So, i just had the pleasure of meeting that in a game.

I was flying around in my Otranto. And apparently a Light destroyer, with a plasma ram and scrambler pulse can just oneshot me through shields.

My question is: How can i deal with that? He is a lot faster than me. If he gets close, i am blind, then dead. I guess being in the middle of my team would work. But i dislike the whole "giant ball" gameplay, as i find it to be incredibly boring.

But generally speaking, that combination seems incredibly murderous, and the fact that it ignores shields is just bullshit. If i can't see anything, literally the only thing i can do to defend myself is put up shields. Which the ram then ignores.

At first i thought that i was flying incorrectly, or just had to dodge better, or basically anything. But no matter what i tried, the fight always went the same way with me dying incredibly quickly. Is that just a hardcounter to anything flying about alone?

In any other situation so far, i felt that i could win if i just play better. With that one, it seems that the only thing i can do is just stay far, far away from it and do other things. Which really isn't fun.

Plasma ram is an exceedingly dangerous module, with the drawback being that the destroyer has to be in an exceedingly dangerous position to use it (melee range). It's a very effective weapon for executing light vessels. As you have identified, it bypasses shields entirely. The only counters to it are armour amps (which a destroyer cannot use... although officer briefings Slow and Steady, Nerves of Steel, and Engineering 101 can passively reduce damage taken by a small amount), disrupt (which a destroyer gets the option of at T4), stasis (which a destroyer cannot use), purge (destroyer gets purge ram at T4... I honestly don't know what happens if a purge ram hits a plasma ram), or simply dodging the hit (usually difficult, especially for slower ships; although Evasive Maneuver at T4 can help).

In summary, Plasma Ram is pretty much the anti-light/medium-destroyer tool of a destroyer (although it's also amazingly good against artilleries and tacs who don't pack suitable counters), as other destroyers really don't have effective counters against it. Try and find someone on your team who can cover you from that and stick to them like glue if encounter a rammer ingame. Good candidates are dreadnoughts, although some artilleries and tacs pack modules suitable for interrupting a ram.

You were probably doing everything you could, the issue is more the fact that you really don't have a lot of options to defend from it as a destroyer, let alone being only T3.

Plasma ram is an exceedingly dangerous module, with the drawback being that the destroyer has to be in an exceedingly dangerous position to use it (melee range). It's a very effective weapon for executing light vessels. As you have identified, it bypasses shields entirely. The only counters to it are armour amps (which a destroyer cannot use... although officer briefings Slow and Steady, Nerves of Steel, and Engineering 101 can passively reduce damage taken by a small amount), disrupt (which a destroyer gets the option of at T4), stasis (which a destroyer cannot use), purge (destroyer gets purge ram at T4... I honestly don't know what happens if a purge ram hits a plasma ram), or simply dodging the hit (usually difficult, especially for slower ships; although Evasive Maneuver at T4 can help).

In summary, Plasma Ram is pretty much the anti-light/medium-destroyer tool of a destroyer (although it's also amazingly good against artilleries and tacs who don't pack suitable counters), as other destroyers really don't have effective counters against it. Try and find someone on your team who can cover you from that and stick to them like glue if encounter a rammer ingame. Good candidates are dreadnoughts, although some artilleries and tacs pack modules suitable for interrupting a ram.

You were probably doing everything you could, the issue is more the fact that you really don't have a lot of options to defend from it as a destroyer, let alone being only T3.

If you're absolutely hooked on playing lone wolf then I don't think there's much you can do. But you have to remember that this is primarily a team-based game. It supports solo players more than simmilar games like Fractured Space or Space Pirates, but it's still a team game at heart. If you want to perform best in any ship or situation you're going to need to coordinate, otherwise there will always be instances where you're just a goner.

Playing med destroyer against a light one with ram, playing an arty against a corvette, or being unable to advance against an arty as a dreadnought. You'll probably get by okay without your team, but you really need them if you want to excel.

I am not exactly playing lone wolf, i do like playing with my team.

However, sometimes duels happen. Especially in game modes like onslaught, where one big blob just loses because the other team farms too much small stuff. And so far, i have always felt like i have a fair chance in a duel. Yes, if i duel a corvette as an arti, it has a higher chance of winning than me. But i can still kill it, for example if i notice it early and just take it out of the sky at a distance, or if i shield up and shoot it down. Dread vs Arti, i can either warp or stay behind terrain and advance.

But as the med vs light destroyer, i felt completely helpless. This felt like the hardest counter i have encountered so far in this game.

Dodging a ram is the best option (much harder in T3 - no Evasive Maneuvers), or warping away as a light destroyer closes in; one of the only other options for a T3 is to try to use Flak Guns firing at the enemy destroyer's direction as it moves in (Weapon Amplifier Pulse will help add some damage in such cases too), though this works only for Plasma Ram as Purge Ram and Blast Ram have equal or greater range than Flak Guns, lolololololol.

Lando Calrissian#2323 posted (#post-137655)

though this works only for Plasma Ram as Purge Ram and Blast Ram have equal or greater range than Flak Guns, lolololololol.

All three rams require that contact is made for them to trigger; the range listed is just how large of an area they affect once they are triggered.

Bleh.

As a T3 Destroyer the best way to deal with rams is Drain Torpedo, Scrambler and Warp.

On the Otranto use your longer range, and esentially run from it while shooting it. At closer range, drain him, disrupt would be better but you do not have it at T3, counter scramble, and try a quick dive and or warping away. Dont be a sitting duck just because you are scrambled. Move, even if you do not see anything.

At T4 you get more ways to deal with it, even Stasis is possible on a Destroyer, but it remains one of the very strong playstyles that forces people to stay in the open, so you have a chance to react to a ram, and create a counter loadout.

A tac with module disruptor beam, or vette with disruptir pulse. If yer a dread, broadsiding or warping to an ally further away works if you can anticipate them coming. Even if scrambled you can still raise shields even if you can barely see. Meh.