What the point playing Frigates ?

Game Discussion Balance
1

I’m prolly a Ace at this game, but still, I cant see how to play frigates efficiently.

 

They are my favorite ships and I have yet unlock every one until T4 for both Federation and Jericho, but it seems that anyways I try to use 'em, I will do more dmg and helping team much more when jumping in any of my random figthers.

 

I have no clue how to use it and I dont find any decent guide about it, most of 'em are outdated.

This seems to me as a balance issue.

 

Finally frigates appear not as though than Ints and Figthers in figth, with less survivability than 'em, and I cant find any decent weapons and modules that can provide as damages than others ship types.

 

Moreover, supporting modules have limited range and effect : enginner heal is ridiculous, when a commander figther will be thougher and will offer more efficient bonus to team. A guard frigate will have engine suppression and zone damages dealer, but with a so limited amount of time and range than it seems unable to have any use. The first random module from an Interceptor will be more powerfull.

 

So what the point to jump in firgates ? They seems harder to play because of their slow mobility and agility, but they are offering nothing than a figther or an interceptor can do better.

 

 

Anyone feel the same and its a blance issue, or am I a complete Ace and someone nice can link me a decent guide ?

 

 

TL;DR : whine

2

flying inty for a while before switching to gunships, I can tell you that guard frigates are obnoxious when placed properly. as far as engineering frigates go, i kill them on a regular basis if they’re by themselves, and long range frigates… they have a lot of guns, so if you can sneak up on them they will probably go down

so with that said, keep your guard frigates in the same general area as places interceptors like to go, as long as you have teammates. and keep your engineering frigates near the bulk of your team. a single good engineering frigate can win a game

3

Well, there’s a couple of things you need to take in consideration when playing frigates.

First of all they are slow in all aspects. That means any fighter or inty will be able to get in close and orbit you at point blank without you ever being able to face and shoot them. To compensate for that you need teammates around yourself, in whatever ships to shoot off anyone getting so close and focusing on you. Your job is to cover the others around your spot, which is why the class is called ‘Guard’.

That is the most basic advice i can give you. Other than that, there are tons of ‘little things’ that you get to learn while piloting them that i cannot start thinking of right now. Nor am i the greatest guard pilot in existence since i focus on fighters myself.

So the place you should start at is mobility and how to compensate for it.

 

Bottom line: don’t go rambo, they are team ships, more than inties and fighters will ever be

4

Positioning is very important for frigates. If you charge into a mob of opponents you will die in no time and since you are slow, you´ll have no chance to escape.

With the right positioning on the other hand they will become incredibly deadly or useful. A good Healer can turn the tide in a whole battle. 

If you run in 4-man-squads a healer is a MUST.

 

Here are some videos of frigballing in t4 (0.9.7) they are nice to watch and might give you some ideas:

[http://forum.star-conflict.com/index.php?/topic/21262-the-zapping-drawl/](< base_url >/index.php?/topic/21262-the-zapping-drawl/)

5

I’m now more into fighters but have and will be a frigate pilot. To be successfull in a Guard you allways have to look for and stay nearby and Engi or a Command ship and move together. Never go alone into the dangerzone as your heavy tank will be blown apart in seconds because of the mixed damage of the mob. You can’t tank them all. Another key is wapons choice. If you see trend (in several games) is Beams and coils, assume most will tank for thermal and kinetic and load up your Positron to cause more damage. Your biggest problems will allways be intys so make sure you carry either octopus or torpedoes for pulsar cooldown or for extra damage. Allways stay covered and gradually advance with the team. Never get in the back or the frontline alone or without healing support as you can carry at best shield boosters on your actives and damage taken usually is more than damage healed by said module.

 

Good luck.

 

WM. 

6

Engineer: Stick with your team and keep your healing auras on. You’ll have to trust your wingmates to keep you alive, as you won’t last long on the frontlines if they don’t have your back. Make sure you call for help early if you draw the attention of enemy interceptors, and run to friendly cover as soon as you are engaged.

 

LRF: Find an Guard to tag along with. Use your superior firepower to take out large threats and let the Guard take out the small threats. Best use of your long range cannon/torpedo is to clear beacons of defensive drones or other frigates. Don’t sit at the far edges of the map, get out into the action at the rear of the group with the other stragglers.

 

Guard: Find an Engineer or a Command to buddy up with. Focus on guarding objectives and keeping interceptors from capping beacons.

 

As a general rule, the larger the group you are in, the safer you are; you are less likely to be singled out.

 

Flying a Frigate out by yourself is a surefire way to get singled out by interceptors. Never fly alone.

7

The point of flying Frigates, my dear fellow, is manyfold.

 

I have been flying around in an LR lately to get it to Elite Synergy, and I was mauling everything that came my way. I would push for a beacon, snipe enemy frigs, hack up fighters with my freem-beams and then laugh manically as Intys flew straight at me into my minefields. On average I killed two Interceptors before dying, always at close range.

 

Guards are very poor ships in low tiers (T1 and T2), but T3 and up they begin to shine. A good Guard is the solid foundation around which an unstoppable deathball forms. They roll in, pulsars flaring, guns blazing, shields laughing at enemy fire… and they own.

 

Engineers are the little-used, unsung heroes of Star Conflict. In the hands of an inept player they are the worst ship you could ever bring, but even an average player can do well. All you have to do is equip heals and keep them turned on. The rest is learning how not to die. You may not get as many kills (or even assists) as other ships, but you will be silently praised as a hero by your team for keeping them alive.

8

Can’t stress more on staying with team.

9

No engineer = hard game or worse

10

LRFs need to be self-sufficient if you want to focus on sniping. IMO the best sniping spots are usually out of the way, so most players won’t want to defend you while you snipe.

11

LRFs need to be self-sufficient if you want to focus on sniping. IMO the best sniping spots are usually out of the way, so most players won’t want to defend you while you snipe.

^ this. If you’re flying an Empire LRF, go very high or very low in the map. If Jericho, rely on your friends’ eyesight and lob Torpedoes from behind a rock. Move back and forth WITH THEM instead of camping around.

12

LRFs need to be self-sufficient if you want to focus on sniping. IMO the best sniping spots are usually out of the way, so most players won’t want to defend you while you snipe.

For Empire, try to find a window where you can see the enemy ships as they’re moving but your position is not typically viewed by their team.  There are few spots like that.

13

For Empire, try to find a window where you can see the enemy ships as they’re moving but your position is not typically viewed by their team.  There are few spots like that.

 

If I’m not wrong, Pandora Anomaly has a particular rock that sits waaaay above the middle of the map. In Domination, an LRF up there can aim downwards and slightly backwards at enemies attacking the central beacon. It’s a wonderful sniper perch, since most people don’t expect to be sniped from behind.

14

I’m by no means an expoert, but this is my experience:

 

Guards:

The most important thing to remember is that you are not invincible.  Unlike in a lot of MMOs, you can’t tank multiple enemies at once, even with healing (because you will never get enough healing).  You are slow and ponderous: any good inty/fighter pilot should be able to fly rings round you (but bad ones that attack head on will probably die), and you are unlikely to capture many objectives*.  And as others have said, you probably won’t do much good going lone-wolf* (although that goes for most ships).

 

What you are good at is area denial - sit yourself next to a beacon, activate pulsar, and the enemy won’t be able to cap it due to taking damage.  And your slowing effect will make it easier for your allies to take them out.  Guards are also very good for defending (or being) captain in Combat Recon, because they are hard to kill, and have lots area damage/defence abilities.

 

 

Engineers:

Versetile and good fun (IMO).  They are the fastest frigates, reasonably tough, and have decent firepower as well (due to drones).  This all makes them quite easy to use, and useful in a variety of situations (not just healing).  They are also very beneficial to the rest of the team - three healing auras (hull, shield, and energy), two static repair stations (hull and shield), a barrier (good for protecting the captain), and a warp gate that can get you and your allies to where they are needed quicker.  The only real thing to remember is that although you are tough and have good firepower, you are not that tough, and trying to lead the fight will probably get you killed (and deny your allies the benefits of your heals).

 

LRF:

To be honest, I still haven’t quite worked out how to use these effectively.  (Although it definitely helps to have a good mouse - I improved massively when I upgraded mine).  The most important thing though is don’t bring too many LRF to a match - especially a beacon hunt. 

 

 

* You probably won’t capture many beacons, although if you arrive at one while its still being fought over, you can make a big difference and get a lot of kills or assists in the process.  I’ve only ever seen one person plant a bomb in a guard.

 

** Although last week I did manage to sneak up on a captain in Combat Recon in my guard, by going real low, hiding behind lots of cover, and then putting two torpedoes into his underbelly before he realised what was going on.

15

I am by no means an accomplished pilot, but here are my observations

 

→ In the context of a mixed team, frigates are all support units that provide specialized functions to your main interceptor/fighter bait ball. 

 

→ guard frigates occupy space, creating a zone of safety around them for allies or force opponents to deal with the guard prior to dealing with primary damage dealers (hint: not the guard).

→ LRFs (both kinds) deny space, mostly by shooting down everything that tries to be in there. Basically they provide massive damage spikes to make opponents not take a certain route, or to break camps, et cetera.

→ engineers provide longevity. the ability for your bait ball to keep fighting. 

 

To play a guard frigate correctly, you basically ask yourself, which space needs to be mine? is there a bomb carrier that wants to move through this corridor? no, this is mine and you will eat my pulsar if you come here. You want to take the bomb? but baby give me some space we only met. You wanna chase my baby int? no worries, he comes to do loops around me while I pulsar his pursuers. 

 

LRFs are the same way, but with denial. This time you don’t ask yourself, which space is mine, but which space the other team can’t have. The corridor that the other team can’t use to move the bomb through. The rock that they can’t use to hide behind. The beacon that’s just too hot to hold - these are all your doing. 

 

Engies are less visible. Hard to explain. Keep your buffs running, because every 10 seconds you’ve built your team a new guy. And keep them opponents pinned down with that coil mortar. just because you’re a healer, doesn’t mean you should blow things up. 

16

Engie: rarest and most valuable class. keeps you in the fight longer.

Guard: deals with spam, be it intie, or missile. also has aoe debuffs

lrf: dont really know what to do with them, ranged gank perhaps?

17

A good Imperial LRF can pin down enemy frigates and prevent them from moving out of cover. A good Jeri LRF can force enemies to move out from their hiding places. 

18

Engie: rarest and most valuable class. keeps you in the fight longer.

Guard: deals with spam, be it intie, or missile. also has aoe debuffs

lrf: dont really know what to do with them, ranged gank perhaps?

Engineer: correct, but it can’t stay alive of its own accord, other pilots need to protect it at all times.

 

Guard: Area denial. Denies propulsion, lowers enemy dps, AoE, anti-missile spam.

 

LRF: Long range area denial, it can keep enemy Frigates hidden behind rocks, but extremely weak against enemy Ceptors.

19

Engineer: correct, but it can’t stay alive of its own accord, other pilots need to protect it at all times.

 

Guard: Area denial. Denies propulsion, lowers enemy dps, AoE, anti-missile spam.

 

LRF: Long range area denial, it can keep enemy Frigates hidden behind rocks, but extremely weak against enemy Ceptors.

LRF is weak against any attacker, but I wouldn’t say it’s extremely weak against interceptors.  The better pilots tend to not bother attacking and the worse pilots die easily enough.

20

LRF in the right hands can rip through inty’s in seconds