SWTOR Galactic Starfighter Gunship build guide
A discussion of the various components and builds for the gunship in SWTOR Galactic Starfighter.
Build Calculator: http://dulfy.net/2013/11/16/swtor-galactic-starfighter/
Navigation
- Quick Build
- Primary Weapon
- Railgun
- Engine
- Shield
- Sensors
- Armor
- Reactor
- Magazine
- Companions
- What to do against
Note that unlike class builds, there isn’t a single best build. It all depends on what works for you and the situations you will come under. Below is a general build I use.
Primary: Burst Laser Cannon
Railgun: Slug Railgun and Plasma Railgun
Engine: Rotational Thruster
Shield: Feedback Shield
Sensors: Dampening Sensors
Armor: Reinforced Armor
Reactor: Large Reactor
Magazine: Regeneration Extender
Companion Active Ability: Bypass (Khem Val/Skadge for Empire and M1-4X or Nadia for Republic)
Engineering Passive: Any of the choices will work, pick whoever you have unlocked.
Offensive Passive: Khem Val/Skadge, whichever one you picked for the active. Khem Val is a better choice. Qyzen Fess for Republic as it give you Improved Kill Zone and Pinpointing.
Tactical Passive: Silent Running and Peripheral Vision (Talos Drellik/Treek)
Defensive Passive: Structural Support + one other passive.
Gunship Gameplay Videos
Light Laser Cannon/Burst Laser Cannon
Light Laser cannon fires at a much faster rate of 180 RPMS dealing 200-300 dmg per hit while Burst fires at a slower rate of 80 RPMS but deals 600-800 dmg per hit. Light is more suited for players who love to “spray and pray” while Burst is more suited for those who takes careful aim before firing.
I personally prefer the Burst Laser Cannon as it deals a large chunk of damage when it hits. This is useful when dealing with scouts as you can dish out a large chunk of damage over a short period of time, potentially killing them in 1-2 hits if they have being weakened by your railgun. However keep in mind that this weapon was nerfed recently, drastically reducing the damage it deals at max range. You have to be pretty close to the target for maximum effectiveness. One thing to note about Burst Laser Cannons is that it is the only one of two laser cannons that gains shield piercing through upgrades (tier 4). This can be very effective as everytime you hit an enemy ship you are dealing hull damage.
Light Laser Cannon is unlocked by default while Burst Laser Cannon requires additional unlocking via Ship Requisition (2000).
Ingame Description
Light Laser Cannon: Favored by pilots who like to fight at close range, Merr-Sonn’s LCL-1 light laser cannons are twin-linked for high damage, and increased power consumption. Gunners should be aware that the LCL-1′s damage output drops drastically with distance.
Burst Laser Cannon: The starfighter equivalent of a scattergun, the SoroSuub BLC-2 shoots clusters of high-damage bolts in a wide arc but has a slow rate of fire. Capable of annihilating even fast-moving opponents at close range, its damage drops rapidly with greater distance and it consumes large reserves of power.
Default stats (no upgrades)
| Light | Burst | |
| Max Range | 4000m | 4000m |
| DPS vs Shields (500m-3000m-4000m) | 975-770-624 | 933-625-476 |
| DPS vs Hull (500m-3000m-4000m) | 975-770-624 | 933-625-476 |
| Weapon Accuracy (500m-3000m-4000m) | 110%-90%-80% | 115%-90%-80% |
| Critical Hit Chance | 0% | 0% |
| Critical Hit Damage | 50% | 50% |
| Rate of Fire | 180 RPMS | 80 RPMS |
| Weapon Power Draw | 21/s | 20/s |
| Shield Piercing | 0% | 0% |
| Armor Piercing | 0% | 0% |
| Firing Arc | 28 deg | 32 deg |
| Tracking | -1% per deg | -0.5% per deg |
Available upgrades
Upgrades make the Burst Laser Cannon slightly more lethal. It gains 5% critical hit chance at tier 2. In addition, it can gain 100% armor piercing (ignore all damage reduction on armor) or 9% shield piercing. Light Laser Cannon, in contrast, gains 8% more rate of fire and 10% reduction in blaster power cost, allowing you to fire it for a much longer duration and at a much faster rate suited for the “spray and pray” style.
| Light | Burst | |
| Tier 1 | Blaster damage increased by 5% | Blaster damage increased by 5% |
| Tier 2 | Cost of using blasters reduced by 10% | Accuracy increased by 2% and critical hit chance increased by 5% |
| Tier 3 | Blaster rate of fire increased by 8% | Firing arc increased by 2 degs and weapon tracking penalty reduced by 5% |
| Tier 4 (pick) | Critical hit chance increased by 8% | Blaster damage ignores 100% of enemy armor |
| Firing arc increased by 2 deg and weapon tracking penalty reduced by 5% | Shield piercing increased by 9% | |
| Tier 5 (pick) | Blaster damage to enemy ship hulls increased by 16% | Blaster damage to enemy ship hulls increased by 16% |
| Blaster damage to enemy ship shields increased by 18% | Blaster damage to enemy ship shields increased by 18% |
Slug Railgun/Plasma Railgun/Ion Railgun
Slug Railgun deals a ton of damage upfront (~1600 damage if fully charged) and has 20% shield piercing which means that 20% of the damage skips over the shield and is transferred to the hull instead. It is deadly vs scouts and can sometimes 1-2 shot them. One of the early upgrades for Slug Railgun give it an additional 10% shield piercing, making it even deadlier.
Plasma Railgun doesn’t do as much damage upfront (~900 damage if fully charged) but leaves a ticking DoT (~150 damage per tick, 6 ticks). This is immensely useful when you are going after enemy ships with multiple friendly attackers as you can net kills much easier due to the ticking DoT.
Ion Railgun cause havoc to shields but does minimal hull damage. It is useful to strip their shields but you will need to switch to something else once their shield is down. However, it has quite a bit of utility by draining enemy ship weapon and engine power, making them much less effective at fleeing or fighting.
Both Slug and Ion Railgun are unlocked by default while Plasma Railgun requires additional unlocking via Ship Requisition (2000).
The loadout I typically use is Slug Railgun + Plasma Railgun. Slug Railgun on anything with low health and likely to die with one shot while Plasma Railgun on anything else to get better chance with killing blows.
Ingame Description
Slug Railgun: Originally designed by Balmorran Arms, HR-0C Slingshot slug railguns are basic magnetic cannons with extraordinary range. The "slug" is a metal projectile that delivers high damage and partially bypasses a target’s shield. When fully charged, a slug railgun’s damage output can be absolutely devastating
Plasma Railgun: Czerka produces an array of exotic weaponry including the Incinerator-class plasma railgun. The Incinerator fires plasma bolts enclosed in magnetic fields, targeting enemies at extraordinary range and causing massive damage when fully charged. Plasma bolts do not pierce enemy shields directly but continue to burn a target after impact, causing significant damage over time to both shields and hull
Ion Railgun: The Balmorran Arms HR-IO4 ion railgun is a ship-mounted magnetic cannon with extraordinary range. It fires ion particles enclosed in a magnetic field which do minimal hull damage but cause severe damage to shields, and drain weapon and engine power.
Default Stats (no upgrades)
| Slug | Plasma | Ion | |
| Max Range | 15000m | 15000m | 15000m |
| DPS vs Shields | 1600 | 1800 | 1850 |
| DPS vs Hull | 1600 | 1800 | 463 |
| Weapon Accuracy (500m-7500m-15000m) | 110%-100%-95% | 110%-100%-95% | 110%-100%-95% |
| Critical Hit Chance | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Critical Hit Damage | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| Charge Up Time | 3s | 3s | 3s |
| Shield Piercing | 20% | 0% | 0% |
| Armor Piercing | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Firing Arc | 16 deg | 16 deg | 16 deg |
| Tracking | -5% per deg | -5% per deg | -5% per deg |
Available upgrades
Slug Railgun become more deadly with upgrades, getting 10% more shield piercing and 100% armor piercing (ignore all damage reductions). It is also the only railgun with 20% critical hit chance (others all have 10% maximum). Ion Railgun gains more utility in the last tier, either slowing the target or prevent their energy regen.
| Slug | Plasma | Ion | |
| Tier 1 | The time required to fully charge the railgun is reduced by 10% | The time required to fully charge the railgun is reduced by 10% | Railgun accuracy increased by 3% and tracking increased by 5% |
| Tier 2 | Shield piercing increased by 10% | Critical hit chance increased by 10% | The time required to fully charge the railgun is reduced by 10% |
| Tier 3 | Railgun damage ignores 100% of enemy armor | Consumes 10% less power per second | Ion Railgun hits drain an additional 10 units of energy |
| Tier 4 (pick) | Railgun accuracy increased by 3% and tracking increased by 5% | Target’s damage reduction is reduced by 20% while damage over time is active | Critical damage chance increased by 10% |
| Consumes 10% less power per second | Target’s evasion is reduced by 10% while damage over time is active. | Railgun hits arc to hit up to 3 nearby enemies, doing 50% damage and 18 of the engine and weapon power. | |
| Tier 5 (pick) | Railgun critical hit chance increased by 20% | Duration increased by 1 second | Railgun hits slow target by 40% for 6 seconds |
| Railgun damage increased by 10% | Damage dealt by lingering burn effect increased by 15% | Railgun hits stop energy regeneration for 6 seconds |
Rotational Thrusters/Barrel Roll/Interdiction Drive/Weapon Power Converter
Rotational Thrusters allow you to quickly locate your target by rotating your ship directly to your target and having it centered on your screen. This very useful when you engage in dogfights as scouts/strike fighters can maneuver and turn much faster than you but having this will even the playing field somewhat. This ability does not evade lock-on missiles. Recharge: 15s.
Barrel Roll propels your ship forward while rotating your ship by 360 degrees. This is the only move you have that evade lock-on missiles and sabotage droids. It adds a bit more mobility to Gunships and can be useful if you are getting harassed a lot by enemy missiles. You can also use it to get from point A to point B faster since it propels you a greater distance than your afterburner would for the same cost. Recharge: 15s
Interdiction Drive sounds great on paper but its usability will depends on your playstyle. It an enemy is coming to harass you, it can be useful to slow them down while you boost out of there. However, it does use quite a bit of engine power so if you are using it while you are low on engine power you may not have enough to escape. Recharge: 60s
Weapon Power Converter might be useful in a sensor dampening build (more on that later) where you can safely snipe away at enemies without them going after you. This allow you to fire off more shots before needing to wait for weapon power pool to recharge. It also come in handy in close quarters dogfighting as you can fire your blasters abit more.
Barrel Roll is unlocked by default while others need 1500 ship requisition to purchase.
I personally use Rotational Thrusters as I find them very useful in all type of situations regardless if you are getting attacked or attacking. If you are under heavy missile lock on then you may consider switching back to Barrel Roll as it is unlocked by default anyways. Interdiction Dive and Weapon Power Converter are a bit more situational and are things you will need to try it out to see if you can find a use for them.
Ingame Description
Rotational Thrusters: Rapidly turns your ship to face your currently selected target
Barrel Roll: Rolls the ship 360-degrees forward, boosting evasion from direct-fire weapons by 30% for 3 seconds. Evades lock-on missiles when activated
Interdiction Drive: Triggers an immediate speed boost while reducing the speed of nearby enemies
Weapon Power Converter: Transfers 20% of the engine’s power to the weapon power pool
Available upgrades
Rotational Thrusters become even more useful with you add in upgrades. At tier 3, you can either boost your weapon power regeneration whenever you activate it or increase your ship’s turning rate. Both are very handy when you trying to defend against attackers.
| Rotational Thrusters | Barrel Roll | Interdiction Drive | Weapon Power Converter | |
| Tier 1 | Reduces the power cost of activating Rotational Thrusters by 15 | Reduces the power cost of activating Barrel Roll by 15 | The cost of using engine component abilities and maneuvers is reduced by 10% | Ability cooldown time reduced by 3 seconds |
| Tier 2 | Ability cooldown time reduced by 5 seconds | Ability cooldown time reduced by 5 seconds | Engine speed increased by 10% on Interdiction Drive activation. | The cost of using engine component abilities and maneuvers is reduced by 10% |
| Tier 3 (pick) |
Activating Rotational Thrusters boosts your weapon power regeneration rate by 45% for 6 seconds | Engine speed increased by 10% | Interdiction field slows enemies by an additional 15% | Blaster power pool increased by 15% |
| Ship’s turning rate passively increased by 10% | Ship’s turning rate increased by 10% | Ability duration is increased by 3 seconds. | Engine power pool increased by 15% |
Feedback Shield/Fortress Shield/Distortion Field
Feedback Shield is my favourite shield as it deals damage back to the attacker if they hit you with blasters. I love going head to head with scouts and then activate my Feedback Shield once they start using blasters on me. It deals quite a bit of damage back to them but only lasts for 1 hit. I have scouts with low HP attack me from behind before and they immediately died after I activated my Feedback Shield.
Fortress Shield immobilizes you when used but it boosts the shield strength by 100%. However, it does decrease your normal shield capacity by 30% and has a 30s cooldown whenever you deactivate it. This is useful against missile attackers as Feedback Shield does not work against them. If you know a missile is coming up behind you and you cannot out run it, activate Fortress Shield to take the hit and move on. Remaining stationary with the shield on otherwise isn’t useful as enemy ships can hit you with blasters and missiles much more easily. Fortress Shield have an additional use going against Gunships in a railgun fight as you will be stationary while charging up your railgun and thus Fortress Shield will give you better protection compared to other options.
Distortion Field raise your evasion passively and also have an active skill that raise your evasion even more. It is currently not clear what exactly Evasion does for your ship but assuming evasion counters the accuracy on weapons then you are much likely to get hit with more evasion.
Feedback Shield comes as the default shield. Other Shields can be unlocked by spending 1500 Ship Requisition.
Ingame Description
Feedback Shield: Charges your shield with energy for 15 seconds that is released as damage against your next attacker.
Fortress Shield: -30% Shield Power Capacity. Increase shield strength by 100% for 30 seconds, but immobilize the ship while active. The pilot can manually deactivate this ability and triggering a defensive maneuver or boost will automatically deactivate the shield.
Distortion Field: +15% Evasion -30% Shield Power Capacity. Evasion increased by 65% for 3 seconds.
Available Upgrades
Feedback Shield becomes more deadly with upgrades while Distortion Field gains the ability to disable missile lock ons while it is active.
| Feedback Shield | Fortress Shield | Distortion Field | |
| Tier 1 | Feedback damage increased by 15% | Ability cooldown time reduced by 10 seconds | Increases the chance enemies will miss you by 10% while the ability is in effect |
| Tier 2 | Ability cooldown time reduced by 10 seconds | Shield strength increased by an additional 20% when fortress shield ability is active | Ability cooldown time reduced by 10 seconds |
| Tier 3 (pick) |
Feedback Shield has a 20% chance to do critical damage to enemies | Ability duration is increased by 10 seconds | Ability duration is increased by 3 seconds |
| Feedback shock drains 10% of the attacker’s weapon and engine power | Blaster power pool regeneration increased by 30% while fortress shield ability is active | Distortion field disables missile lock of enemies currently targeting you |
Range Sensors/Communication Sensors/Dampening Sensors
Range Sensor is how far you can detect (able to see & tab target) enemy ships. Communication Sensors is how far you can broadcast the enemy targets you observe to friendly ships. Dampening sensor works against range sensors and the more dampening you have the closer enemy ships have to be near you to detect you.
Dampening Sensors are very useful for a gunship as they can allow you to get much closer to enemy ships without being detected. Being able to snipe away at enemy ships without them knowing where you are or retaliate is very powerful. It will increase your kill count and give your enemies psychological trauma.
If you have max sensor dampening (including the passives from companions), strike fighters and gunships have to be within 3500m to detect you. Scouts will need to be 6000-8000m to detect you. This is assuming they have spent no upgrades in Range Sensors and are going against you solo. Dampening sensors is much less effective going against multiple enemy ships as they can detect and broadcast your location via communication sensors to ships further back.
I personally maxed out Dampening Sensors early on and find it very effective. I was able to snipe away at enemy targets near objectives without them noticing me. Once a while a scout or two would detect me and try to pick a fight but these situations are less common than if you don’t have Dampening Sensors.
Range sensors is the default choice. Other sensors can be unlocked by spending 1000 Ship Requisition.
Ingame Description
Range Sensors: Carbanti United’s PN-4 sensor component increases a ship’s standard sensor range. The sensor uses technology originally used in deep space exploration missions
Communication Sensors: The GSI Chatterbox sensor component increases a ship’s effective communications range, allowing better tactical coordination inside a squadron. While GSI has not traditionally specialized in communications technology, its acquisition of several failed HoloNet companies recently changed things
Dampening Sensors: Santhe’s LE-8 sensor dampeners allow a ship to get closer to enemy vessels before appearing on foes’ sensors. This is achieved through a jamming signal that "piggybacks" on a ship’s sensor scans
Available Upgrades
| Range Sensors | Communication Sensors | Dampening Sensors | |
| Tier 1 | Sensor range increased by an additional 1000m | Communication range increased by an additional 2000m | The range at which enemies can detect you is decreased by an additional 1500m |
| Tier 2 | Sensor range increased by an additional 1000m | Communication range increased by an additional 2000m | The range at which enemies can detect you is decreased by an additional 1500m |
| Tier 3 |
Sensor range increased by an additional 1000m | Communication range increased by an additional 2000m | The range at which enemies can detect you is decreased by an additional 1500m |
Lightweight Armor/Deflection Armor/Reinforced Armor
Lightweight Armor increase your ship’s evasion, Deflection Armor increase your ship’s damage reduction and Reinforced Armor increases your ship’s hull HP. I personally like Reinforced Armor since it has the most visible effect. Damage reduction can be nullied by armor piercing and evasion isn’t something you will notice much. Hull HP determines your lifespan so the more hull you have the longer you live.
Reinforced Armor is the default choice for armor, other armor options can be unlocked by spending 1000 Ship Requisition.
Ingame Description
Lightweight Armor: +4% Evasion
Deflection Armor: +8% Damage Reduction
Reinforced Armor: +8% Max Health
Available Upgrades
| Lightweight Armor | Deflection Armor | Reinforced Armor | |
| Tier 1 | Increases the chance enemies will miss you by an additional 2% | Reduces the amount of damage done to your hull by an additional 4% | Increases the total amount of damage your hull can take by an additional 4% |
| Tier 2 | Increases the chance enemies will miss you by an additional 2% | Reduces the amount of damage done to your hull by an additional 4% | Increases the total amount of damage your hull can take by an additional 4% |
| Tier 3 |
Increases the chance enemies will miss you by an additional 2% | Reduces the amount of damage done to your hull by an additional 4% | Increases the total amount of damage your hull can take by an additional 4% |
Turbo Reactor/Large Reactor/Regeneration Reactor
Turbo Reactor if you prefer smaller delays between shield regen, Regeneration Reactor if you prefer faster regen rate and Large Reactor if you prefer more shield. I personally prefer the Large Reactor but I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. My justification for Large Reactor is that if you are going up against another ship (i..e another gunship), the battle may be over in a few seconds and whoever has the larger shield here may have an advantage as regen and delay won’t really kick in fast enough.
Regeneration Reactor is the default choice, others can be unlocked by spending 1000 ship requisition.
Ingame Description
Turbo Reactor: -24% Shield Power Regeneration Delay
Regeneration Reactor: +8% Shield Power Regen Rate, +8% Shield Power Recently Consumed Regeneration
Large Reactor: +8% Shield Power Capacity
Available Upgrades
| Turbo Reactor | Large Reactor | Regeneration Reactor | |
| Tier 1 | Shield regeneration delay decreased by an additional 12% | Shield power pool increased by an additional 4% | Shield power pool regeneration rate increased by an additional 4% |
| Tier 2 | Shield regeneration delay decreased by an additional 12% | Shield power pool increased by an additional 4% | Shield power pool regeneration rate increased by an additional 4% |
| Tier 3 | Shield regeneration delay decreased by an additional 12% | Shield power pool increased by an additional 4% | Shield power pool regeneration rate increased by an additional 4% |
Regeneration Extender/Power Pool Extender
Do you want more Blaster power pool or one that regens faster? This is the choice you have to make here. Regeneration Extender is available by default and I don’t really see a reason to spend extra Ship Requisition to unlock the Power Pool Extender.
Ingame Description
Regeneration Extender: +8% Weapon Power Regen Rate, +8% Weapon Power Recently Consumed Regen Rate
Power Pool Extender: +8% Weapon Power Capacity
Available Upgrades
| Regeneration Extender | Power Pool Extender | |
| Tier 1 | Blaster power pool regeneration increased by an additional 4% | Blaster power pool increased by an additional 4% |
| Tier 2 | Blaster power pool regeneration increased by an additional 4% | Blaster power pool increased by an additional 4% |
| Tier 3 | Blaster power pool regeneration increased by an additional 4% | Blaster power pool increased by an additional 4% |
You can consult this detailed companion guide if you don’t like the choices I have made here.
With the nerf of Hydro Spanner active companion ability, this opens up a bit more choices for Companion actives. You can still use Hydro Spanner or pick Bypass or Concentrated Fire. Bypass is in a really good position at the moment since it got buffed to 35% shield piercing, a deadly combo if used with Slug Railgun.
Active Ability Option 1: Hydro Spanner.
Companions with this ability: Both Blizz and T7-01 are better than their default companion counterparts if you can unlock them. Some of the passives provided by the MZ-12 and B-3G9 droids are not useful to Gunships (i.e. Rapid Reload/Spare Ammo).
- Blizz (Engineer) – Empire
- MZ-12 (Offensive) – Empire
- T7-01 (Engineer) – Republic
- B-3G9 (Offensive) – Republic
Hydro Spanner is the only ability ingame that can repair your hull. Bombers can also repair your hull but they won’t be available until February at the least. Hull repair is crucial after each firefight to ensure maximum effectiveness in the next firefight as a damaged hull can shorten your lifespan. Additionally, unlike other ships, gunship never run out of ammunition so they never have to self-destruct or get killed so they can refill their ammo.
Passives Option 1 (To go with Hydro Spanner)
Engineering: Blizz/T7-01 if you have picked Hydro Spanner as your active.
The choice here are the following
- Efficient Maneuvers: The cost of using engine component abilities and maneuvers is reduced by 13%
- Power to Engines: Engine power pool increased by 10%
- Efficient Fire: The cost of using blasters is reduced by 13%
- Power to Blasters: Blaster power pool increased by 10%
You can pick two of the four. You can pick both blasters or both engines or a mix of both. If you have picked Blizz for the active ability then you will go with two engine power passives. If you picked T7-01 then you will go with two blaster power passives.
Offensive: Jaesa Williams/Qyzen Fess
You also get four choices here but two of them are useless for Gunships.
- Spare Ammo: Ammo capacity increased by 25%
- Rapid Reload: Secondary weapon reload and cooldown times reduced by 8%
- Improved Kill Zone: Firing arc increased by 2 degrees
- Pinpointing: Weapon accuracy increased by 6%
Your choice of two passives here should be Improved Kill Zone and Pinpointing. This leaves Jaesa Williams on the Empire side or Qyzen Fess on the Republic side.
Tactical: Talos Drellik/Treek
The four choices are
- Comm Boost: Communication range increased by 5000m
- Depth of Field: Sensor focus range increased by 2500m
- Peripheral Vision: Sensor radius increased by 2500m
- Silent Running: Sensor dampening increased by 4000m
If you are going after the sensor dampening build, you definitely want Silent Running as one of your passives. The other good choice for passives is Peripheral Vision as this increase your sensor radius. This leaves you with Talos Drellik/Treek on Empire side or just Treek on the Republic side.
Defensive: Xalek/Broonmark/Ashara Zavros or M1-4X/Guss Tuno/Bowdarr
The choices are
- Power to Shields: Shield power pool increased by 10%
- Quick Recharge: Shield power regeneration increased by 15%
- Response Tuning: Evasion increased by 6%
- Structural Support: Damage reduction increased by 9%
Structural Support and Power to Shields or Quick Recharge is a good combo as it benefits you even against shield piercing weapons.If you are into evasion then Response Tuning is also good to pick up.
Active Ability Option 2: Bypass
Companions with this ability
- Khem Val (Offensive) – Empire
- Skadge (Offensive) – Empire
- M1-4X (Defensive) – Republic
- Nadia Grell (Defensive) – Republic
The passives that comes with Bypass on the Empire are fairly horrible as gunships do not benefit from Spare Ammo or Rapid Reload. Your best option for Empire is Khem Val as he at least have a passive that gunships can use (Improved Kill Zone). On the Republic side you are lucked out as all the passives that come with Bypass are useable. Pick M1-4X if you want some damage reduction or Nadia if you want some evasion.
Passives Option 2 (To go with Bypass)
Engineering: Any combo of the four passives are good. Pick whichever one you have unlocked. If you want to focus on all engines you can pick Blizz on the Empire side. If you want to pick all blasters then go for Vette on Empire side. The Republic equivalent are C2-N2 for all engines and T7-01 for all blasters.
Offensive:If you are Empire, your choices are locked with Skadge/Khem Val. For Republics, you will want Improved Kill Zone and Pinpointing, which are offered by Qyzen Fess. Spare Ammo and Rapid Reload are useless for gunships.
Tactical: Get Peripheral Vision and Silent Running. If you are Empire you can pick Treek or Talos Drellik. If you are Republic your only choice is Treek.
Defensive: Any combo of the four available passives will work. If you are Republic then your choices are already decided by your active ability selection. For Empire pick whoever you have unlocked.
Scouts
If you are going after a scout. Try give them a good shot with the railgun before they get in range to attack you. This should cause significant damage to them. Have your Feedback Shield ready and activate it when you you see they using blasters against you. Use your Rotational Thrusters to help you turn and move around so they can’t easily use rocket pods or lock on weapons against you. If you can get them with the Burst Laser Cannons, they won’t last long.
You won’t be too successful in trying to outrun a scout so I would just try and put up a good fight.
Strike Fighters
Strike Fighters have powerful blasters and lock on missiles so dealing with them can be rough. Save your afterburner and use it only when you hear missile lock on. If you are using Fortress Shield and low on engine power then you can take some missile hits with it. I would try swap between both Shield Power Conversion (F2) and Engine Power Conversion (F3) to make sure you have enough shield and enough engine power to boost out. Max range for scouts is 7000m but sometimes it is only 5000m or 6000m depending on what loadout they are carrying.
If you have enough engine power, you can try boost out and get a railgun shot off before they catch up to you. If you have Ion Railgun up, use that against them to drain their engine and blaster power pool as well. The max range of most strike fighters is 7000m unless they are using Proton Torpedoes (10,000).
Gunships
If you are starting the fight, approach them at max range (15,000m) and try get out the first railgun shot. I would do Slug Railgun first or Ion Railgun if you have it and then swap to Plasma Railgun as you are more likely to do hull damage with the DoT from Plasma Railgun once their shield is low. You can either stand still and activate Fortress Shield after the first shot or move towards them in a zig-zag fashion and use your blasters. A lot of gunship pilot will try to move away when they see you approaching them and this can give you the upper hand as you can stop and shoot them while they are moving away.
