Hi All, giving Privateer 2 a shot. I launch to space for the first time and there are bad guys right away. I target one.... Then spend 30 min trying to kill him. I can never take down his shields with my stream lasers.... I guess I just really suck? I had no problems in Priv1 or any of the WC games. Any tips?

Ok, so I managed to get good enough to kill a few ships. Had to switch from mouse to joystick and that helped a lot. I had read somewhere that P2 was better with mouse? Not for me! Anyway, I am afraid to level up my ship because combat levels with you. Is it better to play the story missions first? Do you make any money with them? Maybe just do min upgrades (medium ship, repair bot, mass ions) as to not make your money higher than the story level?

I don't remember combat scaling with upgrade - the missions offered do change, but in my memory, the same mission will be easier if you've a better ship.

I also tend to alternate between story missions and "cash" missions, a few "cash missions" between each "story mission". Story missions can get you some special components, but they don't pay much.

In the Privateer 2 bonus files section here on GOG you can find the strategy guide for Privateer 2, and on page 30 you will find a chart that shows how difficulty works. If you progress through story missions, increase your net worth, or reach a certain number of kills, the game will permanently increase in difficulty. It would be best to find a trade run only 1 or 2 jumps away so that you can avoid combat, because net worth-based difficulty is the only one that's 'reversible'. I played through the game killing quite a few enemies, and before the end enemies spawns became so frequent and overwhelming that I ended up cheating my way to the end.

Thanks all. I feel like my question was kind of stupid now that I am a ways into the game. I have figured out a lot. Trading with a monolith is great!! There is one type of ship that I can't manage to hit, but my cargo ship takes him out. I have been keeping $$$ in line with story level up until now. I am about to head to Kappa Labs, but the guide says to beef up. I might go up a few levels in $$$ before heading there, not sure.