I noticed there is no aviator guide in the wiki, so here's my attempt. Judge and add info ass you see fit.
The Aviator's Guide to Pwning
When I first started playing Battlefield 2, I sucked. At everything. Infantry combat, armor combat, helicopter combat, and ESPECIALLY jet combat. I could not fly for beans. I wondered why since in BF1942 I ruled the skies. Eventually all my skills evened out except for flying the jets. I still sucked, and it really irked me cause I love to fly. So I practiced in single player and I never got better. It was starting to bother me. So one day I decided to buy a joystick. A Saitek Cyborg Evo Force. Now in no way am I endorsing joysticks as a way to make joo a leetzor pilot. There are mouse and Keyboard pilots out there that can tear my ass up. But joysticks work for me therefore, this guide might work better for joysticks. Now, there are many aspects to piloting. There is attacking, there is defending, and maneuvering/dogfighting. Bombers and Fighters. This guide is divided into 2 MAIN sections for bombing and fighting with many sub-sections. So here we go.
I. Death From Above - The Guide to Dropping The Bombs
(F-15 Strike Eagle, Su-30, Su-34 Flanker)
In BF2 there are far few pleasures than dropping a load of explosive hunks of metal to the ground and racking up 7 or 8 kills. Bombers are some of the most deadly vehicles in the game for a few reasons. 1. You can kill alot of enemies with the bombs. 2. Your co-pilot can wreak havoc with the laser guided missile. 3. It's very easy to get TKs. The main point I want to hammer home here is: being a bomber pilot requires two things. 1. A brain. 2. Team Respect. Being a bomber is not all about getting personal kills, it's about supporting your team. If there is a tasty target and you realize that there are friendlies nearby, save the bombs, k? Set up the shot for your co-pilot as his attack is far more pin-point, plus you still get points for the kill. Note: Bombers are slow and clunky compared to fighters, don’t try to engage a fighter in a dogfight, if they have one iota of skill you WILL be shot down.
A. Attacking
a. It's fairly easy to get kills with your bombs. Fly at about 200-250m, look for a target, drop down to 100-150m, line him up and drop well before he’s under you. Bomber’s payloads allows for a large margin of error so you’re bound to hit him. It’s hard to explain in definite words so you’ll still need to get the hang of this by practice. It’s especially good to find groups of targets or better yet LINES of targets. Man that’s fun stuff.
b. There is a teamwork aspect to attacking, remember your co-pilot too. Don’t just fly all over the place. If you spot a target with friendlies within blast radius, line up his shot, fly about 150-200m and fly through, giving him the most time to get a lock and destroy the painted target.
c. Whenever you hear “ENEMY APC/ARMOR/VEHICLE SPOTTED.” Use that spot to your advantage. Check your map and find the icon, fly to it, and obliterate. For vehicles (cars/AA emplacements) don’t forget your Vulcan, it’s far better to save your bombs for a menacing tank.
d. Support your team. Join a squad that’s on the ground and use your VOIP if it’s available. I like to let my squad know, “I’m in the bomber, spot targets and await airstrike.” If I’m inbound, I let them know at about 10 seconds. “Airstrike inbound, clear the area.” Not only am I helping them, but I feel like a real zoomie. .
B. Defending
a. Defending is far more honorable. A defending bomber should fly at 200m and look for targets trying to cap flags/enroute to capping flags. Fly in and devastate. Not only will you get points for kills but defend points as well. Patrol the battlefield and wait, heck while your waiting, attack! Defending will not only help YOU but earn you respect from your team. Good job, soldier!
b. Don’t forget that defending is where you are most likely to get TKs. Grunts on the ground, defending the flag, about to extinguish the flame of life from the opposing force DO NOT appreciate being bombed to the seventh level of hell. So be conservative, k? Thxbai.
C. Dogfighting/Maneuvering
a. Notice how all these maneuvers are simply defensive. Like I said, dogfighting ain’t for bombers. At least against fighters. Yet anyway, If I’m in a bomber I refrain from air combat. But I will teach you some handy maneuvers for avoiding heat-seaking missiles, and Vulcan cannon rounds.
b. The Verticle Loop – A vertical loop is simple, pull up on your stick. You’ll complete the loop, no problem. For a tighter loop, fire your after burners. Either way, you’ll dodge the speeding death headed your way.
c. The Horizontal Loop – Similar to a vertical loop, slam your stick to the right or the left till your perpendicular to the earth and pull up. You’ll complete the loop. Tighter loop? Afterburner.
d. The Barrel Roll – In the immortal words of Peppy Hare, “Do a DAMN BARREL ROLL!!!” Lawl. This move is good for long range Vulcan fire. Just slam your stick to the left or right. You’ll roll.
e. The Break – A simple turn to avoid Vulcan fire.
f. Half Loop to Break – This one is more complicated yet is great for losing that pesky bogie on your tail. Just perform a vertical loop and at the crest, break sideways. If pulled off seamlessly enough, you will lose the person tailing you.
g. Flares – Use flares only when truly screwed. You can dodge any missile with the right maneuver. Flares are for when a maneuver is impossible or when you just CAN’T afford to abort your bombing run. Drop flares but soon enough you will have to maneuver.
II. Dominating the Skies – Fighters and Multi-Taskers
(F/A-18 Super Hornet, X-35 Joint Strike Fighter, J-10 MiG Variant, MiG-29 Fulcrum)
A. Attacking
a. While in one of these aircraft, attacking will be your main purpose. Hunting and destroying air and ground targets is your objective. In these planes, your bomb payload is limited to two smaller, weaker bombs. However you carry two more stinger missiles. Hence, these planes were made for air-to-air combat, but in the hands of a seasoned pilot can devastate both air forces and ground forces.
b. Use your bombs on tanks, APCs, and grouped vehicles/infantry. Fly much lower 50-100m, and let them loose before you fly over your target. It takes personal practice to learn exactly when. Another method is “dive-bombing”. This allows for surgical bomb strikes. Concentrating both bombs at one spot. Good vs. Armor. Gain height around 200-300m, and dive down at your target, drop your bombs at an appropriate time and pull up. Again, practice makes perfect.
c. The main purpose of these aircraft is to divert the attention of enemy aircraft. Bombers rarely stand a chance against you in a fighter because of your maneuverability and speed but we’ll cover this more in the dogfighting section.
d. VULCANS. Most people don’t realize the strength of the Vulcan cannon. Concentrated Vulcan fire can destroy vehicles, AA emplacements, helicopters, jets, and one bullet can tear a soldier in two. Fighters can tear up the ground and sky with this baby, so use it wisely.
B. Defending
a. Use the same methods covered in bombing. Fly lower and patrol the battlefield.
C. Dogfighting/Maneuvering
a. The meat and potatoes of fighter piloting. The dogfight. Air-to-air combat between two jets. This is where the men are separated from the boys. I will go into detail about maneuvering here. Not only will you use the defensive maneuvers I explained earlier but also offensive maneuvers to either position your enemy so that you can destroy him or trick your enemy into destroying himself. Note: Fly at all times in bombing mode. Only switch to missiles when you are ready to fire.
b. Tailing – When tailing an enemy it is wise to stay quiet, and wait till he goes in for a bombing run. He will usually fly straight and level, so this gives a chance to ram some hot lead up his tailpipe. Get a bead on him and fire your vulcans. If you can hold a bead, you will do some real damage. After you’ve done enough damage that dark smoke is coming from his plane, he’s ready for the missile. Switch to missiles and watch him dance like crazy, eventually, he will freak and drop flares. Wait until they are out of the picture and tail some more. Eventually he will make a mistake and maneuver straight for too long. A good pilot can sense when they are about to make this mistake and if you are locked, THIS is when you let Fox1 go. FIREBALL!
c. Turning – If you are tailing and enemy and he breaks don’t copy his motion IMMEDIATLEY. You will end up RIGHT WHERE HE WANTS YOU. In front of him. Instead, Fly straight for a second and then follow his trajectory. You will end up right behind him again. Note: using your afterburner in a turn makes it tighter.
d. The Fake-Out – I call this the fake out because you trick your opponent into moving infront of you. If your opponent is behind you, cut throttle and drop some speed, about 200 kmph. Then full throttle again. This slight drop in speed will make your opponent pass you up and you will have him on a platter. Then just Tail him.
e. The Trap – I call this the trap because you trap your opponent into killing himself. To do this you need some reflexes. I’ve noticed that a lot of noobs get overzealous and try to follow you move for move. Sometimes an ace will do this if you dodge enough of his attacks. Fly under bridges through small gaps, and otherwise dangerous places to fly. If you’re GOOD then you’ll make it, but sometimes you’ll mess up. This goes for everyone so hopefully you’re better than the pilot on your tail and BOOM! He wrecks. Then you have the skies to yourself for a while.
III. Closing
A. That’s all I have for now. Using those methods I’ve become a damn good pilot. Good enough that when I go into a Clan server they usually ask me if I’m interested in becoming a clan pilot. But what I cannot stress enough is PRACTICE. It may take longer than you think, that’s the way it was for me, but stick to it, and you’ll get better. Another point I want to drive home is that in ranked multiplayer games, let the aces fly. Practice in SP, K? One more thing, don’t TK for jets. It’s really annoying, and if someone was there first, let them have the jet. If you wanna improve on this guide, go for it. I’m letting it into the public domain. It’s everyone’s to re-produce and post as they see fit. Just don’t be a lamer and put your name on it.
-The Gunny, 187sKillz
The Aviator's Guide to Pwning
When I first started playing Battlefield 2, I sucked. At everything. Infantry combat, armor combat, helicopter combat, and ESPECIALLY jet combat. I could not fly for beans. I wondered why since in BF1942 I ruled the skies. Eventually all my skills evened out except for flying the jets. I still sucked, and it really irked me cause I love to fly. So I practiced in single player and I never got better. It was starting to bother me. So one day I decided to buy a joystick. A Saitek Cyborg Evo Force. Now in no way am I endorsing joysticks as a way to make joo a leetzor pilot. There are mouse and Keyboard pilots out there that can tear my ass up. But joysticks work for me therefore, this guide might work better for joysticks. Now, there are many aspects to piloting. There is attacking, there is defending, and maneuvering/dogfighting. Bombers and Fighters. This guide is divided into 2 MAIN sections for bombing and fighting with many sub-sections. So here we go.
I. Death From Above - The Guide to Dropping The Bombs
(F-15 Strike Eagle, Su-30, Su-34 Flanker)
In BF2 there are far few pleasures than dropping a load of explosive hunks of metal to the ground and racking up 7 or 8 kills. Bombers are some of the most deadly vehicles in the game for a few reasons. 1. You can kill alot of enemies with the bombs. 2. Your co-pilot can wreak havoc with the laser guided missile. 3. It's very easy to get TKs. The main point I want to hammer home here is: being a bomber pilot requires two things. 1. A brain. 2. Team Respect. Being a bomber is not all about getting personal kills, it's about supporting your team. If there is a tasty target and you realize that there are friendlies nearby, save the bombs, k? Set up the shot for your co-pilot as his attack is far more pin-point, plus you still get points for the kill. Note: Bombers are slow and clunky compared to fighters, don’t try to engage a fighter in a dogfight, if they have one iota of skill you WILL be shot down.
A. Attacking
a. It's fairly easy to get kills with your bombs. Fly at about 200-250m, look for a target, drop down to 100-150m, line him up and drop well before he’s under you. Bomber’s payloads allows for a large margin of error so you’re bound to hit him. It’s hard to explain in definite words so you’ll still need to get the hang of this by practice. It’s especially good to find groups of targets or better yet LINES of targets. Man that’s fun stuff.
b. There is a teamwork aspect to attacking, remember your co-pilot too. Don’t just fly all over the place. If you spot a target with friendlies within blast radius, line up his shot, fly about 150-200m and fly through, giving him the most time to get a lock and destroy the painted target.
c. Whenever you hear “ENEMY APC/ARMOR/VEHICLE SPOTTED.” Use that spot to your advantage. Check your map and find the icon, fly to it, and obliterate. For vehicles (cars/AA emplacements) don’t forget your Vulcan, it’s far better to save your bombs for a menacing tank.
d. Support your team. Join a squad that’s on the ground and use your VOIP if it’s available. I like to let my squad know, “I’m in the bomber, spot targets and await airstrike.” If I’m inbound, I let them know at about 10 seconds. “Airstrike inbound, clear the area.” Not only am I helping them, but I feel like a real zoomie. .
B. Defending
a. Defending is far more honorable. A defending bomber should fly at 200m and look for targets trying to cap flags/enroute to capping flags. Fly in and devastate. Not only will you get points for kills but defend points as well. Patrol the battlefield and wait, heck while your waiting, attack! Defending will not only help YOU but earn you respect from your team. Good job, soldier!
b. Don’t forget that defending is where you are most likely to get TKs. Grunts on the ground, defending the flag, about to extinguish the flame of life from the opposing force DO NOT appreciate being bombed to the seventh level of hell. So be conservative, k? Thxbai.
C. Dogfighting/Maneuvering
a. Notice how all these maneuvers are simply defensive. Like I said, dogfighting ain’t for bombers. At least against fighters. Yet anyway, If I’m in a bomber I refrain from air combat. But I will teach you some handy maneuvers for avoiding heat-seaking missiles, and Vulcan cannon rounds.
b. The Verticle Loop – A vertical loop is simple, pull up on your stick. You’ll complete the loop, no problem. For a tighter loop, fire your after burners. Either way, you’ll dodge the speeding death headed your way.
c. The Horizontal Loop – Similar to a vertical loop, slam your stick to the right or the left till your perpendicular to the earth and pull up. You’ll complete the loop. Tighter loop? Afterburner.
d. The Barrel Roll – In the immortal words of Peppy Hare, “Do a DAMN BARREL ROLL!!!” Lawl. This move is good for long range Vulcan fire. Just slam your stick to the left or right. You’ll roll.
e. The Break – A simple turn to avoid Vulcan fire.
f. Half Loop to Break – This one is more complicated yet is great for losing that pesky bogie on your tail. Just perform a vertical loop and at the crest, break sideways. If pulled off seamlessly enough, you will lose the person tailing you.
g. Flares – Use flares only when truly screwed. You can dodge any missile with the right maneuver. Flares are for when a maneuver is impossible or when you just CAN’T afford to abort your bombing run. Drop flares but soon enough you will have to maneuver.
II. Dominating the Skies – Fighters and Multi-Taskers
(F/A-18 Super Hornet, X-35 Joint Strike Fighter, J-10 MiG Variant, MiG-29 Fulcrum)
A. Attacking
a. While in one of these aircraft, attacking will be your main purpose. Hunting and destroying air and ground targets is your objective. In these planes, your bomb payload is limited to two smaller, weaker bombs. However you carry two more stinger missiles. Hence, these planes were made for air-to-air combat, but in the hands of a seasoned pilot can devastate both air forces and ground forces.
b. Use your bombs on tanks, APCs, and grouped vehicles/infantry. Fly much lower 50-100m, and let them loose before you fly over your target. It takes personal practice to learn exactly when. Another method is “dive-bombing”. This allows for surgical bomb strikes. Concentrating both bombs at one spot. Good vs. Armor. Gain height around 200-300m, and dive down at your target, drop your bombs at an appropriate time and pull up. Again, practice makes perfect.
c. The main purpose of these aircraft is to divert the attention of enemy aircraft. Bombers rarely stand a chance against you in a fighter because of your maneuverability and speed but we’ll cover this more in the dogfighting section.
d. VULCANS. Most people don’t realize the strength of the Vulcan cannon. Concentrated Vulcan fire can destroy vehicles, AA emplacements, helicopters, jets, and one bullet can tear a soldier in two. Fighters can tear up the ground and sky with this baby, so use it wisely.
B. Defending
a. Use the same methods covered in bombing. Fly lower and patrol the battlefield.
C. Dogfighting/Maneuvering
a. The meat and potatoes of fighter piloting. The dogfight. Air-to-air combat between two jets. This is where the men are separated from the boys. I will go into detail about maneuvering here. Not only will you use the defensive maneuvers I explained earlier but also offensive maneuvers to either position your enemy so that you can destroy him or trick your enemy into destroying himself. Note: Fly at all times in bombing mode. Only switch to missiles when you are ready to fire.
b. Tailing – When tailing an enemy it is wise to stay quiet, and wait till he goes in for a bombing run. He will usually fly straight and level, so this gives a chance to ram some hot lead up his tailpipe. Get a bead on him and fire your vulcans. If you can hold a bead, you will do some real damage. After you’ve done enough damage that dark smoke is coming from his plane, he’s ready for the missile. Switch to missiles and watch him dance like crazy, eventually, he will freak and drop flares. Wait until they are out of the picture and tail some more. Eventually he will make a mistake and maneuver straight for too long. A good pilot can sense when they are about to make this mistake and if you are locked, THIS is when you let Fox1 go. FIREBALL!
c. Turning – If you are tailing and enemy and he breaks don’t copy his motion IMMEDIATLEY. You will end up RIGHT WHERE HE WANTS YOU. In front of him. Instead, Fly straight for a second and then follow his trajectory. You will end up right behind him again. Note: using your afterburner in a turn makes it tighter.
d. The Fake-Out – I call this the fake out because you trick your opponent into moving infront of you. If your opponent is behind you, cut throttle and drop some speed, about 200 kmph. Then full throttle again. This slight drop in speed will make your opponent pass you up and you will have him on a platter. Then just Tail him.
e. The Trap – I call this the trap because you trap your opponent into killing himself. To do this you need some reflexes. I’ve noticed that a lot of noobs get overzealous and try to follow you move for move. Sometimes an ace will do this if you dodge enough of his attacks. Fly under bridges through small gaps, and otherwise dangerous places to fly. If you’re GOOD then you’ll make it, but sometimes you’ll mess up. This goes for everyone so hopefully you’re better than the pilot on your tail and BOOM! He wrecks. Then you have the skies to yourself for a while.
III. Closing
A. That’s all I have for now. Using those methods I’ve become a damn good pilot. Good enough that when I go into a Clan server they usually ask me if I’m interested in becoming a clan pilot. But what I cannot stress enough is PRACTICE. It may take longer than you think, that’s the way it was for me, but stick to it, and you’ll get better. Another point I want to drive home is that in ranked multiplayer games, let the aces fly. Practice in SP, K? One more thing, don’t TK for jets. It’s really annoying, and if someone was there first, let them have the jet. If you wanna improve on this guide, go for it. I’m letting it into the public domain. It’s everyone’s to re-produce and post as they see fit. Just don’t be a lamer and put your name on it.
-The Gunny, 187sKillz
