Piloting a helicopter in Wardogs presents a unique challenge, demanding a balance between altitude management and realistic controls to ensure safe operation. Fortunately, players can hone their aerial skills in the game's firing range before engaging in live matches.
Practicing Your Flying Skills
To access the firing range, navigate to the bottom-left section of the main menu. Once inside, proceed to the left side to find the Vehicle Vendor. This station allows players to spawn any vehicle in the game at no cost. Select the 'Air' tab and choose your desired helicopter. Ensure you are on the pilot's side of the aircraft before entering.
Optimizing Flight Controls
Wardogs features more complex helicopter controls than typically found in arcade-style games. Adjusting default settings can significantly improve handling. Within the settings menu, under the controls section, enable 'Rotary vehicle mouse control' for enhanced mouse-based maneuvering. Configure the helicopter mouse swipe to 'yaw' for left and right movements and 'pitch' for up and down. Set both pitch and yaw sensitivity to approximately 80%, and mouse axis isolation to 70%. Ensure 'invert Y axis for air vehicles' is disabled.
Keybind adjustments are located near the bottom of the keybindings tab, under 'rotary vehicle keybinds.' Recommended changes include binding 'Collective (raise)' to the spacebar and 'Collective (lower)' to the left shift key. 'Increase and decrease cyclic x' can be mapped to W and S respectively, while 'increase and decrease cyclic y' are bound to D and A. Yaw left and right can be assigned to Q and E.
Essential Flying Techniques
Before taking off, remember that helicopters are locked by default; press L to unlock them. Use V for flares, which can decoy incoming missiles, and C to toggle the camera for different cockpit views.
To initiate flight, press spacebar to start the engines. Hold spacebar to ascend to your desired altitude. Releasing the spacebar will cause the helicopter to hover. To descend, hold left shift, paying close attention to the altitude indicators at the bottom of the screen to avoid rapid descents. Combining left shift and spacebar near the ground allows for a more controlled, gentle landing, preventing damage to the aircraft. Safe landings are crucial for maintaining your helicopter's condition.
Use Q and E for rotation, or your mouse, and W and S for tilting the helicopter forward and backward. To fly forward, hold spacebar and tap W to tilt the helicopter. Movement occurs in the direction of the tilt; over-tilting can lead to ground proximity issues and potential crashes. Tapping S can help correct the helicopter's angle if it becomes too steep. Essentially, Q and E control direction, while W and S manage forward and backward momentum.
For landing, tilt the helicopter backward with S and use left shift to descend. Passengers can safely disembark from approximately five meters above the ground. Practicing ascending, descending, and turning in the firing range will make these maneuvers feel more intuitive. To reduce speed without gaining altitude, select a direction, hold shift, and move back and forth; this utilizes sideways momentum for a controlled descent, which is vital for avoiding anti-air defenses.
Taking to the Battlefield
Once comfortable with these techniques, practice full flight cycles: take off, navigate to a target area, and land safely. Mastering helicopter flight can be a lucrative skill in Wardogs, offering a significant advantage on the battlefield.