Pilot Archive
Thread: Imperial Pilot Squadrons
Which of the three has the shortest escort missions? I helped out my pals alot on their Inquisition missions, and I've seen enough escort duty to last a lifetime.
How would you rank the three squadrons from easiest to hardest? and why exactly.
How long to the missions take on average for each of the three?
I'd rather do short and nigh-on-impossible missions, than long, drawn out easy missions.
1. Imperial Inquisition (you said you ran these with some friends so you should've seen how easy they were.)
2. Black Epsilon (some say these are harder missions from tier 4 upwards compared to Storm Squadron. Never did any of them, but I'd assume they are comparable in length.)
3. Storm Squadron (My squadron. Would not recommend if you don't like tons of A-wings, long escort missions, or dying alot doing the Tier 3 missions)
I know from experience that the Tier 3 missions for SS can take up to an hour and a half, depending on which one it is. The other 2 squadrons usally run about half that time.
Black Epsilon was my first squadron, and seemed really hard - though I was half the pilot I am now back then. Lots of gunboats through Tier 3 and part of 4.
Inquisition is a walk in the park. ONE hard gunboat at the end of Tier 3.
SS is next for me. I've heard SS isn't hard so much as really long.
BE has lots of gunboats in tier 3. These are pretty rough in an Interceptor, but not as bad in a heavily armed and armored Bomber.. a ship I happen to loathe.
It's quite possible to complete the missions in an Interceptor, it's just tricky. Upside to that is, if you're not already a good pilot, BE turns you into one by the time you're through. You have to learn a lot about how to strafe and avoid fire and be patient while you work your enemies into a position where your advantages can be best turned against them.SS, on the other hand, has loads of escorts and A-Wings and can take forever and a day to complete the missions. Those loads of A-Wings are pretty hard to deal with in a TIE Bomber that can make a complete turn in almost but not quite as much time as it takes the Earth to revolve around the sun, but with a nimble Interceptor, they're far less difficult. As a result, Bomber pilots can find SS frustrating to the point of homicidility, whereas Interceptor pilots may be annoyed by the marathonesque missions, but may well not find the difficulty to be all that bad. I find a couple spots to be harrowing even now, but for the way I fly, it doesn't require nearly as much concentration as BE does. In fact, last time I went through SS, I spent a lot of time reading the forums as I babysat various shuttles.
Still, they're both hard in different ways. Gauge what kind of pilot you are, and you can probably figure out which squadron would be more difficult for you to get through.
TomoRainer wrote:
I've always though Black Epsilon was harder than Storm Squadron, but after an interesting discussion with another pilot, we came to the conclusion it depends on what you're flying.
BE has lots of gunboats in tier 3. These are pretty rough in an Interceptor, but not as bad in a heavily armed and armored Bomber.. a ship I happen to loathe.
SS, on the other hand, has loads of escorts and A-Wings and can take forever and a day to complete the missions. Those loads of A-Wings are pretty hard to deal with in a TIE Bomber that can make a complete turn in almost but not quite as much time as it takes the Earth to revolve around the sun, but with a nimble Interceptor, they're far less difficult. As a result, Bomber pilots can find SS frustrating to the point of homicidility, whereas Interceptor pilots may be annoyed by the marathonesque missions, but may well not find the difficulty to be all that bad. I find a couple spots to be harrowing even now, but for the way I fly, it doesn't require nearly as much concentration as BE does. In fact, last time I went through SS, I spent a lot of time reading the forums as I babysat various shuttles.
Still, they're both hard in different ways. Gauge what kind of pilot you are, and you can probably figure out which squadron would be more difficult for you to get through.
CCome on, you know that gunboats have too many weaknesses... Even with an interceptor with emergency weapons you can destroy them pretty fast...
Storm Squadron = Often said to be "the hardest" in my opion it's only the hardest because SS has the longest escort mission.
Black Epsilon = IMHO the hardest in terms of gunboats and fighters. I helped a guy with his tier 4 exit mission last night and that mission was even challenging for me. Way more gunboats and high tier fighters than SS IMHO.
Imperial Inquisition = I found this one to be the easiest of the three Imperial Squadrons. I'd ay it's in the middle of them. It has escorts but no where near as long as Storm Squadron. It also has plenty of Gunboats but not as many as BE. If you're looking for "the fastest path" to Imperial Ace, I suggest Inquisition.
A little helpful hint on some of those SS missions (as well as the BE tier 4 exit) you can hyperspace within the system and not scrub the mission.
Towards the end of that mission there was an "ambush" phase. Basically 8 tier 4's spawn right on top of you. So the guy I was helping hypered out of range while I cleaned up the rest... but of course, th next ambush spawned on top of him and he was all alone till I could boost to him.
Vegitaa wrote:
A little helpful hint on some of those SS missions (as well as the BE tier 4 exit) you can hyperspace within the system and not scrub the mission.
Towards the end of that mission there was an "ambush" phase. Basically 8 tier 4's spawn right on top of you. So the guy I was helping hypered out of range while I cleaned up the rest... but of course, th next ambush spawned on top of him and he was all alone till I could boost to him.
Interesting.... handy tip
But, 8 tier 4s on a tier 2 ship? come on....