Author Topic: General Piloting Tips  (Read 11601 times)

Offline ShadedExalt

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General Piloting Tips
« on: December 11, 2014, 11:10:06 pm »
For the Goldfish, Pyramidion, and Junker especially.  Just general tips you might have to help me out.  I'd like to become a better pilot, and while I know most of the basics, (I think) knowledge is almost never bad.

Hit me with everything you got, guys. (And gals)

Offline Indreams

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Re: General Piloting Tips
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2014, 11:17:35 pm »
When turning with a pyramidion, it might be a good idea to put your engines to reverse to make up for the large turning arc.

With a junker, know that your balloon works very well as a shield. This is especially useful when facing gat-mortar.

On a Goldfish, your crew will man the starboard gun faster than the port gun. The starboard gun is closer to the hull and engines. Port gun is rather isolated.

Offline Nidh

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Re: General Piloting Tips
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2014, 12:20:06 am »
Goldfish - Don't ram unless you know what you're doing. Don't GET rammed, at all costs. Use the balloon to block incoming explosives if you don't have another option.         Timing is everything on a hwachafish, time the reloads and prioritize targets based on threat level to your ally. Don't fight a pyra head on if you can help it. REMEMBER you have side guns, use them. The bifecta point for a few weapons are on the "x" that the ropes make when on the wheel and looking to the right. Keep a spanner handy to help with balloon repairs. Always look to be around your ally, the Goldfish does it's job best when it's assisting, rather than killing. If your front gun goes down, immediately look for ways to stall until an ally comes to help. Good ways of stalling with the goldie are to balloon block, or to play bullfighter, hold "descend" for a bit then hydro upwards.

I usually play more defensive rather than aggressive with the goldie so this isn't set in stone, but I would recommend a defensive gun in the port slot, namely the mine launcher. laying mines on an approaching enemy can really pay off, and if you're in the middle of nowhere they make for decent makeshift cover. If anything they will buy you a few seconds to re-evaluate a sticky situation.

The most important tip I can think of is that the Goldfish at it's core is a support ship, always try to decide what is best for your ALLY, not you. Skrimskraw put it best when he said the goldfish "Isn't about quick kills, it's about efficient kills."
« Last Edit: December 12, 2014, 12:29:40 am by Nidh »

Offline nanoduckling

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Re: General Piloting Tips
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2014, 08:43:59 am »
Since this is about more advanced piloting I will offer something I've learned recently from watching a good blenderfish pilot (hi Fynx, I've been watching you!). If you are a blenderfish be utterly relentless.

Example:
You are blending a hwachafish, they are on the ground and they somehow get their left gatling on you and start stripping your armour. Ask yourself: are they going to get any explosive damage on you in the near future; is their ally nearby; are you going to hit a rock or ram; are you low on permahull? If no, just do small moves to get out of arc and keep blending. Take the small bit of permahull damage from the gatling to keep the enemy pinned and trust your engineer and gunner. Hard evasive manoeuvres or popping hydrogen is exchanging a likely kill for a tiny amount of permahull, that is a bad deal.

Offline Wundsalz

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Re: General Piloting Tips
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2014, 11:21:24 am »
Learn your gun arcs! Knowing at what angles and heights your weapons overlap is an essential basis for a good positioning and movement! This can be figured out in sandbox by letting the AI shoot at target dummies. Tip: try to find reference points on your ship which can be used to frame the area in which your guns overlap.

Offline ShadedExalt

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Re: General Piloting Tips
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2014, 11:25:03 am »
Wow guys, this is all great!  Love the 'Bullfight' tactic, and the relentlessness tip is good too.  I always act like a fish when playing a Hwachafish: Fire the Hwacha, swing to left/right, fire, Swing, Hwacha fires, swing; I 'swim'.  On ramming, I usually do it to knock guns off arc, or when armor is down.  Love the Bifecta point tip, and I need to learn arcs, now that Wundsalz mentions it.  This all helps, thanks.  Keep 'em coming!

Offline Tanya Phenole

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Re: General Piloting Tips
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2014, 11:40:32 am »
Never be afraid to use destructive piloting tools to be faster/hastefuler than your enemies in proper times.

Prioritise your  crew's DPS to repairs (tanking is not as efficient cause repairs really limited by the cooldowns)

Always communicate when you are about to get your guns in arcs so people can use them

These are three things which make a victory even in very tight games, and make me tell to nubish pilots something like "Heya mon you are really talented keep doing that and become great" <3

Offline Indreams

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Re: General Piloting Tips
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2014, 11:43:00 am »
With arcs,

I'll probably make a graph concerning guns, but, for now,

Most light guns have a better downward arc. Carronads have better upward arc.


Artemis Rocket Launcher has the widest horizontal arc, but it is hard to turn.

Flare has a surprisingly good arc. It can be the fourth gun on the pyramidion but still light up the cloud in front of you.

Guns on Mobula doesn't all face forward. Guns on the edge angle outward. Put the gun with the widest horizontal arc if you plan to get a tri or quad fecta.

Offline HamsterIV

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Offline VomAct

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Re: General Piloting Tips
« Reply #9 on: December 22, 2014, 07:22:55 pm »
Different builds fly differently.  For example, blenderfish need to have the front gun pointed at the enemy at all times due to the really short reload time.  Also ignore the hecklers and ram the hell out of enemies with a fish.  When ramming with a fish, use kerosene or shine if they are level or above you, but don't use tools if they are below you; those two big fins on the bottom of your ship will automatically turn you to face them with your front gun.

Speaking of ramming, if you are in a galleon or a pyra and you see someone coming to ram your side, consider putting pheonix claw on so their ram gives you an unexpected positioning advantage.  In a galleon, this will turn your broadside straight on them.  In a pyra, it will do the same, only you can reverse back and get a nice view of their engines.

Ram ALL the things!

Offline VomAct

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Re: General Piloting Tips
« Reply #10 on: December 22, 2014, 07:25:28 pm »
Guns on Mobula doesn't all face forward. Guns on the edge angle outward. Put the gun with the widest horizontal arc if you plan to get a tri or quad fecta.

Fun fact: you can put three hades in arc (barely) on a mobula by either doing two on one side and one in the middle, or doing one in the middle and one on the bottom of both sides. :D

Offline ShadedExalt

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Re: General Piloting Tips
« Reply #11 on: December 22, 2014, 08:28:18 pm »
Agreed on the "Ram ALL the things!" comment, and I love the tip about the bottom 'Fish fins.