10 to 100 - Leveling techniques

Low-level combat techniques

There are a number of less-than-obvious ways to for a low-level player to level other then the old fashioned "face 'em down". Most of these tactics are geared towards players from level 10 to 100, but as you'll find out these ideas are in one way or another still in practice for your entire gaming experience.

1.) Kiting.

A bit like the name implies, you play with the AI as if it was a kite. For this tactic you will need a ship with range augs. Artemis augs are a good choice. I suggest: 2 Artemis, 1 basic cap and 2 Barbe Bleu’s Mods

Every AI has a range at which it can't shoot at you but it will still follow you. The trick is to be in that margin and moving at the same speed as the AI. While the aggressive AI is following you turn around and fire at them until it dies... You can kill level 50 rosfires at level 10 using this tactic.

Mag cannons are the most common weapon used for this, but Thorax weapons can be utilised as well. Never underestimate a good thorax. Learning how to use one properly is often worth the effort. If you like this style of combat think about taking the Berserker Class and Sniper Class secondary skills.

2.) Distraction

If kiting isn't your thing and you want to utilise one of the heavier combat ships then your in luck, another option is available to you. The use of misdirection and distraction can be quite useful. To distract an AI opponent you will need one of two things: RC and a bots or Drone Deployment and some drones.

With drones the trick is to get the AI in the area wasting all their energy on your cheap drones instead of on you. You'll need a bigger ship with plenty of extra hull space to make full use of this, but it can be done. As the drone takes the fire, attack the AI attacking the drone. Because of some recent additions to the AI attack code they may actually ignore the drones and come after you directly. A quick way to focus the AI on the right target is to either dock at a base or quickly jump out of the system and come back.

The other tactic, using bots, amounts to very much the same thing. Send your bot to attack the enemy and let the bot take the damage.

3.) Dancing

If your very tricky you can out-manoeuvre an AI in a tactic called dancing. Speed and agility are your allies here.

There are two ways to do this. The first is the most tricky and the most risky. Some AI have a hard time turning fast. If you circle around them at the right rate they will fire behind you. A blue interceptor aug can be quite useful when doing this.

The other way to dance is up close and personal. If the AI is slow enough at turning and you are nimble enough, you can actually stay right behind them. If you enjoy this kind of tactic consider the secondary skill Speed Demon Class.

Another little trick I like to do when dancing AI is tossing some nuke waste into space from a nearby base. A lot of scavenger AI's will come and scoop the heavy nuclear waste making them much easier to dance with. Also, a Sludgespewer can be handy, with it a level 10 can take out a level 300 ship, given an hour or so to work on it.

Conclusion

I hope you find these tricks as helpful as I have. Obviously these three techniques aren't the only way to level. Experiment! Finding what truly works for you is what this is all about.

Signed, ArrowHate 11:43, 24 July 2006 (PDT)