Star Wars: Squadrons - How To Destroy The Star Destroyer

Although there's a Story Mode where you fly X-Wings and TIE Fighters alike for both sides of the Galactic Civil War, Motive Studios has always envisioned Squadrons as a multiplayer title. As you fly into battle, there are two modes to pick from. The standard 5v5 Dogfights see the winning side crowned based on the number of kills accumulated, while Fleet Battles are where the real meat of the Squadrons skeleton is. 

Here, battles start with a standard dogfight, then progress into taking out larger ships, and finally rounding off with downing your opponent's Star Destroyer. It's another 5v5 bloodbath, but with AI ships also playing into proceedings, things can get a bit crowded out there in the skies above your favourite planets. 
 

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Fleet Battles are the big selling point of the flight simulator, and although they aren't fleshed out with the story of the main campaign, they're a thrilling multiplayer brawl that will see you fight for your own side and try to bring an enemy Star Destroyer down from the skies.

Plenty of the Star Wars movies and the expanded cannon have littered the galaxy with Star Destroyer wreckages while making it look pretty easy, but when it comes to Squadrons, you're never specifically told how to knock them out of the atmosphere. So, how do you defeat a Star Destroyer? 

Take out the shields

Like all Squadrons flagships, Star Destroyers are decked out with handy shields that can make them impervious to damage. Anyone worth their sci-fi salt will know shields can be taken out if you destroy their generators, meaning things are no different here. If you've not disabled your health meters in the settings (why would you?), the general health of a Star Destroyer should be represented at the top of the screen with a white half-moon. Shield health will be highlighted by a green half-moon.

To bring down the shields, you're best attacking the underside of a Star Destroyer's hull. There are fewer turrets and blasters under here, which will give you a cleaner run at launching a successful assault on the shields. A handy hint is to reroute power to weapons. It might make your fighter a little more sluggish, but giving you the ability to overcharge your weapon and increase shoot capacity can ensure a more powerful attack on the shields.

Ion weapons are also more invaluable than your astromech here. Homing missiles with multi-lock are an important part of your arsenal. They allow a fighter to stay far enough away and blast the enemy side without having to worry about aiming. When the shield bar is depleted, you'll hear an announcement from your home team that the shields are down. It's a loud reminder so you won't have to keep your eye on the shield's health meter. 

Target the systems

Even though shields are down, the Star Destroyer is still far from a sitting duck thanks to its heavily armoured exterior and an array of weapons that line it. As soon as shields are down, initiate "Flagship Systems" by holding LT/L2 on PlayStation or 5 (default) on a PC keyboard. The first point you'll want to hit are the shield generators. These circular points will be on top of the Star Destroyer's bridge. If you don't destroy them first, there's a chance the Destroyer will be able to replenish its shields, and you'll be back to square one.

You can ask your teammates to focus fire on a specific spot by pressing Y/Triangle or H (default). It will form a tighter raid attack on the generators to make sure shields can't get back online.

It's then time to focus efforts on the targeting system with a similar tactic to your first assault - basically, reroute everything to weapons. The targeting system is on the front, triangular, section of the Star Destroyer and is a large rectangle in the middle. Once that's not in operation, the Star Destroyer's weapons will struggle to hit you directly. 

In the final furlong, the power system is the last to go. The large dome can be found on the underside of the Star Destroyer and is pretty hard to miss. When the power system is hit, it will cause cracks to appear in the Star Destroyer as energy stars to tear through it. Hitting these sweet spots will then cause a huge amount of damage to the ship's overall health bar.

You can take out the systems in whichever order you want, but for a higher chance of success, follow this order. Keep chipping away, and the enemy Star Destroyer should be space debris in no time at all.

Tips and tricks

There's a whole host of things to bear in mind when trying to eliminate a Star Destroyer. Our number one tip might sound a little obvious, but it's one that should be your golden rule. Start any Star Destroyer assault by trying to take out enemy ships first.

Toppling a Star Destroyer is hard enough without a squadron of TIE Fighters also hindering your approach. This leads us to golden rule number two - never fly straight. Anyone who's played any form of flight fight game will know nippily weaving in and out is your best bet.

As damage increases and fires break out on the hull, you'll need to remember any points that have caught fire can't receive any more damage. Avoid aiming for fire spots because your job is already done. If you want to play as your very own Luke Skywalker, the final piece of advice is a bombing run in a Y-Wing. Y-Wings have a sturdy shield system before you even mod them, and with proton bombs installed, they can obliterate a Star Destroyer when the power system is out. 

And there you have it. While no plan is foolproof - and you'll need to practice your Star Destroyer destruction - our guide should help you get well on your way to bringing the Empire to its knees. If not, maybe you're not quite the "new hope" the Rebel Alliance is looking for.

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