How to use the Strafe Properly?

[BankruptAssasin]

I have never been the best pilot, that is simply because i tend to just fly straight and shoot, i have only just properly begun staying behind some ships (no turret) and taking them down without getting hurt. although if it is more than 1 this tends not to work for me.

So i have been trying to use the strafe keys, but i still seem to get hit a lot. How do you guys use it properly? i looked at the guides and was hoping for a strafe guide but could not find one.

I use a mouse and tend to use Ctrl as my main firing button, this makes it difficult to use the designated strafe keys while shooting. Are joysticks worth getting? or is mouse just as good? I don't want to spend too much money on one as i tend to only play this game sporadically.

Any other fighting tips would be useful, i only have the sabre at the moment, will be moving to a good M3 soon, nowhere near getting anything bigger for a while.

Thanks

[Alan Phipps]

If you are on an attacking run toward the target, hit strafe and roll at the same time. You will spiral toward the target still able to fire main guns while taking fewer hits.

I use left mouse button to fire and a keyboard key (or 2 for more effect) to strafe. (You know you can assign controls to different keys/buttons in Options, Controls?)

[BankruptAssasin]

Thanks for the reply, i also use right mouse button to fire, but maybe it is just me, it seems to fire slower or something.

Yeah i know how to change the keys, but i assume that most people use those keys because it is easier.

I have read of people hitting like A+W at the same time, then hitting Q then changing to A+D & Q etc i have tried it and it is confusing as hell, i tend to look at the keys instead of the screen and get wiped out.

[JoeVN09]

I don't always roll, unless I'm in a larger ship and want to give myself a smaller profile. I do strafe in a kind of circle, cycling the strafe keys (WASD on the keyboard) so that my position is rotating around a locus. On an attack run, this is effective for avoiding oncoming fire while allowing you to keep your crosshairs on target.

After the attack run, I'm in evasion mode. I keep strafing but changing the specific behaviours relative to the position of the enemy ships, using the target camera to determine which angles need to change.

In the early game, I found these tactics increased my survivability the most over turreted enemy fighters like Pirate Novas. I can't think of a combat situation any more in which I wouldn't strafe.

[pref]

External view helped me a lot - seeing how 'bullets' fly around me as i strafe and turn. After a while i could just imagine how it happens and it was enough to see the position of the enemy ship.
Changing speed also helps a lot.

Its also important to have a comfortable key bindig and the default didn't really work for me. Set it up so that you don't need to watch the keyboard during fight.

[pjknibbs]

I have read of people hitting like A+W at the same time, then hitting Q then changing to A+D & Q etc i have tried it and it is confusing as hell, i tend to look at the keys instead of the screen and get wiped out.

No need to do that...just hold down, say, W and E to strafe up and roll right at the same time. An enemy has to be *really* close (or else using near-instant-hit weapons like Kyons or PBEs) for you to take any damage if you're doing that.

[BankruptAssasin]

Thanks guys, any more tips would be welcome. I will try the W+E or W+Q and see how that goes, if all else fails i may just bind the keys somewhere else to make it easy, and yea, those PBE's & Kyons are a son of a bitch, the main cause of my fight woes this turn around.

[Triaxx2]

More useful for capitals, but I use a variation. W+A, then A+S, then S+D, and then D+W. This causes their fire to spiral around you as they try to correct for your angle of movement. Easier with slower capital ship rounds, but works with HEPT, or PAC as well.

[DrBullwinkle]

Joysticks are significantly smoother and more precise for piloting than a mouse in X3. They are also easier to use than a mouse (in my opinion). However, a *lot* of players successfully use a mouse, and they seem to have as much fun as joystick players. It really comes down to what you prefer.




Barrel Roll
In pretty much all games (as well as real life), some variation of the "barrel roll" that Alan (and others) describe is extremely effective. It greatly reduces enemy hits, while allowing you to keep your guns aimed at the target. In fact, the maneuver is so effective, that you really don't need much else.

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An "X3 Barrel Roll" is: Hold two strafe keys and Roll while moving your stick/mouse in small circles. It makes your ship very difficult to target.

The actual roll, itself, adds a lot to the effectiveness of the maneuver, because the AI cannot track you while you roll. Rolling works even against fast beam weapons.

As suggested, you can do something similar with the mouse, although it requires more movement with the mouse (and it is harder to roll while turning and firing with a mouse).

If you don't have a joystick, then hold down two strafe keys and keep turning. There is nothing wrong with cycling the strafe keys if you are comfortable with that, but some people find it awkward.

Again; how you do it depends on what you like. The important thing is to fly in a spiral pattern... it makes you very difficult to hit!