Warhawk/Nemesis

This article is about the in-game vehicle, the Warhawk/Nemesis. For Warhawk, the game, see Warhawk (Game).

These machines are fast, highly maneuverable, and capable of taking down the heaviest of armored units if they lace them with everything they have.

They are able to evade incoming missiles by using a combination of airbrakes and throttle to perform powerslide moves in the air. In addition, they annoy ground troops. While in their hover modes, the Warhawk and Nemesis are floating targets, but are capable of overwhelming some defensive positions by firepower and the ability to 'dance' out of the way of most enemy ammo.

Unusually, the warhawk has the ability to knock into ground vehicles namely the tank or jeep and take no damage. This unrealistic glitch has now been adopted by players to intercept flag captures in the "CTF" mode by pilots without the skill to shoot down said vehicles from the air. This is seen by many as "noobish".

Characteristics[]

Chernovan- Futuristic looking plane with smooth curves and big rotors inside the wings.

Eucadian- Retro looking plane with wings that can flip up or down.

Can carry one Passenger in addition to the Pilot.

The passenger cannot do anything, but is able to see all Players on the Map, even the Knife users. However when players are crouched they are not visible.

Armament[]

Machineguns and eight different Weapon Pickups described here in the Weapons section.

The machineguns can and will overheat if fired without a break.

Uses[]

Air Battles, Air Battles, Air Battles, this thing is all about soaring through the skies and shooting down anyone that's not the same color.

Hitting ground targets can be a bit hard at first, and crashing into a building is a surefire way to a suicide, but a bit of training will help there.

With all the different Weapons you can pick up it's as adaptable as a foot Soldier.

How To Use[]

Can switch from Hover mode to Flight mode by pressing Triangle.

Warhawks offer 2 different styles of control for "Flight" mode, Normal, and Pro. Read the tips section for details.

Holding R2 will fly faster than normal speed, L2 will fly at a reduced speed.

Temporary extra afterburner boost is available by double tapping R2 and holding it.

Holding both L2 and R2, while turning, will make the Warhawk perform a power-slide turn.

Fun Stuff[]

Warhawk and Nemesis' can hold up to 2 people, the Pilot and the Passenger. The Passenger is unable to do anything. If someone happens to be trapped in the second seat take them somewhere and let them disembark, don't take them with you in a dogfight, you'll just give the enemy two kills instead of one if you get shot down. However, the passenger can see anything on the map, including enemy soldiers holding knives. Also if you want to have some kills with the Bio-Field Generator, place it on a plane and ride it to a enemy infantry and keep the Generator near them until they die.

Tips[]

Learning to fly[]

There's a whole set of skills to learn to get good at flying...hugging the terrain, aerobatics & power-sliding, dodging missiles, attacking ground forces, dogfighting/close-quarters combat, when to use hover mode, and lots of wonderful weapons.

There's also 2 different flight control modes, Normal Flight Mode and Pro Flight Mode.

Describing Flight[]

It may be useful to learn some basic terminology to make it easier to talk about all the whirling & twirling you'll be doing:

[longitudinal] left/right roll (used in most turns in Warhawk)
up/down pitch (as in pulling/pushing back/forward on the stick for climbing/diving, or heavily-banked turns in Pro flight mode)
left/right yaw (as in powerslide turns, or Pro Flight flat turns])

and simple flight paths...a loop, half-loop, zig-zag ("serpentining" left/right, or up & down), corkscrew (horizontal Barrel roll, or vertical), etc.

Flight dynamics with text — roll/pitch/yaw (click to enlarge)

Pro vs Normal Flight Mode[]

There are 2 different options in the game to set how you control and fly your warhawk. There is fierce debate about the modes, some say one is better or worse than the other. It seems most (but not all) agree that Normal Flight Mode is easier to learn than Pro Flight Mode. Pro offers greater control and maneuverability. Some say it's not worth tackling Pro, as Normal is as effective or more so. Others disagree. There are some maneuvers that can only be done in Pro. Some say that if you're going to learn Pro, you might as well start in Pro from the beginning and not get used to Normal. One of the developer's QA Analyst/Game Testers recommends Pro in the official strategy guide. You're going to have to decide for yourself what to do.

Normal Flight Mode[]

For more tips specific to this mode, including how to dodge missiles, visit the main article Normal Flight Mode

Note: If you also activate the motion-sensing controls you can then steer by moving the controller and can use a joystick to manually adjust the aiming reticle

Pro Flight Mode[]

For more tips specific to this mode, including how to dodge missiles, visit the main article Pro Flight Mode

Note: If you also activate the motion-sensing controls you can then steer by moving the controller and can use a joystick to manually adjust the aiming reticle

General Tips[]

Regardless of your flight mode, General BigFitch1012 has a great, simple tip: Keep your enemy on your screen, while staying out of theirs. Concentrate on how your enemy moves, not on your moves. As your opponent gets better, your techniques to achieve this might get harder, but the mission is the same. This is easier to do if you understand how your opponent's camera moves in the mode they're flying in. Understand where their camera is, and get out of it.

To see some dogfighting videos, visit the Pilots Videos thread on the Sony Warhawk forums

Offensive Strategies[]

Tips that work regardless of Normal or Pro Flight Mode

You will also find tips in the articles for each of the weapons for warhawks

(the most common/useful/important tips are near the top)

Listen for hitchhikers - If a teammate is using their pistol to shoot at the vehicle (which doesn't damage it) as you're running to it or flying near them, that means they'd like a ride (normally to another vacant warhawk, or near the flag)

Dogfight over friendly territory - If you get in a dogfight over enemy territory, you might want to try to move it towards friendly territory. Improves the odds that a ground-pounder will shoot your enemy and not you.

Fly with map open - If you fly with your large map open, you can get an idea of the flow of enemies while you're flying. If an enemy appears to be following you (& especially if they start boosting at you), it's probably acquiring a lock...time to start evading to break their lock before they fire.

Fire at close range - If you wait until your locked-on target is close before releasing your missile, they'll have less time to react. Just don't be caught by your own splash damage when it blows up on impact!

Fire machinegun in short bursts - If you fire your machinegun only in short bursts, you can cause nearly as much damage as holding down continuously, but by using bursts you can avoid overheating.

LG/MG combo - Learn the Lightning Gun/Machine gun combination...hold down the MG button (R1) and tap the LG button repeatedly. If you target them with a missile first they may be so busy dodging it that they don't notice your follow-up attack.

Weapon combos - Use combinations of weapons, because your 1st attack may cause your enemy to panic or react in a way you can capitalize upon. Start with MG or LG and follow-up with Homing Missile. Or do it the other way around. etc.

Know your enemies [weapons] - If you're paying attention you can keep track of where a pilot flies on the map. By using the map you can guess what pickups he's flying through and adjust your flying accordingly. If he flies past the Homing Missile spawn, now he may well have a homing missile, and he's probably going to prefer that over swarms. That tells you it will take longer for him to get a lock. So fly erratically making it difficult for him to get a lock. And every so often flip on him and fly right over/under and he'll lose the lock. Or just cloak for a second and he'll lose the lock. If you think he has LG, then keep your distance. If you think he has Air Mines...don't fly right on top of him.

Instant brakes - If a warhawk is right on your tail, you can switch to hover mode to stop fast and have them overshoot you.

In a hurry? - In a hurry to get somewhere (a flag carrier's location, the backside of the enemy's base, etc) and it's worth not worrying about being stealthy? Boost straight up into the stall warning zone, fly at the normal "accelerated" speed (don't use up your afterburner boost), then boost into a dive straight at your landing spot. Don't bother going into hover because by hitting the earth, you'll be forced into hover and it takes less effort since all you have to do is jump out.

Suicide plane - Stick some Land Mines on it and use it as a suicide plane.

Get a REAL wingman - A troop can stand on your wing, if you fly slowly in hover mode. You could use this to drop a troop off at a high point that you are not able to actually land at.

The Airborne Linebacker - When you're confronted with a ground-pounder zipping along in a 4x4, you can throw your weight around. Drop into hover mode, and then skim along the ground towards them. You can push them back, or knock their vehicle completely over. Shove 'em off a cliff or a bridge over water and say bye bye. Alternately, you can tumble them, then back off and finish the helpless occupants with machine guns and close range missile fire. This is very, very useful as a tactic for stopping or slowing a flag runner in Capture the Flag. It also works on tanks...but be wary. Tanks are harder to move, and one shot at point blank range and you're toast.

Air Strategy[]

Air strategy video (sugaboo on Archipelago) - See a great video here on air strategy, by sugaboo. Some ideas on how to use your warhawk to help your team win. This was done on Archipelago, but many of the concepts work for any map. These tips are good regardless of what Flight Mode you use.

Defensive Strategies[]

Shoot it! - Hit it twice with a Rocket Launcher. If it's close enough, alternate with some Grenades too. No-scoping with a sniper rifle works well too.

Shoot it with a tank - One shot and the warhawk/nemesis is destroyed. Remember to aim slighly ahead of the warhawk/nemesis.

Mine it - If it's close enough, throw a Land Mine at it. The mine may not activate until after you're dead...but at least you'll have gotten revenge.

Desperate? - If you don't have the right weapons (or skill) to deal with it, you can run right at it, shooting it with your rifle and tossing grenades. You might kill it, or drive it off, or live long enough for a friendly pilot to happen by. Or, hiding in a bunker doesn't often work, but if you have no choice, you can try and hope that either something else drives him off, or, sometimes they have to land to get you, and then you can fight them. Or another uncommon tactic if you need to hide in a bunker, is if you look up you'll see some beams, if you jump up onto the beam right over the entrance it is extremely hard for any Warhawk/Nemesis to hurt you.