LOL I think Frode knows that staying high and cherry picking is one way to survive. I dont think this is lost on many except the completely new.
Overlag, this thread was more about how to fight in overwhelming numbers not how to do the safety dance with little risk. What you add is little help to frode or anyone, dont you think?? No disrespect meant.
Frode: It's all about SA, angles and defense. In these fights you have to stay on the defensive and wait for the other guys to make mistakes that you can capitalize on, without making any mistakes yourself. That is why this is so challenging and fun when it starts to gel for you.
You need to pull into anyone that is about to jump on your six thus taking away their shot. Try to pull into them in such a way that you get them all going in the same direction, thus grouping them so they aren't coming at you from all different directions. There are no hard fast rules on how to do this, just instinct and most of all experience and good SA. When you do pull you want to pull just hard enough to stay out of their shot vector, but not so hard you kill a lot of E. But sometimes you dont have a choice.
Don't climb no matter what, unless you have an e advantage over all of them. This doesn't mean don't pull up for a few second to perform a wing over type move, but the last thing you want is to be nose up and slow where your maneuverability and roll rate ( ability to change direction quickly ) is majorly reduced.
You need to get comfortable with guys crawling up your six and breaking at the last moment, then rolling back into them. This comes with recognizing when they are that close but don't have a shot. you need to read their thrust vector and speed in relation to their shot vector so you know when they are in close but can't hit you. The best way to do this is fly on the deck for a while and allow yourself to be BnZd. If you can outlast a BnZ pilot, never giving him a shot, it forces you learn how to wait to the last moment to break and it forces you to wait till they make a mistake.
Once you get guys in close they are easier to out maneuver and kill, rather than just avoid their attack. If you get them all in close and grouped together you can fight them all as one and your odds get better.
know off the bat that this is a hard road to master, but once you do this game takes on a whole new perspective. Then you realize what edge of your seat, heart racing action really means.
As hub, et-al have said there is no set recipe, you just have to accrue enough experiences and a skill set that only comes from being in these situations enough times to learn the skills necessary to survive and do well in them. Yeah at the beginning you will die a lot, but it will start to come together if you stay at it and you will realize why pure ACM is one of the most satisfying aspects of this game for many. And being outnumbered and holding your own kind of the Holy Grail. Most of all be very aggressive. Anytime you hear about the guys that were successful in real life they alway talk about these types being very aggressive.
You have to ask yourself tho, do you have what it takes to take your lumps and get better? If you do the payoff is great when you start winning 3 V 1, 4 V 1, etc.
