A Fighter Pilot's Guide to Dogfighting: The Basics by Whisper928

Learn how to face the ultimate test of skill, dogfighting head-on. We show you how to rush in, turn fast and hit hard.

One-on-One Face
to face with a single enemy fighter can be daunting. You must be ready to strafe dodge, afterburn, and "handbrake" turn out of trouble. You will be facing firepower head-on, so be prepared to repair, kill engines and fire away.

The Head-on Attack
When attacking the enemy head-on, strafe dodge incoming fire and use the afterburner to maximize the strafe effect. The faster you go when you strafe, the faster the aiming cross will move on his screen, making it difficult for his guns to aim accurately.

The Head-on Pass
Flying head-on means that any mines and missiles ejected just before you meet will have a high chance of hitting; this can seriously damage you if you have no shields, so be sure they remain intact. After you pass each other, you need to turn around and attack your opponent as fast as possible, preferably before they can do the same.

Fast Turn = Slow Turn
Afterburning while you turn will result in a long wide arc, because the faster you are going, the wider the turn will be and the longer it will take before you turn completely around.

Reverse Thrust = Quick Turn
Slowing down and turning will result in a much tighter turning circle, but using reverse thrust will give the best results when turning.

Engine Kill Turns
Killing your engines allows you to continue flying in the same direction while you turn your ship around. This allows you to put some distance between you and your opponent, giving you more time to turn and come back around for another attack run.

Engine Kill Dangers
When you are drifting above 79m/s, strafing lowers your speed back to 79. To avoid this,TAP the strafe key instead of holding it down, or hold down the afterburner while strafing, otherwise you will lose drifting speed.

Drifting Turns
Drifting puts range between you and your opponent, making it more difficult to hit you immediately after they turn around. This allows you to head-on attack again, so it's a favorite for skilled head-on duelers.

"Handbrake" Turns
Reverse thrust turning gets you closer, quicker, allowing you to attack sooner and, if you're fast enough or your opponent is too slow, you can attack straight away if they are within range.

Summary Points for Dogfighting
Head-on attacks let you use mines and missiles more effectively. Strafing with afterburners on is the best way to avoid incoming fire when attacking head-on.

Reverse thrust turn if you want to get within range quicker.
Drift turn if you want to put more range between you and your target.

Long range weapons can be used best with Drift turning.

If you have short range weapons, get as close to your opponent as possible and reverse thrust turn as soon as you pass them, then afterburn after them.

NOTE:
1) I've covered basic maneuvers for the "low turn rate" ships. "Scramble" maneuvers can only be learned from experience.
2) Nanobot and Shield Battery usage is subject to personal choice and experience.
3) Cruise Disrupters are an acquired taste.[u]

Basic Combat In this guide, we will talk about using mouse flight to move around easier, aiming accurately and watching your weapon energy so you don't run out of juice in the middle of a fight.

Mouse Flight
Switching to Mouse Flight (spacebar) is usually better, as you don't have to hold down the mouse button in order to move around, you can just fly freely and fire away. The drawback of Mouse Flight is that you can sometimes find yourself upside down or sideways or generally lost. Simply tap the space bar again to spin your ship back to level. If that still doesn't work, select a target and Go-To (F2) and your ship will auto-level.

Point and Shoot
Surviving in Freelancer requires you to avoid trouble or deal with it. If you choose to deal with it, you need to take aim and fire using the aiming cross to accurately hit your target.

Follow the Aiming Cross
Targets are harder to hit when they are flying fast across the screen and easier to hit when facing toward or away from you. The aiming cross changes to reflect the speed and direction of the target, so watch it carefully when you are shooting at your target. The aiming cross is Freelancer showing you where to aim in order to hit the target. This is accurate but not perfect, so be prepared to lead your shots ahead of your target if you notice your shots falling short while trying to hit a enemy moving sideways.

Energy Usage
The yellow bar at the bottom of the screen is your weapon energy. This is used up at different rates depending on what weapons you have equipped, but don't worry...it recharges once you stop firing. Different ships have different power levels, so be careful what you buy and what you fly.

Watch your Speed!
Controlling your speed can be difficult in the middle of a fight, so be sure you are going at maximum speed, because if you move slowly, the enemy can target you much easier.

Quote from: Choice of weapon
"If you are fighting a player, know that they also have an aiming cross and the more you move around (and the faster you do it) the harder it will be for them to get a clear target on you and hit with every shot."

Turning and Strafing
The more you move around, the harder you are to hit, so be sure to turn and strafe during combat, especially if you have someone on your tail, it makes it harder for their weapons to hit you accurately.

Summary Points of Basic Combat
1) Mouse Flight lets you move more freely.
2) Always shoot at the aiming cross!
3) Watch your weapon energy and let it recharge between attacks.
4) The more you move around and the faster you do it, the easier it is to avoid attacks.