In order to become a full-time UC Vanguard, players must first go through some tiresome history sessions in Starfield. But after they’re done, what awaits you is actually a pretty interesting challenge: completing the pilot simulator to prove you’re up to the Vanguard task. And this can be quite frustrating if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, but let’s see what we can do here. Here’s how to complete the Vanguard Piloting Simulator in Starfield.
Starfield Vanguard Piloting Simulator Explained
The piloting simulator in the Supra et Ultra mission is just like a regular space battle, so you should be good if you’re well-versed in those. Otherwise, we might have some troubles here. Hop on the simulator’s cockpit and start up the engines to begin your test. Your goal is to defeat the Tier III simulation, although it goes up to Tier VI.
Having the Piloting skill ranked up is useful as it unlocks a few extra ship perks, making it easier for you to take down the targets. You don’t necessarily need it, but it’s good to have it if you’re having trouble with the flights. Things are easy during the first two Tiers, but Tier III ramps up the difficulty fairly quickly.
There are two ships hunting for you, and they will pull no punches, and will mercilessly gun you down if you’re not careful. Keep moving fast to avoid as many attacks as you can, and use the nearby asteroids as cover if you can. Focusing one down and not letting it recover its shields is the best strategy you have here, so don’t let it escape once you set your gaze on it.
There are no ship parts to use, so you have to do it in one clean run. If you fail, you can begin again from the same tier, so there’s not a lot of stress involved here. It might take you a few tries, but eventually, Tier III can be brought down.
But if you want to do it in a more cheesy way, hide your ship right in the middle of the nearby space station and get up from your chair. Enemies will come for you but will crash into the station, eventually blowing themselves.
Related: How to Customize Ship Interior in Starfield
This method is tedious and requires re-maneuvering the ship to the center of the station periodically, as well as exiting your chair and coming back to reset any received damage, but you can eventually beat all of the ships this way.
You can also head to the computer next to the pilot’s seat to access a few buffs for your Spaceship, which makes the whole task easier, but it only works for a single tier. You can get infinite upgrades, but it requires Rank 2 in Security to hack the simulation.
Regardless of how you decide to do it, these methods are valid for reaching both Tier III and eventually Tier VI. It all depends on how patient you are for this, as you may be resetting a couple of times even with these tricks. But completing this task and joining the Vanguard, although completely optional, is definitely worth the trouble.
