Hi guys, I returned to the game after almost a year of absence and have noticed the Invasion. I did not play too much before, so I am at rank 4 only. Is there any good guide on this game mode please?
I seem to get killed way too quickly and even when I loot something out of the containers it is rarely I do actually make it back to the base. So is the invasion now the only way to get higher ranked weapon or module? Is it better than normal PvE?
What is the best ship to use for solo play?
Thanks for answering any of these questions.
Invasion is a game mode more or less about finding loot. It’s not the only place to get high ranked weapons and modules, but it’s the only place to get the highest ranked weapons and modules. Like, things that only go on ships in T4/5 (ranks 10-15). It’s usually a great place to find credits, should you be low on them, and the newly introduced CRAFTING RESOURCES! You probably won’t be using them much. I mean, I don’t. But there’s ammunition you can make on the cheap for some pretty wild bonuses. I don’t use them, but they are neat.
Since you mention that you’re in rank 4, that means you’ll mostly be staying in the safer sectors in Invasion. Also that you’ll be in a less safe ship. My advice to you here: Run away from things you aren’t sure you can kill alone. Keep dodging shots, just like you might in PvP. If you can find a squadron of police, or some guard turrets, or some other players, run to them in hopes them helping you. If you can’t, run towards the nearest jump gate. Related: Always keep around 50% fuel! Much more, and your inventory will be too full of it, and much less, and you’re in danger of not being able to jump when you need to.
Invasion is very different from PvP and PvE. Personally, I use a speed fit recon with emergency barrier. and a bunch of heals. It makes for easy getaways and high speed for looting stuff. There’s a bunch of other people who like playing tacklers in invasion, which is great. You can sneak up on someone you kind of want to kill and watch as they go boom, as someone almost did to me yesterday. You can also cloak and run away from pirates, which is more my style. When you get to T3 (ranks 7 to 9), you can also fit a new module - the cruise engine - on your tacklers, giving you huuuuge afterburner speed boost for a bunch of penalties to afterburner energy cost, rotation, and strafe speed.
There’s a few different ways to build a ship for invasion. Here’s a list of my priorities.
First one is to fit for speed. Maps are big, and you only have so much time, after all. Plus, it can help you run away from pirates, or should you not have station protection on, other players. It’s wonderful stuff.
Second is to fit for regeneration. You generally don’t take sustained damage in invasion unless you fail to build for speed, although there is a danger of other players attacking you continuously if you don’t have station protection. Regeneration really helps in every other case, since most of the time, you’ll be taking small chunks out of your hull, rather than the entire hull at once.
Third is to fit for sensor range. It’s important stuff! Helps you see pirates from further away, should you wish to avoid them. Same deal for murderous players.
Fourth is to fit for survivability. Surprise, surprise. You don’t actually need survivability that much if you fit the above first, really. Just know that if you fit using these priorities, running away is the wisest choice more often than not.
And then there’s a few things to remember in general. Don’t fit things that don’t give you that much benefit. Spy drones on a recon isn’t going to help that much, unless you’re going player killing. You pirate, you. Do fit things that heal you. I have both heals on my recon, and I swear, it’s still not enough. Do fit for weapon range - in general, it’s easiest to kill pirates by sitting still and sniping at them from 4000m, since high ping is a pain in the arse, and pirates are really, really slow. And finally, don’t fit for PvP (unless you’re going player killing).
Of course, shipbuilding help isn’t really that valuable for rank 4 ships. Good luck, anyhow.
I was more gearing towards buffed damage dealer setup to dispatch them the quickest way. But yes, I guess I can try and go for the ninja looting technique…