Player VS. Player

This page is intended as an overview and guide to PvP combat in Vendetta.

General

Introduction

Vendetta Online is a game primarily based off of player vs player combat. Though there are other things you can do to earn a living as well as have fun, the "no where is safe" environment means that it's good to at least have a general knowledge of PvP. Therefore, this section may prove useful whether or not you choose to become a combat pilot. I can't stress this enough, YOU CAN (and will) BE SHOT ANYWHERE. Sometimes you don't choose the fight, the fight chooses you. So read on and attempt to master the art of PvP to fight for your nation, or in the hope that if (and when) you're attacked, you can make your attacker wish he'd picked a different target.

When To Start PvP

The twitch based combat system of Vendetta truly makes PvP related to skill more than to equipment. However, equipment can still make a difference. In PvP, though you see a variety of ships, you almost always see the best variants of each type of ship. It is highly reccomended to get combat, light and heavy weapons to level 5 (5/5/5/x/x) before beginning PvP. These levels will give you access to a good variety of ships and weapons that will increase your chances of surviving PvP. Once you have access to all of the ships and weapons, it becomes all about who's the better pilot.

Fight Better, Roam Freely!

Andy Spades recommends...
I have to disagree with the information given above. It's not only possible to start PvPing before reaching licences of 5, I would even recommend it. Of course you wouldn't really stand a chance attacking experienced players or trying to fight pirates, but practising fighting techniques in consensual PvP right from the start can help you a lot. Guilds can help you in finding an opponent ready to fight you in a weaker setup. Buswars are another great opportunity to test and improve your skills on opponents using similar equipment.

Some Message Board Threads

1. Dog fighting strategies - http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/1/13981
2. Thoughts on fighting. - http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/1/13523
3. Direction and Vision of PvP Combat - http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/13854

Choosing Your Weapons

There are plenty of ships and weapons available for use in combat, and the type of ship and loadout you choose will have an impact on your performance as a pilot. Experiment and pick what's best for you. Many pilots specialize in a specific type of combat and have their own layouts of choice. For a beginner, it is a good idea to hone your skills in one ship before moving on to another, but remember that as you gain experience, it's a good idea to expand your skills to include multiple ships and weapons. Anyone can specialize in one ship and loadout, but a veteran fighter can fight in any ship you give them, and that works to their advantage.

Ghost's SKV Combat Tips
Try everything! Even if you aren't any good at using one weapon, knowing how it functions will help you fight against it.

Ships

There are many different ships in VO that are suitable to combat, and many of them are more suitable to a specific style. If you find that one kind of ship doesn't work well for you right away, you can either practice in it to adapt and improve, or find another.

Heavy Ships Heavy ships such as the Hornet, Centaur and Ragnarok have an appeal of extra firepower that is hard to ignore. Offsetting this are their inability to move and evade quickly, and a large cross-section that makes them an easy target. They also have more armor, to deal with some of the extra damage they will take in a fight. To be proficient in a heavy ship, a pilot has to deal with all of these features and develop a combat strategy that uses them to his or her advantage. Heavy pilots must be prepared to take damage and exchange blows without fear of getting hit in order to deliver a heavy dose of firepower. They strafe and turn slower, so the pilot must stay aware of the situation to prevent opponents from getting above, below or behind them. Due to the difficulty in evading fire for extended durations, heavy pilots should aim to get in quickly, and kill quickly to end the fight. Fights between two heavy ships can be over in a matter of a few seconds.

Light Ships Light ships such as the Centurion, Vulture and Valkyrie are more agile and smaller, allowing them to evade fire more easily. This comes at the cost of a reduction in armor and overall firepower. Light pilots need to react quickly and make their shots count. Often it is necessary to change tactics constantly, getting in close to deliver a stream of fire, or controlling distance in a standoff to avoid a heavy hitter and give the pilot more time to react. Due to their agility and turn rate, light ships can be more difficult to aim as well as to hit, so fights between two light pilots can turn into an endurance match.

Cunjo's SCAR Combat Tips
If you are having difficulty aiming in a light ship, I recommend that you get used to aiming in a heavy ship first, and then graduate to a light once you become proficient at it; a heavier ship will turn slower, forcing you to plan your aiming better and allowing you to execute it more smoothly. A steady hand is essential.

Equipment

Great variation is also available in the weapons you choose to equip. Energy weapons provide endurance and require energy management to use effectively. Ordnance such as rockets have a limited ammo supply, but are effective in well-planned strikes. Homing missiles have very little manual accuracy, but can track a target without your assistance, allowing you to fire and forget. They are easy to dodge however, so should not be relied upon in PvP. It is often a good idea to fly with a mixture of energy and ordnance, allowing you to balance your strategy and pace your attack.

Energy Weapons Some energy weapons such as Gauss, Plasma Devestator and Gatling Turrets have a wide range of auto-aim, making it easier to hit your target at close range, but their auto-aim can destroy their accuracy at a long range unless you turn it off. Smaller, faster weapons are better when long-range precision and accuracy is required, but they also require more skill in aiming manually.

Ordnance Weapons Ordnance weapons such as Flares and Jackhammers are easy to use, but take some practice in becoming efficient with them. They travel more slowly than energy, allowing your target more time to evade at long ranges. They also have an additional handicap at exceptionally close ranges, as the proximity fuse does not arm until a short time after it has left your ship, so it may streak right past your target without detonating. When using ordinance, pace yourself and conserve your ammunition. Wait until you have clean shots to fire, and don't panic and fire it all off at once. Because rockets' forward velocity is impacted heavily by the velocity of your ship, you can aim them better when pressing forward. It is essential to coordinate both your strafes and aim for a good rocket 'throw'.

Cunjo's SCAR Combat Tips
I recommend that new pilots learn to use energy weapons that don't have excessive auto-aim in order to practice their aiming abilities. If you can fight well with a small auto-aim, you can fight decent with a large one, but the reverse is not typically true.

Some Popular Ship+Equipment Layouts

1. IDF Valkyrie Vigilant + 1 Neutron Blaster MkIII & 2 Sunflares
2. SkyCommand Prometheus + 1 Auto Gatling Turret & 2 Sunflares
3. Orion Rev C Centurion + 2 Neutron Blaster MkIII or Mk II
4. Itani Border Guardian + 2 Neutron Blaster MkIII or Mk II
5. Serco Vulture Guardian + 2 Neutron Blaster MkIII or Mk II
6. Any Vulture + 2 Gauss Cannons
7. TPG Atlas Type X + Auto Gatling Turret & Sunflare (Atlas of DOOOOOM!)
8. Centaur (preferably Tung variant) + Jackhammer & Sunflare & AGT (if you got bored with proms)

Don't be afraid to make your own combos, the possibilities are endless! Well, not really, but there's a lot of them.

Estrian Prosis's PvP Tips
My personal favourite is Valkyrie Vengeance, loaded with 1x Neut Mk3 or LENB, 1x Ineubis Raven Ion, and 1x Orion XGX Phase

Pirren's General Tips
I recommend that new pilots learn to balance ship weight. I often encounter pilots, running overloaded vessels. Look at ship's thrusts and it's total weight. For example: 11 tonn Prom will be much more lighter on it's feet than 7 tonn Marauder.

Combat Training Videos

Currently, there are 3 training videos available to the public. There may be more coming depending on how much free time I have. The following videos deal with some basic topics:

-Dealing With Lightning Mines

-Flare Dodging

-The 5th Strafe

You can find them all here: http://skv.wwwd.name/

Tactics

Backrolling - Although effective in botting, it is frowned upon for PvP. Backrolling involves holding two strafes, one of them being backwards, and one roll key. This makes you difficult to hit, but keep in mind you won't hit your enemy much either. There are much more effective and creative ways to fight than backrolling. Backrolling is not to be confused with keeping your distance. To be backrolling, one must be locked into a backwards + sidways strafe with a roll.

Jousting - Best applied when using gauss cannons, jousting consists of leaving FA on and making passes at your opponent. Gauss is most effective when jousting because of its good auto aim, and high damage per shot. Though heavier, plasma devastators are also effective at this tactic due to the same advantages.

Ghost's SKV Combat Tips
Remember, the gauss cannons only weaknesses are their weight and their long fire delay. Use this information to your advantatge when fighting with or against gauss.

Spamming - Not to be confused with simply using missiles. Spamming involves emptying most of the ammo from a missile tube at one target. This is another frowned upon tactic in PvP. Not only is it very annoying, but when facing an experienced pilot it is very ineffective as well. The best use of missiles is through careful aim and timing your shots correctly.

Rocket Netting - When using rockets, a useful tactic can be to use their proximity detonation to your advantage. Netting involves shooting multiple rockets in slightly different directions giving your target less escape routes. I emphasize slightly because if done with too much variation, not only will your rockets most likely miss, but you'll make a large target of yourself as well. As with all tactics, this one takes practice to become efficient.

Power Strafe - Power strafing can technically be considered any manuver that involves keeping your ship in a strafe at a high velocity. In my opinion, this is easiest to accomplish by turning FA on, forward thrust to 0 and using full thrust on either your port or starboard strafes. It's best to vary your strafes though, as staying in a pure power strafe for very long will make you a target.

Distance Control - In my opinion, this is the most difficult style of combat, but can be one of the most effective. Distance control involves using FA off and on when needed to keep your target exactly where you want him. Note that this does not mean simply staying far away. Real distance control (in an energy dogfight, for example) involves staying between 200-150m from your target and not allowing him to get an angle on you. Pick and choose your moments to close the range inside 150m so that you always have a good shot when you move in close, then back away once your enemy has recovered and is able to line up a shot on you. Distance control can take months to perfect, but if you stick with it the results can be very rewarding. Before you become experienced in this tactic, expect to get blown up plenty of times while practicing it.

Chain Firing - A great way to get out more shots in less time which raises your chances of actually hitting the target. It's easily achieved by setting weapon ports to different weapon groups and then using the appropriate firing keys to fire. Chainfiring is not autonomous, however, so you will have to time clicking the buttons just a fraction of a second apart to achieve chainfiring. Don't let go of the first button when hitting the second! Your weapons will continue the chain if you successfully start it and don't let go of the buttons. Also, if you are chainfiring two weapons, set the tertiary group to fire both weapons at the same so that when you get a chance at that easy hit you can still deliver both weapons worth of damage. This tactic is widely accepted in Vendetta-Online, and enhances the performance of slower firing weapons.

Ghost's SKV Combat Tips
The best pilots have a variety of tactics at their command. Even if you're not proficient at certain tactics, familiarize yourself with them all so that you can recognize them on the fly. This will not only increase your ability to counter one-dimensional pilots, but allow you to slip in and out of these tactics quickly and efficiently should you need to do so. If something isn't working, try a new approach. Remember, you don't always need to be using a tactic. My favorite way to fight is to simply watch my target and adapt to what it is doing. The most I use any one tactic for at a time is maybe 5-10 seconds, slipping in and out of them to keep my opponent guessing. Above all, don't let yourself fall into a predictable pattern. No one fights exaclty the same, therefore you should not fight everyone the same way. Adapt, adapt, adapt.

Combat Ranges

What Range To Fight At?

Your desired combat range depends entirely on your ship and weapon configuration:

All energy weapons are best used at close range with the exception of rail guns. (Though rail guns use ammo, they are often considered energy weapons due to their high energy consumption.) Under 150m is optimal for most.

Rockets and missiles are best used when at mid-range, around 150-200m. Be aware that all rockets have a safety range where they will not detonate. If your target gets too close to you, you will not be able to hit.

Estrian Prosis's PvP Tips
Iceflares and Starflares are the exception, where their safety proximity is 0, however you will find this is ineffective for people to use, as it usually ends with them doing more damage to themselves, because of splash damage.

Rail guns are best used at long range and are a defensive weapon. Stay as far back as possible, make your enemy come to you, and remember that you are capable of scoring a hit on your target anywhere under 1000m. But, I'm not going to give away all the secrets of rail combat, you'll have to find those on your own.

Heavy ships such as the Ragnarok and Prometheus turn very slowly. Naturally, you want to keep your target in front of you. So heavier ships are best used at close-mid range while being careful not to let your enemy get the turn on you. Depending on your loadout, heavy ships can be useful at long range as well.

Light ships can be used at a variety of ranges and depend, once again, on the weapon layout you are using or facing. Obviously one would want to take the fight as close as possible if his enemy is using rails, while one might want to keep his distance if his enemy is using rockets. Don't get stuck in a rut. Adapt and be flexible.

Ghost's SKV Combat Tips
Having trouble dodging rockets? Use distance to your advantage. Try to bait your opponent into firing off a rocket or two by using a controlled approach, being careful not to get too close. Once he fires, full throttle backwards and strafe away from the rocket. Because you are moving away from the rocket, it will appear to move slower and thus easier to dodge.

Tips On How To Control Your Distance To The Target

If you're aiming for distance control, you're going to want to be able to switch back and forth between FA off and on very quickly. However, keeping FA off will yield the best results when trying to stay at a specific range.

Awareness

Possibly the most valuable tool in combat is a pilot's awareness. When in a dogfight, it can be difficult to keep an open focus. It is all too tempting to focus tightly on the crosshairs and try to get that crack shot in. If you do this for too long in open combat, you're asking to be ambushed. A great pilot will know when you're sneaking up behind him and have adjusted before you're within weapons range.

How To Stay Sharp

When not in combat:

• Frequently check the in sector ship list (the "u" key). This is an invaluable tool for knowing who is in the sector, how far away they are, and whether or not they are hostile. You can often plan your target order and tactics or make the decision not to engage at all before your enemy is within radar range.

• Don't go AFK in space unless you're in an empty sector. And by empty I don't just mean a sector with no one in it. I mean a sector that's out of the way, in the middle of space. No wormholes, no stations, no nothing.

When in combat:

• Get used to glancing at your radar. If you see red dots closing in, chances are you might want to disengage and re-evaluate the situation before engaging again. If you see many small yellow dots (rockets), you'd best get out of the way before you explode.

• Pay attention to sounds. Often times you can hear a ship that is close to you. That engine noise can be a sign that someone is trying to line up a shot. Also, should you hear incoming fire that doesn't appear to be coming from your target, check your radar to see who is closest to you. If it's apparent that the fire is coming from your wingman, you may continue as normal. If it's not clear who the fire is coming from, assume that it's an enemy and adjust for it.

Ghost's SKV Combat Tips
Another tactic that I like is to set your incoming ship notification sound to just outside of energy weapons range. I find 650m gives me enough warning to figure out if the incoming ship is friend or foe.

• The eyes have it. The best way to keep track of the situation is to keep it in front of you. When fighting multiple opponents, if possible try to keep them in view. This applies doubly if you're flying a vulture or any other ship with a large profile. Though sometimes, with smaller ships such as a centurion, you can get away with (and often it is better) to let the enemy surround you and rely on your agility to keep you alive. Though I can't stress enough, if you take your eyes off of a target carrying rockets, you deserve what's coming to you.

Estrian Prosis's PvP Tips
If you find yourself being hit while trying to line up flares for hits, try to learn a dodge as almost a second nature, this allows you to concentrate more on getting your hits in. This works the same way for energy fights.

• Coordinate with your wingmen. Be aware of who is doing what and where at all times. If there's more than one of you on a target, try to adjust your flying to make sure that both of you have clear shots. It is very annoying to have a friendly pilot unintentionally intercept shots that were meant for an enemy.

Ghost's SKV Combat Tips
When piloting a ship with a slim profile such as a vulture, be aware of which of your sides are facing your enemy. If you have someone firing at you from the rear, use the horizontal and vertical lines on your radar to make sure your slim edge is facing them. This will make you a much more difficult target.

Estrian Prosis's PvP Tips
I tend to find, flying ships with quite a large profile from front (e.g. Valkyrie Vengeance) makes you more proactive during a fight, to dodge as if you have such a large target area. For example, if you fly a vulture, your tendency to dodge incoming ordinance (whether it be rockets or energy) decreases slightly, because you are in the mindset that it will not hit you because of your slim profile. If you think that every shot possibly can hit you, you tend to be more proactive during a fight, to dodge incoming ordinance.

Group Combat

Also known as "furballs", group combat can be a real blast provided you can survive more than a few minutes.

Furball Tips

1. Have a plan. Know what targets are priority and which you can let slide for a while.
2. Communicate with your wingmen.
3. Be aware of the entire battlefield.
4. Focus the whole group's fire on one target before moving to the next. Don't turn the battle into a bunch of little 1 on 1's. Use your team to your advantage.
5. Don't be afraid to call for help.
6. Watch for rockets. They're devastating if you don't see them coming. That being said, try to take out ships with rockets first.
7. If you're in a heavy ship, stay near the smaller fighters on your team.
8. If you're in a smaller fighter, protect the heavy ships on your team.
9. And again: adapt, adapt, adapt.

If you die early, don't get frusturated. Learn from your mistakes and you will get better with practice.

Ghost's SKV Combat Tips
Have a chat bind set up to call your targets. Time spent typing is time that you could be fighting.

Pirren's General Tips
Participate in Bus wars or declare your own. It boosts your Bus kills level, PKs and moreover gives perfect furball expierence that can be used in future combats.

Etiquette

Although we all get absorbed sometimes, it's good to remember that this is just a game. There are no Serco, no Itani and no UIT. We're all just gamers playing a game. It's easy to get caught up during battles, but please try to be nice. We're all playing to have fun after all.

Common PvP Etiquette

1. Respect your opponent. Kindness comes full circle, so treat others how you would like to be treated.
2. After the fight is over, whether you won or lost it is considered a salute to message your opponent: "gf" meaning "good fight" (not girlfriend).
3. Hail your target before attacking to give them fair warning.
4. If you're going to roleplay, be able to tell the difference between acting in character and being personally offensive. You can RP an offensive character without insulting people on a personal level.
5. Do not run from a 1 on 1 fight if you initiated it. This is considered very cowardly and will come at the cost of respect. Running in general is frowned upon. There is very little penalty for dying in Vendetta and it's a lot more fun if everyone stays till the death. You'll be right back in the battle a few moments later.*
6. Avoid ganking (double teaming a lone pilot).*
7. If you're using all ammo based weapons and you find yourself out of ammo during a 1 on 1, inform your opponent that you are out of ammo and let him decide if he wants the kill.*
8. Be humble. Nobody likes an arrogant pilot.
9. Don't complain if you die or were killed by an underhanded tactic. The game is called Vendetta, take that to heart. Instead of whining or insulting the person who killed you, keep a lid on it and go make him pay. Nothing is more satisfying.

All that being said, taunting and trash talk is okay provided it's all in good fun. A little bit of trash talk always makes things more interesting. =)

• 5,6 and 7 apply only to 1 on 1 fights. In group battles such as Border Patrol or Border Skirmish, ganking becomes a viable tactic. Running is still frowned upon, but may be done with less disgrace than running from a 1 on 1.

PvP FAQ

When To Use Auto-Aim And When To Turn It Off

Learning to toggle your auto-aim takes a great deal of practice. In close range, the auto-aim is mostly accurate and you're pretty safe to leave it on. When fighting at ranges outside of 250m, you may find your energy weapons are more effective with auto-aim off. The key is to not get frusturated and keep working at it. Eventually, you'll find yourself getting an occasional hit at long range with auto-aim off rather than never hitting at range with auto-aim on.

Ghost's SKV Combat Tips
Try binding your auto-aim to your mouse wheel or a joystick button that can be pressed quickly. This makes for a quick and easy toggle.

Pirren's General Tips
If you can't hit target when fighting at close or medium ranges try changing autoaim on/off every half burst of fire, then look for shot's path in both modes and notice what damages specific opponent. Sudden shot's trajectory changes made by A/A on/off may surprise and damage even expierenced opponent.

Does Anyone Fight With Mouselook On?

From what I've heard, people who use a joystick setup prefer mouselook off. I use a mouse setup and prefer it on. Though there are some pilots who use a mouse and like mouselook off. My advice for this, as with everything else, is play around with them both and find out what you like.

-- This is a matter of preference, though in order to utilize a joystick properly, mouselook must be off. I'm going to edit in a section on this a bit later. ~ Cunjo 12:42, 6 February 2007 (EST)

-- That depends on what you use the joystick for. I for instance (being left-handed) use the joystick for strafing and turning and the mouse for aiming. For this I need to keep MLook turned on. Btw: "a bit later"? :P ~ Andy Spades September 2011

When to use Flight-Assist And When To Turn It Off

It is somewhat easier to land ENERGY shots with FA turned on. It is easier to dodge and aim ROCKETS with FA turned off.

Ghost's SKV Combat Tips
Mix up your styles and don't get stuck in a pattern. FA on or FA off, flying in a pattern will still get you hit. Like the auto-aim toggle, try setting your FA toggle to your mousewheel (you can wheel in one direction for FA and the other for auto-aim) or a joystick button that can be pressed quickly. Play around with it and see what you like.

Dodge Binds

Dodge binds are programmed dodge patterns. Basically, you press a button and the ship will carry out the manuver that you have programmed ahead of time. I can't stress enough, DO NOT USE DODGE BINDS. While temporarily effective, they lock you into a predictable pattern and make you incredibly inflexible. The binds will take away your ability to adapt during a fight. Also, you're not going to become a better pilot by using programmed binds. Keep practicing, find tactics you like and perfect those, but never lock yourself into a pattern such as a bind.

Other General Combat Tips

1. Remember to try out new layouts once in a while.
2. Remember you can strafe in all *4* directions!
3. Adapt adapt adapt! Make the enemy play into your strengths.
4. Be patient.
5. Don't get frusturated. If you feel that anger boiling up about being ganked by those two guys you hate, turn off the game and take a break for a while.
6. Remember, it's just a game.
7. If you're really interested in learning PvP, find a mentor to spar with. And not just any random mentor, people will do anything just for a mentor point. Ask around and find out who's good at PvP and try talking to them about practicing. If you're going to practice PvP, you're going to want it to be with someone who is much more experienced than you. You'll learn much quicker this way. And again, refer to #4 above.

Ghost's SKV Combat Tips
Having trouble hitting your target? Try aiming using your strafes. For practice, target an asteroid or stationary object and work on getting a good shot using only strafes and rolls, don't turn your ship at all. With practice, you can be much more precise using your strafes to aim and turning only for minor corrections. This decreases your chances of overcompensating in your aim and leaving yourself wide open for a shot.

Mentors

The following players are experienced PvPers and have expressed an interest in mentoring players:

• Chaakin Tockoa
• spidey
• Maalik, &c.
• Estrian Prosis
• Mr. Chaos
• Strat
• yoda
• Atice

• Shape (not active)
• Gavan (not active)
• Ghost (not active)
• Eldrad (not active)
• Bojan (not active)
• Spellcast (not active)
• Borb Sarken (not active)

That's just a few. There are other good pvpers who I haven't listed because they haven't expressed a desire to mentor that I know of. Ask around on channel 100 for people who are experienced at pvp. Remember, you don't want to get taught by any old sap who just wants to use you for your mentor point. The pvpers on this list are all veterans and are usually willing to teach you a thing or two. You can look for me online as well if you like. I'm always more than happy to mentor new pilots. You can find me in-game as Ghost.

You should also consider checking this thread on the VO forums, which lists possible mentors and is mostly more up-to-date than this wiki.

Questions and Comments

If you're unsure of something, or have a question that wasn't covered, click the edit button to the right and post your question there along with your in-game name. You'll have to make a wiki account, but that's quick and easy. Either myself or someone else will be happy to assist you when we can.

--Ghost

Player Submitted Questions

1. Is Ghost in the running for Most Detailed Editor? Galadrix 22:35, 17 August 2006 (EDT)
2. If I add tips to the page should I put them in a fancy colored box like that?
3. On an IBG, is it worth mounting twin Ions mk3 for 200kg total, instead of twin Neutron for 1200 or 800kg total? (I calculated a loss of damage per second of 1000) Gilneas 08:01, 9 March 2007 (EST)
4. I pilot a Valkyrie most of the time, tri-neut. I have trouble being unpredictable in combat- I lock into a pattern and die. Any advice?
5. I have difficulty with people that backroll. At the moment I try to get around the side of them so that auto-aim will have a chance at working. I've tried turning off auto-aim and trying to predict where their ship will end up while rolling, but I haven't had much luck yet. Any ideas? --TerribleCabbage 00:30, 7 October 2007 (EDT)

Answers

1. Not that I know of =P Thanks for the formatting mate. It looks pretty now =) --Ghost
2. If you're posting a general combat tip, just post it as normal in its proper section. But if your tip is more specific or something that you personally recommend doing in combat, feel free to make a template and post in there. That way, people can discern from general ideals that everyone pretty much adheres to and more specific tips from certain players.--Ghost
3. No. The Ion has more than just the disadvantage of damage, it also has a lower speed. This means you'll hit less often in addition to not as hard. The Neutron is the best mix of damage and speed in the game, and that makes 600 kg sort of the expected weight for any weapon- in other words, the point we measure from.--Aramarth

-I concur. The velocity difference is too much to use the Ion as a primary weapon in PvP. The low weight, however, makes it a viable choice for a secondary weapon. I most often fly a valk with two neuts and an orion xgx. The less weight balanced with the power of the two neuts makes a great difference. I'd take it over a tri-neut anyday. The other thing to remember is that when dealing with low thrust fighters (light fighters) every little bit of mass has an effect. But on an IBG, you're going to want something with velocity to hit your target. But if you can, get a version of the neut (N3 or Law neut) that has 400kg instead of 600.--Ghost

4. The best way to be unpredictable is to not enter the battle with a specific dodge pattern in mind. Try to watch your target, note which way he's moving, which way he's facing, when he's firing etc. React to these respectively by trying to counter them, dont let his cockpit face you if you can avoid it. I realize that's kind of a basic response. I can give you more in depth tips in-game after fighting you myself. A lot of it depends on FA on or off and a number of other factors. But the simplified version is, if you find yourself in a pattern, do something different =) If you have FA on switch it off or vice versa. If you're rolling a lot, try to concentrate on your strafes more. Vary it up. Message me in-game or post your in-game name so I can find you, and I'll try to give you some more specific advice..--Ghost

5. Backrollers can be pretty annoying. First let me specify the kind of backrolling we're talking about as the term gets thrown around a lot lately. True backrolling is when someone holds three keys; backwards strafe, a side strafe and a roll. It launches them in a backwards spiral that is impossible for autoaim to track at range. The most annoying thing about backrolling is that it often keeps both pilots out of effective weapon range, resulting in a long drawn out battle where no one is really able to hit the other.

When fighting a true backroller, the first thing to do is stop pursuing. Your forward throttle should be at zero, although you should still be dodging (it won't be difficult as they'll be spinning out of weapons range). Now comes the waiting. Eventually, the backroller will do one of two things: spin out to a ridiculous distance, realize that their tactic isn't a good one and close distance to start fighting again or keep spinning out to over several thousand meters at which point the fight is pretty much over. If he stays within 600m (most energy weapons range) turn off autoaim and, like you said, try to shoot where his ship is headed. It takes practice and can be difficult, but in time you should be able to predict where to place fire and he will fly into it for you. This is of course assuming he is doing a true backroll. Once most backrollers take a few hits, they wise up and try something new. Also, backrollers eat flares. Just time it up so you place a flare where he'll roll into it. Again, it takes practice, but after a while it will become second nature.

Backrolling is a defensive tactic. It can be used very well to avoid being hit temporarily, but it gives the backroller almost zero offensive opportunities. Just don't get impatient and give him a shot at you. While he is backrolling, he should not be able to hit you. Remember, EFFECTIVE energy weapons range is inside 150m. Outside of that, you should not be getting hit. If he wants a fight, he'll have to come into weapons range eventually. If he's not looking for a fight and is backrolling to try and escape, then it becomes a game of cat and mouse. I hope this helped. Backrollers are annoying at the most and although they can be tough to kill, if you stay smart and patient, they should never be able to kill you while backrolling. Post again here or contact me in game if you'd like additional help. Eventually, backrollers learn how boring the tactic is and adopt other styles.--Ghost