A pilot's perspective, when teammates mark their targets (tips for new players)

Mess Room
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If you’re relatively new to the game, and do not utilize the target marking feature as often as you could…
These videos will show you the benefit of what happens when you have a pilot who can drop bombs where you want them to fall.

Variables to consider:
-All players have different levels of flying experience (some are new, while others have been flying planes in video games for years and/or decades.)
-The more you fly, the more you will fly and die.
-With the failure, you gain experience and eventually get better in time.
-So if “you suck”… don’t be discouraged. Keep practicing

If you are playing as infantry, and are stuck in a tight spot (because of a tank in the grey-zone, with a wide-open shooting lane)… you can EASILY remedy the problem by simply marking the target for air-support.

Sometimes you have awful pilots who will not engage these tanks, or lack the skill to land a direct hit.
If this is the case, it’s just a matter of tough luck.

But other times, if you have a pilot who knows what he/she is doing… you can significantly help your team (and reduce casualties/ticket losses), by simply marking your target.

If you are an experienced player (veteran), then all the above information is irrelevant, and you need say nothing (unless you are contributing additional tips to new players.)

First:

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Fourth:

While it’s extremely helpful for teammates to mark vehicles and large groups of infantry… you do not necessarily need to rely on your teammates to spot them from the air. You simply need to be patient while flying, and not always fly directly towards the objective to unload your bombs/rockets.

You can circle above for a brief amount of time, while using the free-look feature and zooming into the battlefield. And what you’re looking for are muzzle flashes from tanks, tracers from AA guns, as well as HMG emplacements. Anywhere that you see a heavy concentration of tracers zipping across the battlefield, is a great potential target to attempt a bombing run/strafing flyby.

Just be patient and wait for your opportunity to inflict the most damage. This is how you will be most successful and will fly back to re-arm with some kills to add to the scoreboard. There’s nothing worse than flying ALL THE WAY BACK with zero kills.

Hope this advice helps anyone trying to get better at flying and/or marking targets for team support.
Sometimes, all you gotta do is mark a tank and ask a teammate for some help from above :upside_down_face:

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If you are not able to see enemies from plane, just don’t use it. There’s a lot experienced pilots that doesn’t needs marks to see enemies on the ground.

Most importantly, don’t be that one guy who spamms “need enemy coordination” every 2 seconds for minutes. You are useless, just blocking plane slot.

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I feel like the only time to ask for enemy coordinates is during an attack approach or while circling and looking for a target. I typically don’t request coordinates until I’m within ~1,500m of the objective.

Any sooner, if the target isn’t a clearly marked vehicle, the infantry has likely moved to a new location and the markers are old and there won’t be anything to shoot or waste bombs on.

The best time to get markers is between 1,200-900m, when you can have time to adjust your sights and unleash the MG’s with bombs falling behind.

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if i bothered to bring a plane, i usually bring a fighter one. to shoot down other planes or bombers. i can’t bomb or rocket for shit.
and then i try to land my plane. keyword: try.
result varies.

those plane mains are just built different. built incorrectly perhaps.

i am starting to learn how to shoot at planes with AT guns though. it’s funny to see a plane just either ded or lose a wing after a big boom.

every now and then, there’s these players (not always plane pilots even) that just spammingly demand enemy being marked. to be fair, it’s usually when the team just don’t mark enemies at all, so i do kinda understand the frustration. on the other hand, stop clogging the com line :laughing: .

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just takes ALOT of practice.

Just when you think you have the timing figured out, the moment start playing with a new aircraft, there are sometimes big differences in the way they fly (which f**ks with timing a bomb delivery as accurately)

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it really doesn’t help that i am not a patient player. so i always want to find a new thing to shoot at at this game.

… it’s partially because a plane is always moving, so i feel like i should always try to attack :laughing:
… how do you practice how to bomb/rockets anyway? just go to the practice mode and try to rocket/bomb the dummy tanks?

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I mean you can, but all you’re going to experience are stagnant tanks in a concentrated area of the LARGE map (which is the practice range).

You don’t have teammates marking the vehicles on the range, so it’s not nearly as enjoyable as practicing in a match.

I recommend practicing when you find yourself in matches that are entirely lop-sided.
If you know from the beginning that you’re probably going to lose… then this is a good time to goof-around in the plane for awhile (if you’re okay with taking a loss).
Or if you’re on a stacked team, and the enemy is mostly low-ranking players and/or A.I., then your team will probably be fine on the ground while you have your time practicing from the sky.

Ask your teammates to mark targets, and then try to hit them as they appear.
Whether be bombs, rockets, or Machine guns… it’s all good practice, that eventually makes you a better pilot.

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I know this is dont liked but if you want learn how to fly enlisted is the worst place you need do it in war thunder, war thunder let you try in his goodlike practice range with all plane,tank,ship ecc… even withaut unlock them

So

You can master how a plane behave slowly first in 3rd person and after in 1st person, and after use your new skill in enlisted

PS
Also do you need remap the plane control for suit you better

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And I understand the feeling (to always be moving).
There’s always something to chase, hunt, and kill :skull:

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absolutely CRITICAL for players using a controller

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I know i pointed it out for this

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When I first started playing, I didn’t know about the button-remapping, and the default controls made flying the plane impossible. I couldn’t fly straight for the life of me.

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that sounds like a good advice tbh. i did try warthunder and uh, it’s definitely easier to control the plane there.

it’s just that my computer can’t hold both game without cramping the hard drive… so… i kinda stuck to enlisted.

and even then in warthunder, i don’t think the tutorial doesn’t explain what the hell all those function does. wtf break button supposed to do? what exactly does air break does beside making it easier to avoid funny dive bomber fail? what is aleriorn or all the other button does!? aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

i did manage to learn that turning off your engine helps with getting slower faster to land. half the time.

is there like… a wiki page or something that explain all that?

edit: i just want to make it clear. i also sucks at bombing in WT. i just stuck to low br and shooting at planes at tanks with my guns.

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you can use this mechanism to slow your airspeed (if you want to gamble having a chasing enemy, speed past you)

You really need to practice with this to ever get good, as it’s not an easy maneuver.
But sometimes it works, and if the enemy pilot doesn’t react correctly, he will speed past you (in which you accelerate and try and get in position behind)

So if you’re flying fast, with an enemy pursuing behind (you would reduce your throttle to ZERO), and then switch to your air-brake.
Your speed will drop significantly, and if done correctly, you can re-throttle to 110 and manuever yourself behind whoever was chasing you.

(not recommended if the enemy is a long ways away, because they will likely shred your plane before coming close to surpassing your own. This is best done if the enemy is right on your ass, or close enough)

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Bombing is easier than dogfighting

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oh, so it does slows you down instead of merely making turns /un-diving easier. that explains all those times enemy bomber planes suddenly slowing down and then making me the hunted one :frowning:

is there somewhere where i can read/watch/listen/smell what is “prop feathering” or “prop pitch” and the others unbound plane control thing?

and while i now know what is airbreak, what is the regular “break” thing supposed to do?

well, it’s certainly easier to drop the bombs and bolt away. i sucks at actually blowing enemies though.

dogfighting is definitely harder, that’s why i usually just use my fighter as bomber hunter or pray that i don’t need to turn the air fight into a dogfight :joy:

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I’m sure there are plenty of explanations out there, but I cannot refer you to anything specific.

Your best bet is to research these terms for real-life aircraft, and learn “how an airplane works”.

such as “what does the rudder do?”
"What does the airbrake do?"
Etc…
Whatever your question, just ask "it from the field of aviation, and you’ll get a general idea what these things do in the game

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You can mark vehicles from the air. Don’t need to ask for tank marks.

And honestly my best bombs come from me just assuming infantry will be packed here, and my worst bombs come from me using teammate marks.

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And this skillset :point_up: :point_up: can only be acquired with practice. Once a player comes to realize they can effectively engage ground targets without assistance from teammates, then the player has arrived to a “new level” of piloting.
It’s a lot of fun playing with people who have situational awareness, while flying an aircraft loaded with bombs and/or rockets. And dogfighting players who can put up a fight, is a whole of lot of fun to.

I’ve been learning how to fly aircraft in online gaming since Battlefield 1942 (when it was released back in 2002)

That’s two decades of flying experience, compared to players who have just started learning the mechanics of how to dogfight/drop bombs.

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Like how many new players just go to forum and read if for team tbh?