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redria’s Journal - A High Level Guide to Flying Pyramidions

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The Djinn:
This guide explains so much of why your Pyra was so irritating in that epic battle 'twixt us the other day. It's an absolutely great resource.

That said, some thoughts (coming from another pilot who loves the Pyra).

1 -- I'd recommend adding a note to the Build section suggesting that Gat/Mortar builds keep the mortar on the left side, and the gat on the right. You have it mentioned, but fail to point out the benefits of either set-up. I feel this one is superior, because while both gun have a 400m maximum range these days (and thus you might love Lesmok on both) the fact of the matter is that it's far more important to have the Gat firing first to shred the armor, while the ship itself can substitute for a finisher if the mortar isn't 100% ready. Hence I typically put my top right Gunner on the Gatling with Greased and Lesmok: he gets a clip off with Lesmok as we close in (allowing him to hit well outside the 400m typical range of the Gatling), then switches to Greased. The top left Engineer carries Greased for the mortar kill, which is good because he actually has more time to repair the balloon and/or run belowdecks any time the enemy has their armor up.

2 -- Definitely include Moonshine as a possibility under the Tools section. While it has less utility than Kerosene (as it burns a little to hot to just keep on all the time), it's really good for ramming and/or sudden shifts in acceleration/deceleration. This can allow for maneuvers your enemies don't anticipate (shooting past a ship that's evaded your ram, just to hit Moonshine in reverse and then Phoenix Claw for an insanely fast turn), as well as really giving you the advantage in ramming battles, especially against other Pyramidions that don't have Moonshine. The 1000% reduction in angular drag effectively means that no matter where you hit the enemy ship they go spinning and you remain stationary.

I'd also include a mention of Impact Bumpers. Although I don't often take them, Impact Bumpers + Moonshine can be a great tool set to bring when up against other ramming Pyramidions. It gives you a huge advantage, and even lets you head-on them with relative impunity. They'll spin like crazy, you'll keep your gun arcs, and you'd take reduced damage.

In short, give us a small write-up of the other useful options (including Chute Vent, as the Pyra's high forward guns mean that Chute Vent can sometimes buy you enough time to disable a popping ship), as Phoenix Claw is the only tool I'd say is basically mandatory on the Pyramidion. Your suggestions are great (and typically what I bring myself), but people should be aware of the other useful options.

3 -- In the Builds section, you've neglected the more support-style Double Merc and Double Artemis, as well as the Merc/Artemis build. You've also forgotten Hades/Flak, which is at least worth a passing mention.

I'd also recommend taking more time to talk about the side guns. Flare rear + Flamer mid (with the Engineer on Lesmok, which you should mention) gives you some great brawling power, plus the ability to gain vision. An Artemis or Banshee in the 3 spot can actually give the Pyra a trifecta if you fly close at the right angle: that alone is really worth mentioning. Sniping and/or disabling builds can benefit from a Gatling + Mortar combination and turning the side for the kill (especially good when paired with the Flamethrower + Carronade disable, for example). Double Artemis, Double Merc, and Artemis/Merc can offer some nice long-range harass against other snipers, possibly disabling key guns and letting you turn into them and close the distance. In short, you should *really* delve into those side guns more, as far to many Pyra pilots tend to forget they even have them. A high-level guide should definitely assume that the pilot knows the guns exist and wants to get the most out of every part of his/her ship.

4 -- I'd change Fly Dumb to Fly Dumb, Fly Smart, and include a bit about the tactical use of the Pyra. I fully agree that testing a ship to its limits is a good way to learn it, but you should also talk about how to fly the Pyra effectively. Mention burning Kero/Moonshine to negate forward momentum for a failed ram, mention how the ship is amazing at interception and ramming enemies off your allies, mention that if you can't ram head-on you want to aim so you spin towards your left side guns...you recommend flying like a madman, which works. But I'd love to see some bits about how to be a smart madman, if that makes sense.  :D

5 -- Your section on Ramming is excellent. I notice, however, that you don't have a "General Ramming" section, which I feel you should have. You don't mention how bouncing your enemy into a building can double the ramming damage (you mention walls, but not why this works so well), nor how ramming a ship fleeing at high speed can actually knock them forward and how, if this throws off your gun arcs, you can actually lose kills as a result of this lost time. The specific advice is great...but definitely don't forget to offer general ramming tips as well.

redria:
Djinn... and everyone else posting comments here.

I appreciate it. The feedback is wonderful, and will help make a much more complete guide for someone wanting to learn those few tricks that help a pilot make the next step.

That said... Everyone's feedback has made me realize how self-limiting I am on myself. I have a very particular playing style, and everything on my ships match that play style exceptionally well. I don't use side guns... like, at all. I feel much more in control if I keep everything on my front guns. I won't change piloting tools because I am so used to the way my current ones work that trying to change leaves me feeling helpless in matches. I tend away from sniper builds because I want to be in the thick of things. Sure I can get a kill sitting at a decent range with hades/artemis, but It just feels like waiting. I'd rather get in and impose myself rather than wait for a ship to die.

With this in mind, much of the feedback that people are offering I can add to the guide, but I can't speak on it from experience. I just don't play any other way than how I've already posted. My point being, would anyone like to collaborate with me to compile a complete top level guide to every aspect of flying a Pyramidion? The bones are there, and I feel like the pyramidion mostly follows my play style, but there is a lot more to it that I just can't expand on. With a couple people helping me, we could really flesh this out into a complete compendium on the pyramidion. Then we just need to pester other people to start grouping together to write up other ships.

Message me here or pester me at some point when I'm on GoIO if you are interested. We can set up a google doc and start fleshing out the areas I missed out on.

Thank you everyone.  :) I was really excited when I posted this guide, but I think we can do better collectively.

The Djinn:

--- Quote from: redria on January 16, 2014, 12:20:47 pm ---With this in mind, much of the feedback that people are offering I can add to the guide, but I can't speak on it from experience. I just don't play any other way than how I've already posted. My point being, would anyone like to collaborate with me to compile a complete top level guide to every aspect of flying a Pyramidion? The bones are there, and I feel like the pyramidion mostly follows my play style, but there is a lot more to it that I just can't expand on. With a couple people helping me, we could really flesh this out into a complete compendium on the pyramidion. Then we just need to pester other people to start grouping together to write up other ships.

Message me here or pester me at some point when I'm on GoIO if you are interested. We can set up a google doc and start fleshing out the areas I missed out on.
--- End quote ---

Absolutely. I'll be away in NYC for the next few days, but I would DEFINITELY be up for something like this. You have an amazing start here, but I think this could be better organized and fleshed out to provide a comprehensive guide for novices and veterans alike...something that I'd eventually love to have for every ship, so we can use it as a tool to help new players (and experienced players) get up to speed and/or hone their skills to an art.

I'll drop you a message with my e-mail so we can get a Google Doc going.

HamsterIV:
Redria there is nothing wrong with your guide. It is how you play and it contains perfectly valid advice. I have been chipping in my own play style because I like to talk about it, and your guide's thread seemed like as valid a place as any. Having written several guides, I know the mods are more than happy to edit your first posts as you refine your guides. PM any mod who is active with the changes you want to add. N-Sunderland helped me, but I don't see him on too much.

redria:
Hamster - I know.  :) Don't worry. I'm proud of what I made. But now I want more. Haha. I don't like having people suggest things and not being able to address it other than to say "ew. I'd never play that way". Plus the example of collaboration might lead someone else to spearhead a group to make guides for another ship. Part of why I only fly Pyra is it's the only ship I really know how to fly, and there's nothing telling the finer details of how to use other ships well. I don't have the patience to learn them on my own when I do pyramidion so well.

I am very proud of what I have here, but I want to see how far we can push forwards if we work together in the design phase of a guide, not just the revision phase.

Regardless, I like the idea of having a single complete guide for each ship, not bits and pieces for each ship spread across several guides, each with their own addendum referencing each other. Then each complete guide can have a note from each contributor on what parts they employ to give an idea to readers what facets of the guide mesh well with each other, and what parts are at odds. For example, a spire guide might describe how to fly long range and short range, along with how to build short range and long range. The contributor notes would include one author mentioning using short range + short range, while another would discuss long range + long range.
Basically, here is a guide telling you everything you need to know about this ship. At the end, here are the viewpoints of each author on what facets of the ship work best when used together.

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