im just wanna be better in dogfigts like im sometimes make arrangements with different people to practice dogfights but as a rule they beat me and after the first fight they leave the lobby. Give me some advice and ideally someone who can help in practice
(Firstly, don’t be fooled by my title, Game Masters handle in-game chat and name bans and aren’t any better at, or more knowledgeable about, the game and it’s mechanics, this is just from any normal players point of view :) )
Well, i think it will depend on what aircraft you’re currently flying and want to learn (some of them are even not ment to dogfight in the first place and do much better through other strategies).
But my personal main tips that work for almost any aircraft:
-Learn to use flaps effectively.
It’s not always the best idea to set flaps and then forget about them as having them on not only makes you turn faster but also drains more speed. In some situations it can be worth it to raise the flaps to gain some speed before activating the flaps again, this will give you an extra burst of turn rate as you now have some extra speed to bleed off to make a tighter turn for a short moment. This can in some situations mean the difference between getting an opportunity for a shot or not or in contrast dodge the enemies shot or not.
You can use landing/takeoff flaps for a short burst of increased turn rate even at higher speeds (but not to high) if you turn them of relatively fast again. At lower speeds you get a few seconds of warning before the flaps break and more often than not you have the time to raise them to the mode before again before they break. Those few seconds of extra turn rate can build up over time if you feather them on/off. This is a risky one though as you lose a lot of speed by doing this, but as a last ditch effort it can get you out of a sticky situation, i personally usually reserve this for when i’m losing the fight or i’m about to get shot. Seldom worth it for an opportunity to shoot an enemy as if you miss you are going to be behind in the fight.
-Bring less fuel.
It’s a bit of balance here, some aircraft use a lot of fuel and others use very little. Try taking as little as possible while still having the option to turn back and land if you run out of fuel due to surviving longer than your average match length. The more fuel you take the worse your plane will fly but take to little and you risk running out in the middle of a dogfight because you now turn better and survive longer. It’s a pros and cons deal that depend on the specific aircraft.
-Don’t tunnelvision.
It’s easy to get lost in a dogfight while in a match and miss an opportunity to help out a teammate in a way that nets you a kill and hopefully them a kill as well if they notice you going in for the help as they can now engage the target you were in the fight with.
Additionally keeping track of any enemies coming into your dogfight to try to destroy you is important.
-Learn actual strategies from real life.
Look at videos to learn real strategies used in real dogfights as they will help you quite a bit in the game as well. They are taught to pilots for a reason :)
But again, the specific aircraft matters as well and some have more specific tips and others don’t want to turn fight at all. It can also matter what aircraft you are facing as some do better than others in any given situation. Some might do well in a two circle fight but worse in a scissor fight for example. So comparing what your plane is good at vs what the enemy plane is good at can also matter.
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What game mode are you flying in?
Air AB, air RB or Air SB?
Likely, due to way different power levels - many of the best-practices that apply to RB or SB won’t work as well for Arcade.
It’s also a big question of: Are you flying mirror-matchups in Duelling scenarios (both dive down to the deck and then engage at a high speed opener) or live game examples? Biggest difference this introduces, beyond aircraft assymetry, is that in a live game you engage at altitude which gives you diving room which gives you the ability to force resets and in some planes, completely changes the way you use them (e.g.: Hellcats in duelling scenario got enough energy for like 2 turns, then they just… die. Meanwhile if you engage an enemy at same energy and altitude at 4km and they go downhill - you’re now an incredibly agile, terrifying monster that they’ll never shake unless they go vertical.)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnyigzFtHeNr9zTkpxyD0ksFD3CwLa2UE
This library is lowkey the gold-standard for generic RB/SB advice.
It’s very important to note that these maneuvers are TOOLS and don’t need to be executed perfectly as described. The descriptions are for controlled and consistent drills and practice with a buddy, not gospel. In fact, feel free to mix and match various techniques demonstrated as the fight evolves.
For 1:1 duelling scenarios, Squishface has a few decent tutorial videos showcasing his duels and explaining what and why he does when and so on.
videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SDZOj9VpI8&list=PLPGVQDTr_Em7t0ZUqm2wLf62A9Gg6Y7oZ&index=11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7jIysYGsGs&list=PLPGVQDTr_Em7t0ZUqm2wLf62A9Gg6Y7oZ&index=13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBbmBgjoQHY&list=PLPGVQDTr_Em7t0ZUqm2wLf62A9Gg6Y7oZ&index=16
For specific aircraft usecases, he also talks about some (F6F-5, F4U, F8F, Fw190, P51. He promised to make a Bf109F4 video sometime back so hopefully we get that too) and also discusses live/EC game usecases.
In addition to squishface, IdahoBookworm has a nice video on F6F-5 and P-38.
Personal take, ASB perspective. Some of it is applicable to other modes, some of it isn’t.
- Learning how to use your rudder is key to flying propeller planes. Practice “Falling Leaf” (it’s in the library I linked) to build familiarity and muscle memory of how to “dance” on your rudders to avoid spinning out of control.
- Learn the difference of various pursuit curves (lag, pure and lead) and build familiarity with when to use which. At most basic level, learn to ease your turn before pulling in to reduce difficulty of the shot using “Turn circle extension” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s6B3PIXXDU
- Learn how to use rudder to speed up your roll rate. Rolling with and without rudder is day and night. Learn how to avoid overdoing it to avoid skidding and possibly stalling, though.
- Don’t be afraid of vertical components to your fights. Out of plane maneuvers open up the possibility of cutting into your opponent’s turn, enable aggressive flap usage without bleeding too much speed or risking flap rips and more. At the very minimum, in SB stay conscious of where the center of your canopy is pointing - is it pointing above the enemy aircraft? Is it pointing AT the enemy aircraft? Is it pointing under the enemy aircraft?
- Be aggressive when you open. Initial advantage, even if it leaves you at disadvantage later on, is better than playing the long-game when there’s risk of getting third partied. This of course requires having good aim to capitalize on your aggression.
I really like doing the following in SB EC - usually I get onto my enemy’s tail because they’re usually going up while I’m going down and having a gravity assist.
This probably doesn’t work in RB because of mouse aim accuracy - but basically: Point nose straight under my opponent as we close into gun range, roll left at 45 degree angle and begin pulling to hopefully bait opponent then quickly do a 180 degree roll to the right (so that I’m upside down) and hard pull.
I found it very successful earlier today against A6M2s, Ki-44s and Ki-43 in my Spitfire Mk II. - Added observation for 109s: Negative Gs save lives. If you’re on defensive, pushing stick forward before rolling can help you dodge shots over just constantly pulling and hoping for the best. Partially this is because roll rate degrades with additional Gs, and partly because you ruin your opponent’s lead completely. I had unpredictable negative Gs into a snap roll save me in a Bf109F4 vs Spitfire mkV matchup
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Fly high, fight low.
You can boom and zoom even a spitfire, when there are clouds present:]
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