Star Citizen guide #10: space combat for dummies

Space combat in Star Citizen is demanding, but it rests on a few simple principles. Master them in order and you’ll win your first duels.

SCM and NAV modes

• Your ship has two main modes. In NAV, it goes very fast and can start quantum travel, but its weapons are offline: it’s the travel mode.
• In SCM (combat mode), speed is capped but you get your weapons and full maneuverability. Switch to SCM before arriving at a combat zone.

Power

• Your ship has a limited power budget, shared between weapons, shields, thrusters and life support. Since engineering arrived (Alpha 4.5), you distribute it from your cockpit’s power screen.
• In a duel: more power to weapons to attack, to shields to tank, to thrusters to escape or chase. Prepare two or three setups and switch between them.
• Energy weapons draw from a pool that drains when you fire continuously: fire in bursts.

Aiming and locking

• Lock your target: its frame appears in your HUD, with its distance and shield status.
• Shoot at the lead indicator (the small marker in front of the target), not at the target itself: your shots take time to arrive.
• Gimballed weapons follow your cursor a little and help you aim; fixed weapons hit harder but require pointing the ship’s nose.

Missiles

• Switch to missile mode (G by default), hold fire to lock, then release to launch.
• Missiles can be decoyed: save them for a target that’s already weakened or busy dodging.
• You should also use your own countermeasures (decoys and noise) as soon as a missile warning sounds.

Good habits

• Never sit still: strafe sideways, up, down. A moving ship is hard to hit.
• Avoid head-on passes (“jousting”): you trade damage instead of dealing it. Try to get behind or below your target.
• Keep an eye on your shields: when they drop, pull away while they recharge.
• Practice in Arena Commander against AI waves: no losses, and fast progress.

💡 Beacon tip: start bounties with “VLRT” targets, then move up one level at a time. See the bounty hunting guide.

Read next: Mapping your HOSAS · Playing as a crew · FPS: surviving your first bunker

Written for Star Citizen Alpha 4.10.2 (October 2026). The game changes with every patch: if something has moved, tell us in a reply and we’ll update the guide.