Understanding how to get a good score and following through is one thing, but flat out gaming it by shooting shades is another, and should be called out and frowned upon. While getting a good rank overall is quite easy once you understand the metrics, it should still be done honorably. I like to try for the best fighter score I can achieve on a personal level with the time I get to play. Most guys have beat my scores due to flying jets and temps, and while I think it's lame, its still doing it within the boundaries of the gameplay and not a "set up". I find being in the top 5 does take some skills, and certainly air combat understanding. Though the plane you chose to fly makes a huge difference in how easy or challenging getting there is. Plus you have to make sure you understand the situation in order to get enough kills, points, and K/H to stay in the mix, that can be challenging if you dont get to play a whole lot. I do see many folks who fly way too timidly and if they are trying to get a better score flying like that, they arent doing it right
Of course ranking does infact add another level of challenge and stress, its why for certain events or furball lakes, I dont find scoring necessary since it may cause players to fly a certain way rather than just having fun and letting lose down low n slow.
I think its far more beneficial to learn defense in slower planes than it is to fly faster planes and only BnZ trying for score. The players who only utilize BnZ miss a lot of great fight opportunities and arent developing their gameplay to the fullest extent, which is why their fighter score suffers. Overall, for me, I think its fun to challenge myself and see what kind of successful sorties I can put together.
