Common mistakes

This is a list of the common mistakes that newbs tend to make and tips on how to avoid repeating them. Don’t stress too much about all the “what not to do” and “how not to get laughed at” stuff you read here. Take it to heart, yes, but don’t let that stop you from joining games.

What happens if I make a mistake?

You're a newb, you're expected to make mistakes. In fact, there are some mistakes we expect you to make:

Flying in circles for half the game.
Picking a fight with a veteran player and lasting all of half a second.
Not knowing which key is bound to what.
Having no idea what is going on or what to do.
Don't worry, half the players know half as much as they really should, and less than half the rest know half as much as they think they do. In any case Flight School is a good place to start changing that.

Of course there's always the risk that if you somehow foul up your team's chances pretty bad and your commander is having a really bad day, then he may just decide to use the boot button to relieve his stress.

Note If your rank is less than 5 (level Novice 4) there are newbie protection rules that will be enforced against the commander.

Even if you are booted you can rejoin the game. Only your callsign is booted - simply log out, log in with a different callsign (you are allowed up to 3 accounts concurrently), and Bob's your uncle.

Mistakes that will get you banned

Note Banning is more severe than booting. This time, you will not be able to log in with a different callsign.

Spamming voice chats

Allegiance uses a system of short radio messages for teammates to communicate with each other. Using these constantly and ignoring requests to stop can lead to a ban.
About 20% of all bans that are given out are given to players that are spamming.
If you want to practice memorising which key combo relates to which VC, go to an empty server, or the training missions, or somewhere else where 50 people don't have to listen to you.

Cheating

Cheating will get you banned, period. Here is a non-exhaustive list of things that fall under the definition and will grant you a long ban.

Defending enemy drones/constructors/bases/resources.
Sending private messages to the enemy team with sensitive intel (where are miners/what tech is bought/etc.).
Join team A, get booted, join team B and give away sensitive information.
Intentionally spamming probes in front of exit doors to see people bounce off them.
Otherwise playing to purposefully harm your team.

Mistakes that will annoy your teammates

Demanding to be let on a team

Everyone is entitled to play, however for the sake of game balance a commander may legitimately reject a newbie if there is a general lack of veteran players on his team. Usually the team with stronger players is obligated to take the new player (if they don't, then feel free to shame the commander on the forums). Yes, sometimes this means that you have to wait in order to join the game, but them's the breaks.

Few things are more annoying than bouncing off a probe every time you leave base
Click on the image to view a larger version.

Dropping probes in front of the red door

The red door of the base is the exit door, by dropping probes in front of it you cause everyone exiting the base to bounce off it, which is infuriating.
Doing this on purpose is against the RoC and will get you banned.

Using the VC 'Need better weapons'

or 'Need better fighters' when the team already has advanced tech.
Don't use these if you can't tell the difference between a Heavy Interceptor, a Basic Scout, and your elbow.

Broadcasting useless information to the entire team

There is a minimap which displays all ship information for the entire map. An experienced player can read it far faster than you could ever type it in.
Saying things such as 'There are two enemy scouts in Rigel', 'There is an enemy bomber in Aeroflex' is just a waste of your time, and clutters the message box.

Asking for ships that cost money

Several ships in the game cost money every time you want to fly them. Since the commander controls the team's money you need to petition him for the money and he can choose to approve or deny your request.
When you pilot one of these ships you are a walking team investment and it is critical that the money is not squandered.
Avoid asking for these ships if you are unfamiliar with how to use them - read how to use them in the F1 menu or on the Allegiance Academy, and then practice on the Newbie Server first.
The exception is rescue probes for Scouts ($250 or $100 each) - commanders love pilots that drop rescue probes in the right places. Dropping one next to a friendly base might get you booted.

Continously spamming the commander with 'Buy Ship' requests will probably result in you getting booted from the game.

Jumping on turrets when not wanted

Several ships have turrets which other pilots can board and use to defend the ship.
However, sometimes pilots will not want turrets - they might be going on a stealth run, or would prefer you defend them with an escort-type ship.
Generally, if a player isn't using the 'I need turret gunners, NOW!' voice chat then they don't want gunners. They may also use the 'Get off my turrets, man' VC to tell you exactly what they want.
Changing ships or stations will remove you from the turret spot, or if you're already in flight pressing Ctrl-Shift-d three times will eject you.

Some players remove the turrets to lower the ship's mass and improve its handling. If you jump on their turret there is nothing for you to fire and you cannot even spin the viewpoint - you're just along for the ride.

Mistakes that are detrimental to your team's success

Not shooting nans

During an enemy attack, nans will try and keep the main attacker (bomber, troop transport, constructor, etc.) alive. It is crucial that you attack the nans first because any damage you attempt to inflict on the main target will be instantly repaired.
The commander will reinforce this by sending the VC 'Attack Scouts!' or 'Attack nanites!'

Not carrying a nan when possible

Some commanders assume that any pilot flying a ship which can mount a nan is carrying a nan.
During an emergency he may send ships (normally miners or constructors under attack) to the closest such pilot for repairs.
If you don't have a nan and the ship dies because you were unable to repair it he is going to be annoyed, and may boot you.
Note: Nearly all Belter ships can carry a nan.

Stopping a friendly constructor from building

If you are too close to a friendly con it will think you're on a collision course, and try and avoid you. This can delay its building time allowing the enemy the precious seconds needed to destroy it.
This is known as "humping the con".
If you are defending a con stay about 400m away unless you have to get closer.

Not stopping an enemy constructor from building

A Bios fighter desperately tries to ram a Belter constructor off course before it can build
Click on the image to view a larger version.

Constructors have to line up on an asteroid exactly before 'diving in' and building the base.
By ramming its nose or tail, you can swing it around forcing it to attempt again, buying your team precious seconds to destroy it.
Note that they will not automatically avoid collision like friendly cons do.

Warning! Large cons (i.e. techbase cons) have so much mass that this technique is virtually impossible.

Mounting shields and missiles on a stealth ship

Both shields and missiles raise your radar signature, making it easier for the enemy to spot you - defeating the purpose of a stealth ship.
You can place missiles and shields in cargo when you're not using them by pressing Ctrl-5 and Ctrl-7 respectively. You mount them again the same way.
- This requires a spare slot in cargo.

Flying to another pilot that is trying to stay hidden while you are eyed by the enemy

This is the same as above, except it is your teammate that is trying to stay hidden, not yourself. Examples include Heavy Troop Transports, Teleport Scouts, and Stealth Bombers.
You can tell who is trying to stay hidden because they won't have shields mounted. Either stay away, or take off your own shields and missiles.

Not picking up friendly pods

A helpful GT fighter rescues his fallen comrades' lifepods
Click on the image to view a larger version.

Picking up teammates who are in a lifepod transports them instantly back to base, where they can immediately launch to help defend, attack, or whatever again.
By ignoring friendly pods you are handicapping your own team, because the players in the pods are unable to do anything useful.
If you pickup people often, they are more likely to remember and pickup you when the situation is reversed.

Ripcording to an Assault Ship

An assault ship is an expensive capital class ship which uses stealth to infiltrate the enemy sectors, then acts as a teleporter for a bomber or htt or capship attack. By teleporting to it early you will almost definetely be spotted, and the enemy will trace you back to the assault ship, resulting in its destruction.
Always be careful about which sector you are ripcording to. This is what the assault ship looks like on the minimap, avoid the sector that it is in.

Some commanders will boot pilots who give away the positions of ass ships, HTTs, TP scouts and/or sbs, with little to no warning.

Not Probing

Probing - Just Do It™

Probes are dropped by scouts to spot enemy movements when no one is in the sector.
If no one probes then the enemy will always surprise you, always have the upper hand, and your team will lose. This is a fact.

Ripping to Rix SR scouts

Rixian Unity has a unique ship, the Small Rip scout which other scouts and fighters can teleport to. However it only has enough energy for one such ship every 30 seconds or so. Because of this it is vital that the pilots that do teleport in are capable of helping the SR pilot with the task he is undertaking.
Teleporting a basic scout to an SR which is trying to kill an enemy miner is not helpful. Teleporting a fighter is.
If you don't know what you're doing, avoid teleporting anywhere when you fly for Rix; the exception being if you're sure you are teleporting to a teleport base (which have infinite energy).
In fact, the most useful thing you can do if you are inexperienced is fly an SR scout yourself, and hope that an experienced player teleports to you when/if you get into trouble.

Pod killing

Killing an enemy life pod does not increase your kill count.
All it does is return the enemy pilot straight back to base and resets his kill bonus.
Most of the time this is an advantage for the enemy pilot because he can begin flying again straight away.
More info on this Allegwiki article.

Mistakes that will get you laughed at

Overboosting

A common newb mistake is "overboosting", which is holding down on Tab until your target is in range and then go zooming past!
Release the boost key when your target is about 1-2k away to avoid this.

Dropping probes directly in front of alephs

When scouting you drop sensor probes to detect enemy movements later. But by placing it in such an obvious place as the "entrance" of an aleph you make it easy for the enemy to spot and destroy.
Place a probe (or two) around the sides or back of the aleph instead, anywhere from 500-1000m away.

Following scouts through alephs

A scout annihilates an enemy attack by mining the aleph just before they enter
Click on the image to view a larger version.

Scouts often carry proximity mines which they attempt to drop in front of enemies, causing them to plow into them and explode.
By dropping them on the "exit" side of an aleph they ensure that you can't avoid them. Following a scout full speed through an aleph is tantamount to suicide.
Avoid dying by going through the aleph slowly, and/or wait till the mines expire before entering.

Nanning piloted Phoenix ships

Phoenix piloted ships cannot be repaired - nans have no effect on them.
Attempting to nan them is a waste of time.

Using Gat and nan on GT scout

Ga'Taraan Federation scouts are unique in that they can carry a gattling gun and a nan at the same time. Firing both at the same is pointless though, because you will be both damaging and repairing your target, with a net effect of nothing.
Activate one or the other by pressing 1 or 2 on your keyboard. You can toggle firing all weapons again by pressing the same button again. This is covered in training mission 3.

Scouting with ints/figs

At the beginning of the game the map is unexplored and you only have a few tasks to choose from.
- Explore the map with a scout
- Defend the miners or constructors with a nan, interceptor, or fighter.
Exploring with an interceptor or fighter does not work because their scan range is very low.

Trying to dogfight someone vastly superior

Even though you have played a lot of FPS, you will be nothing more than cannon fodder for quite some time.
Try to perform tasks which don't involve attacking the enemy, such as probing and nanning. To do this you'll be in a scout, and scouts are faster, more maneuverable, and stealthier than most other ships anyway, so you'll be able to survive longer (hopefully).
If you do want to try and improve dogfighting try and only take on other newbs. Try and ensure that you have a ship built for dogfighting - either the Heavy Interceptor, or the Advanced Fighter. Avoid anyone who isn't either a newb (who have a (#) tag, like you) or a cadet (who have a @CDT or @AFS tag).

Asking 'Can we start the game' when the game is already in progress

When you join a server you will be put on NOAT (Not on a Team). Simply select a team and press join to start playing.

Asking to be commander during Prime Time

As with the military, you need to be a good Private before you can become a good General
Unless you have a solid reputation as a player who understands all of the roles in the game, no one will fly for you.
Asking to command a team when you don't yet have the experience to even be a good pilot will annoy other players (apart from on the Newbie Server, obviously). Almost all new players don't understand the game well enough to make for good commanders.
If you want to build experience commanding, ask other similarly-skilled players to join you in a private server for a 1-on-1 commander training game. Or, use the create a game mode to explore the tech tree and learn how to manage your miners and constructors.

Flying basic ships when advanced tech is available

Most factions start out with a basic fighter or light interceptor ship. During the game, the commander will research far superior ships, but sometimes these basic models are still available at the launch screen. Don't use them: you will be vastly outgunned in a firefight.
Heavy interceptors and advanced fighters are the best ships in a dogfight. They are followed by basic interceptors and enhanced fighters, which in turn are followed by light interceptors, basic fighters, and finally patrollers.
When in doubt, watch what your teammates are flying. (Or fly a scout!)

Flying with the keyboard

Even though the training missions teach you how to manouver with the keyboard, in a real game you should use a mouse or joystick.
The mouse can be activated / deactivated with Num 0.

Whining on the forums

Sometimes a new player will come on to the FreeAllegiance Organization forums to rant and rave about some imagined slight, making outrageous demands and threatening to 'leave'. Or they make a topic about how great they are, a certified genius if you will, and how everyone should bow down to them.
As in real life, whining and boasting irritate people, so don't expect anything different on our forums.

Getting started

Intro:	Overview · Top 10 things you should know · Newbie games
Installing:	Quick install · Step by step guide · Troubleshooting
Gameplay:	Learning guide · Common mistakes · FAQ · Training index