Presented now are multiple situations that could very likely happen to you during the course of a match. After a brief explanation of what is happening, we will determine the best tactics to deal with each situation. Each square represents one square kilometer, or click. The fighters are in approximate positions, with lines dictating their directions. There is no third dimension represented. Assume that all opponents are competent.

Situation 1

You are in a 2v2 flying TFs. One opponent is flying at a 45 degree angle of you, 1.0 click away, attacking your wingman. The other opponent is flying towards you and will be in laser range in a couple seconds. What do you do and why?

This situation is interesting in that you have a wide open shot and an enemy yet have to worry about being shot down yourself. Situations similar to this occur all the time in multiplayer, so you have to quickly take into consideration a few things before you act.

1. Will the wide open shot be easy? In this case it isn't. Assuming the opponent attacking your wing is avoiding fire, he will not present a steady target to lead your shots at.
2. How much time will it take to kill your wingmate's attacker? This is one of those areas that is directly affected by your skills. If you think you can blast the TF in a few shots, take them. If not, don't make the mistake of forgetting about the other opponent bearing down on you.
3. How skilled are the opponents? If they are very good it doesn't pay much to try a hail mary shot at a 45 degree angle. Chances are the pilot will be weaving considerably making the shot a lot harder. Also, if the other opponent closing you is good, he will not hesitate to destroy you from behind as soon as he gets in range. Versus opponents worse than you, the opponent at 45 degrees is probably easy to tag with a few lasers as he will not be aware of you and will not be evading as much.

So in summary, the best course of action is to take a few calculated shots at your wingmate's attacker and then play it safe and turn towards your attacker.

Situation 2

You are in a 2v2 flying X-Wings. One opponent is already firing at you, 1.0 click away. The other opponent is about 1.0 click off the starboard side of the first opponent, and will be in range to fire on you in a matter of seconds. Your wingmate is about 2.0 clicks directly behind you. What do you do and why?

Engaging the hostile X-Wing may seem like a good idea, but you need to take into account the other opponent that will be in laser range of you in a matter of seconds. If you go head to head with opponent one, you will be double teamed by the second X-Wing and most likely destroyed. The situation would change, of course, if you killed the first X-Wing on the first pass. In that case you would probably still be destroyed by the second X-Wing because you are already damaged. Most pilots wouldn't think twice about engaging the enemy closest to himself, who is undoubtedly shooting already. There is another option, however.

Turn back towards your wingmate. This allows him to cover you until you can regroup and attack your enemies together. Plus, in this situation, if you do this manuever you will double team the first X-Wing, instead of them double teaming you. Inexperienced opponents flying the first X-Wing might even get destroyed by your wingmate before you get a chance to turn around and help him. The best time to turn back towards your pursuer is right before you pass your wing. By the time you turn around 180 degrees and orient yourself again your wing will probably be ahead of you, but only by a little bit. If he and the first X-Wing have become entangled in a turn war you will have the opportunity to quickly kill him from outside the turn war before X-Wing number two becomes a problem.

But face it: this will only work if you're flying maneuverable crafts. If you're piloting "flying cows" you'll most likely be destroyed right after you turn towards your wing, either by your opponents or by your wing himself as soon as he starts shooting since your maneuverability sucks. But... didn't we told you to try to be always close to your wing and concentrate fire when flying on such wreckages? A situation like this one must be avoided on slow crafts at all costs in first place!

This concludes the notes for IWATS Advanced Multiplayer Tactics. Good luck on the exam!