New Player Guide To E&b

[Tradermagoo [GrA]]

We were talking in new player chat last night and someone mentioned we needed a general guide for new players to the game.

Were talking about the steep learning curve in a given game by rank new players that have never played a space mmo before much less E&B.

 

I'll start easy with how I prepare a character and the mindset behind how I do things based upon the type of toon I am working on beit a builder a warrior or whatever and the general rules i have learned over the years.

 

The basic rules:

 

1. Always try and keep your reactors at least 1-2 levels above your weapon level.

 A. For progens you guys have it worst at the beginning of the game.

     Terrans are a close second.

     Jenquai rarely ever have reactor issues except for JD's but that is a specific problem to the class and it's well known how to solve it.

 

2. Always try and keep your shields at least 1-2 levels above your gun level.

    This should be a given but terrans are "kiters" and can with skilled driving can generally ignore this rule.*(see the * at the bottom of the article)

 

3. Gearing a character is based upon it's race as it determines the type of weapon that is your strong suit. When in doubt consult your skill list and find the level 9 weapon type.

 A. Jenquai are beam users, your buffs(specifically combat cloak) is based around beam damage and does not affect other weapon types you can install.

     Plasma, Energy and EMP damage are your forte.

     And each class can debuff plasma.

     Jenquai Seekers can use energy beams because they can use the manticore devices(energy debuffers)**

     Jenquai Defenders can use EMP because of the wyvern device(EMP debuff).

     Jenquai Explorers can debuff plasma as a primary damage type and explosive as a secondary(they do not use explosive weapons normally if at all).

     But your main focus is plasma weaponry.

 B. Progens are projectile users and your buffs are specifically geared to using them.

     Impact and chemical ammo are your specialty.

     Impact is the PS and PW's domain because you use gravity link and at level 5 skill level you debuff impact and explosive with the skill by 30% for 20 seconds.

     All 3 classes can use a Basilisk device to debuff Chemical type ammo.

     Progen Warriors have 6 weapon slots and can use all 3 types of weapons in the game and can make use of beams and missiles for various things.***

C. Terrans are missile users, you specialize in nothing really as you cannot natively debuff the ammo types you use.

     BUT you put out some mighty damage and you with skilled driving can kill literally anything in the game.

     Endgame**** gearing is a different story(hellbore and flingers)

     Ammo types.. Jenquai are a personal favorite ammo type.******

     Let's try that again.. Ammo types are pretty much anything you can load into your guns.

     EMP plasma chemical explosive are your primary damage dealers you have the widest range of ammo types but again outside of endgame gear and the occasional device

     (rada and thorgil's lament) you cannot debuff the ammo you shoot from your guns.

     Sorry guys a Gorgon is pretty useless to a terran in general terms as 2 of the classes can't even equip projectiles to use impact ammo.

     There is one exception the terran scout being a explorer type can and should use with great frequency a salamander device it debuffs explosive ammo.

     (I will explain ammo types in a later section so it makes more sense)

 

4.Class Basics: What the classes can and cannot do.

 

 A. We'll start with the jenquai classes.

  1. Jenquai Basics.

  As a race they get lvl 9 reactors and devices.

  All of them get lvl 8 shields and engines.

  You get lvl 9 beam weapons, lvl 8 projectiles and the jd gets all 3 weapon types but the missile skill is lvl 8 also.

  You get cloak******* Which is where your weapon damage comes from and safety.

  You are the ninja live it love it.

  Je's have a skill called wormhole which allows them to go to 10 different sector navs thru the game without using gates.

  Level 5 cloak(explore 25) gives you combat cloak which means you can cloak while moving and it doubles the base damage of beam weapons coming out of cloak.

  Levels 1-2-3-4-6-7 cloak do not give the damage buff only the lvl 5 skill.

 B. Progens

   As a race they get level 9 shields and lvl 8 engines

   Progen warriors get lvl 9 reactors

   Progen Privateers also get lvl 9 reactors.

   Progen Sentinels get lvl 8 reactors

   PS's also get lvl 9 devices.

   The PS gets lvl 5 gravity link skill.

   The PW gets lvl 7 gravity link(area effects)

   PW's are the tanks of the game they have the thickest hulls and hull damage control and if sitting motionless they have 30% added resists/reactor/shield recharge with combat trance

    (the multicolored circles around a higher level pw).

   The PW has 2 generally used aggravation holding skills aka aggro********.

   One is called shield sap which is a skill that can attack a mobs shields and remove part of there shield energy.

   The second one is called Shield Inversion which can attack and kill enemy mobs by using your shields energy as an energy based attack.

    (not used as much as shield sap it has it's purposes in farming and some raiding situations)

 C. Terrans

   Terrans as a race get lvl 8 reactors and lvl 9 engines.

   Terran Traders and Enforcers get lvl 9 shields

   Terran Scouts trade lvl 9 shields for lvl 8 and gain lvl 9 devices.

   Terrans are 3 of the 4 fastest toons in the game (Sorry te's no navigate means a lowely je is 1000 warp faster)

   Terran Scouts are the unquestioned fastest toons in the game 8800ish warp vrs the tt's 8100

    (lvl 7 navigate ts and a lvl 9 engine and a lvl 8 nos device is breathtaking the first time you use the warp button, trust me)

   Terran Enforcers are the brutes of the game thick shields thick hulls and big firepower.

   Terrans are the generalists of the game they do not do anything really unique(other then the tt/ts'd hull patch skill and a te's rally skill) or particularly well with a couple exceptions.

    Terran Scouts and Tradesmen get a skill called hull patch which means they can repair other peoples ship hulls.

    Terran Enforcers get a skill called rally which added 35-42% added resists to any ships in the same group with them (adds to survivability)

    TT's get Shield charging which raises shields capacity and recharge rate and at higher level 10% resistances also.

    TE/TS's get hacking which can do all sorts of things to hulled mobs(disable shields engines device etc) and the TE gets bio-cessation or the organic version of hacking.

 

Types of classes in the game.

 

1. Warriors.

   A. Jenquai Defender.

    Stealthy.

    Big big alpha strike damage capabilities

    Highest dps class in the game.(with guns)

    Weak shields (they get killed a lot it's the nature of the class at times..)

    Glass plasma cannons.

    Summon skill (Come get some)

    Touchy to play but very rewarding once you get the combat style figured out.

    Can kill any non see cloaked mob in the game. Given enough time.

   B. Progen Warriors.

     Da Tank. (I've yet to find another toon type in another game that does the tank thing as well as a pw does)

     Armor and resistances.

     Big firepower second highest dps(guns only) but overall the highest dps class in the game period.

     6 Guns nuff said.

     The only thing a pw doesn't do well is mine rocks and cloak..

     It's arguably the best designed toon in the game for the job.

      (from the original game anyways the terran scout makes a mockery of the miners and the JS is the unquestioned king of shield recharging)

     Can solo most if not all mobs up to about lvl 60 solo but lack the ability to kill mobs higher then that without a shield healer.

     There is drawbacks to sitting still and beating on stuff sometimes you get your butt handed to you.

   C. Terran Warriors.

      Big farging gun ships with lots and lots of firepower.(third highest gun damage)

      Good second tank vital class to any raid.

      Rally/Hacking/Biorepression

      Gun for gun using the same types of guns and similar ammo types a pw will outgun a te mano-e-mano.

      They have no secondary attack skills for damage so are the third highest dps class.

      The TE is the only class in the game capable of killing pretty much everything it can keep away from.

      Best weapon range.

      Semi fast (nobody has ever figured out why westwood never gave the te's navigate,

      Look my pw with a lvl 8 engine and a lvl 9 fury of the master is faster then my te is in combat even with a viper)

      The only warrior class capable of using 114% turbo effectively.

      (jd's are about timing and need around 60-72% turbo, and a pw fires his/her guns faster then 1 second and the difference in dps from .7 to .6 reload is pointless

       but a te with 11 second reload ml's firing them in the 4 second range is another subject bring on the turbo.)

      Weak sauce reactors bring in the recharge buffs.

   

* Kiting is a term referring to terrans specifically, they do not sit still and let mobs beat on them, they want fast combat speed engines and long ranged universally aimed weapons, they drive forward at high speeds shooting missiles in pretty much any direction.

Progen kiting is different then terran kiting as it means the progen is facing a mob and moving backwards, and using gravity link to keep the mob(s) at range.

** Debuffing is a term used in games to indicate you have remove resistances from a mob to take added damage you normally wouldn't have.

*** Farming is a term used to describe hunting the same mob many many times to collect a specific kind of loot, Pw's can use emp/energy and plasma beams and debuff for them and it makes a great tool to save on ammo cost, the drawback depending on the pw and his/her patience level the highest mobs you can farm solo this way is roughly level 54. 48/54 level mobs around about the limit of a pw's beaming but missiles.. 6 lvl 8 missiles makes life interesting. albeit a annoyance if you can't be bothered to make ammo. GoBB raid with emp anyone?

**** Endgame. The end of the line where you are geared correct and understand your character and have better loot and raid***** for it.

***** Raiding. Typically an endgame activity to gain better stuff for your ship. Shields guns reactors etc. Normally expen$ive to use and make ammo for/obtain at decent % for higher damage.

****** Sarcasm... I hope you do not need a written version explaining it.

******* Cloaking. You vanish into the night. Some mobs have see cloaked so you are not always as safe as you think you are...

******** Aggro. Def.. Annoyance to the mobs, this means that you are making the mobs mad enough to not attack other people in your group/raid this is a good thing to have as it keeps other members of your group/raid alive while you are being constantly healed.

 

So I promised a ammo type explanation in the earlier version of this guide and I'm going to tackle it in general and specific terms.

 

Ammo Types.

 

Chemical.

Chemical ammo is corrosive in other games *such as borderlands* and is a DOT type damage, meaning the ammo damage is cumulative not instant.

This game uses 6 ticks when using plasma/chem to count damage. So take the expected damage and divide by 6 to get the numbers you should see.*

Chem ammo is neutral to shields and has a +20% added debuff to it versus hulls.

So if hunting hulled mobs a good idea if the mob isn't immune is to carry half plasma and half chem to get the benefits of both ammo types 20% added to shields with plasma and 20% on hulls.

 

Emp.(Electro magnetic pulse)

EMP Is an instant damage type

EMP is a shield/reactor damage and interrupt, it damages shields and interrupts reactor functions.

Some organic mobs are weak to it.

Shielded mobs take shield damage and theoretically take reactor interrupt damage and lose reactor power because of it.(reactors do not recharge).

Emp is neutral damage to shields and does 0 damage against hulls on mobs other then the reactor hi-jinx.

 

Energy. (bizzarp)

Energy is an instant damage type.

It has the possibility to interrupt skills.

Energy is a shield and hull neutral damage type.

Along with emp and plasma this is a jenquai's main damage type and Jenquai seekers get the manticore series devices to use it.

 

Explosive. Can we say giant kaboom.

Explosive is a instant damage type.

Explosive is a neutral damage on shields and hulls.

Explosive has a chance to interrupt shields and skills.(imagine getting punched in the jaw when conjuring a spell).

The instant damage of the terran guns with well debuffed explosive can be spectacular. In endgame scenarios were talking 20-30,000 damage hits per round.

 

Impact ammo. ratatatatatatatatatatatattattatatat.

Impact is an instant damage type.

Impact ammo is shield and hull neutral damage.

Progens use impact to interrupt skills and primary ammo type on pw/ps's with the use of gravity link and various debuffers (taniwahs pride and agrippa shields).

Think machine guns and you have impact ammo in a nutshell.

 

Plasma.

Plasma is a strong to shield and neutral to hull damage.

Plasma is also the second damage over time(dot) ammo type.

It ticks 6 times like chemical does and has a 20% debuff on shields and doesn't have a buff versus hulls.

Universal damage type for Jenquai with a chimaera.

 

Damage type                       Debuffer

Chemical                             Basalisk/Thorgil's Lament Might be others can't remember any offhand. Progen Only devices(other then the thorgils)

EMP                                    Wyvern devices might be an aa or two also. Warrior Only

Energy                                Manticore devices. Tradersmen class Only

Explosive                            Salamander/gravity link/scarlet sting and others. Primarily terran only but specifically terran scout because of the salamander. Explorer only debuffs.

Impact                                 Gorgon devices and various others. Primarily debuffed by terrans(not usable by them) progens have the agrippa shields and taniwahs pride and

                                            various other things to use and gravity link 5-6-7 is 30% added damage for 20 seconds.

 

Simple DPS calculation for this and any other game.

DPS = damage x ammo fired per minute x 3(lvl 9 skill level in this game adjust as needed we'll use lvl 9 here for the discussion) + debuffs\60

Were only going to discuss weapon dps superficially as a discussion point if you want to do the full calculations knock yourself out.

DPS or damage per second is a method of comparing weapons and classes in outright damage.

It's very simple lets solve for x in X = 100 x 60 x 3 100 is the ammo damage 60 is the rounds fired per minute and 3 is lvl 9 weapon skill

so 100 x 60 = 6000 x 3 = 18000/60 (very basic example) = 300 dps (roughly a really good lvl 7-8 weapon in the game)

Lets make this a little more complicated. 100% spitter = 4.2 reload/fires 2 rounds/ ammo damage is 364 per round

dps = 364x2 x 14.285(rounds per minute) x 3 / 60

364 x 2 = 728

728 x 14.285 = 10399.48 x 3 = 31,198.44 \ 60 = 519.974 dps

This is the actual ingame dps of the gun without turbo or buffs or debuffs to the mob.

Turbo is a % of weapon speed to achieve an arbitrary damage level set by the devs. I wont elaborate any more then that but ask around, do your own testing.

So we have a base figure of 519.9 dps add in critical damage = double the base damage call it 1040 for 100% critical hits and any & between for the 6-7 critical hits say a pw/te/jd can do and you have the basic numbers to compare any weapon to any other weapon in any game anywhere. All you have to do is remove the skill level modifier.

You can do your own math for the rest of the numbers but debuffing is capped at 72% in the game so use 1.72 as your damage modifier for debuffing at the end.

 

How to view damage in the game.

In this and many other games when you shoot a mob you see a damage number appear above the mobs "head".

And this is how this game gets those numbers.

Take your hypothetical 100 damage bullet and lets use a lvl 9 skill weapon and I'll explain the numbers inside and outside of the ()

So 100 damage x 3 for weapon skill level = 300 and x 2 for a critical hit = 600 basic stuff.

So you can have 5 different numbers pop up 300 250(-50) and 350(+50) 300(+300) 0(-300)

300 simply means the mob is neutral to the damage and has no resists.

250(-50) means the mob is resisting 50 points of damage out of 300 given

350(+50) means the mob is weak 50 points of damage out of the 300 given.

300(+300) in green text = you are healing the mob for 300 damage(bad news bubby)

0(-300) means the mobs is 100% resistant to the ammo damage and could just need a debuff to get damage with the ammo type, or you have removed enough of a mobs resistance to not heal them.

The number in the () is simply how much a mob is resistant and or weak to the damage you are using.

The number on the left is the amount of actual damage done and inside the () is the amount resisted/damaged/healed.

And a critical hits just doubles these numbers.

 

* DOT vrs Instant damages.

We have 2 kinds of DOT damage in the game plasma and chemical basically it means the mob takes ticking damage at 1/6th of the damage types actual damage.

Using our 300 damage magic bullet again lets say were shooting a hulled mob with chemical into his shield and we see 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 that is 300 divided into 1/6th and shown.

Now lets get into the hull, since the devs added 20% added damage to chemical vrs hulls so instead of 50 as our tick it'll be 60 (or 360 divided by 1/6th)

Plasma works the same way except against shields and does no extra damage to hulls.

Instant simply means the damage type expended all of it's damage as soon as it touched the mob.

I hope this straightens out any misconceptions of what you see in game and specifically our little slice of gaming here.

 

So we come to Section 3. I'm just going to call it basic tactics and methods of play.

 

All games have methods of play or some people call them tactics, it's how you play a game.

I'm not going to go into other game play mechanics just the ones that pertain to E&B and mmo's in general.(not going to explain rooking for chess for example..).

 

So basics, you get the basic shoot and loot part of this I am assuming so no point in explaining how to kill something.. or is there...

Let's get this started by something I have said for nearly a decade or playing this game "ALWAYS shoot the ammo that does the most damage".

Doesn't matter what flavor it is do a little testing and find what works best for you.

My guild recently has started working on best ammo types for using in raids, and the results were surprising to say the least.

Lets explain a couple general ideas about how the ammo types work a little more in depth then we discussed earlier.

Plasma and chemical, is a dot(damage over time) damage type which mean it hits gives an initial hit and spreads damage out over time and evaporates, think of it as water hitting a hot pan and sizzling and then evaporating, but in this case causing a specific amount of damage over a given time period. Science works this way also in real life, sometimes things act instantly but taper off after a few seconds to mixing one compound with another *say vinegar and baking soda, acid and a base* acid etched glass and steel come to mind also. Nice way to make fancy designs on surfaces that can't be cut or ground*glass*, or intricate designs on a surface that can't be machined fine enough for whatever reason* steel and other metals*

Taken to an extreme as in say combat that same concept is used in military applications.

And is the basis for the 2 most common damage types in space gaming mmo's.

As a general rule in E&B.

Plasma works on shields and has an added 20% damage buff versus shields.

And Chemical(acid/corrosive if you like) has a 20% damage addition for hulls.

On general mobs this is exactly the case, it's measurable and demonstrable.

So with that said let's move on the other other ammo types.

EMP or Electro Magnetic Pulse, is a energy type damage that takes a bit of science to explain.

EMP is what happens when you create massive magnetic waves you can use google to look up examples(nuclear bombs) specifically built generators are good examples of how they are made.

They cripple and destroy un-shielded electronics by placing to much energy for the system to dissipate and melts circuitry. It does this thru magnetic waves and vibrates the electrons in your phone your car, toaster whatever at such a high rate they melt, Usually without destroying the object itself(usually altho melting stuff via vibrations can cause some serious heat).

This is an instant type of damage it means it hits and dissipates instantly. Excellent on ships with shields and organics weak to it(Ghost of Black Beard for example)

Normally organics are immune to this type of attack.

Cannot damage hulls, if you have a provable use of emp vrs hulls I'd like to see it.

Energy.

I like to think of energy attacks as shooting the energizer bunny at a mob and instantly placing the energy of the battery into the mob or it's shields, or a defibrillator, it does the same thing.

Electricity is simply energy waves controlled and used as power, there is 2 main types DC direct current(lightening strike) or AC Alternating Current(car alternators water dam generators are 2 common types).

I like to think that in gaming were dealing with DC power since it's instant and full power, where as AC is used to power pretty much everything in your life with a few exceptions and is pulsing 60 times a second.

Touch the two posts together in a car battery and it sparks or shocks you,*being 12 volts it's not normally enough to kill you but it'll contract your arm muscles and make it numb for a while and it hurts like hell*

Whereas AC power is pulsed and thru the miracle of g.. you silly boys science rules, we can make it do work by controlling it's ability to be pulsed at specific rates to move motors.1

1. Motors are items that do with outside power, engines make power by converting a fuel to energy in some fashion in a car engines case rotational energy to drive the wheels. Kapish?

I hope that doesn't muddy the waters to much if you want to talk to an expert on electricity types ingame talk to goodhumorboy/mongothepawn he does this for a living.

Explosive ammo.

Think bombs and firecrackers, it's a form of energy created by usually burning(and Mongo I know burning isn't the right term but people under stand burning) chemicals in a confined space till it produces pressure and that pressure is released. Usually making a big loud noise which the space bears can't hear. Errr..(it's 3 days after the American 4th of July)

Useful for celebrations and destroying things and various other uses.(airbags in your car come to mind, explosive rivets and so on)

There is a whole buncha science behind the concept of burn rates and compounds let's call it to complex for this article and move on to some really esoteric concepts.

Kinetic energy weapons aka Impact ammo.

Whereas explosives do damage by exploding and destroying things at a fairly controller rate, kinetic energy weapons do damage by direct use of energy waves.

Think of a bullet as point of energy that you apply directional movement via a propellant(commonly air and explosive and exotically Gaussian) and that bullet is moving along a trajectory based upon gravity speed distance time. On earth this is mostly how ballistics work with a few subtle additions based upon planet spin and directions and wind and so on.

In science this is how all particles move to some extent based upon physics an example is a light wave/particle(there is some argument if it's a particle or a wave). I'm making this point to explain kinetic energy.

In space outside of local influences gravity etc a bullet fired into space is at max speed forever and can only go in the direction fired. When it strikes an object it give direct instant damage based upon speed/direction/weight, this is kinetic energy and in general the heavier and faster an object moves the harder it can hit something, there is no need to "explode - Conflagurate" something aka make it explode. In real life different shapes do different kinds of damage by making something move in a direction that is easiest for it to move go look at a sabot round for the basic idea.

This is how you make bullet holes in items the bullet is moving at x speed and y direction over z time, and you have an item in the way that can either stop the object or it can absorb the energy released or be overwhelmed by the energy and be destroyed. This is how bullets and light waves xrays radio waves etc work, bullets are the macro scale waves/particles are the micro level of the same concept. A meteor is the same basic thing and does exactly this,as for proof ask the dinosaurs 60m years ago and see the Arizona desert impact site.

In gaming this is used to overwhelm systems designed to stop them *shields* and if you place enough of them that you overcome the shields capacity to stop them, this is how I think a game works with this kind of ammo. Kinda like filling a bucket with sand it takes capacity and at some point the bucket is full and can't handle any more and it starts spilling out of the top and given enough weight might break the bottom of the bucket out.

In some games bullets can bypass shields(ne' the borderlands 2 trespasser sniper rifle for example).(in other game different mechanics do different things)

So now for a little explanation of debuffing a target or making it weak to various kinds of ammo.

We have 2 basic ways of doing this 1 is via skill(gravity link on ps/pw's) and 2 is a well call it a beam to make something take more damage to a type of ammo.

I'm not sure of the concept behind this, in real life we use a catalyst to make something more energetic against an item(see a "catalytic" convertor it uses exotic metals to convert pollutants from your engines combustion cycle into less harmful gases and water) anyone familiar with 2 part paints/epoxy/jb weld get the basic idea.

So let me go thru the maximum amount of debuffing a mob can receive.

 

Chemical = 61.2% with a Basilisk and 20% for hulls only. Shield damage is normal.

EMP = 61.2% with a lvl 9 Wyvern

Energy = 61.2 with a lvl 9 Manticore + 15% with a Chili-Popper for a total of 76.2%

Explosive = 30% from gravity link 61.2% from a Salamander = 91.2% (gravity link lasts 30 seconds so keep applying it)

Impact  =61.2 from a lvl 9 gorgon 30% from gravity link at 15% from the chili popper = 106.2% you can't attain this because of the games damage cap limitations, to be explained in a bit.

Plasma 20% vrs shields 61.2 with a Chimaera and 15% for a chili-popper = 96.2% The 20% added at the start only applies to shields and does not affect hull damage numbers.

 

There are AA devices and stuff that debuff various damage types but this is currently the most you can attain in the game with readily available in the game.

So there is a damage cap limit in the game I wont tell you what it is but you can't exceed it from a no deflect (single number no parentheses add/weak damage numbers).

But with impact being capable of more then a 100% debuff it exceeds this number if the mob has no deflects so you reach a "Damage Cap".

BUT... and it's a mighty big but... you can attain over 100% added damage to a mob via deflects and that depends on a mobs defenses to that damage type.

Remember back in section 2 where I explained ammo damage? The number to the right is the actual damage.. That is the key to this.. If a mob has lets say 105% total deflect and you get all 3 items to debuff you have 1.2% damage you can do to a mob. important concept to appreciate 1.2% damage is better then no damage but.. it's pretty sad.

All you need is some ammo a healer and a calculator.. take the unbuffed numbers you see add your debuff to the mob fully and read the numbers you see and do a little math.

The shield/hull mobs in jupiter are excellent ways to test various things.

All this was in leading up to how to play games like this.

Yeah kinda have to understand how the damage system works to use tactics against mobs.

Most mobs you can walk up to poke em in the eye and loot them but more difficult mob/mobs might require more then driving up and lambasting them to get to the juicy center(juicy centers and crystals?)

Solo.. This is where the different races and classes really differ.

I've written several articles over the years on how various classes should gear and play out (jenquai defenders and jenquai in general)

When you look thru a jenquai skill tree and come across cloak.. and read the number 5 level and it says

Combat Cloak/Energy Cost 0/Range 1.00 units,

Eliminates the requirement for the ship to be motionless before cloaking(means you can be moving around while cloaking), and doubles unmodified beam weapon base damage for 5 seconds after cloaking is disengaged(you just doubled your crit numbers).

That is such a major game changer it's a no brainer. It's what makes a jenquai a jenquai and separates them from other classes. Jd's are the highest burst damage dealers in the game period, Nothing can change that and it makes them very difficult to kill steal and find till they decloak and shoot something then.. well the numbers are spectacular on a plasma weak mob. Je's and Js's use the same tactics but to a lesser extent js's have energy beams optionally.

Biggest downfall is reliance on energy and plasma for everything. Emp is so little used in day to day it doesn't count. They are glass cannons only the jd gets critical targeting none of them use lvl 9 shields, they all get lvl 9 reactors, js's get lvl 9 devices and can use the lvl 9 guardian which makes them the single best healer in the game but again lvl 8 shields makes them vulnerable.

Progens

Are the bruisers of the game they walk in stand still and machine gun stuff down, think of them as tanks shooting 50 cal Barrett's at everything.

Think of them as the a10 warthogs of the game, Pw's especially so.

PW and PS'd get gravity link and all 3 can use basilisk devices making them ideal impact and chemical users

They excel at being tanks and combat healers and combat miners all 3 get lvl 9 shields and critical targeting, and the pw/pp get level 9 reactors.making them some of the toughest characters in the game and the pp's 5 guns make em really good combat healers. Biggest issue with progens is ammo types.. projectiles really only get 3 ammo types.

Terrans: Jack of all trades master of none except money.

Terrans to begin with are kind of a mixed bag,

There best combat style is to fire big slow moving missiles at something and stay away from the mob till it's dead.

In day to day use gun for gun a pw will outgun a te and te's do not have an aggro attraction skill like pw's do, grouped is another story.

Te's can kill just about everything in the game solo due to "kiting" or the art of evading and since missiles fire in every direction they can drive forward at full speed and keep at range with the mob

TT's and TE's get lvl 9 shields making them durable, none of the terrans get lvl 9 reactors,

The TT/TS get hull patch skill and are valuable in raids ts's make very good miners with the largest miner hold and negotiate skill(makes great looters along with jenquai seekers). Ts's get to use lvl 9 devices are are invaluable at impact/explosive heavy raids.

Downfalls lvl 8 reactors and none except the TS can debuffs it's own ammo natively. TT/TS do not get critical targeting.

My next look into this article will be about grouping and how to setup groups to maximize damage output and why some toons get left out and some don't(eyeing the ps's and je's at raids)
 

 

This is a work in progress and is not done. I'll continue to update this post as I have time and inclination. If you have any specific requests post it in the thread and I'll add it to the main body as this goes. Please try and keep this to the discussion at hand and do not try and hijack the thread with off topic questions, lets try and keep this as pure as possible.

 

[BoxerOone]

Nice job thanks. I'm not new to the game but like this all in one place. I played Jenquai's in live and leveling a defender now but want to do terrans next. I will be using your guide for that.

[Phorlaug[IS]]

[attachment=3313:Net-7 char guide.JPG]

 

+1 magoo to you.

May I suggest a Jenquai Defender, if your just joining us. :)
Shame on you 4Log ! :)
 

Posted 02 January 2011 - 06:04 PM

My Main in Live and in the EMU is a Jenquai Defender and I only play Jenquai. <--Not true currently playing TE and TT..12/4/2015


A Noobies guide.
So to Cloak or Not to Cloak. That is the Question.
(To be or not to be or act like a JD :) )
Everyone has a different way of playing any character, Play whats fun and comfortable to you in any style.

Conformity is boring

When ever a skill level or item availablity dictates a change in the combinations of the provided buffs. I'll provide a suggestion or two.
Check the Data bases, part of the fun of the game is coming up with your combos.

Solo Cloak Based Combat and build.
Your Cloaking speed, Weapons fire rate and Total damage and any D.O.T. (Damage Over Time, ie; Plasma) will play the major roles here, with Total Cap on your Reactor, Psionic Shield, Weapons Energy Conservation and Reduced ship signature playing the secondary roles.

Reactor: Highest cap, with +Recharge, + cap(Gallina, Draco, Cygnus), Reduced ship Signature (Pleiades) or any combination of.

Shield: What ever style you play your shield should be the best you can get. Higest Cap, + Cap, +Recharge (Defender's Doumaru). I personly don't put much into deflects but i'm sure others do.

Engine: Lowest Ship signature (Halley), + cloak (Pegasus)

Device: +Reactor Cap (Power of the Elements, Advanced Weapon Control System), Plasma DeBuff (Rada, Chimaera's) , Weapons Energy Conservation (Taniwha's Pride) Improved Psionic shield ( Corona Borealis, Aegis of the Warder)

Weapon: Highest Damage with a Refire rate at or near 4-6 seconds. remember that most Weapons that have a higher damage also have a higher reload time. The trick here is to Fire And do as much Damage as Possible and cloak. Use all Plasma. You Want the D.O.T. to keep the NPC taking damage while your Cloaked.

Energy Leech, Cloak and Combat Cloak:
Pure and simple, You will have to Subsitute one of your Weapons barrage for the Activation of your Energy Leech.
Get behind your Prey, Deactivate cloak and Hit the activation of your Energy Leech as soon as possible, And then Recloak. Do not be surprised if you get hit with some weapons damage.
Energy Leech takes 5-6 Seconds from Activation to Transfer of energy AND Combat Cloak Takes a Minimum of 3 Seconds to Cloak you. It takes an NPC 2 to 3 Seconds to turn and Fire on you.
That Leaves 5 To 6 seconds of Damage headed in your direction ! How Much danage can you inflick in 5-6 seconds ?

I have found:
That Installing something to help with your cloaking time can go a long way.
Waiting for the NPC to or for you to get about 1.00-2.00 k (Your Beams and Energy Leech Range will dictate) away from you before you activate Energy Leech, increases (Although slightly) Minimal Damage.
Install Something for Maneuverability, Improved Cloak and reduced Signature these items will help you (they Should) with Missile Defense. Look under Ship Stats "Missile Defense"
Sum Up:
Fire..Cloak
Fire..Cloak
Fire..Cloak... Low on energy
Decloak.. Activate Energy Leech (5 secs)
Cloak
Repete if necessary.

When your out of Combat Get a Psionic Shield up.


Group combat, Combat Cloak
Use the Highest Damage and D.O.T. damage possible. Your refire Rate will be as high 9.0 - 11 seconds.
NOW If your using Combat Cloak For the Double Damage Buff Keep In mind that The Double Damage Buff ONLY is supposed to work on UNModified Beams for 5 Seconds after decloaking, I believe that Means that if you have a Enhanced Beam or Enhance Weapons Damage item installed it will ONLY use the Beams Damage listed in the Beams description.

Lets think about that a second for L9 Beams.
Glare Of Devastation: 1535 base x 2 = 3070 (Damage every 11 seconds)
Emerald Devastator: 936 base x 2 = 1872 (10.8 sec)
Black Streak: 780 base x 2 = 1560 (6.0 sec)energy
Devastating Gaze: 1320 base x 2 = 2640 (10.0 sec)
Defenders Pride: 1030 base x 2 = 2060 (8.0 sec)

Taking into consideration the highest reload, 11.0 seconds.
Using Combat Cloak thats 11202 base Damage
D.O.T. Average of the four plasma beams lasting every 5 seconds.
D.O.T. avg 2115 every 11.0 seconds

Total every 11.0 seconds 13317 damage ! (using Combat Cloak.)

Psionic Shield Based Combat and build:
Your Psionic Shield, Reactor Cap and Recharge (passive and Activated), Shield Cap, Weapons Energy Conservation, Weapons Enhancedments, Weapons Fire rate, Reduced Ship Signature and Maneuverability will all play the major roles here. Summons, Critical Targetting, Beam Range, Increased Beam skill, Ship Speed, Fold Space, Hull damage Control and Device DeBuff will play secondary roles here.
This Tactic is not for the squeemish !

Reactor: Highest cap, with +Recharge, + cap(Gallina, Draco, Cygnus), Reduced ship Signature (Pleiades), Increased Beam Range or any combination of.

Shield: Higest Cap, + Cap, +Recharge, Hull Damage Control.

Engine: Increased Maneuverability, Increased Speed , Lowest Ship signature, Hull Damage Control

Device:Improved Psionic shield ( Corona Borealis, Aegis of the Warder), Weapons Energy Conservation (Taniwha's Pride), Shunt Shields (Martyr's Heart), +Reactor Cap (Power of the Elements, Advanced Weapon Control System), Plasma DeBuff (Rada, Chimaera's decreased NPC Plasma resistance).

Weapon: Highest Damage with a Refire rate anywhere from 4 to 8 seconds. The use of D.O.T. weapons keep the NPC taking damage while your between refires. IMO use a 2:1 Plasma to Energy weapons load out, Mix the damage type up a NPC may be more or less resistant to one or the other. I like a wide range of Refire rates without suffering High damage lose doing it.
You'll want to hit your target as fast and as hard as possible. You want to be able to kill it before it kills you.

Psionic Shield:
You will need to Max out this skill and Use any Item that will increase its damage absorbtion. You will basically be Spamming this skill but time it right so that you can get another Shield up just before the one fails. Energy Conservation Is Key. Know your Killing fields and the prey your hunting, know its refire rate.

You will be loosing energy at an alarming rate! The Reactor with the Highest Cap and Recharge rate will be essential. Use ANYTHING that will increase its Capacity and recharge. Have you hugged a Jenquai Seeker today ? :) Remember to keep enough energy to be able to cloak should you get into trouble.

Energy Leech:
Use the Energy Leech as soon as you have a fresh Psionic Shield up Use it like a One TWO punch and Make sure you have enough energy to activate the Energy Leech.
Timing the Use of The Energy Leech is also key, You want to maximize it use and Amount Utilized.
What Am I saying?
You can only Leech 1 or 2 times per NPC or NPC AREA Mob and get the Maximum amount of Energy Back to you or your Group.
You DO NOT Want to leech when You have a Nearly Full Reactor. Its like when you fill your Car up with gas, you don't go when its 3/4 Full You fill it when its almost empty and you have enough to
get you to the Gas Station. !
DO NOT underestimate the Energy Leech it is a very potent Weapon and Skill. Remember Everything You do, everything your group does, and everything the NPC do requires energy.
Take away their Energy you take away their way to Fight, to Defend and to Escape !

12/8/2012
New tactic and findings:
I have come across 1 or 2 NPC that were, For some reason Immune or defencive to Energy Leech, But in the same battle there were 1 or 2 that would join in to try to defeat me that were not.
In the past I would focus only on the higher Level NPC and ignore the smaller ones after I summoned them in front of me and got back on the main target.

During the battle I was running low on energy and couldn't get any from the High Level NPC that was Immune. I scrambled to think of a way to get energy or I was going to die.
Then my Focus went back to the annoyance's that were the Lower Level NPC. They had the Energy I needed!
I leeched the Energy I needed from the other NPC to keep up the fight and came out the victor !

Summon:
Divide and Conquer, Max this skill. You will have to pull indivdual targets to you especially at Higher levels.
Your Not a PW for pete's sake! :rolleyes:
If you are jumped from behind by another NPC summon it front and center then get back on your original target. This way when it dies you'll have the next target right in your sights.

Weapons range, ship speed and Fold Space
You want to have your weapons range at its highest, the longer it takes for the NPC's damage to hit you and for the other NPC thats behind him to get within range of you the better. Use any engine or device (Cat's Paw) that will increase your distance from any NPC thats trying to get within range.

Fold Space
If you have too many NPC attacking you Get the one Behind you and send it out of their weapons range. Try to install an item that will increase your Fold space distance find one with another beneficial buff attached to it.

You really do have to pay attention and use every skill the JD has in order to survive.
IMO thats what Makes playing a Defender so fun.

Lets Be careful out there the Universe is a dangerous place.

I want to point out one last thing you WILL get more XP killing 2 lower level NPC than trying to kill a High level NPC in the same amount of time.
 

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 10:09 PM

Edit: 12/4/2015

Oh yea using Energy Leech is a Major aggression magnet it is very easy for you to steal the aggro from your main tank and adds greatly to your DPS.

Utilizing Energy Leech in Psionic Shield Based Solo Or Tanking Combat.
Energy Leech and Psionic Shield:
Use the Energy Leech as soon as you have a fresh Psionic Shield up Use it like a One TWO punch and Make sure you have enough energy to activate the Energy Leech.
Timing the Use of The Energy Leech is also key, You want to maximize it use and Amount Utilized.
What Am I saying?
You can only Leech 1 or 2 times per NPC or NPC AREA Mob and get the Maximum amount of Energy Back to you or your Group.
You DO NOT Want to leech when You have a Nearly Full Reactor. Its like when you fill your Car up with gas, you don't go when its 3/4 Full You fill it when its almost empty and you have enough to
get you to the Gas Station. !

DO NOT underestimate the Energy Leech it is a very potent Weapon and Skill. Remember Everything You do, everything your group does, and everything the NPC do requires energy.
Take away their Energy you take away their way to Fight, to Defend and to Escape !

------------------------------------------
Jenquai Defender (Guide by Phorlaug) The Jenquai Defender has a hybrid of Exploration and Warrior skills. While not the strongest fighter or explorer, the combination will allow this class to stand up to many enemies found while exploring the galaxy.
Strengths: Cloaking, fold space, psionic shields, summon enemies and great reactors.
Weaknesses: Light armor, small cargo hull and poor shielding.

Jenquai:
The Jenquai are the descendents of the first explorers to map the far reaches of the solar system. Jenquai ancestors struck out from Earth on giant long-haul deep space shuttles knowing that turn around time from when they reached their destiny to when they returned to Earth would be measured in years.

Over time, the Jenquai ancestors became accustomed to living in harsh alien worlds and their genetic structure evolved into the current Jenquai race of today in order to take advantage of the different environments. The Jenquai have turned the pursuit of knowledge and the clarity of logic into a religion. Most Jenquai feel that the universe as a whole is the divine power and that all life encompasses that power.

Jupiter, well actually its orbiting moons, is where the noble Jenquai live. They're masters of science and technology and without them we'd still be puttering around space at sub-warp speeds. They're the true explorers of the galaxy. Going with the Jenquai means your ships aren't physically tough, but you'll make up for that with a wealth of technologies and mental powers that bolster your position in whatever you're doing.
Path of Dark and Brightness

Once you have docked at Ashanti Maru, speak to Ten'Shao Anala. She will be standing in the rear of the base before the baydoors. Speak to her by walking towards her and left-clicking on her. Your mouse cursor will turn into a talk bubble icon once you are in range to speak with her.

You should spend a few minutes and answer Ten'Shao Anala's questions. If you answer them correctly you will gain experience. A true Jenquai Defender would of course know that the Shinwa died in his first engagement because he did not know himself. And as a true Shinwa, you should have noticed the light and dark side of Europa. If you answer the questions incorrectly, you will still earn some experience.

It's time to see Ten'Shao Anala to complete your training in Summoning. Exit Ashanti Maru by clicking on your ship.

Open your Navigation Map and plot a course to The Sun at Noon to speak with U'nai Amitola. On your Navigation Map, the Sun at Noon is located below you. If you aren't sure where a location is, let your mouse cursor hover above the various question marks to see the name of the location. Click on the Sun of Noon to plot your course and then click on the warp button. U'nai Amitola will be circling around the Sun at Noon. She should be easy to spot by the green icon that is displayed next to his ship. Target her by clicking on her and then press the Message Button.
The Sun at Noon
You must use your new Summon skill to summon your shadow to the Sun Trap. Start by going to the Sun Trap. It's near The Sun at Noon.

Target your Shadow That Follows and then Summon it by pressing the Summon button on your shortcut tray. (You could also use the corresponding key on your keyboard. In this case, it's the number 5). Wasn't that easy? Speak again to U'nai Amitola who will give you her evaluation. She can still be found circling the Sun at Noon.

Now we're going to summon a drone while in combat! Open your Navigation Map and plot a course to The Trial of the Horde. It is located directly below you. Press the warp button.

Once you're at the Trial of the Horde, speak with U'nai Wakisa. He'll be circling around the Trial of the Horde.

[wmtyrance]

I love what you guys have done here. Its a great guide for new players because the game is a little different than what the game was like back in the day. ( i hate saying back in live because to me its live now)  I know you guys are super busy but it would be even better if you showed some video of gameplay also. A JD video from Phorlaug would be amazing.

[keikoasmom]

Newbie Question~

And BTW, thank you for all of this info. There is more that I have

forgotten about E&B than what I remember!

   My question:

Are some areas off-limits until you reach a certain level or do a certain quest?

      I can't remember, but it seems that some gates won't work for me, so

I assumed that I was missing something.

      Thank you!

[efialtis]

Some gates are faction or class restricted. All starter sectors are an example of the latter while gates to Red Dragon space (Paramis/Blackbeards wake) are an example of the former.

You can never use a class specific gate but you can access faction specific gates once you reach 2000 of the required faction.

[keikoasmom]

Thank you! I forgot that!

 

[Dimity]

This was very helpful!

[Doctor Tiki]

I haven't been playing the past few months, but posts like this just remind me of how awesome you all are as a community   *tears up*

Long live E&B!