HardWar - New Pilots - Emergencies

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Emergencies!

Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you get in a really bad way. You'll be flying along with some cargo taking a hit or two from occassional pirates when BOOM! Suddenly your shields are low and you've gotten some serious damage. And, the damage keeps on coming at an alarming rate.

The tips below are the bottom line survival tips I've collected from various Top Hardwar Pilots like Ouch, Zero Cool, MagMar, Nar Sluke, Hammer, BIGMike, and others.

KNOW WHEN YOU'RE IN TROUBLE -- When your shields are at 50%, you are very vulnerable to missile attack. Any missile bigger than a Sprat will cause significant system damage. For new pilots, this is the time to run. Don't continue the fight unless your enemy is much worse off than you are and you are not under attack by more than one Moth.

REACT IMMEDIATELY -- Your best bet is to go full throttle and turn toward a tunnel. Don't try getting in a local hangar. Your enemy will have you dead before you dock. Get to another crater and duck in somewhere there.

USE THE BIG TURN -- This throws most attackers off for a precious second or so. It's an excellent option if your attacker is already behind you and your current course will keep him there.

RUN, DON'T FIGHT -- You'll need all of your power to escape. You can always get revenge later. Your first priority is survival. If you could easily win the fight, you wouldn't be in an emergency situation now, would you? Run!

USE EVERY EVASIVE TACTIC IN THE BOOK -- Be liberal with counter measures and jink and strafe constantly. Don't ever fly straight and level for long under emergency circumstances. If you're rich enough to have Holograms or an Afterburner, USE THEM.

JETTISON CARGO -- Even if it breaks your heart. Most pirates will forget about attacking you and go for the cargo. It also keeps other pirates from being interested in you during your escape. You jettison your cargo by hitting the "j" key by default. If you're picking up cargo, just leave your drone. You can get another one. Remember that these are last ditch efforts to save your life. You should always hang onto your cargo and defend your drone if at all possible.

DUCK IN A BUILDING -- As soon as you've gotten into another crater and away from your attackers. Take it easy docking, you don't want to bump yourself to death. Enetering any hangar will top up your sheilds immediately. If you happen to duck into a Moth repair shop, get your structure and engines repaired if you want.

CHARGE UP -- Now hit a Light Well and then get your Moth fixed. Crisis over. Time for revenge. Always avenge yourself sometime. You may rake in some bounties and you'll be eliminating a potential future threat.

An Example

A Desperate Situation -- I was in deep trouble with the police. I knew they were close to sending an Enforcer out after me and I was still in a Silver-Y. I was Downtown heading into Midway via Gamma to look for pirates.

I always scan for targets as I fly using the Next Target function. In Gamma I targeted Sister Magpie, a known trader, with a load of Narcotics and low shields. People don't get low shields for no reason. She'd been attacked. I planned to search for the pirate attacking her, kill her, kill the pirate to clear my record, and then slip into Flyer's Retreat to sell the Narcotics.

I approached Sister Magpie and targeted Darius Moonblade, a known pirate. Okay, my plan was set up and I went into action. Sister Magpie was getting the better of Darius Moonblade so I decided to act quickly to kill her for the Narcotics before she killed the pirate. I needed him to get quick amnesty from the Police.

I killed Sister Magpie, but it was pretty tough. She didn't have too much system damage and still had 30% shields. Darius Moonblade wasn't much help. I killed Sister Magpie, targeted the Narcotics and went to retrieve them. While my drone was out I targeted Darius Moonblade and hoped he wouldn't run off for repairs before I could kill him.

BOOM !! What? I'd been hit and hit bad. I immedately slid right and fired two flares in case of a follow-up round. I used my Radar Range function to see if there was another pirate around. Yep. Lord Nicon was firing on me. As I turned to face him there was another BOOM !! He had hit me with two FireBurst and I already had serious system damage and no shields. I wouldn't survive another one.

I immediately hit full throttle and fired 5 Flares and made a Big Turn toward the nearby Downtown tunnel. I completely ignored my drone and the Narcotics. My new goal was to duck in Breaker Maker 2 in Downtown just beside the tunnel. I love making money, but survival has ultimate value.

A lot of people might've fought back to get the deperately needed amnesty from the Police as well as the Narcotics. They would've lost. Lord Nicon had already done too much damage and I was low on power due to my dogfight with Sister Magpie. Lord Nicon was flying a Neo-Tiger, as usual, and I knew him to be a smarter than average pilot. I wouldn't have stood a chance.

I went immediately to Breaker Maker 2 near the Gamma tunnel in Downtown and docked. I got a couple of repairs done to my structure and engine. I returned to Gamma and hovered in the Light Well to get a quick charge.

Lord Nicon was still picking up the Narcotics. Sadly, I had no drone and no money to get one. After a brief charge, I attacked and killed Lord Nicon. Yes, I lost the drone and the Narcotics, but I survived. I knew as soon as I saw my shields disappear that I was in big trouble. I dropped everything and escaped. I lived. And, I got Police amnesty before they sent out an enforcer.

Don't cry over a missed opportunity on Titan. Well, cry a little. We all do. There will always be another chance for big riches. The key is to survive so you can find it.

To Amnesty 101 > > >

IN THIS
SECTION:

Welcome

Basic Flying
and
Targeting

Evasion
and
Defense
Dogfighting

Emergencies

Amnesty

Further
Reading