-skilled piloting to be successful, but in return it is one of the most lucrative activities in the game, and was central focus of the [[Second Thargoid War]] before its conclusion
== Thargoids ==
{{Main|Thargoids}}
'''Thargoids''' are an ancient race of ammonia-based insectoid aliens, who spend most of their time in [[Witchspace]]. They enter the Milky Way to seed systems with their [[Thargoid Barnacle|Barnacles]], and periodically return to tend them for unknown reasons. These barnacles create [[Meta-Alloys]], a substance with incredible durability and material properties. Humanity's harvesting of these alloys has led to conflict between the two races, and as a result the Pilots Federation has placed hefty bounties on any confirmed kill.
== Thargoid
Thargoid ships are biomechanical creatures. There are 4 types: [[Scout]], [[Thargoid Hunter|Hunter]], [[Thargoid Interceptor|Interceptor]] and [[Thargoid Titan|Titan]]. They come in several varieties, each more durable and deadly than the last.
=== Scouts ===▼
The smallest and weakest Thargoid is the '''[[Scout]]'''. Scouts are small, agile, and always aggressive. Scouts come in four subtypes; Marauders (the most common type, with a caustic main gun and the ability to fire small, fast caustic missiles), Regenerators (capable of healing nearby Thargoids), Enciters (capable increasing the speed and agility of nearby Thargoids), and Berserkers (capable of increasing the damage of nearby Thargoids and prompting them to launch additional missiles). All scouts have significant damage resistance to human weapons, but still take approximately 33% damage from all human weaponry.▼
{{Main|Thargoid Scout}}
▲The smallest and weakest Thargoid ship is the '''[[Scout]]'''. Scouts are small, agile, and always aggressive. Scouts come in four subtypes; Marauders (the most common type, with a caustic main gun and the ability to fire small, fast caustic missiles), Regenerators (capable of healing nearby Thargoids), Enciters (capable increasing the speed and agility of nearby Thargoids), and Berserkers (capable of increasing the damage of nearby Thargoids and prompting them to launch additional missiles). All scouts have significant damage resistance to human weapons, but still take approximately 33% damage from all human weaponry. This makes them the easiest to defeat out of all Thargoid vessels, and combating them can be done with traditional PvE ship builds.
=== Hunters ===▼
Hunter-class vessels are a new creation by the Thargoids, and are a middle ground between Scouts and Interceptors. While they lack the powerful defensive capabilities of Interceptors, they have far more firepower and durability than Scouts, and are particularly effective at taking down medium-class vessels. There are two varieties of Hunters. Scythes are weaker and slower and completely ignore most targets unless they are carrying Escape Pods, which they will attempt to steal for unknown purposes. The second type is the far more dangerous Glaive, which can move at up to 750m/s, can steal shields to replenish its own, fire missiles that cause FSD reboots, and have an anti-Guardian field, rapidly damaging Guardian modules and weaponry on nearby ships. While dangerous, these vessels can be taken down effectively via gimbaled Enhanced AX Multicannons. ▼
<gallery>
=== Interceptors ===▼
File:Thargoid-Berserker-Sideview.png|Berserker
File:Thargoid Scout Inciter 2.png|Inciter
File:Thargoid Scout Marauder Side View.png|Marauder
File:Thargoid-Scout-Regenerator.png|Regenerator
</gallery>
The next four varieties are all described as [[Thargoid Interceptor|'''Interceptors''']]. Interceptors are much more durable than scouts, taking 1% damage from standard human damage types, requiring the use of specialized 'anti-xeno' weapons. They are also not always aggressive; often they can be encountered simply minding their business, largely ignoring nearby players. However, if they scan a player carrying Guardian or Thargoid materials, they will warn - and then attack - the player in question, as well as any bystanders in the area. They will also attack immediately if any scouts are in the area. Fighting them is far more complex than fighting human vessels. Before destroying them, players must first destroy their '''hearts'''.▼
{{Main|Thargoid Hunter}}
[[Thargoid Hunter|'''Hunter''']]-class vessels are a middle ground between Scouts and Interceptors. While they lack the powerful defensive capabilities of Interceptors, they have far more firepower and durability than Scouts, and are particularly effective at taking down medium-class vessels.
▲
<gallery>
File:Thargoid Glaive ship 1.jpg|Glaive
File:Thargoid Scythe 1.png|Scythe
</gallery>
=== Interceptor ===
{{Main|Thargoid Interceptor}}
▲The
<gallery>
File:Thargoid Interceptor Cyclops.png|Cyclops
File:Thargoid Interceptor Basilisk.png|Basilisk
File:Thargoid Interceptor Medusa.png|Medusa
File:Thargoid Interceptor Hydra.png|Hydra
</gallery>
=== Thargoid Hearts ===
Line 34 ⟶ 59:
More difficult interceptors will have more hearts to destroy, and as more hearts are destroyed, the Thargoid will employ different and more potent attacks.
==
===
Thargoid Interceptors, unlike Scouts, have shields, which are generated whenever a Heart is destroyed. Thargoid shields function very similarly to human shields; unlike their hulls, they can be damaged by standard damage types, taking the most damage from Thermal weaponry. Unlike human shields, however, they do not regenerate if damaged, and in fact, they will gradually decay over time, eventually vanishing on their own after several minutes. Many players save ammo by not shooting at them at all, only using lasers to accelerate their removal, or simply ramming the interceptor to break the shield.
Line 105 ⟶ 130:
''Effective hull is calculated using Cyclops Hardness as a baseline.''
==
===Thargons===
Line 111 ⟶ 136:
[[File:Thargon-Swarm.png|thumb|250px|Thargon Swarm]]
When attacked, Interceptors will deploy a swarm of '''[[Thargon|Thargons]]'''; small, independent drones, capable of firing their own caustic projectiles. The most dangerous aspect of the swarm is its powerful '''phasing damage.''' While Interceptors do a standard 10% of their damage through shields, Thargon Swarms have a much more potent effect, dealing nearly 40% damage directly through shields onto the hull. As a result, shielded targets will suffer extreme amounts of hull damage due to the phasing damage, as well as being a larger target compared to unshielded vessels.
Even if the swarm can be avoided, they also possess a second capability. Swarms can become 'agitated', at which point small groups of them will employ a suicide run, ramming into their target for massive damage to hull and modules. This can be crippling to unshielded vessels, but can be avoided. Agitation can only occur when the swarm flies over a target, causing them to initiate a top-down attack; the swarm can then be pacified by flying through it a second time. Naturally, this comes at the risk of taking damage from the agitated swarm. Especially against larger shielded vessels, the Thargon Swarm can be the most devastating aspect of the fight.
Line 142 ⟶ 167:
After the destruction of the second heart, the Interceptor will launch a wave of powerful Caustic Missiles. These are slower and more easily avoidable than the ones fired by Scouts, but deal vastly more damage. Like the scout variant, they deal phasing damage directly to the hull, and their caustic damage over time does not go away on its own. It must be removed either by Decontamination Limpets, overheating the ship, or docking and repairing. Interceptors will launch additional missiles following the destruction of every additional heart, save the second to last one.
===Shutdown Field===
Following the destruction of the second to last heart, the Thargoid will employ a Shutdown Field rather than a Caustic Missile; this is an EMP-like pulse that
There are two general ways to deal with this. The first is to employ a Shutdown Field Neutralizer, a utility module that cancels the shutdown field entirely. This must be properly timed, because it heavily drains Distributor power while active. The general best practice is to count to three after the warning message, and then activate the Neutralizer until after the wave has passed over. In multiplayer instances, it may be wise to hold it slightly longer, in case the player is
The second way is to boost away from the Thargoid and turn Flight Assist off when the warning message is seen. This will cause the player to drift away from the Thargoid until the ship reboots, keeping them safe until their weakness has passed. This has the benefit of allowing the player to use the utility slot for other purposes, such as additional Heat Sinks or a Xeno Scanner. Do note that the reboot time is fairly significant, so not utilizing the previous method can drastically increase the amount of time needed to end a fight.
== Anti-
While players often tend towards Large ships for standard PVE content, they are
The '''[[Alliance Chieftain|Chieftain]]''' is the most common choice among expert players. It has incredible agility and speed, especially in its lateral thrusters, which makes maneuvering to avoid Thargoid fire much easier than other choices. However, this comes at the cost of hardpoints, and it will typically run with two medium
The '''[[Krait MkII|Krait Mk.2]]''' is another common choice. It is slightly less maneuverable than the Chieftain, but makes up for it with a full complement of C2 weapons, paired with nearly perfect weapon convergence. Many players start with this ship. It can also mount a fighter bay, allowing for truly exceptional damage.
Line 172 ⟶ 197:
Thargoids are almost completely immune to normal human damage types. As a result, they will only take full damage from experimental weaponry (which subsequently has a damage debuff against human ships).
*Special Note: Most
=== AX Weapons ===
Largely ineffective except against the weakest of Thargoids, the AX Missile Rack and the AX Multicannon
Importantly, human AX weapons cannot be engineered, unlike their Guardian counterparts. Additionally, following the adaptation of the Thargoids, AX Missile Racks cannot damage Thargoid Hearts; this makes them incapable of destroying Thargoids on their own, so be sure to take at least one weapon capable of damage the hearts.
Line 330 ⟶ 355:
===Guardian Fighters===
* '''WARNING:''' Ship-Launched fighters are controversial in the AX community, largely due pre-3.4 lag in multiplayer instances. It was commonly believed that they cause lag and desynchronization in group settings; this seems to have been fixed post-3.4, but ALWAYS check beforehand if SLFs are allowed, and be sure to check and comply with any group rules.[[File:Guardian-Fighters-Ships-Trident-Javelin-Lance.png|
Ship-Launched Fighters are a contentious subject. While they have some perks, they also die very easily in AX combat, often in frustrating ways, which can make them not worth the effort to some players.
Line 422 ⟶ 447:
===Cold Orbiting===
The meat and potatoes of Thargoid combat is based on a practice known as '''Cold Orbiting'''. Thargoid Interceptors, just like human ships, have a hard time
*'''Thermal Vent''' experimental engineering on Beam Lasers can be used to maintain low heat indefinitely. This is an excellent way to practice cold orbiting when first starting. However, guardian weapons need full usage of a player's distributor, so using a beam laser at the same time is typically a bad idea. The best engineering for this is Long Range, because
*'''Heat Sinks''' are usually used for attack runs. They give 10 seconds of extreme heat dispersal. Additionally - and not displayed in their statistics - they also give a bonus 2MW of bonus distributor power to weapons. This is what is usually used during attack runs, with additional charges synthesized between attack runs.
*'''Silent Running''' can also be used for pure avoidance. However, it must be used judiciously, or it will lead to rapid overheating and internal damage.
Of course, ''just'' moving laterally will quickly move the player out of range of the Thargoid, making it difficult to damage it in turn, so the pilot must maintain the same range, while moving laterally and staying cold - in other words, a 'cold orbit'.
While this sounds simple in theory, in practice can be substantially more difficult. Thargoids will attempt to match velocities with the player so their projectiles can hit, and during later parts of the fight, they will use alternative weapons such as lightning and caustic missiles. Players will need to maintain a distance between 800m (maximum lightning range) and 1500m while sustaining fire to break the Thargoid's regeneration and/or destroy the
===Fire Groups===
An often-forgotten aspect of Thargoid combat is fire groups, specifically in relation to heat. While Heat Sinks can counteract almost any amount of heat generation, they cannot stop the heat from appearing in the first place. If a player fires too many hot weapons at once, their heat will briefly spike over 20%; more than enough for the Thargoid to briefly see them
To prevent this, players should split their weapons between their primary and secondary fire buttons. By splitting fire groups
===
Once the Thargoid has been located, it will approach the player and scan them. This is your opportunity to scan it in return, if you choose to carry a
Start by moving to a distance just shy of
At this point,
With the swarm now eliminated, it is time to engage the Interceptor. Slow down to allow the
* Be careful
While staying cold and moving laterally, begin to use forward thrust to approach the Thargoid
If done properly, the Thargoid will soon exert, and one of its hearts will begin to glow
When the heart is destroyed, immediately boost away
* IMPORTANT NOTE: Moving too far from the Thargoid can result in the Interceptor jumping away
After getting close enough to engage the attack, or
Destroy the swarm and repeat the procedure from the previous heart. Killing the second heart is typically considered the hardest, so if
Repeat this process until the second to last heart; after its destruction, the Interceptor will deploy a shutdown field (can be countered by the methods above). Not properly addressing this can lead to a swift death for any AX pilot, regardless of what ship is being used.
On the last heart, the Interceptor will attempt to deploy a shield, although massive alpha damage before it can deploy will kill it and end the fight early.
Finally, when the interceptor has been destroyed, be cautious! Even in death, Thargoids are dangerous. They leave behind a spreading cloud of caustic enyzmes that can stack in unlimited quantity on your ship. Staying inside this cloud is guaranteed death; instead, target one of the dropped thargoid materials(not the heart), and wait for its integrity to reduce to 50%. At that point, the cloud should have fully dissipated. ▼
▲Finally, when the interceptor has been destroyed,
If done correctly, this will be the first (and hopefully one of many) Thargoids that the player will eventually kill. Properly skilled AX pilots can easily take care of weaker Interceptors without a sweat, and even some of the harder ones. This will offer a powerful tool in any player's arsenal, regardless of skill level or progression.
== The Nuclear Option ==
For players that do not wish to learn the skill and patience required to kill an Interceptor, there is a secondary method. "Gibbing", as it is colloquially referred to by AX pilots and player organizations, is the method via which an Interceptor's passive regeneration and panic shields are brute forced through incredibly high alpha damage (almost exclusively via Shard Cannons).
This can be done by a single pilot against a Cyclops (or multiple), and can only be done either with Premium ammo and standard Shard Cannons, or Modified Shard Cannons and standard ammo (most AX pilots prefer premium ammo with Modified Shards for gibbing, however). Multiple pilots will be required for more difficult Interceptors, due to their higher hardness, effective hull, and regeneration.
Despite the ease-of-access when compared to traditional AX combat, this method is largely looked down upon by player organizations for singleplayer combat. It is incredibly easy to pull off, requires little to no skill, and forgoes all of the preparation and practice that AX combat is known for.
== Multiplayer ==
When fighting in a wing or larger group, AX combat becomes significantly easier. Not only can different roles be assigned to different players, destruction of one ship does not necessarily mean the loss of a kill. While one pilot can be assigned to exerting hearts, another can be assigned for targeting and destroying them, while yet another can be used for repairs or decontamination.
The risk is also much less when compared to singleplayer combat, as both the Thargon swarm and the Interceptor's attention will be distributed across multiple ships, reducing damage and prolonging the lifetime of everyone involved.
==Conclusion==
At this point, the player will be armed with all of the information needed to kill a Thargoid Interceptor. Do keep in mind that rebuys, repairs, and rearming will be frequent, regardless of how well prepared or skilled anyone is.
Good luck, and o7 Commanders.
▲With time, patience, and proper preparation, your first kill should come soon enough.
== References ==
<references />
{{Thargoids}}
[[ru:Охота на таргоидов]]
| |||