Hints And Cheats

HINTS And CHEATS PAGE 2

Mission Hints and Related Info

CIS/Military and neutral ships generally regard you as a friendly ship. However, upon fired on will turn on you quickly. It does not take many weapon's hits to force them to treat you as a hostile. When in a dogfight with many ships which include enemy, neutral, and military vessels try not to accidently hit non-enemy ones. Taking on hostile clans is hard enough and you do not get bonus credits for taking out military and neutral ships.
TAKE NOTE:
If you do get in trouble with the military,(ie. you accidently fire on one or they detect you are transporting illegal goods.) take them out right away or make a run for it. Privateer 2 does not process a running tally of how many military ship you destroy (like in the first Privateer). If you survive a hostile encounter with the CIS and make it to a planet/station, the military will regard you as a friendly ship the next time you encounter them.

The best wingman in the game is the largest cargo ship, the Monolith. With 3 turrets this monster can take out hostile ships left and right. They can also carry 1500 tons of goods. However, on the down side, these vessels are very slow (max speed of 140 kps), and are expensive to hire.
SUGGESTION:
If you are going to take a mission that you know is going to be a hard one (ie. The mission pays alot, or you have taken this mission before), hire the Monolith (if possible), and hire the best wingman available. This is costly, but will definantly increase your chances of mission success and getting the big payoff.

When on escort missions, it's very important to protect the ship you are escorting from taking any damage. There are two good rules to keep in mind to help getting escorted ships to their destinations safely.

The first thing you should do before you tell the ship you are escorting to "GET GOING", is to put that ship in your target memory. You do this by targeting the ship and pressing "shift" and a number key(1-9). That way if you've lost that ship's exact location, you can press the corresponding number, and have the ship appear in your target VDW instantly.
The second thing you should keep in mind is try to jump the same time the ship you are escorting jumps. There is an easy way to do this. Target the ship and wait until that ship's speed decreases to about half the velocity it was traveling previously. As this happens, hit the "J" key to jump. If you do this, both you and the escorted ship will arrive at the next nav point at roughly the same time. The reason for doing this is for the fact that after the ship you are escorting jumps, there is a possibility that enemy fighters may enter the nav point. You will have to destroy them before you can jump. If it takes too long, you may lose the escorted ship.
NOTE 1:Try not to jump when you are close to the escorted ship. (Within 100 clicks is too close.) I have actually rammed the ship I was escorting after the jump was complete, knocking both our shields down a little.
NOTE 2:Once you tell a ship to "GET GOING", it will proceed to the destination via the least number of nav points. Make sure you plot a course between your starting nav point and the destination nav, with the fewest jumps between them. ALSO: Escorted ships will not use jump gates.
REMEMBER:Do not leave the escorted ship until you receive e-mail telling you the mission was successful. (UNLESS you utilize the hint/cheat below.)

THIS HINT IS SORT OF A CHEAT AND TAKES AWAY SOME OF THE FUN IN THE GAME. IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO CHEAT, IGNORE THIS HINT.
Want to make escort missions easy?

TRY THIS:
make sure your game is saved. Tell the ship(s) that you are hired to escort "to get going" (you do this in the comms VDW). When the ship(s) jump, do not jump with them (don't worry, they know where the destination is). Hang out at the nav point you are in and wait for an e-mail telling you whether the mission was a success or a failure. Half of the time it will be a success, and you collect your credits! If the mission fails, simply reload your saved game and try it again.
TAKE NOTE:
This works great with the first Xavier Shondi mission.

The following is the nav point destinations you must know for the "Norm Blagger" bulletin board mission, which involves his kidnapped daughter by a lunatic. Nav 36 is where you pick up the first pod, Nav 120 is where the second pod is, Nav 24 for the third, and the final pod is at Nav 21. If you have not taken this mission yet, you should. Not just for the easy 14,000 credits, but also for the small, interesting story behind the mission. The ending to this endeavor is surprising!

Almost all SOS missions are good to accept. They are relatively easy, and don't take to much work or thinking to complete (they don't pay the greatest either). One mission you should not accept, unless you need some combat practice, is The "Good Ol' Boys Haulage" mission. A person e-mails you a request to help him get some pirates off his back at Nav 89. He promises you 6,000 in credits. It's a setup. If you do accept this mission you will face some pretty tough opponents that ambush you at Nav 89. You will encounter, a Heretic, a Velacia, an Aurora, a Skecis Mk II, and a Karnenan. (You will not receive any credits in this mission).

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Combat Hints and Tactics
Getting behind enemy fighters is the best way to destroy them. Don't get too close however. Some fighters, especially the Chirichan Testmos, can maneuver between your guns firing track. To avoid overheating your weapons, TRY THIS: Get behind your target and start firing. If a majority of your guns connect, quickly hit the "X" key to set your speed the same as the targeted ship. Remember! As soon as you destroy the enemy fighter, get back up to full speed. This way you do not make yourself an easy target. ALSO: When you try to match speed with a ship that is moving faster than your vessels top speed, your velocity will be set to maximum. (This tactic does not work well with Jincilla Skulls.)

Attacking larger space vessels like the shuttles and cruisers is different from attacking fighter ships. Shuttles, cruisers, destroyers, some cargo ships, and capital ships have a number of turrets on at least one side of the ship. The best way to attack shuttles is from the underside where there are no turrets. Other large ships have more turrets, but do have at least one weak side. Find that side, and attack there. NOTE: Most turreted ships will try to roll to get there weapons pointed at you. You may have to adjust your flight paths to stay aligned with their weak sides. (Long range guns are good for attacking large ships.)

Missile avoidance and/or destruction of, is key to survival. I feel there are 3 good tactics to use after a missile or missiles have been fired your way. 1.) I know many privateers feel that the loading of decoys are a waste of ship space. There is no better way to get a missile off your tail than the deploying of decoys. The MK II model has a better than 50% missile deflection rate. In the middle of a multiple ship battle, releasing a decoy is a better option than "just take the damage and move on" theory. (In later stages of the game, this will flat out get you killed.) 2.) Another way of removing a missile threat is to target the projectile and destroy it. This is not as easy as it sounds. When a missile has been fired at you, cycle through your potential targets by pressing the "A" key. Find the missile that is locked on to you and start firing. This does work! Be persistent if you use this tactic, however. Hitting a missile moving at the speed of 700 to 1000 kps is harder than connecting on an enemy ship moving 300 to 400 kps. Another good reason to use this tactic is because when engaged in trying to destroy a missile, you become a hard target to lock on to by hostile ships.
NOTE: Your targeting computer will lock on to the offending missile. I have never tried firing a missile at a missile, but it is possible to do so. (Try it in fun only. This would be a big waste of a hardpoint.) 3.) Another way to avoid death by missiles is to fly erratically. Missiles will eventually self detonate after a period of time. Avoid flying in a straight path, making sudden and frequent turns. You can still fire on enemy vessels, just keep moving. Hitting the afterburners once in a while wouldn't hurt much either.
NOTE: When jumping into a nav point that has one or two enemy ships, and during combat a missile or missiles are fired at you, use this last tactic of erratic flying. When you eventually destroy the enemy ships, hit the "J" key to jump and leave the missile(s) far behind. (Sometimes, as you are jumping, you will see the missile fly by behind you on the jump screen.)

What about head to head combat? For the most part you should try to avoid flying directly at a ship with your guns blazing when that ship is doing the same. (And they will, a lot!) However, if you have a long range gun (Flux beam Mk II or Stream laser Mk II) straight on combat can work for you. Try This: (Only if you have Flux beam Mk IIs or Stream laser Mk IIs loaded!)
Target an enemy ship. If it is 400 kps or more away from you and is flying straight towards you, center your target in the middle of your crosshairs and fly straight at it. Wait until the hostile ship is about 380 klicks away and then hold your firing button down. Even though you're still out of your gun's range, the fact that you are both flying at each other closes the gap. So the actual distance your beam or laser travels is smaller than when you actually fired.
--See illustrations below--
DISTANCE 1

Note:Enemy ships will begin firing on you at about 250 to 300 klicks away.

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Hints from other Privateers

Thanks to Jason Quinnjquinn@electriciti.com for these hints below.

The best run to make for cargo is from Massanas to Ostinia. They are only two navs apart (including the planet of destination). Buy all illegal cargo, Enviro Suits, Loaders, and Atomic Chisels. You must use an Illia Mk II for the run. The profits ONE-WAY, after paying for the ship, can top 10,000 credits. Plus the Illia Mk II can defend itself pretty good against CIS ships. Haul Iridium and Bex Beer back. You will make a small profit after paying for the ship. (About 1,000 credits)

The Freji Mk II has slightly better armor than the Danrik, but the Danrik's weapons are better aligned. It's a toss up between ships. If you are a reasonable shot, stick with the Freji. If not, go with the Danrik. For the extra money, The Danrik is probably not worth it in my opinion.

Thanks to Graham Parryghaz@btinternet.com for this hint below.
A good way to make money is to take illegal goods from hermes to the closest station. You make about 2000+.

Thanks to Romario Silvaromario@wtcol.com.br for this hint below.
I have found a helpful way to jump from one system to another, and to avoid the CIS contraband search. When on the NAV point, if there are no enemies near, hit ALT-X, as if you were quitting the game. Wait some time and then press N. You will probably see that your jump indicator is full. This is very useful when you note that the CIS are going to search your cargo ship.

Thanks to Corneel Booysenbooyseco@iafrica.com for this hint below.
In the early stages of the game (when you might still have a slow ship) you might have to fight Jincilla Skulls. Apart from the irritating messages they convey it is very difficult to take them out because of the speed they have. For this to work you need to have a wingman and fairly good shields. Instruct the wingman to take out one of the Skulls and then slow down to about 100 clicks and start flying in a straight line. The skulls will fall in behind you and you will start to take some damage. Because the Skulls will slow down to your speed - your wingman will be able to take out the Skulls. But if your shields get too low - speed up and abort for a while - until your ready to do it again. This also works on other enemy ships - but be careful - some of them pack a serious punch.

Thanks to Odin EggenArild.Stromsvag@ikk.uib.no for this hint below.
If enemy ships are going head to head with you, this is a good way to avoid getting hurt. When you see the orange targeting dot is covering the ship and he is moving around you, get the enemy in the edge of your screen. Then, start flying in a corckscrew, keeping the enemy at the same place on your screen. Then hit the afterburners, fly past him, and turn your ship. You will be looking right into his rear. Let him have it.

Thanks to Michel Buijsmanm.c.c.buijsman@st.hanze.nl for this hint below.
Here's an easy mission: Go to Bex. Visit the Bex Beer Joint and talk to Auntie Mary. She wants transportation off planet, to Hephaestus. (Only 3 jumps away) And when you're going there anyway, hire a cargo ship (A Monolith will do just fine...) and fill it up with Livestock, Bex Beer and Sunflowers. If you don't have the cash for it, trade in your ship for a Straith with nothing on it, not even guns. Save before you go. Chances are you won't run into pirates anyway. (So if you do: Reload) This will get you a good profit (something like 50% on everything) and without doing something extra for it you will get 3000 credits from Mary.

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Thanks to Boinger for this hint below
An easy way to take out any of the larger capital ships (especially stolen CIS cruisers) is to: 1) load any torpedo, about 2 should work. 2) with a fast ship, simply afterburn your way to the cap ship. 3) keep juking enough to avoid turret fire, but make sure the missile lock stays on. 4) launch both torpedoes just before you crash into the cap ship. 5) the escorts should be no problem after that. This works well in a particular 13,000 cred. mission, with or without escorts.

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Thanks to M. Kaye for this hint below
If you have trouble killing Jincilla Skulls and you dont have the wingman like the other tip suggests, then you can stop dead and just track the Skull until the orange target centers. Then blaze away with all your guns at the skull and he will take a lot of damage. As he has reasonably weak guns you can do this a number of times before you have to speed up to recharge. It usually takes about 3-4 attacks to kill him. This only works if there are just Skull's left to kill. Otherwise kill everything else then go after the skulls.

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