EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6 – Wing Diver Survival Guide

How to Survive as a Wing Diver

Energy Management

Charge your shots when you can. You’ll hear a beeping sound, but you can fly longer. When your energy is low, do a quick emergency charge by tapping the jump button. This is faster than waiting for a full charge. Be careful when doing this, as you can’t move. If enemies get close, you can dodge by falling off a building. Or use a shield if the danger is coming from one direction.

How Enemies Notice You

Enemies can be in different states:

  • Normal patrol: They don’t know you’re there.
  • Fighting but don’t see you: If they spot you, they’ll attack.
  • Fighting and looking for you: If they spot you, they’ll attack.
  • Fighting and attacking you: They usually go after the closest target.

Big creatures like ants and spiders will keep fighting once they start.

Fighting Strategies

Fly and Attack:

Fly over groups of enemies to get their attention. Make them bunch up, then attack from above. Use weapons that hit a large area.

Wait and Attack:

Stay on a high spot enemies can’t reach. Wait for them to gather below, then attack.

Distraction:

Fly over enemies to get their attention. This helps your teammates on the ground who can’t fight up close.

Tricking Foot Soldiers:

Hide from soldiers in buildings. When they come to look for you, you can surprise them from behind.

Effects on Enemies and Types of Enemies

Knocked Down vs Stunned

Making enemies fall down helps you control the fight. For example, as a flying unit, you can knock down enemies shooting at you in the sky. This lets you deal with them one by one. Not all enemies can be knocked down, but all can be stunned briefly if you hit them hard enough. This is why some weapons are good at slowing down lots of small enemies.

Armored vs Unarmored

Armored enemies take less damage when hit on their armor. Some take no damage at all on armored parts. Unarmored enemies always take the same damage no matter where you hit them.

Types of Enemies

  • Ants, Bees (except queens): Can’t be knocked down, no armor.
  • Queen Bees: Can be knocked down briefly, no armor.
  • Pillbugs, Spiders: Can be knocked down, no armor.
  • Small and Medium robots: Can be knocked down, have armor.
  • Giant robots: Can’t be knocked down, have armor.
  • Small flying machines: Can be knocked down, no armor.
  • Big flying machines: Can be knocked down, have armor.
  • Frog soldiers: Can’t be knocked down, some have armor with a weak spot on the neck.
  • Grey soldiers: Can’t be knocked down, have armor.
  • Krull & Krakens soldiers: Can’t be knocked down, no armor, can block.
  • Giant enemies: Can’t be knocked down, no armor.

Positioning and Terrain

Shield Cornering

Using shields in corners can help you survive and recharge. But it can be risky if enemies use area attacks or if there are technical issues. Some enemies can shoot through objects, so be careful. You can use shields against air enemies, but watch out for flanking.

Structure Hitboxes

Different parts of alien structures block shots differently. Don’t rely on them too much for cover. Use your shield to be safe. The ground is usually the best cover.

Wing divers often use ship roofs for cover or to recharge. There are other good spots too, like the walking base legs or roof. You can shoot the ring’s weak spot from a ledge, but be careful.

Height Importance

Being higher up is good. It gives you more options. On mountain maps, stay on top of hills instead of in valleys. It’s harder for ground enemies to reach you up high. You can use tall structures to avoid some enemies. In some missions, ships will lift off, making them harder to reach from the ground.

Dealing with Blocking and Staying Aware

How to Handle Blocking

Some enemies block attacks. The first hit usually gets through, especially from the side or back. Single-hit weapons work well against these enemies. For multi-hit weapons, try to weaken the enemy first. If you’re very close, aim for the head. Be careful using certain weapons against multiple enemies, as it can use a lot of energy and be dangerous.

Enemy Friendly Fire

Sometimes enemies can hurt each other. Putting certain enemy types together can make them fight each other.

Staying Aware

  • Check your radar often. If you can’t, make sure you’re not near a map edge or if enemies are coming from behind. You don’t want to be surrounded. You can use a shield for protection, but it will keep you in one spot.
  • Some attacks are hard to see. Some enemies will attack back after you hit them. The damage they do depends on how hard you hit them. Be ready to move or shield after a big attack.

Dodging Patterns and Weight Divers

Bees:

Move left or right. Don’t go back the same way. Use a shield if you need to go back or forward without changing height.

T3 Drones:

Use a shield and move back when facing the drone. If you can’t shield, move to the side opposite of the drone’s rotation.

Tadpoles:

Try to make them come from one direction. Use shields, run, or move without attacking. Once you can see them all, they’re easier to handle. Fly low or between buildings to spread them out. In the air, keep moving in one direction to stay safe.

Deroys and chaingun/blaster infantry:

Keep moving side to side until they finish attacking. Then attack them up close. For Deroys, attack from above if possible. If they attack with their feet, stay still, dodge, then attack when they come at you.

Weight Diver

Being a weight diver means using a big core. You have more energy but move slower. You can use powerful weapons more often, but you’re easier to hit. Work with your team to stay safe. Good weapons for this build are:

  • Mirage: Good against small flying enemies
  • Dragoon lance: For attacking single enemies from far away
  • Plasma great cannon: Good for groups of enemies and knocking them down
  • Geist: Stay away from teammates and objects to avoid friendly fire
  • Raijin: Good for attacking unarmored enemies from far away

Remember, this build works best with teamwork. Ask your teammates for help and cover.

Weapon-Based Defenses

Some weapons are good for controlling enemies and staying safe. Gleipnir and Ghost chaser slow down small and medium enemies like androids and ants. They also knock flying enemies out of the sky. Plasma cannons knock down many ground enemies at once. Rapier bounces off pillbugs when you’re on the ground, helping you stay safe while recharging. Pulse machine guns block tunnels in cave missions and stop groups of monsters coming at you. They work well on green ants. Using a weapon just for controlling enemies can help your team, especially if others focus on killing enemies.

Radar Aiming

Sometimes you need to aim and shoot using your radar. This is useful when fighting green ants, shooting enemies in collapsing buildings, or when visibility is low due to fog or darkness. For green ants, you can use a rapier while jumping back or aim with radar and shoot in different directions.

Common Mistakes

  • Wing divers often die from using too much energy and not being able to escape. It’s better to be cautious. If you struggle with energy, use a low-energy weapon or one with a magazine.
  • Choosing the wrong weapons can be a problem. Pay attention to what your teammates are using and pick weapons that work well with them. Don’t limit yourself to close-range weapons if your team is using long-range attacks.
  • Close-range weapons like sabers can be risky in harder modes. Use them only on isolated enemies.
  • Be careful when rescuing teammates. Don’t revive someone if they can’t escape quickly. Focus on reviving mobile classes like wing divers and fencers. Take health before and after reviving to increase survival chances.
  • You don’t need to land to revive someone. You can dash over them while flying low. You can also drop a shield before reviving to protect them from attacks.

Enemy Priority List

The main idea is to target enemies that will bother you when moving around. They’re listed from most to least dangerous. This can change depending on the fight. Buildings are important for slowing down monsters. Destroying buildings on flat maps makes it harder for flying units. Androids have trouble on flat ground because they can’t use their hooks, but you’ll have less cover.

Kill Quickly:

Red bees, bees, green ants, level 2 drones, level 3 drones, laser and sniper soldiers, blue krakens, queen bees, red and imperial drones, tadpoles.

Annoying Enemies:

Level 1 drones (when there are many), sniper soldiers, gold ants, fast soldiers, spider kings, flying squids, medium androids, fast androids, red androids, deroys.

Somewhat Annoying:

Armored soldiers, level 1 drones, regular androids, araneas

Not Very Dangerous:

Spiders, silver spiders, other types of ants, big androids, and any others not mentioned before.

Avoid Fighting Alone:

Giant monsters like sirens, mermen, or erginius. Don’t try to fight these by yourself when your teammates are down. They have a lot of health.

I sincerely hope this was helpful. Good luck to you!

Volodymyr Azimoff
About Volodymyr Azimoff 7966 Articles
I love games and I live games. Video games are my passion, my hobby and my job. My experience with games started back in 1994 with the Metal Mutant game on ZX Spectrum computer. And since then, I’ve been playing on anything from consoles, to mobile devices. My first official job in the game industry started back in 2005, and I'm still doing what I love to do.

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