The Ping Pong
by sick
So you just finished your Drop, and the target isn't dead. You're
ready to start a deadly combination maneuver, the Ping Pong. Done
right, you bleed every last ounce of energy from the target and
shoot him so full of lead he'll think he's a Roman Aquaduct. Done
wrong, you'll need a boat.
The Ping Pong is a series of partial attack runs, each setup much
like a Drop, that are intended to force the target to take only
ineffective action. The time to initiate a Ping Pong is when you
are above a target, at stall speeds, pointed up, and your target
is below you, low on energy, but not low enough to leave you a
significant advantage. There is a fine line here: if your energy
state is too close, you will have to disengage, a Ping Pong won't
work. If you have too much of an energy advantage, the length of
time it will take to reverse each attack run will give the target
ample opportunity to gain energy or disengage himself.
A Ping Pong is intended to accomplish the following:
- Build on a slight energy advantage. By faking gun passes, you
commit proportionally less energy than the defender, who must assume
you will come all the way in.
- Keep you safe. By not commiting to low percentage (especially
head on) attacks, the Ping Pong keeps you out of danger until you
are ready to make an attack on your own terms.
- Frustrate the enemy. By never quite engaging, never quite giving
up a shot at you, you drive the bastard crazy.
The general idea behind the Ping Pong is to begin a dive on the
target from a fairly steep angle, but not straight down like a Drop.
Instead, come in from somewhere between 45 and 60 degrees. But,
instead of going all the way in for a guns pass, pull gently into
a zoom climb when the target is still d10 to d12 in front of you.
The target, having an energy deficit, will be unable to follow you
up and around, and will either dive away (you can now convert to a
much safer Swoop attack) or will struggle to keep up with you, but
remain slow and below you. Even better, he may have committed to a
defensive move that burns even more energy, and may even cause him
to lose sight of you.
These partial attack runs can continue as long as is necessary. It's
important to know when the conversion should occur; convert too late,
and you are wasting time, giving the target a chance to possibly
disengage, or, worse yet, summon help. Convert too soon, and you will
blow your energy advantage and be forced to disengage yourself.
The right time to convert is when the defender gives up. This can
come in a number of forms. He may dive away, trying to get out of
your reach. He may commit to a defensive maneuver that leaves him
stalled out. He may lose sight of you. Or he may try to force his
nose up towards you for a very low percentage (or zero percentage)
shot, and leave himself stalled out and helpless. When the time is
right, the Ping Pong converts easily to a Drop or, should he try
to disengage, a Swoop.
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