Angels Fall First is different from most online experiences in several ways. At the time of writing this the game does not yet have an in game tutorial (devs are working on it). This guide will walk you through some of the basics and offer some tips on areas of the game where many new players get confused. I will also post some video tutorials in here on some subjects and links to more in depth guides on subjects as I discover them.

In general, Angels Fall First (or AFF) is a mixed unit shooter that takes place in space and on the ground. There are currently two game modes (Territories and Incursion) and two factions (AIA and ULA). While the game is designed primarily to be played in multiplayer, it has very robust bot support and can be played as a locally hosted singleplayer experience.

Time to kill is generally higher than a lot of modern FPS games. This is by design. Time to kill also varies widely depending on which type of armor or vehicle you use. Typically the faster you move, the less armor/health you have. It takes some time to get used to, but it is quite balanced and caters to a lot of different play styles.

It's always wise to familiarize yourself with the controls of a game. There's a lot you can do in Angels Fall First so here are some highlights of useful controls.

G: Select an enemy or objective; this can be used to spot an enemy alerting your team to their location
Z: Countermeasures: activate your vehicle's defensives (Drones/Flares). If infantry, this toggles night vision.
X: change the firemode of your weapon
C: issue commands to your squad or all squads if CM.
B: chat callouts; ask for a medic, ammo, taunt, etc. Bots will respond and attempt to revive you or drop ammo/medkits nearby if you make requests, so do learn to use it.
F: enter and exit vehicles, and interact with objects on the battlefield, like objectives.
ALT: freelook in vehicles, look without turning
ESCAPE: bring up the map to change loadouts, change spawn locations, respawn, and many other action items.
MIDDLE MOUSE BUTTON: change flight mode from traditional flight to full newtonian flight for spacecraft, or hover mode for gunships
V: Turret command menu when in a vehicle. You can use this to order bots to attack specific targets or even cease fire.

The HUD in Angels Fall First is a bit noisier than most modern games, which can be a distraction for some. However, there are a few settings that allow you to adjust the UI to better suit your taste.

Go into Settings > Interface:

• You can adjust the colors of UI/HUD elements (especially handy for colorblind users).
  
• You can adjust the scale of individual HUD elements. Set scale to zero to remove them.
  
• You can adjust the opacity so they stand out more or less.

I recommend setting the minimap to a scale of zero, unless you use it. Also, reducing the opacity of Icons and reducing the scale of target info. Set crosshair opacity higher than everything else.

This should make the HUD feel less cluttered and help prioritize the information you need to be constantly updated on.

It's probably a good idea to go into a singleplayer match and jump back and forth between the settings and the game a couple of times until you get to something you like.


7/13/2022

The progression system of Angels Fall First is a little different from other online shooters. When you start the game, all equipment is unlocked so you have access to everything. However, there is a budget system that determines how much of that equipment you can use at one time on any suit or vehicle. You can watch the video I made and/or read this section.

First off, as you play the game, you level up three skill classes:

• Command: is earned by completing objectives you have been ordered or by people following orders you have given them.
  
• Support: is earned primarily by actions like reviving,healing or resupplying ammo to other players.
  
• Combat: is earned by damaging other players or their vehicles.

As you earn points in these fields, they rank up and each rank adds to your budget in that field. Each piece of equipment requires a certain amount of budget points in one or more of these fields to equip. So ranking up each field allows more flexibility in how you put together a loadout.

If you are new to the game and don't want to bother with loadouts right away, you can download and install this Customized Loadout INI File[www.nexusmods.com] and use the loadouts I have crafted. Just be sure to read the description for instructions.

Tips:

• Light, Medium and Heavy suits with different stats and numbers of helmet and body mod slots. Each suit can be used in any role (example: a sniper in a heavy or light suit).
  
• Helmet mods: These have a wide range of effects, so check them out. I will mention that the "Leveling Spec" helmet mod redirects all earned XP to your current lowest ranked area (Command, Support or Combat). This can be useful if you are earning points in one area faster than the others and want to balance out your budget more.
  
• Armor mods: These are mostly mods that increase your armor or shields or affect different resistances. There is usually some counterbalance to these so that they aren't always a good choice.
  
• Sidearm: You can equip small arms like pistols and SMGs in this slot. In most cases you want to have a multiwrench equipped in this slot as it allows you to repair and revive allies and vehicle armor. Note that players have two bars over their head. One is armor the other is health. you can only restore armor with a multiwrench. a medkit is required to restore health. If you see a player with a partial bar and your multiwrench isn't doing anything, this is why.
  
• Primary Weapon: You can carry up to two primary weapons. This can include secondary weapons, so if you want to run around with 3 SMGs or pistols you can. Any combination is allowed, assuming you have the budget for it. If you have two or more weapons that use the same ammo type, their ammo counts will be shared, which can be useful in some situations. You can also pick up weapons in the field from fallen players/bots. So you can leave one or more primary slot empty and pick up weapons during a match to save budget (or just want to upgrade/play around).
  
• Explosives: Grenades come in multiple styles and can equip up to two charges. You can combine two types or stack two of the same charges for a stronger effect. Detpacks behave more like C4 or proximity mines. Smoke grenades are very cheap to carry and highly recommended. They offer considerable cover and break line of sight (even for bots). I'm a personal fan of combining smoke and incendiary charges onto a grenade as it fills multiple roles.
  
• Kit Slot: By default you only have one, but with the "Support" helmet mod you can carry two kit items. These are deployable items like medkits, ammo boxes and turrets. Very useful items that can aid your whole team. Ammo and health are always handy. The rest are mostly used for defending positions.
  
• Check all the options in each loadout tab as there are a lot. For example, there are multiple types of grenades as well as a remote detonator in your infantry explosives slot.
  
• If at any time you want to restore your default loadouts, you can just delete the AFFLoadout.ini file in your game folder. Though be warned, this will make your recreate all of your fittings again.
  
• When you max out your rank in Command, Support and Combat you will get the option to reset them all to 1 and let you start over the process again. Each time you do this you will unlock a new camo pattern.

Ammo Types:
Many weapons allow you to add special ammo types. EMP, Corrosive and Incendiary add a % chance to take effect, while Hardpoint effect is always active.

• Standard: Free. No bonus or penalty.
  
• EMP: slow them down; disable shields (doesn't do more damage to shields though!). Disables certain weapon charge-up abilities - good for gunships & light suits.
  
• Incendiary: overheat certain weapons, damage over time - good for pretty much everything except tanks & the turtle IFV, or heavy infantry without overheating weapons
  
• Corrosive: permanent health & armour debuff, temporarily take more damage from explosions (great for vehicles)
  
• Hardpoint: Good against vehicles and can penetrate through some objects (think cover/walls). Hardpoint can also penetrate players, so it can be good in a crowded cooridor. Good for high damage/low rate of fire weapons like sniper rifles.

Vehicle Loadouts:
Vehicle Loadouts only have a few major differences compared to infantry.

• Countermeasures: Z activates countermeasures that offer some defense from missiles and other attacks.
  
• Explosives: Currently just mines. Once an enemy gets close enough these will move towards their target. You can use these as an offensive weapon by driving/flying past an enemy and deploying them as you pass.
  
• Weapons: Weapon selection is different from infantry and some vehicles have weapons unique to them or fixed weapons that can't be swapped out. The two primary weapon types are guns and missiles.

Angels Fall First has a slightly more complex chain of command than similar games and understanding how it works is important. You can watch the video I made and/or read this section.

• Y: Team chat. Good for communicating match tactics to everyone in your team.
  
• U: Squad chat. Not used very often, but it's there.
  
• T: Global chat. Both teams can see this. Mostly for casual chat.

Player Commander/Milnet:
One player per team can be voted in as Commander or if no one opts in the AI Milnet will take the role. Commander is primarily responsible for giving orders to Squad Leaders. Either by using the command wheel (default "C") or in the tacmap (much easier). Commanders are also given special powers as a match progresses and depending on the map type. If you are a Commander you should see a pop-up in game letting you know you can use it in the tacmap. Each ability has a cooldown period, so use them wisely.

Scan: This ability shows the location of all enemies on the map to everyone on your team.
Shield: Creates a large defensive shield where you click on the map. Good for protecting capital ships in space.
Hack: This temporarily disables a lot of equipment in an area and turns enemy turrets on your side. Excellent for attacking a well defended objective. Communicate with your team and give them a 30 second warning before activating so that they know to prepare for a push.

In the tacmap on the right you should see a list of your team's Squad Leaders. it will cycle between their name and their current objective. You can click on their name to highlight one or more Squad leader, then click on anywhere in the map to send an order for them to attack/defend or move to that location.
You can also select one or more Squad leaders and press CTRL+<number> to save that group of Squads. So for example if there are 6 squads you could group them into 3 groups of 2 squads each and quickly re-select them by pressing 1-3 to send new orders.

Squad Leaders:
Squad Leaders have the power to set orders as well. As squad lead, you can either use the "C" command menu to order your team to Freelance (which passes along any orders from the commander) or give them orders yourself. You can even use the Tacmap to micromanage your squad and send individuals on separate orders.

All Players:
If you are just a squad member, you still have options to communicate. You can use the command wheel to ask for new orders if an objective is completed. You can target enemies to spot them for other players. You can also use the communication wheel (default B) to give various call outs. The most commonly used are asking for a revive, medic or ammo. If you use the call out system an icon will appear over your head letting nearby players know who needs assistance. Bots will also sometimes respond to these requests!


Tips:

• The game will place human players as squad lead until all squad lead roles are filled, so it is good to understand how this all works. If you don't want to be squad lead, you can join another squad.
  
• The AI is generally much better at following orders than humans, and not all human Squad Leaders know how to pass down orders, so leading human teams can be more of a challenge.
  
• Don't be afraid to communicate tactics in team or squad chat. Especially if you are commander and have abilities to use. Giving your team a heads up to prepare for an opening can make a big difference.
  
• Being Commander is more of a part time job, you should regularly check in to make sure everyone has a task, but otherwise join the fight with everyone else.

Some maps are more challenging and/or complex than others. When you are learning the game it is a good idea to start with simpler maps and progress as you learn the game's mechanics.

General difficulty scales like this:

• Territories is easier than Incursion.
  
• Ground maps are easier than Space maps.
  
• Ground maps with vehicles and Space maps with Capital ships are generally more difficult than Infantry/Fighter only matches.

You can also lower the difficulty level of bots as well as the bot count when setting up a single player session to help you learn a map.

Here is a list of Maps that I suggest you play to learn the basics of the game:

• Errah Territories: Is an Infantry only Ground map. The map is small and easy to navigate. There is lots of cover and no vehicles to worry about.
  
• Igneous Platform: Infantry only Incursion. Pretty straight forward map with limited paths.
  
• Fortress Incursion: Is a ground map with vehicles. Objectives are more spread out and there are more options to attack and defend.
  
• Anaster Territories: Space map with fighters and Corvettes. Map is in a series of tunnels, so it's easier to control when you get into a fight and there is plenty of cover. Good practice controlling space ships.
  
• Ixion Incursion: Pretty straight forward space incursion.
  
• Mirnoide Incursion: Play this map as ULA, as it offers the best place to practice boarding with dropships. Stage 2 requires you to dock a dropship to a static point on two static space stations. If you are lucky, you can practice docking, deploying a drop pod, and flying to the resupply point to get a new drop pod to repeat.

7/16/2022

Incursion matches involve one team attacking and another defending a series of objectives over several stages. If the defending team successfully defends the current objectives for the set time (regardless of stage) they win.

• Generally the earlier stages are easier to capture and the final stage is easier to defend.
  
• Attacking team typically also has to capture a set of drop pod locations to move their spawns further up and closer to the next set of objectives. If the defending team destroys these drop pods the attackers will no lose their spawn points (and likely the match).
  
• Space Incursion matches typically take place in separate areas of the map, requiring you to navigate the Tacmap and keep track of where you should spawn in as stages progress (see space matches section).
  
• Attacking objectives in Incursion can be a real challenge, especially for the final objective. The entire opponent team will be guarding a single location so it will be very well defended. Utilize area effect weapons like grenades and MNL to soften targets. Use smoke to either give cover for your team to advance or directly on the objective to cause confusion.
  
• If you are commander and attacking, order your team to gather behind cover away from an objective until you reach an acceptable threshold of the team spawned in and together, then order them to attack. If you don't do this your team will spawn in and attack objectives in small numbers allowing defenders to easily pick you off.
  
• If you are defending, make full use of deployables like medpacks, ammo crates, shields and turrets as you will primarily be holding stationary positions.

Territory matches involve capturing and holding as many objectives on the map as possible and preventing your opponent from doing the same. It's a very straight forward game mode.

• If you are new, I suggest lone wolfing objectives where you do not see action. generally you will see on the map enemy objectives with no ally team members nearby and lots of blips from both teams in another section of the map as most players tend to rush to the action. Go for the objectives with no action and you should meet little to no resistance.
  
• Alternately, go to undefended objectives your team owns and expect to encounter enemy lone wolves or squads doing the same.
  
• Alternately, run a support fitting and drop ammo, medkits where there is a lot of action. especially if there is an objective that flips sides often or a choke point.
  
• If you are a squad lead, set your squad to follow you and move slowly so that they stay close to you. Attack objectives with your squad.
  
• Some Territory maps have secondary objectives to deploy a drop pod, giving you or the enemy an additional spawn point closer to the action. Holding these gives you a big advantage so consider them a highly valuable target. If the enemy captures it, destroy it ASAP.

Matches that take place in space are typically the most difficult for players to get comfortable in. There is a lot going on and it is easy to get lost or feel like you aren't doing well if you aren't prepared.

Map:
On your tacmap in the lower center and lower right, you can switch between different sections of the map. This is very important to understand as space maps take place both in space with ships and inside ships (and sometimes stations) as infantry. You will occasionally need to navigate the tacmap to change where you spawn in depending on what is happening. You may want to spawn on an enemy battleship to destroy it from within or board a space station to capture or defend and objective.

Capital Ships:
In some space matches you can be offered several special ships (similar to vehicle offers in infantry ground maps). While powerful in their own right, the strongest tactic is to combine forces. An organized team will attempt to create a fleet of Capital ships close together to defend each other and melt outnumbered enemy Capital ships quickly. This is why taking out enemy Capital ships quickly is very important. These larger ships turn much slower than fighters so it can be difficult to keep an eye on your surroundings. Hold Alt while moving your mouse to enter freelook mode.

Battleships:
Battleships are the largest and strongest of the capital ships offered in matches. These are large ships that can do a lot of damage and also serve as a mobile platform for launching fighters and dropships. However they are valuable targets and can be taken out quickly if you aren't careful. Battleships have large interiors and can be boarded by the enemy with dropships and destroyed from within. See the section on boarding for more information. In territory matches, battleships count as an additional objective, so keeping your team's alive and destroying your enemy's will offer a significant advantage.

Dropships:
Dropships can be deployed from most hangars and used to place spawnpoints for your team on enemy battleships or space stations. The main section of the ship has seats for a pilot and two side gunners. The rear of the ship is a Drop Pod which detaches from the dropship and remains in place as a spawn point. Two important things to note. The drop pod spawn point can be destroyed by enemy fire (requiring it to be defended and/or replaced). When you deploy a drop pod you can return to a resupply location and get a new one attached to your dropship (allowing you to repeatedly deploy Drop Pods with the same ship).

Dogfighting:
Combat in space maps will primarily involve dogfighting in various ships. There are a few general tips I have for you.

• Default middle mouse button toggles between gravity assist and Newtonian flight modes. Newtonian flight mode continues your flight path in the direction you use thrust regardless of where you aim after (and you don't slow down). Try out both modes and learn how to take advantage of them. Experienced pilots will switch between both modes frequently depending on the situation.
  
• In space, there is limited cover. Take full advantage of what cover there is when you can.
  
• Like infantry suits, choose the fighter type that matches your play style. Lighter ships are more maneuverable and better suited to players with faster reflexes.
  
• Mines can be placed on objectives as you capture them to deter enemy fighters attempting to recapture it. You can also fly very close to other ships and deploy them as an offensive tactic. This can be especially useful against slower ships.
  
• Check the max range of each weapon in the stats to get an idea of how close you need to get to an enemy to engage them. For example torpedos on a bomber have a max range of 5km. You can get to just within that range and launch them at a static target far more safely than flying right up to it.

7/19/2022

You can use a dropship to board enemy battleships or space stations in some maps. Here is a walkthrough video and some quick tips:

• I may be incorrect in the video on the number of dropships each team can have deployed at once (and it may vary per map).
  
• Dropships are high priority targets so whenever possible defend yours and attack your opponents.
  
• Consider using "Y" team chat to let your team know if you are planning on doing a boarding run so that they can provide cover.
  
• You can rearm your dropship and get a new drop pod at any resupply location. This is faster than waiting for a new dropship to respawn.
  
• Drop pods are physical objects which can be destroyed (either from space or on ground). Defend your pods to maintain the spawn point.

Navigating some maps can be confusing for new players. The Tacmap shows a transparent 3D map of the game space, but in some situations the game space can be split up into several separate locations. Often the only (or primary) way to reach these locations is to redeploy and navigate the Tacmap. In the lower center you can scroll left or right through the options, or on the lower left there is a Location key which will show all locations. I've made a video to help explain and walk you through the steps.

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In both space and ground matches most maps allow special vehicles to spawn in and take part in the battle. As you play, you will likely be offered a vehicle during a match. This will help you better understand how that process works.

• Vehicle offers are tied to your score, so the better you do, the more offers you will get.
  
• If you decline a vehicle offer it will speed up and increase the chance you will be offered a better vehicle.
  
• Each special vehicle is limited to how many can be on the map at one time. So if someone on your team is flying a gunship and only one per team is allowed on the map at a time, no one else will be offered a gunship until that one is destroyed.
  
• Destroyed vehicles will dock a percentage of progress from your team if destroyed. So sometimes it is wise to decline a vehicle if you don't need it or don't think it will offer your team an advantage at that time.
  
• You have 60 seconds to accept or decline a vehicle when it is offered. Use this time to complete a task or do a suicide run, as accepting a vehicle will force you to respawn anyway.

Console Commands can be used in singleplayer or when hosting your own server.

• F2: opens the console. Doing this will display map coordinates, which is very helpful when taking screenshots to send to the devs with bug reports.
  
• stat fps: displays FPS.
  
• F3 or F5: hides the HUD and is good for taking screenshots and videos.
  
• killbots: kicks bots from the server.
  
• addaiabots <number>: adds bots to the AIA team.
  
• addulabots <number>: adds bots to the ULA team.
  
• addbots <number>: adds bots evenly to both teams.

addbots can be handy for setting up custom matches where you control how many opponents are on each team or want all players on one team against all bots on the other.