How are more casual players supposed to compete with experienced ESF pilots?

So I was practicing dogfighting with a few really nice people from VS and NC in my TR Mossie (I play fairly casually now) but I realised something, if you want to be a good ESF pilot the amount of effort and time you have to invest is astronomical, compared to infantry or ground vehicles you seem to have to practice ESFs like every single day to be really good at it, and as someone who does not have the time to invest in that, I am not sure how to compete, infact you can't, and the skies are dominated by really damn good pilots, it seems like there is no way for newer or more casual players to compete with any experienced pilot

They're not. Banshee + Ext. Afterburners are the way to go.

Get in a skygaurd and crap all over those pilots.

At least that's how I compete with them.

Magical weapons called Coyotes and Tomcats. I'll hate you if you use them, but they exist.

Get ESF. Play Light assualt Crash into pilot, Bail at the last second. Wait 2-5 seconds for the MLG 1337 pilot to do his typical hate tell. Laugh at him. And rinse and repeat since the New resource system gives you unlimited vehicles. Thats how you get better.

So what your saying is the only way to really compete is to use lock ons?

Essentially. Once you get good, you will graduate to Rotary/Default/BigMag and Fueltanks.
I usually only send hate tells to lockon users who are above BR35.

Well im BR 81 so im ******

Im gunna still lock on you anyway

If you can utilize the reverse maneuver and aim properly, you have no excuse to use noskill newbcrutches like lockons.

A kill is a kill.

Theres a lot more to it than the reverse maneuver

I can aim fine, and reverse maneuver but I cant practice often and most of the "MLG" pilots play almost non stop in their free time to hone their skills, so I have no chance, except with tomcats

If you use lockons, you will not feel any satisfaction from a kill. A kill earned without effort or skill is not a kill, in my opinion. For example, if I'm boosting my KDR by sitting outside a tower in a lockdown prowler, I feel no satisfaction for each kill, but when I'm defending a building against the NC zerg, I feel like I deserve every kill I get with my Lasher.
Also, lockons are not fun. This is a game to be played for fun. Hold mouse over enemy, follow enemy, hit, repeat until dead, is not fun.

So perhaps you should practice like them? In chess do you expect to beat a grandmaster on your first try without ever practicing?

In MY opinion, any kill is satisfying, and knowing that it upsets try hards makes it that much better.

Ohh but you do have a reason it is called effectively killing the enemy... The game isn't about having epic hover duels with nosegun and fuel tanks despite how fun they are for some of us... The game is about having fun, if players find it more fun and find they are more effective by using the lovely tactic of coyote volley swap to nosegun and fire to get that massive first hit damage then that is a perfectly acceptable thing to do and they should do it!

Also the fact people hate them so much and call them no skill weapons goes to prove they are effective and should be used...

If you think a kill earned by just clicking, waiting, and clicking is satisfying, you should probably look into getting a job with chinese gold farmers. It's basically the same thing.

Coyote spam is not fun for anybody except the person who is using them. When I see "Lock A" or I hear coyotes, and I'm at low health, I will bail out and rely on my drifter jets. A person who kills my Scythe with noskill newbcrutches does not deserve to have their KDR improved, get any progress towards directives, or get me on their killboard. Now, if I get into a so called epic hover duel, I will not bail, and gladly accept giving the enemy KDR, directive, and killboard credit.

What he said.
Bonus points if you fly in a squad.

... although most existing pilots (not all, some are rotten to the core!) will hate you for it.

I had that attempted on myself today (me scythe, rammer in reaver).
I got a tell after about 20 secs asking if I got hit by the debris (killed his reaver before he hit me), to which the answer was no. Damn he seemed so disappointed! Although I couldn't help but feel a bit smug in how I lived through that by killing the reaver and not only dumb luck.

You seem to be missing the point, what I am saying is that I and many others don't have the time to practice, we cannot invest the time and effort that these people do and have no real way to counter them

You just described every weapon, and every game ever made.

Ohh and as I said on reddit in a similar topic I assume this was you as well numbers are your friend! Fly with other people

Sure you can. It's not for nothing that the A2A missiles and the Coyotes are so hated by sky knights.