Pilot Archive

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Washell wrote:

It is worthto stick with it and practice. It's a real rush to fly full speed into the combined blind spot of a triple gunboat wing in deep space, cut the throttle at the right time and blow all 3 of them without targeting subcomponents and never getting hit.
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In a B-wing!

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Oh yer my hero! lol.

Honestly, if you've some tips for surviving in a B-wing, I'd love to hear them. I'll admit I hadn't flown mine in quite a while.. and too much time in snubs really messes up your skills flying larger ships. Still, I was pretty shocked how fast I got shot up in Kessel, even if my CtSS hotkey got reset... I love my B-wing, but I think I need a little more than just some 'stick time' in it to reaquaint m'self with it.

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Alarien wrote:

And fact was that there are missions in those games that make the ones here in JTL look downright easy.

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It is allways funny how much new pilots emphasize ships and equipment - especially ship weapons. They keep asking where I found so good weapons and if I happen to fly one of the looted ships they allways want to get same ship.

In the end, weapons, equipment and shipsreally doesn't matter so much. It is all about skill and experience.

And there is one mission that you can't solo: Lord Cyscc. Those gunships are damn smart and fast.

Message Edited by Resetgun on 07-08-2005 08:47 AM

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PaceNebulon wrote:
has anyone solo'ed the post vette mission from kashyyyk space station. I have had time to try one yet, but I hear they are definitly a challenge and can't be solo'ed even by the best ace.

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Woops my bad, you were refering to the 3 new tier 5 missions?

I love these things, the payout on the one with the gunboats (gotten from the YT-1300) really stink and the drop rate is dismal but it is top notch fun for those that have the skillz. All I can say about these is, High Yaw,Pitch, Roll, cap to shield shunt and acountermeasures are your best friend. Missiles from the gunboats are no joke, they can end your run in a heartbeat. If a fighter fires a missile at you let it hit, save your countermeasures for the gunboats.

Message Edited by AzzixxSWG on 07-07-2005 03:14 PM

They are duty missions that the Kash station give after you complete the advanced x-wing/RG Tie/Vaksai vette mission. I haven't tried but heard they couldn't be solo'ed. I will try tonight though.

Message Edited by PaceNebulon on 07-07-2005 02:26 PM

[Edit: Ah nm, saw your edit on not the YT-1300 missions, ignore me.]

Ah, now I remember. I took the kill mission from the YT-1300. I think I ended the duty after the second command wave, lol. I was totally not prepared for going into a long term duty mission. I don't know about the other missions on their soloability. I know the kill duty can likely be soloed, but I can imagine how rough the other duties will be.

Message Edited by Alarien on 07-07-2005 12:30 PM

About four times now, when I've been helping people who truly didn't need/deserve it after careful afterthought, I've been asked by people where THEY can get a ship that can kill T4 Novae in one pass and shred a Tier 3/4/5 fighter in 5/10/20 seconds.

My universal answer is "by spending seven months building and refining it."

Those with more credits than sense then make an idiotic play to offer me credits for the ship.

I have to fight the urge to say "sure - find a price for seven months of frustration and neglect," but haven't quite said it yet. I just take some solace in the fact that I'm doing better now than the majority of former loot barons merely because I took the slow and steady path of space profiteering, and now I'm making more than they are, and in less time, too.

Y'see Vern...dat's the definiti'n o' irony...

Of course, I do so love it when people ask me if I have a POB/MP ship to ferry them around in like a disgruntled bus driver so they don't have to do the duty missions that will teach them how to cope with being overwhelmed.

Then when they can't find anyone, and attempt a mission that requires them to be swamped...and they DIE (oooh, shocker), we get:

"OMG THIS MISSION IS IMPOSSIBLE" and "I HATE THIS GAME" threads.

And since this forum is slowly but surely acclimating itself to my early-morning rants:

JTL is not impossible. If it were, only a handful of us would be Aces. I know all of us "professional pilots" are just sherpas to you, and you want your jacket/badge/POB ship so you can brag to everyone how you "soloed everything yourself," casually omitting our contributions to your rewards gained largely by proxy.

Simply put, soloing up to 2222 does not mean you did half of the grind all by yourself. T1 and 2 are PRACTICE. T3 teaches you group combat, and T4 teaches you how to become a better pilot on your own.

But what the hell am I rambling about - most of the people who pine for help get their badge, jacket, and POB, and never ever care a lick about Pilot ever again, except to brag they're an Ace. Pfft.

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Resetgun wrote:

And there is one mission that you can't solo: Lord Cyscc. Those gunships are damn smart and fast.

Message Edited by Resetgun on 07-08-2005 08:47 AM

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That has been soloed too. Not (yet) by me, but saw a post of someone who done that. I'm currently waiting for my SW to log in to RE a L10 gun for me. Then my heavy-x will have 2 L10's and a L8 reward. With that firepower and my skills I'm confident I can solo it also. The problem is I still need to get some ground support to free Roott.

Ducimus: I agree we don't set double standards. More kind of a conflicting message. Trying to get a subtle point across but my grasp of english is failing me. People are used from the ground game that with decent equipment and template you're as capable as any person with the same template/equipment. Then we post we soloed things in utter rustbuckets so they start wondering why they get wiped out in a better ship. It's easy to say it's twitch based, but some of the new players don't seem to really get that.

Oh well, when I've done Lord Cyssc I know I won't be able to restrain myself from posting here. Guess I'll add a disclaimer about 15 years of experience and 5 months of steady looting to get to this point

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Alarien wrote:

Provocative thread name, eh? This is mostly in response to all the people who say "it can't be done" or "its too hard!" Well, fact is that it is not impossible. In fact, many have done it.

How? What's the trick?

The answer is simple: Practice. A lot of it.

One of the things that a lot of the new pilots with JTL don't realize is that there are a lot of players who have a HUGE step up on them. Many of us have done this before, with harder missions than those that exist now. Where?

Well if you are new to the whole space sim thing, then you probably aren't familiar with X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, and X-Wing: Alliance. Many of us played those (I started with XvT) and have had more practice and stick time in the cockpit of an X-Wing or TIE Interceptor or any other ship appearing then we should be willing to admit. And fact was that there are missions in those games that make the ones here in JTL look downright easy.

That's why many players here consider themselves "pilots" despite never having touched the controls of a real contemporary aircraft. We have virtual flown just about everything that has been rendered in code and we know the tricks of the trade and have developed certain skills, like spacial/situational awareness, that take time and present a challenge to new players.

What separates a pilot from a player?

A player has a lot of different missions, including some that they *need* help with.

A pilot has only two types of missions: Those we have completed and those we will complete. Pilots refuse to admit that they aren't good enough to solo anything that exists, whether its a Super Star Destroyer (loved killing those in the prior games) or whether its YOU in your tricked out 1.5 stat ypr 115+ spd engine JSF. There is no "failing" a mission to a pilot, only "oops, made a mistake, won't happen again."

Over time, all players who enjoy flying will become pilots, attitude and all. If you are having trouble with a mission, try different tactics, try a different ship, try targetting a different enemy first and you will begin to form habits that lead to winning tactics over time. If you just can't figure it out, ask your fellow pilots for tips and tricks. A pilot has an ego and will always answer a polite question with their best suggestion, as part of them always wants to show off. However, if you declare it can't be done, then a pilot will likely respond that "1) yes, it can be done, 2) I did it in a newbie ship with a broken blaster, no shields, and half my engine blown off (and chances are, they really did)," and then leave you hanging, no better than before.

When you feel like it can't be done, remember, others have done it, so you CAN do it too, it just may take you some time developing the abilities that will make you a real killer in space combat. Everyone was a newbie once, just some of us started with it a lot longer ago then you may have. Hang in there, and you'll get it too (and your self respect will grow as you prove it to yourself).

Besides, what fun is it to say "hey, I beat Storm Squadron... with 5 of my closest Ace friends?" Where's the glory in that?

Does anyone remember the mission "Defend the Liberty" from X-Wing: Alliance? That mission sucked, and there were so many at the end of XvT that I can't remember that took me many tries to finally win, but I got them, solo, and and now sneer at the idea of "unbeatable mission."

You will too, in time.

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I have 2 links in my sig pertaining to upgrades for XWA. You might be interested.

I recall a sticky situation in the game "TIE Fighter: Defender of the Empire," where my pilot, sitting in a standard TIE, is in a training session in an active minefield. My "fellow trainees" are flying the new TIE Avengers (2 of them). You destroy a couple mines (which shoot at you, BTW) and you start hearing these other Imperial pilots insulting the Emperor. They then turn against you! So, you have to deal with an active, hostile minefield, and 2 very high performance (and traitorous) TIE Avengers... and you're flying in a standard, unshielded TIE. It wasn't the hardest mission, but you definitely felt tense. After all, one shot on a plain TIE, you're toast.

But it was all made up for when I had the chance to fly as Darth Vader's Wingman. We were both flying TIE Defenders, against the traitorous Adm.Zaarin's forces and nosy Rebels... By ourselves, until VAdm.Thrawn arrived in a Star Destroyer! Ahhh, that game was so great.

Message Edited by CuchulainnDarklight on 07-08-2005 06:20 AM