Loopy

Overview

Health :
Speed :
Agility :

The Loopy is the fastest and most agile plane in the game, but at the cost of very low health. The primary weapon for all three red perks is the tracking missile, unique to the Loopy. The combination of speed and missile spam makes this plane a good opportunist; able to quickly enter combat with an enemy and leave just as fast if the situation turns for the worse.

Unlocked at: Level 1

Primary Weapon: Single-Fire or Double-Fire Tracking Missiles

Secondary Weapon:

• EMP - an AoE (Area of Effect) grenade that detonates on contact or at its maximum range. Any planes caught in the EMP blast lose 33% of their stored energy, incur a turning penalty, and lose the ability to activate their afterburner for a few seconds.

• Acid Bomb - an alternative AoE grenade that detonates on contact or at its maximum range. On detonation an acid cloud is created, initiating a 3 second DoT (Damage over Time) effect along with a 33% damage amplification effect from any additional team fire for any enemy plane who flies through it.

Stats: Loopy

Game Mode Strategies

TBD

Use the Loopy's speed as an advantage to make hit and run kills. In TBD, concentrate on single, high priority targets such as Explodets and Bombers defending or bomb runners making a break. Approach from unexpected angles while sending out preemptive EMPs. Coupled with the Loopy's high missile DPS, no target in its sights should be left flying (provided the target does not have backup and aim is taken into consideration). When facing grouped up enemies, take advantage of the EMP's area of effect, deal as much damage as possible, and run. Don't get greedy- back off if the fight is hopeless. A smoking plane is still more useful than a dead one.

When it comes to bomb running, Loopys have the best natural lobbing capability (using the plane's momentum to throw bombs). As they are the fastest, their speed advantage is transferred to the bomb, allowing the Loopy to lob the bomb for great distances. The most efficient lob technique is to fly at maximum speed, turn up, and release the bomb so that it flies in an arc. Note: when a team is pushing with a bomb runner, it is usually not a good idea to lob from far away.

Defending - The Loopy is not a defensive plane, but these strategies can be used effectively in dire situations:

• Always cover the base while spamming missiles + EMP/Acid at the bomb runner.
• Try and scare the enemy bomb runner into delaying the attack- those few seconds can give backup a chance to spawn.
• Weaken the runner little by little until they are forced to drop the bomb. Never rush an enemy runner if its 1v1 this will give him/her the opportunity at a clear base hit. Slowly weaken the bomb runner until they are forced to drop the bomb. Rushing into them could cause the unwanted effect of running through the bomb runner and allowing them a clear drop.
• If there is more then enemies then just a runner try and stay strong and don't focus all your energy into just the runner or his assisting teammate will have a clear chance to kill you. Spam your fire at both planes while covering the base. If there are more planes than just the bomb runner on the attack (which is generally the case), attempt to focus ammunition into multiple planes rather than 'singling out' one of them.

Further Reading: Eth's Complete Loopy Guide

BALL

The most common plane used in ball is often the Loopy. Its amazing speed combined with its quick agility makes this plane a great hazard once it's in possession of the ball. The majority of Altitude BALL players will use EMP because it disables the enemy's engine, causing it to be nearly useless. In BALL if you choose to play as a Loopy, your best strategic options are to EMP/Acid the enemies as much as possible. You should also always know where the ball is and be ready to take it and run to the enemy goal as soon as possible. Loopy players will often score because their speed will allow them to intercept the ball and go for a quick counter before the enemy planes even have time to turn around. Furthermore, once you have a great understanding of plane movement you should always keep your eyes open in any ball map to see when a player might pass the ball. Gaining this knowledge will open new doors for your loopy's ability to score goals in quick counters. The Loopy wont often need to be the plane relied on to defend, but as the quickest plane you should be all over the map using your EMP/Acid to help your team get kills as much as possible and not just fully concentrate on scoring goals. One good thing to do is to spam your missiles along with an EMP towards where the ball is. Many BALL maps have these choke points where you will want to spam enemy planes, which in most cases will give you and your teammates kills, alloying ball movement and scoring. Remember this is a 6v6 mode and team play is the most important part of it. Passing is also a very useful commodity in BALL so whenever you see and open player in-front of you always, highly consider passing.

FFA

The key to success in Free-For-Alls is quick kills and kill stealing. Look for a plane flying alone, EMP to cripple the enemy's ability to fight or run, missile spam for the kill, and get out of there before other people come. If you see someone chasing someone else who is trailing smoke, kill the smoking plane for the kill steal and either run away or engage the other plane depending on your positioning and available energy. Only use up all of your energy bar when you're sure you can get the kill. Otherwise, you'll fall victim to kill stealing. In case of being surrounded by many planes, spam your missiles and EMP while circling and keeping your distance, hurting all the planes in the struggle until the moment is perfect to go all-out and achieve as many kills you can get.

1DM

Mirandas dominate 1DM games, but only because few loopy players dare to challenge them. Loopy's EMP in 1DM is the perfect counter to Mirandas in this game mode, because an EMP'd Miranda is basically stalled out, unable to warp away, leaving them sitting ducks to your missile barrage. The only critical downside here is the health factor. Often times health packs aren't that abundant on some maps, which makes repair drone a must, but by using repair drone as a loopy, you make yourself vulnerable to instant death from Miranda's shot+warp combo or mines/rockets from Explodets. If you chose repair drone, keep an eye on Mirandas, and make sure to stay a least a warp's length away until you can get an EMP off on them. Just like in BALL mode, you will want to spam areas where the enemy might be, this way you can get lucky with a few kills here and there. Do not forget to hit your EMP button since it will help everyone on your team including you, win any round. Heavy armor plays more or less the same way, but you can usually risk getting closer. The key is the EMP.

Tips

• An EMP turrets to temporarily disable them. This makes it easier to clear turrets and could save your smoking bomb runner's life.

• Loopies without heavy armor equipped can be killed by two Heavy Cannon shots or Miranda's shot+warp combo. Loopy's low health makes it a good idea all around to use heavy armor.

• Loopy's Acid bomb will remain in the air for about 4 seconds. Use it to control choke points and weaken enemies that clump up.

• A single Acid cloud can only trigger against a given plane once. IE, if an enemy is in the cloud when it begins, leaves the cloud and re-enters the cloud before it disappears, the ememy's poison dot will not refresh. If that enemy runs into a different poison cloud while already poisoned, the poison dot will refresh.<ref>http://altitudegame.com/forums/showthread.php?p=143101#post143101</ref>

Screenshots

Bombing the base in TBD.

Scoring a goal in BALL.

Hitting an enemy with an Acid Bomb.

Planting a Demolition Charge in 1DE.

References

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