Veteran Basics.
This is basic advice for people new to veteran, or thinking about jumping in to veteran from recruit. If you have not already, please feel free to have a read of my Dreadnought 101 thread that covers recruit basics.
Adapt.
Learning to adapt to your battle is really important. Just because something was working will not mean it will work for the whole match. The other team could and should adapt to counter your team, that might be by changing ships or load out (more on that next). If you die, always hit the tab button to bring up the score sheet, this will let you see what ships the other team are currently using, and you can also see what ships your team are missing/short on. Consider taking a ship/load out that will help your team more than the one you are currently using. Load outs. This is a fairly new thing added to the game, and I’m guilty myself of forgetting I have another load out on times. To start with I’d recommend having 2 contrasting builds. For instance a pure damage build and a build that had access to a de-buff, like drain or disruption. Once you get a feel of how you want to play the ships you like, you can make 2 builds that you feel are the best fit for your play style with that ship.
Ship set up/Officer briefings.
As you progress through the ship tiers, you will come across officer briefings(OB’s). This can be used to change how your ship works/performs in game. It is important to have the right ones for the job you would like your ship to do. Having the wrong ones for what you want your ship to do could hinder you more than help. Read the descriptions for each one, and get them accordingly. As an example. If you wanted to set up a dreadnought, many people feel the retaliator and get on my good side OB’s make playing dreadnoughts a lot easier, as retaliator helps recharge your modules, and get on my good side helps charge up energy.
Map knowledge.
As with any game, knowing the map lay outs is important. It is something that will come with time, but I would advise people to watch the higher level players while in respawn to see how they navigate the map for tips. Also get a feel for where cover is located around the map, what paths corvettes like to take when trying to flank. Lastly always have an escape plan, you might not be able to, but knowing you can run for cover and stick to it can, and will help you.
Experience/Knowledge.
This is by far the biggest weapon any player has. When you first step in to Veteran, stick with your team. I cannot stress this enough. People in T4’s will have more experience than you. The best way to beat them is by sticking with your team, and working together. T3’s can keep up with and beat T4’s, as long as you are smart about it, and use the knowledge you have picked up from playing recruit. I would recommend not rushing in to veteran until you have at least five ships unlocked, one of each type, so you can fill rolls your team is short on. But the more time you spend in recruit learning the maps, and capabilities of the ships available there, the better things will be for you in veteran. If things are going well, do not get over confident. Do not leave your team. Stick together and take out the ships threatening your team the most, be it corvettes destroyers or artillery ships. Focus your targets destroy them and more on to the next. If you are all shooting at different ships, the side that’s all shooting at the same one wins. Don’t chase kills. Chances are they’ll lead you in to an ambush, or pull you away from the support of your fleet. Last but not least. Don’t waste time shooting a ship/dreadnought being healed, try and flank and kill the healer healing it.
High priority ships.
There are ships in the enemy fleet you’ll want to take out first if you get a good chance of killing them, take it.
Fast ships like the Corvettes and Vindicta should be your first priority. The chances are they will not have healer back up and tend to rush ahead of the main enemy fleet. These ships will likely target your artillery ships and healer’s(command ship in onslaught). Taking them out as soon as you can will put the enemy on the back foot.
Healers and artillery ships should be the next targets, unless you have low risk targets on their own away from the main fleet. Dreadnoughts should be the last things you shoot at, unless they are in your face. They are generally only dangerous in close quarters. If you are going to shoot at one at range, make sure it is not being healed, or it will take a lot to take it down.
Know your enemy.
It is very important to understand what ships you are up against. And what modules are best to deal with that type of ship. This can be a bit trial and error, as one persons way of doing it might not fit the way you play. For instance, I like to use drain and storm missiles to burst down a target. Other players like to use rams. To take out problem targets. It really is all about how you want to play, and what roll you want to play with in your team. Almost all ships have a counter class to them. That is not to say that class will beat that ship class, but it have better odds of beating it.
Artillery are countered by Corvettes.
Corvettes are countered by Tactical.
Tactical are countered by Destroyers.
Destroyers are countered by Dreadnoughts.
Dreadnoughts are countered by Artillery.
So if a team is heavy in one class, if you use the counter class, you should have an easier time dealing with them. That will not always be true, at the end of the day, personal skill and ship build do factor in.
