Pilot Archive
Thread: black epsilon, tier 3, mission 3
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Xilch
Sat Apr 16, 2005 2:55 pm
#1
im having ALOT of difficulty with this mission. it is the one where you have to take out a rebel emissary (who has about 7 other tier 3 - 4 ships around him) and as soon as i get near, him and all his friends blast me to death in a matter of seconds 
any tips for beating this mission? im using a tie interceptor, mass is maxed out. itried it with a bomber, but it had super bad reaction time and slow maneuvering and i died just as fast (if not faster)
help please 
testify4
Sat Apr 16, 2005 8:47 pm
#3
That is one of the tougher Tier 3 missions to complete solo. I needed help on this one from my Ace friend, and after that it was much easier.
The good news is that it's not too long, so if you botch the Nova part of it, you haven't lost an hour of your life. Here are some tips:
- The escorts move a lot faster than the Nova. If you can get close to the escorts and strip them away from the Nova with a fast engine and some boosters, you can engage and disable them without having to deal with the Nova at the same time.
- If you have Bomber Strike, this will help a LOT. Target the engines of the Nova and lay the Bomber Strike on it. This will distract the Nova, but be careful-- a couple hits from this thing and you're toast. A disabled Nova is trivial to destroy. Remain 550m away in the blind spots and blast away!
- This Nova likes to roll around, unlike some of the sitting ducks in Kessel. With Novas and gunships that don't move, you can come in their blind spot. This one will move on you, so it's hard to stay safe. If you have good shields, a bit of armor in the front, and most importantly, a copy of the Privateer capacitor to shield shunt program, you stand a better chance.
If you want to do it solo, it's going to take a couple runs to get the feel for how to take out the gunship. If you don't have bomberstrike, and don't want to run the mission multiple times until it works out, nab an Ace for 15 minutes and you should be good to go.
An Ace on missions 3 and 4 of Black Epsilon is a great thing. Those two missions are harder than the first three Tier 4 missions I have completed!
The good news is that it's not too long, so if you botch the Nova part of it, you haven't lost an hour of your life. Here are some tips:
- The escorts move a lot faster than the Nova. If you can get close to the escorts and strip them away from the Nova with a fast engine and some boosters, you can engage and disable them without having to deal with the Nova at the same time.
- If you have Bomber Strike, this will help a LOT. Target the engines of the Nova and lay the Bomber Strike on it. This will distract the Nova, but be careful-- a couple hits from this thing and you're toast. A disabled Nova is trivial to destroy. Remain 550m away in the blind spots and blast away!
- This Nova likes to roll around, unlike some of the sitting ducks in Kessel. With Novas and gunships that don't move, you can come in their blind spot. This one will move on you, so it's hard to stay safe. If you have good shields, a bit of armor in the front, and most importantly, a copy of the Privateer capacitor to shield shunt program, you stand a better chance.
If you want to do it solo, it's going to take a couple runs to get the feel for how to take out the gunship. If you don't have bomberstrike, and don't want to run the mission multiple times until it works out, nab an Ace for 15 minutes and you should be good to go.
An Ace on missions 3 and 4 of Black Epsilon is a great thing. Those two missions are harder than the first three Tier 4 missions I have completed!
testify4
Sat Apr 16, 2005 8:58 pm
#4
Oh, another thing I should mention if the escorts are chewing you up.
You can get some good practice dealing with multiple aggressive ships by heading to Red Sin Chimaera in Endor for some Tier 4 fun. Look for the Death Watch ship spawn about 2500m from the hyperspace point.
Bind keys to "Targest closest enemy", "Target under recticle", and "Target last attacker". By using these keys and watching the radar, you can manage many attackers at once. When I engage, I like to pick the enemy that's coming straight in and joust them. I then switch to another attacker and hit them until I see another ship closing on my six, and then I cut throttle and turn rapidly to engage them. If a stronger ship crosses your path while you are dogfighting, you can target them and give them a couple shots to make them evade you. By hitting each ship a little, you wear them down and keep them from hanging on your tail and picking you apart.
Also bind a key to select components on your target. Practice disabling ships. It's WAY easier to disable a ship than to destroy it, and it takes it out of play all the same. It's essential to disable ships in many of the missions, or you will be overwelmed if you're solo.
This is good practice for some of the Tier 4 missions where you will meet wave after wave of Tier 4 and Tier 5 ships, and it's my favorite location to get the million experience you need for each of your Tier 4 boxes.
You can do the same thing at a Tier 3 spawn by Nym's Hovel in Lok if you want to start out with some easier enemies.
Good luck!
You can get some good practice dealing with multiple aggressive ships by heading to Red Sin Chimaera in Endor for some Tier 4 fun. Look for the Death Watch ship spawn about 2500m from the hyperspace point.
Bind keys to "Targest closest enemy", "Target under recticle", and "Target last attacker". By using these keys and watching the radar, you can manage many attackers at once. When I engage, I like to pick the enemy that's coming straight in and joust them. I then switch to another attacker and hit them until I see another ship closing on my six, and then I cut throttle and turn rapidly to engage them. If a stronger ship crosses your path while you are dogfighting, you can target them and give them a couple shots to make them evade you. By hitting each ship a little, you wear them down and keep them from hanging on your tail and picking you apart.
Also bind a key to select components on your target. Practice disabling ships. It's WAY easier to disable a ship than to destroy it, and it takes it out of play all the same. It's essential to disable ships in many of the missions, or you will be overwelmed if you're solo.
This is good practice for some of the Tier 4 missions where you will meet wave after wave of Tier 4 and Tier 5 ships, and it's my favorite location to get the million experience you need for each of your Tier 4 boxes.
You can do the same thing at a Tier 3 spawn by Nym's Hovel in Lok if you want to start out with some easier enemies.
Good luck!
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