So you want to be a pilot.

You're in the right place. This guide serves to teach you how to be a successful pilot. It will look at the basics of actually flying the ship, and go in depth on pilot communication and crew logistics, so that you aren't letting your team down at the helm.

1. Thou Shalt Always Captain Thy Ship,
   
   
2. Thou shalt communicate through Voice chat. Always,
   
   
3. Thou shalt respect thy crew, they too are people, much like you,
   
   
4. Thou shalt never rage at thy crew,
   
   
5. Thou shalt maintain dialogue with all friendly captains.

In general, piloting can be seen in 3 different ways:
A pilot in the Lobby.
A pilot in-game.
Crew management as a pilot.

Many players will refer to this game as Lobbies of Icarus Online. While funny, it's also true.

Games can be won or lost in lobbies by captains and pilots who remain attentive.(I have made this part with public matches in mind, some of these may not apply if you're playing competitive with a preselected crew).

The first thing to see when you enter a lobby is your crew(I'm assuming that as pilot you will also be captain.)
The main thing to make sure is that you have at least 2 engineers and one gunner. You may have 3 engineers, but from my experience more than 2 gunners is detrimental.

Once that is in order, we can move on to the rest of the lobby. A very basic thing to do, that everyone, not just pilots should do is check the enemy ship's load out. By knowing what ship they have, and what it's equipped with, you can start to figure out rudimentary to employ while waiting. Use this info as the captain to suggest load outs to your crew and pick an appropriate ship.(eg. If the enemy have many fire-based weapons, suggest chem spray to a crew member.)

This Brings us to Probably the most interesting and important part of Lobbies of Icarus Online: The Ships.
Selecting the ship and it's weapons is a ritual in mindfulness. There are 3 things you need to think about when picking the ship: The map, your opponents' ships, and your teammates' ships.

In Crazy King/King of the Hill you will be doing a lot of moving from objective to objective, so make sure that there is a fast ship in your team.(such as squid/goldfish/pyramidion) Additionally, make sure you also have damage soaking(tanking) ships on your teams. A good balance is paramount.

Here's a loadout that should work:
1x Squid - fast ship for capping quickly
1x pyramidion/junker/mobula - arrives at point next and tanks
2x spire/goldfish/Galleon - for longer range support/damage dealing

Deathmatch is more versatile, with matches ranging from 2v2 to 4v4. So a good general rule to follow once again is team balance. A good general strategy is to have both support/distraction ships, and damage dealing ships who can get Kills. If you have good distraction ships(Galleon/Goldfish) then the damage dealing ships(spire/mobula) can focus on dealing damage with more of the crew members.

Lastly, look at what map you're playing on: Open maps like dunes, firnfield and water hazard allow for larger ships to move more freely, while providing smaller ships less cover. Tighter maps like Labyrinth and Canyon are harder to move around with larger ships so make sure you are familiar with the handling of each ship when choosing which one to fly.

For Example:
If you enemies have chosen Long range weapons, be mindful of that, chose either a fast ship to get in up close, or simply out-skill them with a better gunner on a long range ship of your own. Both have pros and cons. Squids are good for getting in up close to long range spires for example, but a short range junker or galleon will probably get decimated.


This can be useful in a many ways, here's just a few:

A tanking ship with disabling weapons(ie. a pyramidion with front mounted carronade and banshee)can help with Charging into battle while the ally is flanking for a better position. this is useful especially when fighting ships like mobula's which have all their weapons pointed in one direction

A Lumberjack Goldfish(lumberfish) is quite useful for staying back and popping balloons and disabling weapon while a junker goes in close and deals damage to the hull. This is especially useful against galleons and spires, that can deal a lot of damage up close with those heavy weapons.
Note on playyer levels:
It is important to take note that not all players are equal, especially in public matches where experience of players is varied. Make sure your crew is familiar with the ship you have chosen, and make sure to give them clear instructions on their role. This is extremely helpful when on more intermediate ships like the Mobula or spire, where the components are not close together, and team co-ordination is crucial.(especially between the engineers.)

Finally: Ships that Disable the enemy can also be useful at allowing allied ships escape death. A junker with Artemises(Artemi?) can snipe out a squid's engines that's trying to chase an enemy spire that is badly damaged.

Here are just a few ways to be successful at the game before it even starts. As I gain experience, I will be sure to add to this guide to make your experience more fun. I know I haven't added anything about gun Loadouts, but I promise it's coming soon! Also pictures, will try to add those too.

Alright. You're in the game. As the pilot, the holy grail that you are aiming for is teamwork. As soon as you hit that sweet spot, where you are woking with both your crew and the other captains, things will start going your way.

As a general rule of thumb, these are the guidelines you should follow to be a successful team player, and not let your team down in the match:

\All the ships in the game have areas that they shine, and areas that they don't, here's a few things to keep in mind with each ship in the game(note: these aren't stats, those are on the wiki):

Galleon:
this ship will be the bastion of your team, smaller ships should revolve around it, using it's large body to protect itself.
Main weakness: Slow, and blind frontside, can't attack while charging head on at an enemy.

Mobula:
This ship has 5 guns, all pointing towards the front of the ship. so anyone caught dead ahead should be easy pickings.
Main weakness: easily susceptible to flanking attacks. because there are no guns on the sides or the back, also turns the slowest

Pyramidion:
Great mini tank, 2 front guns can do a lot of damage, nice all-round ship, can be used for killing and disabling purposes. Fun to ram since it has formidable hull armour
Main weakness: Basically a charging bull, if ships get to it's starboard or rear bling side, it's like shooting a fish in a barrel as it can't turn out of the way either.

Goldfish:
Perfect disable ship. is great at support since it has a has a heavy gun up front to deal a lot of damage. practically impossible to get a trifecta with goldfish, and 2 guns is not practical either as engineers should be repairing such situations.
Main weakness: jack of all trades master of none. It's good at support/disabling, but doesn't have the armour to tank damage, good at dealing damage with heavy gun, but can't kill with weapons. too well.

Junker:
Stronger pyramidion, high armour low health, broadsides allow it to get trifectas, but it can be inconvenient. Good for soaking damage as armour is convenient for engineers to repair as well. Use as main tank where Galleon is too big or too slow.
Main weakness: It's weapons are weaker than the galleon's, so it's easier to get close while taking fire.

Squid:
Fastest ship in the game, most manoeuvrable, smallest ship in the game, and therefore hardest to hit at range. It's basically a scout vessel, good at getting into situations, then getting out. Not for getting kills most of the time as it has only three small weapons.
Main weakness: It's the galleon's exact opposite. weakest ship in the game, takes the least hits to kill.

Spire:
My personal favourite. Known as the glass gun, it has 3 light, and 1 heavy weapon. all facing the front of the ship. A lot of firepower. Also it's thin and long, so it's relatively easy to turn, allowing it too keep up quiet easily with any encircling squids if phoenix claw is used.
Main weakness: As the name suggests, it doesn't have too much health. It also suffers from the same problem as the Mobula as it has all it's weapons facing the front.

Now that you know some things about the ships that are in your game, let's talk about teamwork.
Arguably what make or breaks the game, teamwork is the foundation of Guns of Icarus, so it's most definitely important.

The Gist of it is:
As a pilot and captain, keep communication with both other captains and crew. This communication, especially with voice chat rather than commands will allow you to control your ship much better. Telling friendly captains when you need help, what enemy to focus on, and positioning ships for flanking and ambushes is all necessary and crucial to winning. Never neglect your crew either. If you have done your research in the lobby, you can tell your engineers when the focus on certain repairs against what enemy,(a blender fish probably won't need you to attend to the hull much) or when to start a chef cycle, and when to shoot the weapons. Directing the gunner to the appropriate target will allow ships to co-ordinate firing at enemies, so that all ships are sending their bullets where they are most affective.
(long gist, I know)

How you deal with your team mates will decide weather they press the rematch button at the end of a game or not.

Win or lose, it's a team game, so either you all win or you all lose. no need to be a jerk about it. As the pilot, and captain, your crew members will look up to you for direction. You shoulder the most responsibility on the ship. While all roles on the ship are equal, the captain does handle the delegation of those roles. This is why good etiquette must be exercised by the captain, as it sets a role model for the crew to follow.


Don't rage:
Please pilot's, do. Not. Rage. Panicking or screaming at your crew will only agitate them more, make them more apprehensive, and therefore less efficient at their jobs.

be nice:
Insulting your crew will make them dislike you more, and make them want to do their job under your leadership less. Plus, if you're spending the time to hate on your crew, you've wasted time spent helping them learn to do a better job. As a level 23 pilot myself, I get put into games with players around level 5 sometimes. Obviously they are not bad at the game on purpose, they just don't have as much experience. Rather than swearing at them for not getting off the gun to repair key components, just remind them to d so next time. It's a much more fun and gratifying experience when you get the kill and win the game with a crew that's fun to play with.

Lead don't boss:
When talking to allied captains, always make suggestions, don't give orders. They are leaders, and of equal position with you. Work as a team. Telling a fellow captain how to fly his ship will only impede his performance, let him do it his way, and simply use that to your advantage. If you are playing with captain that likes to charge in, try to provide cover fire, or distract the enemy so that he can do damage. That way your allied captain will come to appreciate you more, it's obvious in games who's doing all the work, and who's impeding the team. When the captain notices, he will automatically stop.

All of the things above can not be possible with your best friend voice chat. Weather you are playing the Zelda soundtrack to calm your crew in an intense battle, singing lullabies to calm an overworked crew member, or simply giving out instructions and devising a nuanced strategy with the other captains on the team. Without voice chat even an easily won game can be lost due to lack of co-ordination.

Thanks for reading this long and wordy guide. If you feel it helped you in any way, please say so. If you feel there are improvements to be made, please tell me for the benefit of other readers.

I hope you found this guide helpful.