XvT Combat Tips and Strategies
 |
by PanzerGR ©2002
These are soem of the ship setting, maneuvers, and general tips i have. Feel free to make other posts with tactics etc that you use if you feel they would be of help to someone in the squad. I ask you not divulge anything I say to anyone outside the club. THink of this as a FURY-only set of info.
Here ar emy genral principles and what have you:
SHIP SETTINGS:
Keypad is what buttons u need to push if oyu dont already know that. Ill put in the key corresponding with a numbe rin parenthesis as to how many tiem su push it... ie. F9(2) hit f9 twice, heh. In shielded craft ALWAYS use shields full to the front (hit S twice), shields will not do you any good in a melee fight behind you. In ions use dual lasers on both ions and lasers, hit W repeatedly as u fire.
Craft -------- Shield%---------Laser% --------# of lasers ---- ---Keypad ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Z ---------------0-----------75--------------Dual --------F9(1),F10(2),X(1) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ X----------------0-----------50-75---------Quad----------F9(0,1)F10(2),X(2) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Y----------------50----------75 --------Dual/W key-----F9,X,W,X------ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A----------------0-----------75-------------Dual-----------F9(1) F10(2) X(1) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TF----------------------------75--------------Dual----------F9(1) X(1) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TI----------------------------50------------Dual/Quad--------X(0, 1) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TB--------------------------50-75------------Single---------F9(0, 1) X(0,1) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TA -------------0------------50---------------Quad-----------F10(2) X(2) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Gunz ----------0 ----------- 50 ------------Dual/Wkey--------F10(2) X(1)(1) W(1) X again
GENERAL 2v2 TIPS
hit the . period key and use the larger view screen...u see more
use 1/3 or 2/3 throttle as an effective tool when dodging in/against tigth spreads of enemy fire.
Never forget that due to lag a ship is always a little bit off from where it seems to be. If you are passing close to a ship, especially in X or TI, and about to pass, it doesnt hurt to fire a shot even if you dont think itll hit........even if it seems you will pass just over/under/whatever each other, often a shot will kill them due to proxximity and lag.
ALWAYS...and i do mean ALWAYS, attack the guy who is attackign your wing when you respawn (come back in after dying), unless you are attacked before you can. It is imperative to utilize good defensive teamwork. SO when you die, you want to clear off your buddies tail before charging headlong and fool-hardily by yourself. Work as a team.
If you are in front of your wing, and both opponents are in front, shoot at one target, so u let your partner knwo who u r gonan take. Depending on craft (more later) they should target correspondingly.. ie in TF they should attack the guy you arent shooting, in X they should target your target.
Once oyu make a kill, if your team member is still around it is often best to make a quick loop to coem closer to them and fight side-by-side so to speak and coem at your enemy together. If he is not near set yourself up to take out the respawning enemy.
Defend your wingman
try and win on the head on. Account for lag and target's speed and shoot ahead fo them....lead them liek a deer if you were hunting with a rifle. Unless they are flying straight at you you will miss them if you shoot rigth at them and dont try anticipating movement.
If your wing is ahead of you and attacks an enemy, doesnt kill him, then attacks the next enemy, finish off is first target before goign after the new one. Do not leave anyone to coem up behind you or last for more than 1 kill if you can avoid it. Dont let em rack up kills by not finishing them off and allowing them to coem up behind you, kill u more than once etc.
Dodge...do not ever fly in a straight line.
Avoid turning wars. If you attack an enemy and dotn get him on the first pass, and your wing is racign up behind you in a good position to attack the elftovers, leave it to them. As before, if you see your wing mis shis target on the 1st pass, and are behind him, finish the guy off, do not let him stay alive.
If you get in a turning war turn all laser power (or most of it) into your engines. Cut to 1/3 throttle and try to beat your enemy in the turn. If you do not get them in 2 or 3 loops forget it, youve alrdy lost, and rush out of the turn headign with full throttle and atatck the other target and do a smuch as you can...leave the guy you were in a turn war with to your wing. UNLESS IF you think you can tie your opponent/s up long enough by turning that your wing can nail both of them, then try it.
A popular tactic is for you and your wign to get engaged in turning wars with each opponent individually, then hurry up and switch targets and take out each other's original target. This usually throws the enemy off...they r expecting to be in a turning war when all of a sudden the guy is no longer in the fight with them and the other guy coems out of nowhere and BOOM!
Shift-A can be a good tool IF you are fast enough on the keyboard to use it. IF i use shift-a i use it to tell my wing to attack the guy i want THEm to attack....some people use it to tell their wing who they ARE attacking....make sure if you use this tactic you and your wing know how you use it...whether to tell who YOU are attacking or who you want THEM to attack.
Never ever use target lock if you can avoid it. IN soem craft where shared kills are high (TI, Ions, X) it may be helpful to use target lock to team up on a guy. In my opinion though, your best bet is to train yourself to hit a target without needing a lock. YOu may not be able to tell how far away they are...but after a while you are abel to tell that stuff mostly by intuition. The benfit of not using lock is that your enemy will not know u r shooting at him unless he see's yur lasers coming in his direction (because if you dont lock on that lil red light doesnt flash a warning). So, say he is respawning, he just comes back alive, and befor ehe realizes he's your target it is too late. This also works great if both of them are atatckign your wing....they wont realize you are on to them yet and you can usually get both of them.
Another variation of the above tactic is to target the guy you ARENT gonna shoot at. That way you dont lock on and alert your target, but you can also keep track of where the other guy is easier.
Never stay in one place too long......or so to speak. Keep changing your dodging patterns throughout the fight, dont let them figure out a pattern. I usually try haphazard dodging..nothing is ever the same btu i only use dodges that work well too. If you allow your enemy to fidn your pattern they will anticipate their shooting better and nail you.
Last thign i can think of at the moment is just to watch your opponents aim and lasers. Dodge outside his firing pattern, dont fly into his lasers. You can usually tell when they shoot ahead of time, dodge away from where their lasers are heading.
DODGING
THis is short and applies to all ships.. As a general principle you dont want to be hit, but want to be abel to shoot. Practice dodging and firing for effect at the same tiem (mine clearing melee trainign is great for this). Get you timing down so you know where your shots will go as you dodge. There are various dodging patterns, ill tell you mine a si discuss the ships themselves. The key is to not let your enemy draw a pattern on you. MOST IMPORTANTLY you want QUICK dodges. YOu want to dodge only as long as it take sto not be hit and then fire back. YOu want a short dodge that avoids enemy lasers, but not so far that it takes you too long to recover from the dodge. YOu wanan dodge, then be abel to bring your crosshairs abck up quickly and shoot back.....most peopel die dodging by taking too long....their enemy fires a burst, dodges himself, and byt he tiem the slowpoke dodger is rdy to fire again the opponent already has fired another series. Dodge effectively, but quickly enough to take aim and shoot back.
Needless to say, theres NO NEED TO DODGE IF YOUR NOT EING SHOT AT. If no one is shooting at you take more time to aim and fire.
Z TACTICS
Dual lasers...if your quick on the keyboard, tapping X repeatedly to fire bursts of 1 shot, 2 shot, 1 shot, 2 shot, is also effective at gettign a rhythm down. I used this repeated single/dual shot method until i got a pattern down...see in Z's you need to make a few quick shots then dodge quick...i found that firing pattern to be effective in helping me learn because i knew that i held down the trigger, and after hitting X 2 or 3 times i needed to dodge. In Z's you DEFINATELY do not want to fly straight too long....fire enough shots at or aroudn your enemy that you are sure 3 or so will hit, then dodge. I find on average that i fire 3 shots AT them and one round in each cardinal direction (up down rigth left). If they r good pilots tho, i fire just 3-5 at them and dodge quickly. The trick with Z is to have good aim and be able to dodge quick. Shields will not last long on a Z they will take at most 2 or 3 hits...it only takes 5 soemtiems 4 hits to kill a Z. YO want to take just enough shots to get a hit or two, then dodge to avoid fire, then attack again.
Kill the respawns quick....many games are won by the team that can kill of fboth enemies, then kill them again right as they respawn. As i said before a Z doesnt take many hits...so if you kill a guy off, wait for him to coem back then fire 5 good shots at him b4 he can retaliate...that usually makes them dead before they have time to react.
When i fly a Z i make ONE pass at an enemy. If i dont get him right off, i leave him to my wing, and i go for the other guy. If i kill one of them, and the other is still alive, i leave the other for my wing (unless he is dead too) and atatck the respawn. Sometiem si turn back to help my wing kill off a leftover, but in a Z you cant afford to get shot in the rear so it is dangerous to not attack respawning opponents off the bat.
If they fire off a badly aimed round and then dodge, and your not in danger of being destroyed, then there sno need to dodge.....take charge of the situation and keep putting on pressure...keep makign THEM dodge so they dont get off good shots.
I can rack up 5 kills sometime sby taking out my 1st target, then successivly killign them as they come in before they react. However you cant allow leftovers to live, and you still have to clear your wingman's tail when you respawn. That is priority in any ship, clearing your wing then flying with them to kill stuff.
My usual dodge pattern is i take my shots, i dodge in one direction (never the same one twice, and ALWAYS away from where they r aiming their shots) then make a 1/4 circle kind of. So if the stick is center ill jerk down, then make a circle motion up to the right then back over, getting my opponent in the crosshairs and firing another burst.
Other times i just dodge left, right, etc outside of their firing pattern and come rigth back in quick, nothing fancy...just dodge to avoid lasers then get back to shooting.
TF
Pretty much like a nonshielded Z. I fire one shot at them, one shot in the direction i think theyll dodge, and one in the opposite direction.....always leadign my shots to accoutn for movement and lag. If the game is really laggy, or i seem to be having a hard tiem hitting, ill fire 5 or more shots all aroudn them and at them then dodge. As with a Z you need to dodge quickly. Often you may only get one or 2 shots off before u need to dodge. Watch the enemy lasers and avoid them.
TF can be a ghosty craft, if the lag is bad do not expect one hit to kill them (tho it should). If you miss a guy on the first pass i usually just let my wing take them and i go after the other guy. Killing the respawns quick is vital....if you can monopolize the situation by killing them just as they respawn every tiem u cna get ahead quick.....when they r respawning fire in front fo them according to their speed in the direction they respawn at FIRTS...THEN fire one right at them..... many times they wont see u coming up right away and keep flying straight into the battle ..if they DO turn aroudn, well you shoudl ahve been quick enuff to get off 2 shots b4 they noticed you and the 2nd one should at least make them dodge.
in TF take charge of the situation if they dodge....if they shoot badly and you dont need to dodge, then keep the pressur eon them. If you can kee makign THEM dodge first chances are high youll get them first....just dotn get cocky and feel you never need to dodge, watch for their shots back.
In TF i just dodge aroudn the shots. If engaged its a continuous flow.....obviously if im not being shot at i dont need to dodge...but if engaged keep it flowing...nice and smooth. For example, i fire a shot, i see they shoot, i dodge right, come back quick fire 1-3 (as many as i can get) then dodge up down or left (dependign on where their shot is heading), then coem back, fire, and dodge again either rigth up or down. That wya you avoid herky jerky......you should have to jerk your stick hard, it shoudl be smooth...and oyu never want to dodge in the same direction twice in a row.
X
quad lasers....always quad lasers. X shields r very strong and unless your gonna settle for mopping up what your wing leaves you, dual lasers arent gonan cut the shields. 3 shots will kill an X....three direct hits with quad lasers. I use a figure 8 pattern in X's and vary it up from there.
A figure 8 is having your stick at center, then going up or down, you make a loop , cross your starting point, then make the opposite loop.......just like a figure 8. I use a sideways figure 8 more than vertical. Therefore my stick is at center, i bring it down and to the left, loop it up in a circular motion, then back down across stick-center down to the right then up to the top right then back down to lower left etc. YOu fire your shots as you cross the midpoint of the 8....when you cross the middle of the 8 you should have crosshairs over your opponent and shoot them.
The fig 8 sets a big pattern tho, so you cannot stick by it the whoel time.
My favorite tactic is to start out wiht it.. ... ill make one midpoint shot then jerk right to avoid fire, then jerk left and as i go left i fire as my guns cross over my target, then ill go up down or rigth again and fire another shot as my guns go over the opponent. X wings are slow so you shoud be able to fire fairly effectively just as your crosshairs run over the target.
Teaming up on an enemy is a good tactic....just amke sure you dont turn it into a 2v1.....the 1 guy in a 2vs1 always wins. Never leave leftovers if you can avoid it. IF your partner misses a guy u MUST kill that guy, dont leave him there.
When i fly i rely heavily on my wings, if i iss a guy i expect them to finish him. I wont turn back around to kill him UNLESS the other enemy is not within my range to shoot or is behind me.
I use 1/3 a lot in an X. When i coem back to aim after dodging i will often tap 1/3 throttle to get an extra shot in at my enemy, because 1/3 slows you down and you can swing your ship faster. Example: Target A is coming straigth at me, i fire 1 shot, dodge right and avoid his, i dodge left and as my crosshairs pass over his ship i fire again, i continue left and avoid his shot, then i hit 1/3 and swing aroudn and fire 2-3 shots, then hit full and dodge down.
