One maneuver I practiced early was jumping from cover to cover.
When there are swarm launchers in the vicinity and you can't take much more damage it's a good thing to know how to get from behind one building to the next one in the minimum amount of time possible at a heading of your liking. Being able to fly in any direction regardless of heading is important so you can lead incoming missiles into obstacles.

Also, practicing "full stop to full speed back to full stop" is a good lesson to learn when you want to pick up gunners without being in a pre-made squad. People will judge you on your ability to land smoothly and momentum management is key in a smooth landing. A wonky and thus lengthy landing also makes you a prime target for all kinds of threats, so practice this a lot.

No it's not, unless you are using the southpaw configuration, which I'm not.

Regular practice of the ground reference maneuvers will provide the feedback to wire this in your brain.

Oh, this actually brings up something I've been struggling with a bit. If I get enough altitude to where I can't see buildings anymore, I have a really hard time maintaining awareness of where I am on the map. I have to use the down-looking camera after that, which is a pain in the butt and often doesn't help.

Any thoughts on something that might help with that?

I'd really like the HUD, perhaps when in first person view, to show altitude, rate of ascend, true ground speed and inclination. That'd make things easier.

And the minimap should definitely show missiles.

What about being able to lock the third person camera in an overhead view for setting up your flying spawn over an objective? It would allow you to stabilize yourself over top of certain terrain characteristics, where teammates can drop behind a ridge, in a ravine, etc. for a bit of added cover upon dropping.

Oh, this actually brings up something I've been struggling with a bit. If I get enough altitude to where I can't see buildings anymore, I have a really hard time maintaining awareness of where I am on the map. I have to use the down-looking camera after that, which is a pain in the butt and often doesn't help.

Any thoughts on something that might help with that?

Not sure if mentioned but if you end up on the ground upside down (swarms can do this) jump out then order an lav asap. Use LAV to ram it upright again. Saved about 7 dropships this way.

Not sure if mentioned but if you end up on the ground upside down (swarms can do this) jump out then order an lav asap. Use LAV to ram it upright again. Saved about 7 dropships this way.

Warning it all feels very back hawk down as all the angrys come looking for revenge while your grounded.

That's an ... interesting ... method, so kudos to you for pulling that off, but I somehow think it's not what should be printed in Dust's manual once released.

Perhaps one day it will be possible to have an RDV take back a vehicle once you're done with it. There are situations where I would leave my dropship due to tactical reasons, but I can't because I'd lose it in the process.

Also, I've created a channel in game: "0k0d" (a DS pilot's ideal KDR). This is intended as a "pilots seeking gunners" channel. Basically a special purpose "LFSquad".

This post is intended as an instruction manual for dropship gunners. I've never gunned myself, so as far as things like "aiming" I can't offer much.


1) Your primary role is not to get kills. You are your pilots eyes in directions he or she cannot see. Every few seconds scan the area for incoming swarms, railguns that have taken an interest in your DS, or other threats. When you see something give your pilot an identification, and clock direction. E.g. "Railgun shots incoming from 7 o'clock"

2) The pilot is in charge. If the pilot says "target the guy by the pillar at 11 o'clock" then that is your primary. I don't care if you've got a bead on three snipers right next to each other who would be a perfect triple kill. If the pilot says bail, bail. If the pilot has not given the bail order, do not bail.

Also, I've created a channel in game: "0k0d" (a DS pilot's ideal KDR). This is intended as a "pilots seeking gunners" channel. Basically a special purpose "LFSquad".

I think the only way a target aircraft will know if missiles are on the way is if they are radar guided. Heat seeking and laser guided won't give off any signal. Of course an aircraft could search for fast moving threats (I'm no expert on this stuff but that is my understanding of how they work). It would be nice to have different ammo types that could simulate this. Along with a module for counter measures.

Standard missiles could be radar guided which gives pilots a warning alarm when they are on their way. They could however have beter object detection and could avoid more obsticles to hit their mark.

Heat seaking misiles wouldn't give off a signal but could be easier to out manuver since if they pass their target, they can not longer see their target.

I'm not quite sure about laser guided missiles.

There needs to be a dedicated vehicle server where kills/deaths don't count, the "battle" never ends, and the vehicles are free. When you feel like you've got the hang of it, you just leave the server and get back to the real matches.

I think the only way a target aircraft will know if missiles are on the way is if they are radar guided. Heat seeking and laser guided won't give off any signal. Of course an aircraft could search for fast moving threats (I'm no expert on this stuff but that is my understanding of how they work). It would be nice to have different ammo types that could simulate this. Along with a module for counter measures.

Standard missiles could be radar guided which gives pilots a warning alarm when they are on their way. They could however have beter object detection and could avoid more obsticles to hit their mark.

Heat seaking misiles wouldn't give off a signal but could be easier to out manuver since if they pass their target, they can not longer see their target.

I'm not quite sure about laser guided missiles.