Targeting System | Travelling Elite: Dangerous Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Let's start with the basics. There are many gun sights in the Elite and they differ dependently of the hardpoints used on the ship. They differ with their behavior

1. Kinetic weapons use the round pointers with the dots in the center which relate to the weapons mounted on the ship as well as their position on the hull. There may be six or even more (or less) of these dots.
2. Energetic weapon (or thermal if precised) uses the inverted Y alike shape. Using the kinetic and energetic weapon at once makes the two pointers adjusted to themselves (hence the reason for the spaces in the fist gun point).
3. Another type is connected to the missiles torpedoes and mines etc. Other words it could be referred to as a dumb fire pointer.
4. The very last pointer is an animated one and uses the cruise torpedoes and missiles. When the computer starts the targeting, the inner and outer lines will start turning in the opposite directions until the target is ready to be shot.

This is it for the still pointers, but there are also dynamic ones which will are covered in the next chapter.

Gimbaled Hardpoints

A weapon based on a gimbaled hardpoint moves along with the target within some specific range. Each weapon work independently as shown on the picture above, where the right turret sticks to the target. Some things you will have to do on your own obviously. It is vital to remember that such dynamic weapons use more power, thus the generator overheats faster, also the weapon deals less amount of damage. The range of the weapon is dependable on its placement on the hull. In that matter, the best hardpoints are located on the upper front of the ship. The weapon mounted on the bottom and on the rare parts, will have much worse range than the first one.

Fixed Hardpoints

The second more classic way are the fixed hardpoints. With them, the pilot has to correct they're targeting as they do not trail the target. The way of the targeting can be changed in the interface with its 'functions' bookmark. There a leading or trailing option can be chosen.

In the case of leading method, the computer will point the gun point a bit ahead of the target. In the case of energetic weapons which hit the target immediately. In this case, all it takes is to simply point at the hull to attack e.g. a ship with the laser. The forestalling method has a flaw which may be of more disadvantage when the target is far away. It may happen that the pulpit will even block the enemy out of view completely.

Method of the trailing pointer may be an easier one to use and it is favored by many players. In this case you don't have to deal with a fixed to center pointer and you don't have to follow the target on your own. Here, the gun sight is dynamic and it is displayed so that the player can place it on the enemy. Gun forestalls the target the same way as the last pointer, the only difference are the visuals.

The same method is used by the real pilots and it helps to focus on target rather than on the surroundings. It increases the orientation of the shooter. Looking at the target makes it easier for you to predict its next move. Again, the energetic weapons hit the target immediately.

In the end there is one more piece of information concerning the fixed hardpoints itself. Their name isn't 100% accurate as, even though the weapon doesn't track the enemies' moves, it helps in targeting by concentrating two weapons in a one spot (which is your target). Hence, there are no problems with targeting the thinner ships with two guns at once. These may occur only at the very short distances.

Turret Hardpoints

The last class of the hardpoints are the turrets. They work alike the gimbaled hardpoints, but they are fully automatic and they are covering wider areas. They can work independently from the pilot or be set on one of the other two ways.

Forward fire: Turrets work like a fixed weapon fully controlled by the pilot

Target only: Turrets will attack automatically only the selected target

Fire at will: Turrets will automatically attack every target within its reach.

This model is used on the massive ships like Anaconda or Cobra because they recompense for the lack of maneuverability. They take a lot of power as they are working constantly.