Vendetta Online Beginner's Guide

Getting Started
Arrogance will lead to a quick death. While life (and death) may be cheap at first, the longer and more successful a pilot becomes the more it will disturb (and buying back that really powerful fighter is going to cost credits!). So start with a lesson in humility and take the training course or tutorial offered by the local faction. For a few minutes of space-flight you will earn a handful of skill points and 500 credits to help begin your adventure. More importantly it will teach you basic familiarity with your ship's controls and give basic combat instruction. In a galaxy at war with itself this may help decide your fate more than any number of credits.

At this point, the eager and stupid would dash off into the "Buy" tab of the nearest station and begin a career as a trader, or try in vain to learn to mine in their beaten up EC-88 shuttle. Failure or death beckon them. Flight training should be taken more seriously than a mere few minutes, combat training even more so. Therefore it is my recommendation that your next mission be the the Beginner's Combat Practice.

Combat Flying
With the EC-88 being a free purchase this will be the last opportunity to allow yourself the opportunity to fail. All pilots should make use of this and head into the Combat practice with an eye to learn, rather than necessarily be victorious (though winning helps). First, the bots to be targeted should be Kannik or Orun: they may not give the highest reward, but they are weak and poor marksmen. It gives the novice the edge in a fight, even if you are not accustomed to unassisted flight in zero-gravity, zero-resistance environments.

So for those of you still reading, TURN OFF flight assistance. The extra maneuverability and control allows for strafing, loops, rolls, and other combat maneuvers that are inhibited by the computerized systems. These are important skills: remember this is space, where even the slightest force will keep accelerating a body (read: your ship), and as long as no other force is applied, the achieved velocity will be constant (alright, Guild Software fiddled it with the Afterburners). This means it is possible to fire upon the enemy while flying backwards, or equally while looping over his/her head. It also means that a reliance on missiles, which are best fired from a straight course (not always a frontal assault mind) is not likely to be a successful policy. Combat here has more in common with the shooting games commonly played by teens (read: First Person Shooters!): only the fastest of mind and deed will survive a fight.

Combat fundamentals are therefore to keep moving, with your weapons trained on the enemy as much as possible. At range a straighter, steadier course is better to intercept the target, but also to fire missiles, flares, or other long range munitions. Hard maneuvering from the firing platform is as likely to reduce their efficacy as the target's evasive pattern. Try to avoid the frontal assault though, unless the glare of the sun will hide you or there's a nice, big asteroid to pop out from behind. Use the objects in space to make your approach more difficult to identify, and sneak up on your enemies. Then close in hard strafing and looping; changing direction frequently can help avoid taking fire, but remember your guns have to find their target too. Each fight will be different, so learn to adapt and think on your feet, and don't adopt a distinguishable pattern. A hard lesson I know, but vital in "real" combat. In these early stages guns will be more important than missiles, as you won't have any, so think of it as an opportunity to become comfortable with them. If you practice enough you may find that being able to hang out on someone's tail and riddle their aft with holes is more effective than any number of missiles.

After 20 kills there is a change in target, and your focus must fall on the tougher and more dangerous DenTek and Artemis bots. First hint: find a sector where there is only one type of bot and endeavor to take each individually. A swarm is far more deadly than a lone bot, and in mixed sectors it is all too easy to attract the fatal attention of an ApuTech-5 Guardian. Persevere with this mission until you have achieved a level 1 license in Combat Flight and Light Weapons. No claims of combat mastery, though; undoubtedly your craft will still be the EC-88, and combat in the later fighters or assault craft is subtly different, but at least you should have achieved basic competency.

Trading and Exploration
At last, the fun can begin and here pilots really should choose for themselves. Not only will new ships be available, they will be within financial reach. If your aim is to become a bounty hunter or member of your faction's military then now may certainly be the time to take that route. However, for the traders there is still much work to be done. One could now begin bartering for goods at the stations and trying to make a profit as a freelance trader. If that is your wish, good luck; make use of the "News" board and remember to check the chat channels for other pilots as they may have useful information. Yet for many of you this may not offer the immediate rewards you desire, and certainly by that route it takes more luck than skill to attain the level 1 trading license, never mind turn a profit. Instead I'd advise you to take a few jobs from the Trading Guild, often found in the "Missions" area of a station. Here cargo hauling or pickup missions can be accepted whose profit can be more easily guaranteed. Even in an EC-88 it is possible to complete many of the long haul, bulk delivery or procurement missions for a considerable sum (and if you're quick in the brain, with a tidy bonus).

Traveling in-system will have been covered in Basic Flight or the Tutorial, but wormhole jumps will not. For the most lucrative of the Guild missions it will be necessary to become accustomed to warping between systems through the wormhole network. It is simple enough: jump to the wormhole sector, and on arrival point the craft in the direction of the event horizon (indicated by a blue arrow on the HUD, a blue item on the radar, and a target in the view). Once the ship is within range of the event horizon a message will indicate readiness. The activate key will initiate the jump. Pilots should note what they are traveling into, however; the galaxy map can be found in the "Nav" screen of their ship (hit "n" and click "Zoom to Universe").

Mineral mining requires a more capable ship than the EC-88, so once you've acquired that level 1 Trading license it is definitely time to consider an upgrade. Although it is possible to continue with your original, sturdy craft, the bar for new licenses has been raised and by now you should have the skill to handle yourself in the galaxy. Personally, I recommend one of the Wraith series. From here you may continue to learn the skills of trade, combat, or mining. With luck your progress should not be as painful as that of your predecessors.

Other Hazards and Considerations
While this guide has so far covered the elementary stages of any pilots' journey in this galaxy, there are thus far several notable omissions. First, there is the possibility of encountering an ion storm, particularly when traveling through dense asteroid fields. The storms can be identified by a yellow message in the "General" chat screen, or by an almost rain-like pattern of blue sparks in the sector. They also have a tendency to attract large numbers of heavily armed collector bots. In this circumstance normal jumping rules do not apply: one must find the exit point in the same manner as finding a wormhole by following the blue HUD arrow and looking for the marked target. Proceed at best possible speed (a higher average can be obtained by pulsing the afterburners at short, regular intervals), remembering to set a new course if this sector was the intended destination. Jump at the earliest available opportunity once the exit point is reached. Although it may be tempting to engage the collector bots beware that it is not so easy to retreat in an ion storm if an unwelcome crowd is attracted, so until you have gained experience and better equipment this pilot advises against it.

Secondly, there is no mention here of pilot-organized Guilds or the Mentoring system. Participation in these can be achieved through the judicious use of the chat facilities offered by stations and most ships. Other pilots are a valuable source of help, so do not be afraid to ask for it. Novice pilots may request help on Channel 1, though general chat takes place on Channel 100. There are dozens of other channels that may be of interest, a list can be found on the main information repository (read: Official Vendetta Website).

At last I turn to the issues of piracy and real combat. Both are really beyond the scope of any beginner's guide, as they require skill and almost total mastery of combat flight. Challenging another pilot is something you should do with care, although fighting those superior to yourself will help you learn, it is of no benefit to die quickly. When picking a fight, the target must not be flying a ship which is many times more deadly than your own. If you don't have access to buy it you'll probably end up as space dust. Similarly, piracy is not a skill I would openly encourage for a beginner (unless it's from bots; that's OK) simply due to the inherent and obvious risk. You have a pea-shooter in that shuttle, and no trader is going to fear it. Additionally, when all the factions hate you you'll only have grey space to run to. Real pirates love easy pickings, so keep this warning in mind. But don't feel pressured by this old bum to stick to the rules; they are there to be broken.

I hope this may have been of some help to you in your journey into the universe of Vendetta Online. Myles Leonadis, Union of Independent Territories, over and out.