Combat Tactics

[HuskyDynamics]

Space combat in Endless Sky is one of the main features of the game, and one of its most noticeable attributes is the variation in scale of the fleets you are fighting. With a few exceptions, you will almost always be facing an enemy that falls into one of these three categories:

1. Smaller and weaker forces
   
2. Equivalent forces
   
3. Larger and more powerful forces

The first scenario is almost never an issue, as the smaller and weaker opposing forces can easily be defeated. The second and third scenarios can be more challenging, however.
There's lots of different strategies that can be used in these situations, but it is likely that you prefer certain techniques or strategies. What are your tactics for space combat?

[HuskyDynamics]

I generally tell my escorts to follow my flagship immediately, then run circles around the cluster of enemy ships and pick them off as they try and chase me. It's slower than some of the more brute-force methods but tends to keep any single ship from being surrounded and destroyed.

[quarague]

My tactic is essentially 'use a big enough ship/ fleet to always be in situation 1.' possibly reload and try a few times if in situation 2.

[Goose]

my tactic? i put flamethrowers in e v e r y ship in my fleet, spare the flagship, wich is a wanderer warship with sunbeam turrets that absolutely own in combat, if a situation is a bit too big i will field my drones that also have flamethrowers and a fuel tank on them, everyone gets heat disabled and the ships that have guns AND flamethrowers just go around shooting everyone.

[noctilucus]

Similar to HuskyDynamics' tactics: group my fleet around my flagship, avoid getting caught in the middle of the action.
Initially also combined with longer range weapons to be able to deal damage before the enemy ships could attack (except for missiles); once my fleet became more powerful, switched more to towers and high power, shorter range weapons

[tsingi]

I don't have a preference really, still learning. That may never change.
I am currently collecting early jump drives by taking out Raiders with Quicksilvers.
I'm excited about how well that is working. I have three Jump drives and three fuel processors and it's only January. Good eq for when I go after bigger fish. I expect I'll have quite a few more before I can upgrade my flagship from a Bounder to a Centipede. Then I'll go back to plan 'A' and start collecting Leviathans for my sweet sweet jump drives. Six would be just fine.
This is really only practical because we can store eq on planets now.
I'm thinking this is one of my best starts to date. I've finished the FW missions but that's almost as far as I've gotten. I keep wanting better starts.

[joefitts63]

Store equipment on planets? Is this main release or beta? If main, how?

[tsingi]

I update the source and compile it every couple weeks or so. I think it's mainstream, we've had discussions about it.
In the outfitter panel using 'u'install and 'i'nstall. The docs are in a past thread or you could go to Preferences->Settings->Reactivate first-time help and have it come up the next time you go to an Outfitter.
(There is other stuff you can do like put things INTO cargo, this can be useful! see the docs)

[quarague]

storing equipment on planets is a new feature of version 0.9.13, it's not in 0.9.12. I'm not sure whether 13 is still beta or whether it is the current main but you can get it if you want.

[tuk0z]

> I generally tell my escorts to follow my flagship immediately, then run circles around the cluster of enemy ships and pick them off

That one tactic seems less morron that mine, but @HuskyDynamic about how much of your ships (flamethrower) guns would you say face the coming ennemy ship? I know there are flame turrets but really that's more like a bonus, right?

[HuskyDynamics]

Originally posted by tuk0z:

> I generally tell my escorts to follow my flagship immediately, then run circles around the cluster of enemy ships and pick them off

That one tactic seems less morron that mine, but @HuskyDynamic about how much of your ships (flamethrower) guns would you say face the coming ennemy ship? I know there are flame turrets but really that's more like a bonus, right?

Well, since the Kestrels are faster than my flagship, they're able to kind of turn and shoot while still keeping up. It's a little hard to explain, but it seems to work pretty well.

[jonnin]

My problem is #4) you have to keep a poorly configured ship or worse, many ships alive.
For the most part I let my fleet do what they do, and try to overwhelm them. My fleet has high shield & high shield regen (beetles currently) tough ships that can do their own thing but mostly work as a loose pack just due to how they warp in. Kes has low shield cap, unfortunately I probably won't use it for serious fighting.