How do I get an ACE off my tail?

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by icufos, May 8, 2019.

  1. icufos

    I'm no stranger to flight sims.
    However some of the pilots in Planetside 2 are frankly awesome in their skills at being able to hang onto your tail.
    I can't shake them off.
    Don't get me wrong, it's great fun and I wouldn't want it to be an easy number.

    Have any of the 'Biggles' got any tips?
  2. Skraggz


    My tip, and you are not gonna like it. Don't run, Learn to do a reverse as well as you can and stand your ground. You run usually you will be gunned down. You stand and fight, you could be gunned or you could gun them down. I gun down almost 100% targets that try to run or shake me. Though I am no ACE.
    • Up x 2
  3. VeryCoolMiller

    you need to do a reverse manoeuvre and start the fight. There is a video for 101 ESF piloting in this forum (i think is in the first page).
    • Up x 1
  4. icufos

    Thanks for the advice.
    Pretty sure youv'e shot me down a few times. You were very good. Your name is so familiar.
    I'm usually TR.
    If you see a jazzy red mosquito...(I have the fancy cameos)...that'll be me....usually on fire.:eek:
  5. icufos

    Will see that. Reverse manoeuvre sounds just the thing. Thanks.
  6. Demigan

    An ACE? It's nigh impossible to get someone half decent off your tail. The skill required to keep following someone is exceedingly small compared to the skill required to shake someone. Its because any maneuver you would pull in a flight sim is almost useless in this game. I've been asking for an expansion so that hover fighting and reverse maneuver arent the only useful skills since forever. But the "helpful" veterans who are "always helping everyone" think that this will give them "too much power" so we shouldnt do it. These are the same "helpful" people who claimed that the launch rocketpods werent OP when they could literally kill a squad in a single magazine and kill a tank in 2 magazines from the top, or who asked for the newb supporting engagement radar to be changed "for the betterment of the newbs" and oh so surprisingly turned it into a newb hunting mechanic. Or the people who have been asking for a safe spot for aircraft, and extra damage for their weapons, complained about scratch damage untill they got a double-strength fire suppression+auto-granted nanite auto repair when using an engineer+AA turrets nerfed into the ground.

    Frankly any system that would make every single aircraft veteran leave would likely be a massive boost to the game as a whole.
  7. Skraggz


    I play on Emerald, VS. Name is Swabbi, if I am on ask for help. I will duel or anything you may need. Again I am no ACE, but I hold my own.
  8. LodeTria


    None of what you're suggesting would solve that though. You seem to think that, for some reason, the more experienced pilot wouldn't just do these "new evasive" maneuvers too and still end up right behind you. Why wouldn't they?
  9. Demigan

    Same reason why it works in other games? Because there's multiple maneuvers to learn and master instead of a single one and people will be better or worse at different ones? Because there would be evasive maneuvers available to escape, rather than only maneuvers that are designed to stay in the area and get a better position on your enemy?

    A larger amount of viable maneuvers including the intuitive ones people have learned in other games, means there is a lower skillfloor. That means that newbs can get more competitive against veterans without needing to spent several days or real time in-game just training. Even if "competitive" means "Just being able to escape an opponent" rather than being blown to bits simply because they came up against someone who trained in just hover combat without being able to change the outcome in any way except by training in the exact same maneuvers. It also means that pilots who complain about not being able to disengage when attacked by AA while in a dogfight can actually do that: disengage and try to slip away or attack again after getting some distance.
  10. IcEzEbRa

    There is a time to run, only if you actually have a place to run to. Like a friendly player made base w/sky shield, or friendly skyguards, big *** tree, etc that are close. Sometimes on Hossin, you can lose people in the trees or at least prolong the chase till a friendly joins in to help, and it's not as easy to chase thru the trees, but a lot of fun. Sometimes, if available, it's best to dash to cover, behind a rock or structure etc, THEN turn around and try to turn the tables, but requires some skill. Real pilots are kinda taught to always be looking for, and aware of, the current best place to ditch in case of trouble.

    Virtually any pilot is encouraged if you run, even new pilots. You see em every session like a dog after a bone, focused on that running esf, all the way to the enemy warpgate...lol. Every session I fly, there are many times a newer pilot does get behind me with Tomcats or starts shooting nosegun, and as soon as you turn around, they boogie.

    THE most important thing seems simple...Don't let an enemy esf on your tail, because all things being equal, you have lost the engagement already. Engagement radar {the HUD spotting is kinda messed up atm} will show even max stealth aircraft at 200m I believe, you can hear enemy esf from render distance, and their unique weapons even beyond render. Just be aware that if you're a Mossie using banshee for example, I can easily hear you before we even render to each other, and I know pretty much where you are, and that you are pretty low. I hear enemy esf diving on me every session, if I have not seen em, they are almost always above and behind me, and I usually look kinda spastic maneuvering to try and see them. If I miss the sound, and the only clue is the red damage indicator, and 1/2 to all of my HP, uh oh.

    A rear view mirror would be great, and I would tape one on my esf if I could, lol. Otherwise, try and change your direction and view a lot, while also looking for enemy, especially at higher altitude, from where most dedicated A2A will come, from above and usually behind you. The classic *** gank. Cockpit freelook should be mapped to an easily used key, also change camera is very useful mapped to scroll wheel click, and 3rd person gives you a good view. Even then, you still can't see behind or directly above you...you have to change your orientation, do it often, while looking and listening for enemy.

    Kamikaze Scythe on Connery had a completely different tactic ofc, lol.
  11. Skraggz


    While I see where you are coming from, outside of practice idk what else we could do for the newbs but maybe make the F key automatically turn the ESF around? There for no skill is required and everyone can do it? But even that would require some sort of timing and ability to reach over and press a key. I can offer newbs advice and practice with them... everything but play the game for them.

    Also escaping has less to do with the ESF controls and more to do with the terrain design. If your flying low its typically level terrain... Esiamer and Indar and even the greater majority of Amerish. If your up high.... well you can't hide at all.... Cloud formation would be cool, maybe... idk. If I am forced to shake some one rather then Reverse and fight back I will do so at a biolab and flying under and over the thing till I crash or they do. outside of that it is the only real place to shake.
  12. LodeTria


    Can you get me some videos of these? I wanna see how it plays out.
    Since I just search'd ace combat 7 PVP, as that game just came out recently, and it has some "realistic" airplanes (barely but much more than planetside) all I see is lock-on missiles with the machine guns not even being used at all:


    Is this the sort of airplanes you want?
  13. VeryCoolMiller

    Reverse manoeuvre is not counterable. It force a fight or give you the position on his tail.
  14. Demigan

    Dont go Black and White on me. There is an ocean of different skillfloors and ceilings between our current "absolutely *** every single newcomer" and "the game plays it for them".

    The simplest start, that wouldnt solve the actual problem but would make it at least less of a problem, would be to let the players control their engine status. Press X or whatever to set it into hover or flight mode, so that players dont have to play a guessing game on when they will be burning forwards or upwards.
    A better option is to make all the airframes function much better in their ideal situation but worse than vanilla outside it. A hover frame would have an easy time decellerating to hover mode and turn on a dime when going slow, but have the worst acceleration and turn ratio's when going fast, noticeably worse than a vanilla frame even. Racer frame would accelerate the fastest and turn on a dime when going fast, but have a tough time decellerating and turns like a truck when going slow etc.

    And lastly one of the more elegant solutions: Make it an omniversal afterburner. That button input that makes you move? If you use the afterburner that input is enhanced. Up, down, turning, accelerating, slowing down (or even going backwards) or any combination of these inputs would all be enhanced, making the maneuvers players can pull off more intuitive while adding a depth to the ESF airgame that would make current veterans wet their pants.

    Or even just adding a more standard keybindings where the mouse doesnt do half what is normally done by keyboard and the keyboard does half of the mouse input.
  15. Skraggz


    Look, I am all about getting more people up in the air. Not trying to be "white and black". I am stating that the desire and effort is what got me where I am now. I didn't get an participation for pulling an ESF. Again if people want to learn or need a buddy (not the best) Swabbi Emerald Vs, Just ask I will help.

    I will build on your comments though, the whole hover/flight mode comment, I kinda agree... I like how it works now but if making it more fluid would help others, I will adjust. What blows my mind is that Throttle (analog) the main tool for holding hover is not bound, nor explained to anyone new. I remember the day I found out this option and what it did to my flying game.

    That is mainly though that this game does a poor job of explaining things and teaching things to newbs. The old Koltyr was an attempt, though weak.

    IDK about your last suggestion... It would have to be something I would try first before I can agree or disagree.
    I also don't know how I feel about others suggesting the Yaw and what not be controlled by the mouse, again it would have to be something I tested before saying yay or nay.
  16. Demigan

    Choice is the Spice of life. The current controls wouldnt just vanish, the "normal" controls seen in other games would simply be added as alternatives to the current controls. It wouldnt affect veterans except that their opponents would have na easier understanding of how to fly and more people would be in the air.
  17. adamts01

    I'm not saying this to support Dem's ideas, of which a few are OK. Better players will always have an advantage, but traditional maneuvers do a ton for new pilots. ESF are the CoD of flight games. 360 bunny hopping no-scopes with a bolt action. A new pilot won't beat a better pilot in a flight sim, but if he's in a defensive position he can get away, of he can force his opponent out of a good position to set him up for a friendly to attack. Pretend an ace in a real game drops from the flight ceiling to engage an A2G aircraft. He can't take advantage of gravity to accelerate, climbing would make him a sitting duck, and any lateral maneuvers would bleed speed. Any aircraft above that ace would be at a distinct advantage. PS2 rewards years and years of muscle memory with its crappy aiming system. Pilots don't really have to think much in advance, just 180, boost, reverse maneuver.... It's all instant and silly. So while real flight mechanics wouldn't let a noob win in a 1v1, they'd make vets fly more cautiously, give more options to poor pilots, and let us ditch these god awful ****** air locks and flak, because new players wouldn't need them because targets wouldn't be so twitchy.