[WIP] (ENG/NOR) Bombs Away! The Ultimate Guide to Plasma Bombers

Overview

Please note: The Norwegian translation, and the guide as a whole is a work in progress.NB: Guiden er ikke ferdig skrevet eller oversatt (ennå)Do you want to enter the vast world of plasma bombing, become a better bomber or correct a few minor fatal flaws? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Hope my guide helps!Please rate, comment and favourite!EDIT: Most of this guide was written before the Full Spectrum Combat update, and is therefore outdated.

Section One: Overview and Foreword/Introduction/Something Else

Section Two: Your First Bomber

So, you’re ready to enter the world of plasma bombing. You’ve unlocked plasmas, wings, thrusters and all the other “bomber necessities”. We all have to start somewhere, and now’s the time to start.

BUT WAIT!

Before you even think about starting work on your bomber, take several hours a brief moment to learn a bit about how Robocraft’s physics engine handles planes and flight. There is no better way to do this than by testing things out and building a few prototype planes yourself. If you’re tight on RP, you can “borrow” some parts from your other robots or buy low-tier parts for testing purposes. Or if you’re really impatient, spend some GC. And remember: Practice Mode is your friend!

Take a good look at the various designs, which range from tiny yet somehow lethal plasma “darts” with only minimal movement cubes and one or two plasma cannons to colossal 9001K+ RR leviathans that majestically soar through the skies like eagles, searching for their prey and shrugging off railgun fire and SMG spam as if they were just a gentle breeze. Becoming one of these graceful guardians of the skies will be your ultimate goal from now on.

Form a mental picture of your would-be bomber. Keep in mind the RP cost, CPU limitations, the practicality of your design, the physics engine and so on. Then you can start building your bomber bit by bit in an unused robot bay, using the money from playing in your main vehicle to pay for the new parts. Remember that engineering is a series of compromises, also in Robocraft; and as such, there is no such thing as a “perfect craft”.

In layman’s terms: You can’t have your cake and eat it.

Section Three: Improving your Bomber

“No matter how well it would perform, I will never construct any sort of machinery which is completely indestructible except for one small and virtually inaccessible vulnerable spot.”
-Rule #25, Evil Overlord List

You’ve acquired the necessary parts, built countless prototypes and flown around the test map so much that you could tour it blindfolded. Congratulations, my friend; you are now one step closer to your ultimate goal.

Day 1: Invent bomber. Day 2: Improve bomber. That’s right, now that you’ve built a plane that throws glowing blue blobs at things; it’s time to make your shiny new blob-throwing plane more effective. Below are some criteria that might help you decide if your bomber is worthy to face the heat of battle, but it all boils down to personal preference and what you’re aiming for.

• Is the craft stable?
• Can the craft recover its speed and altitude quickly in the event of a mid-air collision?
• Is the craft agile enough for my needs? Does it retain its agility if it’s heavily damaged?
• Does the craft have enough thrust and lift to climb and sustain altitude?
• Am I as close as I can get to having enuff dakka?
• Is the craft well-armored and/or otherwise prepared to take a beating?
• Am I squeezing every drop of efficiency out of my pFlop count?
• Do the craft’s strengths and weaknesses suit my style of play? If not, am I willing to adapt?

If the answer to most or all of the above questions is a loud, clear “Aye!”, keep going. If not, it’s back to the drawing board. It may sound harsh, but anything worth doing is worth doing well.

While stability, agility and general airworthiness can be tested in Practice Mode, but you can never know for sure if your craft’s going to do well in combat until it proves itself.

Section Three Point Three, Repeating Of Course: Baptism by Fire

Okay then, are you ready to see how your robot performs in practice? Yes? No? Octopus?

…Whatever. It’s time to put your blob-blasting bird to the test. If you followed the preceding steps and flew around in Practice/Single Player mode lobbing lumps of glowing slime at everything that moves checking that everything works as intended, this shouldn’t be too hard. Still, it never hurts to be careful.

In my experience, most untested robots have a few fatal flaws that usually aren’t noticed in the design phases. The most usual problems are as following:

• Low agility on certain maps due to different gravity, height maps etc.
• Fatal weak spots.
• Fatal counters. (For instance: Tail falls off -> death spiral with some designs)

  To avoid future frustration, make sure to correct such mistakes and adjust your design wherever needed. Just don’t go too far, as even a minor change can make a big difference. And make sure the problem isn’t your style of play/strategy – more on that later.

Section Four: Knowing Thy Enemy

“Know thy enemy and know thyself, and you can fight a hundred times without disaster.”
-Sun Tzu

At some point in our lives, we’ve all heard that we’re unique, that we stand out from the rest… or even worse, that we’re “special”. To an extent, that’s true; whether we like it or not. It’s what seperates us from androids, machines and… Nah, I won’t go any further into all this philosophical nonsense; lest I accidentally turn some poor, unexpecting gamer’s brains into currywurst.

Every player uses different methods to try and get the job done. In this section, we will be taking a closer look at some of these piloting patterns, how to use them effectively and what to do to counter them as a bomber.

1.1: Acrobatic flyers

WIP

Counterstrategy: If you see a dart or drone unpredictably moving about, your best bet is to stay out of close-range combat until your SMG/railgun allies cripple it enough for you to finish off, as your chances of hitting such a small target are close to nothing. Until then, pick on easier targets such as plasma-armed ground vehicles, medics, towers and other targets that (probably) won’t fight back.

1.2: Acrofatic flyers

As mentioned earlier, bigger doesn’t necessarily mean more cumbersome. Anyone who’s ever been in a battle with high-ranking bombers has seen those big, fat plasma bricks that don’t look like they could ever leave the ground, and yet; they somehow do their job and look as graceful as hippopotamuses² while doing it. Basically the Robocraft equivalent of a bumblebee.[en.wikipedia.org]

How acrofatic plasma bricks came into being and who (or what) lies behind the controls of these things is, always was and always will be a mystery. However, there is a lot of evidence that these acrofats are built and piloted by a mutant, radiotrophic race of Tyrannosaurus Rexes residing in the supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy. What they want from us (and why they’re seal-clubbing in Robocraft) remains unclear.

Counterstrategy: If your hitscan helpers won’t take a potshot or two at the acrofat, you have nothing else to shoot at and are confident that your evasion abilities are superior to your target’s, you have two options. The first is to get in close (and when I say close, I mean so close that your prey doesn’t have time to react to your volleys). The second is to attack from a distance and praying to RNGesus that one or two plasma blobs will connect. Last but not least (Okay, I lied about the two options), you can retreat. It isn’t dishonorable – “sensible” is the word for it.

Remember: You’re a bomber, not a gunbed.

1.3: Stationary flyers

Copters, satellites and zeppelins from the good old days of skybox snipers and warp drives, slow cruise bombers and other flying potatoes that are simply begging to be shot fall into this category. Staying still can be a good thing if you know what you’re doing; but in most cases it’s better to keep moving. Think about it as a rather one-sided compromise: you risk your aircraft for a bit of extra accuracy.

Counterstrategy: Usually, stationary flyers are armed with plasma cannons or railguns. If you’re in an arena battle, check the OC list – if your flight ceiling is significantly higher than your target’s, hover just above him/her/it and go for the helium/rotors and bring him/her/it (Got to be politically correct, right?) down so you and your mates can finish him off.

If firing downwards isn’t an option, do a half barrel roll; making sure that you aren’t exposing your vulnerable parts to anti-aircraft fire. Then, fire your plasmas and evade, evade, evade. Wash, rinse, spin and repeat.

1.4: Cruising flyers

Some aircraft can commonly be seen flying in a straight line at high altitudes – “cruising” or “drifting”, either as a result of heavy damage, bad design or its use as a tactic. This generally isn’t a good idea unless you’re 100% safe, but it’s one of the fastest and simplest ways of getting from point A to point B.

Counterstrategy: In terms of counterstrategies, cruising aircraft are similar to stationary ones; the only differences being that you have to lead your shots and fly at the same speed and direction as them so they’re stationary relative to you. Don’t let your target spot you before you’ve crippled them, or they’ll get panicky and cause major problems.

2.1: Walkers
Despite the fact that walkers are usually armed with railguns or overtiered SMGs, they’re easy prey for a skilled pilot. They’re slow, usually feature lots of exposed parts and often camp out alone instead of going with the rest of their team. However, they can climb/jump up to the most unexpected places; so be vigilant.

Counterstrategy: Most walkers are armed with rails, and some designs include wings and/or thrusters to get around. To stop them from getting too panicky before you get them, sneak up on them after they’ve exhausted all their shots and dive-bomb them for maximum effect. Keep an eye on where the walker’s rail cannons are pointing, and evade accordingly; making many low passes in a short space of time. If your bomber’s underbelly is a tesselated wall of electroplates, make sure it’s facing the railgunner at all times.

2.2: Cruisers/Wheeled vehicles and Sleighs
I strongly doubt that there’s ever going to be anyone reading this guide who has never seen a car, bicycle, tuk tuk, or anything else with wheels in Robocraft or otherwise; so there’s little to no point in explaining.

Counterstrategy: Most wheeled vehicles are to be treated as smaller, faster and better-armored versions of walkers. However, walkers can turn more easily; whereas the movement patterns of cruisers are more predictable.

Some builders make the mistake of using low-tier wheels in high-tier battles – hit them in the right place and they’re sitting ducks. Also, keep in mind that cruisers spend a lot of time in team fights or stuck on small rocks and obstacles; and as such they are less likely to notice you.

2.3: Tanks
One of the newer arrivals to the battlefield, tank drivers take everything at a slow and steady pace. Despite the inability to fly around the battlefield, tanks have excellent traction; so expect to find them in all kinds of unusual spots.

Counterstrategy: Against rail and plasma tanks, circle-strafing while bombing from a high altitude will let you get a few good hits while out-turning their weapons. SMG tanks usually move with their team, so hang back and carpet-bomb them from a safe distance. Tip: Most tanks only have two tracks, so destroying one set of tracks will render them unable to turn – thus making them a much easier target.

2.4: Hovercraft
These have been the rookie bomber’s most frustrating enemy for a long time, as they’re small, evade splash damage and have the capability of swerving about unpredictably to avoid fire. Due to their agile, unpredictable nature, weapons such as SMGs, Nano Disrupters and Plasma Launchers have become favourites among hover pilots while railgun-equipped hovers are a rarity.

Counterstrategy: When you’re about to engage SMG hovers, make sure they’re busy dealing with something else first. Wait for them to stand still, then cruise/hover directly above them for a few moments and drop a well-aimed plasma volley. Then duck back into cover and charge your next volley. Wash, spin, rinse and repeat.

Plasma and Nano Disruptor hovers are much less of a problem. Engage them just outside of their weapons’ effective range and use their team-centric nature to your advantage as you harass them and their friends from across half the map.

*No, backflippability isn’t a word. Well, now it is.
² Hippopotamuses are indeed graceful. No questions.

Section Five: Basic Maneuvers and Tactics

“If we don’t know what we are doing, the enemy certainly can’t anticipate our actions!“
-Anonymous

Click here for a guide to basic aircraft maneuvers.[robocraft.gamepedia.com]

No matter how well-designed your aircraft might be, it is worthless without a skilled pilot. More often than you might think, the outcome of an entire arena battle rests in the hands of a single player. As mentioned in the earlier sections, every player is unique in his, her or its own way; and it’s never wrong to experiment with different maneuvers and tactics to see which ones best suit your playstyle and aircraft.

• Peek and shoot. A common tactic for bombers as well as hovercraft and walkers. Fly low, utilizing the cover of mountains and other irregularities in the terrain. When you’re ready, climb just about high enough to launch your plasma volley(s) and duck back down again. Once you’ve mastered this, try “jumping” between hills. This way you can deal damage, stay covered and get from point A to point B.
• Rapid retreat. Some wouldn’t call this a proper maneuver and probably doesn’t belong here, but it’s a rule that bomber pilots forget about all too often, or they fail to swallow their pride and end up getting “rekt” by ground units to whom a crippled bomber is nothing more than a flying bullseye. This is especially important if your bomber is incapable sustaining heavy damage and staying airborne.

  The most important thing you have to remember is the simple fact that something is out of sight, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Look around yourself to check for interceptors, flak and other dangers at all times – it could save your craft.

  Try to get out of the enemy’s line of sight as quickly as possible. If a ground unit is about to shoot you down, use your superior speed and agility to dive into the nearest crevice and repair. If there are no enemy air units around, flying just above one of the cliffs surrounding the map may also work. The Warp Module may help you get away – just don’t overestimate its maximum range!

  If an interceptor or “intercopter” is after you, the same rule applies – stay out of sight, using terrain and/or the Ghost Module to remain hidden. If you get spotted, the enemy team’s anti-air will be after you. Try to get your team’s attention towards the offending interceptor by spotting or luring it into your anti-air’s line of sight.

• Flank. Very important in early game arena matches and for anyone playing Team Deathmatch. Electroplated or not, your bomber won’t last five seconds in the heat of the main battle – use your plasma cannons’ bullet drop, incredible range and AoE to your advantage!
• Be vigilant. NEVER let an enemy catch you unawares, and always be ready to duck down into cover if you get spotted or notice any little red Stormtrooper-ish laser beams whizzing past you. In upper-tier games, most vehicles have electroplates, thrusters or other glowing parts somewhere; so if you notice a faint reddish glow coming from the other side of the map, look in its direction and press Q to spot it. Your team will appreciate it. And if they call you a [censored] [censored] [censoring] [censor], take it as a compliment.

Section Five and a Half: Advanced Tactics, Strategies and Battle Plans

WIP

Section Six: Dealing with Whining Engines and Pilots*

“To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy.”
-Hippocrates

Sooner or later, you may encounter problems with your craft. Some players give up at this point, others try to patch up whatever’s wrong with their bomber. Here’s a list of common problems and solutions:

• My bomber won’t move!
  Make sure you have the two most important parts of any bomber: wings and thrusters. Then check if you have enough forward thrust and lift to get off the ground. Agility is more important than you might think, so find the stall angle, turn rate and climb rate of your bomber and try to improve them if this is viable.

• My bomber pitches up or down!
  Check if the center of mass, center of thrust and lift is balanced. Adjust your aircraft accordingly.

• My bomber rolls left or right without reason!
  Try making your design symmetrical. (The mirror tool could help with this. By default, this is set to M.) If the problem persists, experiment with the center of lift, thrust and gravity and make your bomber heavier as heavier builds tend to be better balanced.

  *Guide to dealing with whining engines not included.

Section Seven: That’s All, Folks!

Hope you enjoyed my guide!

If you have any questions and/or suggestions, be sure to leave a comment! Constructive criticism is welcome!

Glossary of Robocraft terms

Work in progress. I will add more when I can be bothered to do so.

AFK Away From Keyboard. Pretty self-explanatory.
AoE Area of Effect. AoE attacks affect targets within a given radius. Plasma is the only AoE weapon currently in Robocraft.
Buff Increase of a weapon’s effectiveness.
Circle-strafing Rapidly circling around a target while firing at them to stay out of their sights.
Cooldown The time you have to wait after using an ability or weapon before it can be used again.
GC Galaxy Cash, Robocraft’s premium currency.
Grinding In Robocraft, grinding is playing excessively and in a repetitive manner to gain RP and pFlops.
Hitbox Where the game detects hits.
KS’ing or killstealing Killing an enemy that was reduced to critical health by another player.
Nerf Opposite of a buff.
Overclocking or OC’ing A game mechanic in Arena Battles. Players gain overclocking levels for completing a variety of tasks, including attacking enemy crystals and players as well as spotting and taking damage. When you gain OC levels, your robot becomes
RP Robo Points, the Robocraft currency gained from fighting in battles.

Kapittel 1: Introduksjon

Kapittel 2: Ditt første bombefly

Kapittel 3: Forbedringer

Kapittel 4: Det du bør vite om fienden, og litt til

Kapittel 5: Enkle manøvrer og taktikker

“Fienden kan ikke vite hva vi kommer til å gjøre hvis vi ikke vet hva vi gjør selv!”
-Anonym

Kapittel 5½: Avanserte strategier, taktikker og slagplaner

WIP

Kapittel 6: “Førstehjelp” for plasmabombefly

Kapittel 7: Det var det!

Robocraft-slangordliste

AFK Away From Keyboard, altså “borte fra tastaturet”. Brukes om spillere som slutter å reagere midt i et spill uten å forlate spillet først.
AoE Area of Effect. I Robocraft er AoE et annet ord for eksplosjonsradiusen på plasmavåpen.
Buff Å øke effektiviteten på f.eks. et våpen.
Circle-strafing Å bevege seg i store sirkler rundt motstandere mens man angriper dem, for å gjøre det vanskeligere for dem å treffe deg.
Cooldown
GC Galaxy Cash, poeng man kan kjøpe og bruke på premium-deler i tillegg til deler som kan kjøpes med RP.
GL HF Good luck, have fun, eller “Lykke til og ha det gøy”. Noe man skriver i chatten før spillet begynner for å virke litt hyggeligere.
Grinding Å spille over lengre tid for å tjene RP.
Hitbox Et område der spillet registrerer kollisjoner og treff.
KS’ing eller killstealing Et negativt ladd ord for å drepe en alvorlig skadet motstander.
Nerf Det motsatte av en buff.

RP Robo Points, poeng man tjener i kamp som man kan kjøpe deler med.

Special Thanks to…

Myself, for writing this guide.

My friend ZeroPhanter00 for keeping me in the game.

ArtOfWar_NoR and the rest of TGFN for introducing me to Robocraft!