11 replies to this topic

[MagusGerhardt]

 

An older guide video of mine, but none of the crew skills have changed in Warplanes 2.0 so all of this information is still quite relevant.  Just bear in mind that some skills are even more relevant now, with the frequency of critical hits to wings and engines having gone up in the current mechanics of the game.

[Jaguardian]

Not so sure about the skills not changing, maybe in name only.  I have seen planes out turn planes they should not be able to.  Case in point, my La-11 has control surfaces and light weight air frame and the pilot has both aerodynamics and acrobatic skills and I was out turned by the Spitfire XIV.  That should not happen and did not happen prior to 2.0.  Same situation with my tier 9 Ki Japanese plane getting out turned by the Attacker.  Now I may have been penalized for playing with keyboard and mouse without manual flaps and the enemy was using a joystick with flap control, but something definitely has changed.  Will be interesting to see how things work after manual flaps are put back for K/M users.  In both cases listed above, I don't recall needing flaps to out turn either of the two planes I was flying against.

[MagusGerhardt]

Jaguardian, on 23 October 2017 - 09:02 AM, said:

Not so sure about the skills not changing, maybe in name only.  I have seen planes out turn planes they should not be able to.  Case in point, my La-11 has control surfaces and light weight air frame and the pilot has both aerodynamics and acrobatic skills and I was out turned by the Spitfire XIV.  That should not happen and did not happen prior to 2.0.  Same situation with my tier 9 Ki Japanese plane getting out turned by the Attacker.  Now I may have been penalized for playing with keyboard and mouse without manual flaps and the enemy was using a joystick with flap control, but something definitely has changed.  Will be interesting to see how things work after manual flaps are put back for K/M users.  In both cases listed above, I don't recall needing flaps to out turn either of the two planes I was flying against.

 

A *lot* of things have changed with aircraft physics for the base stats on all aircraft, but the function and utility of the crew skills have remained unchanged for the most part, as well as what kinds of aircraft the skills should be used on.  For furball interactions, there is a lot yet to be learned, but the biggest things I have noticed so far:

 

1.  Bomb and rocket skills now have much more utility because these ordnances are used more than once in a battle now.

2.  Bomber class has made the bomb skill MUCH more useful.

3.  Tailgunner skills are now in a toss-up phase, because tailgunners can now be controlled by the player, instead of leaving it up to the AI 100% of the time with gunner skills modifying the performance.

[Jaguardian]

Currently I would say status effect skills (critical damage reduction, fire fighting, and similar skills) have a noticeable return of investment as well as aiming skills and possibly engine.  Plane performance skills that effect maneuverability, have little to no noticeable effect.  Now if the in game physics changes caused the performance skills to be of little use, it may not be relevant to get them anymore, unless future changes will make them more relevant.

[pyantoryng]

With silver so easy to get now you might as well experiment the heck out of your crews...

[MagusGerhardt]

Jaguardian, on 23 October 2017 - 09:23 AM, said:

Currently I would say status effect skills (critical damage reduction, fire fighting, and similar skills) have a noticeable return of investment as well as aiming skills and possibly engine.  Plane performance skills that effect maneuverability, have little to no noticeable effect.  Now if the in game physics changes caused the performance skills to be of little use, it may not be relevant to get them anymore, unless future changes will make them more relevant.

 

They still have an effect; tested this out with the Yak-7; one built for durability with equipment and pilot skills - the other built for agility with equipment and pilot skills.  The agile Yak-7 won the contest easily; though the durable Yak was a hard target to kill; requiring a few passes and even shrugging off a 37mm cannon hit.

[soydivision]

MagusGerhardt, on 23 October 2017 - 11:09 AM, said:

3.  Tailgunner skills are now in a toss-up phase, because tailgunners can now be controlled by the player, instead of leaving it up to the AI 100% of the time with gunner skills modifying the performance.

 

I think this is probably most true for the new bomber class of planes... but I would say that in a HF or GA, your time is better spent actively maneuvering/dodging than trying to operate the tailgunner (while flying in a straight line).

[MagusGerhardt]

soydivision, on 23 October 2017 - 10:16 AM, said:

 

I think this is probably most true for the new bomber class of planes... but I would say that in a HF or GA, your time is better spent actively maneuvering/dodging than trying to operate the tailgunner (while flying in a straight line).

 

Yeah, I'm thinking that the Bomber rear gunner may be most effective with an "active" skill build, ie putting together skills that improve the player's ability to do damage while actively controlling the gun, like range extension, increased chance of critical hits, defensive fire, etc.

 

In the vast majority of heavies and most attackers the player would be best served concentrating on flying the plane evasively and leaving the tailgunning to the plane's AI.  In that case a slightly different set of skills will be more optimal.

[pyantoryng]

soydivision, on 23 October 2017 - 05:16 PM, said:

 

I think this is probably most true for the new bomber class of planes... but I would say that in a HF or GA, your time is better spent actively maneuvering/dodging than trying to operate the tailgunner (while flying in a straight line).

 

The power increase from manually controlling TG is significant and may prove useful when you need to finish off that one foolish straight plane...and HF is mostly irrelevant as they lose their tail gun later on anyway.

[MagusGerhardt]

pyantoryng, on 23 October 2017 - 10:30 AM, said:

 

The power increase from manually controlling TG is significant and may prove useful when you need to finish off that one foolish straight plane...and HF is mostly irrelevant as they lose their tail gun later on anyway.

 

There are a few standout heavies with outstandingly good tailguns for their tier.

 

Beaufighter and Me.210, tier V

Me.410, tier VI

 

Now, if the player sells their aircraft after moving on to the next tier, this is irrelevant, but for players who collect planes and end up (eventually) with high skill crews, these aircraft would benefit from the occasional seizure of tailgun control by the player.

[RandomPauI]

Regarding the plane turning tighter than it should have, it's possible the plane throttled down to get a tighter turn radius than if it was going full throttle or if it was boosted.

[MagusGerhardt]

RandomPauI, on 29 October 2017 - 02:16 AM, said:

Regarding the plane turning tighter than it should have, it's possible the plane throttled down to get a tighter turn radius than if it was going full throttle or if it was boosted.

 

Yeah, that could be it in non testing circumstances.  This was tested with two players flying the sam model Yak fighter; one built for agility, one for toughness.  The agility build Yak won the fight both times, with pilots switching their build between tests.