Getting used to the joystick (How I train)

A short video tutorial on what I did to go from crashing into trees to actually getting kills in under 10 hours of joystick play.

What is this guide (and why would I want to play with a joystick?)

This is a very low level guide which will probably only be useful to you during your first couple of hours, but those hours are usually very intense. This guide is primarily for mouse aimers who are just switching over to joystick, or are considering it but aren't sure. Flying with a joystick for the first time is a completely different experience than flying with mouse aim, and I am very glad that i spent 50 bucks on my Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS. I recommend everyone to buy either the T.Flight HOTAS or a more expensive joystick.

Don't settle for less when you can pay just a tiny bit more, 50 bucks isn't that much, especially when you're getting the game for free.

Flying with a joystick takes a great deal of muscle memorization as well as knowledge gathering. You'll have to get used to every individual plane on a deeper level than with mouse aim, since you no longer have any instructor to help you aim. Tweaking your aim with the mouse is effortless, tweaking it with your joystick takes time and practice. I was able to get used to the basics a lot earlier than I expected though, so do not see this as a huge task which will burn you out. After some hours with this training regime, you'll be able to get decent scores in arcade and historical, and when you've finally reached the level you were at with mouse aim, you'll be able to easily surpass that level. Joysticks give you the ability to maneuver better than any mouse aimer could ever dream about and the immersion flying in first person gives you is phenomenal.

The Video

How I train

Always train in historical difficulty (soon to be renamed realistic). You will need to learn how to control your plane in spins and how to subtly use your jaw and pitch axis. For information on how to set up your joystick, watch this video. This guide is just to help you get comfortable with the joystick so it won't get in-depth.

This is how I train:

1. Choose a plane of your liking. I would recommend the japanese Zero, the premium D.520 (which you can test fly without buying) or just one that you're comfortable with.
2. Go into test flight (remember the historical difficulty)
3. Takeoff
4. General maneuvers to feel how the plane handles
5. Kill the vehicle
6. Land on either the strip, boat or simulate a crash landing
7. Repeat until you can do all of this without having to try more than once (just one pass for the vehicle, one try for landing etc)

This might seem like basic stuff, but basic stuff is what you'll have to do if you want to learn how to do it right. Playing street fighter taught me that muscle memorization is very important and that you learn as much in the lab as you do in fights. The same applies to War Thunder.

I am currently trying out all the planes I had previously unlocked with mouse aim, one by one. This is good because I can really feel how different the planes are, and being able to fly a multitude of planes gives me experience and information which I can later use to outfly my opponents. Even if you don't like the Beaufighter for example, learning how it handles will give you a huge advantage when trying to shoot it down.

After two hours of training, you should be proficient enough to try getting into a match. I would recommend arcade mode until you've gotten used to actually firing the gun and getting into turnfights. You also don't have to worry about stalling your plane in arcade battles. Even if you lose, do not worry; I didn't get a kill until my fourth match, and that was by luck. Now, with about nine hours of experience, my current record of kills is 5. Reserve planes are good to start out with, as is the Ki-43 hayabusa.

When you feel proficient enough, go into historical battle or find a friend to dogfight you in a private custom mission. It is fun just to try and shoot each other down without anyone interfering, and it gives you time to remain calm since no one will come up and attack you from behind.

God I suck, what should I do?

The first hours can make you feel like you don't even know how to play the game anymore. Don't worry, that will change. Here are some useful tips for people just starting out:

* You can make your planes more stable by learning how to trim. It can also help you shoot ground targets with planes that are a bit bottom heavy.Phly has a good video on trimming.

* Try not to panic. Remain calm and try not to crash. Just staying alive counts as a success while starting out

* Get closer to your targets. With mouse aim, I can hit people even at 0.80 or 0.90 from time to time. With a joystick you'll be a lot more agile and have more control over your speed and flight, so you'll be able to stay on your enemies tail a lot longer. A lot of people don't shoot until they are 300 or even 200 meters from their target.

* Learn how to control your speed. Try to remember to use your throttle (physical if you have a HOTAS setup), it will come to you automatically very soon.

* Be careful with the yaw axis. It takes some time getting used to it, and I would recommend skipping it almost entirely until you feel fine with your pitch and roll. If you have problems with wobble, it is usually the yaw that is the problem. Decreasing your yaw sensitivity will definitely help.

* Do not be concerned about kills. Take some time and try to get used to the plane instead of trying to get your first kill. Avoid chicken races and try to outmaneuver your enemy instead.

* Learn real life maneuvers. GrmlZ is probably your best tutor. He also has some cool videos explaining the pros and cons of seperate planes, which will be very useful starting out. I have yet to find a better joystick tutor than him.

* Practice. Over, and over, and over. After a while, your muscles will know what to do on their own. You WILL get better, it's just a matter of getting used to your new gaming peripheral.

Useful links

GrmlZ - Great guy, very educational videos. Made me consider getting a joystick. Probably the best youtuber to learn maneuvers from.

PhlyDaily's Joystick Setup

The joystick I am using[www.thrustmaster.com] - Great for beginners and very cheap. There are others out there, but this is mine and I am having a blast with it

{LINK REMOVED}My War Thunder invite code. Use this to give me golden eagles when signing up.

[CLN Flushed]

There should be joystick only matchmaking tbh.
Mouse aim is sooo much easier, you basically point where you want to go and the "instructor" does everything for you, it should not be in the same category as any direct imput flying.

And before anyone goes "theres simulator battles for that" yeah no, I don't want to have to bear with a full sim approach just to not get shit on by mouse users 1km away, realistic battles are already hardcore enough without taking away spotting and forcing cockpit view!

[Emma]

@That3point3guy Yea, common thing

[head2dead]

cool guide

[JagdPhoenix_13]

@Eoin1, you can either buy a cheap pair of foot pedals or set two buttons/keys as rudder and drop their sensitivity

[Yuki8819]

Nice guide man, it helps. I'm starting with my Saitek X52 now :)

[A Leaf]

I can see where a joystick woudl help in HB where some planes (cough corsair cough) have flight models similar to a greyhound bus. Thanks for the guide!

[Eoin1]

i have a thundermaster usb joystick you cant twist for yaw do can i make due with that ?

[That3Point3Guy]

does any one else get flipped over on the other wing if you turn too hard?

[BlitzzBob]

I am getting better with joystick. I am proficient with manuvers etc but aiming is still hard. Sometimes i get the urge to use mouse aim to score some easy kills, but now it just seems so lazy and boring to just point and click... mouse aim should be for arcade only!!!

[RainDog]

I would say don't fly with a joystick in arcade. Your extra manueverability doesn't count for too much against the pin-point accuracy of the mouse aimers there. Also, you will score less hits agianst planes that the instructor keeps in the air even if they are badly damaged. Go for realistic where mouse aim flying definately suffers on the manuevering front, you can still lock and track enemies and even just clipping their flaps has major consequences for them.