Scythe Pilots (And Dog Fighting)

[FlyingMongoose]

We have a grand total of 2 of us with a lot of flight time in a scythe.

And by a lot of flight time, I mean consistently long times without blowing your scythe up or crashing it.

I personally would like to see more talent in our piloting (and uniformity, that definitely helps).

I've made some friends with an outfit that is pilot exclusive. Every time I play with them they are in the sky in either a squadron of scythes, or a bunch of scythes, and a few libs.

Here's the deal for longevity in a scythe:
1. Never overextend (don't go beyond your boundaries and end up surrounded).
2. Know your escape route.
3. ALWAYS fly in a squad (if you can). Or know where a squad is so you can drag tails to them 3 or more to a squad is best.

Now, part of three is very important, you can have significantly longer longevity in a scythe if you fly in a squad of 3 or more. Make sure you communicate enemy positions whenever possible, but if you need to take the escape route, everyone should know what that escape route is. (Point it out on your way into the attack positions). If even ONE of you says they need to go back for resupply or repair, EVERYONE goes back with them (even if it means breaking off a dog fight). (The "Everyone" can be omitted if there is a large force of scythes, I would recommend at least 2 people go with them, so a squadron of 3 minimum going).

Why break off a dog fight you ask? Well there's 3 of you, the dog fighter against you may end up rolling around a big more and you end up with them at a distance behind. This being the case, if you are the dog fighter,  you are usually the last in line, this means 2 can loop around and take care of that tail, while you replace 2 (take less damage) and 1 continues on to their reload/resupply/repair.

At least 2 of you should have lock ons (this actually makes a difference, most pilots fly like maniacs when they get locked on attempting to break lock, this means if one lock breaks another one will be quick on them.

Use your main guns. Lock ons are nice, but if they take too long switch to the cannon and start firing machine gun rounds.

Know your team mates most likely roll/leave/escape out of a dogfight, try to figure out their motions and their most likely direction to turn (so you don't run into them). Example: If I'm lead, I bank head left it means I'm probably going that way, you need to bank head right, and if there is a third you can go up or down. Just pay attention to who is in front of you and what they do.

Make sure your map is fully zoomed out (even use H if you have to for the quarter screen map for maximum view of the map).

While you don't have to fly in a formation, make sure you all are approaching a point on the same vector. This allows you, or your lead to call out enemy locations using clock face directions on your approach, in flight this is insanely useful.

When not in combat, your scythe squadron should get back in formation (or vector line). This way you can continue to use clock face direction for quicker attack patterns.

If your squadron is outnumbered, but you know you can take one or two out and then leave, do so. You pick enough leaves off a plant it eventually dies.


Don't forget you can hover UNDER landing pads and get resupplies (useful when there's drop pods and liberators about).

Lastly, remember the scythe is the shortest (height) of all the ESF's, this ACTUALLY provides you an escape advantage. We can fit through the ends of both sides of a tech plant. And turn sideways for narrow escape routes. Make use of this as even if you don't get the points for the kill, it's insanely satisfying running through things and hearing that explosion behind you. I've had some softies on the ground commend me on my escape routes in the past when they've seen me (zig zagging bio lab legs, looping around archways, cutting through narrow passages, it's all worth it).

Scythe 65 Killstreak Uncut (Planetside 2 Gameplay/Commentary) Not a bad basics video from LevelCap

Your frame and load out:
It's entirely up to you. Remember Air Load Outs do not save your "last one" like vehicles and infantry.

My load outs are as follows:

Air-to-Air
Weapons: Hailstorm + A2A Lock Ons
Armor: Composite 4
Frame: Dog Fighting

Air-to-Ground
Weapons: PPA + Rocket Pods
Armor: Composite 4
Frame: Hover

Mix
Weapons: Hailstorm (with recent update this will probably change to Saron) + Rocket Pods
Armor: Composite 4
Frame: Dog Fighting

The very last tip, is one many of you should already know, if you have thumb buttons on your mouse, you should bind them to pitch up and pitch down. If you're like me and have an MMO mouse (8-12 buttons on the thumb), you can lay out for pitch up, pitch down, roll left, and roll right. Even if you don't like it at first, get use to it, as Rummy pointed out one night it's because it's an "On/Off" situation with that. Basically when you pitch and/or roll with your mouse motion it only moves as fast as your sensitivity allows. If you pitch or roll using your thumb button you get maximum possible pitch or roll speed when the button is pressed. This is great for dog fighting and quick maneuvering through things. Try hitting the breaks, pitching up, then hitting your afterburner while still pitching up (see how fast that turn is? It's really great for your turns through biolab legs.)

tl; dr version: Tough shit, too much important information to summarize, go back, read it.

[StolenToast]

WHOOOOSH!  VROOOM!  "Target Locked"  KAPOW!

[CaffeinePowered]

Im not horrible at flying, but I just prefer the lib usually, heh, no problem being A2A bait if I have a shredder / walker

[FlyingMongoose]

I'm not saying we DON'T have good pilots, I'm just saying we don't have ENOUGH consistently reliable scythe pilots. If we were able to run two squads a night, one could be the "go pull air and take care of that shit up there" squad. It would be nice to hold multiple superiorities (air and ground).

[KorJax]

I can totally fly a scythe rather decent. I'm not an amazing dogfighter or anything but I've got a decently upgraded A2G one (no AA one though unless you count auto repair, max hover and afterburner slot with default gun as AA).

Funny caf should mention libs because I think libs would be fun as hell to fly but I am completely awful at surviving in one lol

[Didzo]

Shoot me a message next time you feel like having coordinated Scyth pilot practice. I prefer ground battles because my hardware limitations (sudden FPS drops or consistently low FPS don't mesh well with zigging and zagging in the open air), but I do have some great streaks when I play SoloSide on occasion. I am hesitant to drop all of my certs into a new air frame though.

[FlyingMongoose]

Shoot me a message next time you feel like having coordinated Scyth pilot practice. I prefer ground battles because my hardware limitations (sudden FPS drops or consistently low FPS don't mesh well with zigging and zagging in the open air), but I do have some great streaks when I play SoloSide on occasion. I am hesitant to drop all of my certs into a new air frame though.

You don't have to drop into a new air frame. Your air frame is up to you. Benefit to hover frame is significantly faster altitude gain when hitting space, and a significantly reduced braking time (this is also good for dog fighting). I'm just use to Dog Fighting.

[Didzo]

[quote author=Didzo link=topic=7063.msg269989#msg269989 date=1374818688]
Shoot me a message next time you feel like having coordinated Scyth pilot practice. I prefer ground battles because my hardware limitations (sudden FPS drops or consistently low FPS don't mesh well with zigging and zagging in the open air), but I do have some great streaks when I play SoloSide on occasion. I am hesitant to drop all of my certs into a new air frame though.

You don't have to drop into a new air frame. Your air frame is up to you. Benefit to hover frame is significantly faster altitude gain when hitting space, and a significantly reduced braking time (this is also good for dog fighting). I'm just use to Dog Fighting.
[/quote]

I love the hover frame for Air to Ground, but find my self regularly outmaneuvered by high level mossy pilots. I just can't turn fast enough to keep a bead on them for longer than they can line up on me. I don't know if that's more of a limitation due to my skill or due to the frame.

[FlyingMongoose]

[quote author=FlyingMongoose link=topic=7063.msg269998#msg269998 date=1374856648]
[quote author=Didzo link=topic=7063.msg269989#msg269989 date=1374818688]
Shoot me a message next time you feel like having coordinated Scyth pilot practice. I prefer ground battles because my hardware limitations (sudden FPS drops or consistently low FPS don't mesh well with zigging and zagging in the open air), but I do have some great streaks when I play SoloSide on occasion. I am hesitant to drop all of my certs into a new air frame though.

You don't have to drop into a new air frame. Your air frame is up to you. Benefit to hover frame is significantly faster altitude gain when hitting space, and a significantly reduced braking time (this is also good for dog fighting). I'm just use to Dog Fighting.
[/quote]
Usually limitation of skill. Don't forget you have significantly increased braking, this allows you to stop, and flip facing them head on to take shots (another reason to use pitch up/down bindings). This will help you get the edge in dog fights more often than you may think.
I love the hover frame for Air to Ground, but find my self regularly outmaneuvered by high level mossy pilots. I just can't turn fast enough to keep a bead on them for longer than they can line up on me. I don't know if that's more of a limitation due to my skill or due to the frame.
[/quote]

[Elder]

Heres the thing i have gotten pretty good at flying a scythe. Im even planning to learn the reverse manuver to make myself even better, and among knowing how my esf will hand were i have fly it without crashing into terrain and building and maintaining altitude over targets.

You know what this all amounts to in the long run?

Jackshit. Becasue all it takes is the one downy pilot thats br 90+ that has literally spent 95% of their ps2 play time in an esf.

Its not that i dont love my esf but when it takes 3 or more compitent pilots to shoot down one of these guys its ridiculous.
The better pilots i have found are the NC cry me a reaver outfit. (Thundahawk, who is actually a pretty cool guy) However a fair number of the other ones are assholes.

They are near impossible to shoot down with flak because they only fly at the ceiling and shoot down other esf.
Sadly it just reminds me too much of dark souls, when you get invaded by a guy who is obviously 3-4 times more powerful than you and is too afraid to actually come at you because he may not win the encounter without the use of maximum suprize/ im a coward that runs if i think im gonna get shot at.

Not that thats not legit, but it annoys me that people play the game.
It would be better if they were bots with no fear.

[CaffeinePowered]

Heres the thing i have gotten pretty good at flying a scythe. Im even planning to learn the reverse manuver to make myself even better, and among knowing how my esf will hand were i have fly it without crashing into terrain and building and maintaining altitude over targets.

You know what this all amounts to in the long run?

Jackshit. Becasue all it takes is the one downy pilot thats br 90+ that has literally spent 95% of their ps2 play time in an esf.

Its not that i dont love my esf but when it takes 3 or more compitent pilots to shoot down one of these guys its ridiculous.
The better pilots i have found are the NC cry me a reaver outfit. (Thundahawk, who is actually a pretty cool guy) However a fair number of the other ones are assholes.

They are near impossible to shoot down with flak because they only fly at the ceiling and shoot down other esf.
Sadly it just reminds me too much of dark souls, when you get invaded by a guy who is obviously 3-4 times more powerful than you and is too afraid to actually come at you because he may not win the encounter without the use of maximum suprize/ im a coward that runs if i think im gonna get shot at.

Not that thats not legit, but it annoys me that people play the game.
It would be better if they were bots with no fear.

That actually bugs me as well, Id run the fuck away though if my timer wasn't up or I had little resources to pull another. But barring that, fuck it I'll get myself killed to take down a high value target.

[StolenToast]

[quote author=Elder link=topic=7063.msg270213#msg270213 date=1375282861]
Heres the thing i have gotten pretty good at flying a scythe. Im even planning to learn the reverse manuver to make myself even better, and among knowing how my esf will hand were i have fly it without crashing into terrain and building and maintaining altitude over targets.

You know what this all amounts to in the long run?

Jackshit. Becasue all it takes is the one downy pilot thats br 90+ that has literally spent 95% of their ps2 play time in an esf.

Its not that i dont love my esf but when it takes 3 or more compitent pilots to shoot down one of these guys its ridiculous.
The better pilots i have found are the NC cry me a reaver outfit. (Thundahawk, who is actually a pretty cool guy) However a fair number of the other ones are assholes.

They are near impossible to shoot down with flak because they only fly at the ceiling and shoot down other esf.
Sadly it just reminds me too much of dark souls, when you get invaded by a guy who is obviously 3-4 times more powerful than you and is too afraid to actually come at you because he may not win the encounter without the use of maximum suprize/ im a coward that runs if i think im gonna get shot at.

Not that thats not legit, but it annoys me that people play the game.
It would be better if they were bots with no fear.

That actually bugs me as well, Id run the fuck away though if my timer wasn't up or I had little resources to pull another. But barring that, fuck it I'll get myself killed to take down a high value target.
[/quote] I've gotten good at suddenly switching out of flying mode (because Mossie gangbang lol) and playing infantry for 15 minutes till my resources are full up (premium has perks). 

[FlyingMongoose]

The reverse/flip maneuver works best with hover frame due to the rapid braking with it.

But the next best thing is making use of afterburner with dog fighting while turning and braking.

[Didzo]

Flew with Mongoose and his Sythe pilot buddies. Lots of fun. Having at least 2 other pilots around drastically increases both survivability and ability to finish off other aircraft.