'FLARE' - Countermeasures

Overview
The first available Special slot gadget, Flares distract guided missiles and enemy lock-ons at a cheap price.

Usage
Flares are essentially insurance against death in tricky situations. While MICROs and Javelin missiles can be avoided with a well-timed dodge or simply outrunning and out turning them, there are certain scenarios that can otherwise spell certain doom if not approached with extreme caution. The high-damage IR missiles and Meteors, particularly when launched in large swarms, can prove nearly impossible to avoid in some planes and will quickly whittle down an aero's HP

Here, Flares can be used to completely nullify these threats temporarily, until the pilot can manoeuvre into a safer position.

Flares, however, are not without their shortcomings. Like all gadgets (bar the Boost) they come with finite ammo, and a cooldown timer. Over-dependence on flares to evade minor missiles can see the player left completely vulnerable when facing off against one of the aforementioned high-risk enemy Aeros later on. Furthermore, there is a slight delay between the flare's deployment and its effect, meaning that a Flare deployed extremely late can effectively fail to divert a missile in time to avert a hit.

Worth noting is that Flares can deflect all incoming missiles and lock-ons simultaneously, regardless of attack angle, numbers and distance.

"Don't be afraid to mix it up"
For a new Pilot, it can be daunting to consider unequipping Flares. After all, as the cheapest and easiest to use special, as well as having generous ammunition counts and quick reload times at higher marks, one can be hard pressed to find a better alternative for a special.

But as you develop a sense of how these and other enemies behave, you will be able to approach these situations with better foresight and planning (literally 'approach'; many enemies can be lured to attack you individually, or even surprise-attacked). This can allow you to experiment with other options; tail guns and ALMMs for attacking aircraft or structures from other angles than the front; boost for getting out of a bad situation or tactical repositioning in a turn fight, or drones to act as shields.

"Observe, decide, deploy"
Choose carefully when to deploy flares. Take out enemy aeros before they can enter missile range, and stay aware of where the enemy is launching from.

Destroy Vets and Aces equipped with IR missiles as soon as possible. Keep your tailpipes away from them, and try to keep tabs on where they are at all times. So far, the only enemies that carry IR missiles are ROGUE and SCHWALBE VETs, and SCHWALBE ACEs.

Simply avoiding getting shot is always an easy way to avoid depleting flares. You may not even have to pop a flare––For some aeros, simply throttling up, cranking a tight turn, and/or dodging can cause enemy missiles to overshoot.

Trivia

 * While the number of visible flares deployed per use increases by 1 per upgrade, this does not actually increase their coverage or efficiency.