The weapons selector, introduced in Update “Raining Fire”, is a mechanism which allows the player to select which of an aircraft’s primary and
secondary weapons should be used. Once set up, players can cycle through their primary and secondary weapons, and fire them using
the same bound key. Note that this is a separate system, with separate controls, from the countermeasures selector.
The weapons selector is only available for aircraft and helicopters, it is not available for selecting between different armaments on naval or ground units.
The weapons selector is particularly useful for aircraft with multiple types of air-to-air missiles, as different missiles have very different uses, and without the weapons selector you cannot chose which order to fire the missiles in. The weapons selector is also useful in many other situations; such as for aircraft with multiple types of bombs, allowing you to chose which order to drop your bombs in, or multiple calibres of offensive armament, allowing you to conserve certain ammunition for more important engagements.
Setting up the weapons selector
Read this section carefully! Improperly setting up the weapons selector can lead to the inability to use any weapons.
To set up the weapons selector, you should first bind the “Fire primary weapon” control. This is the control which will fire your selected primary weapon (usually your guns), so you should bind it to the same key you usually use for your guns (left mouse button by default). Then you should bind the “Fire secondary weapon” control. This is the control which will fire your selected secondary weapon. It is up to you what you bind this to, but it is probably a good idea to use the same key bind as one of your normal secondary weapons (bombs, rockets, missiles, etc.).
After this, bind the “Switch primary weapons” and “Switch secondary weapons” controls. These are the keys you will use to cycle through your primary and secondary weapons, so bind them to something which will be accessible during flight. Finally, bind the “Exit selected weapon mode” control, this will restore the weapon controls mode to the standard mode.
| Controls | ||
|---|---|---|
| Control name | Description | |
| Small-calibre guns |
These are the key binds you are used to using for your various primary
and secondary weapons. Each type of weapon can have its own key bind.
You should leave these untouched if you have already set them up. Note: These key binds become inactive when their respective weapon type is not selected while in weapons selector mode. You should leave them bound if you still want to use your weapons when the weapons selector is not enabled, and both these keybinds and the general ones set for "Fire primary/secondary weapon" below can be used when the appropriate weapon type is selected in weapons selector mode. |
|
| Large-calibre guns | ||
| Additional guns | ||
| Drop bomb | ||
| Fire rocket | ||
| Fire air-to-ground missile | ||
| Fire air-to-air missile | ||
| Switch primary weapons | Cycles through your primary weapons (and enables weapons selector mode). | |
| Switch secondary weapons | Cycles through your secondary weapons (and enables weapons selector mode). | |
| Exit selected weapon mode | Exits weapon selector mode and restores standard key binds to operation. | |
| Fire primary weapon | Fires the selected primary weapon, regardless of what type it is (only works while weapons selector mode is enabled). | |
| Fire secondary weapon | Fires the selected secondary weapon, regardless of what type it is (only works while weapons selector mode is enabled). | |
Using the weapons selector
Default activation of the weapons selector mode at the start of a mission can be enabled in the options menu.
The weapons selector can be enabled by pressing either the “Switch primary weapons” or “Switch secondary weapons” key; and can be deactivated by pressing the “Exit selected weapon mode” key. Upon activation:
- A “Weapon selection on” message will appear at the bottom of the screen.
- A “>” symbol will appear next to the selected primary and secondary weapon.
- If there is more than one secondary weapon of the same type (e.g. different types of air-to air missiles, or different size bombs), then the name of the selected weapon will also be displayed.
Examples
The 20 mm cannon pod is the Phantom FGR.2's only primary weapon, so it is selected and marked with an “>”. It can be fired by pressing the “Fire primary weapon” key.
Having all primary weapons selected will cause all primary weapons to be fired when the “Fire primary weapon” key is pressed — including Schräge Musik, regardless of whether Schräge Musik mode is active. Operation of defensive gunners in Gunner View is not affected by the weapons selector.
The currently selected secondary weapon is the Skyflash, and so a “>” symbol has appeared next to the AAM label to indicate air-to-air missiles are selected. As there are multiple types of air-to-air missile available (AIM-9G Sidewinders and Skyflashes), the name of the selected weapon has been displayed. The weapon quantity is listed as “8/4”: the first number indicates that there are eight air-to-air missiles currently fitted to the aircraft, of which four are the selected Skyflashes (the other four being AIM-9Gs). The Skyflashes can be fired by pressing the “Fire secondary weapon” key.
When the weapons selector is activated all other weapon controls are disabled, this means that the Phantom’s bombs cannot be dropped, even using their non-weapons selector keybind. Instead the bombs must be selected by pressing the “Switch secondary weapons” key to cycle through each available secondary weapon — in this case AIM-9Gs, Skyflashes, 540 lb and 1,000 lb bombs, and SNEB rockets — until the “>” symbol is displayed next to the bombs.
The weapons selector is extremely useful for aircraft which carry a combination of different air-to-air missiles, as the different missiles are optimized for different uses, and without the weapons selector it is not possible to choose which type of missile will be fired.
In the example below, the Phantom FGR.2 is carrying four Skyflashes, four AIM-9G Sidewinders, two 1,000 lb bombs, three 540 lb bombs, and SNEB rockets. Without the weapons selector the player must fire all their Sidewinders before they can fire their Skyflashes, however the bombs and rockets may be dropped at any time using their separate controls. The “Switch secondary weapons” key can be pressed to activate the weapons selector and switch between launching the different suspended armaments. As the Phantom FGR.2 only has one primary weapon (the 20 mm gun pod) it is always selected and can be fired by pressing the “Fire primary weapon” key. With the weapons selector active, bombs cannot be dropped independently of the missiles, and must be selected in order to be dropped.
2) Weapons selector mode is enabled, with AIM-9G Sidewinders selected.
3) Weapons selector mode is enabled, with Skyflashes selected. The Skyflashes can be used without firing the Sidewinders first.
4) Weapons selector mode is enabled, with 540 lb bombs selected. The bombs can now be dropped.
Another use for the weapons selector is choosing which bombs to drop for aircraft with multiple bombs. In the example below the P-47D-28 would usually have to drop its two 1,000 lb bombs first, however with the weapons selector the 500 lb bomb can be dropped first, if desired. While the weapons selector is active the rockets cannot be fired by pressing the “Fire rocket” key, instead they must be fired by selecting them and pressing the “Fire secondary weapon” key.
2) The wing-mounted 1,000 lb bombs are selected. “3/2” means that of a total of three bombs, two are of the selected type (1,000 lb AN-M65A1).
3) The HVAR rockets are selected and can be fired by pressing the “Fire secondary weapon” key.
The weapons selector can also be used to switch between different guns on an aircraft. In the example below, the Spitfire Mk IIb has both 7.7 mm machine guns and 20 mm cannons. The weapons selector can be used to allow either all guns, or the selected guns to be fired with the “Fire primary weapon” key.
2) Weapons selector mode is enabled, only the machine guns are being fired by the “Fire primary weapon” key.
3) Weapons selector mode is enabled, only the cannons are being fired by the “Fire primary weapon” key.