Tips for a solo fighter

[Wolfs]

Hello gentleman,

 

Because of having not that much friends that are interested in playing this nice game i'm having a few issues.

 

Whenever i feel like playing multiplayer im flying solo and i nearly always go patrolling the front line on one of the busier servers in the hope of catching somebody and dropping down on him (im always playing 109f4) the issue however is i seem to almost never be able to A) find somebody and B) if i find someone and drop down on him most of the time im suddenly surrounded by the whole red air force.

 

Does anyone have tips for fighting and spotting when you are flying solo?

 

I'd love to hear your responses and tips!

[Lippisch]

Funny, because my experience has always been the same when I fly VVS! I don't think there's anything you can really do if you're 1 against 2 or more... In order to find someone, keep an eye on what objectives are being attacked, and then you can camp around them. Note the frequency of the attacks and you can guess when they next one is arriving, and keep your eye out for the enemy. As for where the dogfights (if any) are happening, just ask in the chat. Good luck! 

[Wolfs]

Well i've tried the camping around objectives tactic and i must say that whilst i've had a few successes with it i am still not able to really find people over the objectives, since im flying alone i tend to fly quite high in an attempt to stay above the enemies. Might my flying at 3-4km alt be a reason for not find enemies?

[TP_Jacko]

If you are flying over the summer and autumn maps it would be hard to spot a low target with Camouflage. To fly alone is tough if you are not on comms. The best you can do is join up with pilots over your home base and fly as a group until the action starts.

 

It might be worth testing what you can see from various altitudes in QMB to see if 3 - 4 Km is to far

[6./ZG26_Emil]

Start high, work your way down until you spot something. Keep your eyes peeled and have an exit strategy before you get sucked into a low alt turn fight that you can't get out of. People can see tracers from miles away and they attract people lie flies on pooh. 

 

Often you watch tracks afterwards and it's quite surprised to see just how many more enemy aircraft were in the vicinity 

 

p.s You can easily see aircraft low down from 5+ Km it just takes some training of your eyes

Edited December 9, 2015 by 6./ZG26_Emil

[Wolfs]

p.s You can easily see aircraft low down from 5+ Km it just takes some training of your eyes

 

do you have any tips on the training of someones eyes? Does your monitor/resolution play a role in this ?

Edited December 9, 2015 by =JG54=Carolus-Rex

[6./ZG26_Emil]

do you have any tips on the training of someones eyes? Does your monitor/resolution play a role in this ?

 

Hmmm firstly it's really practice although it's something we do talk about as we all have different resolutions. I do use a 1440p display and sometimes lower my gamma in the startup.cfg to 0.6 or 0.7 (lower than the game will allow) and that tends to help a little with the contrast. The downside to that is if you fly an morning/evening/night mission it's too dark but you can just change it back to 0.8.

 

The snow map made it much easier to spot lower contacts and with summer and autumn it's definitely harder (seems correct) and also cammo seems to work well. 

 

I spend my entire flights scanning every part of my monitor, it's a habit I'v e built up over the years. You're looking for movement as well as dots and with time it will come to you 

 

p.s It's worth flying high over Axis targets (if you're flying Axis) and gently circle with your left wing down so you can scan the terrain below and co-altitude to you. Eventually someone will come to bomb it and you can watch for explosions or tracer/flak. That's probably a good start.

Edited December 9, 2015 by 6./ZG26_Emil

[Wolfs]

well it seems like i just have to practice some more then!

[6./ZG26_Emil]

Try changing your gamma down to 0.7 or 0.6 and see if it helps you in a QMB. You can set up the enemy to be at 1k and put yourself at 5 or 6k just to see if you can spot them.

[Wolfs]

thanks i'll try practicing in the qmb, i did already set the gamma down and tried with and without sweetfx but both didnt help (that much) 

[JimTM]

Try to keep track of any friendlies in the area that you are flying in. Set up your attack so that you end up in their vicinity (and keep your speed up while climbing out). That way, if the enemy gets on your six, you may have a friendly nearby that would appreciate a nice juicy target. This also works if you're under attack down low. Just fly under some friendlies and hope that they drop down. This is much easier to do in the normal servers of course due to icons.

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

For covering ground troops without being a sitting duck for fighters, try out Pokryshkin's Pendulum.

 

As you said, you are cruising at 4,000m over the target - you can't see down low. If you sit around at 500-1,000m, every single fighter in this Earth's atmosphere will go after you because they can dive on you easily and you can't dive away.

 

The solution Pokryshkin found for this was to start the pattern at a 'high' altitude relative to target (let's stick to your 4,000m in this example), then go on a dive straight through the target area at high speed to check if anything is trying to get through down low. At the end of this, you go on a steep climb using the energy you built up from the dive and return to 4,000m. Straighten out, then start again until you attack something.

 

The idea here is that you are never too vulnerable to enemy attacks, while at the same time giving your ground troops the close cover they need. You either have a very high speed or good altitude.

 

In practice, if you get bounced down low your speed saves you, while if you get bounced at 4000m you have enough options too.

 

Just in case it wasn't clear, I found this rather simplistic representation:

 

[Ace_Pilto]

Grow another set of eyes and never stop weaving and scanning. 

 

Stay just below contrail height.

 

Stay over 500kmph.

 

Make a mission plan and don't get distracted from it.

 

Don't help people who don't help themselves.

 

Don't attack unless you're certain you can finish the guy quickly.

 

Always leave yourself an exit.

[Wolfs]

Thanks lucasblonde, thats some very nice advice which i hadnt thought of yet! Jimmyblonde thanks for the solid advice too!

[Dakpilot]

Make a mission plan and don't get distracted from it.

 

often forgotten and very important 

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[von_Tom]

Go Jabo - it's the only way to fly.

 

Seriously though, jabo flights give you an objective, a flight plan, a high probability of action and a high probability that on the way there, or during your attack or on the egress that there will be some nasties around.  If not, climb climb climb and patrol the front line on the way home.  Then repeat.

 

That or patrol the action points high or low.  Appreciate that some days you'll do well, some days you won't and you'll be ok.

 

Apart from that, others have posted useful tips.  The Pokryshkin's Pendulum thing is the way to go even if you're flying with others, because if something tries to get you, the people behind you can get them.

 

von Tom

[Ace_Pilto]

For covering ground troops without being a sitting duck for fighters, try out Pokryshkin's Pendulum.

 

As you said, you are cruising at 4,000m over the target - you can't see down low. If you sit around at 500-1,000m, every single fighter in this Earth's atmosphere will go after you because they can dive on you easily and you can't dive away.

 

The solution Pokryshkin found for this was to start the pattern at a 'high' altitude relative to target (let's stick to your 4,000m in this example), then go on a dive straight through the target area at high speed to check if anything is trying to get through down low. At the end of this, you go on a steep climb using the energy you built up from the dive and return to 4,000m. Straighten out, then start again until you attack something.

 

The idea here is that you are never too vulnerable to enemy attacks, while at the same time giving your ground troops the close cover they need. You either have a very high speed or good altitude.

 

In practice, if you get bounced down low your speed saves you, while if you get bounced at 4000m you have enough options too.

 

Just in case it wasn't clear, I found this rather simplistic representation:

 

 

This is an excellent solution, I've experimented with similar ideas myself. Good post.

[Wolfs]

Well guys i flew a bit more today and it seems especially the pokryshkin pendulum is a very nice maneuver. Thanks for all the help

[Benti]

Hi Carolus,

 

I'm not flying for too long in the 109 F 4 as well. But what did really help me was the official teamspeak server. You can easily join and surely will learn a lot. The guys are very helpful with all sort of tips.

 

Here is the adress:  8.3.5.133:9407 the pw: bos2014.

 

The other tips are very informative as well, will try them out.

 

 

best regards

benti