I want to be a Superstar

[mic-dk]

...well, I'll settle for "better at WOHD", but hey, it got your attention, right?

My personal best MP times are pretty much all in top 500 or there abouts, but it seems I'm not improving anymore. I regularly match or almost match my PBs, but the time of shaving 1-2 seconds off is over. When I improve it's by 0.1-2 seconds. I'm am also getting increasingly frustrated by racing you girls'n guys and getting trashed each and every time

Now, there is a certain amount of natural talent involved in this which I sadly lack, and I am in no way aiming for top 10 or even 50, but I would very much like to at least be competitive in MP. It goes a long way to do perfect laps, avoiding the brunt of the firepower and hit most of the speedpads. I'm not quite there yet, but perfect laps, even in hectic MP, is getting more and more common for me, only to be stuck at the back of the pack, 5-10 seconds behind, as usual.

So, I'd like some pointers - specifically:

- Do you BR every chance you get in MP games? When I do that, I always end up being being eliminated at least once and hence loosing the race.

- Do you prioritise Weapon or speed pads? I tend to prefer Speedpads, but then again, I don't BR much, and most of the time don't need the energy (or have anyone in sight to actually shoot at...)

- Any other piece of advice besides practice, practice, practice?

TIA

[stinkleroy]

Practice is the only advice there is haha. You should check out the wealth of videos provided by the top players here, see the HD videos thread for some shortcut tips

But I can empathise....since the patch this game has become very hard to even survive a lap without getting blown up, it happens to me all of the time and is very frustrating...I guess a lot of it has to do with luck. One thing I have learned since the update is always try to have a weapon handy!

[lunar]

Definitely practice, it`s a very powerful thing and you will find yourself getting faster without knowing why perhaps.

Also check that you have acceleration/thrust sensitivity set to the lowest or you will not be reaching top speed.

I think you need to Barrel Roll a lot; everyone is else is doing it! If you don`t blow up once in a while due to too many BRs then you`re not BR-ing enough to be competitive, imo.

Also I think choose weapon pads over speed pads in almost all cases. There are a few exceptions in some situations, I think, but these become obvious. If you let someone behind you get a weapon pad that you could have taken then you are just inviting them to flame your behind. There are so many possible Barrel Rolls in the game that I think you pretty much need all of the energy you can get.

My final advice is not to cry over bad luck with pick ups because it doesn`t exist in the long term. If you feel you are getting bad pick ups you probably just need to race faster and then your pick ups will seem a lot better. I`m very bad at applying this idea to myself , but I do find that the "slower" the opposition is compared to me, then the better my pick ups are for the situations I find myself in.

[Connavar]

I agree, Weapon pads over Speed pads ... unless when they're broken, which
happens frequently.

BR is advised but not necessary, depends against who you're playing,
I'd say avoiding walls is a lot more important.

[blackwiggle]

I've found that certain players [not zoners,they know better] tend to do the same moves 90% of the time,so use that knowledge against them.

Don't fall into the habit of always placing your bombs/mines in the same [Obvious] place,the wiser pilots will be ready for that and can avoid a lot of them,try placing them just that little bit further down the track from where you usually find people dropping them.

Good places are where the pilot behind will have to veer left to right or right to left,it's pretty hard to avoid running into them while doing that.

Try not to follow directly behind the pilot in front,if they drop anything you are bound to run straight into it,let the person behind you do that,you will most likely being obscuring their view.

Shoot before being overtaken and then passing a wreak is a good ploy,you need to watch you proximity gauges to do this properly.
Wait till the gauge is on max,take thumb off throttle and back on again for a split second [or use both air brakes at once],fire and as the craft behind comes up in front of you it gets it full on.

[yeldar2097]

yeldar's philosophy:
BRs: If you have enough energy (it used to be 15% but now i don't think you can roll when critical) then go for it. see a BR opportunity? take it.
weapons: at the start of a race go for weapons unless you're right at the back in which case the pads will be deactivated so go for speed pads in that case. other than that i just tend to mix it up, you never know when you might get a turbo

practice lotsandlotsandlots . i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one with over 150hrs played (ahem....).
sideshift? helps a lots, thought it may not seem like it at the time

[mic-dk]

Thanks all. At least it confirms some of my suspisions, ie everyone else is BRing like crazy, while I trundle along the beaten path...

I'll try to mentally reprogram myself to look for weapon pads first, that's going to be tough!

@Yeldar: Sideshift is key, I still remember the first time I actually Got It(tm) on Seb. Ye Ghods, that felt good

@blackwiggle: LOL the slow-down-fire-goodbye move is a good one. Only I tend to end up like Kaori and get beaten by the guy you let trough

Time to put on my helmet and head back out on the track...

[BlochNWhitey]

A few things that might help a lot are learning the tracks more properly offline, Single Races to be exact. Racing against the computer on Elite will give you a chance to learn the situations for taking speed pads or weapon pads when others are around you. As far as BR'ing goes, try not to overdo it. The more and less obvious BR's are mostly going to be at least somewhat required to keep up against the faster pilots, but don't try to force them, BR's aren't ALWAYS faster. ;P (eg. holding back on the pitch just to force one doesn't always help, as the extra airtime will slow down the ship much more than the BR can make up for)

[LOUDandPROUD]

Yah, I generally only perform barrel rolls at the more obvious and easier spots. I feel that limiting your energy loss and avoiding elimination is more important than squeezing out every possible barrel roll. I also am a speed pad fiend, hence my 200 or so speed pad badges. Of course, I'll skip a speed pad and go for a weapon instead if I feel the situation warrants it (low health, final lap and I'm behind, I'm leading but there's someone on my tail). I'm still able to remain damn competitive using the two above strategies. Of course , I'm not exactly finishing 1st a whole lot or coming close to breaking any records, but I don't care about records and I'm generally content to finish in the top 3 within a room of skilled pilots...I just really love the competition and I hate being eliminated...much prefer to fly by someone who has just been eliminated due to barrel roll abuse.

Lastly, as others have said, sideshifting is key. I was a reluctant sideshifter initially...hated it...couldn't do it. Once I got over it and practiced a lot though, that's when I started being able to run with the big boys (and girls) out there (in conjunction with my switch to Feisar).

[crawdad62]

I don't know but it seems to me that BR online zaps a lot more juice than when playing the AI. I know it doesn't but it seems to me that it does. Maybe it's because the AI blows me away from the line more than online and they're out away from me where as online a whole bunch of us are banging around and losing energy that way so a BR takes it even more so. I'm like you in that I usually only do it in the most obvious of places unless I'm way ahead or way behind.

I played last night and side shifted myself out of a bunch of weapon pick ups and speed pad. Just couldn't get the timing right and every time I got ready to pick something up I'd side shift and miss the whole damned thing!

[mic-dk]

Of course , I'm not exactly finishing 1st a whole lot or coming close to breaking any records, but I don't care about records and I'm generally content to finish in the top 3 within a room of skilled pilots...I just really love the competition and I hate being eliminated...

That pretty much sums up my WO experience. When racing Zoners the competition is fierce and world class. Last Nordic Session I got eliminated on the last lap in the first 4 reverse races from a not-last position, so I definately share your aversion about being shoot to pieces

And don't get me wrong, I do barrel roll, and I do know the tracks - I am even able to do most of the shortcuts, discovered by others here. (yes, yes, the Ubermall (F), first corner one, I'll never make!)

It just irks me that I'm not improving anymore.

[SaturnReturn]

The crazy barrel rolls aren't really necessary, e.g. doing about 6 a lap on vineta k as the fastest do on speed lap. But some are really helpful, e.g. the 2 on the little hill on ubermall reverse, doing the one off the bridge on anulpha properly, knowing when to pitch so that the barrel rolls don't send you straight into walls on sebenco. Those kinds of things make a big difference for me when I do them well.
So I'd say do all the obvious ones and all the medium difficulty ones and recharge with weapons. If you want some day to be the best then all the really hard ones will probably be necessary, but they aren't needed in general competition with normal folk, i.e. not yeldar and wotan.

[mic-dk]

LOL Saturn, I don't even think I live on the same planet as Wotan

I've raced most of you guys, so it's quite comforting to know that it not always is necessary to BR your heart out.

[DividedXZero]

Not always necessary to BR, but i do exploit that as much as i can.
(BTW: BR's cost 15 points of shield per BR)
I do switch from speed pads to weapons as needed, but normally weapons to recharge my shield, possibility of turbo, being prepared with a weapon/shield and taking away the weapon from any player behind me.
Sideshifts are extremely helpful, especially in the middle of a sharp turn. I use that often to break away from another racer to avoid a collision.
I've also found side shifts useful to compensate the abrupt halt from a weapon attack (trick is if theres a speed pad on the opposite side of the track to grab it with a SS and be on your way again, or to keep from being shot off on Sol 2, but you have to brace for it as best you can.)
Adjust your racing lines as needed. The best racing line isnt always the fastest, especially when everyone is using it at the same time in the beginning. I've took the lead by avoiding "the pack" many times taking this into consideration.
Lastly, depending on where i am on the track....i sometimes conserve my turbo boost to use on a specific section of the track allowing me to chain link BR's.

[Vartazian]

A few tips from the Var - Man

I like to think Im fast so here are a few of the tips that I use when on the track.

-BR After Corners. BRing into a corner is gonna get you nowhere (Case and point Sebenco)
- Save your turbos for "High flying" zones. Metropia, Chengou, Ven K, Etc etc. These will shave at least 1 second off your time and are key for catching up. You wont get it right away, but once you do. Its key.
- Learn your Airbrakes! Im still doing this one, Getting your timing down for your Airbrakes is essential. Tight corners at Chengou, Met R and all the others are where you are gonna lose time. Get em right.

Last but not least.

Practice, Practice, Practice. I still get my ass handed to me daily by the really fast zoners here. But Soon enough you will start putting up a good fight.

I know I do!

[DrMannevond]

Don't worry Mic, you WILL improve. I thought I'd hit some kind of barrier too a while ago, but I've realised that I'd just gotten to the point where I know all the tracks, how to do most of the tricky corners etc., so from there on out my improvements are far less "visible", but I keep getting better times still, so I know I'm improving somehow, it's just not so obvious.
And regarding BRs : I only do the really obvious/easy ones, but still manage decent times, so they're not essential - they help, but so does just getting a good racing line and good cornering.

[Darkdrium777]

BR After Corners. BRing into a corner is gonna get you nowhere (Case and point Sebenco)

Actually, you should Last corner of Sebenco Reverse for example, do it! Of course, there are many other spots on Sebenco...

[mic-dk]

Heh I fail 4 times out of 5 when I BR in that corner. I got it down, when to turn in, where to land to hit the speedpads. Whenever I BR, I end up in the wall, albeit going very, very fast

Interesting to hear the preference to weaponpads over speedpads. Do you guys actually veer far off (sideshift?) the racing line to catch the weaponpads? Or do you only catch the ones that comes naturally when taking to sortest way round?

[SaturnReturn]

I agree with Darkdrium777. It's not so much a case of barrel rolling before a corner always being bad. Sometimes they are worthless but I think most of the time they are valuable. In most cases I think you have to hit it right, often early, and pitch correctly such that you get back down to the track as quickly as possible and the boost actually speeds you along the track just before the corner. If you do it a little bit wrong or late then you can just get boosted straight into the wall. But if you do it right then it could help you just enough boost to get ahead before the corner. Sebenco is tricky though. I don't do many barrel rolls on it, either forward or reverse, simply because I find it so hard.

p.s. I think the phrase is "Case in point"

[Darkdrium777]

I dodge Cambodians with side shift a lot.

Apart from that, I usually take only the weapons on the racing line, apart from when I need it.