Elite: Dangerous PvE - Mobius

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if there are any rules people should abide by when winging up. I'd like to work on the combat community goals with Mobius CMDRs, but I had a not-so-great experience this weekend winging up with a random CMDR, so it'd be good to know what the do's and don'ts are when winging up. I did try to search for such a topic; nothing came up.

The reason I'm asking is, my wingman (in an Anaconda I believe) engaged a small-medium-large ship wing, targeting the medium, while the large NPC ended up attacking me, destroying my Vulture in under half a minute's time. My ship hadn't suffered any damage before the attack.

My wingman never switched targets; the HUD tells you when someone in your wing is taking damage doesn't it? I don't mind the loss itself so much, it being a game and all, but the other player acted like nothing had happened, casually thanking me in the end, as if I'd only been there to take hits for him. I kinda feel that for online play to be worthwhile, some consideration should be shown to other players, in any kind of game really.

So I'd like to know in what spirit co-op combat should take place within MobiusPvE, and what I can do to keep my wingmen from being destroyed (besides not attacking enemy wings), as I wouldn't like to see anyone I play with have a similar experience.

fadingtrails wrote:...So I'd like to know in what spirit co-op combat should take place within MobiusPvE, and what I can do to keep my wingmen from being destroyed (besides not attacking enemy wings), as I wouldn't like to see anyone I play with have a similar experience.

Second post I see, so welcome aboard Commander.

There are no rules for winging up, and there never will be. It is up to the players to work it out. Some you have fun with, others not so much. Live and learn. If you like to co-op then start working up a friends list.

Always look out for yourself. Don't expect others to.

Fly safe Commander.

Oh man, it sucks that you had a bad wing experience. Winging for combat can be a BLAST in E-D. Especially if you're using voice comms.

Sometimes when in a wing it's fairly easy to get target fixation. He may not have noticed that you were taking damage, but a 'sorry' would have gone a long ways, for sure. Different wings call for different attack strategies, and there is no hard and fast rules for conduct.

I try to keep an eye on my wingman's shields/hull as much as possible but sometimes you're focused on the 1-2-3 targets that you're working and loose track of your wingmate's status.

I encourage you to wing up again with others at the CG. As often as possible. Some wings will be boring, some profitable, and some will be fun as hell. Be sure to friend the guys that you want to wing up with again. And.... use voice comms if at all possible. Either in-game or our Discord / TeamSpeak servers. Calling for help is MUCH easier and faster when talking Vs typing. And the camaraderie can't be beat.

Thanks for the welcome and the replies, guys.

Fair enough, I guess people can agree on their own rules. I appreciate the advice and I won't give up on it; I did have a good time with a couple of players before.

And dont get mad if some wingman dont write much. Some are using VR, and its a pain to write in VR.

Nelina wrote:And dont get mad if some wingman dont write much. Some are using VR, and its a pain to write in VR.

It's why I don't wing with anyone who isn't prepared to go on voice.
VR or not really, regardless of control style, you cannot fly and type at the same time.

No coms = fuck off.

No rules, per se, but you notice a few common sense protocols springing up between people who frequently wing together in combat:

1. Only one person is calling the targets. Vocally, over coms. More than one person and shit gets confused really quickly and people start dying. Not the right people. Well, except Lori...

2. When someone has called a target that is in a wing, they state "In a wing of..." and then tend to give everyone else a moment to get into position. If the 'vette is in a great position but the vulture is right under the noses of 2 cutters, it's going to do no-one any good to engage right away. In the few seconds it takes for people to move to better positions, someone can be painting and scanning the targets.

3. Someone tends to run healing beams. This tends to be either the tankiest person or the most combat-confident in our group (most often Tor). Because we're getting our targets from a single wingman (see 1) we're also automatically watching each others' shields and will call out when someone is down to their last ring of shielding.

4. When someone is in serious trouble, the chances are they might not realise until something hits them hard enough to take 50% of their hull. This is because the graphic for the shielding is in a weird place (at the bottom right) when your eyes are in the middle and flicking to the top of the screen (to acquire wingman's targets). Thus, when someone doesn't respond to a low-shielding call (see 3, and that could the that COMDR or whoever is running beams for whatever reason), we'll yell at them to get out asap.

What's interesting is that even in the super-ribauld A-Team, where we'll mock each other, often, for having assholes and breathing air, needing to turn and run isn't something I've ever seen anyone teased for.

5. We KWS scan every target because it raises the value for all of us. Right at the start of whatever, we'll all just generally mention whether we have a scanner or whatever, and then through the course of combat someone will call out "scanning" once the next target has been called. Unless it's something little and crappy, the scanning takes place while everyone else is moving into position. It's not that we specifically nominate someone to be the KWS person, it's just that it tends to pan out that way.

6. We tend to agree as a wing on when it's time to go hand in / repair / restock. And that could be when someone's had to flee (we'll finish the fight and then leave after them - we don't carry on without them; we're a team, and that would be shitty), when someone needs to restock (and generally they'll say a couple of fights in advance) or if someone's hull % slipped under 50% (and then, again, we all go together).

7. We all colour our weapons and engine wakes differently to each other. Partly because we're simple-minded twats who are amused by that sort of bullshit, but also because, in a scuffle, we easily know where everyone is. And yes, there are members who will still fly into you (whether by accident or on purpose), but generally we tend to leave the stripping of shields and hull health to the enemy.

To be clear, these aren't "protocols" that we've all collectively discussed and agreed upon. It's just how combat winging always goes. It keeps everyone happy, keeps everyone safe-ish, lets no-one feel left out, and makes sure everyone gets paid.

We act like pricks on the forum (and in Discord), but the one thing you can be absolutely certain of us A-Team asshats for is that we won't abandon you in a fight... unless you pull stupid shit. @Fadingtrails, if you'd like to wing-up sometime, you'd be welcome

Edit: I thought of another one...

8. We've all got "report crimes against me" turned off. Again, partly because we'd asshats who strip each others' shields just to say Hi, but also because if someone clips you with their multicannon or bumps into you in combat, they're your wingman and didn't do it to be a prick.

9. Lori also just pointed out that, as we do tend to shove and elbow into each other fairly often, we generally move our shenanigans out of Mobius and into our own A-Team group, where we still don't like pvp, but ava* is kinda funny.

*asshat vs asshat

Those are some great tips, Fiddler. I'll add you and take you up on that offer some time; thanks!

Welcome!

First rule of the A-team.

Stay alive.
You can't pay for drinks if your dead.

And the guy with the smallest repair bill pays for first round.

Second rule.
Have fun.
Don't sweat grinding ranks or credits.
And if your bored, try jumping a cliff in a buggy.
Or race a buggy.
Or pick a fight with an anaconda, while in a buggy.

Rule three.
We like buggies.
If anyone hasn't guessed.

Rule four.
We don't really have any rules.
including this one.

Rule five.
If your idea or suggestion can be preceded with "hold my beer, I got an idea" it's probably a good one.