ACM vs. SA

[Wofat]

Wiley and all make very good point.

[One side bar com ent on Bufflo]
So many crazy whine bout bufflo.  I find no prob kill bufflo! Here how and why.  I attack bufflo where it will be not where it is.  I line up on vector his/her crazy turn will place plane at and have bullet waiting!  This of course work in all plane.  bufflo seem more predictable and thus ez to have bullet waiting as I say rather than get stuck in cannot turn with fest.  You see.  No fret kill bufflo!

[Ruah]

you obviously need both but overall I find ACM to be an extension of SA and more difficult.

SA is simply awareness - not only of where and who, but how fast and with how much E and most importantly where you are and in what state.  It is the first thing you need to master and no matter how good you are at ACM, with poor SA you are never going to survive long enough to use them.

So sure, ACM is crucial, with without good SA, it goes nowhere.  

IRL SA was more important, in this game ACM is more important - but only because we have huge SA aids.

[ImADot]

You need good ACM to work yourself into a good firing position for the kill.
You need good SA to realize that your opponent just straightened out on a predictable path to help his buddy pick you.

[Kovel]

It depends on the way you have fun in this game.

For people that are always looking for 1 vs 1, 1 vs 2 fites, ACM is CRITICAL.

For people like me, who have fun killing the most, the better, and not dyieng is critical, SA is essential. When SA fails, then you have to use your ACM to defend your virtual life. The problem here, at least for me is that the most you use your SA, the rustiest your ACM become.

For what I have seen in the MA, and the results he gets , I could say that Greebo is one player that uses both ACM and SA altogether in the same sorties at excellence levels. (I've always seen Greebo in the "red side").

(S)

 

 

[GradeyShane]

In a large main arena fight, good SA will be what allows you to select the appropriate ACM.  So how can the ACM be more important than the process of thought that allows you to determine the correct ACM?  SA allows you to see a target, identify its E potential in regards to you.  Identify its strengths/weaknesses to your crate. Often times this is done with many targets (both friendly and enemy) at the same time.  You get a split second to process that information..then select the correct ACM (one of which is to not engage) and proceed.  But if you dont have the situational awareness to correctly process the incoming data, you cannot effectively determine the correct ACM to make.  In this scenario, with poor SA you are just yanking your stick after every red dot you see..even applying perfect ACM you can still be shot down by the mob. 

It is different with a 1v1 fight...lets say in the same bird on a co alt merge.  In that case, its ACM driven as your only goal is to kill that single fighter in front of you with the same E and same capabilities you have. 

[Shuffler]

It is different with a 1v1 fight...lets say in the same bird on a co alt merge.  In that case, its ACM driven as your only goal is to kill that single fighter in front of you with the same E and same capabilities you have. 

SA is still required while in the ACM stage. If your 500 ft and dive 1000... over. If your turning low you better know where all the hills, trees, towers, and such are.

[GradeyShane]

Yeah man true that.

[Daddkev]

  Im with Dot. 

[RedBull1]

Like someone else said, they go hand-in-hand with good SA you can work cons down, and probably not get shot down, but once this fight dwindles to a 2v1 or 1v1, without ACM well....now what? Aswell with ACM, if you have the best 1v1 or even 2v1 skills in the world, if you have bad SA and a third con comes in, poof you're dead...
Just my thoughts  

 

[Masherbrum]

SA over ACM, any day of the week.

[Midway]

That's it in a nut shell.... You can be the best 1v1 pilot in the game, aided by the fact that you don't need much situational awareness to duel. However, in the MA, without solid SA skills, you won't see the SOB and never get an opportunity to demonstrate those ACM and aircraft control skills.

 

[grizz441]

SA over ACM.  The proof lies with players such as Pacerr and Chalenge.  Both players have good SA, but no one has ever accused them of being able to fight their way out of a wet paper bag.

[Tank-Ace]

I would say that it depends on your style.

If you like to mix it up, and get your hands dirty, ACM is a bit more important than SA, because all you NEED in that circumstance is imediate-area SA. That is to say, you just need to watch your six, and make sure you're not getting dragged to a big group of enemies.


However, if your playing to be as effective in a fight as possible, SA is more important, as you can often win fights before they even get started through SA.

[BigR]

SA over ACM.  The proof lies with players such as Pacerr and Chalenge.  Both players have good SA, but no one has ever accused them of being able to fight their way out of a wet paper bag.

True Grizz, but how much SA does it actually take to fly like they fly? They enter hostile areas always at least 10k over the highest enemy. Most of the time they only engage enemies who are already busy with other fights. This is why I say the best ACM guys are also the best SA guys. They have so much practice in multiple plane engagements, that their SA skills are far more developed. Every top ACM guy I have ever flown against also has great SA skills. They really go hand in hand. In my mind it is really hard to separate the two. I guess it just goes back to how one chooses to play.

[mtnman]

SA over ACM, by a long shot.

Of course, it's definitely better to have generous helpings of BOTH, but if I had to weigh them I'd say SA is more important.

At least for the way I fly... 

I'm almost always flying by myself and avoid being mixed in with too many friendlies, so it's often a "me against everyone" scenario.