Breakdown of ESFs

[phungus]

ESFs are very fun to fly and certainly much more enjoyable then infantry play which is completely dominated by shotguns and MAXes. The main advantage of ESFs is their mobility. Even if air was 5 times more difficult then it is now, and air is by no means easy to utilze, ESFs would still be being played by many simply because of how quickly they can move the player around. 3D movement is simply better then 2d movement, and with any effective weapon the ability to attack from above will always be an attractive option for many players. The server has a significant effect on how the ESF plays. Everything written here is in regards to Connery, on Helios things are very different (on the Helios server knowing the reverse manuever means you automatically win 4 out of 5 engagements still, no one pulls AA MAXes, and it's just generally easier to fly air).

ESFs are very lethal. The rotary guns, the staple weapon 90% players are using, are the best option for air to air, decent as an anti infantry platform, and somewhat effective against armor. The default nose gun simply lacks the dps to compete with the rotary in air to air fighting, and will get you killed in dogfights often, it has no practical advantage - though it can be used at range against tanks to harrass them. Getting good at killing infantry with the rotary cannons takes a significant amount of time to learn, once mastered it is a very effective AI weapon. The AI weapons aren't worth discussing, as it's almost never worth it sacrificing your ability to fight back against ESFs. In the rare instance you are willing to play completely impotent against aerial threats then the banshee is broken and harder to kill infantry with then the rotary (it was awesome pre GU8, but now is just rubbish); I haven't tried the light PPA in long time, though when I did it did what it said on the box and killed infantry well; the airhammer is just less accurate, shorter ranged, and ultimately inferior to the vortek.

Rocket pods are damn good. They work about how you expect. In the current game you must aim them at infantry and getting direct hits helps alot in conserving ammo - I find the mossy's rocket pods to be the most accurate in this regard. Ultimately learning to switch between rocket pods and rotary will nearly double your ground killing effectiveness. On a mosquito radar is viable, and with radar you can take on groups of up to 4 people solo, maybe one or two more if they are retarded; for reavers and sythes flares are mandatory which makes it significantly harder to solo small groups. When lolpodding armor lead more if they are moving, when shooting at air aim higher and lead twice as far as you think you need to.

A2A missiles are effective, however they suffer from a 50% random failure chance. This failure chance is more of an issue in TTK, as it often causes you to chase for long periods of time - especially if you hit a string of bad luck with the RNG and you fire 4 or more duds in a row. Ultimately despite their random chance of failure they are invaluable when fighting in large groups or when chasing mosquitos which are often too fast and evasive to catch up to and destroy with the rotary, they are mandatory if trying to solo the pro lib crews. A2Am are more niche and probably only useful for players who would rather play an air to air role for enjoyment and don't have incredible aim with the nose guns - for the top 5% of aimers the rotary will almost always be sufficient and rocket pods should be taken in all circumstances except A2A reavers that need the extra fuel from AB tanks.

The main issue with ESFs revolve around render distances. Threats pop in and out of existence at 100 meters - especially infantry. It's very easy to get killed by simply flying to a base, scan the ground, and then instantly 20 dudes pop into existence in front of your face - if the small arms fire and MAX flak doesn't get you the lock ons will. Invisible death is a very large threat to ESFs. Be very cautious when approaching liberators, ESF escorts have a tendency to render at full speed coming at you within rotary range.

When fighting air to air you are just as likely to die from AA MAX flak as other ESFs. When flying air to ground you are much more likely to be ganked by enemy air swooping down silently from above (you can kill your engines using analog throttle, letting gravity and ascend/descend you can get to within 10 meters of an ESF and pretty much instagib them with the rotary). AA MAXes are always a threat to ESFs, but they are more so for A2A ESFs. Be very, very careful when flying in an air to air role about how and where you engage and especially about overcommitting, an AA MAX can end you in a dogfight itself, and if you disengage you just exposed your six to your enemy you dogfighting with - and you must expose that 6 for the entire time it takes to flee the flak's range. Overcommiting will also often lead you into swarms of mosquitos that pop into existance at about 200 meters, there are less maurding groups of sythes and reavers so this is less of a concern when flying a mosquito (plus a mossy is often fast enough to get away) but it's still going to happen if you overcommit. Getting stuck in the middle of a swarm is also guaranteed death.

Amerish is the most fun continent to fly on. Esamir sucks to fly on. TR Strikers are almost as annoying as AA MAXes and have more of an impact on the air balance between the empires as any differences in the ESFs do. If any faction should have the reaver it's TR as they already have the air advantage from strikers.



Airframes:

Mossy (253 hrs)

-Speed kills
-Very agile (moves nicely and also maintains speed when pulling evasive manuevers when running)
-Small hitbox, especially head on and from behind
-Extra rocket pods and rounds

In my opinion the mossy is the most beginner friendly ESF. It's speed is unmatched and stock you can still outrun most pursuers, especially since the mossy seems to bleed the least speed of all the ESFs when pulling the standard S weave and roll evasive manuevers when fleeing. The mosquito is the quietest and the most likely to catch me by surprise (though this may be because I learned with the mosquito so the sound isn't as ingrained into me as a threat, but I doubt it).


Sythe (57.5hrs)

-Great agility
-Excellent V thrust
-Slim hit box when viewed on a direct plane
-large hit box from above or below
-negligible offset for rotary cannon (I find this helps soooo much, especially for killing infantry)
-Incredibly accurate rocket pods for A2A fighting

For me, the sythe is the most fun to use. Even with level 1 hover I find I can out manuever pilots with ease whom generally pose challenges/seem better then me when I'm flying a reaver or mosquito (reaver especially). I find the turbo laser far and away the best rotary for killing infantry, and for me it's the easiest to aim A2A. Sythe's make a distinct noise and are often easy to hear, especially their afterburners, with good headsets you can often pinpoint their location if they afterburn for even a split second.


Reaver (56.5 hrs)

-least manueverable
-good V thrust
-best rotary dps
-smallest rocket pod clip
-significant and challenging rotary offset
-largest hitbox
-Very noise and easy to hear

For me the reaver is the hardest to keep alive. I used to enjoy the airhammer + AB tanks build, but that's obviously not viable anymore, especially since it requires sacrificing a secondary. The Vortek has the highest dps on paper but I can't match my dps with turbolaser due to the difficulty in aiming. When forced to take evasive action while fleing the reaver bleeds the most speed, making it often impossible to run. Theoretically I suppose the reaver could rely on it's superior dps and V-thrust to kill a pursuer, but in my experience this just forces you into more 3v1 engagements - simply getting you killed.