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CAPITAL SHIPS:
CRUISERS AND CARRIERS
Ships this big are tough to take down. There are several techniques that you
can use against them, but by and large you want to have help.
Leech.
Smack it with a Leech gun or missile. You'll at least slow it down.
Turrets.
If you can take out the turrets, you've got the battle half-won. Concentrate
on targeting the turrets on one side, if possible. Even the one portion of a
side, like the rear section, would be a big step forward.
Sliding.
Once you've got the turrets destroyed, make a strafing run or two. The
autoslide is particularly useful, especially if you weren't able to knock out
all of the turrets. If you're lucky, the cap ship won't be able to target you,
and you'll be able to slide down the entire length of the ship, nibbling away
at its defenses.
Double-Team.
Because a ship has a finite amount of resources to allocate to its shields, if
you have someone firing on the far side of the ship, the shields on your side
will regenerate at half-speed (since the other half of its power is being used
to regenerate the shields on the other side). That gives you a much better
chance at punching through the shields and doing real damage.
Back Door.
Get in close to the rear of the ship, eliminate the few turrets that are back
there and just sit there, pouring your gunfire into the engine area. If you
have any Heat Seeker missiles, fire them too. It will take a long, long time,
but if you insist on taking out a cap ship all by yourself ....
DESTROYERS
The best thing to do with a destroyer is to cripple it with either a Leech
missile or your Leech guns. If you can disable the turrets, you're home free.
Fire off a torpedo or two, and make a strafing run, and then hammer with guns
and torpedoes at any weak spots you created.
If you can't disable the turrets, by all means take out however many you can.
Sometimes the best thing to do is to sneak in from the back, take out the four
or so turrets at the rear and then hammer at the engines with guns and
missiles.
TRANSPORTS
Transports shouldn't be too difficult. These things have a fair amount of
shield points, so firing a spare torpedo at it is the quickest method. They
really aren't worth a Leech missile. Once again, you can yank out the teeth by
eliminating the turrets before you get too close.
FIGHTING SPECIFIC FIGHTERS
ARROW
Use Image Recognition missiles from behind. Also, try to use your guns
unsynchronized so you keep them under constant fire.
BANSHEE
These guys maneuver well-whatever you do, don't let them get on your tail!
More than one Banshee at a time is deadly! Make full use of your wingman, and
eliminate them as quickly as possible.
BEARCAT
Leech and Scattergun are the most effective weapons against the Bearcat. Don't
rely on the sliding maneuver to save your skin; the Bearcat's guns autotrack.
Attack from above, and roll often.
DRAGON
Scatterguns work well against the Black Lance ships. When Dragons uncloak,
attack the damaged ones first. You can trail a cloaked Dragon by following the
"damage" sparks. They're good at getting on your tail, so when you hear the
sound of someone uncloaking, prepare to evade. Note that when you are in a
Dragon, you can always see other Dragons, even when they're cloaked.
EXCALI B U R
Simple advice: stay behind them, and blast them at your first opportunity.
H E LLCAT
Since the Hellcat's shields regenerate quickly, stick with each one you attack
until it is destroyed. Don't let more than one get behind you, and try not to
lose them if they make a head-on pass.
LONGBOW
Match its speed often to make sure you don't fly past it; it's very slow. Use
short afterburner blasts and rolls, plus salvo your missiles in pairs.
RAZOR
Use an Image Recognition missile-it vaporizes one with one hit. Razors tend to
circle around, which makes it easy to take them head on. Ramming them also
works!
THUNDERBOLT AND AVENGER
Keep in mind that these are very dangerous ships. Leeching them is a good
idea. They can turn on a dime, and their turrets adjust their aim to nail you.
The Slap: The trick to handling them is to fly above them, keeping them always
at the bottom of your view. To shoot one, briefly dip the nose of your plane
down, fire off a few shots, and then pull back up until it is at the bottom of
the your view again. The difficult part is adjusting to keep on top of it.
Autoslide: An autoslide strafe is fairly effective against a Thunderbolt, but
be careful. Thunderbolt pilots are prone to kamikaze attempts right before
they're destroyed. Be prepared to peel away.
VINDICATOR
Don't worry too much about the rear turret, it's only a weak laser. Be
especially careful about following them near the ground. They'll try to wreck
you.
COLLISIONS
Running into other things is bad! Don't do it on purpose, and especially don't
do it by accident. Actually, you'll probably survive a collision with another
fighter and come out of it in better shape than the other guy, but at best it
will really rip up your armor-you'll have a weak spot right where all your
communications and other electronics are located (if you got smashed in the
front). Watch out for ships that take damage and suddenly slow down.
Now this is a secret, and certainly isn't suave or realistic, but... if you
fly with COLLISIONS OFF, ramming is your best weapon. It does a lot of damage
to the other guy (but none to you); it's a great way to make a cap ship go
pop. It's definitely not playing fair, though.
Excerpted from: Origin's Offical Guide tp Wing Commander IV: The Price of
Freedom
Copyright 1996 Origin Systems Inc.
Used with permission
CRUISERS AND CARRIERS
Ships this big are tough to take down. There are several techniques that you
can use against them, but by and large you want to have help.
Leech.
Smack it with a Leech gun or missile. You'll at least slow it down.
Turrets.
If you can take out the turrets, you've got the battle half-won. Concentrate
on targeting the turrets on one side, if possible. Even the one portion of a
side, like the rear section, would be a big step forward.
Sliding.
Once you've got the turrets destroyed, make a strafing run or two. The
autoslide is particularly useful, especially if you weren't able to knock out
all of the turrets. If you're lucky, the cap ship won't be able to target you,
and you'll be able to slide down the entire length of the ship, nibbling away
at its defenses.
Double-Team.
Because a ship has a finite amount of resources to allocate to its shields, if
you have someone firing on the far side of the ship, the shields on your side
will regenerate at half-speed (since the other half of its power is being used
to regenerate the shields on the other side). That gives you a much better
chance at punching through the shields and doing real damage.
Back Door.
Get in close to the rear of the ship, eliminate the few turrets that are back
there and just sit there, pouring your gunfire into the engine area. If you
have any Heat Seeker missiles, fire them too. It will take a long, long time,
but if you insist on taking out a cap ship all by yourself ....
DESTROYERS
The best thing to do with a destroyer is to cripple it with either a Leech
missile or your Leech guns. If you can disable the turrets, you're home free.
Fire off a torpedo or two, and make a strafing run, and then hammer with guns
and torpedoes at any weak spots you created.
If you can't disable the turrets, by all means take out however many you can.
Sometimes the best thing to do is to sneak in from the back, take out the four
or so turrets at the rear and then hammer at the engines with guns and
missiles.
TRANSPORTS
Transports shouldn't be too difficult. These things have a fair amount of
shield points, so firing a spare torpedo at it is the quickest method. They
really aren't worth a Leech missile. Once again, you can yank out the teeth by
eliminating the turrets before you get too close.
FIGHTING SPECIFIC FIGHTERS
ARROW
Use Image Recognition missiles from behind. Also, try to use your guns
unsynchronized so you keep them under constant fire.
BANSHEE
These guys maneuver well-whatever you do, don't let them get on your tail!
More than one Banshee at a time is deadly! Make full use of your wingman, and
eliminate them as quickly as possible.
BEARCAT
Leech and Scattergun are the most effective weapons against the Bearcat. Don't
rely on the sliding maneuver to save your skin; the Bearcat's guns autotrack.
Attack from above, and roll often.
DRAGON
Scatterguns work well against the Black Lance ships. When Dragons uncloak,
attack the damaged ones first. You can trail a cloaked Dragon by following the
"damage" sparks. They're good at getting on your tail, so when you hear the
sound of someone uncloaking, prepare to evade. Note that when you are in a
Dragon, you can always see other Dragons, even when they're cloaked.
EXCALI B U R
Simple advice: stay behind them, and blast them at your first opportunity.
H E LLCAT
Since the Hellcat's shields regenerate quickly, stick with each one you attack
until it is destroyed. Don't let more than one get behind you, and try not to
lose them if they make a head-on pass.
LONGBOW
Match its speed often to make sure you don't fly past it; it's very slow. Use
short afterburner blasts and rolls, plus salvo your missiles in pairs.
RAZOR
Use an Image Recognition missile-it vaporizes one with one hit. Razors tend to
circle around, which makes it easy to take them head on. Ramming them also
works!
THUNDERBOLT AND AVENGER
Keep in mind that these are very dangerous ships. Leeching them is a good
idea. They can turn on a dime, and their turrets adjust their aim to nail you.
The Slap: The trick to handling them is to fly above them, keeping them always
at the bottom of your view. To shoot one, briefly dip the nose of your plane
down, fire off a few shots, and then pull back up until it is at the bottom of
the your view again. The difficult part is adjusting to keep on top of it.
Autoslide: An autoslide strafe is fairly effective against a Thunderbolt, but
be careful. Thunderbolt pilots are prone to kamikaze attempts right before
they're destroyed. Be prepared to peel away.
VINDICATOR
Don't worry too much about the rear turret, it's only a weak laser. Be
especially careful about following them near the ground. They'll try to wreck
you.
COLLISIONS
Running into other things is bad! Don't do it on purpose, and especially don't
do it by accident. Actually, you'll probably survive a collision with another
fighter and come out of it in better shape than the other guy, but at best it
will really rip up your armor-you'll have a weak spot right where all your
communications and other electronics are located (if you got smashed in the
front). Watch out for ships that take damage and suddenly slow down.
Now this is a secret, and certainly isn't suave or realistic, but... if you
fly with COLLISIONS OFF, ramming is your best weapon. It does a lot of damage
to the other guy (but none to you); it's a great way to make a cap ship go
pop. It's definitely not playing fair, though.
Excerpted from: Origin's Offical Guide tp Wing Commander IV: The Price of
Freedom
Copyright 1996 Origin Systems Inc.
Used with permission