Hint: while in a fight you can't win, use your cruise engines and keep far enough from the center of the battlefield, running around in circles. Your allies often take out a few ships and then it's easier to rejoin the fight.

Also, when faced with ships/gunboats/battleships, take out ships first, then gunboats and lastly battleships. Rheinlanders use tachytron and plasma weapons. They also use molecular shields (not 100% sure). Plasma weapons do a lot of damage at close range, but can be easily avoided at longer ranges. So keep your distances.

Other hint: always buy the most expensive ship/shield you can afford! Usually, I go as follows: Defender/Crusader/Dragon/Anubis/Stiello. Heavy fighters are usually a good compromise between firepower and maneuvrability.

As for batteries, they only recharge a certain percentage of your shield. When you push G (or is it F?), you use as many batteries as necessary to fully recharge the shield. The stronger the shield, the more batteries are needed.

Other hint: Gunboats and battleships have a weak spot in their engines. So target them for maximal damage.

Against battleships, consider using hard hitting missiles (or maybe torpedoes, not sure if you can get them that soon) on their weakspots, like engines. Rheinland gunboats move quite quickly, so your best bet to destroying them is to use your thrusters to catch up with them. Try to get directly behind their engines, because at that point, they can't fire at you. When fighting the regular fighters, use the tactic of tailing them and letting loose with your cannons. And lastly, always remember to tractor in shield batteries and nanobots from destroyed craft to supplement your decreasing amounts.

"Echo Zulu Ops requesting Bouncy Bears Strike."
"Roger EZO, BB Carpet Bombers Inbound. Stay Tight and Let 'Em Hang, Boys."

phewww... after some taking a break from the game, i went back in and took another stab at the batter (got right into it due to autosave) and was successful!
those tactics helped. plus i kept stayed at the edge of the battle and took on whatever made its way near me (usually gunboats). after only a few were left i waded all the way in took them out one by one.

thank you for the tips!

Funny, I can always wade into the single player battles and come out without a scratch, even that battle or the Sigma one, though the Experimental Battleship was a SLIGHT problem

-~-~-~-~
You have called down the Thunder. Now reap the Whirlwind.

He that humbleth himself wishes to be exalted.
Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.
Friedrich Nietzsche

Near the engine of the Rheinland Battleship, there is a small notch that most ships can fit in. Just hide in there, while blasting at the BS from inside. You'll take minimal damage, and if you get the lucky shot in, you'll get a BS kill as well.

the entire game was quite easy. i used this walkthrough:
http://www.netgames.co.yu/freelancer_walkthrough.htm

i only died a few times in the earlier missions waiting for a very good ship.

i dont know why you would cruise around the battle... i like to take on the cruisers? oh well.

Edited by - palmboy5 on 7/17/2004 10:43:34 PM

Now try the game without using a walkthrough.

i just got done destroying the two satelittes and taking on the new nomad fighters and those things are tough! i barely made it out of that fight and i had one of my wings off the anubis blown off. i lesson i learned from this is to place my missle launchers on the wings in case they get blown off. if i have to lose something, i would rather lose the missles.
now i'm back on the osiris after having rescued jacobi (the president).

hmm.. i don't know how ppl make it out of those fights unscratched... i barelly get out alive in most cases.

Don't try and be the hero that normally hurts you just try to be another basic pilot. Once you relax and stop trying to be god you will find out that it is not hard at all.

u talking abt the rheinland fleet, ?? it was a piece of cake for me.. in the beginng i took out the battleships,hitting it with 8 torpedoes when the torps hit the battleship i used the afterburners and flew towards it continuesly firing the guns.. KaAABOOOOOOOOOM, and for the gun boats use the straffing and continuesly move and keep on firing if u lvl 6 or lvl 7 weapons it will take 7 secs to blow up... BooooM, and for the cruisers... Stay on one side of the cruisers and continuelsy fire ur guns, cut ur engines just keep on straffing left right left right... until 90 % health is gone then hit it with a torp or a catapult missile... then u'll hear the BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM, sand for the teeeeennyy weeeny fighters of rheinland just hit them in there face, the easist way to kill the rheinland valkyrce is to hit them in there face.. u have to hit them face to face.. when shield is down use after burners and then hit a catapult . and BOOOM, he's history ...i took out the whole fleet with in almost 2 mins.
and the other fleet when we r with hakkera i took out 3 battle ships and 2 cruisers and a gunboat right before hakkera tells to break the attack and run.. (hakkera is a Chicken )
..

Cheers, Im A NEWBIE ^-^

i have to add in a bit more now... i'm past the rhineland ****s now. now i am facing the nomand fighters and i'm getting my but kicked.

i'm on the mission right after you get the nomad power supply. there a million nomand ships flying around and you just can't avoid getting shot at.
i must have tried this a million times and i keep getting shot down.
in some situations i looks like i'm going to make it through it and then all of a sudden my shop blows up. WTF?????? i really need some help here.