Welcome new pilots. We wrote this chapter for (re-entering) vets or new bunny-hopping rookies who want to fly and fight on our WB Clash of Eagles multiplayer server. This chapter does not explain offline and campaign modes.
The Game: IL2 Sturmovik Great Battles
If you are thinking about buying the game then the most easy and cheapest way is to buy it directly from the website’s store. To play online on either which server you only need one of the Great Battles; so either Bodenplatte, Kuban, Moscow or Stalingrad. In multiplayer all maps are available, so if you just bought Bodenplatte you can still play on a server running a map on Moscow, but you can’t play the single-player Moscow campaign. I hope this makes sense to you. Ok, so The WB Clash of Eagles server uses the Normandy map and most of its planes, so our advice is to buy this one. And expand from there if you like the game.
Any difference between premium and standard versions?
Yes, the premium versions gives you access to more planes. But you can fly on the WB Clash of Eagles servers with any standard version, but you won’t be able to fly all available aircraft we have enabled on the server. You might want to try your game out first, before buying extra planes. So you won’t invest your money in something you don’t like.
But if you do, buy it directly from the IL2website. As linking your account of IL2 with Steam is rather counter-intuitive 😉 We would like to advise you to wait for a sale though, as the Great Battles series goes down to like -66 % at times. UPDATE June 30th: SUMMERSALE IS LIVE!
Once you have bought one game, you can buy the other games or additional aircraft of the series by hearts desire on the IL2 website and these will be activated in your IL2 game client.
Bought one of the IL2 Great Battles from Steam? Well, connecting your Steam game/nickname with IL2 is rather confusing. If you already bought the game from Steam you need to link it to your IL2 profile; here’s info on how to link Steam and IL2 (PDF link, click here)
Getting off the ground in IL2
Maybe you have flown Warbirds, AcesHight or WWIIOnline in the past. Is it much different in IL2? Well, that depends on which server you fly, but graphics are really top notch. FM’s are ok, and the feel of flying is great.
Can’t see any servers in Multiplayer? Sometimes new pilots enable the checkbox “mods enabled”, just don’t. Mods can be fun, but you don’t want to fight pink P51’s going 1500 km/h. So disable mods, and voila… there are all the multiplayer servers. Scroll down and pick one of the WB Clash of Eagles servers.
Got stuck in figuring things out by yourself? Just drop by and ask us your questions on the IL2 forum page of the server, Facebook Page or our Discord Server.
WB Clash of Eagles – Arena Settings
The Arena is the place for both new and experienced IL2 pilots. New pilots might want help with flying. Hop on our discord server and scroll down to the #Training grounds. And put down your request for help!
These are the server settings:
- icons are OFF for both friendly and enemy air- and ground targets,
- tech chat is ON; which means you have information of your engine temp. etc on screen.
- CEM is ON (Complex Engine Management),
- inflight map OFF; you have an in-game map available but your plane’s position and any friendly or enemy aircraft is not being shown. Which means you have to navigate by landmarks.
Aaarggh…. The AAA is eating me alive!
Oh yes baby. FLAK is lethal, as it should be if you fly straight and lining up on rails to strafe it. Best way is to attack AAA with 2 planes, one that activates the gunners. Weave, wiggle and use rudder. The second plane goes in and strafe the ack. MG will do, use your cannons for the harder structures on a target like factory buildings, ammo dumps and fuel storages. All AAA rebuilds in 15 minutes (!)
So the best way to deal with AA is to have someone else get the attention of the guns (at high speed in an evasive pattern). While the gunners chase him, you come in and destroy the gun. The guy getting shot at is at risk the whole time though because he has to stay in range of the gun or else it will start tracking you while you make your attack run. With a little practice and coordination this tactic can be very effective. Factories and Ship Convoys have two AAA, Small fields three, Medium have five ack emplacements and Main fields have ten (!).
Pro tips:
1. Shoot early to scare off the crew and have less enemy fire
2. After destroying the Ack, you will see black scorching on the field. When that spot disappears, it will respawn soon!
Rinse repeat, and remember… never fly straight until you are out of reach.
Watch some ingame footage from Twitch tv; so you get a feeling about whats going on in our unfriendly skies 🙂
Capturing fields. Gameplay of WB Clash of Eagles
Plan your attack. Strafe the radar antenna attached to the field to blind the enemy for at least 30 minutes. Than it will rebuild. (‘Recon planes’ gave their rough positions away)
Linked Factory: Destroy buildings to close the factory. You get a message when you succeed. Once closed the Factory will be down for 90 minutes and adds 30 minutes to the rebuild time of the structures destroyed. But only after the factory is destroyed. Remember; the enemy is able to repair a factory by dropping 8 para’s very close to it.
Linked Ship Convoy: Sink the 6 ships. They will be sunk for 90 minutes and that will add 30 minutes to the rebuild time of the structures destroyed on the linked field. But only after the complete convoy is destroyed. You can not repair a sunk convoy.
Now you are ready for the big job; capturing an airfield. Depending of the airfield’s size you need to destroy multiple hangars, ammo-dumps, fuel storages and a control tower. Best way is to eliminate the AAA. When the Ack is down you have 15 minutes to destroy the hard targets before they are rebuild. You only need bombs for hangars and control towers; the other targets can be strafed (canon). Completely destroyed structures on a field will pour out thick black smoke for 30 minutes. When all structures are down you will read the on-screen “F-x FIELD IS CLOSED” message. Each destroyed Ack will always respawn after 15 minutes!
Important: When the linked target (Factory or Convoy) is destroyed prior you destroyed the structures, you will have 60 minutes to accomplish this instead of 30 minutes. The hard work is now done. But the field isn’t yours yet! Make sure to have a transport plane (Axis have the JU52 and Allies the C47) standby to drop those paratroopers. When the field is closed, drop a minimum of 8 paratroopers (12 on a Main field) within the boundaries of the field in order to capture the field.
Note: AAA and searchlights do not need to be down in order to close a field. AAA will pop up after 15 minutes, even if the linked target is destroyed. AAA is lethal for your paratroopers, make sure to keep those Flak boys down and time it smartly. Good luck!
Next Step? Check our gameplay and concept.
Tutorials and online resources
There is tons of more info about any aspect of IL2 Sturmovik. We covered the basics for now. But if you prefer to study your favorite aircrafts manual, need intel in how to dive bomb, set up your joystick, how to record video’s of your flight, spotting enemies and what not, go check out:
Land them kills
We are running our own stats and score server. So any of your sorties, kills and deaths are being recorded and published close to real time on the Stats pages.
Hope this helps. Now get up, and climb up there in the hostile skies of WB Clash of Eagles.
Check six.
S!
1st.ROF Netherlands
Team WB Clash of Eagles