Tips on improving shooting skills?

[Z3pheeR]

I'm a new player and I'm struggling because I can't hit multiple shots in a row on my enemies. I always hit like 1 or 2 shots, then they start moving and it becomes hard to hit them again. Any tips for a n00b?

EDIT: I'm playing on a standard XBox One controller, my bad for not specifying that sooner.

[★Macman★]

HOTAS: Remove all Deadzones. Set Roll & Y AXIS to 100% Sensitivity. Set Yaw to 0% Sensitivity. Practise keeping same speed as targets on their six. Also practise Strafing your shots with full Weapons (plus converted power on Imperial) in slow controlled blasts so that you don't overshoot. Let Yaw Strafe be the way to accurately track targets for landing shots. Other Axis are to chase fast but not waste fire for.

[Z3pheeR]

Originally posted by Macman:

HOTAS: Remove all Deadzones. Set Roll & Y AXIS to 100% Sensitivity. Set Yaw to 0% Sensitivity. Practise keeping same speed as targets on their six. Also practise Strafing your shots with full Weapons (plus converted power on Imperial) in slow controlled blasts so that you don't overshoot. Let Yaw Strafe be the way to accurately track targets for landing shots. Other Axis are to chase fast but not waste fire for.

Edited because I didn't specify the device I'm using. Sorry ;c

[gunner]

I completed the Single Player Campaign with Mouse and Keyboard. Basically all I use is Mouse and Keyboard, won some PVP dogfights as well and Fleet Battle Vs AI.

Hope this helps.

[necrophonic]

Unfortunately the best advice is just "practice". It absolutely takes some time to get your eye in on judging speed and distance on how to lead your shots. There's no magic trick to improving.

Annoyingly the game won't generate static targets to practice against, but I've done similar by say, picking a particular feature on a bit of debris in the Sissubo map and trying to hit it whilst trying different approaches and flypasts.

I use an xbox controller too and you really need to learn to not over yank the sticks as it's really easy to overshoot on turns.

A more advanced thing to practice is drift firing (again good to practice against static debris in Sissubo) - so flying past something, boosting, then drifting and keeping it in your sights as best you can.

[ebe-a51]

Best advice is WATCH your TARGET, NOT your RETICLE.

Watch their speed, their attitude, how theyre moving... dogfighting is all about reading your opponent and out positioning them.

its not a fps where you put crosshairs on target, fire and hit, you must lead... and as this is a dogfighting sim with no lead-indicator, you have to be even more observant.

match speed, know your own.
know your weapon speed.
watch their wings/foils - bank as they do, pitch as they do, stay behind them.
when you start to anticipate their movements and move to cut off/into them, slow down, or youll overshoot.
DONT GET TOO CLOSE, if you get too close, you reduce your reaction time and it will be harder for you to keep sights on them.

aim to keep your target at 200-300m - when you get better you can play with the range a little to a range where your comfortable... as you get better that range will move closer as your ability to read and anticipate your targets improves.
dont shoot when youre super close, your weapons are spread apart and the shots converge... too close, and your rounds will not have convergence.

use MANY SMALL MOVEMENTS over singular large ones.
many small movements are easy to adjust to stay on target, singular large 'knee-jerk' reactions lead to overshooting, which doubles your work as you have to corrent to get back on target, then correct to lead target.
it is better to undershoot and keep working UP to your target then having to drop back onto it.

Later when you get better, overshooting and dropping back onto your target wont be a problem... but learning, undershoot and move up... it will teach you how to aquire and then incrementally lead to get good shots... instead of merely over reacting to every action your target makes.


next thing to do is learn power management - but learn to aim first.
first things first - dont try to improve eveyrthing at once, youll just become worse at everything simultaneously.


Finally, forget drift-shooting... its a trick that lends you to hitting bits of environment instead of your targets. Total waste of time you can do when youve mastered the above.

[KOKOWÄÄH]

First, finish the campaign.
Second, watch the ACE pilot playing (how to shoot)\
Finally, practice and practice

[Z3pheeR]

Originally posted by ebe-a51:

Best advice is WATCH your TARGET, NOT your RETICLE.

Watch their speed, their attitude, how theyre moving... dogfighting is all about reading your opponent and out positioning them.

its not a fps where you put crosshairs on target, fire and hit, you must lead... and as this is a dogfighting sim with no lead-indicator, you have to be even more observant.

match speed, know your own.
know your weapon speed.
watch their wings/foils - bank as they do, pitch as they do, stay behind them.
when you start to anticipate their movements and move to cut off/into them, slow down, or youll overshoot.
DONT GET TOO CLOSE, if you get too close, you reduce your reaction time and it will be harder for you to keep sights on them.

aim to keep your target at 200-300m - when you get better you can play with the range a little to a range where your comfortable... as you get better that range will move closer as your ability to read and anticipate your targets improves.
dont shoot when youre super close, your weapons are spread apart and the shots converge... too close, and your rounds will not have convergence.

use MANY SMALL MOVEMENTS over singular large ones.
many small movements are easy to adjust to stay on target, singular large 'knee-jerk' reactions lead to overshooting, which doubles your work as you have to corrent to get back on target, then correct to lead target.
it is better to undershoot and keep working UP to your target then having to drop back onto it.

Later when you get better, overshooting and dropping back onto your target wont be a problem... but learning, undershoot and move up... it will teach you how to aquire and then incrementally lead to get good shots... instead of merely over reacting to every action your target makes.


next thing to do is learn power management - but learn to aim first.
first things first - dont try to improve eveyrthing at once, youll just become worse at everything simultaneously.


Finally, forget drift-shooting... its a trick that lends you to hitting bits of environment instead of your targets. Total waste of time you can do when youve mastered the above.

This is an excellent response actually. Thanks a lot to everyone for the tips! Having a blast with this game.

[Twelvefield]

The more you play, the better you get. SP play will help you get started, but human pilots are much trickier. AI pilots have perfect aim, though.

Dogfight is the best arena to learn some moves. Although I don't believe the killcam is reliable, you can learn from watching how you die.

Once you can hit a few things, you'll want to pay attention to your kill/death ratio. It's very important to simply stay alive, so you want to develop a good sense on flying defensively. Don't get tunnelvision, since that leaves you open to attack. Jousts fall into that category. Know where your reinforcements are - support ships and repair zones.

It helps to play as Support for a while as well, so you understand the mechanics of how Support really works.

People generally evade by pulling up and to the left. If you are right handed, that's the most natural "clench" move and it's a bias built into most controllers. You can take advantage of that! Of course, more advance players will as well.