Jump To Lightspeed Archive
Thread: Seeking tips on flying wingman
Page 1 of 1
Iralith
Mon Nov 15, 2004 10:52 am
#1
. . . no, not in the picking-up-girls-in-bars sense.
Last night, for the first time in fact in any flying game, I was flying a mission along with a friend. We did OK, though we ultimately gotvaped when a couple of pirates spawned on top of us in Tier 4 Ixiyens. But throughout it we were mostly just blazing away in a free-for-all.
This was really quite fun, but it occurred to me that I really ought to try and learn how to fly wingman, so as to be more use in future. I assume doing so is a matter of sticking with your leader, trying to take down anything that's attacking him . . . but I was having a really hard time figuring out how to do that in practice.
Any tips, anyone?
Aden_Nak
Mon Nov 15, 2004 11:09 am
#2
My first suggstion would be to know where your wingman is at all times. In previous XvT games, I have always assigned a static hotkey to target said wingman. I don't know how group selection keys are working, but if they DO work in JtL, use 'em. The second suggestion is to check your RADAR constantly, especially if you are NOT the lead. This frees your leader up for more combat awareness, while you handle situational awareness.
Try to target the same ships and double team them, obviously. And it's each of your responsibilities to engage whomever is attacking your wingmate. That's the idea, really. You almost are using each other as "bait" of sorts. I don't know about other pilots, but I do know that the AI in this game is extremely bad at juggling multiple attackers at once, and will often either focus on one target entirely or constantly break of and regroup whenever attacked.
But mostly, situational awareness is key. If it takes you more than a few seconds to find your wingmate, you're probably not doing something right.
Try to target the same ships and double team them, obviously. And it's each of your responsibilities to engage whomever is attacking your wingmate. That's the idea, really. You almost are using each other as "bait" of sorts. I don't know about other pilots, but I do know that the AI in this game is extremely bad at juggling multiple attackers at once, and will often either focus on one target entirely or constantly break of and regroup whenever attacked.
But mostly, situational awareness is key. If it takes you more than a few seconds to find your wingmate, you're probably not doing something right.
Darksabre6
Mon Nov 15, 2004 11:10 am
#3
Hmmm, it mostly takes some practice. Some things that might help:
1) Bind your numpad (unless you are using it) to target team members. For example, I have numpad 1 bound to "Target Group Member 1" andthe same for the rest of the numpad keys. This way, I can quickly target my wingman, which makes it easy to see his status and location.
2) Use /follow. I wouldn't recommend using it while fighting, but it helps when forming up on his wing.
3)Make sure you have good communication. If he's the leader, have him say what he's targeting, and if he has someone on his tail.
That's all I can think of. Nothing major, but it helps when I'm flying with a friend. Just keep practicing 
.
.
Theu
Mon Nov 15, 2004 11:55 am
#4
use a mic program like ventrillo or teamspeak2.
Ifind being a good wingman is a bit clumsy due to slower pace of jtl.
watch his tail, if he has good shields the wayonly hes gonna die to tier 4's(other then gunships ect.)is if he gets 3-4 boggies on his 6, fire 1 shot at am and they break off.
Iralith
Mon Nov 15, 2004 2:18 pm
#5
So generally focus on the wingleader's target, but be ready to break off at any second? Yeah, that's sort of what I've been trying to do . . . I think a big aspect of the difficulty for me is that I haven't completely gotten down the twenty different keys for targeting. (There is, at least, one nice default "target group leader" key--period--which I've been using plenty.)
A big aspect of why this has been tricky for me (and this has to do with situational awareness) is that--well, say you break off to pound on that X-wing that's gotten in behind your buddy. If you keep on nailing it until it's dead, you wind up off in the middle of nowhere, far from your wingmate, the NPC ship you're protecting, etc.; if you break off after a second, it's just going to come back and its shields'll eventually charge up again. What do you guys do about stuff like that?
Aden_Nak
Mon Nov 15, 2004 2:25 pm
#6
I think that falls under "Situational Awareness", really. In time you will just get used to being able to find your wignleader quickly. However, if you break off to take out your wingleader's attacker, your wingleader SHOULD also come around to help you finish said attacker unless he is otherwise occupied (still dogfighting an original enemy or performing a mission goal, like a bombing run).
Essentially, once your wingleader notices that you are NOT on his wing anymore, he should be asking why, as well.
Essentially, once your wingleader notices that you are NOT on his wing anymore, he should be asking why, as well.
Flynn_Nomad
Mon Nov 15, 2004 2:25 pm
#7
Is there a bindable key for "target enemy who shot the leader"?
That would help.
Grimbot
Mon Nov 15, 2004 2:45 pm
#8
Group missions are a lot of fun. I find /follow to be invaluable between dogfigts. When you're "in the poop", as it were, the radar is the fastest and easiest way of locating friends and foes. When I'm in the middle of a big battle I often find that it's easier just to start blasting at ships to get them to target rather than individually locking onto them.
Veezor
Page 1 of 1