Why are there so many Icaras Pilots online?

I don't get what draws so many pilots to this team, it seems the diversity of teams has been in a decline lately in favour for Icaras. Its rare to see anyone use other teams right now such as piranha :P

I'm just curious so please don't spark a argument, just what does this team do that works for you but not for many others? cause I'm only successful with FEISAR :P

I notice many icarus pilots at slower speeds. Obviously the speed is great but i find the icarus incredibly easy to handle also. Doing br's in icarus for some reason seems easier :) maybe thats just me, but its relative small and sleek frame seem to allow for an easier br

Probably because it has a 10 speed stat and is easyish to handle. I don't like the way Icaras handles personally, it has a strange center of gravity for me. The back of the ship feels like it swings out when you turn and I don't like it.

However it might just be timing on your part or the speed class being raced at the time for you seeing all the Icaras, I see more Feisar and Harimau about playing at Rapier and Phantom.

I think everyone flocks to Icaras mainly because of the speed in belief that they are guaranteed an obvious victory, half the time it is true. I've even witnessed newbie pilots on numerous occasions who instantly jump online seeming to favor the bright pink streak, I've started using it myself because of how it handles (and I need to get loyalty points), however, I'm a firm believer in that it is not the ship that gets you medals, it is the skill of the pilot, Thus I try to stay away from it to give myself more of a challenge in the circuits and to better myself skillfully as a player ^_^

^ I like that :)

While I find I can win in most any ship due to skill, when you have a lobby full of pilots with equal skill and abilities the ship differences really start to matter. With that being said, I find Icaras as the ONLY ship I would ever use in Venom, Flash, Rapier and here is why:

On the lower speeds, handling isn't really that much of an issue as you can sideshift about 95% of all the turns. Since you don't lose any speed while sideshifting, the acceleration becomes almost irrelevant save for jumping to the first weapon pad and getting a lucky mine, bomb, or turbo. So the ship's stats for handling and acceleration on the slower speed classes are a moot point and speed becomes the most significant factor. However, there is enough of a difference in handling between Icaras and Pirhana to more than make up for the lack of shields in the same comparison. As stated, Icaras does seem to roll better, and in fact the HD version more so, which makes up for the difference between the HD and Fury versions.

Hidden stats are also important to consider. The Icaras has a unique center of gravity. Some find it off-putting, but others that get used to it will swear by it. The combined handling and center of gravity enable Icaras to be one of the best ships to use for maintaining a racing line. Icaras is most certainly NOT a beginner ship however because to use it effectively one must be able to master risk vs. reward. Icaras is un-catcheable almost, once in the lead and quite sustainable using barrel rolls. Since all ships require the same amount of ship energy to roll, the only time that shields ever really matter is when the Icaras is getting to first place, or someone gets in a shot from behind. Initially I was drawn to it for speed, but now with the innate abilities, I'm confident in my decision. Icaras is most definitely the ultimate "green-league" ship, and to be a successful Icaras pilot, you have to learn to race accordingly (with shortcuts and barrel rolls as the priority over weapons).

Here is my personal take over the skill required to master a ship for comparison's sake (with 1 being beginner, and 5 being expert). This is *NOT* to say that if you drive a 1 rated ship you are a beginner by no means and you are an expert if you race a 5 rated ship. This is just respective difficulty to make full use of a ship based on stats. Beginner is assumed little to no race experience yet, skilled is average pilot having gotten Transcendence.

Feisar: 1 beginner, 5 skilled
AG-Systems: 1.5 beginner, 3 skilled
Assegai: 2 beginner, 3 skilled
Mirage: 2 beginner, 3 skilled
Icaras: 2 beginner, 5 skilled
EGX: 3 beginner, 3 skilled
Harimau: 3 beginner, 4 skilled
Triakis: 4 beginner, 5 skilled (only due to Pirhana like handling stats)
Qirex: 4 beginner, 4 skilled
Auricom: 4 beginner, 5 skilled
Pirhana: 5 beginner, 5 skilled (probably hardest due to handling)

I don't have/don't want transcendence. But that ^ is a good post. Thanks for sharing mannjon :+

Thank you Mannjon, very helpful indeed! :{D

A good way to look at it is if you need to always use the air-brakes or not.
Air-brakes kill a lot of speed naturally, especially if you use them all the time. That's why I think Feisar has a good edge over most of the ships in the game.

I use Auricom myself and I'm always airbraking since there's no choice on the higher speeds. You wont event be able to make some of the hairpins on a few tracks in Phantom speed. After using the ship for an extensive amount of time in HD/Fury it does feel a bit underpowered when it comes to Phantom racing, it's essentially a combat ship.

Hey Whizawk, good post. The Feisar is a very "sticky" ship. It seems to almost effortlessly fall in to a good racing line. I'm currently trying to expound on some of the hidden stats, and I've found that the Feisar does have a slight edge over the subtle corrections in racing lines encountered during turns. On Phantom, most ships need to turn into a corner early, but the Feisar is a notable exception.

I would be interested to see what you know about the Auricom, mainly because I typically don't use the dual hull ships. My only experience is that it kind of resembles an American muscle car in regards to handling and speed. It seems to catch up to the faster ships on straights, and I would guess that skilled Auricom pilots have to rely on momentum to pull them through more difficult turns more so than some of the other ships. What is the center of gravity like?

I'm going to say something that probably won't make much sense, but I'll try anyway. After playing this game for years, I don't think about things like "air braking" and "side shifting" and "nosing up" or "nosing down", or any of the subtler mechanics of the game. I find that the less I think, the more I feel - and that, holds me in good stead online and for me, that's where it matters most.

However, I do advise dedicated noobs to change their airbrake and thrust settings, and leave it after that. They'll figure it out - eventually.

Sometimes, we can over think an issue, or problem and this only makes it harder to do what needs to be done when it matters. I don't like to "think" about wipeout game mechanics. Even 2.51 didn't affect me, the game felt more or less the same - Wipeout feels natural to me. Other racing games, based on reality - don't. Weird as that sounds, it's the truth.

And Icaras... well, she's my baby. I'm still getting personal bests online here and there and I believe anyone can. Just don't foster a defeatist mentality because of 2.51... it aint worth it. This game is too much fun to let an update kill it. We still race online, we still have fun... and eventually, we'll still break some records... maybe.

I am also an Icaras pilot primarily. After getting max loyalty on Goteki 45 and Feisar, It felt like Icaras had a good balance between both. I still do the occasional mixup and race with Mirage and Harimau, but all my best scores are with Icaras.

The max speed thing I don't think comes into play all too much - the weapons during races help balance everything when used strategically. It's like pilots have said before, its not the craft - its the skills that matter :)

An updated post (for what its worth)

So now that I'm playing online I'm also seeing a huge influx of Icaras ships. I recently got max loyalty on it and have been working on mastering some harder tracks in reverse phantom. I'm actually finding that assegai and harimau are much better for things like chenghou project, metropia reverse and a few other circuits.

I have a hard time sticking with any team until I have max loyalty across the board :P

Why don't more people play phantom events online? From my limited perspective it seems like venom/flash and sometimes rapier comes down to who gets the weapons first, and who gets lucky. Phantom is more about straight agility and skill with risk/reward regarding absorbs and BR tactics. Maybe that is just me. It seems like if you hit a bomb early on against an icaras lineup, your doomed to never catch up - and god forbid you get eliminated in the 2nd/3rd lap.

Not really hating because like I said i'm primarily an Icaras pilot (over 20 hours flight time with the team) but now that I'm branching out past goteki/feisar it the lower speed classes seem fairly unbalanced in this regard. :/

For venom/flash icaras is unrestricted the best ship. Thats all. The better handling of feisar/harimau is absolutely no advantage on these speedclasses. On phantom icaras is worse than other ships until you have really great lines. I would explain the fact that there are morelow speed events with every player's preference to play that speed he is best at it because the chance for fun is higher. But that doesnt mean that venom/flash requires less skill. It is a different kind of skill which could be easier to get. But thats only a supposition :p

Raizza, I agree.

The slower speeds provide a completely different challenge online. definitely not noob speed class. More like, "phantom pro get beat down here" class :D

As for the mechanics... chain BR's and getting air on venom flash - you have to make that air, not just take it for granted as in phantom.

btw, Raizza, when will you next be online? It's been a while since i've had my behind handed to me by you ;)

Atm im rarely at home due to my final examens. Maybe im once in a week online and then i spend my time alone on the tracks. I think ill settle some speedlap records after having more time and then ill be there for you ;)

stop it, you're scaring me :D speed laps huh? This means you might have a few more tricks up your sleeve to leave me in the dust (again)... oh dear :) Looking forward to it mate.

Almost forgot, hey - good luck with the exams. Ace 'em, :)