I found that when I try to kite an enemy at the edge of scram or disruptor range they are regularly able to get away. I've tried to leave a bit more safety margin and orbit closer, but that doesn't help all that much.
How can I avoid losing point in such a situation? Do I have to manually pilot to avoid enemies escaping, and if so how exactly do I do that? And how much safety margin to the edge of scram/disruptor range should I leave when orbiting or keeping at range?
Best Answer
I've found that there's a significant difference between the value entered for "orbit at" and the actual average range from the target. And this is for static, non-moving targets! A moving target is obviously going to be even harder to maintain a specific distance from.
What I've found is that I have to start with a 'rock' (an unmoving target about the size I want to be able to orbit at a certain range) and have it selected so that I'm monitoring my actual distance from it. Then start entering "orbit at" values and see how well it works. Keep lowering the value until I'm consistently inside my max range. The value I end up at is typically around 3/4 of the max, but this will change for every ship and even for different fits on that ship; as the speed and agility of my ship change, so does the 'orbit at' value I need to use.
This gives me a maximum 'orbit at' distance for a rock, I can now adjust that further downwards to account for a target that is actively trying to get out of my range. Again, experimentation is the only way to find a value that will consistently work.
Imprecise? Yes. But the game seems to have serious issues actually maintaining a constant orbit distance, so you have to find a way to work with the games weaknesses.