Pilot Archive

I know the rebel gunboat has a blindspot. I am trying to kill the gunboats that tail the imperial corvette. Are there any blind spots on them at all? What systems do I take out first also? Thanks for the help.

Rotciv Navillus

**We wouldn't have half these problems if there were no Jedi**

**We wouldn't have half these problems if there were no Jedi**

While there is only one stlye of Imperial Gunboat, there are several different situations it can be in when you come across it.

1) Level Course. A standard GU in Kessel flying a calm, straight course is the easiest to kill. It may or may not have a one or two fighter escort, but those are usually handled easily enough. The GU will turn occassionally, so be prepared to break off and approach again.

OK, one way to blow it up is to get behind it at 530-540m or so and shoot it to death. For some reason it will not fire at you, but your weapons will reach it. If this is all you want to know then you can stop reading now.

Otherwise, you can use the blindspot. The chin turret on the GU can aim on an arc that extends pretty much straight down below the GU. If you are ever unsure about your orientation you can use ctrl + (slash) to auto-orient your ship - this is useful since NPCs tend to auto-orient when flying a straight course, so you can quickly determine which side is the top or bottom of the target. Ok, back to business... The rear turret, number 2, can arc down about 30 degrees below the horizon. What this creates is a decent sized arc below and behind the GU that neither turret can hit.

Set up an initial position of almost directly below the GU. As long as you are not at all in front of the GU, nothingcan shoot you as you get in range and start pounding it with blaster fire. Take it nice and slowly, running at no more than Matchspeed and aiming at the very front of the GU, as this will let you have aslong a run as possible with full blasters aimed at the GU. When you start getting close to the rear turret, or you see it trying to get a shot at you, full speed (boost if you want) down back to a new start position. You should be able to get back out to 400-500m away, directly below, never leaving the blindspot. Set it up again and make another nice long, slow pass. With a pair of quality RE'd 7/8 level weapons you should be able to blow the Reactor/Engine in two or threepasses (WO3 is assumed, and with heavier/more blasters and/or practice you can do it in one pass).

In this situation, I recommend hitting the Reactor/Engine first as this will disable the ship, letting you come to a complete stop inside it's blindspot to pound away until it bursts.

2) Turning in a Tight Circle. There are plenty of GU spawns in Kessel where the ship stays in a small area simply pitching up and flying in a circle. If you are not confident in your flying skills, have a decent Shield and have practiced smart use of Cap>Shield Shunt then stay away from these.

I tend to set up 600-800m out away from the GU on the same plane as the turn (as opposed to off to one side). What this creates is a time where I can fly in as it's blindspot comes around, letting me get several shots without return fire. If you go in too soon then the chin turret will hit you, just like being in front of the GU in the last situation. If you stay too long then the rear turret will start tearing you up, also like the last situation. The quirk is that is is impossible to stay aimed at the GU and stay in it's blindspot for an extended period of time. This means it may take several passes and quite a few Cap>Shield Shunts before you are able toshear away enough armor to blow the Reactor/Engine. Once disabled all you have to do is get back to the blindspot and safely beat it to death.

3) Star Ravager Escort. These two GUs are more or less being pulled along by the Ravager, rather than flying under their own power. Disabling the corvette means one of them becomes the leader and the other is pulled along by the first GU rather than being pulled by the Ravager. It has been my experience that blowing the Reactor or Engine (or both) of a GU that is 'following' (the Ravager or the lead GU) will accomplish nothing, as it will continue to be pulled along. Blowing the Reactor/Engine of the leader will disable it and force the follower to stop following and go under it's own power.

*Edit* I believe I was incorrect here. Destroying the Reactor of a GU that is following appears to do nothing, but destroying the Engine does seem to slow and stop the ship as it should do.

In general, it is advised to disable the Ravager and let the 2 GUs fly around and on their way. Just don't forget to go back and get them or they mess up the spawn of the next Ravager.

If you are attacking them with the Ravager moving then my advice is to blow turret 5 on the Ravager (bottom turret) and then treat the GUs like the first situation. The quirk here is that, with intersecting fields of fire from multiple GUs, the blindspots available are much smaller and getting caught outside of them is much more deadly. It is possible, as I will blow them before disabling the Ravager when I want to show someone all the Ravager's systems in a nice, calm, safe environment (blowing the fighters, GUs, and turrets before touching the corvette's Shields).

4) Sets in Deep Space. It's been a while for me, but I believe the GUs in Deep Space spawn in groups of three and fly in a pretty little formation. Blindspots still exist, even withthree GUs in rather close proximity to each other. In a case like this, more than others, it is useful to blow the turret 2's, extending the small blindspots into larger, more usable spaces. Also, you may find that blowing the Reactor/Engine of a 'follower' fails to stop it's movement, but does start the countdown to self-destruct (at which point it dies and you get no credit).

5) AI Controlled Mission Target. There are several missions that involve helping an ally force blow up an enemy force. Some of these have GUs involved and ally NPC fighters are utterly unable to destroy a same-level enemy GU, which leaves you to deal with it. The catch here makes these arguably worse than any other type, as this type of GU can actually decide to start chasing you down, making it impossible to fly into it's blindspot unmolested or stay there for any period of time at all.

My standard tactic involves a lot of Cap>Shield Shunting and a strong possibility of a lot of pain. Ideally you get a friend to help andyou stay 600-800m in front as it chases you and your friend beats it to death. Wish I had better advice here, but I rely on above average equipment more than anything, as it is hard, without a group, to outsmart a ship that does nothing but aim directly at you and plod forward while bristling with turrets.

Shona

*Edit* I found a mistake in the behavior of GUs in formation -explanation and strike-throughs inserted