How long did it take for you to get used to FA-Off?

In answer to your heading... I will let you know when I get there.

Yeah I find it really hard too, when practicing make sure there are no solid objects anywhere near you :) (found that out the hard way).
 
When I first turned FA off I was flying around like a leaf in a hurricane. Some pointers and basic exercises really help. It took me a couple of days of intense training to rewire my brain before I could switch to flying FA off only. Now, that is obviously not saying I mastered FA off in a couple of days. It takes a long time and you can always get better. I was good enough to do basic things like tethering and landing. After that, every session is a training session (except when in supercruise).

Check out the series on FA off my Moxen Wolf on YouTube, starting with proficiency #1:
They helped me out when I was getting started.
 
Yeah I find it really hard too, when practicing make sure there are no solid objects anywhere near you :) (found that out the hard way).
Apart from some initial exercises in stabilising your ship, I would say you really need hard objects as reference points to practice flying around. The really strong tip is using a stock Sidewinder when you start training. It is cheap.
Edit: Although I never actually died in the flight training Sidewinder, I was pretty close on several occasions ... In particular when you think "I've got this" and become overconfident.
 
Last edited:
Apart from some initial exercises in stabilising your ship, I would say you really need hard objects as reference points to practice flying around. The really strong tip is using a stock Sidewinder when you start training. It is cheap.
Thanx for the vid. That might be part of my problem, i tend to get a good distance from the station when practicing. I will have to follow some of the suggestions in the video and give it a bit more of a try.
 
With my hotas, fa off is very hard. With my gamepad, it's much easier. The joystick throw is just too large to compensate quickly I find for me. Getting the control system right is half the problem
 
I turned in off in a ring core mining
Core mining definitely is good FA off training. It is also one of the activities where FA off really shines in terms of increased agility and flight control. Both setting the charges and later blasting off the surface fragments amount to good weapon training.
 
I'll use FA-Off for quick flips, or gliding down to a base, but switch it back on for normal use, but I am notoriously lazy so have no desire to make the game harder just because I can :)
I am not sure it is harder, I would actually say it is the other way around - once you learn it ...

With my hotas, fa off is very hard. With my gamepad, it's much easier. The joystick throw is just too large to compensate quickly I find for me. Getting the control system right is half the problem

I fly with a HOTAS, can't say I have tried any other input methods as also exclusively fly in VR. Some people tend to say that K+M is easier for FA off, I am not sure, HOTAS works fine for me. My only real problem has been yaw accuracy with fixed weapons when fighting small and movable targets (read: Thargoid Scouts). As it is tied to my stick twist, I introduced some curves to actually decrease the sensitivity close to neutral input.
Small corrections rather than overcorrecting was the key to my learning.
 
To add to the using mining to learn it: I learned it while wing mining with some friends. On my main account I was mining in a T10, and I filled that thing up with mining lasers so I would chew through my share of the 'roid in a matter of second. While waiting for other folks to do theirs, I'd take over my ship launched fighter and fly through the asteroids with FA Off, coming as close to the rocks as I could. If I smashed into one it didnt matter, so I would practice at full throttle and zig zag all around rocks. At first I was pretty terrible at it, but after a couple weeks of wing mining I felt exceptionally comfortable flying that way. Now FA on or off makes no difference to me at all.
 
I am not sure it is harder, I would actually say it is the other way around - once you learn it ...
Way too much hard work for me to gain a skill (which it certainly is!) that in normal play (for me) would remain mostly unused - I'm lazy and if I point my ship in a direction I like it to go that way...
I did a very nice pancake onto a planet surface tonight when doing some scans, as I forgot to switch FA-On when going to level flight from glide... It was quite funny, also made me glad my Courier has very good shields :) (it gave my wing mate a chuckle anyway :D)

For those who opt to utilize the skill I say a hearty "Well done!", particularly if like yourself it is the only mode to fly in 👍
 
Last edited:
I really struggled to progress with FA off on my old X52pro hotas, could never get the rotationals under control. I really wanted to go for a dual stick set up instead and went with dual 16000m sticks and the difference is like night and day. Maybe my old hotas was just a little knackered or perhaps having an all analogue setup is more intuitive for me but in the last couple of weeks i've gone 100% FA off and going back to FA on feels totally unnatural and sluggish.

I started with cmdr Hobbs' videos supplemented with some FA off mining, proceeded to a little hooning and res combat. Whilst i'm far from being particularly accomplished, every time I fly I'm improving and I reckon I'm even docking quicker then I used to with FA on.
 
With my hotas, fa off is very hard. With my gamepad, it's much easier. The joystick throw is just too large to compensate quickly I find for me. Getting the control system right is half the problem

I struggle with the PS4 gamepad in FA off. When I'm going through an aimless phase (like right now because the Thargs have gone into isolation) I try rocketing through asteroid belts with FA off under the practice makes perfect philosphy.
My progress is tracked by how long I can weave through in a slalom before my shields are gone.....
Still haven't made it to four minutes....
 
Back
Top Bottom