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'''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
== 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 ===
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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.
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''Effective hull is calculated using Cyclops Hardness as a baseline.''
==
===Thargons===
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[[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
Even if
Additionally, Thargoid Interceptors will
Interceptors will deploy one swarm each time a heart is destroyed. If a swarm is already deployed, the Interceptor will bank (up to 1) a swarm when a heart is destroyed, immediately deploying it if the old swarm is destroyed.
The only way to kill Swarms is via the experimental '''[[Remote Release Flak Launcher|Flak Launcher]]''' class 2 hardpoint. Players must fire and hold the trigger as the projectile moves towards the swarm, releasing it while inside the swarm to destroy some of the thargons. Notably, the position of each individual thargon does matter; detonating in the center of the swarm doesn't matter, if the swarm is in a ring formation far from the explosion. By contrast, the swarm can be destroyed extremely rapidly if the swarm is in a more dense formation. Learning swarm behavior is a major part of advanced AX combat.▼
▲The only way to kill Swarms is via the experimental '''[[Remote Release Flak Launcher|Flak Launcher]]'''
The swarm can take several different formations. Typically, smaller swarms will start in a 'spiral' formation, while larger swarms will tend to take a ring formation, or even worse, a larger ring that is only a single thargon thick, making it very difficult to damage. The swarm changes formations occasionally on its own, or whenever a player flies through the swarm; this can be a risky, but effective, way of changing the swarm to a more convenient formation. With luck and skill, swarms can be destroyed in only a few shots!▼
▲The swarm can take several different formations. Typically, smaller swarms will start in a 'spiral' formation, while larger swarms will tend to take a ring formation, or even worse, a larger ring that is only a single thargon thick, making it very difficult to damage. The swarm changes formations occasionally on its own, or whenever a player flies through the swarm; this can be a risky, but effective, way of changing the swarm to a more convenient formation. With luck and skill, swarms can be destroyed in only a few shots
The easiest way to destroy the swarm is via the technique known colloquially as 'reverski'. The player should boost away, disable Flight Assist, and reverse their orientation so they are pointing backwards. The Swarm will give chase, but maintain a relatively stable position, allowing it to be targeted more easily, and destroyed. Once the swarm is destroyed, the player can move in and begin to focus on the Interceptor. This technique, however, is not as effective in situations with multiple targets(IE, multiple players or NPCS) for the Swarm to attack. In many cases, especially wing combat, it can be simpler and more practical to simply leave the swarm alive and focus on the interceptor, as the swarm will self-destruct once the mothership has been destroyed. ▼
▲The easiest way to destroy the swarm is via the technique known colloquially as 'reverski'. The player should boost away, disable Flight Assist, and reverse their orientation so they are pointing backwards. The Swarm will give chase, but maintain a relatively stable position, allowing it to be targeted more easily, and destroyed. Once the swarm is destroyed, the player can move in and begin to focus on the Interceptor. This technique, however, is not as effective in situations with multiple targets (
If the destruction of the swarm is absolutely required, there is an advanced technique that can be employed, taking advantage of the Swarm's targeting procedures. Upon being agitated, the swarm must move to at least 1.8km away from any enemies before it can switch to missile mode, and while it attempts to do so, it will often swap to a very easy-to-hit 'cone' formation. Using this knowledge to your advantage, a player can ''intentionally'' agitate a swarm, and then give chase, not allowing it to move further than 1.8km away. At this point, the player can fire point-blank shots into the swarm, generally destroying it in just a few rounds. Notably, however, this is a risky technique, as if the player fails to destroy the swarm, it will be in the highly dangerous state of agitation ''and'' be perfectly placed to destroy the player. This technique is often referred to as 'Painbeavering', for the player who first discovered and mastered its use.▼
▲If the destruction of the swarm is absolutely required, there is an advanced technique that can be employed, taking advantage of the Swarm's targeting procedures. Upon being agitated, the swarm must move to at least 1.8km away from any enemies before it can switch to missile mode, and while it attempts to do so, it will often swap to a very easy-to-hit 'cone' formation. Using this knowledge
===Lightning===
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After the destruction of the first heart, all interceptors will employ a short-range lightning attack, which will randomly overload and disable modules on the target ship.
This attack
When first activated, the Thargoid will start to glow yellow, and begin a high-speed pursuit of its target, forgoing its regular cannon entirely as it seeks to get within range. After approximately 30 seconds, if it has not yet reached its target, it will transition back to its normal attack pattern, but the lightning will remain active for the rest of the fight.
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===Caustic Missiles===
After the destruction of the second heart, the Interceptor will launch a wave of powerful
===Shutdown Field===
Following the destruction of the second to last heart, the Thargoid will
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
== 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.
The '''[[Corsair]]''', a recent addition to the game, is by far one of the best AX options available. With stats effectively superior to the Krait in every way, it is one of the best options available -
The '''[[Alliance Challenger|Challenger]]''' falls in a similar vein to the Krait, trading agility for durability compared to the Chieftain. It also has the capability to mount four C2 weapons.
Other ships
== Basic Anti-Thargoid Modules ==
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[[File:Aegis AX Multi-cannon.png|250px|right]]
Thargoids are almost completely immune to normal human damage types
*Special Note: Most
=== AX Weapons ===
Largely ineffective except against the
Importantly, human AX weapons cannot be engineered
=== Enhanced AX Weapons ===
Following the arrival of the Thargoid Maelstroms in the Bubble, several Community Goals were carried out for the creation of Enhanced AX Weapons. These are very similar to standard AX weapons, but with slightly (~10%) enhanced DPS, and much more importantly,
Especially notable is the addition of Gimballed Enhanced AX Multicannons; they offer the same DPS as unenhanced AX Multicannons, but on a gimballed mount, making targeting much easier
=== Advanced Weapons ===
Advanced Weapons are a special and rarely-used type of AX weaponry, and are humanity's first attempt at applying Guardian technology to technology of our own design. Coming in Multicannon and Missile Rack form like the standard AX weapons, these weapons do standard human damage types by default, and must be synthesized to deal AX damage. Unfortunately, the synthesis cost to create AX ammo (which requires Guardian materials) makes them an expensive choice for long-term use, and since they are generally inferior to the Guardian modules, they are rarely seen.
However, they do have two critical strengths; firstly, they are *not* experimental weapons. This means that a player can equip these *in addition to* their standard AX weaponry. Secondly, unlike the standard AX weapons, they can be engineered. This can easily make them substantially superior to the standard AX weapons.
=== Flak Launcher ===
One of the most important weapons for
* Important Note
== Guardian Technology ==
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[[File:Elite_Dangerous_The_Guardians.jpg|250px|right]]
Guardian Technology is the core of human defense against the Thargoids, and what
===Hybrid Human-Guardian Weapons===
The default Guardian weapons are the Shard Cannon (Fragment Cannon), Plasma Charger (Plasma Accelerator), and Gauss Cannon (Railgun). These are Guardian-modified variants of their original human counterparts, designed to deal AX damage rather than normal damage.
The '''Shard Cannon''' fires a shotgun spray of energy pellets, dealing massive damage at short range. While these are
The '''Plasma Charger''' has a unique mode of firing; the player charges up the weapon, and then can release the charged energy at will. These weapons
The '''Gauss Cannon''' is the most powerful of the default three weapons against Thargoids. They have an incredibly high 140 Armor Piercing, are hitscan, and deal heavy heart damage, making them the most effective of the standard weapons, and
===Modified Guardian Weapons===
Released several years later, these are specially-modified Guardian weapons created by
'''Modified Shard Cannons''' have double the Armor Piercing, four times the projectile speed, and half the spread of their standard variants, in exchange for massively higher heat generation. They deal even better DPS to Interceptors than Gauss Cannons, and even better heart damage, while their spread and speed has been improved enough to make hitting a breeze. They also do not require learning the challenging firing style of Gauss Cannons. However, their massive heat can be challenging to control for beginner pilots. Additionally, their distributor draw is low enough that 6 of these can be fitted to a single ship at once.
'''Modified Plasma Chargers''' have 37.5% more Armor Piercing, 66% more damage, and four times the projectile speed of their standard variants. Their damage is absolutely massive, far exceeding Gauss or Shard Cannons, but because of this, their distributor draw is equally massive, making it nearly impossible to sustain them over long periods of time. Furthermore, their heart damage falls substantially behind either gauss or shards, which is compounded by
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" border="1"
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=== Experimental Guardian Weapons ===
'''Focused Long-Range High-Penetration Guardian Shard Cannons''' (otherwise known as "God" Shards) are experimental versions of traditional Modified Shard Cannons. They could only be obtained by participating in their associated [[Community Goals|Community Goal]], and offer far superior capabilities compared even to their modified counterpart. Most notably, they have a maximum range of 8,500 meters (compared to the Modified Shard's 3,000 meters) and no damage falloff, at the cost of slightly increased distributor draw. This weapon is considered one of the most powerful AX weapons in-game.
'''Hi-Cap Burst Fire Guardian Gauss Cannons''' (otherwise known as the "Salvation" Gauss) are an experimental version of the traditional Modified Gauss Cannons. They could be obtained by delivering [[Basic Medicines]] from the Heart of Taurus megaship to any of the Rescue Megaships in the Cornsar system before 20th September 3307. Afterwards, they would be available at [[Bright Sentinel|The Bright Sentinel]] megaship in the [[Mbooni]] system on the 23rd of September 3307. Very little is known about this weapon, although it is suspected to be incredibly powerful compared to the original Modified Gauss Cannons.
===Other Guardian Modules===
'''Guardian
'''Guardian Power Distributors''' are similar, functioning effectively as G4 Charge Enhanced power distributors. These, however, do have a unique perk, increasing the power output of any power plant (not just Guardian) to a new maximum of 104%. They are a great way to get a new ship or build going more quickly without spending time engineering.
'''Guardian Module Reinforcements''' are a Guardian variant of the standard Module Reinforcement. It offers slightly superior integrity in exchange for a power cost. However, the effective protection value remains the same, so for players using an AFMU to repair their module reinforcements, their benefit is small. While they claim to protect against module shutdowns from lightning, the effect (if any) is minimal due to the incredibly rapid damage of the lightning.
'''Guardian FSD Boosters''' increase FSD jump range by a flat amount. They are extremely useful for general purposes, but are not specifically useful for Thargoid combat.
===
'''Guardian Hull Reinforcements''' offer resistance to the 'caustic' damage type, in exchange for a power cost and lower raw hull integrity. All Thargoid damage is
* Guardian Hull Reinforcements offer equivalent hull integrity to G4 Heavy Duty engineered hull reinforcements, with slightly lower weight.
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* Finally, they can be purchased and sold at any Guardian Technology Broker, rather than needing to be engineered.
The dividing line lies at about 1200 repairs. If a player is going to repair less than 1200 hull (about 4 C5 Repair Limpets), then human hull reinforcements are superior - however, at that point, players are better off swapping repair modules for more hull reinforcements, which will give more than 1200 hull. Often, this higher hull total will still make some amount of Guardian Hull Reinforcements worthwhile, but this will vary based on the ship and build.
If a player is going to repair
===Guardian Fighters===
* '''WARNING
▲* 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 group rules!
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.
Their most significant disadvantage is that they have no effective defense against being attacked, including lacking the vital '''Caustic Sink''' module. As such, they will die instantly when flying through the caustic clouds left behind by the death of
They also lack
On the flipside, the fact they are being fired on generally means a more important target is not being prioritized, so simply by existing, they can be a protective factor for all other ships in the area, as swarms tend to focus on them. They also offer a surprisingly decent amount of damage, comparable to an entire ship armed with human AX weapons. A skilled player in a fighter can multiply the damage being dealt without needing to be anywhere nearby, as they can use '''telepresence''' to multicrew into the pilot's seat of the fighter. A mothership with two active fighters and a gunner can be a
Broadly speaking,
There are good arguments both for and against the use of fighters, ultimately coming down to player preference. Generally, fighters will be most useful in any case where a player has a hard time exerting the hearts of an
===Subtypes===
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There are three types of Guardian fighters.
'''XG9 Lance'''
The Lance is a powerful fighter for AX combat, carrying a
'''XG8 Javelin'''
The Javelin is incredibly powerful, but limited by short range and slower projectile velocity. It carries
'''XG7 Trident'''
The Trident is the weakest of the Guardian fighters for AX purposes. It uses a
'''AX Taipan'''
There is one more type of fighter, but it is not of guardian design. The AX Taipan uses AX
==Additional AX Modules==
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===Xeno Scanner===
By default, Thargoids emit alien signals that confuse sensors, hiding their health values, preventing module
'''Enhanced Xeno Scanner'''
The Enhanced Xeno Scanner was developed during the Second Thargoid War, and massively improves the range of the Xeno Scanner
'''Caustic Sinks'''
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Caustic Sinks are a recent invention in the Thargoid conflict, which actively absorb caustic '''damage over time''', shunting it into a sacrificial anode on the outside of the ship. Once full, they must be manually ejected to load a new one. While not strictly necessary, they are extremely beneficial, avoiding the need for Decontamination Limpets or overheating of the mothership entirely. They do, however, require a Utility Slot, which can make then unusable in certain niche scenarios.
Broadly speaking, one
===Repair Limpets vs Decontamination Limpets===
Most players doing Thargoid combat will typically carry some means of
The main difference between these two is total repairs. As a rule of thumb, both repair about the same ''rate'', but Repair limpets repair for a significantly greater duration. Decontamination Limpets repair for a shorter duration, but can also remove the caustic damage over time left by caustic missiles, while repair limpets repair longer, and can repair the ship's canopy. Since the release of Caustic Sinks, the utility of Decontamination Limpets has been somewhat diminished, leaving most players preferring repair limpets, outside certain niche scenarios like
In general, these should be as large as the player can carry. The smallest size variants are rarely worth using at all.
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While '''shields''' are ubiquitous in normal combat, they are often omitted for Thargoid combat. There are three primary reasons for this.
*Thargoid lightning attack deals massive damage (~50x compared to armor) to shields, and avoiding it relies on careful range control that many players do not have.
*Thargon Swarms fire a shotgun spray of bullets with 40% phasing damage. Since shields widen the hit profile of ships, shielded ships can take double to triple the amount of damage.
*Shields also require far more pip usage to properly take advantage of their durability and regeneration. This dramatically increases the complexity of a fight. The worst outcome is if an interceptor targets a player when their SYS capacitor is empty, preventing them from using a Heat Sink, forcing them to either discard their shields by activating Silent Running, or soak up enormous damage trying to escape while running hot
*Finally, caustic missiles will ignore shields entirely, directly damaging the hull beneath. Unless the player sacrifices their shields, they cannot use Silent Running to help overheat themselves to remove this caustic damage.
In general, shields are not the optimal choice. When they ARE used, they are usually used in a very different manner to normal PVE combat, such as by carrying an undersized shield to compliment repairs from repair limpets, while minimizing distributor draw and hesitancy to use Silent Running. This is a deep and complicated subject, so learning with shields is not advised
===Engineering===
Engineering is heavily encouraged for Thargoid Combat. While Guardian modules do reduce the engineering requirement for an
*'''Power Plant''' - Armored, for lower heat, higher durability, and higher power generation.
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*'''Engines''' - Possibly the most critical of all engineering, it takes a powerful engine to cold orbit; the more powerful the engine, the more easily the orbit can be maintained. Dirty Drives + Drag Drives are the only good choice.
== Getting Started ==
===Locating a Thargoid===
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Thargoids are most commonly found at [[Non-Human Signal Source|Non-Human Signal Sources]], which are found in high densities in Thargoid territory, such as the Pleiades, the Coalsack Nebula, and the Witchhead Nebula.
To find a lone
===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]]
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