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Elite Dangerousdelivers an exciting, immersive PvE combat experience through spectacular effects, realistic physics, and satisfying armaments. There’s a wide variety of ways to engage in PvE combat too: bounty hunting, Conflict Zones, Resource Sites, and many more. Outfitting a ship inElite Dangerousis a fun, worthwhile experience that involves a lot of trial & error.
Unfortunately, acquiring needed upgrades requires an astronomically steep material grind. Much likebuilding a ship for exploration, commanders looking for the most optimum path through the grind should start with a tried & true build and then tune it to their liking. The following is one such top-tier build for PvE combat: The Railguard.
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The Railguard
This build excels at dominating the toughest PvE targets in the game. The only thing it can’t do is Xeno Hunting, askilling Thargoids requires special outfitting. The Railguard can hang in a high-intensity Conflict Zone indefinitely. It can take broadside volleys from a Farragut-class battlecruiser for minutes at a time without its shield breaking. With the help of a keen pilot in the ship-launched fighter, this build could take on the battlecruiser itself.
The following information describes specific choices in the build and offers some customization options.Check this build out on Coriolisto examine it more closely.
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The Ship
The best ship for this build is the Federal Corvette. The Corvette is one ofthe best large ships in the game, and it’s impeccably specialized for combat. Its excellent turning radius gives commanders the best chance at keeping the impressive array of hardpoints on-target. The hardpoints are placed in such a way that—with clever fire group management—multiple weapons can converge on a single target.
The Imperial Cutter would also work for this build, especially considering its incredible potential shield strength. However, the limited turning radius means jousting matches against NPCs can run overlong.
Hardpoints
One of many features that firmly placeElite Dangerousonthe list of best sci-fi video gamesis its wide array of futuristic weapons. The Corvette has seven hardpoints, which gives commanders a chance to try out many different weapons at once. The hardpoints are placed in mostly-convenient locations around the ship. The two huge hardpoints are next to each other on the top of the ship, so their targeting can converge easily. The two small hardpoints are similarly placed at the front of the ship. The large hardpoint is on the belly of the ship, which has its drawbacks but is ultimately useful. The only significant difficulty comes from the two medium hardpoints that are placed on either side of the ship. They can’t converge except at long range, so weapons in those hardpoints need to be in separate fire groups to prevent wasting ammo.
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Fire Groups
Building good Fire Groups is one of manyimportant skills for new players. For this build, in light of the hardpoint placement on the Corvette, it’s best to split the ship into two halves. Then, we make Fire Groups that take advantage of that placement. The huge and medium hardpoints on either side can be grouped together to create a devastating combination. To achieve this, the Beam Lasers and Multicannons need to be placed on the same side of the ship.
For this build, the Fire Groups should be set up as follows:
Fire Group C
Fire Group D
When breaking down an enemy’s shield, use Fire Group A. Keep the target to the side of the ship with the Beam Lasers to give the lasers the best possible chance to hit. When it’s time to break down an opponent’s hull, switch to Fire Group B and keep the enemy on the Multicannons’ side of the reticle to ensure they have a good chance to hit. All the while, line up shots with the Rail Guns and Plasma Accelerator whenever possible, especially when the enemy launches chaff that confuses the gimballed weapons. If an enemy tries to jump away, switch to Fire Group C to throw everything at them at once. Fire Group C is a lot of fun and can createsome really cinematic momentsfor screenshots.
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Core Internals
The following Core Internals give this build the power, maneuverability, and endurance it needs to dominate Conflict Zones and high-threat pirates:
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Utility Mounts
The Utility Mounts for this build are pretty straight-forward: eight A-rated Shield Boosters. It takesa laboriously long timeto get to a point in the game where you may fully engineer this many A-rated Shield Boosters. However, once there, it’s possible to create nigh impenetrable shields. There’s a delicate balance of engineering upgrades that will achieve the best results. Here’s the right mix for this build:
This specific balance, all fully-engineered and supported by the Shield Reinforcements in the Optional Internals, provides an indomitable 4,139mj of shields with all resistances over 50%. For a Bi-Weave shield that recharges 5mj per second, that’s an incredibly powerful shield.
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Optional Internals
The following Optional Internals provide the best range of defense and utility for this build. Many of them requiremaking quite a bit of moneyand some require unlocking.
The Railguard has been tested again and again to ensure optimum PvE combat effectiveness. It isn’t for traveling around to seethe most beautiful sites in the galaxy. The Railguard is tuned for all-out combat. It’s optimized for cruising through many short engagements against the toughest NPCs inElite. It’s excellent at crushing defenses, canceling Shield Cell Banks, and ripping apart hulls with impunity. This build enhances the features that make the Corvette fun to fly while maintaining its combat superiority in any PvE engagement. It has a wildcard hardpoint for trying out new weapons, Collector Limpets for maximum looting efficiency, and it’s surprisingly maneuverable. With this combat ship in a commander’s armada, they’ll never need to outfit another.
