Warhawk Tips - Intermediate

This is a work in progress and are by no means authoritative, etc.. But just tips I've given friends.If you have any tips you would like to see added to the list please email tips@warhawkstats.com. Please include the name you would like to be credited with. = )

Beginning Warhawk

Get used to your new best friend, the Warhawk. :)
You start in hover mode when you get in a Warhawk. You can switch to flight mode by pressing Triangle.

When in hover mode L2/R2 moves you up and down.
When in flight mode you can double tap R2 and hold it down to get a nice burst of speed.

Learn to fly a warhawk on a DogFight server, where you can just worry about other warhawks, and not worry about anti-aircraft turrets or solders with portable missiles.
The swarm missiles are your bread and butter weapon in the warhawk. Press and hold L1 when an enemy is in site to lock on as many missiles as possible. When you release L1 the missiles will fire towards the locked on target, if they are still locked on.

You start with 5 Swarm Missiles and can hold up to 15 at once.
The Swarm Missile pickups are the 3 canister looking pickups that have a green outline.
You can take down a warhawk if you hit them with 5 Swarm Missiles and some gun hits (R1). So fire at them as soon as you launch your Swarm Missiles.
You can lock on up to 8 missiles at once

Try not to fire the Swarm Missiles when far away, this just gives the targeted warhawk more time to avoid them.
The corollary to that is that the closer you are to the enemy the better the change you have of hitting. If they have only 1 second to try and avoid the Swarm Missiles you are prolly gonna hit your target
When Swarm Missiles have locked on to you, you can try to shake them off by pressing both sticks to the right, or both to the left. (This makes you do a hard turn while flipping)

To have a better chance of shaking off the missiles aim your aircraft straight up while pressing the right stick to the right.
A speed boost (double tap and hold R2) is always a good way to buy some more time.
Use the landscape to your advantage and try to get behind rocks, etc..

Lock on Warning signal displays a couple of bits of information to you.

The top red bar shows you how close you are to breaking the lock. The bigger it is, the closer you are to breaking the lock.
The blinking dots on the bottom show you how many missiles are on your tail.

Know where the health pickups are (big red pickups. :) You may be able to survive one encounter, but you have alot less chance of success on another one unless you have full health. They seem to tend to be low in a map and over starting bases.
You may want to try "Pro Flight" in the control menu for more complete control over the aircraft. Similiar to a real plane and less "arcadey".

Non-Warhawk

After an encounter you want to reload your gun/turret as the reload time in a battle can make all the difference. This is especially true in the Anti-Aircraft turret as it can take several seconds to reload.

Reload any troop weapon by reselecting the weapon on the d-pad.
Reload the Anti-Aircraft turret by pressing any direction on the d-pad.

You are invisible on enemy radar when you are holding the Knife.
The second person in a Warhawk can see everyone on the map. Including people on the other side, and holding knives.
The sniper rifle can take a fully healed warhawk down to approx 20% health with 2 shots, and kill and one with nearly any damage. This is great for warhawks sitting and guiding a tow missile.

You can make sniping easier by turning down the aim sensitivity in "Main Menu" > "Options" > "Controller Setup" > "Character" > "Aim Speed"

One on One Rifle Battles

Avoid running straight forward and backwards parralel with your opponent, this reduces the chances of a grenade hitting you. try running in Diagonal patterns.
If an opponent is running at you run backwards and diagonal and if he is running away run forwards and diagonal. It is harder to hit a strafing target with a grenade and this also betters your chances of losing their "target lock" on you.
Try jumping, it makes it harder for them to get a lock. but be warned it can shake your lock as well depending on how much you jump.
When running backwards from an opponent, throw the grenades low, chunking them over their head is not hurting them at all.
Aim your rifle at their head, this may be hard to get into the habit of, but it can change the outcome almost instantly. Head shots do drain health faster than body shots.

Landmines - Placement of the land mines is the KEY. Try hiding your landmines in places where they are not easily seen, exp: in grass, shadows, on the walls of narrow passageways. Place landmines on the top of doorways, soldiers will most likely be looking for them on the ground in the doorway. And if you really want to tick someone off, place landminesunder(or hiddin around) the landmine pick-ups.

Do not place mines too close together, or one going off will blow the rest up/waste them.

Flame Throwers - Before you start flaming, make sure you are in range. Once the target is in range, their chances of escape are slim to none. However, if the target is not in range, they can kill you with their rifle while you chase them. Grenades are great with flamethrowers. The opponent has a hard time seeing the grenades coming at them due to all the flames surrounding them.
Vehicle Defense - If a 4x4 is trying to run you over, equip your knife, then stand in front of a building, tree, box, etc. then jump out of the way before they hit you. While the 4x4 is trying to go into reverse, use your knife to kill them in the drivers seat.

Credits

Thanks to AhMunnaEChoo for the One on One Rifle Battles, Landmine Placement, Flame Thrower and Vehicle Defense tips!; jediryan123 for the 8 lock ons and sniper sensitivity; Gearhead430 for suggesting 2 sniper shots against a warhawk; alpha591 for suggesting pro flight; Emille for tip on keep mines spaced out; YoYo-Pete for correcting the "top red bar" for the warhawks;