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Tribes 2 Pilot's Guide
by W2k
last update 2001-04-21 - rev 1.0
-----------------------------------
So, you wanna be a pilot eh? Cool. Tribes 2 may be a "first-person
shooter"-style
game, but it's loaded with nice opportunities for teamwork, and the vehicles
constitute what is perhaps the best one of 'em. This guide will go through the
airborne vehicles - the turbogravs - namely the Shrike scout flier, the
Thundersword bomber, and the Havoc transport. In that order. Despite the title,
this guide is not just for pilots - if you like playing the role of the
tailgunner or the bombardier better, there's something for you in here as well.
There's even a chapter for those who despise turbogravs altogether, and prefers
shooting them down.
Let's begin. To go directly to a specific chapter, use the links (bold) in the
table of contents below.
(0) Basics
(1) Armor, Weapons and Equipment
(1.1) Armor
(1.2) Weapons
(1.3) Equipment
(1.4) Suggested configs
(2) Turbograv Overview
(3) Turbograv Tactics
(3.1) The Shrike
(3.1.1) Offense
(3.1.2) Defense
(3.1.3) Tactics
(3.1.3.1) Soldiers
(3.1.3.2) Ground vehicles, sensors, etc.
(3.1.3.3) Other Shrikes
(3.1.3.4) Other turbogravs
(3.1.3.5) Hit'n'run flag grabs
(3.2) The Thundersword
(3.2.1) Offense
(3.2.2) Defense
(3.2.3) Tactics
(3.2.3.1) Bombing
(3.2.3.1.1) The Pilot's Role
(3.2.3.1.2) The Bombardier's Role
(3.2.3.1.2.1) Dual Heavy Blasters
(3.2.3.1.2.2) Plasma Bombs
(3.2.3.1.2.3) Targeting Laser
(3.2.3.1.3) The Tailgunner's Role
(3.2.3.2) Getting a Crew
(3.2.3.3) Single-Player Bomber Tactics
(3.3) The Havoc
(3.3.1) Offense
(3.3.2) Defense
(3.3.3) Tactics
(3.3.3.1) How to pilot a Havoc
(3.3.3.2) Mobile Gunship
(4) S-A/A-S Com1bat
(4.1) Surface-to-Air Missiles
(4.2) Avoiding incoming SAM's
(5) Updates
-----------------------------------
(0) Basics
Just a few tiny details before we start.
If you haven't played the single player missions (tutorials), do so first. They
teach you some things you need to know, such as jetpacking properly. RTFM as
well.
This guide expects you to know how things work in the game - hence the above
suggestion. If you don't know which bar shows your vehicle's energy, you're
screwed.
Don't believe everything you read here blindly. Go out and try it in the field.
VTOL means "Vertical Take-Off and Landing"
The three turbogravs in the game are the:
Shrike (scout flier)
Thundersword (bomber)
Havoc (transport)
The three ground vehicles are the:
Wildcat (grav bike)
Beowulf (assault tank)
Jericho (mobile point base)
The three armor classes in the game are the:
Scout (light)
Assault (medium)
Juggernaught (heavy)
The vehicles in the game are split into three groups:
Turbogravs (flying vehicles, ie aircraft)
Terragravs (hovering vehicles, ie hovercraft)
Wheeled vehicles (ground vehicles with wheels)
This isn't Quake, and it isn't Counter-Strike. To be successful in Tribes 2, you
need brains, and you must know how to work in a team.
All vehicle stealers must die.
-----------------------------------
(1) Armor, Weapons and Equipment
While it is rather tempting to jump straight into a turbograv right after
respawning, doing so is pretty stupid. Of course, jumping into a Shrike or
aboard
a Havoc is a pretty quick and easy way of getting to the enemy base, and if
you're lucky you might even make it back alive. However, if you intend to make a
difference other than to someone elses frag count, you should prepare.
(1.1) Armor
Simply put, you have to be either Scout or Assault if you're going to be
anything
but a passenger or a tailgunner. This is because of the game - it won't let you
into the vehicle if you're Juggernaught class. Personally, I recommend the
Assault class - unless you want to go sniping. If you don't, then there's really
no reason to be a Scout - you don't need that extra mobility when you're sitting
in a turbograv.
Note that Juggernaught class players make excellent tailgunners, so if that's
what you'll be doing, go for it.
(1.2) Weapons
Even though both the Shrike and the Thundersword have built-in weapons, carrying
some of your own is critical to your survival - and if you're a tailgunner, your
very purpose on-board requires you to be packing some hardware of your own. Pick
whatever guns you like, however ...
If you are the tailgunner, include the missile launcher and the fusion mortar.
Assuming you can aim straight at the enemy for long enough, the missile launcher
is a great way to get rid of attacking Shrikes, or other enemy vehicles.
If you are the pilot or bombardier, include the missile launcher. If you get
shot
down or bail out, use it from the ground to take your opponent down with you.
(1.3) Equipment
Important: At least one crewmember should be carrying the repair pack,
preferably
the pilot. If your turbograv is severely damaged, you can always land somewhere
far off and repair it, then return with a vengeance. The repair pack is also
great for healing your crewmembers after a nasty crash landing. The tailgunner
will want to be carrying flare grenades for fooling incoming missiles.
(1.4) Suggested Configs
Now for my own little what-to-wear suggestions.
Pilot (light)
Armor: Scout
Weapons: Blaster, Chaingun, Plasma Rifle or Spinfusor
Pack: Repair Pack
Grenade: Whiteout Grenade or Concussion Grenade or Grenade
Pilot (sniper)
Armor: Scout
Weapons: Chaingun, Plasma Rifle or Spingfusor, Laser Rifle
Pack: Energy Pack
Grenade: Whiteout Grenade or Concussion Grenade or Grenade
Pilot (medium)
Armor: Assault
Weapons: Chaingun, Spinfusor, Plasma Rifle, Missile Launcher
Pack: Repair Pack
Grenade: Grenade
Tailgunner
Armor: Juggernaught
Weapons: Chaingun, Plasma Rifle, Grenade Launcher, Fusion Mortar, Missile
Launcher
Pack: Repair Pack or Ammo Pack
Grenade: Flare Grenade
-----------------------------------
(2) Turbograv Overview
Let's take a look at our three turbogravs. A small word on ammo: All weapons on
the turbogravs use the craft's internal power supply. Therefore, you have
unlimited ammunition, even for the Plasma Bombs.
Shrike
Type: Fighter / Scout Flier
Crew: Pilot (1)
Weaponry: Blasters (2)
Speed: High | Armor: Low | Shields: Medium
Note: Functions as a mobile sensor array, excellent for surveying enemy bases.
Also good for taking out enemy vehicles and such.
Thundersword
Type: Bomber
Crew: Pilot (1), Bombardier (1), Tailgunner (1)
Weaponry: Heavy Blasters (2, turret-mounted), Plasma Bombs (2)
Speed: Medium | Armor: Medium | Shields: High
Note: Requires at least a crew of two to do anything but fly around and look
stupid. Plasma Bombs do massive damage.
Havoc
Type: Transport / Gunship
Crew: Pilot (1), Tailgunner (1), Passengers/gunners (4)
Weaponry: None
Speed: Low | Armor: High | Shields: High
Note: While unarmed, this ship can do extreme damage if carrying heavily-armed
soldiers.
Now, how to use them. Neither turbograv is really hard to fly - if you liked
remote-controlling the Redeemer missile from Unreal Tournament (crappy game, but
that nuke was cool IMNSHO), you'll soon recognize the feeling when piloting a
Shrike.
-----------------------------------
(3) Turbograv Tactics
This is the important stuff - read carefully :)
-----------------------------------
(3.1) The Shrike
Requiring only one player to operate fully, the Shrike is excellent for anyone
who can't be bothered to wait for his teammates, or simply feels he can do more
damage on his own. Shrikes are useful both for offense and defense.
Basic Shrike manuevering is done with the same buttons you normally use for
moving - the jetpack is now the Shrike's afterburner, which you can use to gain
extra speeds or to gain altitude without moving forward - just fire off the
afterburner without simultaneously pressing forward, and you'll climb vertically
instead. Instant VTOL!
(3.1.1) Offense
Simply put, attacking the enemy base with the shrike is not a good idea. It's
just far too easy for an enemy solider, or several enemy soliders to grab some
missile launchers and turn your precious flier into debris. It won't take many
shots for an enemy AA turret either, and spider clamp / landspike turrets can
kill you as well if you fly close enough to make yourself their target. On
offense, the Shrike is good for five things:
Killing enemy soldiers (particularly snipers)
Killing enemy vehicles
Destroying rooftop sensors (usually on some distant tower which noone cares
about)
Hit'n'run attempts to grab the flag
General Harassment
You'll be surprised how often the last one works. Human players generally get
pretty pissed of if attacked by a Shrike, even if they don't take much damage
from it. And if a player is spending his time hunting you, he won't be doing
anything else - protecting his base, for instance.
(3.1.2) Defense
The Shrike has some excellent defensive uses. For example, it's great for
shooting down enemy bombers. Here are some uses for the Shrike in a defensive
position:
Killing enemy attackers in general
Killing incoming enemy turbogravs (such as bombers)
Killing enemies shooting at your turrets/sensors from a distance
The Shrike is excellent for getting places fast, this can be very useful if you
have a widespread base with several points needing defense, with some of them
far
from your spawn point.
(3.1.3) Tactics
Now for the how-to's of proper Shrike flying.
(3.1.3.1) Soldiers
Killing an enemy soldier is usually fairly easy to accomplish with a Shrike, so
long as he's not carrying a missile launcher. You can either just shoot him down
OR, if you're really skilled (and have a low ping), you can run him over just as
if you were driving a terragrav - just bump into 'em, either on the ground or
mid-
air. Note that Juggernaughts have a nasty tendency to survive such collisions.
If using the blasters, I recommend either following the player as he flees or
tries to fight back - you have unlimited ammo, so fire 'til he's dead. Remember
that you don't need to keep the Shrike moving, you can hover using the
afterburners - very useful when attacking snipers and other stationary or semi-
stationary targets.
(3.1.3.2) Ground vehicles, sensors, etc
Firstly, when I say ground vehicles, I'm really only talking about the Beowulf
Grav Tank. The Jericho is far too beefy for you to be able to take out with just
a fighter, and the Wildcat Grav Cycle is just too fast and tiny.
Taking out a Beowulf with a Shrike can be troublesome - it's got a lot of armor
and strong shields, but on the other hand, it's ill-equipped to fire back at
you,
as neither of its weapons are very useful for combatting airborne vehicles.
Hover
above it and let your blasters do the talking. The same goes for sensors and
such - just hover and fire, moving is good for avoiding attackers but will do
horrible things to your aim. The faster you destroy one target, the sooner can
you move on to the next.
(3.1.3.3) Other Shrikes
Here's where you get to test your l33t piloting skillz. Assuming that your
vehicles start out equally damaged, and that none of you are getting help (from
other players, towers etc), winning a Shrike-to-Shrike fight is all about
hitting
your opponent, preferably more than he hits you. Try to get in behind him if
possible, and if he gets in behind you, do a quick 180 turn and let him eat your
blasters. If both players use this approach you will eventually end up hovering
nose-to-nose - and when that happens, whoever aims better wins. Note that once
the shields are down, it takes very few shots to bring down a Shrike.
One slightly unconventional, yet strangely effective, tactic is to simply bail
out from your Shrike and fire off a few missiles at your enemy - if you're
successful, he will either die or crash-land, at which point you can either kill
him in man-to-man combat or jump into your old Shrike and leave him to his
misery
(or finish him off). Note that players bailing from crashing Shrikes are usually
pretty low on health after landing, so try and hit him with a Spinfusor disc the
moment he lands on the ground.
One last thing. Colliding your Shrike into another player's is really stupid,
unless you bail out in time. It is however a quick way to end a fight if you get
bored :)
(3.1.3.4) Other turbogravs
Shooting down a bomber or transport with a Shrike is fairly easy, assuming the
target doesn't have a tailgunner with a missile launcher - if he does, your best
bet is to fly past at high speeds, dealing a little damage every run. This is
unlikely to actually destroy the enemy ship, but drains the target's energy
supply and annoys the crew beyond belief. You can also kamikaze-burn straight
into the enemy craft - this will take out even a Havoc, but won't get you any
frags even if the entire crew perishes.
(3.1.3.5) Hit'n'run flag grabs
One of the key benefits of the Shrike is its ability to get you anywhere really
really quickly. A hit'n'run flag grab is accomplished in the following manner:
Make sure that the enemy flag area is as clear as possible - preferably, there
shouldn't be too many turrets or enemy players about.
Get your inventory. Since speed is important, you might want to be in the Scout
armor.
Go to the vehicle station and get a Shrike. If you're into ground vehicles, a
Wildcat will work as well.
Burn straight to the enemy base, avoiding enemy turrets in one of the following
ways:
Circumnavigate them (by taking a detour)
Fly too fast for them to hit you (350+ KPH or so)
Fly below or above them
Park your vehicle close to the enemy base, however not in plain sight. Since the
Shrike can VTOL, a deep chasm will work fine if you can find one.
Go get the flag. Don't die.
Head back to the Shrike
Fly back to your base and capture (duh!)
Repeat from step 1
Continue until either praised for your skillz or kicked from server
-----------------------------------
(3.2) The Thundersword
The Thundersword is the most formidable piece of hardware you'll ever come
across
in Tribes 2 - not taking into account all the vehicles mod makers are likely to
invent later on, of course. Equipped with both blasters and bombs, a properly
flown Thundersword will bring death and destruction to the battlefield, and tons
of it.
(3.2.1) Offense
Obviously, the Thundersword is primarily an offensive weapon - you're not going
to be dropping those bombs on your own base, because no matter how much fun it
would be, all those defenses your team has spent time building up will be
reduced
to ashes if you bomb them, right along with any enemy attackers. Same goes for
your team, of course - bombing your own base will get you kicked from the server
for TK'ing sooner or later. So don't! Ok? :)
The offensive uses for the bomber are pretty straightforward.
Bomb enemy defenses
Bomb enemy vehicles
Bomb enemy soldiers
Bomb enemy bases
Looks easy, doesn't it. Of course, if you prefer the blasters over the plasma
bombs, they will work just fine for all of the above, albeit with less
efficiency.
(3.2.2) Defense
As I mentioned above, the defensive uses for the Thundersword are severely
limited - sure, you can use the bomber as a flying turret, letting the
bombardier
fire away with the blaster (along with the tailgunner using whatever weapons
he's
got) but that's pretty boring, and there are other vehicles better suited for
that purpose. However, you can use the Thundersword to ...
Bomb enemy soldiers and vehicles ...
...who are on their way to your base.
Because so long as your bombs don't hit anything important, it's no crime to
drop
them in other places than the enemy base. Enemy tanks or an enemy Jericho MPB
will be reduced to ashes fairly quickly, since neither have a good defense
against high-flying bombers.
(3.2.3) Tactics
A successful assault using the Thundersword bomber depends on the bombardier and
the pilot (and the tailgunner, if any) helping each other out as much as
possible. Of course, the pilot has the most important role.
(3.2.3.1) Bombing
As indicated above, most of the Thundersword's uses involve bombing. What you
are
bombing is relatively unimportant, the procedure is the same every time, with a
few variations, which I'll leave to you to figure out :)
(3.2.3.1.1) The Pilot's Role
As the pilot, your have three tasks:
Get the bomber to the target
Approach and pass the target in a way which facilitates the bombardier's job
Keep the bomber from being shot down
Now, how to accomplish this?
Getting the bomber to the intended bomb target is a fairly straightforward task.
Take off (note that like the Shrike, the Thundersword can do VTOL), then fly to
the bomb site. While flying, try to gain as much altitude as possible, as flying
too close to the ground will make you an easy target for enemy defenses. The
afterburner is great for accomplishing this. However, don't fly too high. If the
map is foggy, the bombardier won't be able to see the target, and the targeting
reticle will be too small for him to make out. Also, don't overuse the
afterburners - when you reach the target, your survival and the effectiveness of
the bombing depends on you having enough energy.
One more thing. No joyriding. Sure it's fun to fly low and show off your l33t
skillz, but at the same time the chances of you getting a missile up your
backside, or crashing into the ground before even getting to the target increase
by about 1000%. If you want to fly just for fun, get a Shrike - they're much
better suited for the job, AND you won't be wasting other players' lives and
time
if you crash.
Summed up:
Gain altitude while en-route to the target
Flying too low will get you shot down
Flying too high will complicate the bombardier's task
Save energy
A full, or nearly full energy supply is critical to a successful bombing run,
since ...
The bombardier needs energy enough to drop the bombs
The shields need enough energy to at least partially absorb at least one missile
No joyriding, we have Shrikes for that
Second, the approach and actual bombing run. It is very important that you, the
pilot that is, keep a straight course and constant speed while passing the
target. A straight course is very important since the bombs will then fall in a
predictable manner, making hitting the target much easier for the bombardier.
Constant speed isn't as important but also serves to help the bombardier. I've
found that a speed of about 150-200 KPH is ideal for the bombardier, however you
might want to fly faster to avoid being shot down. However, you must never ever
use the afterburner during the bombing run. It uses too much energy, and the
vehicle will fly much too fast for the bombs to hit with any precision what-so-
ever.
Summed up:
Fly in a straight line over the target - any turns will screw up the targeting
Maintain the same altitude - as above, changing course will screw up the
targeting
Fly at a constant speed
Higher speeds will reduce the risk of you getting shot down
Lower speeds will facilitate the bombardier's job
Do not use afterburners
The bombardier and the shields need the energy
Finally, the stay-alive part. Since you pilot the Thundersword, you have to
steer
it away from any and all dangers - this includes incoming missiles. When you
hear
someone trying to get a missile lock on you, use one of the missile avoidance
techniques described in section 4.2 (below), but not during a bombing run.
Remember, since you can respawn, bombing the target is more important than
making
it out alive. If someone fires a missile at you while doing the run, you're
better off hoping that the shields will hold than trying to escape it. Also note
that due to the slowness of the Thundersword, using the afterburner to escape
from an incoming missile is a very ineffective tactic, even though it does work
on occasion. When a missile is fired at you, only use the afterburner very
sparingly to gain speed, then go around a corner - the missile will probably
lose
you and hit the mountain instead.
Remember that once the bombing run is complete, you can use the afterburner to
quickly put some distance between you and the enemy. This is especially useful
when the enemy is trying to get a missile lock on you, but has yet to actually
fire the missile. Rapid speed increases and course changes will make it much
harder for the enemy to get a lock.
Summed up:
Bombing the target is more important than making it out alive
Therefore, don't try to dodge missiles during the bombing run, as this will make
the bombs miss their targets
The shields/armor can usually take at least one missile hit
Don't try to afterburn away from a missile - let your shields charge instead
You can "tap" the afterburner to gain speed without using up too much energy
That's about it. Good luck.
(3.2.3.1.2) The Bombardier's Role
As the bombardier, you have the most important part to play once the bombing run
has begun. Your duties are as follows:
Use the Thundersword's on-board weapons to fight off attackers
Release the plasma bombs during the bombing run
Destroy or damage the target by successfully hitting it with the bombs
If the pilot does his job properly, this is actually very easy to accomplish.
Your position in the bomber gives you a 360-degree view of the land below you.
Somewhere on the ground, you'll see the red targeting reticle (it appears no
matter which weapon you have selected). You have three weapons at your disposal.
(3.2.3.1.2.1) Dual Heavy Blasters
These work similarly to the blasters on the Shrike, with two main advantages:
You
needn't fire in the direction the vehicle is moving, since the turret can be
rotated, and the heavy blasters do much more damage than the ones on the Shrike.
The blasters will also generate some "splash" damage on impact, so pin-point
accuracy isn't too important.
(3.2.3.1.2.2) Plasma Bombs
The plasma bombs are the Thundersword's main weapon, to be dropped with more or
less accuracy on more or less unsuspecting enemy targets. You have an unlimited
supply so long as there's enough energy available - one click of the fire button
releases two bombs in quick succession. The bombs detonate on impact with
anything except air, damaging or destroying everything in the blast radius,
including you if you're flying too low. A direct hit on a player will usually
result in instant death for him or her.
Note that both the blasters and the bombs use up energy, especially the bombs.
Don't shoot more than you have to (although too many bombs are always better
than
too few) and don't fire unneccessarily - en-route to the target, you should save
your energy for the bombing run (fire only when fired upon), and when moving
away, the pilot will want it for the shields and afterburner.
(3.2.3.1.2.3) Targeting Laser
While not a weapon as such, the targeting laser is great for indicating to the
pilot where you want to go, or for marking targets for later bombing. Once
fired,
the point it hits will be marked out to you and the pilot, even if you turn off
the laser or switch to another weapon. The targeting laser does no damage.
(3.2.3.1.2) The Bombardier's Role (cont'd)
Using these weapons is by no means difficult - just press the fire button, and
there you are. However, the bombs will not fall straight down unless the bomber
isn't moving (speed is 0 KPH) - if it's mobile, which it will be 99.9% of all
bombing runs, you have to drop the bombs before the aircraft passes over the
target. This is because the bombs will be moving forward at the same speed as
the
bomber immediately after being dropped, gradually slowing down as they
accelerate
towards the ground. Fortunally, you needn't bother your brain with trying to
estimate where the bombs will fall - the bomber will do this for you. On the
ground, a red marker will be painted - if you drop your bombs at any given time,
the red marker (known throughout this document as the "targeting reticle") will
give you an estimate of where they will land. Right before, while, and right
after the reticle passes over something you want to bomb, drop the bombs and
enjoy the mayhem.
Summed up:
Use the heavy blasters for taking out attackers and targets which you can't
reach
with the bombs
Use the targeting laser for marking bomb targets and destinations for the pilot
Bombs will fall where the targeting reticle is
Drop bombs right before, while, and right after the reticle passes over the
target
Easy enough, isn't it?
(3.2.3.1.3) The Tailgunner's Role
It's all to easy to discard the tailgunner as unneccessary - I mean, to make a
successful bombing run, all you need is a pilot and a bombardier, right? RIGHT.
BUT, if you want a slightly greater chance of survival, the tailgunner is a
must-
have crew member, assuming he knows what he's doing. Here's why:
If equipped with a missile launcher, the tailgunner can shoot down attacking
Shrikes
If equipped with a repair pack, the tailgunner can repair the bomber on-the-fly
If equipped with a sensor jammer, the tailgunner will block the bomber from all
sensors
If equipped with flare grenades, the tailgunner can throw them to fool incoming
missiles
The tailgunner can use his own weapons to attack from the air
The tailgunner can use the bomber solely as a means of transportation.
The first two, and the fourth, of the six possible tasks mentioned above are the
most important. If the tailgunner is Juggernaught class (which he ought to be),
he will have a healthy supply of missiles, if he's got the missile launcher
(which he should). These are excellent for shooting down enemy Shrikes, who have
an annoying tendency to shoot down the slower Thundersword bomber when given the
opportunity. Shove a few missiles their way and they will quickly reconsider :)
When a Shrike attacks, track him in your sights until you get a missile lock
Fire one or more missiles at him
Laugh
The second task, repairing the ship, can be very very important at times. It's
very hard to do bombing runs over enemy territory without sustaining any damage
whatsoever, and if the ship can be repaired in mid-air - even during a bombing
run - then that's even better. If the bomber is recieving constant repair while
in the process of being shot at, you have an infinitely greater chance of
surviving.
Repair the Thundersword whenever takes any damage
Repairing uses none of the bomber's energy, so you can do it constantly if you
want to
As for the sensor jammer, using it should be as easy as simply turning it on -
unlike the repair kit, you can do other things while it's in use.
Turn the sensor jammer on to block the bomber and its crew from all sensors
No turrets will fire at you while the sensor jammer is active
The flare grenades have a great use on-board a Thundersword - namely their
ability to make any missile miss its target. When a missile approaches, throw a
flare grenade, and the missile will home in on and impact with it, leaving your
turbograv unharmed.
Throw a flare grenade when a missile is closing in
Each grenade can only fool one missile
One of the main advantages of being the tailgunner is that you can use your
normal weapons - you can't use the plasma bombs which the bomber carries but a
few well-aimed grenades, mortars or spinfusor discs can do the same task -
damage, destroy and annoy. Spinfusor discs or balls of plasma impacting close to
or on enemy solders, vehicles and bases may not do much damage, but they will
distract. Heavier weapons such as the aforementioned mortar can even function as
a supplement to the plasma bombs, even though aiming is harder than from the
bombardier's seat. Just don't forget that you have limited ammo.
Use your own weapons to attack the enemy from above
Fusion mortars and grenades dropped in the enemy base has an effect similar to
that of the plasma bombs
Unlike the bombardier, the tailgunner's weapons usually don't have infinite ammo
Finally, using the bomber as a convenient way to get to the enemy base. This is
kind of a bad idea since the crew of the Thundersword won't be helped one bit by
an extra piece of luggage in the back - however, there's certainly nothing
preventing a passenger from helping out if he's carrying something useful (like
the missile launcher). All in all, I don't recommend jumping into the
tailgunner's position just for the ride, since the pilot and/or bombardier might
actually be expecting you to help them out. If all you need is a ride to the
enemy base, either jump on a Havoc or get a Shrike/Wildcat and go there
yourself.
Sitting in the tailgunner's seat is a quick and easy way of getting to the enemy
base
...but try not to - that's what we have Transports for.
Help out if you can
That's it, folks.
(3.2.3.2) Getting a Crew
If you have a problem with finding a crew for your newly-spawned Thundersword,
here are some tips.
Use the voice commands ...
VNP "Need pilot for turbograv!"
VNB "Need a bombardier!"
VNT "Need a tailgunner!"
VNS "Need vehicle support!"
VNG "Gunship ready! Need a ride?"
VSTV "I'll get a vehicle ready!"
If you're looking for a turbograv to board, there's also ...
VNH "Hold that vehicle! I'm coming!"
VNR "I need a ride!"
Fly the bomber to your base or some other place where there are many of your
teammembers. If your bomber is missing a crewmember, chances are one will jump
in.
If many people are on or around the vehicle station, don't take off until you
have at least a pilot/bombardier.
(3.2.3.3) Single-Player Bomber Tactics
It sometimes happens that you are sitting alone in a bomber when something
nearby
comes under attack. Of course you'd like to help, but you can't do much without
another crewmember .. what to do?
If you are the pilot ...
Take off and fly towards the battle. Apart from distracting the enemy, this
means
someone might jump in to be your bombardier or tailgunner.
Crash into the enemy, or run 'em over.
If the enemy is attacking with vehicles, crash the bomber into one of them.
Bail out and join the battle on the ground
If you are the bombardier ...
If you're close to the ground, shoot off a few rounds with the blasters straight
down. The splash damage won't hurt you, but you'll be tossed up a bit into the
air, allowing you to fire off some shots at the enemy.
Switch to the pilot's position and follow one of the above tactics
Bail out and join the battle on the ground
If you are the tailgunner ...
Help as best you can from where you are - the bomber's shields will protect you
from enemy fire.
Switch to the pilot's position and follow one of the above tactics
Bail out and join the battle on the ground
That's all! On to the Havoc.
-----------------------------------
(3.3) The Havoc
Big, ugly and hard to take down. Does it sound like somebody you know? The
Havoc,
while big and slow, is far from a useless flying dumpster - it's excellent for
coordinated attacks as well as being a quick way of ferrying troops to any place
on the map. It's also really hard to shoot down due to its heavy armor and
powerful shielding.
(3.3.1) Offense
Since the Havoc doesn't have any built-in weapons, it isn't really made for
attacking as such. However, it will do an excellent job of ...
Transporting friendly troops into combat
Being a mobile gunship
The former of these tasks is easily accomplished by simply moving the Havoc
while
one or more soldiers are occupying the "passenger" slots. The latter works the
same way, except the "passengers" all fire at any enemies they see. If the
passengers have heavy weapons such as the fusion mortar, a Havoc can leave a
trail of devastation whereever it goes. It doesn't take much brainpower to
imagine what kind of damage a Havoc, loaded with four fully-armed juggernaughts
can do - not to mention how much damage the juggernaughts will do when they all
arrive at the enemy base.
(3.3.2) Defense
Obviously, transporting friendly soldiers back to the base from the battlefield
is not one of the Havoc's more usual tasks - however, there's certainly nothing
keeping it from transporting them to intercept approaching enemies. And if your
base is widespread, it can be a useful tool for quickly getting troops out to
defend the parts which is currently under attack. Also, the mobile-gunship
tactic
described above works just fine for defense, especially against vehicles.
Transporting friendly troops into combat
Mobile gunship
Pretty much the same as the offense, isn't it? This is easily explained by the
fact that the Havoc is a support vehicle, a means of getting troops to the
battlefield rather than being a weapon of destruction in itself. All-in-all, the
Havoc is a pretty uncomplicated vehicle to use.
(3.3.3) Tactics
While I did say that the Havoc isn't too complicated to use, there are still
some
things to keep in mind. As the pilot of a Havoc transport, you are responsible
for getting the passengers to wherever they want to go.
(3.3.3.1) How to pilot a Havoc
While big and slow, the Havoc is far from a sitting duck when it comes to
dealing
with potential AA guns, soldiers with missile launchers, et cetera. You don't
have to fly high like with the Thundersword, because the very nature of the
tasks
usually carried out by the Havoc make flying close to the ground necessary at
times and constantly convenient. The Havoc is slow enough to be easy to manuever
(so your chance of crashing into a mountain is less), durable enough to survive
the futile attempts of ground soldiers to bring it down with spinfusors and
chainguns, and the soldiers will appreciate it if they don't have to jetpack for
half an hour just to get in or out of your high-flying pleasure craft. Besides,
that huge bulky shape floating past with an enemy IFF marker is just too
annoying
NOT to shoot down - so the fewer people see you, the better.
Also, if the soldiers you're transporting are keen on shooting down any hostiles
you encounter, flying low will make their work easier, since they'll see more of
the ground and be closer to the enemy.
Fly low, in order to ...
Facilitate loading and offloading of soldiers
Avoid being shot down
Make it easier for the soldiers to shoot down any enemies encountered en-route
That covers altitude. As far as speed is concerned, that depends pretty much on
what you're doing. If your sole purpose is to get your passengers to the enemy
base, use the afterburners and get there as soon as possible (stay above 50%
energy though, otherwise your shields will be too weak once you get there),
offload and return. Repeat until shot down. However, flying fast can be bad for
a
number of reasons.
If flying low (as recommended above), higher speeds will increase your risk of
crashing
Any friendly troops wishing to board or leave the Havoc while en-route will have
a difficult time doing so, especially those trying to get on it.
Afterburners use energy, and as you know, so do shields. Which is more
important?
That's about it. Remember that slowing down isn't a crime, if someone wants to
get on and you have a free slot, "pull over" and let him hop in. The more, the
merrier. I've also heard that it is actually possible to stand on top of the
Havoc while it's flying, allowing it to take even more passengers. I have yet to
see this in action for myself, though.
If you are the tailgunner, go and read section 3.2.3.1.3. Just replace the
word "bomber" with "transport" and use your common sense if you've got any -
practically everything in that section applies to being the tailgunner of a
Havoc
as well.
(3.3.3.2) Mobile Gunship
Suppose you were to put five juggernaughts, each fully armed, inside a bunker.
Assuming they did their jobs, would anything be able to pass or even come close
without being turned into chili sauce? The answer is, of course it would. It
would only take minutes for an enemy sniper, mortar-carrying soldier or player
or
even a Thundersword bomber to clear out that bunker and take it over.
But what if the bunker had shields. What if it could change position. What if it
could fly at 200 kilometers per hour. And repair itself. A bit harder to kill
then, eh? Yet that is what a fully-loaded Havoc is like. Assuming at least one
of
the passengers, or the tailgunner, is carrying a repair pack, the Havoc can stay
in one piece indefinately so long as it doesn't encounter enemy fire of too big
a
caliber (such as a base turret).
The main problem with accomplishing this is that it takes teamwork, and a lot of
it. The Havoc has room for six people: Four passengers (or in this case,
gunners), one tailgunner, and one pilot. If they don't know what they're doing,
an endeavour like what is described above is likely to fail horribly. Therefore,
this tactic is best suited for clan matches and LAN games where the players have
been able to plan using this tactic beforehand, because just hopping into a
Havoc
while playing on the standard meat & potatoes Tribes 2 internet server is NOT a
good way to get a gunship together. A lot of players have an annoying tendency
to
use the Havoc as they use an ordinary real-life bus! They get on and then do
nothing until they want off. If you find yourself piloting a Havoc like this,
crash it nose-first into a mountain near the enemy base. Those who don't have
the
brains to bail out in time should stick with Quake and Counter-Strike. The
others
will fight, die, and eventually respawn, ready for another go.
-----------------------------------
(4) S-A/A-S Combat
This section deals with Surface-to-Air combat - because on occassion, it is
necessary to shoot down enemy turbogravs from the ground. Surprise, surprise :)
(4.1) Surface-to-Air Missiles
The best weapon for accomplishing the above is the missile launcher - unless the
target is stationary, in which case most weapons will do nicely, especially the
ELF and the Chaingun, Plasma Rifle or Spinfusor. The missile launcher requires
you to track the target's movements until a lock is attained - once the missile
has been fired, however, you need not maintain the lock, unless you want to fire
again.
Different turbogravs can take different amounts of punishment before crashing or
exploding mid-air. However, a missile hit while the aircraft in question is
flying close to the ground, or close to a mountain, can be more lethal, since
the
force of a missile impact can push the target nose-first into the ground, or
upside-down into a mountain, usually killing all aboard in the process.
If using missiles on a turbograv in mid-air, it will usually take at least two
missiles to bring the target down. All of them can take one missile without
suffering any damage whatsoever if there is enough energy for the shields.
The Shrike is the weakest of the turbogravs, and will usually sustain light to
moderate damage from a missile impact, if it doesn't have full shield energy.
The
shields use the same energy as everything else on-board, so expect the shields
to
be low right after an attack, a missile impact, or an engine burn (using the
afterburners). When the shields are low, one missile will usually either destroy
the Shrike completely, or damage it severely.
The Thundersword bomber can usually take one missile impact without suffering
too
much damage - one hit won't use up all of its energy. However, it is vulnerable
right after a bombing run, since the plasma bombs it drops take a lot of energy.
Your best bet is to have a teammate, or several teammates, firing missiles at it
before it reaches its intended bomb target - two or more missiles will
definately
put a dent in that hull, or at the very least, drain the Thundersword's energy
so
fewer bombs can be dropped.
Finally, the Havoc - use the same tactic as with the Thundersword, team up and
take it out with multiple missiles. It has enough shields to withstand a lot of
punishment, but is too slow to escape - expect to be able to shoot more than one
missile per player at it.
(4.2) Avoiding Incoming SAM's
For the poor pilot, the above scenarios are a nightmare - those missiles come at
you fast, they do lots of damage and they're hard to escape. NOT! In fact, there
are many techniques for escaping an incoming missile or two.
With the Shrike, your best bet is to simply outrun the missile. If you let your
shields charge up, you'll probably survive, but that only works for one missile
and you still have to let your energy recharge afterwards. Not good. Instead, at
the sound or sight of a missile on its sweet way towards your backside, punch in
the afterburner and let it eat your dust. With the afterburner, the Shrike can
reach speeds exceeding 400 KPH, more than enough to outrun a missile. Once you
put enough distance between yourself and the missile, it will detonate, and
you're home free - do a 180 and have at 'em again. Just don't forget, the same
faggot who tried to shoot you down on the first run might try it again.
The Thundersword isn't fast enough to outrun a missile - most of the time,
anyway. Your best bet with the Thundersword is to go around a corner, or face
the
missile head-on but dive at the last second, effectively causing it to miss its
target (you). Going around a corner is the most effective of these techniques,
as
the missile is far more likely to hit whatever you went around than follow you -
missiles just aren't manouverable enough.
For the Havoc, use the same tactics as with the Thundersword. Outrunning won't
work, so go around a corner or rely on your beefy shields to protect you.
Both the Thundersword and the Havoc have a really good way to avoid missiles -
flare grenades, dropped by the tailgunner (or one of the passengers on a Havoc)
will lure the missile away. More about this in section 3.2.3.1.3, above.
by W2k
last update 2001-04-21 - rev 1.0
-----------------------------------
So, you wanna be a pilot eh? Cool. Tribes 2 may be a "first-person
shooter"-style
game, but it's loaded with nice opportunities for teamwork, and the vehicles
constitute what is perhaps the best one of 'em. This guide will go through the
airborne vehicles - the turbogravs - namely the Shrike scout flier, the
Thundersword bomber, and the Havoc transport. In that order. Despite the title,
this guide is not just for pilots - if you like playing the role of the
tailgunner or the bombardier better, there's something for you in here as well.
There's even a chapter for those who despise turbogravs altogether, and prefers
shooting them down.
Let's begin. To go directly to a specific chapter, use the links (bold) in the
table of contents below.
(0) Basics
(1) Armor, Weapons and Equipment
(1.1) Armor
(1.2) Weapons
(1.3) Equipment
(1.4) Suggested configs
(2) Turbograv Overview
(3) Turbograv Tactics
(3.1) The Shrike
(3.1.1) Offense
(3.1.2) Defense
(3.1.3) Tactics
(3.1.3.1) Soldiers
(3.1.3.2) Ground vehicles, sensors, etc.
(3.1.3.3) Other Shrikes
(3.1.3.4) Other turbogravs
(3.1.3.5) Hit'n'run flag grabs
(3.2) The Thundersword
(3.2.1) Offense
(3.2.2) Defense
(3.2.3) Tactics
(3.2.3.1) Bombing
(3.2.3.1.1) The Pilot's Role
(3.2.3.1.2) The Bombardier's Role
(3.2.3.1.2.1) Dual Heavy Blasters
(3.2.3.1.2.2) Plasma Bombs
(3.2.3.1.2.3) Targeting Laser
(3.2.3.1.3) The Tailgunner's Role
(3.2.3.2) Getting a Crew
(3.2.3.3) Single-Player Bomber Tactics
(3.3) The Havoc
(3.3.1) Offense
(3.3.2) Defense
(3.3.3) Tactics
(3.3.3.1) How to pilot a Havoc
(3.3.3.2) Mobile Gunship
(4) S-A/A-S Com1bat
(4.1) Surface-to-Air Missiles
(4.2) Avoiding incoming SAM's
(5) Updates
-----------------------------------
(0) Basics
Just a few tiny details before we start.
If you haven't played the single player missions (tutorials), do so first. They
teach you some things you need to know, such as jetpacking properly. RTFM as
well.
This guide expects you to know how things work in the game - hence the above
suggestion. If you don't know which bar shows your vehicle's energy, you're
screwed.
Don't believe everything you read here blindly. Go out and try it in the field.
VTOL means "Vertical Take-Off and Landing"
The three turbogravs in the game are the:
Shrike (scout flier)
Thundersword (bomber)
Havoc (transport)
The three ground vehicles are the:
Wildcat (grav bike)
Beowulf (assault tank)
Jericho (mobile point base)
The three armor classes in the game are the:
Scout (light)
Assault (medium)
Juggernaught (heavy)
The vehicles in the game are split into three groups:
Turbogravs (flying vehicles, ie aircraft)
Terragravs (hovering vehicles, ie hovercraft)
Wheeled vehicles (ground vehicles with wheels)
This isn't Quake, and it isn't Counter-Strike. To be successful in Tribes 2, you
need brains, and you must know how to work in a team.
All vehicle stealers must die.
-----------------------------------
(1) Armor, Weapons and Equipment
While it is rather tempting to jump straight into a turbograv right after
respawning, doing so is pretty stupid. Of course, jumping into a Shrike or
aboard
a Havoc is a pretty quick and easy way of getting to the enemy base, and if
you're lucky you might even make it back alive. However, if you intend to make a
difference other than to someone elses frag count, you should prepare.
(1.1) Armor
Simply put, you have to be either Scout or Assault if you're going to be
anything
but a passenger or a tailgunner. This is because of the game - it won't let you
into the vehicle if you're Juggernaught class. Personally, I recommend the
Assault class - unless you want to go sniping. If you don't, then there's really
no reason to be a Scout - you don't need that extra mobility when you're sitting
in a turbograv.
Note that Juggernaught class players make excellent tailgunners, so if that's
what you'll be doing, go for it.
(1.2) Weapons
Even though both the Shrike and the Thundersword have built-in weapons, carrying
some of your own is critical to your survival - and if you're a tailgunner, your
very purpose on-board requires you to be packing some hardware of your own. Pick
whatever guns you like, however ...
If you are the tailgunner, include the missile launcher and the fusion mortar.
Assuming you can aim straight at the enemy for long enough, the missile launcher
is a great way to get rid of attacking Shrikes, or other enemy vehicles.
If you are the pilot or bombardier, include the missile launcher. If you get
shot
down or bail out, use it from the ground to take your opponent down with you.
(1.3) Equipment
Important: At least one crewmember should be carrying the repair pack,
preferably
the pilot. If your turbograv is severely damaged, you can always land somewhere
far off and repair it, then return with a vengeance. The repair pack is also
great for healing your crewmembers after a nasty crash landing. The tailgunner
will want to be carrying flare grenades for fooling incoming missiles.
(1.4) Suggested Configs
Now for my own little what-to-wear suggestions.
Pilot (light)
Armor: Scout
Weapons: Blaster, Chaingun, Plasma Rifle or Spinfusor
Pack: Repair Pack
Grenade: Whiteout Grenade or Concussion Grenade or Grenade
Pilot (sniper)
Armor: Scout
Weapons: Chaingun, Plasma Rifle or Spingfusor, Laser Rifle
Pack: Energy Pack
Grenade: Whiteout Grenade or Concussion Grenade or Grenade
Pilot (medium)
Armor: Assault
Weapons: Chaingun, Spinfusor, Plasma Rifle, Missile Launcher
Pack: Repair Pack
Grenade: Grenade
Tailgunner
Armor: Juggernaught
Weapons: Chaingun, Plasma Rifle, Grenade Launcher, Fusion Mortar, Missile
Launcher
Pack: Repair Pack or Ammo Pack
Grenade: Flare Grenade
-----------------------------------
(2) Turbograv Overview
Let's take a look at our three turbogravs. A small word on ammo: All weapons on
the turbogravs use the craft's internal power supply. Therefore, you have
unlimited ammunition, even for the Plasma Bombs.
Shrike
Type: Fighter / Scout Flier
Crew: Pilot (1)
Weaponry: Blasters (2)
Speed: High | Armor: Low | Shields: Medium
Note: Functions as a mobile sensor array, excellent for surveying enemy bases.
Also good for taking out enemy vehicles and such.
Thundersword
Type: Bomber
Crew: Pilot (1), Bombardier (1), Tailgunner (1)
Weaponry: Heavy Blasters (2, turret-mounted), Plasma Bombs (2)
Speed: Medium | Armor: Medium | Shields: High
Note: Requires at least a crew of two to do anything but fly around and look
stupid. Plasma Bombs do massive damage.
Havoc
Type: Transport / Gunship
Crew: Pilot (1), Tailgunner (1), Passengers/gunners (4)
Weaponry: None
Speed: Low | Armor: High | Shields: High
Note: While unarmed, this ship can do extreme damage if carrying heavily-armed
soldiers.
Now, how to use them. Neither turbograv is really hard to fly - if you liked
remote-controlling the Redeemer missile from Unreal Tournament (crappy game, but
that nuke was cool IMNSHO), you'll soon recognize the feeling when piloting a
Shrike.
-----------------------------------
(3) Turbograv Tactics
This is the important stuff - read carefully :)
-----------------------------------
(3.1) The Shrike
Requiring only one player to operate fully, the Shrike is excellent for anyone
who can't be bothered to wait for his teammates, or simply feels he can do more
damage on his own. Shrikes are useful both for offense and defense.
Basic Shrike manuevering is done with the same buttons you normally use for
moving - the jetpack is now the Shrike's afterburner, which you can use to gain
extra speeds or to gain altitude without moving forward - just fire off the
afterburner without simultaneously pressing forward, and you'll climb vertically
instead. Instant VTOL!
(3.1.1) Offense
Simply put, attacking the enemy base with the shrike is not a good idea. It's
just far too easy for an enemy solider, or several enemy soliders to grab some
missile launchers and turn your precious flier into debris. It won't take many
shots for an enemy AA turret either, and spider clamp / landspike turrets can
kill you as well if you fly close enough to make yourself their target. On
offense, the Shrike is good for five things:
Killing enemy soldiers (particularly snipers)
Killing enemy vehicles
Destroying rooftop sensors (usually on some distant tower which noone cares
about)
Hit'n'run attempts to grab the flag
General Harassment
You'll be surprised how often the last one works. Human players generally get
pretty pissed of if attacked by a Shrike, even if they don't take much damage
from it. And if a player is spending his time hunting you, he won't be doing
anything else - protecting his base, for instance.
(3.1.2) Defense
The Shrike has some excellent defensive uses. For example, it's great for
shooting down enemy bombers. Here are some uses for the Shrike in a defensive
position:
Killing enemy attackers in general
Killing incoming enemy turbogravs (such as bombers)
Killing enemies shooting at your turrets/sensors from a distance
The Shrike is excellent for getting places fast, this can be very useful if you
have a widespread base with several points needing defense, with some of them
far
from your spawn point.
(3.1.3) Tactics
Now for the how-to's of proper Shrike flying.
(3.1.3.1) Soldiers
Killing an enemy soldier is usually fairly easy to accomplish with a Shrike, so
long as he's not carrying a missile launcher. You can either just shoot him down
OR, if you're really skilled (and have a low ping), you can run him over just as
if you were driving a terragrav - just bump into 'em, either on the ground or
mid-
air. Note that Juggernaughts have a nasty tendency to survive such collisions.
If using the blasters, I recommend either following the player as he flees or
tries to fight back - you have unlimited ammo, so fire 'til he's dead. Remember
that you don't need to keep the Shrike moving, you can hover using the
afterburners - very useful when attacking snipers and other stationary or semi-
stationary targets.
(3.1.3.2) Ground vehicles, sensors, etc
Firstly, when I say ground vehicles, I'm really only talking about the Beowulf
Grav Tank. The Jericho is far too beefy for you to be able to take out with just
a fighter, and the Wildcat Grav Cycle is just too fast and tiny.
Taking out a Beowulf with a Shrike can be troublesome - it's got a lot of armor
and strong shields, but on the other hand, it's ill-equipped to fire back at
you,
as neither of its weapons are very useful for combatting airborne vehicles.
Hover
above it and let your blasters do the talking. The same goes for sensors and
such - just hover and fire, moving is good for avoiding attackers but will do
horrible things to your aim. The faster you destroy one target, the sooner can
you move on to the next.
(3.1.3.3) Other Shrikes
Here's where you get to test your l33t piloting skillz. Assuming that your
vehicles start out equally damaged, and that none of you are getting help (from
other players, towers etc), winning a Shrike-to-Shrike fight is all about
hitting
your opponent, preferably more than he hits you. Try to get in behind him if
possible, and if he gets in behind you, do a quick 180 turn and let him eat your
blasters. If both players use this approach you will eventually end up hovering
nose-to-nose - and when that happens, whoever aims better wins. Note that once
the shields are down, it takes very few shots to bring down a Shrike.
One slightly unconventional, yet strangely effective, tactic is to simply bail
out from your Shrike and fire off a few missiles at your enemy - if you're
successful, he will either die or crash-land, at which point you can either kill
him in man-to-man combat or jump into your old Shrike and leave him to his
misery
(or finish him off). Note that players bailing from crashing Shrikes are usually
pretty low on health after landing, so try and hit him with a Spinfusor disc the
moment he lands on the ground.
One last thing. Colliding your Shrike into another player's is really stupid,
unless you bail out in time. It is however a quick way to end a fight if you get
bored :)
(3.1.3.4) Other turbogravs
Shooting down a bomber or transport with a Shrike is fairly easy, assuming the
target doesn't have a tailgunner with a missile launcher - if he does, your best
bet is to fly past at high speeds, dealing a little damage every run. This is
unlikely to actually destroy the enemy ship, but drains the target's energy
supply and annoys the crew beyond belief. You can also kamikaze-burn straight
into the enemy craft - this will take out even a Havoc, but won't get you any
frags even if the entire crew perishes.
(3.1.3.5) Hit'n'run flag grabs
One of the key benefits of the Shrike is its ability to get you anywhere really
really quickly. A hit'n'run flag grab is accomplished in the following manner:
Make sure that the enemy flag area is as clear as possible - preferably, there
shouldn't be too many turrets or enemy players about.
Get your inventory. Since speed is important, you might want to be in the Scout
armor.
Go to the vehicle station and get a Shrike. If you're into ground vehicles, a
Wildcat will work as well.
Burn straight to the enemy base, avoiding enemy turrets in one of the following
ways:
Circumnavigate them (by taking a detour)
Fly too fast for them to hit you (350+ KPH or so)
Fly below or above them
Park your vehicle close to the enemy base, however not in plain sight. Since the
Shrike can VTOL, a deep chasm will work fine if you can find one.
Go get the flag. Don't die.
Head back to the Shrike
Fly back to your base and capture (duh!)
Repeat from step 1
Continue until either praised for your skillz or kicked from server
-----------------------------------
(3.2) The Thundersword
The Thundersword is the most formidable piece of hardware you'll ever come
across
in Tribes 2 - not taking into account all the vehicles mod makers are likely to
invent later on, of course. Equipped with both blasters and bombs, a properly
flown Thundersword will bring death and destruction to the battlefield, and tons
of it.
(3.2.1) Offense
Obviously, the Thundersword is primarily an offensive weapon - you're not going
to be dropping those bombs on your own base, because no matter how much fun it
would be, all those defenses your team has spent time building up will be
reduced
to ashes if you bomb them, right along with any enemy attackers. Same goes for
your team, of course - bombing your own base will get you kicked from the server
for TK'ing sooner or later. So don't! Ok? :)
The offensive uses for the bomber are pretty straightforward.
Bomb enemy defenses
Bomb enemy vehicles
Bomb enemy soldiers
Bomb enemy bases
Looks easy, doesn't it. Of course, if you prefer the blasters over the plasma
bombs, they will work just fine for all of the above, albeit with less
efficiency.
(3.2.2) Defense
As I mentioned above, the defensive uses for the Thundersword are severely
limited - sure, you can use the bomber as a flying turret, letting the
bombardier
fire away with the blaster (along with the tailgunner using whatever weapons
he's
got) but that's pretty boring, and there are other vehicles better suited for
that purpose. However, you can use the Thundersword to ...
Bomb enemy soldiers and vehicles ...
...who are on their way to your base.
Because so long as your bombs don't hit anything important, it's no crime to
drop
them in other places than the enemy base. Enemy tanks or an enemy Jericho MPB
will be reduced to ashes fairly quickly, since neither have a good defense
against high-flying bombers.
(3.2.3) Tactics
A successful assault using the Thundersword bomber depends on the bombardier and
the pilot (and the tailgunner, if any) helping each other out as much as
possible. Of course, the pilot has the most important role.
(3.2.3.1) Bombing
As indicated above, most of the Thundersword's uses involve bombing. What you
are
bombing is relatively unimportant, the procedure is the same every time, with a
few variations, which I'll leave to you to figure out :)
(3.2.3.1.1) The Pilot's Role
As the pilot, your have three tasks:
Get the bomber to the target
Approach and pass the target in a way which facilitates the bombardier's job
Keep the bomber from being shot down
Now, how to accomplish this?
Getting the bomber to the intended bomb target is a fairly straightforward task.
Take off (note that like the Shrike, the Thundersword can do VTOL), then fly to
the bomb site. While flying, try to gain as much altitude as possible, as flying
too close to the ground will make you an easy target for enemy defenses. The
afterburner is great for accomplishing this. However, don't fly too high. If the
map is foggy, the bombardier won't be able to see the target, and the targeting
reticle will be too small for him to make out. Also, don't overuse the
afterburners - when you reach the target, your survival and the effectiveness of
the bombing depends on you having enough energy.
One more thing. No joyriding. Sure it's fun to fly low and show off your l33t
skillz, but at the same time the chances of you getting a missile up your
backside, or crashing into the ground before even getting to the target increase
by about 1000%. If you want to fly just for fun, get a Shrike - they're much
better suited for the job, AND you won't be wasting other players' lives and
time
if you crash.
Summed up:
Gain altitude while en-route to the target
Flying too low will get you shot down
Flying too high will complicate the bombardier's task
Save energy
A full, or nearly full energy supply is critical to a successful bombing run,
since ...
The bombardier needs energy enough to drop the bombs
The shields need enough energy to at least partially absorb at least one missile
No joyriding, we have Shrikes for that
Second, the approach and actual bombing run. It is very important that you, the
pilot that is, keep a straight course and constant speed while passing the
target. A straight course is very important since the bombs will then fall in a
predictable manner, making hitting the target much easier for the bombardier.
Constant speed isn't as important but also serves to help the bombardier. I've
found that a speed of about 150-200 KPH is ideal for the bombardier, however you
might want to fly faster to avoid being shot down. However, you must never ever
use the afterburner during the bombing run. It uses too much energy, and the
vehicle will fly much too fast for the bombs to hit with any precision what-so-
ever.
Summed up:
Fly in a straight line over the target - any turns will screw up the targeting
Maintain the same altitude - as above, changing course will screw up the
targeting
Fly at a constant speed
Higher speeds will reduce the risk of you getting shot down
Lower speeds will facilitate the bombardier's job
Do not use afterburners
The bombardier and the shields need the energy
Finally, the stay-alive part. Since you pilot the Thundersword, you have to
steer
it away from any and all dangers - this includes incoming missiles. When you
hear
someone trying to get a missile lock on you, use one of the missile avoidance
techniques described in section 4.2 (below), but not during a bombing run.
Remember, since you can respawn, bombing the target is more important than
making
it out alive. If someone fires a missile at you while doing the run, you're
better off hoping that the shields will hold than trying to escape it. Also note
that due to the slowness of the Thundersword, using the afterburner to escape
from an incoming missile is a very ineffective tactic, even though it does work
on occasion. When a missile is fired at you, only use the afterburner very
sparingly to gain speed, then go around a corner - the missile will probably
lose
you and hit the mountain instead.
Remember that once the bombing run is complete, you can use the afterburner to
quickly put some distance between you and the enemy. This is especially useful
when the enemy is trying to get a missile lock on you, but has yet to actually
fire the missile. Rapid speed increases and course changes will make it much
harder for the enemy to get a lock.
Summed up:
Bombing the target is more important than making it out alive
Therefore, don't try to dodge missiles during the bombing run, as this will make
the bombs miss their targets
The shields/armor can usually take at least one missile hit
Don't try to afterburn away from a missile - let your shields charge instead
You can "tap" the afterburner to gain speed without using up too much energy
That's about it. Good luck.
(3.2.3.1.2) The Bombardier's Role
As the bombardier, you have the most important part to play once the bombing run
has begun. Your duties are as follows:
Use the Thundersword's on-board weapons to fight off attackers
Release the plasma bombs during the bombing run
Destroy or damage the target by successfully hitting it with the bombs
If the pilot does his job properly, this is actually very easy to accomplish.
Your position in the bomber gives you a 360-degree view of the land below you.
Somewhere on the ground, you'll see the red targeting reticle (it appears no
matter which weapon you have selected). You have three weapons at your disposal.
(3.2.3.1.2.1) Dual Heavy Blasters
These work similarly to the blasters on the Shrike, with two main advantages:
You
needn't fire in the direction the vehicle is moving, since the turret can be
rotated, and the heavy blasters do much more damage than the ones on the Shrike.
The blasters will also generate some "splash" damage on impact, so pin-point
accuracy isn't too important.
(3.2.3.1.2.2) Plasma Bombs
The plasma bombs are the Thundersword's main weapon, to be dropped with more or
less accuracy on more or less unsuspecting enemy targets. You have an unlimited
supply so long as there's enough energy available - one click of the fire button
releases two bombs in quick succession. The bombs detonate on impact with
anything except air, damaging or destroying everything in the blast radius,
including you if you're flying too low. A direct hit on a player will usually
result in instant death for him or her.
Note that both the blasters and the bombs use up energy, especially the bombs.
Don't shoot more than you have to (although too many bombs are always better
than
too few) and don't fire unneccessarily - en-route to the target, you should save
your energy for the bombing run (fire only when fired upon), and when moving
away, the pilot will want it for the shields and afterburner.
(3.2.3.1.2.3) Targeting Laser
While not a weapon as such, the targeting laser is great for indicating to the
pilot where you want to go, or for marking targets for later bombing. Once
fired,
the point it hits will be marked out to you and the pilot, even if you turn off
the laser or switch to another weapon. The targeting laser does no damage.
(3.2.3.1.2) The Bombardier's Role (cont'd)
Using these weapons is by no means difficult - just press the fire button, and
there you are. However, the bombs will not fall straight down unless the bomber
isn't moving (speed is 0 KPH) - if it's mobile, which it will be 99.9% of all
bombing runs, you have to drop the bombs before the aircraft passes over the
target. This is because the bombs will be moving forward at the same speed as
the
bomber immediately after being dropped, gradually slowing down as they
accelerate
towards the ground. Fortunally, you needn't bother your brain with trying to
estimate where the bombs will fall - the bomber will do this for you. On the
ground, a red marker will be painted - if you drop your bombs at any given time,
the red marker (known throughout this document as the "targeting reticle") will
give you an estimate of where they will land. Right before, while, and right
after the reticle passes over something you want to bomb, drop the bombs and
enjoy the mayhem.
Summed up:
Use the heavy blasters for taking out attackers and targets which you can't
reach
with the bombs
Use the targeting laser for marking bomb targets and destinations for the pilot
Bombs will fall where the targeting reticle is
Drop bombs right before, while, and right after the reticle passes over the
target
Easy enough, isn't it?
(3.2.3.1.3) The Tailgunner's Role
It's all to easy to discard the tailgunner as unneccessary - I mean, to make a
successful bombing run, all you need is a pilot and a bombardier, right? RIGHT.
BUT, if you want a slightly greater chance of survival, the tailgunner is a
must-
have crew member, assuming he knows what he's doing. Here's why:
If equipped with a missile launcher, the tailgunner can shoot down attacking
Shrikes
If equipped with a repair pack, the tailgunner can repair the bomber on-the-fly
If equipped with a sensor jammer, the tailgunner will block the bomber from all
sensors
If equipped with flare grenades, the tailgunner can throw them to fool incoming
missiles
The tailgunner can use his own weapons to attack from the air
The tailgunner can use the bomber solely as a means of transportation.
The first two, and the fourth, of the six possible tasks mentioned above are the
most important. If the tailgunner is Juggernaught class (which he ought to be),
he will have a healthy supply of missiles, if he's got the missile launcher
(which he should). These are excellent for shooting down enemy Shrikes, who have
an annoying tendency to shoot down the slower Thundersword bomber when given the
opportunity. Shove a few missiles their way and they will quickly reconsider :)
When a Shrike attacks, track him in your sights until you get a missile lock
Fire one or more missiles at him
Laugh
The second task, repairing the ship, can be very very important at times. It's
very hard to do bombing runs over enemy territory without sustaining any damage
whatsoever, and if the ship can be repaired in mid-air - even during a bombing
run - then that's even better. If the bomber is recieving constant repair while
in the process of being shot at, you have an infinitely greater chance of
surviving.
Repair the Thundersword whenever takes any damage
Repairing uses none of the bomber's energy, so you can do it constantly if you
want to
As for the sensor jammer, using it should be as easy as simply turning it on -
unlike the repair kit, you can do other things while it's in use.
Turn the sensor jammer on to block the bomber and its crew from all sensors
No turrets will fire at you while the sensor jammer is active
The flare grenades have a great use on-board a Thundersword - namely their
ability to make any missile miss its target. When a missile approaches, throw a
flare grenade, and the missile will home in on and impact with it, leaving your
turbograv unharmed.
Throw a flare grenade when a missile is closing in
Each grenade can only fool one missile
One of the main advantages of being the tailgunner is that you can use your
normal weapons - you can't use the plasma bombs which the bomber carries but a
few well-aimed grenades, mortars or spinfusor discs can do the same task -
damage, destroy and annoy. Spinfusor discs or balls of plasma impacting close to
or on enemy solders, vehicles and bases may not do much damage, but they will
distract. Heavier weapons such as the aforementioned mortar can even function as
a supplement to the plasma bombs, even though aiming is harder than from the
bombardier's seat. Just don't forget that you have limited ammo.
Use your own weapons to attack the enemy from above
Fusion mortars and grenades dropped in the enemy base has an effect similar to
that of the plasma bombs
Unlike the bombardier, the tailgunner's weapons usually don't have infinite ammo
Finally, using the bomber as a convenient way to get to the enemy base. This is
kind of a bad idea since the crew of the Thundersword won't be helped one bit by
an extra piece of luggage in the back - however, there's certainly nothing
preventing a passenger from helping out if he's carrying something useful (like
the missile launcher). All in all, I don't recommend jumping into the
tailgunner's position just for the ride, since the pilot and/or bombardier might
actually be expecting you to help them out. If all you need is a ride to the
enemy base, either jump on a Havoc or get a Shrike/Wildcat and go there
yourself.
Sitting in the tailgunner's seat is a quick and easy way of getting to the enemy
base
...but try not to - that's what we have Transports for.
Help out if you can
That's it, folks.
(3.2.3.2) Getting a Crew
If you have a problem with finding a crew for your newly-spawned Thundersword,
here are some tips.
Use the voice commands ...
VNP "Need pilot for turbograv!"
VNB "Need a bombardier!"
VNT "Need a tailgunner!"
VNS "Need vehicle support!"
VNG "Gunship ready! Need a ride?"
VSTV "I'll get a vehicle ready!"
If you're looking for a turbograv to board, there's also ...
VNH "Hold that vehicle! I'm coming!"
VNR "I need a ride!"
Fly the bomber to your base or some other place where there are many of your
teammembers. If your bomber is missing a crewmember, chances are one will jump
in.
If many people are on or around the vehicle station, don't take off until you
have at least a pilot/bombardier.
(3.2.3.3) Single-Player Bomber Tactics
It sometimes happens that you are sitting alone in a bomber when something
nearby
comes under attack. Of course you'd like to help, but you can't do much without
another crewmember .. what to do?
If you are the pilot ...
Take off and fly towards the battle. Apart from distracting the enemy, this
means
someone might jump in to be your bombardier or tailgunner.
Crash into the enemy, or run 'em over.
If the enemy is attacking with vehicles, crash the bomber into one of them.
Bail out and join the battle on the ground
If you are the bombardier ...
If you're close to the ground, shoot off a few rounds with the blasters straight
down. The splash damage won't hurt you, but you'll be tossed up a bit into the
air, allowing you to fire off some shots at the enemy.
Switch to the pilot's position and follow one of the above tactics
Bail out and join the battle on the ground
If you are the tailgunner ...
Help as best you can from where you are - the bomber's shields will protect you
from enemy fire.
Switch to the pilot's position and follow one of the above tactics
Bail out and join the battle on the ground
That's all! On to the Havoc.
-----------------------------------
(3.3) The Havoc
Big, ugly and hard to take down. Does it sound like somebody you know? The
Havoc,
while big and slow, is far from a useless flying dumpster - it's excellent for
coordinated attacks as well as being a quick way of ferrying troops to any place
on the map. It's also really hard to shoot down due to its heavy armor and
powerful shielding.
(3.3.1) Offense
Since the Havoc doesn't have any built-in weapons, it isn't really made for
attacking as such. However, it will do an excellent job of ...
Transporting friendly troops into combat
Being a mobile gunship
The former of these tasks is easily accomplished by simply moving the Havoc
while
one or more soldiers are occupying the "passenger" slots. The latter works the
same way, except the "passengers" all fire at any enemies they see. If the
passengers have heavy weapons such as the fusion mortar, a Havoc can leave a
trail of devastation whereever it goes. It doesn't take much brainpower to
imagine what kind of damage a Havoc, loaded with four fully-armed juggernaughts
can do - not to mention how much damage the juggernaughts will do when they all
arrive at the enemy base.
(3.3.2) Defense
Obviously, transporting friendly soldiers back to the base from the battlefield
is not one of the Havoc's more usual tasks - however, there's certainly nothing
keeping it from transporting them to intercept approaching enemies. And if your
base is widespread, it can be a useful tool for quickly getting troops out to
defend the parts which is currently under attack. Also, the mobile-gunship
tactic
described above works just fine for defense, especially against vehicles.
Transporting friendly troops into combat
Mobile gunship
Pretty much the same as the offense, isn't it? This is easily explained by the
fact that the Havoc is a support vehicle, a means of getting troops to the
battlefield rather than being a weapon of destruction in itself. All-in-all, the
Havoc is a pretty uncomplicated vehicle to use.
(3.3.3) Tactics
While I did say that the Havoc isn't too complicated to use, there are still
some
things to keep in mind. As the pilot of a Havoc transport, you are responsible
for getting the passengers to wherever they want to go.
(3.3.3.1) How to pilot a Havoc
While big and slow, the Havoc is far from a sitting duck when it comes to
dealing
with potential AA guns, soldiers with missile launchers, et cetera. You don't
have to fly high like with the Thundersword, because the very nature of the
tasks
usually carried out by the Havoc make flying close to the ground necessary at
times and constantly convenient. The Havoc is slow enough to be easy to manuever
(so your chance of crashing into a mountain is less), durable enough to survive
the futile attempts of ground soldiers to bring it down with spinfusors and
chainguns, and the soldiers will appreciate it if they don't have to jetpack for
half an hour just to get in or out of your high-flying pleasure craft. Besides,
that huge bulky shape floating past with an enemy IFF marker is just too
annoying
NOT to shoot down - so the fewer people see you, the better.
Also, if the soldiers you're transporting are keen on shooting down any hostiles
you encounter, flying low will make their work easier, since they'll see more of
the ground and be closer to the enemy.
Fly low, in order to ...
Facilitate loading and offloading of soldiers
Avoid being shot down
Make it easier for the soldiers to shoot down any enemies encountered en-route
That covers altitude. As far as speed is concerned, that depends pretty much on
what you're doing. If your sole purpose is to get your passengers to the enemy
base, use the afterburners and get there as soon as possible (stay above 50%
energy though, otherwise your shields will be too weak once you get there),
offload and return. Repeat until shot down. However, flying fast can be bad for
a
number of reasons.
If flying low (as recommended above), higher speeds will increase your risk of
crashing
Any friendly troops wishing to board or leave the Havoc while en-route will have
a difficult time doing so, especially those trying to get on it.
Afterburners use energy, and as you know, so do shields. Which is more
important?
That's about it. Remember that slowing down isn't a crime, if someone wants to
get on and you have a free slot, "pull over" and let him hop in. The more, the
merrier. I've also heard that it is actually possible to stand on top of the
Havoc while it's flying, allowing it to take even more passengers. I have yet to
see this in action for myself, though.
If you are the tailgunner, go and read section 3.2.3.1.3. Just replace the
word "bomber" with "transport" and use your common sense if you've got any -
practically everything in that section applies to being the tailgunner of a
Havoc
as well.
(3.3.3.2) Mobile Gunship
Suppose you were to put five juggernaughts, each fully armed, inside a bunker.
Assuming they did their jobs, would anything be able to pass or even come close
without being turned into chili sauce? The answer is, of course it would. It
would only take minutes for an enemy sniper, mortar-carrying soldier or player
or
even a Thundersword bomber to clear out that bunker and take it over.
But what if the bunker had shields. What if it could change position. What if it
could fly at 200 kilometers per hour. And repair itself. A bit harder to kill
then, eh? Yet that is what a fully-loaded Havoc is like. Assuming at least one
of
the passengers, or the tailgunner, is carrying a repair pack, the Havoc can stay
in one piece indefinately so long as it doesn't encounter enemy fire of too big
a
caliber (such as a base turret).
The main problem with accomplishing this is that it takes teamwork, and a lot of
it. The Havoc has room for six people: Four passengers (or in this case,
gunners), one tailgunner, and one pilot. If they don't know what they're doing,
an endeavour like what is described above is likely to fail horribly. Therefore,
this tactic is best suited for clan matches and LAN games where the players have
been able to plan using this tactic beforehand, because just hopping into a
Havoc
while playing on the standard meat & potatoes Tribes 2 internet server is NOT a
good way to get a gunship together. A lot of players have an annoying tendency
to
use the Havoc as they use an ordinary real-life bus! They get on and then do
nothing until they want off. If you find yourself piloting a Havoc like this,
crash it nose-first into a mountain near the enemy base. Those who don't have
the
brains to bail out in time should stick with Quake and Counter-Strike. The
others
will fight, die, and eventually respawn, ready for another go.
-----------------------------------
(4) S-A/A-S Combat
This section deals with Surface-to-Air combat - because on occassion, it is
necessary to shoot down enemy turbogravs from the ground. Surprise, surprise :)
(4.1) Surface-to-Air Missiles
The best weapon for accomplishing the above is the missile launcher - unless the
target is stationary, in which case most weapons will do nicely, especially the
ELF and the Chaingun, Plasma Rifle or Spinfusor. The missile launcher requires
you to track the target's movements until a lock is attained - once the missile
has been fired, however, you need not maintain the lock, unless you want to fire
again.
Different turbogravs can take different amounts of punishment before crashing or
exploding mid-air. However, a missile hit while the aircraft in question is
flying close to the ground, or close to a mountain, can be more lethal, since
the
force of a missile impact can push the target nose-first into the ground, or
upside-down into a mountain, usually killing all aboard in the process.
If using missiles on a turbograv in mid-air, it will usually take at least two
missiles to bring the target down. All of them can take one missile without
suffering any damage whatsoever if there is enough energy for the shields.
The Shrike is the weakest of the turbogravs, and will usually sustain light to
moderate damage from a missile impact, if it doesn't have full shield energy.
The
shields use the same energy as everything else on-board, so expect the shields
to
be low right after an attack, a missile impact, or an engine burn (using the
afterburners). When the shields are low, one missile will usually either destroy
the Shrike completely, or damage it severely.
The Thundersword bomber can usually take one missile impact without suffering
too
much damage - one hit won't use up all of its energy. However, it is vulnerable
right after a bombing run, since the plasma bombs it drops take a lot of energy.
Your best bet is to have a teammate, or several teammates, firing missiles at it
before it reaches its intended bomb target - two or more missiles will
definately
put a dent in that hull, or at the very least, drain the Thundersword's energy
so
fewer bombs can be dropped.
Finally, the Havoc - use the same tactic as with the Thundersword, team up and
take it out with multiple missiles. It has enough shields to withstand a lot of
punishment, but is too slow to escape - expect to be able to shoot more than one
missile per player at it.
(4.2) Avoiding Incoming SAM's
For the poor pilot, the above scenarios are a nightmare - those missiles come at
you fast, they do lots of damage and they're hard to escape. NOT! In fact, there
are many techniques for escaping an incoming missile or two.
With the Shrike, your best bet is to simply outrun the missile. If you let your
shields charge up, you'll probably survive, but that only works for one missile
and you still have to let your energy recharge afterwards. Not good. Instead, at
the sound or sight of a missile on its sweet way towards your backside, punch in
the afterburner and let it eat your dust. With the afterburner, the Shrike can
reach speeds exceeding 400 KPH, more than enough to outrun a missile. Once you
put enough distance between yourself and the missile, it will detonate, and
you're home free - do a 180 and have at 'em again. Just don't forget, the same
faggot who tried to shoot you down on the first run might try it again.
The Thundersword isn't fast enough to outrun a missile - most of the time,
anyway. Your best bet with the Thundersword is to go around a corner, or face
the
missile head-on but dive at the last second, effectively causing it to miss its
target (you). Going around a corner is the most effective of these techniques,
as
the missile is far more likely to hit whatever you went around than follow you -
missiles just aren't manouverable enough.
For the Havoc, use the same tactics as with the Thundersword. Outrunning won't
work, so go around a corner or rely on your beefy shields to protect you.
Both the Thundersword and the Havoc have a really good way to avoid missiles -
flare grenades, dropped by the tailgunner (or one of the passengers on a Havoc)
will lure the missile away. More about this in section 3.2.3.1.3, above.