Fighting Hints
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General
- If you are having trouble fighting a certain species' ships, practice against them in Super-Melee using the same ships you have on hand.
- There are no perfect ships or useless ships. Every ship has its advantages and disadvantages. If you learn them well, you will be a good fighter. That said, there are generally weak ships, and ships which are almost unable to beat certain ships in one fight.
- Diversify your Fleet. A new ship from an alien ally could prove priceless against races you could not defeat in combat beforehand. If you are unfamiliar with a ship of a new ally, test it in Super-Melee.
- Raw firepower does not guarantee victory. The Chmmr Avatar, the Ur-Quan Dreadnought and the Kohr-Ah Marauder have the most firepower in the game, but there are ways to defeat them with other ships with less firepower.
- Use the planet's gravity well. Slow ships can use it to accelerate beyond their maximum velocity using the Gravity Whip maneuver. Luring a fast ship near the planet can make it easier to hit. The Chmmr Avatar can force the enemy ship to collide with the planet with its special ability.
- In mid-range combat the two ships tend to be directly opposite each other. Keep this in mind while fighting.
- Know the general location of the planet while fighting. It is easy to lose track of it in a close range fight and to suffer serious damage or destruction by crashing into it.
- An alternative strategy to consider is to focus on building up your Precursor flagship by acquiring advanced technology for it as soon as the opportunity arises. A properly configured flagship with full upgrades will outmatch any other ship in the game. Try to balance this with progressing the storyline since technically the game is "timed."
Tactics Against Specific Ships
- Check the starship descriptions to learn about each ship's weapons, special abilities, and tactical advantages and disadvantages.
- The Slylandro Probe will usually back off if you point your guns at it. In the game a Spathi Eluder will beat a Probe every time with BUTT rockets, by you allowing it to chase you. Strangely, this does not usually work in Super-Melee.
- The Earthling Cruiser can prove to be a match for the Slylandro Probe. If both ships spawn with significant distance from each other, the Cruiser can fire two missiles which would most likely hit the probe. When the probe approaches, the player will continually use the point-defense laser (4 times) until the Probe is destroyed. In Super-Melee, the Probe tends to dodge the missiles.
- The Ilwrath Avenger's AI script is highly vulnerable to the Zoq-Fot-Pik Stinger and Shofixti Scout, as well as some more expensive ships such as the Supox Blade. The key is to fly backwards and pepper the enemy with fire while the stupid computer chases you.
- Yehat Terminators are one of the more difficult adversaries you will run into. The Orz Nemesis is the best available escort to use against these. Deploy the maximum number of marines and let them do the fighting for you.
- Mycon Podships are extremely vulnerable to the Arilou Skiff, as well as Yehat Terminators and Utwig Juggers. With the Skiff, dodge Plasmoids while moving towards the Podship. Unload your laser once in range, and either continue firing slowly as the battery recharges, or just lead a Plasmoid right into the Podship. With the Terminator or Jugger, chase the Podship down, blocking any incoming Plasmoids with your shield. Once within range, simply blast the Podship out of the sky (but be prepared to turn the shield on again to ward off more Plasmoids).
- Both the Ur-Quan Dreadnought and the Kohr-Ah Marauder's AI scripts are vulnerable to the Spathi Eluder. Simply run away from the enemy, dodging weapons fire and fighters as neccessary, while firing your B.U.T.Ts. Other ships the Marauder is vulnerable to include the Utwig Jugger and the Yehat Terminator.
- The VUX Intruder is easily beaten by the Earthling Cruiser. The battle couldn't be simpler, just fly around lobbing nukes until the clumsy Intruder explodes.
Artificial Intelligence Issues
- The computer opponent is very predictable, and generally avoids pillboxing.
- The computer is very quick and accurate at close range. Keep at standoff range until you get better.
- The computer will lead its shots. If your ship is moving in a straight line and with constant speed, the computer will not aim at your ship, but at the place where your ship will be when the projectile gets there. To counter this, change course frequently.
Full-Game Only
- Do not forget about your emergency warp escape. Escort vessels can be recalled from battle by pressing the ESC key with no fuel cost. A ship that successfully escapes will be suspended from battle for the remainder of the melee. Using the emergency warp escape with your flagship will evacuate your entire fleet, but will use 5 fuel units. (Note: This will also function for the flagship if fuel is not available.) The emergency warp escape unit is installed at the start of the game by speaking with Commander Hayes.
- A ship is vulnerable for about six seconds when it is preparing to escape combat, but it is not affected by gravity. Flying very close to the planet before initiating a warp escape will usually keep you out of trouble, as the intense gravity well is hard to navigate for most ships and some projectiles.
- If you are overwhelmed while facing multiple ships (or worse, infinite ships), you can take advantage of the musical delay after destroying one of your enemy's ships with your flagship. As the enemy ship explodes, quickly hit the ESC key. (Warning: There is still some risk that the next ship will appear very close to you and will be able to inflict damage.)
- Max out the Turning Jets and Antimatter Thrusters on your Precursor vessel as soon as possible.
- Put a rear-firing gun on your Precursor vessel. Now you can fire while having the option to run away.
- Properly using the side or off-center cannons is not easy. You may consider delaying their use until more advanced technology appears.
- Combat salvage does not use Storage Bay space. Bounty hunters need not buy them.
- When entering battle, VUX Intruders cannot use their point-blank hyperspace trick against your Precursor fleet. This makes it a lot easier collecting RUs by destroying lots of their ships.
- While in HyperSpace, the Slylandro Probe can be outrun with enough Antimatter Thrusters, helping you to avoid these encounters. However, do not expect to avoid every probe; you still need to be able to destroy this ship type.