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

[redria]

Richard LeMoon,
You raise valid points, and if you don't mind I will include them (with credit) in my first update to the guide.  I would argue that oftentimes, just due to the layout of a Mobula and Pyramidion, and the fact that once a Mobula starts taking damage it tends to either stop dealing damage to repair, or die quickly, I would contend that you can usually get away with ramming a Mobula even if the pilot brings bumpers. The only Mobula build I've really seen out damage a Pyramidion mid-ram is the double-gat-mortar combo. You get shredded almost too fast to start responding as a pilot, let alone as an engineer. But that should be mentioned in the guide at the very least with a note about impact bumpers.

Although most Mobula pilots get fancy with their altitude when I charge them, and I end up being more maneuverable and getting behind them anyway. It's all a game we play of damage vs positional advantage. 

[GeoRmr]

Wow this guide is really comprehensive! I learnt a lot from the section on ramming, thanks redria!  =)

I think the forums have bugged out on you levels btw 0_o

[redria]

I think the forums have bugged out on you levels btw 0_o

Heh. Yeah. I sent an email to Muse and they said they would look into it ASAP. Looks silly having a "level 1 pilot" post a 10 post guide on piloting...

I am more and more treating ramming more as a tool to get positional advantage instead of as a way to deal damage. It is wonderful for damage, but so is being in complete control of a duel. 

[HamsterIV]

I have never tried the "Urz’s Flamer" build before, it sounds like fun. Also I submit for your approval the double front merc build in This post.

It is effective on dune matches against Artemis junkers and Mobulas.

I really like your "flying stupid" section. Any one can pilot when things are going well but it is when the crap hits the fan that the great pilots shine. I have uttered the phrase "I wonder if I can fit through that" many a time during my piloting career.

For captain tools I prefer tar over helium. Gassing a squid who thinks he is on your blind spot and providing a bit of soft cover in open sky is worth the loss of vertical mobility to me. I used to run helium a lot before the mass changes, and the memory of dodging manticoe volleys still makes me smile.

One of the most important tools a pyra captain should carry is a spanner. When you are forced into a toe to toe brawl, put your ship in neutral and go to double team the hull with your main engineer. The faster the armor gets repaired the less chance you have of sustaining fatal perma hull damage.

[redria]

You would be surprised at how much fun you can have using carronade-flamer on the front of your ship. I don't think I had ever successfully one-shot ram killed a junker without some sort of backstop until I tried it. And goomba stomping is the greatest feeling in the world after suffering so long as a young pilot facing blenderfish and squids.

I will mention the double merc build in my extras section, though it doesn't often support the way I fly. You have to be at the same altitude as your opponent, which makes it harder to take positional advantage and still be effective, and I am really not a fan of sniper ships. You rarely get the chance to just evade and escape and/or kill the enemy with about 2% permahull left and no armor while shouting at your crew "I'm not dead yet!". And really, it's hard to get more exhilarating than that. 

However as a ram-kill ship, double merc front is really powerful if you get the timing right, and having the option to support a sniper friend against a sniping team is nice. Like I said, I will add it in as an extra if you don't mind. 

Mostly I like hydrogen just to cover a little bit of how weak pyramidions are at moving up and down. I like to pop up over metamidions and slide over the top of their hull while pulling a quick 180 to get on their tail. Sure my armor is down, but now I have time to repair while easing them into death. It's not often I actually let someone get behind me.

Spanner is a definite yes. I only hop off for the hull if I have no engines and I think I may make a difference, but it can save you. I don't like to leave the helm in a firefight though because kerosene preventing turning still works even if your engines are dead. You can knock enemy pyra's guns off arcs by turning on kerosene when they try to ram your almost dead ship.

Sheesh. Why do I type so much when I try to explain things? Anyway, I will mention your comments next update.

[Mizhir Starsurge]

Awesome guide. I have both flown against and with you (just not on your ship) and you are truely a great pilot.

And the 10 rules are great. They are exactly the same mindset that I strive to play with and they will generally make a match so much better if everyone followed them.

[redria]

Thanks! You are always welcome on my ship.  I will have a flamethrower set up just for you.

[Sammy B. T.]

I originally flew Junkers to counter the insane amount of Pyra usage that went on last year. For me the Junker is the ultimate counter to the Pyra and I generally laugh at most Pyras I engage in this game.

That being said, in a recent Duck/OVW match on Labyrinth I was put through a ringer by this pilot's Pyramidion. Constantly appearing out of nowhere, my balloon has rarely been so shredded and my ship rarely has been knocked around so much. It was a fantastic match. Basically I would like to say there is definitely authority in calling this a High Level Guide.

My one thing I would like to mention concerns the ramming of Junkers. I know I just praised your ability to ram my junker, but we were playing CP, and I was forced to mvoe close to you in low visibility. All things being equal, so no surprise (you were great at getting the drop on me btw) and equal piloting skills, a Junker will be able to dodge your ram 4 out of 5 times and you will be in the most unfavorable position of never having left the Junker's arc and needing a 90 degree turn just to face where the Junker was by the time of the ram. While a ram to a Junker balloon is beautiful, and you can make us spin like a top, unless you've removed the ability for a Junker to react (surprise, dead engines, terrain, etc) ramming a Junker is risky and if its my Junker, it is exactly what I am hoping you do.

[redria]

Really the best way to ram junkers is to just nudge them. Make their gunners realign their arcs, damage something on their ship a little bit, but keep your own arcs on. It becomes a lot more effective once their balloon is down. Running a carronade on the front of your ship helps a lot in that regard.

I was certainly a lot more excited for our CP match. I knew you'd have to come in close to compete, so I knew that would be my opportunity. The death match just before it I had a couple chances, but every time either you or your ally immediately turned and took me out while I started riding one of you to the ground, and my ally wasn't able to distract enough to let me get a finish. Both excellent matches.

That said, Junkers really are one of the best counters to a Pyramidion, and your crew made my ship a lot less effective by somehow always having everything chem sprayed at all times...

[Mizhir Starsurge]

Thanks! You are always welcome on my ship.  I will have a flamethrower set up just for you.

Lovely. Would be nice to get a chance to observe some masterful dumb flying.

[HamsterIV]

Just because the 2x merc ship behaves like a sniper doesn't mean it can't get into a brawl. The gat morter side is very important for finishing ships and surviving 2v1's.

One of my favorite maneuvers is to kite for a while, then jam the throttle full forward and tell my crew to get to the side guns. I let the target pass on my right side (where they think it is safe) but start turning left. By the time my crew has reached their guns the target is just coming into the side gun arcs from the aft.  If the other pilot fell for the maneuver they will be flying into my gun arcs instead of flying ring around the roses away from them.

This move can be countered if the other pilot hits reverse at the wrong moment. However I still have a chance of tarring them or turning the front guns back on them. Also most pilots are so taken with the thrill of closing on a sniper ship they are more than happy to get too close to me.

[redria]

Interesting tactic Hamster. I honestly never use my side guns unless there is absolutely no chance that I will be taking damage, then my engineer may get to shoot a flame thrower for a bit.

Double merc front pyramidion is viable as a brawling ship, and it does give you the option of fighting close or short range if you use the side guns effectively.

I just don't like someone being on my side. It's not somewhere I feel I have a position of power. I can't bully them into a spot where I can shoot but they can't. You have to trust that you can keep them on your side, and that they don't have the power to bully you in such a way. If an opponent did that to me, I would be trying as hard as I could to knock their nose and turn them away from me while raising up to try to go up and over your ship, before turning and hitting reverse and settling in on your back/right/top side.

Assuming I can get in close enough that is. 

Puppy Fur actually runs a mean double merc pyramidion. There are too many times where all I can do is just try to go over him and hope I get my armor back up in time to use rams to keep him under me. I may try your build at some point. Do you prefer gat on 3 or 4 slot? Also, who handles your balloon during this engagement?

[Kitty.Hawk]

I prefer a double artemis side personally, as they give me a choice in what range I engage at. With a good crew, I can have my gunners soften up a target, forcing the enemy into a repair mode, before making my charge.
 
Good guide though, I learned a trick or two from it.

[redria]

Kitty! I will admit fully that side guns are the weakest aspect of my piloting. I basically pretend I have none. I abuse my engines so much that my main engineer doesn't even have time to use one if they wanted to. It always just feels like I'm giving up too much reactionary power by trying to use side guns.

[HamsterIV]

I put the gat on the hard point closest to the helm. When the crap really hits the fan I take the gat as pilot. I expect both my normal engineers to be fixing stuff. The buff engineer should be shooting the morter, and if he is on his game, will have started the run to the mortar before the merc gunners leave their post.

I normally let the balloon burn when using my side guns. If everything goes right we can fix it after we make the kill, if it doesn't we are dead anyway. Even with the balloon popped the ground takes a long time to kill a Pyra. The ground damage depends on the speed at which you hit the ground. If you settle so that your hull is just touching the ground, the damage will be manageable.