Nano's Noobs 102
Crewing a blenderfish
PrerequisitesThis material assumes you are familiar with the basic tutorials as of version 1.3.9 of Guns of Icarus. If you do not know the difference between rebuilding and repairing or cannot mount a gun then this lesson will be completely useless. Perform the tutorials first.
There are many ways to run a ship. This is one approach and it is not definitive. Depending on how your ship is used an alternative approach may be better..
IntroductionA ship built around a single gun, the heavy carronade. This ship job is to destroy an enemies balloon and lock them to the floor until they die (although a swift ram can speed this process along). This procedure is called 'blending'. Many ships can blend, but we will be looking at a goldfish with a front mounted mounted heavy carronade. There are lots of options for side guns but ours will be flame throwers: Being blended typically disrupts chem cycles so flamers become much more effective.
- Heavy carronade
- Flame thrower
- Flame thrower
The crew loadouts and responsibilities (crew should be in this order on the ship so that if the pilot disconnects the gunner can assume the pilots responsibilities, although this is generally crippling on this build) are:
Pilot (Captain)- Phoenix claw, kerosene and drogue chute
- Spanner
- Lesmok
The pilots job on a blenderfish is to point the front gun at the enemy, get the enemy in range and keep them in range till they hit the ground and eventually die. Once the enemy is on the ground and their hull broken a well placed ram can be used to finish them off. Use phoenix claw to orient the front gun at the enemy, kerosene to close as fast as possible, and drogue chute if the your balloon goes out.
The typical attack pattern for a blenderfish is an angled approach (fly at an angle to the enemy position, if they are facing your starting position and you approach from the side your gunner will have a bigger target). Kerosene should be used to get the gun in range as fast as possible. The gunner will have heavy clip loaded, and should fire at maximum range (425m) at the balloon. When the carronade is in range the front gun should be pointed at the enemy ship, otherwise your gunner will not be able to fire. Once the enemy balloon is popped you should position the ship above the enemy somewhere outside of gun arcs (rear of a junker, in front of a galleon, etc.), and maintain close range so charged ammunition is effective. Let your gunner know if you intend to stay at close range and they will load charged ammunition (you can do this simply by announcing 'Charged!', if you need to move away from the target you should tell your gunner, just announcing 'Heavy!' is usually sufficient) .The gunner should keep firing into the balloon. The enemy balloon will go down repeatedly and the hull is likely to break. The enemy will fall to the ground, when they are on the ground keep shooting their balloon, their hull will break both from damage from your gun and the ground. Feel free to help them along with a swift ram (use kerosene), time the ram so that you perform it immediately after the second shot of your charged carronade connects, this maximizes the chance that the enemy armor is down).
Always keep your gunner informed how long until arcs are restored if they are lost (even if approximate, things like "Soon!" will tell them to remain next to the gun and not use the flamers).
The pilot should almost always stay on the helm. There are very few circumstances where the pilot of a blenderfish is useful anywhere other than on the helm. The pilot carries lesmok as their ammo type so that after an encounter the pilot can hop onto the left gun and load lesmok while the engineers make repairs so the ship is combat ready as fast a possible, not for actually gunning.
The spanner is only for totally desperate situations to buy the ship a few more seconds if being blended so an ally can save you. If the enemy successfully blends you onto the floor control input from the pilot is actively harmful (moving forward or back causes collisions, raising the ship from the ground will cause the ship to fall back down and suffer more damage the next time the balloon is popped). Drogue chute is ineffective if you are already on the ground. Under these circumstances you will usually need your ally to come save you (but watch for positional errors by your enemy you can exploit). Under these rare circumstances you can help rebuild (hence the spanner) the hull or balloon to buy the ship a couple more seconds. The above should be viewed as extremely rare exceptions to the rule, generally speaking you stay on the helm and point the front gun at the bad guys.
Gunner- Spyglass
- Pipe Wrench
- Heavy, charged, heatsink
The gunner of a blenderfish is responsible for shooting the enemy balloon. There are very few occasions when they should come off the front gun. One such occasion is to help rebuild the hull, but only then if destruction of the ship is likely or the gun is and will remain out of arc. The pilot should always be looking to get the front gun on the enemy, and the side guns are usually the engineers responsibility, so the gunner will generally not be needed elsewhere. The gunner should stay on the front gun, make sure it has the correct ammo type loaded, and should almost always be aiming for the balloon. Most of the time heavy clip should be used. The heavy carronade is then effective at maximum range (425m) and will destroy the enemy balloon in 2 shots. Unless told otherwise you should typically load charged at this point (and repair the gun between reloads) and fire it into the balloon. Keep firing into the balloon until the enemy dies. Once they are dead load charged again unless the other enemy is close by or instructed otherwise.
If the ship needs to run away then the engineers will be on engines and the front gun is unlikely to have arc. The gunner can then use the side guns if they come into arc, otherwise baby sitting the hull is desirable (but do not prevent the main engineer from making mallet hits, you will slow down repairs, you can always rebuild, but only repair if no engineer is present). You have heatsink to control fire on the gun, but the carronade needs to be fired at point blank range if heatsink is loaded to be effective. Generally the gun should be chemsprayed by the main engineer so the gun should only rarely catch fire after a sustained engagement.
More experienced gunners can alternate between sniping out dangerous components (such as an in arc hwacha or the front gun on a goldfish) and the enemy balloon. Remember however that denying the enemy vertical mobility is the primary job of a blenderfish. If the enemy is able to rise for more than a fraction of a second with the carronade in arc and on-line the gunner has failed at their job.
Secondary Engineer (Left engineer)- Spyglass
- Spanner, mallet, chemspray
- Lesmok
The left engineer on a blenderfish is responsible for the main engine at the back of the ship, the balloon, and the left flamer. Priority should be given to the main engine and the balloon, flamers are generally a secondary concern. Run between components alternately spraying them with chemspray and hitting them with the relevant repair tool (almost always a mallet). If the rear of the ship is not taking damage you can use the left flamer if in arc (this is why you have lesmok ammo), you can also help with hull and front gun rebuilds / repairs / chemspraying, but remember your primary responsibilities are the balloon and main engine.
If the ship is hit by a hwacha it is often the case that the turning engines will go down but the main engine remains intact. If this is the case then they will typically need to be rebuilt and a gatling will be pointed at your hull. You should go to the hull while the main engineer rebuilds the engines.
Primary Engineer (Right engineer)- Spyglass
- Spanner, mallet, chemspray
- Lesmok
The primary engineer of a blenderfish is responsible for the lower deck turning engines, the hull and the right flamer. They should also chemspray the front gun . Run back and forth keeping everything chem sprayed.
If the enemy is reducing the armor fast (for example with accurate gatling fire) then the main engineer should stand next to the hull. After the enemy has damaged the hull an amount you can just fully repair with a single hit of the spanner (a little less than a hit box) hit with the spanner. After cool down hit with the spanner or mallet depending on if this will over repair (repair beyond 100% health) or not. The aim is to keep the armor from breaking.
If the turning engines are down and the hull is under fire (say from a gatling) you may request the other engineer or gunner camp the hull. Only do this if the carronade is out of arc or will lose arc. The gunner should do this automatically if they lose arc and will not get it back soon so long as they are kept informed. Keep in mind you will pull the other engineer from the balloon if you do this, sometimes it is simply better to inform the crew that you are away from the hull so they can keep an eye on it.
If you have time feel free to give the front gun a hit with a mallet if it is badly damaged. This will repair it faster than the gunner's pipe wrench.
Alternative loadoutsThe above configuration of engineers is generally considered sub-optimal with experienced players who can perform parkour tricks to reach the turning engines from the balloon and are more familiar with how to prioritize components. An alternative configuration (referred to as 'distributed') has both engineers covering the entire ship at all times calling their locations and intentions out. Running this configuration with an inexperienced crew is inadvisable as on the fly decisions about what to rebuild (should I go to the balloon or the hull?) must be made in a split second or the ship will often be left vulnerable.
There are lots of options for the side guns of a blenderfish. One configuration uses a mortar to kill a ship once the carronade or ground breaks the armor (a banshee is another option here). A mine launcher can also be used if an enemy is forced into an enclosed space trapping the ship or laying mine underneath it while the balloon is popped. Mine launchers are also good for dissuading charging metamidions. If the map is large and open (say 'Battle on the Dunes') then the ship can carry an artemis to provide some ranged support, although this is not the primary role of a blenderfish. Once combat starts the ship should be blending with the big front gun..
More experienced pilots with more experienced crews should bring moonshine, which is superior to kerosene for closing, holding range and ramming. If enemy ships do not have the ability to effectively damage the balloon (no lumberjacks or carronades) then the pilot can swap the drogue chute for hydrogen or chute vent to maximize vertical mobility, or impact bumpers for ramming.
Chute vent allows a very effective maneuver referred to as 'goomba stomping'. The ship is positioned above the enemy, chute vent is activated and the ship dropped, crushing the enemy into the ground. This can be tricky, you likely want to practice it against target dummies in the blast yard first. Missing leaves you extremely vulnerable with a damaged balloon and at the same level as an enemy ship which is likely grumpy with you.
Strong againstMost close and mid range galleons, junkers, goldfish, spires, and mobulas
This is the build that effectively ended the reign of the metajunker
Effective against squids, but properly piloted and crewed the squid is difficult to balloon lock and maintain range on
Weak againstPyramidions, particularly carro/flamer and metamidions
Most snipers on an open map (although moonshine and map knowledge can overcome this)
Other literaturehttps://gunsoficarus.com/community/forum/index.php/topic,5189.msg85366.html - Some advice on ramming in a fish
https://gunsoficarus.com/community/forum/index.php/topic,4479.0.html - Tactics that might be used against you
TagCrew Positions 00000004
Pilot 00000008
