This is an introductory handbook to commands that covers the basics of Command play from T1 up to T3. Please feel free to comment if you have any opinions, or if you spot any mistakes.
Last Guide Update: July 10, 2014
Why Fly A Command?
Commands are do not have the raw power of a gunship nor the agility of a tackler but a command ship is very durable and very well not die at all while still contributing a lot to the team. Using a Command will allow you to easily farm assists while buffing your allies. Having stronger allies means a higher probability of victory and therefore a higher synergy and credit reward. They also have a 15% bonus to energy regeneration.
Role
The Command’s main role is to strength allies through various modules. They can make the team more durable, powerful and fast. They are adaptable and can easily suit any play style.
Modules
Quick Note on Command Buffs: AOE
All Command Modules work as “Area of Effect” type of power like auras. Teammates must be within the “Area of Effect” to benefit. Therefore stay with the team to be most effective. Resistances remove or add the amount of damaged received. Higher resistances means less damaged received while lower resistances increase the amount of damages received.
Command Modules
Command Special Module: Diffusion Shield
Creates a secondary shield that lasts for 15 seconds or until you run out of energy. As the Diffusion Shield takes damage, energy is drained to compensate.
Tier
Amount of Damage Taken for Each Energy Point
17
28
39
411
513
To increase the time you have the Diffusion Shield while being attacked, put ship modifiers that increase energy regeneration speed and capacity. It is not affected by resistances.
When turning the Diffusion Shield on, try not to use afterburners. Afterburners consume energy making the Diffusion Shield disappear more quickly. If you still want to move fast, put on ship modifiers that increase your regular speed without the afterburners.
Using the Command special module correctly will greatly increase your longevity in battle. If you get destroyed you can’t give buffs to your allies.
Aegis System (T1 and up)
The Aegis System increases shield resistances for your ship and any allied ship within a 3000 meter radius by 16.2 points. It uses 16 energy points per second. It is continuous if you want to turn it off in battle, which I don’t recommend doing, just “use” it again to toggle it off.
Coating Polarizer (T1 and up)
The Coating Polarizer functions the same way as the Aegis System. The only difference is that it strengthens hull resistances by 18 points.
Valkyrie System (T2 and up)
The Valkyrie System increases the damage output of you and all your allies within a 3000 meter radius by 18%. It lasts for 10 seconds so try only to use it when a major engagement is happening. Unlike the AS and the CP, the Valkyrie System uses up 163 energy points and recharges for 50 seconds so use it wisely. Don’t use it as soon as you enter the match. Likely no one is attacking yet.
Gravi-Scanner (T3 and up)
The Gravi-Scanner increases you and your team’s speed within a 3000 meter radius by 18%. It lasts for 20 seconds. It uses more energy than the VS but it takes the same amount of time to recharge. Use it when your team is rushing to get to a beacon first or when interceptors dogfight to give your team a boost.
Other Active Modules
I recommend staying with Command Modules since they are so useful. With the diffusion shield you shouldn’t have your shields down. If you are paranoid, though, use a Repair Kit for your Empire Commands. Use a Shield Booster for Jericho. If you get down to hull you almost have no chance anyways.
Main Weapons and Missiles
Main Weapons
If you follow what the ingame information tells you, use weapons that will be most useful for short-medium range combat.
Assault Rails (T1 and up)
The first weapon you get as a fighter. Useful with Jericho pilots because certain ships give a kinetic damage and projectile speed bonus. When you get to T3 you can fit things in your ship modifiers and ammo slots that will increase the performance.
Gauss Cannon (T2 and up)
Good accuracy, alpha strike capabilities and nice range. It’s great for kill stealing. Make sure shots find the target because of the low rate of fire. Try to go for crit builds. Also try to charge up the first shot when your victim doesn’t realize where you are. Charging up the Gauss Cannon increases the damage output and critical chance. The cursor blinks when it is fully charged. Make sure you stay within your allies though.
Singularity Cannon (T2 and up)
Great alpha strike capabilities, slow and huge bullets, short engagement range (due to the slow bullets). I wouldn’t recommend them for T2, since the projectile speed is very, very bad. Come T3, it becomes a lot more brutal since you have new ammunition to play with. Melts anything in its path (which is a big path, considering the projectile size). As with the gauss, make your shots count.
Ion Emitters (T2 and up)
The Ion Emitter reduces the target’s resistances over time doing more damage as long as you hit the target. Try going after fighters and frigates since interceptors are harder to keep a cursor on.
Missiles
Standard Missiles (T1 and up)
Nothing really else to use. Go up a tier to get more choices but make sure not to tier rush. You want to make sure you use your ship properly first.
EM Missiles (T2 and up)
Slower than standard missiles, but with better turn rates. Use it to make sure it hits a fighter or frigate or to have a better chance of hitting an interceptor. Use it first when the target’s shields are full or if you really, really want to get rid of a running, pesky interceptor.
Kinetic Missiles (T3 and up)
Same as standard missiles except with a different damage type. Useful for finishing opponents since hulls have by default a lower resistance to kinetic damage. Try not to use it if you are going to hunt interceptors.
Ion-beam Warhead Missiles (T3 and up; command special missile)
They deal lower EM damage and move slower but they stop enemy ships from using active modules and weapons in the 150 meter radius explosion for 2.6 second. They have only 5 missiles in each cartridge. Extremely useful when going against slower opponents. Still useful against agile opponents but remember missiles move much slower.
Ship Modifiers
Commands are durable ships that rely heavily on energy to be effective and stay alive. They aren’t very agile so look for modifiers that increase staying power and energy regeneration.
Blue is good or okay for a Command build. Red is bad. You do not have to follow the suggested builds exactly.
Hull
· Reinforced Beams (T1 and up): More hull strength, for the Empire Command pilots out.
· Reactive Armour (T2 and up): Patches your hull’s resistance hole against kinetic damage.
· Passive Armour (T3 and up): If you fly Jericho Commands, you have low hull strength already. Losing some hull resistances would make a difference. Getting more energy will make a huge difference so I recommend using this.
· I wouldn’t recommend galvanized or armour-plated hulls simply because of the mobility reduction. You will face a variety of opponents. Being able to get behind a frigate quickly or run to safety will be important.
Shield
· Auxiliary Shield Projector (T1 and up): More shield strength. Useful if your diffusion shield goes down.
· EM Diffuser (T2 and up): Patches your resistance hole, but for your shields this time round. If you’re paranoid about thermal damage instead, consider Thermal Modulator (also T2 and up).
· Adaptive Shield(T3 and up): Consider using if you want to be stronger while your diffusion shield is inactive. Remember to not use AB when diffusion shield is.
· Energy Recuperation System (T3 and up): This is useful if you are in a situation where you are low on energy and someone manages to attack you before you turn on your diffusion shield.
· Compact Shield Generator (T3 and up): Exchanges shield strength for increased capacitor volume. I recommend this for skilled Empire Commands pilots because they have lower base shield strength.
Engine
· Vernier Engines (T2 and up): Increases rotation speed. Use it if you plan on fighting up close. Not so much if you make a ranged build.
· Catalyst Injector (T2 and up): Since afterburning uses up energy you should try to get base speed up more. I recommend equipping this.
· Auxiliary Generator (T2 and up): Gives a bigger boost to your afterburning speed. Watch out for the additional energy cost that auxiliary generator imposes.
· Collision Compensator (T1 and up): Adds a little boost to rotation and a bigger boost for strafing. It also reduces collision damage significantly. Good for dodge low projectile speed shots.
Capacitor
· Voltage Regulator (T1 and up): Straight-up increase in energy regen speed. T2 tends to be plagued with energy problems: you have more modules to use, and they all require energy.
· Pulse Discharger (T2 and up): Straight-up damage increase, but watch the reduced energy regen.
· Iridium Heatsink (T3 and up): Increases your rate of fire (and also makes your weapons heat up faster). If you’re running assault rails, you could consider this.
· Emergency Barrier (T2 and up): Makes you invulnerable for 1s when your hull reaches critical levels, and takes a long while to recharge. I don’t recommend using this. You could be fitting something on much more useful. If you end up needing this you must be doing something wrong.
CPU
· Overclocked CPU (T1 and up): Reduces target locking time.
· Enhanced Scanner (T1 and up): Improves scan range and gives an almost non-existent boost to crit rate. IMO not that useful: if you’re ganking from range, your enemies will be within your allies’ scan range, and if you run a short-ranged build the basic scan range should be ample. If you’re scouting around alone a lot, you might want to pick it up.
· Proton Wall (T2 and up): Reduces control-inhibiting effect duration. If you’re having ECM problems, you can consider this. It’s a nice module to have in T2, but that’s mainly because there aren’t that many CPU modules to choose from. But once you hit T3 I find that there are more useful modules you can equip.
· “Horizon” Module (T3 and up): The only way to improve your range if you don’t use thermal weapons. Great for Gauss snipers.
· Infrared Scanner (T3 and up): Crit chance increase is helps getting that little bit of extra damge you might need. Perfect for Gauss and Singularity Cannon users.
Implants
Implants affect all your ships. These will focus for commands only but make sure to choose implants that are useful for the rest of the ships you use.
R1: Hull
Empire: Increase hull strength by 25%
Federation: Reduce explosion and crit damage against hull by 20%
Jericho: Increase hull resistance to all damage by 25 pts
Stick with J1 for lower tiers, consider F1 Armadillo for T3 and above if you’re taking a lot of crit and explosion damage. T3 introduces a lot more ways to improve crit damage, as well as a whole range of explosive weapons that you should watch out for.
R2: CPU
Empire: Reduce locking time by 43%, increase crit chance by 10%
Federation: Increase sensor range by 75%, and maximum and optimal weapon range by 20%
Jericho: Reduce incoming control-inhibiting effect duration by 23%, reduce main weapon spread by 20%
E2 is good for making shots count and if you switch targets a lot. F2 is good all-around and great for ranged builds. J2 is great for Assault Rail users as it reduces spread. It also has the added bonus of protection against ECM attacks.
R3: Shields
Empire: Increase shield regen by 30%
Federation: Increase shield volume by 25%
Jericho: Increase shield resistance to all damage by 20 pts
J3 is the most useful for your entre line up although Jericho Commands will appreciate F3. E3 is bad because you can just hang back and wait for your shield to regenerate by itself.
R4: Missiles
Empire: Increase missile damage by 10%
Federation: Increase missile velocity and turn speed by 20%
Jericho: Increase max missile range by 75%
I recommend E5 for going after slow movers like frigates and certain fighters, F5 for speedy interceptors and J5 for long-range builds. F5 coupled with EM missiles will almost never miss. When using J5, make sure you know the range of your missiles. Do this by panning over the missile slot. You will get the specs there.
R5: Engines
Empire: Increase ship rotation by 30%
Federation: Increase strafe speed by 75%
Jericho: Increase max speed by 3%
E5 when facing agile opponents; F5 for facing slugs; J5 for preserving the diffusion shield when trying to get to a safer location.
R6: Main Weapon
Empire: Increase main weapon damage by 7%
Federation: Increase crit damage by 30%
Jericho: Increase EM and kinetic projectile speed by 30%, increase thermal heating time by 10%
This really just depends on what type of weapon you use and what type of build you are going for. E6 is good for anything. F6 is good for making shots count. J6 is better for long range builds helping to ensure your shots make the target.
R7: Energy
Empire: Increase capacitor volume by 40%
Federation: Reduce afterburner energy use by 17%
Jericho: 15% of received damage restores energy reserves; does not reduce incoming damage
Any of these are good for a Command Ship. F7 is good for your entire roster.
R8: Multipurpose Module
Empire: Multipurpose module cooldown reduced by 17%
Federation: Upon using multipurpose module, ship is immune to engine-inhibiting effects for 5s
Jericho: Upon using multipurpose module, ship is immune to energy draining effects for 15s
Stay with J8. It is the your defensive against ECM energy drains. Fit a cheap multipurpose module like missile flares. MFs have low energy costs and cooldowns.
R9: Faction Traits
Empire: Increase shield and hull resistance to all damage by 12 pts for every enemy locking on to you
Federation: Increase max afterburner speed by 7%
Jericho: Increase shield resistance to all damage by 10 pts; shield can absorb collision damage
E9 will greatly benefit your command along with the rest of your ships. Just try not to get every enemy focus firing you. xD
Basic Tips and Tricks
Teamplay
As stated earlier in the guide staying with the team will increase your chances of survival and help you and your team gain a victory.
Strafing
Strafe by pressing the A, D, left Alt, and space. Strafing will help preserve your strength and not get hit. Learn to do this without afterburning. I usually go in a circular motion with occasional switches in direction. This will help evade low projectile speed hits.
Duck and Cover
Try to maintain a low profile and not be seen. You can’t cloak but try to hide behind objects.
Hiding behind objects can also serve to break targeting locks on you. Don’t try to pop back out of the same place when you break the lock. Reposition yourself and start helping. Hiding also helps prevent enemies from sneaking up on you and removing your diffusion shield quickly.
If you are seen, you will be aimed for from most of the enemy team if there are no frigates around because you help your entire team stay alive. With you gone the team will die quicker.
Anti-ECM Play
If Commands are the king of buffs, ECMs are the kings of debuffs. They are your mortal enemy. Destroy them ASAP without putting yourself in a bad position.
· Ion Diffuser (T1 and up): You can’t shoot or use modules. It removes your resistance modules as well.
· Energy Absorber (T2 and up): This will kill you just as much as any of the other ECM modules. Without energy to supply your Diffusion Shield you will be whittled down that much faster. It also stops your module resistances.
· Weapon System Inhibiter (T2 and up): One of the best things you can get shot with by an ECM. Simply break the ECM’s line of sight and you will get your attack power back.
· Stasis Generator (T3 and up): You can’t shoot, use modules or even move. It’s like someone unplugged your mouse and keyboard. It is critical that you destroy the ECM before it uses this against you.
· If it uses it’s special, the Metastable Energy Field, get away by 1500 meters. Then focus on the top left corner of your screen. Then when the field turns purple launch your missile and pop out the guns. Your attacks will be on the way to the ECM to destroy it.
Anti-Guard Play
Guards are your bigger brothers. When they are on your team they will help soak up the damage but if they aren’t then watch your step. They are incredibly durable in a 1v1. Therefore ping the Guard to attract your teammates and finish it off. Don’t get too close though. If it uses the Pulsar anything close by will get zapped each second.
Types of Tanking
Tanking is making a certain part of your ship stronger. Usually there are two types of tanking: hull and shield. For Command there are three types of tanking: hull, shield, and capacitor.
Hull Tanking
On other ships this is usually the best type of tanking. Fit ship modifiers that increase hull strength and resistance. For active modules add a repair kit.
Hull and capacitor tank on Empire Commands. Use your shield health as a buffer for your hull.
Shield Tanking
Although most players find shield tanking useless, on ships with strong shields, namely guards and commands, shield tanking can be extremely useful. Fit ship modifiers that increase shield regeneration and resistance. Shield strength is optional. Make sure your shield doesn’t go down though so fit shield boosters. If your shields go down you are screwed.
Fit multiphase shield adaptors if you go out to attack a lot. Turn it on as soon as you start shooting or as soon as your enemy starts shooting. MSAs aren’t that useful if you are attacked though so be wary of equipping it.
Shield and capacitor tank on Jericho commands.
Capacitor Tanking
This type of tanking is only available to Commands because when the Diffusion Shield is activated it makes the energy bar act as another health bar.
Focus more on ship modifiers that increase capacitor regeneration. If you dodge some of the shots your capacitor strength will shoot back up. This is useful because Capacitor regeneration is, by nature, much faster than shield regeneration.
Putting on ship modifiers that increase capacitor strength allows your diffusion shield to absorb large burst damages like cruise missiles or plasma arcs if you dodge sufficiently enough.
Other Resources
Special thanks to Jacxis. I used your guide as a template for mine and stole a little bit as well.
Tackler Guide
Useful information for the Tackler by Jacxis.
[http://forum.star-conflict.com/index.php?/topic/23199-tackler-tackler-101-introductory-handbook/](< base_url >/index.php?/topic/23199-tackler-tackler-101-introductory-handbook/)
Log Analyzer
Helps you check almost anything that happens in a fight. You’ll be interested in seeing how much damage you’ve taken to plan your defensive modules and implants accordingly. Check out [Snib’s analyzer](< base_url >/index.php?/topic/21314-snibs-star-conflict-log-analyzer/) and [Eta’s online analyzer](< base_url >/index.php?/topic/22926-etas-star-conflict-web-log-analyzer/).
Developer’s Blog: Resistances
Check out [this thread](< base_url >/index.php?/topic/20483-developers-blog-from-july-10th-damage-resistance/) for information on resistance values and damage reductions. Pair it with the log analyzers to determine the best resistance and shield/hull strength modules to equip.
AimBooster
You can work on your aiming skills with this online AimBooster. It features a variety of modes (including a custom mode) that should be more than enough for your training needs.
