Space Combat Revamps

Starfighters have a lesser role in space combat now. What would be a good way to make it more useful for a player to fly a starfighter in space combat?

I think that the main thing that starfighters need is increased survivability. If they didn’t die so often then I think that they could do some real good in space combat. Of course, the reason that they do die so quickly is because:

1) The small number of participants in combat means that they are easy to focus fire.
2) They are relatively fragile if they are hit.
3) The current AI for capital ships means that they are very effective at hitting things, even when they do have Spacedodge.
4) Turrets are also extremely effective at hitting starfighters.

I think that a change in how easy starfighters are to hit would be one great improvement. For example, having the ability to dodge fire actually be relative to your piloting level, with level 150 piloting being very hard to hit unless being shot at by a level 150 pilot in another starfighter OR if you were to create a feat (somewhere) that is ‘turret gunner’ that would improve your ability to target enemies when manning a turret.

Lol I’m late by a week here but none of those suggestions matter. Autopilots never, ever miss. Until thats fixed the rest doesn’t matter because I can just target your ship with my capital ships, and turn their autopilots on. And you’re dead, end of story, immediately.

Speaking with no knowledge what so ever here, would it be possible to just have it where autopilot will only attack pirates? That would nullify that whole issue that Oce just brought up.

Having autopilot targeting only pirates, would allow clans to bombard other clans planets without fear of the autopilot wrecking havoc on the fleets, and having to fight.

Not only that…but the autopilots aren’t doing the targetting.

battlegroup target all X-Wing ‘Target’

followed by

battlegroup nav all autopilot on

Fights over. And thats assuming you didn’t have the autopilot on on those to begin with. The autopilot targetting things is entirely irrelevent.