Spy Profession

[boeu]

I think it threw the fuel calculator out of whack and was more efficient

[HateSolstice]

Well, I'm still having trouble getting my Spy off to even a decent start. I've decided that I want to move onto Insane, so I've been playing that nonstop for the last day or two. It's tough as nails so far.

It's not just the Spy I'm struggling with either. I've tried just about all the classes, except for Captain and Star Trader. Those two just seem too generic to me, but maybe I should see how I do with them instead.

Any thoughts on that? Or tips/hints/suggestions/pizza money?

[boeu]

I too can't seem to get the spy to fly. I've gone back to explorer to try for star prince and those others that need promoting. I've managed the 20 advancements but keep getting shot down by those bloody aliens :@
With insane be very picky on your contracts. You'll end up in the middle of nowhere with no fuel and a mutinous crew. Only to be picked off by aliens lol. Don't use the null field generator

[slayernz]

A Spy is a great captain type to fly, and to ensure that your spy has the best possible chance of success as a stealthy surveillance expert, focus strongly on:
Pilot (Minimum 15-20, but at least 150% of level, preferably more than 200% of level)
- if you can't fly very well, you're never going to be able to evade capture or worse ... torture by Steel Song musicians!

Tactics (at least 10-15, but at least 60% of level)
- you rely on having great tactics not only in combat (Tactics help you get in the best position to fire your guns successfully), but also in things like blockades and surveillance

Stealth (minimum 10)
- There are two camps of forumites out there. The first believes no Stealth is needed, and with high pilot (and other skills like warrior), you are able to handle yourself in combat, and encounters are where you get the XP. Also, stealth counts twice for your level determination, and higher level = higher enemies, so stealth = bad.. The second believes Stealth is actually useful because it helps you evade weapons fire, especially at long range. It helps you avoid unwanted encounters, and makes your surveillance operations more successful (finding encounters in surveillance is actually a failure not a success).

Ship The less ostentatious the better. A small hull is actually more stealthy than a ship that has a hull of 40. Also, low hull size (less than say 15) also allows you to get high Engines and Sails to Hull ratios.
High numbers of engines (compared to hull) is actually great for a Spy because in encounters, you need to be able to either escape, or dictate the terms of engagement.

[HateSolstice]

Yeah, most of that I have learned the hard way. But still don't know if it's better to have low crew and cargo, or vice versa. Obviously less crew means lower fuel consumption, but also less men to operate the engines and gun batteries. And as a spy, fuel efficiency seems to be just as important as your capacity to perform intel gathering without being discovered.

Some people would say I overthink and overanalyze these things. I find it to be half the fun of the game.

[slayernz]

Low crew = lower consumption of resources. You should always have crew at least equal to the sum of guns + engines, but you don't necessarily need more than that unless you like boarding, or like exploration.

Cargo holds by themselves don't necessarily increase your ship's signature, but the amount of cargo that you carry in your normal hold DOES increase your ship signature. What is your signature? It's how easily you are detected by other ships. that's why WF tanks are better than extended cargo upgrades. you'll find that with a WF tank, even carrying 25 units of WF, your cargo calculation is still zero! ZERO ... much better than ONE. Same goes for other cargo upgrades that have the magical ~ in front of the number (eg ~25 units of WF).

[HateSolstice]

Yeah, I actually just recently learned that your ship has big flashy lights and signs saying "COME LOOT ME!" the fuller your cargo hold is. Apparently I had forgotten more than I thought during my absence.

Now, don't engines + sails + hull + other ship parts = big freakin' target as well? Or is it primarily your cargo? I mean, it's not like other ships are able to know exactly what you have in your holds, so I would think cargo would add the least to your ship's signature.

Then again, I've never captained a space ship, or a boat for that matter, in real life. Soooo......I might be a little wrong on assumptions.

[boeu]

Is there more aliens then usual? I seem to die a lot by them then neg faction

[poryg]

I actually like huge stealth. As a spy, I try to remain in shadows and with huge stealth and huge tactics I have some nice profits in spy wars! Stealth helps me ignore a ship (so I lose only 1 point of rep instead of 3 as would be in case of surrendering) and allows me to Torp'em all later, because while other ships either try to close or run away, I just keep my distance.
I am a free member though, and never made it to impossible, so my post might be useless. But the best starting ship for me proved to be Aperio Calliga (just love that ship due to fast speed) and later Pride of Cadar with a torp enhancement (even the mightiest warships shake in front of the power of 22 HK torps and if I accidentally run out of them, my huge stealth helps me get away), because it is boring to not be able to destroy anybody. I found only 3 stats important: Pilot (Needen't to be too high, just to cut the fuel consumption), Stealth (my 2nd highest stat, to keep my enemies on long range), Tactics (Torps) As I was not a boarder, I found other skills useless (I could make enough money by plundering ships, build up a huge rank with 3 races (so that I could perform some merchandise, because flying just between two cadar planets doesn't make a huge profit, because their only differences are in Luxury rations and Spice prices) and just torp the rest, gaining 2 wanted flags and enough targets to plunder)

[Cory Trese]

Most of the strategies that work on the free edition and lower difficulty levels are still necessary in Elite and on higher difficulty levels.

On Normal-Free you can probably play 20% of the game's rules and still survive with a profit. On Elite-Impossible you need to be playing close to 80% of the game's rules to stay ahead.

It is designed that way, as players increase difficulty they need to master slightly more and more of the game. This is one of the things that has generate hundreds of thousands of interested players and sooooo many positive e-mails.

[poryg]

Indeed, I like it too! I want to create a torping spy in some greater difficulties too. If I manage it on impossible, I might create a guide for it.