Guns of Icarus: Introduction, And A Gunner How To Guide

So instead of sharing misery with you, I want to share something that's bought a great deal of joy to me lately.

Guns of Icarus Online is a game! A video game! A game that has big steampunk zeppelin battleships battling it out on a post-apocolyptic world! I am sold on these details alone!

In a nutshell, you pick a class, be in Gunner, Engineer or Pilot, and crew a flying ship to fight against other crews, all PVP. Now currently Icarus is in beta, so it's constantly changing. I like playing this game, so in my mind, if I share it with you, maybe you'll like playing this game, then you can join me in a faux pirate voice shooting at people who dare try to share the sky with us. And the best way to share in my mind is... a How To guide, so if you try it, you'll at least be bloody competent at it. I'm not Guns of Icarus Online expert, but I've picked up plenty of starter trick and hints, (or know people who do) which I reckon will come in handy - especially as the beta lack at time of writing a tutorial mode.

Today I'll introduce you to the Gunner. Saturday I'll post a How To for the Engineer, and on Monday the Pilot. Monday will also see Captaining Advice, and a section of what I'd like to see introduced into the game.

Basic Nonsense

On the top right of the title screen, you'll see your customization options, for looks, equipment and ships, so play about with them before leaping in. On the ship in match, Guns of Icarus Online controls with WASD movement and spacebar to jump, which is handy to vault down to lower levels. The first thing a pilot on a Spire ever sees is my ass leaping over the front to grab the main gun below... or on occasion, misjudging, and plummeting off the ship, much to my embarrassment.

The Gunner

The first class we'll look at is a good introduction into how to play Guns of Icarus. You'll be doing to obvious: firing the guns to make your enemies go boom, but you'll likely end up being roped into odd jobs around the ship as well. Unlike over classes, there's often multiple gunners on a ship, so you can suck a bit and not worry too much. Being a gunner is a great beginner class as you'll be taking orders, not issuing them, so it's a nice, low pressure ease into the game.

Recommended Equipment

Let's talk about equipment. First of all, we have Piloting Tools, of which you can choose one. Choose the Spyglass. Everything else needs to be at the wheel to use and if you, a gunner, is at the wheel, so many things have gone wrong that having any other Piloting Tool would not make a difference in how screwed you are. Dear god. Never be at the wheel. The actual pilot will have your head.

Next is Repair Tools. Most gunners will opt for the Rubber Mallet, which I recommend for first time players. It repairs a lot of health, available to use every six seconds, so an odd whack once in a while will keep your guns working. It also means if stuff starts going wrong and the engineer requests help you'll be well suited to assist. And by request I mean 'obscenity riddled shrieking.' It's okay. It's not actually swearing if you're an engineer. It's a rule of the universe or something. If you're not going for a Rubber Mallet, choose between a Fire Extinguisher or the Pipe Wrench. The Extinguisher is handy as guns are the only component on the ship that stops working once ablaze, because apparently no one is keen to man a gun whilst on fire, the cowards. However, if no one on the enemy team is using flame throwers you can ignore it. The Pipe Wrench is a good all-rounder in repair and rebuilding. Now there are a few other options, but I'll save a more detailed look at them for the Engineer How To, where it'll be more relevant. In my experience, I've wanted a Rubber Mallet far more than I've ever wanted an extinguisher.

The meat and bones of a gunner is the ammo loadout. Let's go into more detail:

Burst Rounds: Increase size of explosion and clip size in return for slower rate of fire. Great for flak cannons and missile launchers, this is a good standard choice.

Charged Rounds: Increases damage while reducing rate of fire and clip size. Best used on guns with already high damage and clip sizes to small to effect (Heavy Cannonade, Field Rifle, Heavy Flak Cannon,) but gives a welcome punch to anything, really.

Incendiary Rounds: 10% chance to have what's hit burst into flame in exchange for smaller clip size, rate of fire and shot speed. Best used on close range guns that'll hit a lot and often to make the most of that 10% - the Manticore and Gattling Gun work well. Don't use it with the Dragon's Breath Flamethrower, you idiot, you can't make flame more flamey.

Heatsink Clip: Whilst active, your gun is immune to fire. Less damage, less shot speed, but quicker rotation and more clip size as well. I tend to bring this along just in case, and if the enemy has flame throwers: BRING THIS ALONG. Your captain will thank you for it. Load when you see the enemy close.

Greased Rounds: More rate of fire and clip size for less damage and rotation. Like Incendiary, pairs well with the Gattling and Manticore, but has it's uses on the flame thrower as well.

Lesmok Round: Increased muzzle speed and lift gives you better range at expense of clip size and rotation speed. This is not a round I'd recommend for beginners due to the fact using it means you'll be most likely trying difficult shot's on the edge of the gun's range, which might be a taxing for a beginner. Use with the Field Rifle, Heavy Flak Cannon and funnily enough, the flame thrower, for a few extra few feet up close.

Heavy Clip: Reduced recoil and muzzle speed. I've yet to see any real benefit from this as I try to, ya know, aim better. It does make some guns like the Medium Flak Cannon a mite easier to handle, but I'd recommend Burst Rounds extra clip size to make up for deficiencies. EDIT: The kind people at Guns of Icarus Online told me that this ammo's effect is to reduce it's spread, so it's heartily recommended for the Banshee and Gattling gun.

Lochnager Shot: One super high damage shot with less recoil that'll make any gun a one shot clip... and do self-damage each shot. Also less rotation speed. Let me say it clearly: NOT WORTH IT. I've never hit, only the Heavy Flak Cannon has the health not to break upon shooting, anything else you'll be robbing the crew of an engineer to babysit you, the damage will likely get repaired in the reloading time, AND you'll probably miss. Avoid it for now unless the dev team changes it.

If you're torn about what to take with you, check the Match screen.

So polite.

 You see the name of the ship? When clicked, it'll show this:

Dear lord my handwriting is awful.

This is the ship's weapon loadout. If you know exactly what guns you're going to be using, and what gun's you'll be facing it narrows down your options. Not one flame thrower on the enemy team and heavy flak cannons on your ship? Try Burst Rounds, Lesmok Rounds and Charged Rounds. A fire-heavy enemy and your own ship is a Gattling/Flamethrower combo? Heatsink Clip, Incendiary Rounds, Greased or maybe Lesmok Rounds I'd choose.

Or take what the captain tells you. It's the captain. He (allegedly) knows what works on their own ship. Allegedly.

How to Play

As the round starts, grab a gun, and load it with your preferred ammo. Sometimes the captain may tell you to hop off and use a different gun: if you're new, let someone play with the big gun whilst you get your eye in. Remember: these aren't hitbox guns. They have range, recoil and drop off, so a myriad of factors such as your own and the enemies ship movement will affect your shot. Check the silhouette for their headed direction, lead your shot and let rip. Any ships spotted by a spyglass will appear on your map, 'M.' You can look at it whilst shooting as it's a good range finder; rule of thumb; if it's over a square away, you won't hit it without a Field Rifle.

Let's take a quick look at what the gunner sees on a gun:

Why. Why didn't I type on it? I've seen better handwriting from a four year old.

Now it's a bit difficult to see, I'll give you that. I'd love for the dev team to make bigger, brighter indicators and an option to turn the blasted film grain effect off, but that's for Monday. Here I am, on a Gattling Gun,. I've scrawled over with green to exaggerate the important bits; the white highlight box surround to show the enemy ship has been spotted, and the two different crosshairs. An empty one means a team hit, and full on your hit. The spotted box will go if the enemy ship retreats into a cloud, but you'll always see the hit crosshairs that flash up. So if you see one flash in a cloud, pepper it and you may get lucky.

To kill a ship, you'll need to overwhelm the hull health and armour, and the engineer likely repairing the hull. So look out for any guns that point in the same direction as other guns. For example, on the Pyramidion, that'll be the two forward guns up top. A Junker has two sets of side facing guns, top and bottom deck, like the Galleon. You want to back up fellow gunners by filling these out.

Most of the time, you'll want to be aiming at whatever you can hit. If you have options, go for the hull. While different guns do different things to different parts of the ship, it's a safe bet to aim at the hull unless a.) the captain says otherwise, or b.) you're on a Cannonade, medium or heavy, in which case, the BALLOON. AIM FOR IT. NO ONE BUT YOU IS ALLOWED A BALLOON. POP THEM LIKE YOU WOULD TO BULLY A SMALL CHILD.

Quick run down of guns I regularly use:

Mercury Field Gun: Think of it like a sniper rifle. Will shoot through a hull, leading to multiple hits.

Flak Cannons (Medium and Heavy): Exploding flak shots. Aim for the hull and let the area of effect hit multiple targets. Be careful with the medium version; it has tricky alternating shots that can throw your accuracy.

Dragons Breath Flamethrower: So much fun. Weave back and forth over the hull to re-ignite anything they're put out. Unless the map shows the enemy ship practically touching your ship it's likely out of range.

Whirlwind Light Gattling Gun: A beast of a hull shredder.

Cannonades (Medium and Heavy): NO BALLOONS FOR YOU. In seriousness, it's basically a shotgun, so use very close.

These guns are quite popular, with clearly defined role or good all rounder appeal, but this may change as the devs ticker behind the scenes. They're also some of the easiest to pick up and use effectively. If you are a new player, steer away from the Javelin Harpoon Gun and the Banshee Light Rocket Carousel. The harpoon is a bitch to aim and is very situational, and the Banshee is a bigger bitch to aim. There's nothing worse than successfully harpooning a ship before realising, oh god, it's got flame throwers, I just brought flame throwers closer to us and we can't run away, oh god, everything's on fire. Then the captain will turn to you with a sad face and say, why'd you kill us? Why you do that? So we can all agree it's very needlessly traumatic.

But the gunner's role is not just gunning. Admittedly, it's your obvious primary role, but there's a few more things to grasp. Namely, that spyglass. Once your gun's loaded with your chosen ammo, leap off, and start spotting ships. And telling your team where as well. If you have a mic, speak up. If not, or don't want to talk out loud, the 'L' key is crew chat. The pilot will love you for that. Once you start to recognize ship types, calling the type – and directional facing – will help further. There's nothing like seeing the left broadside of a Galleon to let a pilot know to get the hell outta dodge. Spotted ships are highlighted wherever you look, and take extra damage. So if you see a gunner standing next to a gun looking wistful: don't steal the gun. It's rude. They're looking for ships. Don't nick it.

Especially if the Gunner looks like this, and is called Karkon. Don't nick  my gun.

Of course if they've missed the guy under their nose, go for it. Also, if the engineer yells for help, he means you. Like, right now. The pilot ain't moving. You are repair help. For the most part, you'll shoot at the captain's direction, report in enemy positions, and be a spare mallet when needed.

For me, the gunner is one of my favourite classes, as, ya know, big guns. I like to shoot the big guns. Freud would say something disparaging about that.

So that's the end of my first guide. On Saturday the 26^th, I'll talk about the mysterious, tool-belted engineer.

Do any of you have any tips, or like to point out I've clearly made a stupid mistake and can think of much better, saner, sober advice? Well, we have a comment box for a reason. Go. Point out what an idiot I am. But please. Politely.

We will resume my usual ranting raving next week.

Guns of Icarus website: http://gunsoficarus.com/

You can find the beta for sale on Steam here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/49800/