Holy smokes! I absolutely blitz most npcs with even level 2 engineered multicannons. I used to struggle against even expert craft, but last night, I took out 2 FAS with my Python mk2, one deadly and the other expert, in like less than a minute. And i had upgraded my thrusters to dirty drives and i just flew circles around them.
I knew engineering was strong, but this is wild. Honestly, the only thing that gave me trouble were high ranked snub craft, like the Vulture.
I used to play on my PC, and have used kb+m and HOTAS. I mostly play on the Steam Deck now, and with a few tweaks have been able to get everything up and running pretty much the way I like. All 3 have pluses and minuses.
HOTAS feels pretty great, especially after you get everything set up just right. I found it clunky for on foot, but that may have been more experience than everything else. It felt good enough that I really considered HOSAS, but that’s another expense I wasn’t willing to invest in. HOSAS flying can be truly amazing.
KB+M is pretty flexible, and the conversion from in ship to on foot is seamless. The biggest downside is remembering the dozens of keys you’ve bound to various functions, and the slight differences between in ship, in SRV, and on foot.
The Steam Deck is a little worse than the other two options, but it’s so convenient. It’s supported in game, so hints show your controller binds, which helps a lot. The default graphics leave text a little fuzzy, but switching the anti-alias from the default fixes this (I can find it later if need be). You will need button combos to do everything you need to, but, hints. Your deck will sound like a jet the whole time (so does my computer). I find the dual 2-axis joysticks a better experience than KB+M for flying, but not quite as good as a 3-axis joystick and throttle. I don’t really use the tactile pads for anything but keyboard entry, which could be smoother. I rarely use the touch screen feature as well.
I’m not sure if Elite has controller support, but I think it does. If you have a controller as capable as the Steam Deck, it’s definitely an option.
It does. Most controllers don’t have enough buttons to map everything directly, but by mapping chords, I have access to everything important without having to reach for the keyboard.