Corvette 101 Part1

TLDR: Be smart about picking targets, know the map, speed is greater than stealth, RE freaking LOAD, use your secondaries, watch the minimap for targets.

Corvettes take a special type of player. One who doesn’t mind games going incredibly well or having the terrible games, because there are so many variables playing corvette I would not recommend buying a corvette until you have at least one other ship you like to fly. Don’t let their size fool you though corvettes have some of the highest damage output in the game. Though with great power comes great fragility.(what did you think I was going to say responsability?) Corvettes are fragile, never be afraid to run from a fight you can harass the enemy into chaos, and/or pick off those your team weakens. The Trader Valcor is probably one of the best setup Trader ships in the game, go use it!

I will start with some quick pointers: #1 Know your targets, Artillery Cruisers and Tactical Cruisers are your easiest prey. #2 Avoid Destroyers and Dreadnoughts like the plague, their flak will rip through corvette shields and armor like paper in a paper shredder. #3 Learn the map, I know I say this in every overview but corvettes need to know how to break line of sight so you can survive longer. #4 Speed and stealth are your two biggest advantages, use them as much as possible. #5 Learn your firing angles, only the Fulgora can shoot any direction, the Valcor and Kreshnik have a cone shaped firing arc in the front. #6 Use your secondaries, they can be as good or better than your primary weapon. #7 RELOAD! Seriously I can’t count the times I started a run on someone only to realize I only had 5 rounds in the clip. #8 Watch that mini map, for solitary targets, easy pickings!

#1 You must know the enemy ships on the field and which to target. Your two primary targets should be Artillery and Tactical Cruisers depending on the situation. If the enemy has only one tactical cruiser or two separated more than 2.5km (2.5km or less is optimal healing range) you should be relatively safe destroying one of them. Artillery cruiser are generally easier to pick off than Tactical Cruisers because they do not have access to blast pulse or nuclear mine.

#2 Knowing who to kill is just as important as knowing who to avoid, like the plague. Number one ship to avoid should be obvious, Dreadnoughts, no just… no don’t even drive by. With the Tractor Beam ability able to grab and hold you, and their Flak is basically an executioner's axe. Almost as bad are the Destroyers, their abilities are slightly less frightening, but their speed and flak will be the end of you. Light destroyers are the bane of Corvettes, almost as fast as you, with some abilities faster, and more destructive power.

#3 Knowing the map will save you many a death. Use the terrain to escape not only direct fire, but also missiles. Use any terrain piece that is out of the ordinary to block shots, duck in and out of terrain. Don’t do the expected and use terrain to help you do the unexpected. If you have warp, use it to go through terrain.

#4 Speed and stealth are generally better than your shields, the faster you are away from danger the better. Yes your shields will block 100% of damage, but once they are gone you are very fragile ship. So which is better to be out of danger at low health or still in danger and at full health? I almost always choose to be out of danger and at low health, the exception is when I fly the Kreshnik that thing is a tank. As I said before, knowing the map is one part, speed gets you to those nooks that other ships just can’t chase you through.

#5 Know where your ships can fire, the Fulgora can shoot in any direction while the Valcor and Kreshnik fire in a forward facing cone. Knowing where your ship can and cannot fire is incredibly important because your primary weapon does significantly more damage than your secondary.

#6 Something that takes a while to learn is that your secondary weapons can be just as powerful sometimes more powerful than your primary weapons because they fire in all directions. On the Valcor and Kreshnik your secondary weapons give you a significant increase in your field of fire. This means you can engage targets that your primary weapons couldn't normally reach.

#7 After each and every gagement RELOAD, seriously I can’t say how many times I’ve seen corvette players engage with only a few rounds in their weapon. The ‘R’ button is right there, USE IT! It cannot be overstated reload each and every time you disengage from combat, this is something that will serve you well on all the other ships you captain.

#8 The mini map is your friend, it shows the Artillery Cruiser that has been left by his friends or the tactical cruiser making its way back to his turtled friends. Keep in mind, if any ship on your team can see an enemy ship, you will be able to see it on the minimap, and the same goes for the enemy team. Use this to your advantage, if your team is getting pressured show yourself from 7.2km away (no gun currently fires more than 7km) and just watch being ready to duck behind cover. Your team has the entire enemy team spotted, excellent you should know which will be the easiest one to pick off.

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