WT - Beginner's Guide Part 4.1, How to Aim

This is for Arcade Air Battles, though it does touch on principles that affect RB and SB.
I discuss the best angles at which to attack enemy planes, how to position your plane to give it the best chance of tracking a target, how your weapons affect aiming and how to aim with the assistance of the Lead Indicator.
The video features footage courtesy of:-
flip - / fliprx7
tx141TX - / tx141tx
JovialWitness - / mrrbmcd
If you'd like to support the creation of these videos, you can do so via / long5hot
Music is by Sumee Lee - • Dame Exceed 250

[@carden5309]

one of the best guides I've found, and it makes it better because it feels like I'm being lectured by a clone trooper. Awesome

[@PeaceUN]

best guide ive ever seen

[@long5hot]

Thanks, hope it helps :)

[@elkhamlichi2558]

you're the best

[@r3ds0vy3t5]

I agree. Totally the best. Idiots like phly and baronvon couldn't make something as useful as this guide. Long5hot you are the best War thunder youtuber. You show flight analysis which is the reason for which I know weaknesses of my planes and also the planes I don't have ;-P.

[@r3ds0vy3t5]

they require cdk right?

[@jengar6258]

That must have taken some serious time investment with the editing. Great video, got all your bases covered there.

[@long5hot]

+Jengar Yeah this has been weeks in the making. Remind me not to start any more beginner's guides ;)

[@lokiwiseyt8608]

So this is how you got so good jengar

[@jengar6258]

@@lokiwiseyt8608 in those days i still had time to watch video's ;)

[@joseemiliorangeltrejo2327]

@@long5hot i need serious help. My aiming when i right click it doesnt activate when im in a plane . How do i make it work where do i click? , (it not the mouse, the mouse works)

[@bananaassasin7514]

Don't do another tutorial you told us to remind you

[@spooky9477]

Top notch content here. Hands down the best training material I’ve ever laid my eyes on. The companies that make professional training content could learn more than a thing or two from this.

[@flip100]

This was a really well needed guide as nobody has really done one, at least that stands out and is in depth such as this. You covered it very nicely, but this also has potential for other videos as aiming branches into so many other things too. Awesome job and thank you for the mention :)

[@long5hot]

+flip [100] Mate, thanks for the videos you're putting together and for allowing me to re-use some of your footage - it really does help when I can stand on the shoulders of giants ;)

[@JoviaI1]

I agree. This video was incredibly in depth and touched on everything about aiming I can think of in war thunder and more. I even learned a few things myself. I really never noticed that the lead indicator was set for about 300 meters, and I didn't know a thing about vertical targeting. The only thing I would have stressed on more is the speed at which you and your target are traveling. The the ratio of the speed you are going vs how fast your target is traveling lets you know if you should lead farther ahead or closer to the indicator. So if you are traveling faster than your opponent you have to lead less and vice versa. Oh and thank you for the mention as well, I knew that gameplay would be useful for something! :)

[@long5hot]

+JovialWitness Good point about speed - also I should have mentioned that the odds of hitting a fast-moving target at a 90 degree deflection angle are quite low. The faster the enemy in general the more likely you are to simply miss or be screwed over by hit detection. And thanks for that footage, it worked perfectly in this context :)

[@mihaeltomasovic]

+long5hot hey m8 excellent video as usual!! i see flip[100] on here as well, how are you doing, sir? great to see all of you great players together like this! it was great flying with you on that one mission the other day long5hot, but i think i was star struck as i played pretty darn bad lol! i can't thank you enough, m8, for all of your help! I am FINALLY getting a hang of BnZ and Energy Fighting thanks to flying my LaGG-3 series fighters! I've gotten much more patient (and also turned Vertical Targeting off), begun to lead my targets more, get aligned properly with the plane i'm dropping in on, and begun to get my trigger discipline down! after each diving attack, successful or not, i do NOT try to follow as the LaGG simply is not a turnfighter (or at least i don't think it is, maybe i'm wrong as i'm only at level 10 lol! maybe the 'ol girl has more in her than i give her credit for!) but, as far as i understand, should be immediately taken back into a climb after waiting a moment to ensure my tail is clear to see how high i must climb before dropping back on another target! i find that i fly best with the LaGG-3-35 right now as I flew it in one match in which I used that Energy Fighting technique you show in your videos, and got 12 straight kills before finally getting rammed by an enemy aircraft and then the match ended... i've begun to try to fly the MiG-3-34 also as that one has the twin 20mm cannon in the nose... i love all of them! i haven't been flyin the Yak-1/1b/7 lately though so i need to put those in my lineup as well again so i can do a bit of turn fighting as well - maybe that will get me ready to fly the German aircraft!! my US tree isn't doing horrible either... I finally unlocked the F4U-1a Corsair! I also have the XP-38G and have been flying so-so in the F6F-3 and P-400! Thanks so much again, m8, your videos are GREAT and you are awesome!!! Take care! OberstStjupric

[@long5hot]

+Kristjen Štjuprić Mate I'm really happy the vids are helping, after all that's why I make 'em :) Funny you should mention that particular battle ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKqYlJKNjcljkJY

[@vasili1207]

20 minutes watching this has wiped away 18 months of frustration instantly gone from 1 to 2 kills a game to 10 kills a game easily. tip for ps4 players try a mouse and keyboard implement thease tips in a day or two you be ripping things to bits

[@logandavis4719]

So a ps4 controller is useless? I still cant get lead angle right when boomnzoon or maybe I'm not close enough an so the convergence is off?

[@windowlicker6996]

I couldn't figure it out with an xbox controller. But when I got a 30$ mouse and keyboard. Everything just clicked! Waaaaay better

[@vasili1207]

Tanks I swear by the control pad ... aircraft mouse all day funny old game

[@IranianOyibo]

5 years old and still the best guide series I’ve ever found. Just got back into Warthunder after a long hiatus so needed a refresher from trusty old Long5hot.

[@vijaylohitsa620]

Excellent tutorial. Super clarity. Your narration is very good and the aspects you cover is very helpful. Others merely try to show off how much they know.

[@TheRealBuckNorris]

Most informative 20 minutes I've ever watched about any game!

[@TheRealBuckNorris]

And it's definitely making a difference, especially with the "Enhance Pointer Precision" tip and the 300m lead indicator rule! Thanks!

[@long5hot]

Excellent! By the way, it only took me a day or two with Enhance Precision turned off & I was completely used to it.

[@davidbradford4105]

A must try on my adjustments to make.

[@Mr.T360]

7yrs and this helped alot in 2023. Ive been playing off and on for a few months only to throw my controller down each time wondering why I play this game. Makes sense now. Didnt even know the indicator was a marker for 300m, also didnt know you could set up your engagement distance. After know that alone, i think my experiences in game will improve. Been shooting behind targets consistently and I feel dumb after watching this video.

[@tumate45]

Finally some deep guide. I never really saw any tutorial about aiming, just a "git gud", and "when to pull off and when to go in"

[@Seoko117]

This is literally the best beginners guide I've seen

[@strangways78]

unbelieveable production value for just a videogame guide. very very good work

[@FockeWulfFW200]

holy shit man, I was in a horrible lose streak, losing and losing. I saw this video, did what you said and started to easy-quik kill. you, sir, you earned a sub yourself

[@morningglory102]

I'm several years late on this video but LOVE how detailed you are. This will greatly help me out!

[@poofer7600]

I can't drop most bad habits overnight, but i followed the tips on this video as best i could and i got a 4 kill streak on my first match which is incredibly rare for me. thanks for this excellent video.

[@jonskowitz]

Hey! You're back! And with the exact guide I (and oh so many others) really needed. This is exactly the kind of information so many of us need when trying to figure out this game (docs are... lacking :p). Especially in an area that seems so full of guesswork, voodoo witchery, and just plain misinformation about it. Thank you for putting the work into it.

[@InfinitySpaceIta]

One of the most useful and complete guides I've evere seen

[@long5hot]

High praise indeed, thankyou!

[@aarondeane9615]

Whats is the best convergence distance for British Spitfires for Arcade? And just one other question, if you were to fly with your mouse, and roll into the target, wouldn't having to fire with space put off your aim or maybe your fingers slip causing you to screw up?

[@tangow371]

This video here was my first step to improve at the game. Of course I'm still not great but what I learned in this video made a HUGE difference. I can't thank you enough!

[@KitchenFSink]

This is the best informative video I have ever seen in my entire life, seriously. You are a very good narrator and I'm blown away about how much you know. Subscribed!

[@tumbleweedofdoom]

This video was super helpful. Tried what you said in a battle and for once I didn't suck! Thanks for uploading this all those years ago

[@davidrolf6570]

super-helpful, Long5hot - I had never thought of the "if the lead indicator is designed for 300m, then double it at 600m" - great rule of thumb!

[@Knapweed]

This is the best War Thunder guide on aiming by far, especially considering I have all the natural ability of a myopic Cyclops. I've doubled my kill rate from one to two!

[@braza2013]

Wow! What a quality video! To the point, factual, loaded with tips, pleasant narration. Thank you for making the effort. This helped a lot. Subscribed. Edit: I read from the other comments here that I am not alone in seeing how high quality this video is. The amount of cordial and positive responses here restores faith in humanity.

[@BentHestad]

Simply a superb guide, highly recommended for players on all levels! . Played for quite a while myself, but still got a lot of learning here, thanks! Nice examples from truly excellent pilots, including yourself. For me, as a bit more average, the big change in the beginning was when I started to use keybord for ailerons which made it possible to set up shots by rolling in to enemies. I think this, and as you point on to that flanking shots is the most effective way, is a good starting point that will highly increase kill rate for beginners. I may also add, on a general basis, do not dive to early, wait a bit to find a enemy on a friendly tail flying towards home base and set up a flank shot on him.

[@silo_fx3182]

Thanks for this wonderful approach and delivery. A few months back I switched to space-bar firing and it has worked very well for me. I don't even think about it now. that is, except for the rare occasion I take out a bomber and forget I re-mapped the bomb keys :-). You have made WarThunder a real pleasure with your content. many, many thanks.

[@michaelstrafemikeioannidis3376]

Couldn't come in a better timing, mate! Just as I was going through your vids in case I 'd missed something! Enjoyed every minute, as I always do! Thanks for making these tutorials and sharing knowledge with us...cheers!

[@long5hot]

+Mike Nikiforos You're most welcome Mike :)

[@slinkerdeer]

Hey long5hot I wanted to let you know how much this video helped, I was pretty much getting little or no kills during an air arcade match, the one i had straight after watching this video I got 7 kills and a victory. Thanks, man! Really appreciate the effort you put into this video and wow its so relevant to the game play even years later

[@Dandalore]

Just wanted to thank you for creating your tutorial series, Long5hot. You've made my War Thunder experience a hundred times more exciting and rewarding and I now teach your arcade tactics to friends who are joining the game for the first time... once they've been sent to your channel, of course! Exceptionally well-made tutorial series that covers all the bases; an absolute must-watch for anyone looking to get into War Thunder arcade, and even those who intend to later progress to realistic and simulator battles.

[@long5hot]

You're most welcome :) My hope is that the more newbies watch the beginner's guide series, the greater proportion of skilled players there'll be in the skies of WT and the more enjoyable the game will become for all of us. After all, there's little pleasure to be had from clubbing clueless window-lickers ;)

[@PiotrBarcz]

I watched these guides obsessively for so long before I even started playing the game for real in 2021, I can't thank you enough for making a series on how to play this game that really does teach a kid how to fly like a pro but that is also so entertaining to watch at the same time! Long5hot, you are a legend, and I hope that at some point the game will get back to its former glory and that we'll see you in the skies once again!

[@long5hot]

I'm sorry the game isn't that great still - I haven't checked in on it in ages. My life's changed quite a lot & I doubt I'll ever get back to gaming of any kind, but I guess you can never say never :)

[@PiotrBarcz]

@@long5hot Well here's to hoping that one day I'll run into you in the skies :) Cheers!

[@tingweihu5175]

Thank you for the beginner's Guide series! The best guide I could ever find. You are awesome.

[@tetraire3844]

Glad you're back and hope you are feeling better. Excellent vid, very helpful. Many thanks and take care.

[@kemoni221]

Your guides are really helpful. I've seen and read many guides on many topics related to war thunder when I struggled with the learning curve, but you explain everything really clear so your tips are easy to follow ;) Keep it up!

[@frazerhooke3433]

Excellent Video Long5hot, You explain the subtle nuances so well. So many that I could not see, until you explained them, and there they are right in front of me, lol.

[@SuperDiablo101]

Longshot you are absolutely an undisputed teacher and instructor for this game. You break down the complex problems of aiming perfectly and simply.

[@Polaventris]

Fantastic tutorial as always! Practicing in custom battles have been extremely useful, specially before going for your first RB battles.

[@joefarah06]

Your WT videos are the best. I really appreciate and enjoy them. Brand new player here with a sincere thanks 🍻

[@nazradu]

Hi long5hot first I want to say thank you so much. I started with war thunder just a few weeks ago and enjoy this realy much, but most of my improvements came from your videos. Your stuff is awesome and especially this video kick my skills to a new level. Keep it going! I'll keep watching!

[@legione1capone]

Hands down the best video I've ever seen. So much information that was easy to digest. Thank you!

[@shussainic_tm]

What should u use to fire the gun if not the mouse as said in the video

[@rcbylocaltim7896]

I've played this game for 2 months now and was an average players , great job on the quick simple tips. no joke while playing I was also watching and l listening to this video, the next game I played I was absolutely about 3 times better... Craziness something so simple was messing me up the entire time. Thanks for the Post

[@CoyoteCourtney]

Great to see you back in action. I was a little worried, because aiming is so much more than just learning how to point your guns at someone, but you've tackled the issue with your usual comprehensive approach and spent more than half the video covering relative position, firing angles, wing alignment, gun placement, gun type, vertical and convergent harmonics, etc. In other words, bullseye!

[@671TechReviews]

Wow this has to be the most informative War Thunder video I have seen on YT. Thanks for the tips!

[@billporter3495]

Good to see you back, Long5hot. I've enjoyed your videos and learned a lot. Sometimes, I even survive a battle! :)

[@144928]

Awesome video, the most informative video I have seen on the subject. Narration is a a pleasure to listen to.

[@ryancross4645]

This is by far the best tutorial i've ever seen

[@tankkiukko6747]

thank you sir, for making my WT just a tad easier. i know this is a old vid, but it still works. i've always loved your videos and i hope that one day you'll find the energy to play WT again.

[@R3dNeckRevolutionGaming]

I just recently started playing War Thunder on the ps4 and I was immediately hooked. It reminds me so much of Air Warrior III I use to play on PC back in the late 90s. Fantastic video brother it was the best I've seen so far. 👍👍

[@Dagger4]

Five years on, fresh to WT - this was mind blowing. Can hardly wait to try it out. I knew to get ahead of the marker...but, I am massively under leading.

[@mjglopez]

Wow! Best aiming tut I've ever seen so far.

[@MechaG2]

SUPERB video, long5hot. Thank you!

[@davidd9707]

I wish I could give this 5 thumbs up. Thanks for this guide mate. Doesn't hurt that you're easy to listen to as well :D

[@Suo_kongque]

I shall help thine cause

[@papagoose8067]

I appreciate and respect the hard work you put into this video. Excellent job.

[@MrSlickyoung]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I also agree the lead indicator really is not the greatest feature, I find myself fixating on it not what the plane is doing. Also thanks for explaining the roll with your opposition, you use that term often in other guides and now it's crystal clear.

[@ferriouszeon7288]

i have managed to get the TU-4 and now i have learnt 5 new things, this is a brilliant guide

[@davidscoltock3970]

I'm a noob grinding Brits and hit a wall at br 5.0/5.3 with spits. This guide is really useful as I was just blindly using mouse aim and lead indicator. Really appreciate these vids and I'm glad I stumbled on your channel. Going to guve keyboard gun control a try in test flight today.

[@baldwintheanchorite]

This was so helpful! The whole series. Thank you very much.

[@S1ckbg]

That guide was simply amazing! Well done!

[@deadeyenumber2892]

Wow, an amazing guide. No one ever mentioned anything about machine gun convergence! Thank you so much

[@cryptoworldpeace2974]

i'll be rewatching this at least 2 more times. Very good content, comrade

[@MiSt3300]

As playing WT alone I started to feel how to shoot! Now your excellent tutorial has shown me that in most cases I was heading in the right direction! (:

[@warsmithmia]

I haven't played WT in a long while now, and then mostly tanks. These flying guides are really useful, even if I am applying them to Gaijin''s old game Birds of Steel rather than WT. Thank you so much for doing them and sharing your knowledge, long5hot!

[@DJMIChaos]

In 2021 i still consider this a damn good tutorial, well done! Thanks a lot

[@BoredOfBills]

OUCH ! - What a difference.... Tried out the roll and aiming techniques in flight test, got better and better - yes - it's almost magical... I can now make use of the Spitfire Mk XVI with all it's crazy rolling and big guns. Thanks mate.

[@antonmayr6412]

thank you so much for your guide, it gave much so much more confidence and i was literally able to double my kills in the last few games - one was even 12 planes shot down with just 2 spawns! :)

[@danf.6319]

Hello Long Shot, OMB! I've watched your videos up to 4.1. I've taken the vast majority, if not all, of your War Thunder and Window's mouse setting. What a result! I had one battle where I had three consecutive "assists," saved one friendly, and one bad guy shot down by just little old me. That is amazing! I went from barely being able to dive bomb a huge base, to being a little competitive in a dog fight. Still, however, working on the "rope a dope." I've got going straight up, part. By itself that is often enough to discourage a bad guy on my butt trying to shoot me down. I'm still working on leaning the plane over at the apex to reverse the situation. I'll watch your video again and keep practicing.The real excitement IS in the dogfight.Thanks a ton!

[@long5hot]

No worries, glad the videos are helping :)

[@clamum]

*Excellent* video man! Your explanations are clear and easy to understand.

[@anorenbergs]

One more thing that really helped me with aiming was to set the graphics to MIN. It gave the smoothness in the image, in flight and aiming. Now, I always fly with MIN graphics setting and kill more than I ever did before. As always, your videos are nice to watch and to learn from.

[@long5hot]

+Aivars Norenbergs That's an excellent tip - the less visual clutter (no matter how beautiful that clutter might be), the easier it is to see your target, and the boost to your FPS helps as well.

[@florian2442]

I wish I could give this video 100 likes instead of 1. Great quality! Glad I stumbled across it and looking forward to backtracking to the other episodes.

[@eric21881]

thank god for your channel started playing yesterday and this is the content i need

[@glorbusborbus480]

thank you, this is really useful. You also sound like a golfing commentator, which is appropriately soothing.

[@Rafale200]

Thank you for making this high quality video, it really helps a lot.

[@kurtbennett1164]

Longshot...man...right on target, 'cuse the pun. Man, you're videos are so very helpful, gaijen should pay you, honestly. This is the kind of in depth teaching I think us newbies need. I'd like to see a greater explanation of how to tier/battle rating group planes to best effect as well. I have only recently done this and now my kills per battle average 5-6 rather than 1-2 at the loss of several planes, because I was taking tier 2 planes into battles where I had all my planes in one group, on up to tier 4, etc. I would get owned over and over obviously. Man, you are simply a real attribute to playing this game better. Thanks again!

[@long5hot]

+Kurt Bennett Glad you found the vid helpful - and also there's this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWqWaoR-r72YgZI

[@teosoto6933]

I hope i knew this when i start war thunder.Especially the aiming part and the guns targeting distance was actualy very helpful

[@dkwannabe]

@long5hot 5 years later this still makes an enormous difference. It was very hard to train my hands to shoot from the space bar instead of the mouse - I mean hard, like meeting the ground a lot when my fingers got confused (my space was used to free camera). Frustrated, I went to test for a couple hours to try to force myself to learn. O.M.G. what a difference it made in aiming. And I'm telling you this already as lv 85. You can always learn more. Thank you for your videos.

[@ImmortalTatsu]

Very informative, and is a very useful guide. Thanks for making this extremely well-made video this'll help me out for sure.

[@baronsionis6855]

Finally, a proper informative guide

[@jancz357]

ok, this was extremely helpful, I knew something was off with the lead indicator, but now I have the numbers, thank you!

[@lawrencedangel215]

This is a great review, thank you for the time invested in this guide

[@lukealmond340]

Thanks bud, this has really helped I saw instant improvements. Really good tips.

[@asianguy3452]

I'm a new casual gamer to WT. I keep missing my targets let along shots, I tried your method, and I still died but my aiming increased significantly, I managed to get a kill before I was shot down thanks to your method. Thanks!

[@lt.bagelbites6969]

I will use these tips to grind aircraft ! Thanks Long Shot! Loved the vid and subscribed!

[@MiniFun92]

i just love short way to know how complicated this game is.. thnx man. I think i feel wery good bulet drops and stuff.... on first flight ever i hit one guy on 700+ m with poorest aircraft... though i havent playde much more but after watching ur videos i think i must get into flieing much more

[@elmersalonga6424]

Thanks very much for this tutorials,just started playing WT and it help a lot.

[@M2quared]

Awesome video! Good tips even for a veteran pilot like myself. Unchecked that silly little box in the mouse control panel (I had no idea), and I'll see how that works!

[@scotthiebert9011]

Very impressed, probably the best tutorial I've seen; 2 thumbs up!!!!!!!!!!!

[@santiagoarielbenitez]

always come back to this tutorial!

[@marks2121]

I suspected the leadindicator was not always the right aiming spot. Thanks it would have take a longtime to figure this out by myself. Now I know why I've been decimated in most games...6000 other pilots have seen this before me! 😅 Look out guys im coming for you!

[@fly_swatter_]

+long5hot this video is amazing. Exactly what I was needing! The tips you gave me before helped a TON and this is just icing on the cake. I would like to add one tidbit, I found playing over the weekend...after playing for long periods when I suddenly begin to do poorly it almost always seems to be the case I need to concentrate on holding fire until I reach convergence instead of when the dot pops up ...what a difference it makes!

[@Squaliebawse]

Great video dude, and I like how I can take tips and apply them to RB battles

[@GreenAndSuited]

just bought the 109, yep i needed to know whats gun aiming distance is. and the leading circle trick too! thanks!

[@harrymorris613]

Wow, this is just what I needed. Thank you!

[@user-sl6uw9ci3w]

tbh this is the only well detailed guide i've seen so far.

[@mynameshashim3686]

This was absolutely amazing and exactly what I was looking for!

[@FikriMG]

i come here to say thank you to our teacher Long5hot that generously provide lots of great tutorials in how to properly play war thunder, and this one certainly the most useful in my opinion. *drowns in millions of SLs*

[@long5hot]

Heh, you're most welcome :)

[@oceanbytez847]

awsome guide. i came here to master my skills and i found a gold mine of promising info.

[@ob1983]

Fantastic video - just learning the game - this really helped me ty!

[@nebulabandit9107]

You deserve for subscribers this is the most helpful guide

[@3420undertaker]

Thank you so much that simple tip for changing the shooting buttons

[@jom2743]

your videos along with the energy fighting videos are amazing. now I no longer regret going into to American planes!

[@MrNonaste]

Really excellent tutorial. Thank you.