Is FA Off mandatory for successful PvP?

[DukeIronHand]

I will guess (absolutely) yes but any conflicting opinions?
Anyone feeling good at PvP without it?

And, as long as the subject is up, I will presume extensive Engineering also?

 

[Nerwan]

No, there have been some extremely good FA-on PVPers. PoaArctica for example who was part of AA's winning team during the first two PVP leagues.

 

[ForeverN00b]

It helps, but really it's about flying your ship the best you can. I toggle it off when I need to, but I can't aim fixed weps well at all with FA Off, so I will turn it back on. It just depends on what is more beneficial at that moment.

Also, for me it also depends on what ship I am flying. I use FA Off a lot more in my larger ships than in my smaller ones.

 

[Aewarin Jameson]

I will guess (absolutely) yes but any conflicting opinions?
Anyone feeling good at PvP without it?

And, as long as the subject is up, I will presume extensive Engineering also?

I can't comment on PvP (from experience) only what I have read on forums.

FA-Off : Don't know
Engineering: 100% yes .. too much of a disadvantage not to do it.

 

[Earth Ultimatum IV.]

It's not mandatory, but understanding and mastering full FA OFF will give you a advantage in some situations.
Plus, it's the natural git gudding progression. You should learn full FA OFF someday, it's also quite fun.

 

[Butter of Sorrow]

I stumbled on a youtube video the other day that goes in depth on this topic pretty well. It should give you a pretty good general idea of how to use it.

Spoiler

[video=youtube;QEf4ZOur5MU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEf4ZOur5MU[/video]

 

[Truesilver]

The question is not whether to use FA-off in PvP but to what degree?

Basically nobody who is any good at PvP never uses FA-off - Cmdr PoaArctica cited earlier is not using 0% FA-off - but the proportion of time with FA-off varies from 100% (as exemplified by a number of SDC/GCI pilots) to less than 10% (as exemplified by @Morbad).

Personally, in 1v1 combat, I consider the 'toggling' method to be highly effective when combined with frequent boosting, as shown towards the start of this vid:

[video=youtube_share;LUlWQUfOdro]https://youtu.be/LUlWQUfOdro[/video]

 

[Nalessa]

What exactly is the advantage/disadvantage of flight assist off?

Do you turn faster or something with it?

And how do you even turn it off?

Is it similar to silent running? My ship feels more "wobbly" when silent running.

 

[Morbad]

The question is not whether to use FA-off in PvP but to what degree?

Basically nobody who is any good at PvP never uses FA-off - Cmdr PoaArctica cited earlier is not using 0% FA-off - but the proportion of time with FA-off varies from 100% (as exemplified by a number of SDC/GCI pilots) to less than 10% (as exemplified by @Morbad).

Yep.

FA On and FA Off are distinct modes with distinct advantages and disadvantages. Even if your FA Off aim is flawless, you cannot bypass the fact that deceleration (or negative acceleration relative to your current movement vector for the pedantic) is faster with FA On. Likewise, even if you have full analog control over all thruster axes, and can perform the sort of maneuvers traditionally associated with FA Off while FA is enabled, you cannot ignore the fact that FA Off allows one to exceed the normal velocity and rotational limits that FA On enforces, often with more efficient use of ENG pips, as well as providing somewhat faster positive acceleration.

I generally prefer to stay FA On when possible, as my control scheme favors it (I prefer my primary weapons to be fixed and I cannot personally compete with the FA OFF fixed aim, of the best mouse & keyboard CMDRs), but I can and do toggle it off when the intrinsic differences of the mode prove advantageous.

What exactly is the advantage/disadvantage of flight assist off?

This is a complex question that varies somewhat from vessel to vessel.

Basically, with FA off you lose the automatic stabilizing and counter thrust effect of your thrusters, but you lose many of the limitations imposed by them as well.

You can maintain the rotational and movement velocities applied at higher ENG pip values at lower values with FA Off and bleed velocity more slowly.

The downside is the lack of compensation that makes aiming more difficult, and reduced magnitude of negative acceleration which can make the ship more drifty.

And how do you even turn it off?

You need to bind a control (or look up the defaults) to flight assist, and set it to either toggle the mode or to turn FA off while held.

My ship feels more "wobbly" when silent running.

Silent running, in and of itself, should not change the movement properties of the ship.

 

[Arkadi]

Using FA-Off gives more variety to maneuvers. This is a good thing. My main use of FA-Off is to be able to turn my ship freely while keeping my original movement vector. But this is not the only use it has. But one of the most prominent I'd say.

 

[juddadredd]

Just starting to use it now that I've engineered my Python - the extra speed the class 5 mod adds to the ship makes it a blast to burn and turn whilst getting some distance on the other ship.
But the thing is now I've started to use that, I see more and more heatsink enabled ships !

 

[jasonbarron]

For many players learning PvP is all about gaining true mastery of your ship, so I'd opine that all true PvPers are somewhat vested in the fundamentals of flying FA Off as part of the program of learning their trade and that the best pilots are extremely versed in that mechanic whether they use it exclusively or not. One of the best pilots I've ever fought is Alexander the Grape and he advocates a healthy mix of On & Off. I don't think you can be very good at PvP without at least understanding the basics, in other words. FA Off pilots are harder to hit, typically, and people willing to learn that are also prone to learning such subtleties as fixed weapon mounts.

 

[TERMINATRIXXX]

From my point of view, i fly 100% FA off in small to medium ships. While i toggle it with larger ships like the Cutter.

 

[Saxon Kili]

What exactly is the advantage/disadvantage of flight assist off?

Do you turn faster or something with it?

And how do you even turn it off?

Is it similar to silent running? My ship feels more "wobbly" when silent running.

You can flip a quick 180 (using ship inertia) when your enemy flies behind you. The ship keeps moving in the same general direction, but you can rotate your ship around while it's doing that. If you do a full 180 you'll end up flying backwards.