Upgrades

Upgrades are used to increase any aircraft's performance. Upgrade effects including percentage increases apply to the value after traits are taken into account. For example, buying High Explosive Bullets on an aircraft with Gunslinger increases gun damage by 15% of 22, not 15% of 20. They will work on any aircraft in a player's lineup, but will be removed whenever a player leaves the match. Upgrades are unlocked by leveling up, as only a handful are immediately available. The last upgrade, Advanced Radar, is unlocked at level 22.

High Explosive Bullets

 * Unlocked: Starting upgrade
 * Cost: 200 Credits

Increases the gun damage by 15%. Considered to be an essential upgrade to improve gun performance.

Extra Ammo

 * Unlocked: Level 4
 * Cost: 200 Credits

Increases any aircraft's ammunition capacity by 80 rounds. This makes a significant difference with multiroles and light fighters, and assures that air superiority fighters and Close Air Supports are very unlikely to exhaust their ammunition.

Heavy Missile Warheads

 * Unlocked: Level 7
 * Cost: 300 Credits

All missiles deal 25% extra damage. This is especially useful for Air Superiority fighters, who have a better chance of downing enemy aircraft in one shot. In fact, without this upgrade, it is impossible to destroy a Close Air Support plane in one shot - the latter is only guaranteed to survive if they have purchased armor plating. For multiroles and light fighters, this helps improve heatseeker performance; CAS planes won't notice a difference in their air-to-ground missiles except against FOBs.

Dogfighting Loadout

 * Unlocked: Starting Upgrade
 * Cost: 500 Credits

This is the second most expensive upgrade, but it vastly increases the air-to-air ordnance of any aircraft which carries heatseeking missiles. This allows players to "waste" missiles on less opportune shots, such as increased dumb-firing or shooting more often even when flares will likely be deployed. This has no effect on a CAS plane, which carries no heatseekers to begin with.

SEAD Loadout

 * Unlocked: Level 20
 * Cost: 300 Credits

Carry an anti-radar missile. Can take out any ground radar from a distance. This grants any aircraft the glorious anti-radar missile: any aircraft will evaporate any pesky AAA without the AAA recognizing their very existence. You can even fit this missile on an air superiority fighter or light fighter, too!

Bomber Loadout

 * Unlocked: Starting Upgrade
 * Cost: 400 Credits

Aircraft by default carry 1000-lb bombs. With this Bomber Loadout, these bombs are replaced by smaller 500-lb bombs. The good part is that the aircraft can now carry an additional two bombs. This increases overall bomb damage by 50%, and allows a multirole or CAS to bomb an additional two targets with comparable effectiveness. The 500-lb bombs deal 25% less damage, but this is something one will only notice when attacking a FOB. This is an especially important upgrade for light fighters, who do not carry any bombs by default and require this upgrade to carry them. The same rules apply, however, and without the heavier bombs upgrade, they will still deal reduced damage per bomb.

1000-lb Bombs

 * Unlocked: Level 12
 * Cost: 400 Credits

This is another important upgrade for ground strikes. Though this does not increase the quantity of bombs carried, this does increase their damage by 25%. When combined with the damage penalty from the bomber loadout upgrade, will cause a bomb to deal the same damage as a normal bomb will, and as a net result deal twice as much total bomb damage as by default on a multirole. A player focused on FOB strikes often prefers buying this upgrade before Bomber Loadout, as it improves damage without requiring more bombs to be carried.

Armour Plating

 * Unlocked: Starting Upgrade
 * Cost: 200 Credits

Crucial for multiroles and light fighters, this adds a decent amount of additional hitpoints to an aircraft. Air superiority and CAS planes may not need this upgrade, but increasing an aircraft's survivability is always useful - especially considering that when the tougher two classes have this upgrade, it is impossible for them to be knocked out by a single missile.

External Fuel Tank

 * Unlocked: Level 4
 * Cost: 150 Credits

Provide 25% extra afterburner time. Useless on CAS planes, which do not have afterburners. Extremely helpful on multiroles, but a very important upgrade for any pilot who likes frequently boosting.

Tuned Engine

 * Unlocked: Starting Upgrade
 * Cost: 400 Credits

Improves engine thrust by 20%, affecting both acceleration and speed. This means that not only will the aircraft be more responsive to increases in throttle, but also boasts a much higher top speed. Pilots who want to recover quickly from maneuvers and ground attack runs will enjoy this as well as those who want to outrun one's enemies.

STOL Tech

 * Unlocked: Level 11
 * Cost: 100 Credits

"Short Takeoff and Landing" technology reduces landing and takeoff distances to provide shorter time on the ground. Aircraft are more responsive to course corrections as well as changes in throttle when airborne compared to when they are on the ground; this upgrade helps with this by placing the aircraft into its element sooner. Also useful for landing quickly on racing maps.

G-limit Override

 * Unlocked: Level 13
 * Cost: 600 Credits

This is the most valuable upgrade, and also the most expensive. Anyone who wants to outmaneuver an opponent will have this purchased; with greater turning ability, it is easier to get one's weapons brought upon the enemy, as well as come around for gun runs on ground targets more quickly. This upgrade improves turning performance by 15%. While turning ratings are already expressed as percentages, it increases turning performance by 15%, not adds 15%.

Advanced Speed Brake

 * Unlocked: Level 21
 * Cost: 200 Credits

Improves speed braking power by 30. Significantly greater braking power can be used to make landings easier or to gain the upper hand in a dogfight. This upgrade has wide applications from air-to-air combat to strafing runs and has a low cost.

Advanced G-suit

 * Unlocked: Level 9
 * Cost: 100 Credits

An upgrade that is both inexpensive and very influential, this causes a player to regain stamina 10% faster. A plane is vulnerable whenever its pilot runs out of stamina; thus, regaining stamina more quickly allows a pilot to execute evasive maneuvers (or attacking maneuvers) more quickly.

High Vision Canopy Modification

 * Unlocked: Level 15
 * Cost: 200 Credits

Provides a 10 degrees higher Field Of View and improves Vision Range by 25%. This allows for greater situational awareness and provides more time to line up guns as a target closes in.

Advanced Radar

 * Unlocked: Level 22
 * Cost: 200 Credits

Improves both Radar Range and Width by 20%. This larger increase in area covered by radar improves situational awareness and is valuable on both a tactical and strategic level.

Helmet-Mounted Sight

 * Unlocked: Level 17
 * Cost: 300 Credits

This upgrade allows a target to be further off the nose of a firing aircraft to achieve a heatseeking missile lock. An advantage in a dogfight with a great deal of turning.

Chaff

 * Unlocked: Level 2
 * Cost: 300 Credits

Whenever flares are deployed, the aircraft now also deploys chaff, which will render pursuing SARHs temporarily unable to lock on to a target. This buys a defending pilot time to evade the attacker's radar cone in case the SARH regains the lock. This is important if a player is being hunted by an air superiority fighter, but if the enemy team's air superiority fighters are non-existent or not a threat, this upgrade has no other benefit.

Advanced Flare Dispenser

 * Unlocked: Level 6
 * Cost: 300 Credits

This upgrade almost doubles a player's flare count. Typical players will not exhaust their flare count, but this upgrade is crucial to those who do.

Stealth Modification

 * Unlocked: Level 19
 * Cost: 400 Credits

Decreases detection radius by 25%. Note that detection radius is based on a detecting aircraft's radar radius, and so an air superiority fighter may see some "stealth" aircraft before that stealth aircraft can see the air superiority fighter. In Desert Trap, most players will be detected long before entering enemy territory, usually due to Recon Vehicles on the ground as well as the high probability of flying near an enemy plane in a crowded area.