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Thranx1231
CowTek
90
   |
Posted - 2012.12.28 04:07:00 -
[1] - Quote
I have a few thoughts to share and a pep talk to those joining Dust or those just trying to adjust to life without death.
Perfect kill streaks are fun and you will get your own. The issue is not getting too focused on Deaths (IMO). You can die because of a fluke. Fall through the mesh (ground). Your own grenade bounces wrong. That one cosmic ray caused a glitch. The noob actually got lucky or you got unlucky. Three Precision Strikes in an Ambush battle, seriously? Time to start another kill streak.
K/D ratios are good when they are > 1. Below that all they mean is that you have a goal. A lot of the attitudes are left over from COD and that ilk. While they are interesting, in the beginning they are just a measuring stick. A target. Like getting through a battle with Zero Deaths. Ultra cool.
We are mercenaries.
Profit and winning matters most.
We are immortal.
Death is Obsolete.
Learn from your death.
Do better.
Die less.
Get better.
Get better gear.
Kill those who oppose us.
Win.
Profit.
This was originally posted here deaths in Dust
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Thranx1231
CowTek
90
|
Posted - 2012.12.28 04:07:00 -
[2] - Quote
Being Revived.
You are stumbling around, trying to get your footing, trying not to die. Desperately you seek solutions in better guns, better armor and the hope that the next round of Skill Points (SP) will provide you enough of an edge to keep you alive.
You are wrong.
What actually matters is learning. Learn from living, learn from death, learn while you are bleeding out, learn what can be learned.
When you are down and your death is not immediate ... wait. Look at the battle information on the upper left of the screen. In Ambush both squads start with 80 clones in reserve and a timer. When either of those are exhausted the battle is over regardless of the timer. If the timer runs down then the team with the most remaining clones wins the battle.
In Skirmish the condition of both MCCs is shown as is the remaining count of clones. Which starts at 150 per side. When either clone count is Zero or an MCC is destroyed the battle is over.
What does that mean when you are bleeding out and no medic is arriving? What I do is see what is happening around me by watching my screen and the mini-map. There is a swarm of red berries then don't ping for help. If you are alone then ping and wait. I have been on the winning side while bleeding out. I looked at the counters and we were at 1 while the opposing side was at 3. Minutes were left on the clock. I did nothing. I waited. Their counter went down to 2, then 1 and zero. Just as I bled out we were declared winners.
I have done the opposite as well. The comm is telling me Logi is nearby. But I am watching the HMG equipped Heavy standing in the same place he was when he took me down. I press the button and fade away. I am not going to let my Logi step into that trap. Better to leave then to entrap my own. Sometimes I ask for help when there are reds knowing they will see them. Telling my squad in my diminished state that these could be or should be taken out. Or, at least, be aware of them.
These actions cost you nothing. No ISK. No AUR. No SP. Just brain cells. Use them.
Watch the battle going on right above your body. Are the reds tearing through your blues? Why? How are they equipped? Isn't the HMG great? It is a shame they move so, so slowly. And the Mass Driver cannot take you down if you are in their face. A shotgun certainly can. And a melee strike can save the fight. I did that once with a Militia issue Nanite Injector. Killed the merc. I am sure there was no bragging done about it by them. Sorry about bragging now, but it is important to realize that extreme measures to keep alive are necessary. And sometimes they work. Another death avoided and their side lost a clone, not yours. |
Thranx1231
CowTek
90
|
Posted - 2012.12.28 04:07:00 -
[3] - Quote
Free is Good.
In the beginning we are all issued Starting assault based militia drop suits. The one version is used for everything. It is good for some but not for all. They are great at one thing though. They cost nothing. You can create a new Fit and a standard issue version will match what you see in your inventory initially. I deleted all the Starting versions as the names are visually annoying to me (my own issues only) after I verified that creating a new Frontline will duplicate what I was using.
Now it is time talk about things that do cost.
In the Market, down at the bottom is the Militia Gear. Everything that has a blue background to the icon is a Blueprint item that cost AUR to purchase. The current build also includes Blue Print in the description. The cost (currently Dec 2012) is pennies. 30 AUR when a dollar generates 1000 AUR. Other weapons cost the same but non-blue background means they cost that every single time your burn through a suit or that laser rifle does it for you. There are more details regarding Power Grid and CPU requirements but those are for you to read and get a handle on how to support what you like to do and how you prefer to play. I recommend buying every Militia Blue Print item. Then you have a good selection when improving the build of a particular Fit.
Interestingly enough a Logistics solution, as delivered, is not very good. It only provides a single Equipment slot. That means either a Nanite Injector or you won't have one. Bad news. Good news awaits in the form of a Militia Grade Logistics suit. Two equip slots at the very high cost of a sidearm slot. Different PG/CPU mix as well as armor/shield combinations. They cost 700+ ISK each. If one can consistently generate ten of thousands of ISK per battle with them then even a death toll of a dozen, while painful, will not break the bank. I normally use either an assault rifle or a laser with my Logistics, mostly free, build. My Sniper/Logistic character does have one but uses more expensive solutions.
For my three characters (1: Sniper/Logi 2:Assault & Heavy 3:Pilot ) there is always several no cost assault fits ready to select. With a two equip slot Logistic suit and something for sniping. Additionally, the Militia Heavy is not expensive either. It will give you a feel for how they have to move and their limitations. I strongly suggest trying one out, even in Logistics. It will help with assessing them in the future. And for more then one battle. Set it up and limit your self to it for a day or a couple of hours. That is enough time to get a feeling for it. Don't be afraid to try it and don't be afraid to decide never to touch one again.
So why is important to have a Zero Cost FIt? So you can jump back into a fight and not worry about the fact you are losing suits. Yes, Kill Death Ratios will suck. So what? They suck anyway when lasers and HMGs are tearing through your squad. This is just mental combat. You will have a weapon to use against your own worries about churning through suits.
Now to make them better and actually cost for each one lost. Which the Logistics and Heavy suits are doing anyway you will have already noticed if you have picked any up. There are a couple of issues to deal with regarding the UI and restocking a fit. If you select the suit in the menu the initial menu will mention Restock as an option. And when you are only using Blue Print items it will not actually do anything nor cost you any money. Buy in tens, dozens or whatever make you comfortable. But you must have enough for a few battles. It is important to not lose the flow of battle by having to back out and restock between them.
An additional bit on Restocking. If you restock a Fit then that will add N to for all non Blue Print items. Even if you already have five hundred of the suit and three of that forge gun. To restock the one item you are low on, select Edit first. Then select the item you want to restock. When you click on it a menu will appear and it will include Restock, if it is a re-stockable item, then you can purchase as many as you need or afford of that item only.
From personal experience try to avoid having too many suits in your list. It will slow you down when you are in the middle of a pitched battle and you want to change your fit. The sort method for suits is alphabetically by name. You can add a 1,2,3 or such in the beginning of the name to force the sort you want. This is really useful when you need a different fit and you decide to change on the battle field at a supply depot.
Now having spouted all that I need to give a little contrary advice. Be aware of the battle. No sense is losing it because you jumped into your free suit 14 times when half of that would have won the battle. Think about winning. Always. |
Thranx1231
CowTek
90
|
Posted - 2012.12.28 04:07:00 -
[4] - Quote
Get okay before getting good.
You have functional drop suits that cost nothing or close enough to it. A random battle will generate 100K ISK, sometimes less and sometimes a lot more. Grousing about low pay when you arrive the last three minutes of a battle is bad form and provides nothing. It is best to know what you are working towards. Better Logistics Drop Suits? Finally being a dreaded Heavy with the HMG. Sniping from an unseen and obscene distance?
Regardless of the reason you are playing consider what you are going for. My pilot needs to upgrade turrets and to max small turrets out. Why? Because you cannot start upgrading large turrets until you do. The good news is that HAVs are the only ones that require large turrets and LAVs and Drop Ships only use small turrets. So there is a path and it is definable.
You, however, did not have a plan.
Now you do.
Your plan is to experiment with the various Zero Cost Fits or their cousins, your own Low Cost Fits, to see how you like to play. One bit of advice I got on my first character (while reading Training Ground) was using an Assault Rifle in a Logi Fit. With that and a Hive one has a chance to clear the area, getting kills and heal the wounded while making points for filling team ammo. All three characters have a Logistics Fit with AR as the weapon. The better the weapon the better for your survival. The newest SMG is not good enough to save you. Grenades can though. A Hive will let you keep throwing them.
It is imperative that you find a Fit you can survive doing what you like to do. Logistics will generate WP but one with a good AR can generate kills as well. While in real life that might seem odd, here in space survival of your side often means that the some other poor fool has to give his life for his side (apologies to Gen. Patton). Learn to aim while shooting and get good enough to try for head shots regardless of the weapon. Get good with grenades. Learn how to cook them and when you can afford it, upgrade to better ones.
When trying something out an Instant Battle Ambush is fine. Get a feel for it. See who you are working with. What do they need. Try to fill the functionality they are missing. Learn to survive. Logi can follow the squad and try to keep them alive. Heavies can tank some of the bullet fest heading their way. Snipers can thin the opposition out while they are too busy fighting the squad. A simple upgrade to your AR will give you a 12 shot advantage over a stock unit. Yes, a small price and sometimes even produced as a bounty are 60 clip ARs. Just lethal enough to finish off the Heavy if you can get the drop on it first.
Now you want to get something specific done. Buff some skill or get to use the HMGs. That takes SP and ISK. Getting the MinMarr (spelling) Logistics Drop Suit is very expensive. Check it out. My Logi uses them and they have three equip slots. Injector, Repair and Hive or Uplink. A great setup. On Sniper duty the Militia Logi suit is pretty good. If the battle looks solid then a standard scout suit with one equip slot for a Hive is fine. But beware of putting the Hive down immediately or close to your sniping position. They might miss you but that Hive glows enough to be seen from Space.
All these options cost time, SP and ISK. This is the balance you will need to strike with Dust personally. My pilot has skills in many fields that are unnecessary for being a pilot. But survival between tanks, DSs and outside of them is important. A Heavy that is only good with an HMG will be tragically missing the Forge gun he never enabled. While the Militia one is competent it may not always be enough. Same goes for the Swarm and the various Sniper solutions. And remember that Nanite skills and other power grid and CPU solutions will make anyone's life better.
Jack of All Trades, Master of None. A common phrase but not very accurate in Dust. Why? Because Nanite Circuitry is used by every single function. So are armor, combat engineer and power. Some provide an amazing 25% on top of other boosts from other functions. My favorite are CPU/PG increases or reductions in requirements. All good things. It will take time to get your main feature to become clear or to get good enough. So fill in some of the less expensive methods while having an SP goal for your next Specialist upgrade. And who doesn't like contact grenades and proximity mines?
Now set the goal and switch to Skirmish mode. Play until you recognize the map when it first comes up. Snipers recall the good spots, Heavies focus on getting the backup you need and pilots determine if the HAV is going to be useful or a waste of heavy metal and ISK. Where are the supply depots normally at? Hack and defend them if possible. That allows the team to swap Fits to meet the changing needs. Play until you are in the War Barge before deployment. Maximize your return.
Why Skirmish mode? Because playing from the beginning of a Skirmish battle will generate three times the SP you will get, on average, over Ambush. When your SP/WP caps slow you up build ISK. Even a losing Skirmish can generate 100K and when you need 378K ISK for the next Skill Book then get into the only game that will pay the bills.
When it all blows, goes horribly wrong, the cat gets sick or whatever. Exit battle is available with L1 (shoulder) and is in the menu selection from the top of the outer menu.
Good Luck. |
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