How do you scout with "scout ships"?

[UrbanMech]

How do you allow these corvettes to scout but able to escape without being destroyed? I've tried putting the higher top speed drive on it and the smaller jammer that is able to fit but even if I immediately retreat after finding the enemies position (and I am pretty sure I have the jammer aimed on them) the ship gets hammered down and killed.

Am I doing this wrong? I'll be honest I only have a few games trying this so maybe I got unlucky too.

[Brother Pedro]

Make sure you have the spyglass radar, as it has longer range. Radar range is the hard limit on how far you'll be able to detect enemy (changing in the next update). Coupled with the stealth drive you should be able to detect track while remain undetected from around 11km away (vs your radar range of 13.5km).

[UrbanMech]

Originally posted by Brother Pedro:

Make sure you have the spyglass radar, as it has longer range. Radar range is the hard limit on how far you'll be able to detect enemy (changing in the next update).

I'll try that out. I think I need to switch the engine back to the regular one for it to have enough power but it does sound like that would be the way to go.

Just saw you edit with the added info of engine, alright I see now. Will give it a go, thanks!

[CHOO CHOO]

A spyglass corvette, mind you, is really just a spyglass and nothing else. Corvettes are almost too small for spyglasses. It's doable, but it won't be defensible.

[UrbanMech]

Sorry if this is obvious but how do I give it enough power to support the spyglass radar? The highest im getting is 3025 / 4000

[Frostiken]

Originally posted by GhostBear:

Sorry if this is obvious but how do I give it enough power to support the spyglass radar? The highest im getting is 3025 / 4000

One small reactor booster and two plant control centers. You can't use the Raider or Prowler drive but the rest work.

If you put the Whiplash drive on it, you can then strap on either a bunch of Class 1 missile launchers (I guess for decoys to keep your ship safe) or the Class 2 or 3 launcher to give it some teeth. But you have no damage control and no magazine and no power budget, so this is your only option. Class 2 with Hybrid missiles is probably the only decent option since you have no missile bus either so you want something vaguely survivable.

[UrbanMech]

Originally posted by Frostiken:

Originally posted by GhostBear:

Sorry if this is obvious but how do I give it enough power to support the spyglass radar? The highest im getting is 3025 / 4000

One small reactor booster and two plant control centers. You can't use the Raider or Prowler drive but the rest work.

If you put the Whiplash drive on it, you can then strap on either a bunch of Class 1 missile launchers (I guess for decoys to keep your ship safe) or the Class 2 or 3 launcher to give it some teeth. But you have no damage control and no magazine and no power budget, so this is your only option. Class 2 with Hybrid missiles is probably the only decent option since you have no missile bus either so you want something vaguely survivable.

Ah thank you! I missed the plant control center lol. I'm actually low on points on this fleet (3k) and was using it as a pure scout for my long range ships, ww2 style (well as if it was an airplane). I'll see how it turns out

[Highscore]

Originally posted by GhostBear:

How do you allow these corvettes to scout but able to escape without being destroyed? I've tried putting the higher top speed drive on it and the smaller jammer that is able to fit but even if I immediately retreat after finding the enemies position (and I am pretty sure I have the jammer aimed on them) the ship gets hammered down and killed.

Am I doing this wrong? I'll be honest I only have a few games trying this so maybe I got unlucky too.

You have a few options.

A paralax radar + whiplash drive corvette can fit DC teams, and even a pinnard. It's also very low sig, so hard to spot, and can burn-through with the paralax to get through jamming and boost range. Great option.

A spyglass radar + whiplash drive corvette can't fit DC teams, but has those 12km of range, on a hull that's still very hard to spot. Also a great option. Hard choice between the two.

You can cover those with a second, EWAR corvette. Look at the EWAR corvette in starter fleet TF Ash - that corvette has no radar, but 2 Blanket jamemrs, a Hangup, and a Bullseye. Jam to hide the radar corvette, and lock anything the radar corvette spots (since the radar corvette won't have the power to bring a bullseye).

[TheDeadlyShoe]

a lot of people favor scout frigates over corvettes just because they are much more able to power the requisite sensors gear. They are almost as stealthy with Prowler drive but substantially slower.

[MOK]

Yeah, seems to me that corvettes just can't do the scout role justice, except insofar as they have the smaller signature. I've settled on preferring frigates for the task.

[CHOO CHOO]

Smaller signature, faster and cheaper. If you expect to use your scout only as a sort of opening move, then a frigate may be too large an investment.

[UrbanMech]

Forgot to follow up here in that it worked better now. Thanks for the additional tips

[Prophet_01]

Most of what you're asking for is already in the game. Frigates and corvettes are generally the best scouts (for the alliance).

You can use a prowler engine to reduce signature. It's a very slow engine and requires some thinking ahead though. Opinions on it vary.

You can use blanket jammers to reduce the enemies radar effectiveness temporarily. Not necessarily good for sustained stealth since it increases your signature just by having it equipped but still great to get away in a sticky situation. You can also put these on less stealthy ships to cover the scouts.

You can be extra cheeky and use passive detection - the Pinnard ELINT system. Equip 2 ships with one of these and they will triangulate every radar source within line of sight (from much further away than it can see you). It can't be jammed and you can turn of radar to further reduce signature.

If you're running active sensors with a spyglass, it's generally recommended to also equip one or two adaptive receiver modules. They boost effectiveness which means you'll get tracks closer to the maximum range. Helps a lot to stay out of enemy sensors.

You can also aim the front of your ship at the target for an additional slight decrease of signature (smaller silhouette). Every bit helps.

You can combine these for maximum fun.

[Brother Pedro]

You only need one, however, with only one you'll only see the direction of enemy ship. With two, you can triangulate and get distance.

[CHOO CHOO]

Do you need to triangulate manually or does the game handle that for you?

[Durendal.exe]

Originally posted by CHOO CHOO:

Do you need to triangulate manually or does the game handle that for you?

The game handles all such things for you. The only thing that actually needs triangulation is ELINT systems, and that's automatic so long as you've got two on separate ships