Originally posted by mars01
I log in to fight, not chase other guys around. Even when I do grab a faster plane the timid won't engage after you have reversed them a few times.
What do you do as Zazen, when you have dove in on a con and he has reversed you 3 times in a row. Do you press the fight or go look for an easier mark?
And It's not a matter of dictating the fight either. I dictate the fight even in a disadvantage, all you have to do is turn your six to some of these guys and they engage once in a while. Mostly it's the guys that even after you hand them your six, make 2 or 3 lame passes and then disengage or run from a 1 Vs 1 half a sector back to the horde. That is timid, boring and ghey.
Mars, if you fly a plane that does not out-turn them, they will engage you. If you fly a Spit only other Spits, Hurricanes, Zekes and Fm2s are going to really want to knife-fight you. Fly a plane like the Typhoon, 205, 109, F6, etc, and EVERYONE and their uncle will be willing to have a go at you in a knife fight. The irony is because I fly a Typhoon I actually probably get more even turnfights than you do in your Spit. You basically have to dive into 1 vs 3's to make yourself an attractive enough target to knife fight by any plane other than a another uber-turner. The only planes I ever have had not want to engage me is La7s and Fw190D9s and 109K4s. Any other plane I encounter can't wait to get a piece of me.
As far as what I do in that situation. It's all about seperation. I am actually, in spite of rumors to the contrary, a very aggressive pilot. When I choose to attack I'm not fugging around, it's a ballz to the wall attack. I may be selectively timid, but the other side of that coin is selectively aggressive. So long as I can maintain seperation on a more manueverable plane I will press the attack, that is where E-Fighting shines. If I am doing my job correctly I should be able to maintain my E advantage almost indefinately, providing me with at least several shooting opportunities ( I usually only require one). Of course both our E states will degrade over time, so how long I can press the attack without losing that critical seperation is determined largely by the starting altitude of the fight. Once the fight gets on the deck I will inevitably not be able to maintain seperation, so must either break off, turnfight him, or kill him before that happens. Ask Greebo about it, he's got one of the best reversals and overshoot moves in the game, I never let go of him until one of us is dead.
Zazen