How to Head On and Merge in War Thunder and not die - Tips and Tricks

[@mrrossi4]

I think this is one of the most helpful videos yet. As a relatively new player, most of my deaths are losing head ons lol

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Glad to hear it, trust me we all did it in the beginning 😉

[@schwkrls]

Great video. Seeing both the defender's and attacker's perspective really helps you understand.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Glad you like it, hope it helps!

[@samspeed6271]

The technique at 2:50 ish, I tend to use that or variations of that a lot and it works well because the enemy has to either push negative G to get a fire solution or roll almost 180 to be pulling positive G. The trick is to make sure you are far enough ahead that he can't pull lead, otherwise you're very much vulnerable. A snap roll like that first shown isn't the best idea. A half snap roll in conjunction with the technique at 2:50 to make roll rate a bit better is quite effective.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

oh ya for sure, I just try to first show people that they do not have to do head ons. I found a lot of new people have a hard time of letting that go. So The first way it is not very good because you bleed a lot of energy, but it is easy for them to do and move away from the head on. Then when they get some confidence, they can try the other methode or find out other ones. Though there are times when I will us Snap roll in an emergency as a last resort. Thanks for watching and the comment!

[@Britanniareclaimed]

i dont think i would ever go head on with me flying a spitfire.

[@Britanniareclaimed]

I only go head-on with Japanese planes with p51,947 or p40.Best weapons head on r 20mm.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Head on are almost never good idea

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

oh ya P38 with nose-mounted guns is also nice against Japanese planes. It's like a volcano hitting Paper Mache 😉🏴‍☠️

[@Orodreth888]

Oh what a coincidence haha. I like to use head-on's to spook the enemy. The YAKs are really good at getting behind someone when you roll downwards and keep up speed, even gain speed. They pull some serious Gs.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

oh ya but see you have a plan after the head on a lot of new people want to the head on to be it. Then they have no plan how to make sure they are still alive and what to do after if they are. 😉🏴‍☠️

[@rc_1234]

I remember the Split-S trap literally saved/extended my life. I was in my Spitfire Mk. IIa and had just run out of ammo and this P-51 was chasing me and I pulled the trap textbook like and could have turnfighted him but no ammo

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

the spits have soooo little ammo. But hey if you are on his 6 he can't shoot you 😉🏴‍☠️

[@rustybolt1733]

Ima be real, I found your yt when you advertised in air RB, and completely forgot about you but hell yeah appreciate it

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

glad you like it, I only do it once or twice a day, I do not want to be annoying to the players 😉🏴‍☠️

[@chris_bianchi13]

Thank you for the video! Everybody has their theories on this, and there are some absolutes. I think you've done a nice job balancing this. Keep it up!

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

I wanted to just give people some basics, thanks for checking it out

[@Ryan-ok2xr]

appreciate the choreographed footage, don't see that often

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

I try to make it quality. Hope it helps. 😉🏴‍☠️

[@Stefan-Forster]

Very helpful video, well done!

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Thanks a lot, I try 😉🏴‍☠️

[@ritchievaughngreene3443]

Birst fire is important early game. You jam so easy and the accuracy will hender you more if you just let it loose. Just half sec burst for max accuracy. Being so short on the bursts early you may have to pick your shots more than fire when you van.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

oh for sure, do not spam that fire button especially when you have a new aircraft and new crew

[@nmc052able]

Great advise!

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Glad you liked it 👍

[@Salmontres]

really solid tips on this one

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tonik2229]

very helpful

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Glad you think so! What are you researching these days?

[@tonik2229]

@@GamingWithJollyRoger i need to figure out how to properly use a russian boom n zoom plane i still havent quite figured it out, but this video helped a lot with it

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Cool, Russians are kind of jack of all trades, against some planes they out turn them and against other you boom and zoom or do energy traps. But if you want to check out some energy fighter tactics, take look at those videos: Getting on to Turn Fighter Control zone, and the P38 Boom and Zoom. Not Russian but same concepts. Hope this helps 😉🏴‍☠️

[@vinnygee173]

do skidding ehadon. roll to the left, let your rudder pull you away and aim to the right to compensate for the plane drifting

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

I feel like this is more advanced technique, one day we will to more complex merges and heados, I'll definitely throw that in

[@vinnygee173]

@@GamingWithJollyRoger its a very simple but good technique to land your shots but confuse the enemy as to where to aim :)

[@JoyKazuhira]

+1 sub. i will try this on my boom and zoom bf109 g6.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Bf 109 is a great climber too. So if you enemy is slow after the merger you can go up into like a vertical spiral, and when they stall, jump on them

[@markoninfs3248]

Thanks but I have this glitch where 4 new enemy planes spawn out of nowhere what do I do then?

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

@markoninfs3248 LOL ya, I hate that "glitch". Try this, Always climb especially when going against Germany, those guys often climb and you do not want to be below them. If you are above 5000 or 6000m and you still see few people in front of you and you are by yourself, just turn around and start flying away. Most WT players have super short attention so they usually will go for someone closer and lower, once you are at the top with just one guy or by yourself, start going after them unless your team is gone by then. It happens, so just land and J out. And the next game. What country do you usually fly?

[@IwonkaTX]

Witaj, nieźle latasz! :) Ja dopiero się uczę i poznaję te wszystkie zwroty i manewry. Czasem coś wyjdzie, czasem nie.😉

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Wiem jak to jest. A w jakim kraju najczęściej latasz?

[@IwonkaTX]

@@GamingWithJollyRoger Moje ulubione to F4U na 5.7. Zaczęłam też K4, a teraz próbuję czegoś z Japonii. Bf 109 K-4 ma ten problem, że to dość wymagający samolot, a na obecną chwilę te Spitfire'y są niemiłosiernie mocne.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Ach tak, F4U to dobry samolot. W przypadku K4 kontra Spitfire, spróbuj mieć przewagę wysokości, ich energia wyczerpuje się powyżej 5500 m, więc jeśli wzniesiesz się wyżej i zabierzesz ich do walki w pionie, zazwyczaj mają duży problem. Poza tym 109 jest szybszy od Spitfire. 😉🏴‍☠️

[@IwonkaTX]

@@GamingWithJollyRoger No nie powiedziałabym, po tym jak Spitfire'y dostały buffa. Wyciągnęłam jednego ancymona na ponad 6000, ustawiłam lot poziomy, żeby odskoczyć, i jakie było moje zdziwienie, gdy szedł za mną jak zły. Dopiero po dłuższym czasie minimalnie się oddalałam, ale jeśli tak ma to wyglądać, to słabo. Tak, wiem, żeby utrzymywać energię i latać wysoko. Z tym nie mam już problemu, bo całkowicie przestawiłam się na inny styl walki. Co nie zmienia faktu, że na obecną chwilę K-4 ma problem ze Spitfire’ami, a tym bardziej jeśli leci nim ktoś ogarnięty.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Ok, przy 5,7 są Spitfire'y z silnikiem Griffon, które są szybkie i mogą latać wysoko.

[@Plink_Plinkerton]

this can solve the bane of low tier

[@Plink_Plinkerton]

and thanks for letting me get shot by your majesty

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

thanks buddy!

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

LOL any time, you were not holding back either 😉🏴‍☠️

[@tylerbelfield]

Which anime are those characters from?

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

I just make my own lol sorry

[@dingusbingus7463]

The problem with war thunder is even knowing this, it wont help all the time.if you get ganked by 3 or more people who know what they're doing youre dead without a chance, if you have someone who can out turn you and has enough ammo to simply hold down the shoot button you lose without a chance, the list goes on. This kind of knowledge does help in ground rb for air superiority but in air rb you become a free kill trying to use maneuvers desinged for conventional fights irl, rather than a game where people dont care about energy, air speed, or ammo count you will lose to someone simply using a meta plane and get shit talked in game chat or off to the next match.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

sure all that happens, but you can help yourself, if you don't want to get jumped by 3 people, side climb first and wait till they start dropping low, that it self helps me a lot not to fly into a red cloud, also once you one of the highest guys in the match, you can pick your targets easier. This is not perfect but it makes a huge difference. Good luck and have fun

[@dingusbingus7463]

@@GamingWithJollyRoger side climb and someone with better climb rate because br compression will be on you anyway, the game is extremely flawed, especially at prop brs. My point stands that the gameplay doesn't really allow for use of realistic tactics, only stressing whatever aircraft your using the the max to get at least 1 kill before you get swarmed. I could record 5 games in a row trying to side climb, taking off late, staying with the team, trying to sneak around the enemy, etc, either way it usually ends up you getting ganked. I can usually deal with 2-3 people at a time depending on what plane I'm using but it's just pointless to try and use tactics.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

I understand your frustration but that is not my experience. I just try not the get in those situations that will get 5 people on me. hmmm. What country are you usually playing?

[@dingusbingus7463]

@@GamingWithJollyRoger all of them, I have almost 5000 hours in WT. Regardless of Br or what I do I usually end up getting ganked. I usually only ever play around 8.0 air, since its a be that requires skill For years I've wanted a guns only game mode for air(to not have too tier missile spamming). I really hate playing top tier, I hardly even play the game anymore, if anything I don't touch air and just play low be ground

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

Ya, ground is fun once in a while, I like that you can't see enemy tags, I wish they had that in AR Air too. Sorry you do not like the rest of the game, I really enjoy this game that is why I play it. Do I get sucky matches once in a while, sure. Here are mine 3 rules I go by when judging a situation once I climb. #1 STAY ALIVE - so if by the time I get to altitude and I look around and 90% of my team is dead and their team is fine, I will land and J out and hope to the next game, no point in losing a plane and paying a repair cost. #2 WIN - I will bait enemies, push them down, and set up kills for my teammates, even if I do not get any kills all game. #3 GET KILLS - This is literary the last thing on my list. Do I like getting kills, sure, but I prefer to stay alive and win much more than getting a few kills losing, and being shot down. This is my philosophy on the game and it makes me enjoy myself a lot. But if I did not enjoy this game, I would not play it that is that. So maybe just try a different philosophy of playing or just find yourself a game that you really like. I wish you Good Luck and have some fun

[@WOLFIXTHUNDER]

rudder lock is the enemy

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

I don't think I ever seen rudder lock in RB, have you ?

[@WOLFIXTHUNDER]

@@GamingWithJollyRoger some planes suffer with it

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

ha interesting, I only get the flat spin issue with some Italians but only and super low speeds

[@vinnygee173]

@@GamingWithJollyRoger rudder lock is hell in the p51s

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

oh I'm going to have to try to recreate that, is it at high speed or low speed?

[@dailydorito9331]

lol or just not head on and never get shot

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

ya right, but sometimes it's not up to you you got to merge and they are coming straight at you. If you can slip on then not from the front, that is the way to do it

[@FullSweatTryhard]

Pulling a snap roll is the worst thing you can do. It’s doesn’t really dodge anything, and it blows massive amounts of energy. 1 burst at long range, and get defensive in a diving maneuver to get fast, this is how you head on merge. I should have expected this terrible advice from a console pleb!

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

The worst thing you can do in air combat is a head-on. I mention within the first 45 seconds of the video that this content is very basic because I want to show new players there are smarter alternatives to head-on attacks. We’ll dive into more advanced merge tactics in future videos, but advanced maneuvers depend heavily on what you’re flying and what your opponent is flying. It’s like skiing-just because I love tackling black diamond runs doesn’t mean I’d throw a beginner onto one. You start with the bunny hill and build up skills. Similarly, what you’re describing is great advice for planes with high ammo counts and far out gun convergence, like some U.S. planes. But trying the same in something like a Spitfire with wing-mounted guns set to like 400m convergence is just wasting ammo. Which spit has very little of. Advanced tactics always depend on the situation, and for this channel, we’re focused on beginners. If you’re a hotshot pilot with an amazing kill ratio, then this video probably isn’t for you. Also, it seems like you didn’t finish the video, as we touch on something similar to your point toward the end. Thanks for watching, and I appreciate the comment!

[@FullSweatTryhard]

@ Incorrect , Rule #6 of the Dicta Boelcke is if your opponent dives on you, do not try to evade his onslaught, but fly to meet it. Head ons are very necessary and far from the worst thing you can do in air combat.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

First off, all my demonstrations were conducted at the same altitude and with similar energy levels-there were no scenarios where one aircraft was diving on the other. The rule you’re referencing, written in 1916 for real-life combat, doesn’t always apply to a game where players frequently engage in reckless head-ons without concern for survival. If head-ons work consistently for you and you maintain an excellent kill ratio, by all means, stick with it. But it’s worth considering that alternative tactics can be just as effective, if not more so, for different situations and playstyles. For instance, I can confidently say that if you engage in 100 head-ons with a Spitfire against a P-38, you’ll likely lose far more often than if you evade and maneuver onto their tail instead. Thanks again for your comment! Feedback like yours not only sparks discussion but also helps the video perform better on KZbin.

[@FullSweatTryhard]

@ I don’t care what the enemy’s energy state is. Judging an enemies energy state amd knowing your own is a whole different subject. We are talking about merges here. What I’m saying is pulling a snap roll and blowing the most amount of energy possible in a merge is never a good move. Air combat is all about managing energy. Conserving it when you can, and spending it when you should. My issue, is you telling people to do a snap roll in a merge. The worst possible advice, and it’s the 1st thing you recommend. All good players are spraying from long distance and then going evasive. Guys in head ons aren’t even firing zoomed in. They are firing at a general area in the sky that you should be in, or around, if you don’t evade. All a snap roll accomplishes, is it blows the maximum amount of energy possible, and puts you right back to where you were except maybe slightly higher, and still very vulnerable to the people who know how to head on properly. The only time you should ever use snap rolls is in a dive, in hopes you can use it to cause an overshoot. Pulling one off in a merge is the worst situation you would ever do one. You need that energy to fight, or to extend after the merge. You know this, and I know this. So stop arguing a point you know is wrong. There are a thousand ways to spend that energy better. Go fly 400 Kph IAS and throw your Spit into just 1 snap roll and look at your IAS afterwards. I wouldn’t be surprised if you blew 150 Kph of airspeed in 1 second. Maybe even more. You literally can’t blow energy faster, unless you’re using the German air brake. If you think blowing energy is ever the right move. Feel free to continue doing it. Don’t wonder why you’re getting rope a doped and killed in a 1 circle shortly after though. I know if I watched a Spit pull off that maneuver in a merge I’d be licking my chops.

[@GamingWithJollyRoger]

I understand that this is a relatively basic and poor merge, but it is very easy and my point is that it’s far better than blindly flying into a head-on, guns blazing, and even ramming each other, which is something new players often default to, which results in mutual destruction. This approach helps new players see that survival is possible and encourages them to explore other tactics, like the one shown later in the video. They can build confidence and gradually work toward more advanced merges. It’s all about starting simple and progressing step by step. You and I as experienced pilots, assess the opponent’s aircraft, energy state, and skill level to decide the best merge tactic for the situation. Over the course of my videos, I aim to give viewers a wide arsenal of strategies they can use to adapt on the fly. In this particular video, the snap roll demonstrates a better outcome than a straight head-on or simply crashing into an enemy. Having a diverse toolkit of maneuvers and knowledge is key to making the right decision in any engagement. My goal is to help players build up to that level. Thanks for the lively discussion-I truly appreciate it!