Need some general loadout suggestions

[SoloFlyer]

If the gear bought for UEC in game is going to be returned if I claim my ship I need to start looking at the gear, which until now I've pretty much ignored. If it didn't come with the ship I haven't bothered with it. Of the ships I own or plan to own, only a small fraction are dedicated fighters, like my SH and heartseeker. The rest are probably going to have to be armed with the intention of keeping me alive long enough to bug out. What mix of components should I be looking at for those two scenarios? For the fighters I'd probably be more of what I think would be described as a charge in and engage in a lot of mid range to close fighting and jousting. For the rest I would probably want low signatures so I'm not getting noticed in the first place but being able to disable a surprise knucklehead and skedaddle when I can. Any thoughts from those of you who have been theorycrafting loadouts?

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

I can only theroycraft for the ships I plan to be bugging out in, but hopefully my plan can help inform yours:

I'll be mostly tooling about in a 350R because it's the ride that's taken me on all my adventures and I'm not going to stop that now.

As i'm a lover not a fighter i'm planning on having a 2 to 1 distortion to damaging weapons ration - As the distortions strip shields and the 350R is fast, I can get away with harder hitting closer range laser weapons for the one damage shooter, which I've put as a Dominance Hurston Dynamics scattergun. the idea is to swoop in stripping the shields with the distortions and then pop the scatter all over them at zero-range, then run away. Because I'm a crap aim, the scatter means even if I miss I should still hit with a few of the pellets.

That's my plan. I have yet to test though but it sounds like it should work?

So for you with mid-to-close range it sounds like the same could work out. Something mid range to strip the shields then move in close to the knock out punch.

EDIT - This is of course assuming the hit-detection works. for a while the scatter guns couldn't hit anything that was moving and when the new distortion repeters came in the game the shots passed through whatever target I pointed them at.

 

[Michael]

Theorycrafting towards loadouts is still pretty tough. Things will be reworked and balanced more and more. Best example is the reworked shield system coming soon.
Now you will be able to make choices like do i wan't a fast recharge rate or high shield points. Or do i want to mix those?

We don't even know if jousting will be a thing in the final game. So we can theorycraft about the current patch. But theorycrafting further, will make sense only for the sake of theorycrafting.

How well will you be able to hide from scanning? We don't know.
Will the "surprise knucklehead" be thing. (So i assume high alpha damage) We don't know.

Towards combat:
currently i prefer gimbal (assist) over everything else.
If you're looking for quick fights or a "gtfo weapon" ballistic repeaters are probably one of the best choice.

For longer combats with a lot of enemys (missions) i would prefer laser repeaters.

Cannons are good if you're going for larger targets. For larger targets fixed weapons might be viable too.
Small agile targets will be nearly impossible to hit.

All other modules are currently very simple in their difference so go for the best.

You can check some stats here:

#DPSCalculator

Star Citizen tools for DPS, damage, power and cooling simulations including an up to date ships and components database

www.erkul.games

or here

Hardpoint.io - Star Citizen ship fitting and comparison tool

Web application for planning and comparing loadouts of Star Citizen ships with detailed component breakdown and summary statistics.

hardpoint.io

 

[Printimus]

Keep in mind there is a BOATLOAD of gear yet to be revealed as well...

 

[DirectorGunner]

My theory crafting consists of putting the most powerful everything on a ship that it can handle. Just shove all the squares in the circle holes and cover the gaps with duct tape.... should be good.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

For the fighters I'd probably be more of what I think would be described as a charge in and engage in a lot of mid range to close fighting and jousting. For the rest I would probably want low signatures so I'm not getting noticed in the first place but being able to disable a surprise knucklehead and skedaddle when I can.

From your description I think you should choose the Ghost over the SH and Heartseeker. It's optimized for what you want and if you lose it, you'll get back something closer to what you need so your costs will stay down.

Given that aside, I would say you definitely want to shoot scatterguns so that each pass does max damage. Scatterguns also have very low heat and EM when on standby, so this aids your stealth. Since scattterguns use very little power you can downsize the reactor if you mod your SH, which will make it stealthier. See if you can actually fly the IonBurst reactor and have enough power for all your needs. That will make a huge difference in stealth. You'll want to add Void armor once that is available if you use the SH. If you use 2 Predetors on the wings, 2 Havocs on the nose and 2 Hellions on the turret, you have over 5,400 dps. With shields down that should kill any fighter on the first pass.

If you want to stealth the SH and use it, to take down shields I suggest go with 2XS3 Arrester missiles. They have a better range, a better chance to hit and do more damage than the smaller missiles, and IIRC, the Arresters will not only knock a bird senseless, but failing that the distortion damage clears shields fast. You'll want to try to clear shields from outside the distance you'll be detected at and then eliminate in the first pass. I would try launching from 7-9km and circling so you have an attack vector as far from the launch direction as possible, and most fighters shouldn't be able to see you until it is too late. I have seen guys do this on youtube with the Sabre (which is designed for this) and it is pretty beasty.

Use the Hardpoint calculator for the latest data on weapons, and I think you'll see why I'm suggesting scatterguns. You'll also be able to look in detail at other components, and how much you save by actually switching off your shields, etc. Shield choice is the hardest part of designing a highwayman, IMHO. Max protection or max recharge? If you do what you're talking about right it may not matter. You may never have to turn them on.

Hardpoint.io - Star Citizen ship fitting and comparison tool

Web application for planning and comparing loadouts of Star Citizen ships with detailed component breakdown and summary statistics.

hardpoint.io

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Having put a scatter gun on the nose of my 350R yesterday, a word of caution - the effective range on them now really is point-blank perhaps 300m at most, plus they are not auto-cannon (or at least the Hurston Dynamics one isn't) so you'll have to keep clicking to get the shots to rain forth.

 

[SoloFlyer]

My primary aim in any kind of stealth set up would be to avoid making myself a target for other players if at all possible. If I'm in one of my combat ships I'd want to have some kind of balance with that in mind but still being able to do missions or go up against random NPCs and not get dusted. If I'm in any of my other ships I probably want to avoid combat period as much as possible so definitely want to be as stealthy as is feasible with enough firepower so I can get the hell out of dodge if it looks like trouble. The links provided are helpful, now all I have to do is save up for and track down the equipment. The loadouts with the 300 series customizations are the only ones that will persist through patches right? Equipped items bought for UEC still gets wiped, just persists on reclaiming only?