How to gain the advantage

[mikev]

   this is for sure the next step. i constantly lose on the merge with no idea how to turn it into an advantage. next is what to do when they are on my 6 .sure i can turn and do this and that but i very rarely gain an advantage for a shot. yes i have read all the books but it is all Greek to me.   

[FESS67]

ok.  I want to break down what you posted into two VERY separate situations.

• The merge
• The 6 defence

The merge is easy.  You can choose to turn up, go straight, turn flat or turn down.  The choice is decided by the plane type you are in, the plane you are fighting and your relative E states.  I prefer if I can to go up.  It allows me to store energy.  If I am in the merge with low E I prefer to go level and extend.  If all else fails I go low.  For me turning low is a last resort.  It means I am defensive and I am looking for an escape.  I go low 5% of the time.......NEVER (almost never) go low on the merge.  Only go low if you need to defend (I read that as get the F%^# out of there)

If you see me online (FESS) give me a yell and we can go the the DA / Training arena and work some options that will keep you in the fight longer.

THE 6 DEFENCE - - - oh boy.  This is a tough one.  IF they are really on you then there is little more you can do other then turn / roll as best you can.  Use your throttle - it is a control that few people use enough and it just may be able to force a situation, especially if the enemy is hauling ass.  But, simple rule is to avoid letting them saddle up on your 6.  Even the best of the best get hammered in that situation.  The truth is, they usually only get in that spot 1 out of 200 fights.  They learn the merge properly and remember (this is REALLY important) it is appropriate on the merge to just keep going and get the hell outta Dodge.....

Again, I am FESS in game.  If you see me just holler up and I will do what I can to help.  There are also very talented trainers in game, reach out to them and they will be able to help you.

[bozon]

mikev, are you talking about a clean duel or the main arena?
there is a big difference and the situation in the MA is much less certain (meaning a lot more interesting). Some ways to react which are duel winners will get you killed in the MA, especially if this is not an isolated 1 on 1.

Defensively, once the enemy is on your 6 and the speed differences is small, i.e. he is saddled up rather than booming through, the situation is desperate.  There are basically 3 general possibilities:
1. drag him into a slow maneuvering fight.
2. try to make him overshoot.
3. try to survive long enough in a dive to pull away.

1. This may work if you have a small maneuverable plane, like Brew, Zeke, ki43, etc and he is in some heavy wingloaded monster. You need a combinaton of roll and a hard pull to survive his inevitable shot opportunity and then slow down into a turn fight.

2. This is a better option if you are in a high wingloaded plane. You must have some good speed to start with - start the reversal in a dive if you feel you are not fast enough. Roll to get his wings missaligned with yours (easily done in a good rolling plane) , chop the throttle and pull hard. You can pull while adding some roll and rudder into the turn for an increased effect. Now watch what he does. If het tries to hang on, pull him into a scissors fight.

3. This may work if you are in a late war monster and he is in some slow plane, or one that has issues at very high speeds (and you are not). You go into a dive and roll a lot. if you get more than 90 advantage in the roll pull a small jink to throw off his aim. Hopefully you will survive long enough to pull ahead or make him break off due to excess speed for his airframe.

Something else that you can use if you are low is the terrain. He has to lead you to get the shot. Pointing a head of your nose while you are in a dive means that he is in a steeper dive and with his excess speed he runs the risk of running into the ground. Similar principle works when there is a mountain side next to you - always break into the wall.

[LCADolby]

Magic if you see me online I'm happy to help you in the TA or DA with the merge

[nrshida]

I'll help you too Magic, if you see me online remind me. I do enjoy your videos, watched every one. One thing you need to learn about is AoT, how to increase it and everyting to do with relative turning circles. That would improve your flying a lot.

Best and fastest way to work on your merges is to duel as much as you can and ask / watch what other people do.

[DmonSlyr]

Mike, there are a couple of defense maneuvers I'd like to show you. I actually have one recorded on YouTube.

http://youtu.be/YAi_TRAV4E8

The defensive loaded roll.

If we could get to the TA, we could practice this maneuver over and over. It takes some practice and repitition, but it will greatly enhance your defense at all levels and make you a better pilot. Counterpunching is part of the game. A good 30% of my kills are from performing maneuvers similar to what you see in the film. This is the most simplist form of the loaded roll.


As far as the merge goes. It takes E awareness and you have to understand the plane you are flying with and the plane you flying with. Some planes like the spit16 or ki84 can pull incredibly good emmilman's and can do 3 in a row if you hold your E right. Planes with better rollrates are better for direct Emilmans because changing direction with roll rates at the top is very important. Planes like the F4U or P51 are better in a spiral climb merge so they dont lose E changing directions. The key to the emilman is to either get on top of them in combat, or to get inside theirs and climb up their 6 for a kill. Watch this 1v1 with skyyr and I, and really watch how we utilize the merge.

http://youtu.be/bdfF0kl-z_A

Hopefully this will help you a bit!

 

[mikev]

 Ha lots of good replies. as most of you may know i fly the spits. in the MA it is not uncommon for me to have 3  4  6  or 20 on my 6 . when that happens its my own fault because i am aggressive but  the 2 on 2 ,3 on 3 evenly match situations where i am frustrated. most of my merges end up right back where they started as we both turn and again are head to head. unless the other guy makes a huge mistake (and not many do) i am usually on the wrong end of the merge.
  as for planes on my 6 i do a lot of stick stirs, barrel roll defense and scissors. what ends up happening is most of the time its like i have a string holding the other guy behind me.
   all in all  my flying has improved but these areas are holding me back. i just am not thinking like a pilot when the need comes.

[FLS]

Do you watch your films from the cockpit of the other plane on the merge and when they are on your 6?  That might help you see if you present them with problems or opportunities.

[8thJinx]

Try to anticipate your opponent's move right after the merge, or as he's closing in on you for a lead shot. A lot of times the very next move I make after these instances is when I gain the upper hand. I'll usually wait until they're 800 away, then change my course ever so slightly to ruin their gun solution, and then reverse or roll on top of them for a shot.  One of my favorite moments in the past few months was when some well-known loudmouth in a Pony came in at my 6 in a shallow dive, and opened up his guns at 600. I had slightly changed course at 800 so every round missed, even though it was a pretty sight. In the same moment, I pulled up ever so slightly and rolled right inverted, figuring he'd head down to the right away from a mountain in his dive, and just as his canopy came into view I squeezed off a burst (while I was still inverted) into his cockpit that killed him instantly.  His rage messages were quite a lot of fun. 

Also, be aware, you're in a Spit so it doesn't take much to kill you. I've been flying corsairs recently, and they are waaaay more tough than a spit, and can handle really well. I went back to a spit after a few days in a corsair and it felt like I was flying a plane made out of balsa wood and tissue paper.

[The Fugitive]

Ha lots of good replies. as most of you may know i fly the spits. in the MA it is not uncommon for me to have 3  4  6  or 20 on my 6 . when that happens its my own fault because i am aggressive but  the 2 on 2 ,3 on 3 evenly match situations where i am frustrated. most of my merges end up right back where they started as we both turn and again are head to head. unless the other guy makes a huge mistake (and not many do) i am usually on the wrong end of the merge.
  as for planes on my 6 i do a lot of stick stirs, barrel roll defense and scissors. what ends up happening is most of the time its like i have a string holding the other guy behind me.
   all in all  my flying has improved but these areas are holding me back. i just am not thinking like a pilot when the need comes.

In the defensive moves, you being in a spit, are going to be a bit tougher due to the spit holding E so well. If you do a scissor in the spit and I do one in a hog, given the same enemy, I would be able to slow faster and cause an over shoot much easier. Your plane holding the E so much better gives the enemy time to recognize your slowing and match your speed to keep you out front longer and get that one shot he needs to knock a wing off your plane.

Chop your throttle and hard rudder to slow as fast as you can take the shot, firewall the throttle get your nose down a bit and build your speed again.

As for the merge, there are so many variables that you really cant say "do this when they do that". Know the basics. Ponies, 190s, tiffies and so on are more than likely going to Bnz, or at least not turn hard on you. See which way they go and imagine the circle they need to get back... picture a big one, and then fly to where they are going to be.  After a pass of two you should be able to plan where you will be in a position for either a crossing shot, or to saddle up on there six and pick them apart.

For the turners, as you said they get around fast and you end up nose to nose again, plan for them to do that, but make your circl bigger and so NOT be nose to nose with them. Be above and or off to one side. Do the same on the second merge. They have now burned a bunch of E trying to get around quick, and you have saved E by NOT trying to get around quick, and in your spit you should be able to handle most plane having saved all that E. Don't push the fight, let it come to you.... unless your on the deck with 8 guys on you then HO them all until its time to up a new plane 

[JunkyII]

The merge is easy.  You can choose to turn up, go straight, turn flat or turn down.  The choice is decided by the plane type you are in, the plane you are fighting and your relative E states.  I prefer if I can to go up.  It allows me to store energy.  If I am in the merge with low E I prefer to go level and extend.  If all else fails I go low.  For me turning low is a last resort.  It means I am defensive and I am looking for an escape.

The merge is arguably the most important part of ACM....not to be taken lightly and definitely not as simple as you make it out to be.

I'm not good at merging and I win 90% of my 1v1s just from getting the advantage from the merge.....90% of my losses are from not getting the advantage from the merge.

[Gman]

Junky is 100% correct IMO.  Remember SKyyr?  He won many duels, lost some too, but sure surprised an awful lot of people, myself included, I went 1-1 with him, then he won the next 3 in a row, all because he had the merge in this game down pat.  I mean absolutely needle sharp precision with how to get on top in various aircraft in the merge - once people started to figure this out with him, and just matched his move in the merge, then it became a pretty even contest again with average joes like me vs someone with a perfect merge much of the time.  Just my opinion.

Anyhow, there is one mistake I see guys often make when they are all about picking this stuff up - they don't pull hard enough.  I realize there are times when pulling too hard is a bad thing and wastes E, but once you commit to using your turn performance - use it, ALL of it.  So many times I see that, guys make break turns, or go for a shot, but only 1/2 bellybutton (I actually typed bellybutton) it, instead of reefing all the way to black out or stall/etc and just riding that knife edge of performance.  Again, just my opinion, but I observe this every time I fly, and think to myself "all he had to do was pull harder and he would have got the shot/not died/etc/etc."  So, Mikev, if you're in a Spit especially, if you go for a turn fight, TURN, as hard as you can if it'll get you that shot or make that evasion successful.  The trick I guess is knowing when to conserve a bit of E and not yank if you don't have to, but IMO, by defaulting to pulling hard you'll be better off and get more shots/evasions and that instinct/knowledge of when to ease off will come in time on its own.

I only say this as I've watched some films recently and that's the immediate thing I see, not pulling hard enough when committing to a turn for whatever reason in whatever dimension. 

[JunkyII]

Timing...timing....timing.

Reversals are all about timing....too soon they correct their flight path to get another shot, too late and you get shot.

[mikev]

well had a miserable day today, i swear  some days i cant hit a thing and strange things keep happening. missed every shot i had then strange things happen like a collision and im dead  instantly. or i was lining up on a target and just before i shoot  the screen downsized like whatttttttt. haha. i did notice when i pulled harder on the stick riding a darker tunnel helped but still everybody managed to take care of me and my spit with ease.
 if anybody is interested i will be in the TA  today around 9 pm cst till 10. 

[puller]

Magic I watched you for a couple of hours yesterday...I see what you need to do...you must be more aggressive with your maneuvers...now...don't take that as snap the wings off your spit 8 kinda thing...but make it groan a little...like when you were merging with that LA...chop throttle on the merge...turn inside of him, latch on and he cant get away...now be sure to try to judge his E state before you try that particular merge, because he could possible rope you and then summarily kill you lol...but h :rocke was slow...a slow LA is a dead LA and I think you and the other guy were both going be dead if I would have set and watched very much longer....I know you've heard it over and over but throttle control is key to winning any engagement...Violator for example WILL make you overshoot if your not careful...Dolby same way....2cmex same way...

I know you've heard this many times over too...if you see me or any of my squad on...we love to take in newer pilots and help them with the tricks of the trade...