Are quite possibly the first truly fun challenge I've run into in the 3.2 release group. I love them, rocket-running, gatling-gunning, capper-killing botters that they are. Oh yeah, and my new habit of running at the flag in a Centurion is sending my k/d ratio to an early grave.

Those bots seem a bit excessive but I finally have an excuse to form the biggest fleet vendetta has ever known.

Can someone please tell me the configuration of all the new bots?

I asked. And I received.

The Vulture defense bots you see in 4/6/12 are armed with the frigate turret weapon. In addition to that they also have a faster engine available than any of the ones that the players can buy. Outrunning them is out of the question, in other words.

Sectors 1/2/3 also have these Vultures. In addition to the Vultures, however, you'll also have to deal with two "heavy" defense ships, which are Warthogs armed with sunflares. The station and flag defenses also fire the frigate turret weapon at you. I believe there are a total of 15 defenses combined in each home nation sector (including the turrets).

Unfortunately all these defense ships (except the turrets) respawn instantly after dying. While newbie killing will probably be reduced dramatically in these home sectors, flag capping will be next to impossible with even the biggest fleets. Realistically you'll have to deal with these elite bots in three sectors--once in the outer nation sector, once in the home nation sector, and again in the outer nation sector (on your way out). And let's not forget the human players that have no intentioning of letting you out with the flag. Ouch.

hey, at least it's a challenge now. you asked, and you received. :)

Impressive. Most impressive. Maybe a bit of overkill, and they definately should take 5 minutes or so to respawn, but impressive none the less.

Incidently, if the engine and weapon can be mounted in a Vulture, why can't _we_ buy it? ;)

The bots in s4\6\12 now attack any hostile they can target, they have the frigate turret gun, the heavy ships have infinite ammo sunflares. 2 heavy defense per nation owned sector, i think 6 normal defense ships per nation owned sector.

There psycho bots i tell you!

At least they don't have blue ions...

Frigate turret guns do much much much much more damage then blue ions per shot...

I noticed. :D
I love it!

It's good that capping is a challenge, but I like the challenge to come from other players, not superbots.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in combat with other players is what attracted me to Vendetta. I shot plenty of bots in Wing Commander and X-Wing back in the day.

Bot opponents don't excite me. I just find them to be annoying.

Asp

I also don't like seeing those turrets bumped from person on another team switching to your color to clear the flag. Nor do I like these bots' insta-respawn.

I think the bots are way too strong...

The only way to fight them now is to cheat (since most of the crap in this game has been nerfed...thanks a lot, Arolte, you *******).

To fight them requires a level of teamwork that isn't present because not enough people play the game now.

There IS a way to occupy the bots with one vulture for AT LEAST an hour with minimal damage....


But im not telling!

/me giggles

Sit in the docking port of the station?

Be on the same team as the bots you're keeping busy?

(I did somehow get the bots in s12 to fire at me once....no damage, of course :P )

the only upside to capping is that the prize for a successful cap is 1 million credits... for everyone...

Rogualazer, sitting in the dock wouldn't work, the heavy defense ships use sunflares, the splash of them will kill you.

I agree with Freeman and Asp. The defense bots are waaaay too hard. Sure, throw bots in there, stop the n00bers and make capping at 5am EST an actual challenge (gee not that I ever did that...), but that fact that its almost impossible to cap with 2 or three people when there are no players on, means that its just as impossible when there are actual human defenders.

Also, in my travels, I have determined that the s17 bots need some neutering. For the love of god! I haven't made it from 11->18 in a week. Sure, I can get out OK, but forget about getting there. They need a cut down aquisition range or something.

Oh, last word on the defense bots....they have a habbit of sitting at jumpgates....like 200m away. If you enter the system, you die. No time to jump out. Can we at least do something about that?

I was the first one to divert defense ships via docking bay since the update. My move!! I've patented it!

...

In other news, sitting inside an undockable station with human players around makes you an easy target.