What this is about
From level 5 on it is no longer about single manoeuvres but about their order. Every manoeuvre has an exit, and that exit is the starting position of the next one. If you know the chain you no longer have to decide in a fight, only to recognise.
The situation
A duel, both roughly equal, after the first pass. From here it is no longer the ship that decides but who already knows the next two steps.
What the opponent does
He does what his situation suggests: turn after the merge, shoot after the turn, break out when threatened. That is exactly why he is predictable – not as a person but as a situation.
What you do
You do not pick the manoeuvre you like but the one whose exit gives you the next situation. Three proven chains:
- On the approach: lead turn → rate fight → shot. The standard when your ship comes around faster.
- Against the faster one: radius fight → force an overshoot → shot. You give up speed and take his position instead.
- Out of defence: defensive spiral → reversal → new approach. You buy time and turn the situation around.
Follow-up
The follow-up is the actual content of a combination. After a forced overshoot you have two or three seconds in which he can do nothing – using them only once they arrive is too late. So decide the follow-up before the manoeuvre, not after.
How the opponent answers
He breaks the chain. That is a good pilot’s normal answer: instead of entering the rate fight he pulls out vertically; instead of overshooting he goes into lag pursuit. A combination is therefore not a recipe but a plan you check after every step.
What you need
The manoeuvres from levels 3 and 4 must be solid – solid enough that you fly them without thinking about the controls. If you are still looking for the decouple key you cannot fly a chain.
Combinations need no new functions – they need the known ones to sit blind. These appear in almost every chain.
| Game action | Default keyboard/mouse | Default joystick | Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed Limiter - Enable / Disable | not bound by default | not bound by default | toggle |
| Speed Limiter - Step Up (tap) | Left Alt + Mouse wheel up | not bound by default | single press |
| Speed Limiter - Step Down (tap) | Left Alt + Mouse wheel down | not bound by default | single press |
| Spacebrake | X | not bound by default | single press |
| Boost | Left Shift | Button 8 | hold |
| Enable / Disable decoupled mode | C | not bound by default | toggle |
| Cycle Lock - Attackers - Forward | 4 | not bound by default | single press |
Game default binding, game version 4.10.0-hotfix (55227). If you rebound it yourself, your binding applies.
Anything marked “not bound by default” you have to bind yourself in the game settings – we do not guess a key.
HOTAS/HOSAS: the joystick column is the default binding of ONE stick. On two sticks you assign pitch, yaw, roll and lateral strafe yourself – which axis a manoeuvre needs is listed in the HOTAS / HOSAS section.
Typical mistakes
- Flying the chain against the situation. A combination that does not fit is worse than no plan at all.
- Not looking after the first step. He has a plan too.
- Always the same chain. After the third time he knows it.
- Chains that are too long. Three steps are a plan, six are a hope.
Exercise
- Goal
- Fly a chain of three manoeuvres without thinking in between.
- Preparation
- A partner as opponent, an agreed starting position, open space.
- Task
- Fly the same chain five times: lead turn → rate fight → force an overshoot. Then five times a second chain of your choice. After each run discuss only one question: where did you have to think?
- Success criterion
- You fly the chain twice in a row with no pause for thought between the manoeuvres.
- Partner
- required
- Functions needed
- Speed Limiter - Enable / Disable
- Speed Limiter - Step Up (tap)
- Speed Limiter - Step Down (tap)
- Spacebrake
- Boost
- Enable / Disable decoupled mode
Next step
Every chain costs energy. How much, and how you budget it, is in energy and power management.