[VIDEO] Beginners Tutorial on Air to Ground ESF

Hey guys! Today we will take a look on how you can get into the airgame by being an air to ground attack aircraft. We will go through the loadout, game style and thoughts about this particular way of flying. As a beginner pilot I will also try to explain why I think this is a good way to start flying and I will try to share some tips on how to be more effective and survive longer. Hope you enjoy!

Hmm... A year ago, RadarX said, that such overlap crosshairs can count as cheat... just FYI.

Good video anyway. GJ.

actually he confirmed several times that overlays as long as they don't change game files are allowed ... even crosshairs.

Then again that was during a time when the actual ingame crosshairs were effed up badly ... had a tendency to wander and weren't accurate.

Anyways nice video ... hopefully it will get some more people interested in the airgame ... we seem to be running low on the vet side when it comes to pilots (on cobalt at least) ... so fresh blood is realy needed.

thanks a lot for the feedback guys

People like you are why I don't play anymore. I just jumped back into the game today to take another look, and it was non-stop air-to-ground pounding. Well, that's why I stopped playing before. Just jumped on the forums to see if there was any announcements about air-to-ground nerfs -- to give me a reason not to uninstall right now. Instead I only see a tutorial video. It's no wonder the server populations are a steady decline. I know I'm off to other non-hover aircraft games. Bye!

You mean people that care for the game enough to actually make tutorials and videos and are probably the only form of publicity this game currently has?
Yeah what a shame that is.

Take some responsibility for it then. Pull a counter air vehicle if you can fly. If you are like me and can't fly, then pull a burster MAX. Pull AA as a heavy. Heck even pull an Archer. Don't forget the Skyguard. You don't have to Rambo either - be smart, use the spawn room / the environment as cover. Once enough people start getting annoyed with air, and importantly can see that someone is at least making the effort to make it move on, others will join in. Sometimes it is about making the first move.

You also have to evaluate the situation and realise when it is time to just find a different fight somewhere else. In the same way as when a base is overrun by a zerg, if a base is swarming with enemy air bombarding the spawn areas and you don't have coordinated resources to combat it, any fight is essentially pointless.

I'm a massive hater of air - it has too much utility - but if all you do is complain about air and do nothing about it then yes - all you will eventually see is air-to-ground pounding.

Nah somebody else do it, he's busy shooting infantery.
And because apparently 99% seem to think that way "air is OP".

I remember running into a 100+ NC zerg at Mani Fortress, which had HUGE air support.
I spawned as skyguard at Northpoint and destroyed 1 liberator, 5 ESFs and 1 galaxy (the pilot panicked and rammed a second galaxy, subsequently crashing, apparently killing another couple guys with his debris - it was hilarious). In a bit over 3 minutes.
After the Zerg took Mani Fortress and a vanguard destroyed my skyguard I respawned as a HA with my standard-issue TR G2A launcher. Two other heavies had the same idea and we were later joined by a burster MAX. In 10 minutes we destroyed every aircraft the enemy had, I got the killing blow on 1 liberator and 6 ESFs myself.
So, yeah. A2G OP. I mean they killed me TWICE during that action.
And even if I'm alone - locking on and shooting a rocket takes me what, 4 seconds? The pilot can either run and repair, being busy for a minute or two, or he can stay and risk actually dying.

Seriously, the only reason why air is annoying me occasionally is because I can only fight air OR the enemy ground forces, but not both at the same time. Usually the enemy infantry just doesn't have the decency to not shoot me while I kill their airborne teammates.
Well, that and AH reavers that make no sound until they shoot. But thats a problem of the games soundsystem, not of the reaver.

You can't change stupid

Especially when it's a mass of people

I got used to the fact that some people just hate, i guess they cant live without it, anyway some more tips on hornets coming soon!

You must be one of those people who tries to solo an ESF with your G2A launcher, and then wonders why he's not stopping them. You know an ESF can eat 3 annihilator rockets? That's more than enough time for them to kill you and fly away. Try learning to aim a dumbfire launcher and you will have a better time.

Flak needs to be buffed.

lol I actually deleted that last line specifically to avoid this damn discussion.

*pulls in line to find no catch*

Fine.....be that way

Confirmed, buff flak.

Which also reminds me, I finally understood why people hate flak. If you tunnel in your thermal scope while gunning, you can't see ****.

poor things.

I personally hate it because it's more effective vs me on A2A esf duty than vs lolpodders ... once in a fight against any other not completly new pilot there is simply no escape.

If i try to disengage then the esf i was fighting simply unloads his clip into my back and i am done for, if i stay i not onlyhave to overcome the aim of my oponent but also the incoming flak.

I ofc can try to reverse extremly close to the ground ... well first of all it's very difficult ... you are flying backwards and blind and at high speed with the goal to stop just before the ground and behind something that can shield you from the flak and all you have to help you with that is the sometimes a bit wonky altitude meter in your cockpit view.

Take to long and it's all for nothing, since you gave the enemy esf too much time to shoot at you ... too fast and you usually end up as a mole.

And even if i manage that ... that's usually the time when a lockon warning pops up and i just sigh exit and hope that the other esf at least gets the credit for me going splat on the ground (the esf kill usually goes to the lockon heavy in those cases)

This is why i always cringe when i see BS like "buff G2A" threads.

The funny thing is ... even tough every infantry player seems to realy hate lolpodders ... they all are fine with protecting the ones of their faction^^


TL,DR.: Basically all that lolpod hate usually comes from people that only hate the enemy lolpodders, while they never even think about how helpfull a good A2G esf is during a base cap ... and while they accusate/attack pilots with a deep seeded rage on the forums, they somehow never let the enemy A2A esf kill those evil A2G esfs.
Hypocrits ... all of them

It can survive 3 annihilator rockets?
I gotta test this because I never use that one, but I was pretty sure that any lock-on sets an ESF burning or near burning with 2 hits.
Meaning 3 are a kill.

It's probably assuming the 25% fire suppression bug is being used.

It's evident that renzor needs to do a video with the ppa and mlgpods then.

This is the macdaddy loadout.