I am considering a move from trading to combat...

[Telengo]

Cheers for the pointers Cmdr Turbo. Some good points in the there, will certainly try and use the FA off a lot more. Found myself out in a combat zone and wishing I had a full laser load out as I had run out of ammo again.

[Ahriakin]

I've found Res Extraction points to be more profitable than Nav,also once you get over how beautifully Stars are rendered as was mentioned earlier the asteroids (and their inherent threat to your structural integrity) add more spice to combat at the Res points (imho). I'd also recommend the Viper with fixed beams and gimballed MCs, economical and versatile for all target types. All laser builds burn your power too fast even with an A regulator so as you get better you will spend more time with a target in your reticule that you don't have the sparks to shoot at.

Upgrade your Power Regulator first, it defines the realtime performance limits for every combat system. Go A as soon as you can.
Thrusters are an essential upgrade. More maneuverability doesn't just mean staying out of the enemy's firing arc at max, it means being able to do it with less Pips to Eng (which means more to other systems). Get to B as soon as you can, then make the final upgrade when you can afford it.
Definitely equip Chaff and a shield cell (the latter is for emergencies only do not rely on it).
Don't skimp on sensors either as they can improve gimbal targetting and target acquisition over larger distances (I'd only go to C max).
Life support - yes you will get into trouble, upgrade it a little to give yourself more time to get back to base if you lose cockpi integrity. D should be enough in most circumstances.
Armour upgrades should be last. Remember in a Viper you hit and run if need be, even with upgrades you do not have the armour to go toe-to-toe with a heavy opponent once your shields are down, run and recharge instead. Also they add mass and when maneuverability is one of your ships benefits this is not a good thing (compensate with better thrusters, another reason to leave this to last). Also again if you are relying on upgraded armour to save you then you are accepting taking damage...which means repair costs that can quickly eat into the relatively meagre profits you will be making.

Constantly work your power distribution. 4 Pips to shields gives you a very large boost to their longevity under fire but you don't want it on all the time. Voice Attack is great for setting up power config macros, often I'll be switching through them at one a second. This gets more important as you move onto heavier ships, you will often need to pump Eng to aim on a target then quickly back to weapons to unload and max shields when he does his run at you.

[Krystyn]

Just a few tips that are by no means testament:

1.) Viper is great for bounty work. Better shields but less hull than the cobra. Vice versa for the cobra. Both have the same maneuverability, but the cobra has more space and can serve as multi-purpose in a good way (missions).
2.) All lasers = no ammo costs. Cannons = high damage at closer range but require better shot placement. Multi-cannons = making you feel like one of Adama's pilots from the Galactica. Low ammo costs or no ammo costs is gooooooooooooood. Better for longer hunts.
3.) Gimballed weapons provide continuous damage if you can keep the bastard you're shooting at in the arc. Yes, fixed weapons do 20% more damage, but often make you lose focus in the fight; especially if there are asteroids present. Gimballed output less damage, but are excellent for destroying subsystems with continuous damage. Cannons drop subsystems like 3rd period home ec. Destroying subsystems = good tactics and faster kills.
4.) Know when to run away, and remember that the huge number of credits in vouchers are useless if you can't make it back to the station to turn them in.
5.) Shield cells are pretty much necessary for anacondas and the big stuff. Just remember that they use more power than the Griswald's Christmas lights.
6.) Chaff is like getting a french kiss from an angel during a dogfight if you use it right. Remember that it's not infinite.
7.) ALWAYS manage your power correctly. Shields don't run on hopes and dreams, they run on power pips Engines aren't as important once you're on top of the other ship. However, Vipers will outrun you. Don't fight it. Just boost to them, shooting on the way.
8.) LEARN TO USE FLIGHT ASSIST "OFF." Pitching it hard and then dropping the training wheels for a second gives you a nice turn rate boost. You can also use this to do a g-flip turn. It's worth the time to learn this flight skill.
9.) Returning to the station for refitting can build complacency. DO NOT FORGET if you are wanted for dinging that pretty police ship's shield. They don't care for it too much. It's easy to forget, and the station may decide you're better as floating debris decorations for the mail slot.
10.) Remember that it's not as profitable. It's fun, which is why you play the game in the first place.

Happy hunting. I do alot of it, so feel free to ask me as many questions via PM as you like. Take care!

-Turbo

Some great tips! Thanks for taking the time to post these.

[Corsaire31]

All gimballed weapons is fine and safe, but I find it makes it too easy against the poorly fighting NPCs. No real challenge...

On my Cobra I have 2 gimballed class 1 beam lasers because it's necessary as they are fit under the wings and wide apart, but in front I have 2 fixed class 2 cannons. If you shoot at close range (500-800m) when targets show their hull, you don't miss and they make some damage (3 shots for an Adder once shields are down) ! For smaller crafts bothering me like SIdeys or Eagles, I just fry them with the lasers.

Made 136K tonight at Lave Nav Beacon (with some help of Allied Authorities), including 1 Anaconda, 1 Python and a couple of ASPs. Only used 1 shield cell in over an hour, got lazy once and didn't avoid the shooting.

[clivewil]

i took my Asp into a RES last night, running a typical mix of 2x gim medium beam, 4x gim multicannon, fighting Anacondas. i was trying to conserve ammo and so i stuck with only the beams for about 4 of the Anacondas and was surprised at how quickly they killed them; usually i would have switched to MCs as soon as the shields went down, and was under the impression that beams wouldn't harm the hull much

previously i'd usually go home to re-arm after making about 400k - 500k in bounties but now i might be able to do a marathon 1mil BH session - if i can handle sitting in this chair that long, and if i don't run out of Anacondas of course.

i think i had to logoff/logon about 15 - 20 times before i got an instance of Anaconda enemies though, that part was rather painful

[Tiwaz]

Just one thing to add for my part...

Kill Warrant Scanner. Scan, then kill. While it is not gigantic boost, it does bring extra cash when you can cash in bounties in all three jurisdictions.

Edit:

Oh yes, and one thing that can on occasion be useful... Binding KWS to one of your weapons, so that you scan the target while firing on it. Because sometimes you just don't want to waste time just scanning, but still want to squeeze every credit from the kills.

[Blooper01]

Something nice to add to this is the importance of knowing if your resource extraction site is on the light or dark side of the planet. This actually makes a big difference, the light side you can actually see the asteroids around you while on the dark you can get caught in the field and not know it. Also, bigger bounties can be found in the dark (my experience anyway). The asteroid field can be a blessing if you are facing a large target (python, anaconda, and such), they get caught up with maneuvering while you can zip around shooting.

[Roger Wilco Jr]

Yeah - an asteroid equals one hell of a lot of armor.

You can clearly see whether your RES is in shadow or not when you enter it, but if it's right on the edge, it may move into or out of the shadow as you are killing the bad guys.

[Jacknife]

One thing about the Viper: even if it's got an A-grade power plant, it's all too easy to go over your maximum power output with high-grade equipment. You've got to set your FSD to low power priority, or you'll end up having systems cut out at random as soon as you deploy your weapons.

Speaking of power plants, you'll probably want to go to the highest grade you can afford, even if it means putting in an lower class of power plant. Obviously, you don't want to put in a power plant that's not up to feeding all your equipment, but the higher your equipment grade, the better your cooling will be, so you won't end up overheating as much if you're relying on stuff like beam lasers or rail guns.

[Arbanax]

HI all I was interesting as the OP in going into combat. Currently I've been trading rares, but in Beta 1.3 I tried out the Diamond back and Viper and loaded them up to try and get a feel for combat again. Still Mostly Harmless in the real game, so lots to learn. I see what folk wrote about the Viper and power distribution, but one thing really caught me out. I had mostly A or B rated modules, I also fitted Shield boosters, but I could never select them in the side tab, under weapons. They never came up, even if I lowered or switched off all but essential systems. It was at this point I searched for a tutorial on using them and couldn't find anything. In the end I never seemed to need them, but out of interest has anyone seen a tutorial for how to use shield boosters in a viper and what is the difference between them and shield cells?

Thanks - great group by the way.

Ab