Great tips that might not be immediately obvious for noobs?

Just wanted to see if we can get a thread going to aggregate some of these tips.

I've got three main ones so far:

1. If you can't beat a ship/class, play it, so you can learn their limitations from the inside out.
2. Every line/ship/class (except the Gravis and Dola) has a playstyle that can win. Figure it out by experimentation and reasoning through their limitations.
3. Wherever a player is firing (even if it's a healing beam) is exactly where they are looking. By corollary, this also tells you where they are not looking, and you can use that to get the drop on them. Surprise is the easiest way to win any engagement.