[G] The Complete Loopy Guide

[eth]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/Header-1.png

All right, so I finally decided to take a break from trolling and actually do something. This is the result of that! Also, tyr of ACE has done his rather awesome commentaries, so I figured I'd have to do something nice to counteract that and keep the balance intact(well. we do have the championship though. hee hee)! The Complete Loopy Guide is mostly aimed at newer players, but that's not to say experienced players can't pick up a tip or two here or there. I'll break the guide into a few parts:


Introduction
Why play Loopy?


Perk selection
General playstyle & game sense
Bomb running
1v1 Match-ups
Maps


http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/Intro.png

I am [fLb]eth, and I've been playing Altitude since a couple of months before the beta ended(hmm). For the stat-minded, I have 326 hours played and about 1 million xp. Although I enjoy playing all planes, my best plane is without a doubt Loopy and it's also the plane I enjoy the most(when not getting shredded by bomber spam). At the time of writing, I have 25 769 kills and 11 840 deaths with Loopy, which is a 2.18 ratio. I've found it very hard to increase beyond this(with clean play), not only due to the number of kills required to see a change, but also because Loopy is one of the more fragile planes. I've tried absolutely every perk combination on Loopy, and probably every other plane as well. I am a viking with a beard, I eat babies for breakfast and plunder English cities at dinnertime. I also enjoy greek food and swimming.


http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/WhyPlayLoopy.png

There are lots of good reasons! The Loopy is the fastest and most agile plane of them all, it has extremely good damage with its main perks, and it also has a very high skill-ceiling that most players will probably never reach - but it is fun to strive for. It also has access to one of the best weapons in the game, EMP, which when used correctly will be the main cause of kills for you, especially as you get better at the plane. If you're a demo user, the only other plane you have available is the bomber which is lame, and so you're pretty much pidgeonholed into Loopy anyway. Moving on.

The Loopy is also the second most fragile plane in the game, and it has no "outs" like the Miranda when it needs to get away. You get caught in a bad spot, you die - simple as that. There are of course exceptions to the rule, and a few ways to survive, but generally you'll have to accept the fact that you're going to die. A lot. The Loopy escape mechanism generally amounts to flying fast, and in unpredictable patterns. More on this later. Tip: don't think wavy patterns will help you an inch - the chasing player will fire in a straight line, and you'll be weaving in and out of it. Bad idea!

When you're killing, you'll be moving in and out of the battlefield in seconds - unlike the explodet which can stay alive even in the thick of battle, you'll die instantaneously. The Loopy cannot win close-combat fights against any plane unless it has positional advantages, which is what you will use for getting kills. Luckily for you, with its fast speed and maneuverability, the Loopy is the plane most suited to getting these kinds of advantages, and so it all works out nicely in the end ;)

Loopy also has the reputation as the hold-f-and-own plane, so you'll be getting a lot of **** for that. If you still think this sounds interesting, you are truly a great hero, a warrior of the light, and... err. Where was I? Oh yeah, this was a Loopy guide. Let's get on with it.

[eth]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/Perks.png

Things are finally starting to pick up! Let's get the preliminary stuff out of the way before we start looking at the real meat of strategy and match-ups. The Loopy only really has 2 viable perk setups if you want the optimal stuff. If you don't need the absolute best of the best, a lot of perk combinations will work out fine for you. I'll present each perk first and at the end sum up a few combinations.

Red perks

Tracker
Well, not much to say here. Tracker is what demos use, and when they buy, they don't use it anymore. It has terrible damage compared to the other two perks, and the added tracking is training-wheels just as much as rubber hull. Doublefire doesn't have a noticeably worse tracking, especially since you won't be spamming from across the map(you won't do that, will you?) Don't pick this unless you want to humiliate someone.

Doublefire
The current main perk of Loopy players, double fire is good. It has fantastic damage output(it doesn't have the burst of biplane, but it isn't far off), decent tracking, and of course you still have access to the beloved EMP. This is what you'll want to use if you're just starting out as Loopy. It is also significantly easier to get kills with than acid because of higher frontload damage, and it has a better synergy with the plane than acid does. There isn't much more to say, as this is a rather straightforward perk apart from EMP, which I'll talk a bit more about in the strategy section.

Acid
Acid is the black sheep of red perks. It's a good perk, but somewhat harder to use than DF. You also lose EMP, and your damage without acid up will be low. The gains is that acid is an area-of-effect damage-over-time, and on top of that it also reduces armor. What this means is that your damage with acid will be excellent(on par with DF), but it takes a little time to "charge up". You need that acid up, and then you can start worrying about actually firing your primary. You'll also get a fair share of offscreen kills as people die to your acid. Acid takes about 40-50% of another Loopys/Mirandas hp off, so coupled with a few shots it is obviously very deadly. However, acid also doesn't have as good a synergy with Loopy as DF does. DF facilitates swift killing with high frontload damage, whereas acid lacks exactly that - frontload. This is mainly what makes acid harder to play, but it is still very fun and quite viable, so choosing between DF and acid is pretty much up to personal preference.


Green perks

Rubber hull
Training wheels. I was originally going to leave it at that, but it does in fact have legitimate uses. If you're up against a team heavy on explodets, this may very well be a good choice, and especially so on maps like asteroids and caves. They'll slam you into a wall and you won't die immediately, giving you a little more time to take them down with you - very possible with DF at least. It's also good for flopping around on the floor, thus luring predators to you and then blasting them to chops. Nah, just kidding. This is a secondary perk at best, but usually you won't even want it as that. Leave it.

Flexible wings
An amazing perk for the biplane, this perk is as you might guess not particularly good for the Loopy. We want to pick perks that synergize well with our plane, or perks that compensate for weaknesses so that we get a well-rounded plane capable of meeting anything. Loopy already has the best maneuverability - why would you want flexible wings? That's right - you wouldn't. Leave it.

Repair drone
I used to have it on my Loopy because it was a nice convenience(and it really is), but that's as far as it goes - at least for TBD. Any decent player will have access to a lot of health packs from dead planes, and if none are, you simply return to base. With Loopy, it takes minimal time since you're so fast, and you're weaving in and out of combat anyway. A detour to base doesn't cost you more than half a strafe-run. The perk is absolutely good on other planes such as Miranda, but on Loopy it's not what we want. It has terrible synergy with our plane and playstyle, is barely even needed, and does not augment our combat capabilities(which is what we want to strengthen). Leave it.

Heavy armor.
A perk worthy of praise indeed! This is what we've been waiting for. Heavy armor adds a flat amount of hp to your plane, and this is absolutely positively fantastic on Loopy. It's a good perk in general, but what makes it so amazing for Loopy is that it puts the plane over a certain breakpoint. Do you know what breakpoint this is? I'm sure you've been killed by 2 heavy cannon shots before, a Miranda shot+warp combo, a bomber salvo, or even a rocket+mine combo from the Explodet. Well, no longer. With heavy armor on, you'll be at a sliver of health after all these combos, allowing you to survive combat that much more often. It is just amazing - the perfect perk to make up for our Loopys weakness. Must pick, I cannot recommend this strongly enough.


Blue perks

Turbocharger grants a faster energy regen rate. I haven't talked much about playstyle and strategy yet, but I do not recommend this on DF Loopy for one reason: bad synergy. You'll be in combat for very short times, and so it is better to have more energy to unload in that window, as you will not need the energy while you're circling around for a second pass. It is, however, excellent for acid Loopy as it has a slightly different playstyle. The extra energy may very well give you a kill here. Take it on acid, leave it on DF.

Ultracapacitator
An amazing perk used by a lot of planes. Trickster Miranda needs it for the shot+warp combos, and bomber can unload 4 bombs instead of 3, and so on. As Loopy players, it simply means we can unload a heavier salvo of rockets, which translates into more kills. Pretty straightforward, I strongly recommend this perk on DF Loopy. Acid loopies can choose either one and be fine.

Reverse Thruster
Not a very serious perk, it can still be amazing on heavy cannon biplane, but for Loopy it is pretty terrible for serious play. Without ultracapacitator or even turbocharger, your damage will weaken noticeably, and reverse has very few uses outside being an escape mechanism - however, unless you are an extremely adept reverse user, you're more likely to crash into walls than get away. Either way, we don't want to exit the way we came, so this is pretty much bad for Loopy. It does give extreme control over speed, as you decelerate very fast, but that's about the only thing it has going for it. Leave it.

Ace Instincts
A lot of players are unsure if this is worth picking up. Simply put - it is, if you can keep your bars. It is THE best blue perk if you have bars(and the more the better, obviously), but without bars it does nothing. In a match with decent players, you'll likely die a lot, so this isn't worth picking up. Against players far below your skill, it doesn't really matter what you pick - you'd still own with reverse Miranda for example. This makes Ace Instincts a sad perk, as it has the potential to be the best but usually is the worst. I could see recommending it on laser Miranda or explodet if you're a very careful player, but as a Loopy, this hardly has any use. Leave it.

Perk summary
So we've been through all the perks, and as you can see I only recommended a few. The cookie-cutter perk setup for a Loopy right now is Double Fire, Heavy Armor and Ultracapacitator. Acid, Heavy Armor and Turbocharger is also quite good, but not as common. If you want a challenge, play Tracker, Flexible Wings and Reverse Thruster - it's the most responsive plane in the game. Reverse also gives you incredible control over thrust. Tip: Be careful when landing, especially on mayhem. Don't want to reverse into that wall. If getting a rise out of nerds is your thing, play with tracker ONLY(and make sure to win the game) - I guarantee at least one ragequit(tested and true). DiogenesDog comments (http://altitudegame.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11465&postcount=13) that Acid, Repair Drone and Turbocharger can also be a viable build, if played as support, and I definitely agree. If playing defensively is more your cup of tea, try this build. Be warned though, giving up Heavy Armor is giving up on a lot of survivability, so do it at your own risk!

[eth]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/Playstyle.png

If you're still with me, we now have a plane with fantastic speed, excellent damage and acceptable survivability. So how do you use it? As I've stressed before, Loopy weaves in and out of combat continually. Of course, there's nothing preventing you from staying - but only do this if you have backup. If it's you and your fellow Fat Johnson out in the middle and no one in sight, that's your cue to zip away. Loopy is a LIFO(last in - first out) kind of plane - sure, you'll get your share of cuss words, but you don't care because YOU. WILL. SMASH. THEM. Right? Right. Anyway, that's the essence of how it plays, you wait for your teammates to charge in, and then you come somewhere middle to last, letting the heavier planes go first(or those with a shield - if you have one of those, it doesn't matter where you are). Also, play smart. Not as smart as a Miranda, because that will get you killed, but just smart enough. Use obstacles to your advantage - if you can pull a chaser behind an obstacle and then quickly decelerate/EMP him, you've got yourself a kill.

One thing every Loopy should know: you will never, ever win a 1v1 against another plane in close combat. You have heavy armor, so they won't oneshot you, but that doesn't matter if you're still lingering around. What you will want to do is come into the fight, and depending on the number of enemies/teammates either piss the hell off or secure yourself a target. Make sure he's EMP'd, then fly into his side/back and finish him off that way, before zipping onwards to either a new target(make sure you have backup), or continue your strafing runs. If you're alone with a target and you've managed to EMP him, you have all the time in the world. Just make sure to keep EMP up, and you'll be fine. The beauty of playing this way is that you can plan your route along the powerups - for example, on Core, you'll fly up top past the power-up, down into the middle, then to the power-up in the bottom, and then to the power-up at either side. This will help you a lot, so make sure to find yourself some nice routes on each map(I'll show some later - they're pretty obvious though).

As for game sense, you need to keep track of where the other players are at all times. TAB is your friend. When yours truly is tired, he usually flies right into the middle of the map all by himself. This is a bad idea, and especially so if your teammates all happen to be dead. If you do that, you'll join them pretty quickly. Knowing how players will react is also part of the game sense that will both save your arse and kill theirs - for example: you're flying away at a sliver of health and you spot someone afterburning like mad up top to catch you. If it's a good player and he knows you, he'll try to figure out where you make your escape - you on the other hand, need to take this into account and take the least probable route he'll think of. So if you're a careful kind of guy, just fly back into the middle and take the route your chaser did. If you're a rambo kind of guy, try to hide behind some obstacles on your way home. Either way, you'll probably need to juke around a bit before turrets/reinforcements chase him away.

Keeping speed is also crucial for us Loopy players. You do not want to fly at half speed(like a Miranda might do) spamming your rockets. The optimal way is afterburning at full speed where there is no danger, and where there might be, tap your afterburner so you're constantly above 90% energy. Meeting a plane with no energy left because you afterburned is a pretty sad way to die. Find the balance(and catch 'em all)!

As for power-ups, there really isn't much to say. Use your shield to escort bombers if you can, if not get yourself a multi-kill. If you get a missile that's nice since it's more or less a guaranteed kill, if you get a wall that's too bad since it's the powerup that complements the Loopy the worst. Either way, usage is fairly straight-forward, so use as you see fit!

In team games, your primary role is to run around and murder people, and also spamming EMP in team fights - even if you die, your team will get a big advantage from it. Loopy is also excellent at escorting bomb carriers if you can pick up a shield, as the Loopys maneuverability allows it to put the shield to use where it is needed most. Either way, a Loopy is an excellent asset to any team, and while it won't be the core your team revolves around, it'll definitely be close. As far as setups goes, Loopy is best when paired with mostly heavy planes - using more than one Loopy or pairing it with a lot of Mirandas is probably a bad idea, as the Loopy needs as much room for running around as it can get. That's why having some heavy planes to soak up the fire and stay on the battlefield is good, while you can run around and pick off people while they're busy.

In huge teamfights, EMP will always be your top priority. If you're alone vs their entire team attacking, what you need to do is EMP their carrier, for obvious reasons. Afterburn up to them and get that EMP off ASAP, giving your teammates a little more team to respawn and defend. If you have most of your team available for defending, your priority will still be to EMP the carrier - but you have some more leeway to decide if you should be suicidal or not. Attacking from the top is almost always your best option in such cases - teammates take the fire, you dish out the damage(and the EMPs). In offense, you play almost exactly as you always would(unless you have a shield), you'll go in last, making sure you survive as long as possible for maximum damage output. Coming in last will also give you lots of opportunities to catch the bomb after your(and hopefully theirs) entire team is dead. Watch the fLb vs ACE finals game on Cave for an example of just how well this may work ;)

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/Bombrunning.png

Let's just get this out of the way quickly, shall we: the Loopy is a terrible bombrunner. It doesn't have the health for it, even with heavy armor, and the speed advantage goes away when you have the bomb. Better then, is a Flexible Wings biplane, as it has the speed required as well as the maneuverability AND the health. The morale of this story is, then: kids, don't bomb run with Loopy.

There are of course exceptions. If you're on a map with a neutral bomb, you can often fly in at top speed, snag the bomb and be at their base before they're realizing what's going on. Doing this is especially good if your team just completed a bomb run so all enemies are either dead or very, very busy. Loopies also make decent secondary bomb runners, as you can pull enemies to your bomb while your biplane-carrier gets to base safely. That is about it for bomb-running with Loopy though - you can try to juke and be fancy, but in the end you'll probably just get killed with no results.

[eth]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/1v1.png
Ok, the time has come for us to look at how to beat the other planes. Every. Single. One. For these tips, I'm assuming players of equal and decent skill. Anyone can beat a newbie, right? Also, you can get easy kills with spam. I'm assuming you're playing against someone who knows to position himself well enough to avoid that(or maybe it's on the 1v1 server). Anyway, let's get to it!


vs Miranda
- This is either the easiest or the most difficult match-up. Mirandas have oh-so-little health, so a couple of quick rounds will easily finish them off. If you're an acid player, the acid alone takes around 50% health off the Miranda, and with armor reduced, you don't need a lot of rockets to finish the job. The catch is, of course, that Miranda is capable of killing Loopy in less than half a second. Let's tackle the match-up with DF first, as it is the hardest. The moment you see a Miranda you need to make a choice, either you run away or you take him on. If the Miranda is close to you and he is trickster, you need to run away, even if he's smoking black. Tricksters have the most burst damage of all Mirandas with their shot+warp combo, after which they can just turn around and warp again or spam you to death. Laser Mirandas aren't quite as deadly, so you may still choose to take them on in close combat, and if they're smoking black they're easy kills. Laser isn't going to kill you that fast. Lasers can also be juked, and if you neglected my advice and picked Flexible Wings, you can run around in circles and it will never hit you.

What you will want to do is, again, to meet them in mid-range and make absolutely sure they are EMP'd. EMP stops afterburning, and thus a good portion of their damage(from warp). From there on, try to anticipate their turns and shoot towards their future locations. A lot of Mirandas like to think they can just turn around endlessly and escape loopies that way(and sure enough, a lot of them can), so that is something you need to keep in mind. Basically, Mirandas are one of the most lethal planes in close combat for Loopy, even when EMP'd. Get them low from long-mid range however, and the kill is yours. If you're acid, you no longer have EMP, so you'll now need to go into close combat - but around obstacles. Keep acid clouds up around the corners, and the Miranda will eventually get tired and go off to greener pastures, or you'll get a kill.

vs Bomber
- Well, this is ridiculously hard. Bomber does obscene damage, and against us fragile(but strong-minded!) beings, it hurts like hell. You basically MUST attack these things from the top or at an angle, or you'll be decimated in seconds. Look out for both tail-gun and tail-cannon, as they also do enough damage to kill you in a few seconds. If you're playing against a dumb-bombs bomber, just stay at mid-long range and juke his bombs until you get an EMP hit, then move in from behind/top and finish. Otherwise, you're really in for it. This is the cat-and-mouse match-up of Altitude, as you can only do a few hits at any one time before running off to safety. It'll take you longer than usual, but this way you'll win a 1v1 against a bomber. Also, make sure you keep your angles good in these strafe runs. If you come at a bad angle and the bomber gets even one hit, you just lost your advantage(and maybe you get tilted too.. I know I do).

vs Biplane
- Ah, finally a match-up that isn't so hard. Your job here is to survive until you get an EMP hit, at which point you finish. The catch is, again, that any biplane can kill you in a second flat. What I recommend doing is sending an EMP past an obstacle, and then coming around the obstacle the other way to finish or another EMP attempt. You need to play sneaky until you get that EMP hit.

EMP'd biplanes are cannon fodder and I'm sure my aged(well, actually, she's dead now) grandma could kill them, which is why you'll hear a lot of whine on EMP being overpowered. The only thing you need to watch out for is biplanes that "give up", and turn themselves into a stall, killing you on their way down. Just run away if you see this.

vs Explodet
A fairly hard match-up against a good Explodet user, though it varies strongly depending on which perks he uses. However, all Explodets do good damage, and if you're not using Heavy Armor, their rocket+mine combo will kill you, even if they don't hit 100%. If you're fighting a thermo user, that is the only time you should be flying slowly, so as to better control your plane. It is better to give up speed than crashing into walls, after all. VS Remote Mine users, you need to be especially careful with their speed/angle, so you don't end up behind them - something they will try very hard to make happen. If you're a demo-user and you're playing vs Remote Mine, you can be sure he hates you - and he'll try his best to slam you full-speed into a wall, so look out for that. "Very well, eth", you say, "but how do I kill these bastards?" At this point I honestly feel like I'm repeating myself, but: long-mid range, get that EMP in, and fight from the side. Also, in this match-up you need to control yourself very well - don't get greedy. If you can't finish him off in your first pass, chances are you'll have to wait a while for the next chance, so do that. Do not chase an Explodet unless he is extremely low on health. If he's extremely low on health and a Remote user, run away - you'll be killed with him at best.

Damage control is another important aspect of fighting Explodets - be aware of your surroundings and make sure there is room enough to get slammed around a bit. Flying up into an Explodet while putting a wall in your back is the worst thing you can do.


vs Loopy
What, you want to kill Loopies? What the hell. Ok, so I guess it's understandable, what with all the Loopies out there and all. Anyway, this fight can be reduced to a watered-down version of the biplane, except instead of killing you fast, he has EMP. The first player who gets an EMP hit wins, simple as that. You can use obstacles and juking to some degree, but all things considered you have a snowballs chance in hell of living once you're EMP'd. What I'm trying to say is: Loopy vs Loopy, the better player will win, 90% of the time.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/maps.png

So, you've read this far, something I admittedly expected since my Guide is so good(notice the capitalized G). I'm going to finish off with a few screenshots of map routes for strafing runs, and then I'll leave you, confident that some player, somewhere out there, got somewhat better.

Edit: links here.. sadly I can't have more than 4 images in one post.
Mayhem (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/mayhem.jpg)
The Core (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/core.jpg)
Middelground (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/middleground.jpg)
Woods (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/woods.jpg)

Notes
- Pictures stolen from Mikesols gallery (http://mikesol.com/altitude/main.php), all credit to him :) Text and mutilation done by yours truly.
- I tried to use nice and friendly letters in the pictures, and I hope I succeeded.
- The stars on The Core picture are notes to mark ****ty entrance routes. Basically though, any opening where spam is abundant is a bad spot to be in(REALLY?).
- Holy **** this got long. I'd be impressed if anyone even reads all of it, lol. I have to admit I enjoy writing my thoughts about Altitude stuff though :[

[Kuja900]

Eth we pay you to blow up planes not write novels, you will not recieve overtime for this which is clearly the only reason you doing this. I mean "helping people get better at loopy" psh what a load, great work though.

[protest boy]

Nice work. You going to add all that to the wiki?

http://wiki.altitudegame.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

[CCN]

ur wrong in league play

[gameguard]

i actually went back to tracker. You can spam emp more iwth this. The tracking helps out in hitting planes that use evasive maneuvers. It also lets you do more fancy flying while still getting missles to hit them.

[Kuja900]

I have to agree I think you downplayed tracker a little to much.

[innerlyte]

A few more players have been going with acid lately (eg, Caped, Wolfe), although it still remains relatively unpopular. When used effectively, it can be pretty OP. Definitely underrated though. Even if you don't get the kill, the armor reduction from an acid shot helps your team finish off opponents quickly. Sure, you get a lot of kill steals and assists, but it actually makes for a decent team player when making pushes in map control and bomb runs.

Nice write-up though. Definitely add it to the wiki somewhere -- maybe under a new category like "Strategy Guides" or "Player Articles."

[Triped]

Nice piece of work. I think wall's a fine powerup for close dogfighting. EMP + wall really constrains opponents.

Edit: but I guess your point is I shouldn't be close fighting so NEVER MIND.

[[FN]MONXY FIST]

EMP is overpowered.

[DiogenesDog]

nice guide.

one small thing to add: lately I've been enjoying a setup with acid / heal / turbocharger where I'm basically just a harass / support plane. it works really well if you're careful and you care more about winning than racking up a nice ratio.

[Kuja900]

Makes me want to write a guide lol, im tempted.

[TheCapedAvenger]

Note that acid loopy is currently being used by the upper echelon of professional players.

[eth]

Thanks for the kind comments laddies. My thoughts:

I agree I was pretty harsh on tracker and I'll stand by that for now I think - I find the cons of DF to be a lot easier to deal with than the cons of tracker, and the insane DPS of DF is just too good to pass up. Also, you can fly around like a headless chicken and the missiles that do hit, will amount to about the same dps as tracker anyways. DF or acid is the way to go, IMO.

Dunno if I'll be putting this on the wiki.. it's not written very wiki'ish :( If Karl/Lam would want it there I'd put it there for sure but kinda doubt that.

Definitely agree with you Dio, that's both a good and viable build - I'll add it to the guide!

[as red as black]

how will this affect the sales of Caped's Pro Manual???

Also, Monxy just bitches cuz I whipped him with double shot today :)

[Blank]

1- press F toward choke point
2- slow down
3- ????
4- Profit

bonus points for killing a "paid user".

[[FN]MONXY FIST]

how will this affect the sales of Caped's Pro Manual???

Also, Monxy just bitches cuz I whipped him with double shot today :)

I was to busy making fun of IT to pay attention to you, that is why you even managed to hit me and why i didn't kill you 100 times.

[innerlyte]

It may not be very wiki-ish, but there are strategy sections in the wiki that cover similar material. If it stays on the forums, there's a better chance that it will get buried, but if you make some kind of new section on the wiki, it may prove more useful. I agree that it depends on what lam and karl want there, but it would be a shame for all this work to go largely unnoticed (not that the wiki garners much attention..)! Just my two cents :D

[ZidaneTribal]

tracker is better except vs a fat team(lots of bomber/explodet)

[DubyaCapumWolfeGee]

Note that acid loopy is currently being used by the upper echelon of professional players.

Acid is only for the best ^^

[tyr]

Epicly awesome work eth.
I don't have enough time to read everything right now but it certainly looks very nice and since I'm not a pro loopy player, I might learn a thing or two.
I will certainly read this a bit later. :D

[as red as black]

We need a bunch of these guides in the website:

G-Spot: The Complete Guide To The 5 Planes of Altitude

[Kuja900]

I may do one for bomber, explo or biplane not decided yet.

[tyr]

I may do one for bomber, explo or biplane not decided yet.

Lol but you're bad, the guide would be bad too.

[Kuja900]

Lol but you're bad, the guide would be bad too.

Oh gee who wonder that Altitude Summer League thingy again hmmm cant remember :(, care to refresh my memory?

[ryebone]

The most important thing I learned was that you eat babies. I'm calling child services.

[tyr]

Oh gee who wonder that Altitude Summer League thingy again hmmm cant remember :(, care to refresh my memory?

You mean who won summer league ?
ACE of course
who else could lol

[[FN]MONXY FIST]

kuja do one for biplane, the other planes are just gay.

[tyr]

MONXY FIST;11526']kuja do one for biplane, the other planes are just gay.

I don't think i've ever saw Kuja use biplane.

[[FN]MONXY FIST]

i know, but the guide will be good laughs.

[Kuja900]

I don't think i've ever saw Kuja use biplane.

You silly silly frenchmen

[Drunksyco]

MONXY FIST;11526']kuja do one for biplane, the other planes are just gay.

Dont listen to Monxy, he is a horrible, horrible person. He eats baby kitties for breakfast.

[Kuja900]

Dont listen to Monxy, he is a horrible, horrible person. He eats baby kitties for breakfast.

I eat tigers for breakfast.

[ZidaneTribal]

kuja should write a guide on how to pretend to be a girl on the internet instead

[lamster]

Great work! This is an awesome guide. We will definitely link it from the wiki, if not republish it in its entirety when we revamp the website. While this guide will definitely help players to improve their Loopy game, it also serves as a useful "proof of depth" for prospective players. A lot of new people see the website, click a screenshot or two, and assume the game lacks sufficient depth to hold their interest. If such a user happens across a thoughtful, intricate guide like this, any such notions are quickly dispelled. I'd like to see more guides of this caliber!

[Beagle]

>Loopy Guide
>SPAM NOT INCLUDED

This is where I realised your guide was bad

BUUUUT seriously, great job. Although I find it funny that Biplane is listed as an 'easy' matchup even though cute little 2-shottable Loopies are my main food source O.o

Oh, and I might steal your excellent format and write a Rev guide, although that means more people would be revving making the existing ones seem less cool :\

[Esoteric]

Read it all, many thanks for the effort of writing it.

Perhaps now, armed with this new knowledge, my Loopy won't be quite as mediocre.

Wondering if you could write a blurb on what to do against a 4-plane offense blob or 5 plane defense. Do you always go for the flank? Do you go for an early emp or acid if it would mean you die or would you instead try to find a position you can shoot safely from.

[Fatknacker]

Excellent guide, thankyou eth it was a very informative read

[Rechtschaffen]

I eat tigers for breakfast.

I eat breakfast with tigers.

[Drunksyco]

I eat breakfast with tigers.


:eek: But what do you eat for breakfast?

[eth]

Ty for the kind comments ^_^

1. I agree monxy blows. HARD.
2. HI BEAGLE. Didnt mean to say biplane was easy - no matchup really is, but I find well played bombers/explodets a LOT harder to deal with. Loopies are my main source of kills too, but I guess its that way for everybody since 90% of players ingame are demo-users :P
3. Sure Eso, I'll update and write my thoughts about that! It'll have to wait until tomorrow though.. my lazy ass just got hold of Metroid Prime 3 for Wii and I. MUST. PLAY.

[lammyboi2104]

lol...i bet u copied and pasted from another web

[[FN]MONXY FIST]

Ty for the kind comments ^_^

1. I agree monxy blows. HARD.
2. HI BEAGLE. Didnt mean to say biplane was easy - no matchup really is, but I find well played bombers/explodets a LOT harder to deal with. Loopies are my main source of kills too, but I guess its that way for everybody since 90% of players ingame are demo-users :P
3. Sure Eso, I'll update and write my thoughts about that! It'll have to wait until tomorrow though.. my lazy ass just got hold of Metroid Prime 3 for Wii and I. MUST. PLAY.


Im done praying for you :(

[Musicfreak777]

yea thx eth it really helps.

[eth]

lol...i bet u copied and pasted from another web

****!

Monxy, I jest! You are my favorite little cuddly-cake, my best raisin-dumpling and my loveliest rose. Please pray for me again :(

[[FN]MONXY FIST]

****!

Monxy, I jest! You are my favorite little cuddly-cake, my best raisin-dumpling and my loveliest rose. Please pray for me again :(

Eth, ill think about it but you really hurt my feelings :(

[Vi*]

Very nice guide. I read most of it.
Would be nice to see more guides, all organized somewhere. Would also be nice to see more screenshots and diagrams. Pretty pictures help keep readers' attention.

Makes me wanna play some loopy!

[Kuja900]

Ight im probably going to write a guide in similar fashion tonight or tomorrow. What plane do you all want out of bomber/explo/biplane? Or any other suggestions for guide theme?

[Stormich]

Great guide eth, really nice read, all though most of the people playing a bit longer know this. btw you just made those demo ****ers even better if they read this :D and yeah, tracker is underpowered in your guide, tracker is weaker at DPS but it uses less energy and you usually have a has a steady stream of missiles that just make people want to break something :D

Kuja write how to lag win at heavy armor explo :D

[Carbon]

I'm working on an explodet guide, if any other prosplodets wanna co-write it PM me

[Kuja900]

I'm working on an explodet guide, if any other prosplodets wanna co-write it PM me

Fwah thats what I was going to do, guess il try and do bomber.

[nesnl]

Fwah thats what I was going to do, guess il try and do bomber.

Point at choke, press f, repeat.

I guess you will have to pick a different plane again since I just finished the bomber one.

[DiogenesDog]

when did maimer take over ferret's designated forum elitist role? :(

[as red as black]

when did maimer take over ferret's designated forum elitist role? :(

ferret is really just Maimer's troll account. He must be too lazy to switch back and forth.

[kirbmasta]

Good job! hopefully this will add to my loopy game, which has been lacking lately

[Beagle]

The new Explodet guide reminded me this one isn't stickied or anything and is languishing in the past, which is a crime. Bumped.

[Carbon]

The new Explodet guide reminded me this one isn't stickied or anything and is languishing in the past, which is a crime. Bumped.

I wanted to use this as reference when I was writing my guide and had to go to page 3 to find it :( All these new clans starting threads means that helpful threads like these get lost in time.

Maybe we can get a "Strategy" subforum where people can post guides and talk about strategies or whatever. Or the guides could get stickied

[wolf'j'max]

gj it became sticky

[thatdarnedbob]

To anyone with doubts about this guide's accuracy, let me give my testimonial. Before this guide, I was averaging about a 1.4 ratio on loopy, in the top half of the rankings on most servers, and in the clan JC. Afterwards, I've been sporting a 2.0 ratio, at or just below the top in most games, and was invited to join fLb$. So the man has some good advice!

[M. Jackson]

I might have to try some changes!
I have always used double fire, repair drone and turbo charger and i think its a good combo because if you get into difficulty you can get away and with the faster speed of your energy regeneration your health will come back quicker!
seems to have been working better for me as i have been improving but ill try your advice on the heavy armour and see how it goes!

[WillowEsp1]

Gosh very interesting ill use the gide.

[Godspeed]

Evidently, you arent very good at the loopy.
Tracking is much better than df with the emp.


Btw, loopy is best for 1 on 1 except against bombers.
Other than that, great guide :)

[DMCM]

Great guide.

Just wanna comment on one thing


Loopy may not be a good bomb runner, but it's amazing as a wingman. All you have to do is follow the bomb runner from a safe distance (By safe distance I mean away from enemy fire, but close enough to avoid the bomb getting defused) and when the bomb runner is about to die, afterburn, catch it and throw. I have bombed like that thousands of times.

[eth]

Thanks!

I think I did write that though :P

[WO_OD]

helped me alot thx eth!!!!!!!

[GoldenBoy]

Nice job ETH and WO_OD i think that guide helped me thx :D!

[nigglebiggle]

Eth we pay you to blow up planes not write novels, you will not recieve overtime for this which is clearly the only reason you doing this. I mean "helping people get better at loopy" psh what a load, great work though.

?????? People get paid to play altitude

[Kuja900]

?????? People get paid to play altitude

Well some of us do, thecapedavenger still makes more than me for some reason :(.

[Beagle]

???? people get paid to ****post?

[Jacques Strap]

The loopy isn't always a bad bomb runner. With flexible wings, the loopy can hit the base from very far away. I once hit the base on lostcity from the middle of the map while using a flexible wings loopy.

[GGQ]

The loopy isn't always a bad bomb runner. With flexible wings, the loopy can hit the base from very far away. I once hit the base on lostcity from the middle of the map while using a flexible wings loopy.

There was no one on the other team?

[Jacques Strap]

There were 7 people on the other team, but I got lucky and nobody was near the base to block my bomb.

[OjM]

Well some of us do, thecapedavenger still makes more than me for some reason :(.

How does one get paid? Did someone come and say "Psst guy, if you play with our keyboard and say it every now and then, you'll get paid" or something?

[WillowEsp1]

Thank you eth.This has helped me a lot on Alty. :)

[Tosconi]

just wanted to mention something - if heavy armor is good for the loopy in the tbd and other multiple player modes....Flexi wings is imho the most powerfull perk for the duel mode, because it let's you easily outfight the opponent, who doesn't use this perk, simply because your turn rate is considerably higher - and thus you have a higher chance to emp the opponent first.

[eth]

just wanted to mention something - if heavy armor is good for the loopy in the tbd and other multiple player modes....Flexi wings is imho the most powerfull perk for the duel mode, because it let's you easily outfight the opponent, who doesn't use this perk, simply because your turn rate is considerably higher - and thus you have a higher chance to emp the opponent first.

Ya Flexible/Reverse is most likely the best setup for dueling Loopies.. I don't think it's that cool for any other matchup though. I haven't really dueled all that much, but I'll try to remember adding in a bit more on that as I get more experience.

[AlterMX]

Flexi wings is imho the most powerfull perk for the duel mode, because it let's you easily outfight the opponent, who doesn't use this perk, simply because your turn rate is considerably higher - and thus you have a higher chance to emp the opponent first.

Hi Tosconi,

You are already aware the impact Flexi has from our practises but do realise that it really isn't the most powerful perk - it is merely a whole different playing style. I exposed you to some of its tricks but I was pleasantly surprised from a practise duel round with Luke just how well loopy repair-drone can be played.

Ya Flexible/Reverse is most likely the best setup for dueling Loopies.. I don't think it's that cool for any other matchup though.
eth,

As per above, flexi is ultimately a different playing style. My flexi can't withstand the punishment as a heavy would but I can easily rack up far more kills whilst being as cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University.

There's a whole arena of flexi-action which I plan on detailing after the loopy tournament has finished.

Regards,
Alter

[Tosconi]

well it is definitely a different playing style. Tbh, after the whole duel things gets to its end, I'm pretty sure, I'll come back to heavy armor.

repare drone in tdb, well really don't know. In a normal match - you either get killed right away (like when explodet crushes you into a wall), or you take the health after killing someone (because the heavy armor was on).

still I actually feel myself quite comfortable without the HA, since I enjoyed the demo for a pretty long time in the past and got used to not having any special perks.

[Herodadotus]

well it is definitely a different playing style. Tbh, after the whole duel things gets to its end, I'm pretty sure, I'll come back to heavy armor.

repare drone in tdb, well really don't know. In a normal match - you either get killed right away (like when explodet crushes you into a wall), or you take the health after killing someone (because the heavy armor was on).

still I actually feel myself quite comfortable without the HA, since I enjoyed the demo for a pretty long time in the past and got used to not having any special perks.

My thoughts exactly.

I play flexible wings with an acid loopy in TBD, and it works pretty good on the defensive side of the game, surprisingly enough.

[A doughnut]

jesus christ this guide is huge!

btw, when i play loopy i play df loopy with repair and when i want spam i play ultracapacitator.

[tgleaf]

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1348/acidmed1.jpg
Mini guide to Acid Loopy

1. In addition to damaging other planes, acid weakens their armor for a short time. This means that your shots and your teammates' shots become more effective. Hence the relatively high number of assists that acid loopies get. Acid is also helpful for killing planes that escape from you because of obstacles or maneuverability. If they are not at full strength when hit with acid, they may escape you and still die.

2. Use acid on clumps of planes, as it will affect each enemy plane equally.

3. Shoot acid into empty spaces before planes arrive there. This can be useful for controlling choke points, but also at ball spawn moments when enemy planes are heading for the ball. I also shoot acid into the goal or goal area when shooting from a distance in case an enemy plane catches my shot.

4. Use acid to defeat trailing planes. Shoot acid ahead of you while being followed. The trailing plane(s) will go through it and get damaged and weakened.

5. Use acid to defeat shields. Yep, this is possible. There are two ways to do it. You can get behind the shielded plane and shoot them with acid, of course. The second way is to shoot acid against a wall/obstacle right before the shielded plane goes past it. You can combine this with #4 above to damage and weaken a shielded plane that is trailing you.

6. Use acid as a death maneuver. If you are smoking and about to die, shoot acid at another plane or into an empty space where enemies are heading.

Versus specific planes: Against explodets, acid can weaken them enough for you to kill them with normal shots, or for nearby teammates to kill them when weakened. Be aware that repair explodets may recover before you can kill them. Against time-anchor mirandas, shoot acid into the space where they last were. When they try to anchor back, they will run into the acid and get damaged/weakened.

[beast...]

why no spamming :P

[tgleaf]

Are you talking about spamming acid? Yes, spamming can be effective at damaging multiple planes flying through areas of the map, but if you're spamming acid, you're (a) going to run out of energy for those crucial times you really need the acid (e.g. when the ball carrier passes near), and (b) you're not controlling the map at choke points or clearing the enemy goal area (two great uses for acid). Also, I didn't mention this in the guide but acid can be useful for taking out potential pass receivers or potential loose bomb grabbers (e.g. a loopy/biplane trailing a bomb-carrying miranda).

So spamming isn't really effective as an acid loopy, but I definitely do spam it from time to time (usually the only reason for this is if my team has mostly died and I need to buy time by threatening the other team with acid splashes. A timely shot of acid can sometimes scare a plane away from an area even if it doesn't hit the plane.

[Pieface]

Great guide, moving this to the completed section! The only thing I went ahead and changed (since eth isn't active anymore) is the fact that the Loopy is the second most fragile plane, not the first.

[Stormich]

I think this was meant more as randa has 180 and anchor not HP wise

[vtec500]

I just bought the game, so thank you eth for the loopy guide. It's helping me quite a lot. Nice name btw;)

[ufo]

do u go to virginia tech, mr vtec500?

[Evan20000]

I thought his name referred to a brand of children's phonics education devices. >.>

[ufo]

hooked on monkey phonics?

[Hwo Dragon]

Awesome guide, very helpful, but you downplayed a couple of the stats. For example, on TD my winning combo is DF+Repair Drone +Turbo Charger, this way, If I get shot up, I can quickly escape, and quickly heal and recharge to get back in the action.On TBD it's your suggested loadout, because I can EMP turrets and cream em with rockets. It's all a matter of opinion, I guess.

[Ribilla]

How long have you played? In the competitive scene almost no one uses repair over HA.

[silent skies]

I enjoy Acid+Flexi+Turbo in 1DM games. If you get used to the ludicrously fast turning rate, you'll find yourself outmaneuvering multiple opponents at once, and using the acid in a scorched-earth spamming fashion can be quite effective in this mode.

[Lombard]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/1v1.png
Ok, the time has come for us to look at how to beat the other planes. Every. Single. One. For these tips, I'm assuming players of equal and decent skill. Anyone can beat a newbie, right? Also, you can get easy kills with spam. I'm assuming you're playing against someone who knows to position himself well enough to avoid that(or maybe it's on the 1v1 server). Anyway, let's get to it!


vs Miranda
- This is either the easiest or the most difficult match-up. Mirandas have oh-so-little health, so a couple of quick rounds will easily finish them off. If you're an acid player, the acid alone takes around 50% health off the Miranda, and with armor reduced, you don't need a lot of rockets to finish the job. The catch is, of course, that Miranda is capable of killing Loopy in less than half a second. Let's tackle the match-up with DF first, as it is the hardest. The moment you see a Miranda you need to make a choice, either you run away or you take him on. If the Miranda is close to you and he is trickster, you need to run away, even if he's smoking black. Tricksters have the most burst damage of all Mirandas with their shot+warp combo, after which they can just turn around and warp again or spam you to death. Laser Mirandas aren't quite as deadly, so you may still choose to take them on in close combat, and if they're smoking black they're easy kills. Laser isn't going to kill you that fast. Lasers can also be juked, and if you neglected my advice and picked Flexible Wings, you can run around in circles and it will never hit you.

What you will want to do is, again, to meet them in mid-range and make absolutely sure they are EMP'd. EMP stops afterburning, and thus a good portion of their damage(from warp). From there on, try to anticipate their turns and shoot towards their future locations. A lot of Mirandas like to think they can just turn around endlessly and escape loopies that way(and sure enough, a lot of them can), so that is something you need to keep in mind. Basically, Mirandas are one of the most lethal planes in close combat for Loopy, even when EMP'd. Get them low from long-mid range however, and the kill is yours. If you're acid, you no longer have EMP, so you'll now need to go into close combat - but around obstacles. Keep acid clouds up around the corners, and the Miranda will eventually get tired and go off to greener pastures, or you'll get a kill.

vs Bomber
- Well, this is ridiculously hard. Bomber does obscene damage, and against us fragile(but strong-minded!) beings, it hurts like hell. You basically MUST attack these things from the top or at an angle, or you'll be decimated in seconds. Look out for both tail-gun and tail-cannon, as they also do enough damage to kill you in a few seconds. If you're playing against a dumb-bombs bomber, just stay at mid-long range and juke his bombs until you get an EMP hit, then move in from behind/top and finish. Otherwise, you're really in for it. This is the cat-and-mouse match-up of Altitude, as you can only do a few hits at any one time before running off to safety. It'll take you longer than usual, but this way you'll win a 1v1 against a bomber. Also, make sure you keep your angles good in these strafe runs. If you come at a bad angle and the bomber gets even one hit, you just lost your advantage(and maybe you get tilted too.. I know I do).

vs Biplane
- Ah, finally a match-up that isn't so hard. Your job here is to survive until you get an EMP hit, at which point you finish. The catch is, again, that any biplane can kill you in a second flat. What I recommend doing is sending an EMP past an obstacle, and then coming around the obstacle the other way to finish or another EMP attempt. You need to play sneaky until you get that EMP hit.

EMP'd biplanes are cannon fodder and I'm sure my aged(well, actually, she's dead now) grandma could kill them, which is why you'll hear a lot of whine on EMP being overpowered. The only thing you need to watch out for is biplanes that "give up", and turn themselves into a stall, killing you on their way down. Just run away if you see this.

vs Explodet
A fairly hard match-up against a good Explodet user, though it varies strongly depending on which perks he uses. However, all Explodets do good damage, and if you're not using Heavy Armor, their rocket+mine combo will kill you, even if they don't hit 100%. If you're fighting a thermo user, that is the only time you should be flying slowly, so as to better control your plane. It is better to give up speed than crashing into walls, after all. VS Remote Mine users, you need to be especially careful with their speed/angle, so you don't end up behind them - something they will try very hard to make happen. If you're a demo-user and you're playing vs Remote Mine, you can be sure he hates you - and he'll try his best to slam you full-speed into a wall, so look out for that. "Very well, eth", you say, "but how do I kill these bastards?" At this point I honestly feel like I'm repeating myself, but: long-mid range, get that EMP in, and fight from the side. Also, in this match-up you need to control yourself very well - don't get greedy. If you can't finish him off in your first pass, chances are you'll have to wait a while for the next chance, so do that. Do not chase an Explodet unless he is extremely low on health. If he's extremely low on health and a Remote user, run away - you'll be killed with him at best.

Damage control is another important aspect of fighting Explodets - be aware of your surroundings and make sure there is room enough to get slammed around a bit. Flying up into an Explodet while putting a wall in your back is the worst thing you can do.


vs Loopy
What, you want to kill Loopies? What the hell. Ok, so I guess it's understandable, what with all the Loopies out there and all. Anyway, this fight can be reduced to a watered-down version of the biplane, except instead of killing you fast, he has EMP. The first player who gets an EMP hit wins, simple as that. You can use obstacles and juking to some degree, but all things considered you have a snowballs chance in hell of living once you're EMP'd. What I'm trying to say is: Loopy vs Loopy, the better player will win, 90% of the time.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/maps.png

So, you've read this far, something I admittedly expected since my Guide is so good(notice the capitalized G). I'm going to finish off with a few screenshots of map routes for strafing runs, and then I'll leave you, confident that some player, somewhere out there, got somewhat better.

Edit: links here.. sadly I can't have more than 4 images in one post.
Mayhem (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/mayhem.jpg)
The Core (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/core.jpg)
Middelground (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/middleground.jpg)
Woods (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Merakhan/woods.jpg)

Notes
- Pictures stolen from Mikesols gallery (http://mikesol.com/altitude/main.php), all credit to him :) Text and mutilation done by yours truly.
- I tried to use nice and friendly letters in the pictures, and I hope I succeeded.
- The stars on The Core picture are notes to mark ****ty entrance routes. Basically though, any opening where spam is abundant is a bad spot to be in(REALLY?).
- Holy **** this got long. I'd be impressed if anyone even reads all of it, lol. I have to admit I enjoy writing my thoughts about Altitude stuff though :[

nice!!
this helped me alot

[ufo]

miss eth <33

[classicallad]

Still dont get how emp has a larger range than acid, id like to see acids range buffed to encourage more people to take it seriosly.