I love strategy and tactics so I thought I'd share my strategy for gunships. I doubt I'll knock anyone's socks off as I believe my strategies are pretty straight forward and self evident but I figure this may help newer pilots and those who hate gunships. If nothing else its just fun to share strategies.

 

These tactics will primarily apply to the scout/strike rolls. Gunship vs gunship tactics typically amount to who shot first (not Greedo). If they get deeper than that I wouldn't know as I don't fly my gunship too often.

 

To begin with I'll talk a little about target prioritization. When not being focused on its always good to find the easy kill and focus there first. This is usually a ship focused on a turret flying straight or one that is parked under a sat not moving. I also like sat circlers since you can usually just park yourself about 1500 meters away and mow them down while getting a missile lock if you set up on the right spot. A ship chasing one of your teammates is also a very good target so you can peel him off. This is all good except when gunships are in the area. Reminder gunship range is 15k. When gunships are in range they are priority number one.

 

While approaching an area check your visible targets. Aim at each ship and target them and identify who the gunships are and see which direction they're aiming and how far away they are. If they are aimed at your objective or the furball you are about to jump into they should be your first priority. Typically you want to take an indirect route to them such as hugging the asteroids between A and B in the asteroid field domination map. This is easier with a sensor dampened scout but not necessary. Use cover whenever available. Just watch the gunship and make sure he hasn't targeted you. If you are going to boost and barrel roll to close the distance, and most people will want to, just try to manage it so you when you finally get on the guys tailpipe you have plenty of juice in the tank because we expect him to run. Watch him In your target window. If he turns to face you tactics will change slightly. For now let's assume you get the drop on him. Keep in kind when he's parked he's probably zoomed so his field of view is reduced and you often will surprise him when coming from the side.

 

Get close and open up on him preferrably from behind him. I like to hit an offensive cooldown such as bypass or blaster overcharge if I have one and lead solely with lasers. Sometimes you'll get an extra second or two before he catches on by using only lasers particularly if he's focused in his scope. Hitting him with a lock on tone will definitely get his attention and alert him to your presence. Can be useful if your goal is to spook him from sniping your buddy but otherwise just stick to lasers. Some new gunship pilots will sit there thinking they can take damage and so die quickly but those are the exception. Once he notices he's taking damage he's probably going to run.

 

I've been noticing two distinct variations at this point. First is the barrel roller. This guy at the first sign of trouble hits barrel roll. I love him because now he's open to a missle lock. If you happen to be in a strike with concussion missiles even better. Boost or barrel roll after him and get on lasers and missiles. This is what you were saving your barrel roll for. At this point your most important job is managing your range. Keep him in your crosshairs and watch the range numbers. Do not over pursue. Some pilots will hit the brakes on you to try and get you to shoot past them. Gunships are especially good at this since going into scope instantly stops them.

 

This leads to variation two, the slow bolter. This one simply boosts away and quite often he doesn't go more than a few thousand meters. I've seen some go as little as 500m. I believe these guys are expecting you to be overzealous and immediately shoot past them expecting a big chase. If you didn't fall for it he's at a really nice range to blast him. Go ahead and start missile lock since he knows you're there already. Chances are he's going to blast off for real now. Sometimes I like to hold missile lock and get him to waste his engine ability without me wasting my missile. If he never uses it release when close so he doesn't have time to evade it when he hears the missile warning tone change. We are now back to simply managing range. Don't over pursue but stay close enough to keep the heat on. Watch those range numbers. He shouldn't be able to out turn you and unless he's got barrel roll and you don't he shouldn't be able to out range you. He may turn on you but you've already started the damage on him and I expect you stil have a shield cooldown to use so jousting should be fine for you. Slow down and let him hit you cause he's about to s'plode!

 

Now, what if he's already focused on you? Typically this happens when you're guarding or capping a node especially at the opening of the round. The tactic here is simple. Charge! You want to close the distance as quickly as possible to throw his aim off and make it diificult to track you for anyone who might be following you. Aim for a point 10 to 15 degeees off center to stay out of his scope. In other words don't charge straight at the guy. You may need to boost or barrel roll laterally to get out of his scope but it doesn't take too much. Once you close the distance circle in next to or behind him. I prefer cutting engines at this point and coasting through the turn. You may need to down thrust however as that gives you your sharpest turn radius. Get him in your sites and we're back to the chase or fight phase.

 

Now let's say you get targeted and hit by a gunship while in the middle of a dogfight. Well now, you're getting double teamed and need to act fast. Begin boosting in a wide arc or hit barrel roll to get out of his scope. Hit R to get him targeted. If you are successfully getting out if his line of site you'll notice his nose isn't pointing straight at you in your target cam. Use cover if possible. Regardless of anything else, quickly locate him and boost or barrel roll to close the distance. Just because you were hit doesn't mean you're dead be aggressive, like an angry hornet ready to mud stomp his face. Again, don't charge straight at him. 10 to 15 degrees off center should be enough. You are not concerning yourself with any other pursuers as an undisturbed gunship is always your biggest threat. Many times pursuers break off the chase anyway if there is an easier target nearby or if you were fighting near a satellite as they want the objective more than you. Either way it doesn't matter. Killing that gunship or chasing him off is priority one. Even though you're damaged you may still live for quite a while so stay aggressive.

 

Few gunship pilots are effective at close range. Sure they can have burst lasers and distortion shield but you will always have the turning advantage. Get on their tail. That's why they usually run because they know they can't win against any kind of decent pilot. I've seen a few use rotation thrusters to get a bead on you at close range. It was a nasty surprise for me the first time that happened. That guy will take a little more work to get on his tail. You may need to boost away behind cover then re-engage if you're getting teamed up against at this point. Just keep working to get on that sniper's tail and don't over pursue. You have the advantage in speed and maneuverability. Snipers are only a threat when you leave them alone.

 

Some other considerations.

 

-What if he runs to a satellite with other enemy ships or turrets nearby?

 

I usually pursue to harass him but get out of there as soon as I'm getting focused on. Generally a good plan at all times. Go behind cover, recover shields and power then boost back in to re-engage when you're ready. Typically they'll leave the cover of their satellite and run if you keep the heat on them. If not, a shield cooldown will often give you enough time to finish them off.

 

-What about those pesky sniper chains?

 

You know, when two or more snipers are near each other and supporting one another. Rarely will you see this kind of coordination but when you do it's time for a fast ship. I prefer a nova built for lots of boosting and a sabo probe mostly for psychological effect. Come in on a flank and hit each gunship one after the other. Between the laser fire and the lock-on tone you should get their attention. Best case they all run. Worst case they all focus on you. Either way you are tying up multiple ships by yourself. Heck if you get another scout or strike chasing you even better. You can stay alive for a long time in a properly set up evasion scout even if half their team is chasing you. Again, the object here is to tie up as many resources as possible to deal with you ESPECIALLY the gunships, thus allowing your team to focus on objectives or enemy fighters. Expect to die and not get a ton of kills if any while this is going on. It's not about that. It's about keeping gunships off your team so you win the round.

 

-Worst case scenario is multiple snipers protected by bombers.

 

In this case a lone gunman is really not going to have much effect. That doesn't mean you need a premade. Just aware pilots. Hopefully your teammates will notice and you can start taking that enemy squad apart. Ranged ships clearing bombers and gadgets with fighters closing on and taking down snipers. A nova with emp burst will be very handy here.

 

-What about the guy that never stops running and goes back to his capitol ship?

 

Chase him off then get back in the fight you've done what was needed which was take him out of the fight. You probably will have time to capture a satellite or help a friendly in a dogfight. Just remember he'll be back soon so you'll have to re-engage soon but you have time to be productive before he sets back up and he isn't contrbuting anything or harassing your teammates. Don't get killed by his capital ship that does nothing for you. You've rattled his cage. That's your reward. I find with good resource management and sabo probes these guys never make it to there capital ship if they aren't already close by it.

 

 

I'm sure much more could be said bit this is already a novel so I'll save it. Remember you won't win every encounter so don't expect to. Just learn from every death!

Edited February 7, 2014 by -Streven-
changed title

I'd love to hear how others approach gun ships and I'd especially love to hear what the snipers think of these tactics.

I've not read your post (impressively long BTW), but I generally approach them from the side/rear & open up with blasters & missiles/rockets (I've found rockets quite useful for taking out gunships as they're essentially a static target).

it depends on what craft I'm flying, I only use three at the moment:

 

Nova Dive: Light lasers and rocket pods; the first warning I look for, is the little glow you get when a gunship is lining up a shot, it's very faint but you can see little whips of light going to the gunship.When I see this, I boost 90 degrees up or down for about 3 or 4 seconds, then turn 90 degrees towards the gunship, the barrel roll to him. This puts me out of his line of sight, and with in rocket pods and light laser range. At that point I light him up with little to no warning that I'm on him.

 

Star Guard: Quads, H.Lasers, Protons; the first warning I look for, is the little glow you get when a gunship is lining up a shot, it's very faint but you can see little whips of light going to the gunship. When I see this I put power to shields, boost towards him till I can start a proton lock, I kill the lock after a second or two, to get sucker them into blowing a cool down, then I re-acquire him, and let him eat proton and blasters. Should I take a hit, I move my shields so that they are double front again.

 

War Carrier: Rail drone h.lasers; drop a rail drone near where I know that gunships like to sit for sniping at A on the maps. I place the drone so that they will not have L.O.S. on it till they clear the cover for sniping position. At that point I use myself as bait, let my drone give them a love tap, and watch them scamper away as I'm locking them up with protons.

I've not read your post (impressively long BTW), but I generally approach them from the side/rear & open up with blasters & missiles/rockets (I've found rockets quite useful for taking out gunships as they're essentially a static target).

 

 

That's a very good summary .

Use directional shields. Fly right at them while locking on with proton torpedo. Open up with quads once in range and switch to cluster missiles. Giggle.

 

A gunship cannot kill you with a single shot. Their greatests strength is that people panic when they see them charging a shot.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Jandi

Use directional shields. Fly right at them while locking on with proton torpedo. Open up with quads once in range and switch to cluster missiles. Giggle.

 

A gunship cannot kill you with a single shot. Their greatests strength is that people panic when they see them charging a shot.

 

I like your method. My pike is set up the same except for concussion missiles instead of proton torp. I don't often go toe to toe with gunships due to bypass but it works. If you don't mind my asking what is it you prefer about proton torps? I can't get myself to accept the long lock on with the narrow firing arc, low speed, and lower damage. Do you find the added range really that useful? Or is there something else about them that you like? Just curious.

If you don't mind my asking what is it you prefer about proton torps? I can't get myself to accept the long lock on with the narrow firing arc, low speed, and lower damage. Do you find the added range really that useful? Or is there something else about them that you like? Just curious.

 

Torps get 100% armor and shield piercing by default, too.

Torps get 100% armor and shield piercing by default, too.

 

Bingo, that`s why I love the protons. Hard as hell to learn to use well, but when you get good with them, you really put the hurt on things.

Those protons really need the upgrades though. I don't have the 100% flight speed and I still see people just outrun them.

Did not realize that. That does change my opnion on them quite a bit. I might have to invest some req.

Protons are good against more than just gunships too. Easy to take platform turrets out from afar. But as others said, it needs upgrades to be really devastating.

Bingo, that`s why I love the protons. Hard as hell to learn to use well, but when you get good with them, you really put the hurt on things.

 

The small firing arc really is not a big deal if you can hover around max range with them. Most matches now I will run out of Protons at some point.

 

I also am not afraid to go head on at gunships. They will either run from the lock wherein I'll give chase or they will try to hit me first which means they eat the proton.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Kain_Turinbar

Did not realize that. That does change my opnion on them quite a bit. I might have to invest some req.

 

I dunno. It's still really hard to get a lock, and concs do plenty of damage (and while it's largely shield damage, at least that clears the way for your lasers). Definitely try it out, but don't be surprised if they're not all that and a side of bacon.

I dunno. It's still really hard to get a lock, and concs do plenty of damage (and while it's largely shield damage, at least that clears the way for your lasers). Definitely try it out, but don't be surprised if they're not all that and a side of bacon.

 

They certainly aren't suited for all situations but on a Pike with 2 missile slots, they are excellent as you can switch to clusters or, if you prefer, concussions. Me, I fly with clusters as secondary missiles when I close in and use protons only for turrets and gunships and occasionally when closing in on a skirmish.

One thing I am not really sure about, once a missile is locked and chasing you, can it be dodged? Sometimes it seems like i shoot a proton at someone and they use a maneuver or boost and are able to get away from it, but I have not been able to pull it off myself.

Lately I've been having more success with concussion missiles and ion cannons on my enforcer/starguard. The ions drop shields, and then the target takes the full force of a concussion missile to the hull - enough tto one-shot most scouts and do heavy damage to other ship types. Then I just follow up with quad lasers or heavy lasers (whichever i have available at the time) for the kill.

 

One thing I am not really sure about, once a missile is locked and chasing you, can it be dodged? Sometimes it seems like i shoot a proton at someone and they use a maneuver or boost and are able to get away from it, but I have not been able to pull it off myself.

 

If you use distortion field's active ability or an engine evasive manuver, you can break an in-flight missile (though this has not been working against the secondary missile for upgraded cluster missiles, or against missile sentry drone missiles lately).

 

However, even if a solid object is put between you and the incoming missile, it will still hit you if you do not use an evasive manuver.

Good to know, that means that the 100% flight speed option for the proton is worthwhile as it can make the window between launch and impact short enough to cause more protons to land.

One thing I am not really sure about, once a missile is locked and chasing you, can it be dodged? Sometimes it seems like i shoot a proton at someone and they use a maneuver or boost and are able to get away from it, but I have not been able to pull it off myself.

 

An engine maneuver will break both a missile lock and a missile in flight. You aren't supposed to be able to break a missile in flight by boosting but I've seen people say it's possible.

I've never escaped a missile by boosting and I've tried hard.

My preferred tactic on my flashfire (quads,clusters,lg reactor,dir shields,barrel roll) is to get just outside their range,hit barrel roll (head on facing them) and as I am rolling shunt to guns (they typically blow their first shot due to the barrel roll). The roll puts me within my guns range as it ends and slow down and shoot while locking on clusters then release the clusters. 1v1 its typically a gunship killer and most gunships stay back from the rest of their team. Typically they die before they can get off that second shot. Repair and use my restore engine power (I have it set at top tier to slowly restore shields and guns as well) if they use their regular lasers. Many fall for this because I am coming directly at them. They think its a free kill,but in the words of Admiral Ackbar "Its a trap!" Edited February 8, 2014 by Ravenschild

The best counter to a gunship? Any pilot in any ship with half a brain.