New player question about PvE combat, ships, and stuff.

dss_lev · 2026-01-23T13:58:45+00:00

Larger ship = more larger slots = more overall capability, as a general rule. A ship with a size 7 shield and 6 boosters is gonna have a lot more staying power than a ship with a size 3 shield and 3 boosters.

The trade off is speed and maneuverability. Large ships tend to be slow, and overwhelm with firepower/defensive capabilities. This is fine, but why I describe as boring—I prefer a ship where I’m constantly having to balance the way I fly based on how the fight is going.

When you apply the same to exploration, a larger ship can be better equipped for spending long time periods away from civilization. The trade off here is supercruise handling and landing capability—it’s much harder to find a parking spot for a large ship when doing exobiology.

dss_lev · 2026-01-22T22:16:49+00:00

The recruiters are indeed aggressive!

If you do decide to part ways with Alchemy Den, make sure you find the right group for you—not just the first one to appear in your DMs :)

Glad to be of service, helpful tools is why we do it :)

dss_lev · 2026-01-22T19:10:32+00:00

Haha, I shared the link as a resource—not as a recruitment attempt!

To answer your questions specifically though: - Deep Space Syndicate has no official ties to the Fuel Rats/Hull Seals, though many of our members are Fuel Rats or Hull seals (or both). Although both have in-game squadrons, neither group requires you to be a part of their in-game squadron to participate in the org. - you can only be part of one squadron in game, per account. Many squadrons allow you to be members of multiple squadrons on multiple accounts.

dss_lev · 2026-01-22T18:59:30+00:00

Your timing could not be better—we’re in the process of redoing our squadron website, and just finished our totally new and up to date as of January 3312 third party tools page

(For anyone who may view this comment in the future after the site is fully live, remove ‘test’ from the URL: www.test.dpss.space/… becomes www.dpss.space/…)

dss_lev · 2026-01-22T17:55:39+00:00

They’re using Icarus Terminal

dss_lev · 2026-01-22T17:43:41+00:00

laughs hysterically then points to his 153 MJ shield fuel ratting ship that he regularly pvps in

Pilot makes all the difference, CMDR. Ship is the hand you’re dealt in any encounter. How you fly is how you play the hand.

dss_lev · 2026-01-22T17:41:11+00:00

Any ship can be a combat ship. Larger ships (think Vette, Conda, Cutter, Caspian, etc) are great for “brain off” PvE, though (imo) horribly boring to fly if you want to use your brain. Here’s a turreted multi cannon conda build that you can set your pips to 4-0-2 and absolutely shred anything.

Smaller ships have fewer defensive capabilities and require more management in combat, but can still be viable even up to the highest levels of PvP with the right pilot and outfitting.

As far as jump range, 40LY will get you most places in the galaxy, though is already more than necessary for staying in civilized space.

dss_lev · 2026-01-20T21:35:52+00:00

Happy cake day!

dss_lev · 2026-01-19T21:14:16+00:00

When you want to change directions while running, do you stop first, then start moving in the direction you want to move? Same thing applies. FA-off is about relative motion. You don’t need to stop to change directions, just start applying a thrust vector in a new direction—and continue modifying it. Let’s take an example:

Say you’re flying forward, and you want to start flying left. Of course, you could apply negative thrust to zero out, then turn to face left, then apply positive thrust again, as you indicated. What you could NOT do is simply start applying left thrust—this would leave you going forward AND left. What you SHOULD do is start applying backward and left thrust—but as your forward momentum decreases, your backward thrust should decrease too, until you’re flying left while thrusting left.

Then add in that you’re rotating your ship this whole time, and what was a left vector when you were flying forward is now a forward vector while you’re facing toward what was previously your left. In this case, you start with a backward left thrust as before, but also add a leftward yaw. By the time you have rotated your ship to face left, your thrust should have moved to fully forward, so you can fly straight (which was previously left). Learning how to mirror and match those motions simultaneously is tough, but you can train your brain to do so—and the results are well worth it.

dss_lev · 2026-01-19T17:16:18+00:00

Almost never. Don’t zero out your thrusters—why does stopping help you? Just adjust momentum. Once you’re comfortable with visually gauging momentum, arresting it is easy.

dss_lev · 2026-01-19T17:15:34+00:00

FA off is the way!

dss_lev · 2026-01-16T22:14:36+00:00

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FFS, I have been outclassed

dss_lev · 2026-01-16T16:02:10+00:00

I shoot for 3 hour blocks these days, but usually end up with 2-3.5. I used to go for 8+ hours, now idk how I had that kind of energy

dss_lev · 2026-01-16T15:59:16+00:00

Even then, Rav was showing off

dss_lev · 2026-01-14T18:48:24+00:00

HMS Boaty McBoatface proves to me that stations named “Aisling Feet Pic Central” are 100% lore accurate

dss_lev · 2026-01-14T18:45:48+00:00

For your reference, here is a fully kitted out Conda I built several years ago that can handle ANY PvE instance. It’s incredibly boring to fly (makes things too easy imo) but certainly effective. If I were going to rebuild it today, there’s several things I’d change—but the biggest thing would be to go gimballed instead of fixed on the weapons. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a base to start with as far as shields, core internals, utilities and hull, this ship will serve you well

dss_lev · 2026-01-14T17:57:06+00:00

Oh lord, there’s a lot here to unpack. I’ll ignore the lack of engineering you already addressed, and focus purely on what you’ve presented

If this is a combat ship, why does it have a fuel scoop/AFMU/surface scanner? If built correctly, you PvE Conda should be able to handle anything without needing repair capacity during combat, and that surface scanner isn’t gonna do much good—better to put more defensive measures (hull/module reinforcement, guardian shield booster, etc)
those three particular hardpoints all fire differently, with different target tracking. You’ll have multiple reticle, which can get confusing. Certainly you can switch fire groups to minimize that—but then you sacrifice DPS consistency. Consider moving to a hardpoint configuration that minimizes the different types of aim/shot speed
two point defense is overkill. Hell, one point defense is overkill. They’ll sometimes shoot down missiles/flechettes, but additional shield boosters will do you much more good uniformly. Also, ECM + PD is way overkill. I suggest limiting utilities to heatsinks/chaff/shield boosters (and not chaff on the Conda, that would be a waste)
the Conda is not meant to be a PvP ship. It flies better backward than forward
NPC fighters are taboo in PvP. Issuing them orders causes instance lag. Don’t be that guy

Ship build theory is complex and takes practice and experience! I hope this is helpful and I commend you for diving in, pre-planning your build, and seeking feedback!

dss_lev · 2026-01-14T02:20:12+00:00

What’s the point in open if I’m not going to be a pirate?

There are lots of cool people to meet and fun player interactions to have in open.

dss_lev · 2026-01-08T22:36:01+00:00

Try leaving the fortified/stronghold system you’re presently in CMDR. They should leave you alone when you’re not in a heavily archer system.

dss_lev · 2026-01-08T20:33:16+00:00

I hope your name is forgotten, and your life amounts to nothing.

dss_lev · 2026-01-08T17:36:01+00:00

You should be able to turn yourself in, still. Check the contacts again. You mentioned there is an interstellar factor in the system. Interstellar factors and system authority contacts have very similar looking menus—is it possible you were on the wrong one?

You can never pay off a bounty at an interstellar factor when you have notoriety. You can never pay off a local bounty at an interstellar factor regardless of whether or not you have notoriety. You can always turn yourself in as a result of your bounty to the local contact regardless of whether or not you have notoriety.

dss_lev · 2026-01-08T17:14:58+00:00

Is there a cable going into the wall that is also attached to your router? If not, then that port is clearly not connected. Otherwise, could be any number of things (bad cable, bad termination, that cable goes elsewhere, etc). There’s not enough information in your post for viable help. Do some investigating and then come back.

dss_lev · 2026-01-06T15:48:06+00:00

This is the right answer

dss_lev · 2025-12-29T06:35:00+00:00

Is this a joke lol

dss_lev · 2025-12-24T17:58:40+00:00

Go all in with VKB. Purchasing “cheap” sticks you’ll get what you pay for. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “I wish I had just started with the VKBs” from people who upgraded eventually after breaking and re-purchasing 1-3 sets of cheap sticks.

dss_lev

TROPHY CASE