Summary
- Weapon choice and modifications are crucial for success in ground-based missions in Elite Dangerous' Odyssey DLC.
- Specific builds like the Manticore Executioner or Karma P15 offer advantages for different situations and playstyles.
- Choosing the right sidearm can determine if a player successfully completes missions without triggering settlement alarms.
The Elite Dangerous Odyssey DLC added a whole range of new ground-based activities for players to enjoy. Faction wars were expanded, and planet-side conflict zones were added, as were many new types of missions that take place in planetary settlements. Yes, Elite Dangerous is still primarily about space combat, trading, and exploration, but the new foot-based content adds some real mileage to this game.
Depending on which ground-based activity a player is about to embark on, they will need to make sure that they are carrying weapons that are going to be effective. Weapon choice, and more importantly the choice of weapon modifications that make up a weapon build, can be the difference between failure and success, and how much profit the player makes at the misson's conclusion.
6 General Purpose Manticore Terminator
A Dependable Sidearm
Weapon and Mods:
- Manticore Terminator G5
- Reload Speed
- Greater Range
- Higher Accuracy
- Magazine Size
For Elite Dangerous players who can’t be bothered to engineer a sidearm to fit every possible scenario, this Manticore Terminator build is general-purpose and can be used for anything. The Manticore Terminator is a plasma weapon, which means that it does equal damage to shields and armor when fighting NPCs.
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Greater range and higher accuracy turn this little monster of a sidearm into something that can terminate enemies at a distance very effectively. A large magazine and better handling mods make this a deadly weapon that can drop a single target easily between fast reloads. For players who don't want to spend weeks farming materials, this is a solid sidearm build that won't take ages to put together.
5 Sniper Manticore Executioner
Long-Range High Damage Plasma Rifle
Weapon and Mods:
- Manticore Executioner G5
- Headshot Damage
- Greater Range
- Higher Accuracy
- Noise Suppression
The Manticore Executioner can be a beast of a weapon in capable hands. This is a high-damage plasma rifle that has great range. This particular build is suited to stealth gameplay and infiltration. It is designed to one-shot enemies from stealth without triggering settlement alarms or alerting any guards that a murder has taken place. In some systems, this could result in a kill count and also a bounty.
The headshot damage mod enables this weapon to drop even the most heavily armored guards, as long as players score a headshot. The higher accuracy and greater range mods help with shot placement. Noise suppression is a must for stealth gameplay, so that settlement guards don’t hear a weapon being discharged and go into search mode.
4 Karma P15 Infiltrator Sidearm
For Terminating Settlement NPCs Silently
Weapon and Mods:
- Karma P15 G5
- Audio Masking
- Noise Suppressor
- Faster Handling
- Stability
The Karma P15 is a kinetic pistol. Kinetic is useful here, as settlement NPCs don’t have any shields or armor. The idea with this build is to be able to take out NPCs such as technicians that are blocking access to a quest area. They have to be killed before they trigger their settlement's alarms, and without other NPCs hearing or seeing the murder take place.
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Once the player has unlocked the right blueprints, this stealth weapon will be invaluable. Audio masking and a suppressor reduce the noise of this pistol to make it almost silent. The stability mod helps with shot placement, as the player does not want to miss their shot. If they do, the NPC will shout for help and trigger the settlement alarms. Better handling helps with switching to this sidearm quickly if the player is found by an NPC while they are holding a tool in their hands.
3 Warfighters Karma P15 Sidearm
For Finishing Off Enemies With No Shields
Weapon and Mods:
- Karma P15 G5
- Faster Handling
- Greater Range
- Magazine Size
- Scope
Most Warfighters in Elite Dangerous will carry a plasma or energy weapon as their primary. This is because all enemies in a ground conflict zone have shields, which protect them from kinetic damage. However, it is common for a player to drop the shield of an enemy with their primary weapon, and then switch to a kinetic sidearm to finish them off.
The Karma P15 is an excellent choice of sidearm for this role. The faster handling mod makes switching from the player’s primary weapon to this sidearm happen faster. Greater range and scope help to take down enemies at medium to long range, and the magazine size upgrade makes sure the player has enough shots to kill an enemy with one reload.
2 Warfighters Manticore Executioner
High Damage And Versatile
Weapon and Mods:
- Manticore Executioner G5
- Magazine Size
- Reload Speed
- Stability
- Hipe Fire Accuracy
The Manticore Executioner is, generally, the Warfighter’s primary weapon of choice for conflict zones in Elite Dangerous. This weapon will drop low-level enemies in two shots, and high-level enemies in three shots. However, it is not intended for use in close quarters, and the player will need a suitable engineered sidearm to fill this gap.
The magazine size and reload speed mods help players take on groups of enemies without spending too much time reloading between kills. Stability and hip fire accuracy mods are added to give this long-range weapon at least a moderate amount of short-range effectiveness, lessening the impact of its weaknesses while maintaining its strengths.
1 Warfighters Rocket Launcher
For Nuking Groups Of Enemies
Weapon and Mods:
- Any Rocket Launcher G5
- Magazine Size
- Greater Range
- Better Handling
- Stowed Reload
Elite Dangerous Warfighters know that one of the best tactics for gaining the upper hand in a conflict zone is killing as many of the enemy as they can as soon as their dropship lands. This is why a Warfighter carries a Rocket Launcher as their secondary weapon. This is a high-damage AOE weapon that can take out whole groups of enemies at the same time if used properly.
Better handling makes switching to this heavy weapon faster, which makes a huge difference in the heat of battle. The greater range mod makes it possible to nuke spawn zones from long distance. The magazine size mod grants the ability to grenade spam an area if the player cannot get an accurate shot off due to being behind cover. But it is the stowed reload mod that is most important. The player can empty their launcher, and then switch to their primary weapon. The launcher will then be reloaded while not in use, and made ready for the next time it is needed.
Elite Dangerous
- Released
- December 16, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Frontier Developments
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4
- Genre(s)
- Flight Simulator
