Battles feel largely stagnant

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

One thing I always loved in science fiction: the big, epic space battle.

However, battles in X4 feel largely the same, no matter the class of ship you're flying. Fighters zip about and plink at each other with pretty much the same weapons (was there some sort of Weapon Accords, where all factions had to use the same style of weapon?). Capital ships, which should naturally instill terror, basically act like upscaled fighters. The shield delay mechanic also completely ruins battles. Ships larger than a fighter have no real staying power, you just shoot them until they explode. There's really no purpose in destroying hardpoints.

Back in X3, you actually learned not to punch above your weight class, as their shields often had a higher recharge rate than the damage your guns dealt. This created a similar sense to Elite Dangerous, where the only way for a fighter to damage a capital ship was to attack the weak points and remove its ability to fight.
Capital ships actually felt like mobile fortresses, fighters felt different between each race, even weapons were nicely varied. But in X4, there's literally nothing stopping me from parking as close to the ship as I can, and pop-up shooting at the turrets. Completely destroys the immersion and cinematic sense.

[GCU Grey Area]

The shield delay mechanic also completely ruins battles.

Why? It's only the S fighters which have noticeable shield regen delay, for M's it's less than a second, for anything bigger there simply isn't a delay at all.

[chew-ie]

The shield delay mechanic also completely ruins battles.

Why? It's only the S fighters which have noticeable shield regen delay, for M's it's less than a second, for anything bigger there simply isn't a delay at all.

Mind this detail mentioned by ZombiePotatoSalad:

Capital ships actually felt like mobile fortresses, fighters felt different between each race, even weapons were nicely varied. But in X4, there's literally nothing stopping me from parking as close to the ship as I can, and pop-up shooting at the turrets. Completely destroys the immersion and cinematic sense.

I also don't like that the game allows those cheese tactics. X:Rebirth did a better job there by having a lot of drones on every capital ship. But there was also a backdoor - once the drone launchpad was destroyed, this threat was gone. And cheesing down turrets / engines / hull was possible again.

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I personally like flying those mobile fortresses (everything above / equal L class) in X4 because of the constant shield recharge. I can't stand a M being overwhelmed because the shield got depleted (and shield recharge is too slow) - and I don't like being defenseless (less to no hull, no boost) once a S shield is depleted (because of the huge shield recharge delay).

So against NPCs I only have to flee in my capital ships if I get swarmed. (by huge Xenon drone or N,M & P swarms)

Well, and against capitals one always should bring a fleet. 1:1 are no fun, not even when flying the same ship / type. (it's just boring and not as entertaining as e.g. boarding). Mostly it's just "be quick or die" - so those experiences have to be rushed, which is a shame

[Shuulo]

Thats why many people use mods
If you want to have combat closer to X3 and XR, VRO may be for you.

[GCU Grey Area]

Mind this detail mentioned by ZombiePotatoSalad:

Capital ships actually felt like mobile fortresses, fighters felt different between each race, even weapons were nicely varied. But in X4, there's literally nothing stopping me from parking as close to the ship as I can, and pop-up shooting at the turrets. Completely destroys the immersion and cinematic sense.

I also don't like that the game allows those cheese tactics. X:Rebirth did a better job there by having a lot of drones on every ship. But there was also a backdoor - once the drone launchpad was destroyed, this thread was gone. And cheesing down turrets / engines / hull was possible again.

Works both ways. Have lost count of the number of times I've lost engines (& other subsystems) to fighters, usually due to torps or heavy swarm missiles. Often this ends with destruction of my ship if there are enemy capitals nearby to finish the job.

One of the reasons I prefer combat in X4 is that I don't feel invulnerable when flying a capital (whereas in X3 did not enjoy flying anything bigger than M6 - ploughing through hordes of fighters that could do nothing to me just wasn't much fun). I have to keep an eye on all those S/M fighters around me & pay attention to what they're armed with - they do pose a distinct threat, particularly if they're configured as bombers. If I don't prioritise them they can make a real mess of my ship.

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

Thats why many people use mods
If you want to have combat closer to X3 and XR, VRO may be for you.

I thought of VRO, but I don't like how it adds random X3 ships that don't follow the design of the current day.

[Shuulo]

Thats why many people use mods
If you want to have combat closer to X3 and XR, VRO may be for you.

I thought of VRO, but I don't like how it adds random X3 ships that don't follow the design of the current day.

its only few ships, and their textures will be vastly improved with patch that will come out after COH. To each its own i guess.

[capitalduty]

I really like X4 battles right now. It could use some more turret variation and more faction logic use of fleets could be improved a lot. I also think that some turret ranges/damage could be changed to be more popular (example: scatter gun turrets, beam turrets...)

[kobayashimaru]

I agree, battles are very boring and simplistic. They feel very "unnatural", so to say.

[Warnoise]

I wish fighters in general specialized in disabling big ships/stations rather than killing them.

I've said this before but currently S military ships are top in the food chain (ok they suck against stations). M military ships are useless (unless piloted by the player) and L ships are only used as siege cannons against stations.

[NightmareNight91]

VRO is a must, even if it is a bit overkill. Vanilla combat is lame and boring.

[MSterling]

One thing I always loved in science fiction: the big, epic space battle.

Watch any Youtube summary and you will always see big, epic space battles.

As to taking a long time, look at the story about the Battle of the River Plate. They take time.

[MSterling]

I wish fighters in general specialized in disabling big ships/stations rather than killing them.

They are. Put thermal disintegrators or for pure disabling burst lasers and then when you order Attack, open up the little config panel (+) and select "shoot to disable".

[Manawydn]

If you want epic battles, VRO and the various ship packs compatible with VRO are the way to go.

[dtpsprt]

One has to face the facts IMHO. The OP is (my opinion again) correct in the point of battles being boring, especially the big ones.
I think that by negating the damage taken (it shows as damage but does not slows down ships/takes off their weapons except only on L/XL ships) fighting gets too "unbelievable" and troublesome, which takes away the key element of "fun".

Mods can help, but that is not the answer, or the reason for the post (or else it would have been "Which mod should I use for..."). I believe that also a major factor in this "disappointment" is that the player spends too much on a map instead of flying around blasting things off or watching the scenery or the battles in progress, whichever pleases the most...

[capitalduty]

More patrol jobs for factions should make battles and big clashes more constant thus increasing the probability of dynamic engagements.