Fighting Hints

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• Having trouble fighting a certain species? Practice against them in Super Melee using just the ships you have on hand.
• There are no perfect ships and useless ships. Every ship has its advantages and disadvantages, and if you learn them well, you will be a good fighter. That said, there are generally weak ships, and ships which are almost unable to beat certain ships in one fight.
• Early on the Spathi Eluder is the most useful ship you have. It has a stand-off weapon and its fast enough to escape or dodge most anything.
• Raw firepower does not decide everything. The Chmmr Avatar, the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za Dreadnought and the Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah Marauder have the most firepower in the game, but there are lots of ways to defeat them with other ships with less firepower.
• Use the planet well. Slow ships can use it to accelerate beyond their maximum velocity using the Gravity Whip maneuver, luring a fast ship near the planet can make it easier to hit, and the Avatar can force the enemy ship to collide with the planet with its special ability.
• 'Full game only:' Don't forget about your emergency warp escape (unless you are very low on fuel). Escort vessels can be recalled from battle (and suspended for the remainder of the melee) by pressing the ESC key. Doing so with your flagship will evacuate your entire fleet.
• 'Full game only:' A ship is a sitting duck for about six seconds when it is preparing to escape combat (on the upside, it is not affected by gravity). Flying very close to the planet before initiating a warp escape will usually keep you out of trouble, as the intense gravity well is hard to navigate for most ships and some projectiles.
• Notice how in mid-range combat your two ships tend to be directly opposite each other? Hmmm...
• Know where the planet is. Nothing is worse than being in a close range fight and smacking into the planet.
• The computer opponent is very predictable.
• The computer is very quick and accurate at close range. Keep at standoff range until you get better.
• Full game only: Max out the turning jets and thrusters on your Precursor vessel ASAP.
• Full game only: Put a rear firing gun on your Precursor vessel. Now you can fire while having the option to run away.
• Full game only: Don't bother initially with the side or off-center firing guns. They just drain power.
• The Slylandro Probe will usually back off if you point your guns at it. Also, it can be outrun with enough thrusters, avoiding encounters.