Muhtar
Project Admin
Your ship is no longer just for space. Master Pilots will soon be able to launch from the ground and fly their own ships through the skies of 10 planets: Corellia, Dantooine, Dathomir, Endor, Lok, Naboo, Rori, Talus, Tatooine and Yavin 4.
Flying in a planet’s atmosphere requires Master Pilot in any pilot profession: Imperial, Rebel or Freelance. Not there yet? Now’s the time to finish that pilot training. Other players can still fly along as passengers aboard a Master Pilot’s ship, or book a seat with the Shuttle Service.
Take to the skies
Launch from your datapad. Use the new Atmospheric Flight menu on your ship’s datapad entry to launch, land, call your ship to you, board it, or find where you left it.Space and planet, both ways. Climb high enough and you’ll break out into space. Coming back, choose “Fly down to the planet” on a space station’s comm channel to descend in your own ship.
Planet auto pilot. Right click the planet map and choose “Auto-Pilot Here”. Your ship climbs to cruise height, flies there, and keeps you posted on the Navicomputer.
No fly zones. You can’t fly low over starport cities. Glowing walls mark each city’s edge, and you’ll need to stay above 300 m to fly over.
Watch the scenery. Hitting the ground or buildings damages your ship.
NPC squadrons patrol POIs on every flight planet, and you can join the fights:
Difficulty by planet: Tatooine, Naboo and Corellia are the gentlest, Lok and Yavin 4 step it up, and Dantooine, Endor and Dathomir are the most dangerous.
Who you can fight follows your pilot’s faction, so Imperial pilots can engage Rebel ships and the other way round.
Atmospheric Flashpoints
A new Rebel vs Imperial battle in the sky, for Master Pilots.A capture ring appears high above a site. Fly into it to take control for your faction. While any enemy ship is inside the ring, it’s contested and nobody makes progress.
Hold it to win. The faction that holds the ring longest when time runs out wins.
Schedule: battles run for 30 minutes every two hours, and the site rotates each time.
Rewards:
25 tokens for every 3 minutes your side holds the ring.
150 / 100 / 50 tokens at the end for a win, draw or loss (one reward per account; you need at least 2 minutes in the battle).
GCW points.
Live status: type /gcwF to see both ground and atmospheric flashpoints, time remaining, who holds the ring, and to get a waypoint.
Pilots in the area get countdown messages every 5 minutes, then in the final minute.
Entering the battle zone makes Rebel and Imperial pilots Special Forces, even if you’re on leave or a Combatant. You stay Special Forces after leaving. Neutral pilots can’t take part, and yachts aren’t involved.
Shuttle Service (open to everyone)
Not a Master Pilot yet, or just want to sit back? Visit the Shuttle Service Pilot inside the Mos Eisley starport.
- Pick a destination from a list of starports, shuttleports and points of interest.
- An NPC shuttle picks you up, flies you there, drops you off and heads away.
- Up to 8 passengers per flight, and the shuttle can’t be attacked.
- Civilian travel only. You must be Neutral, or a Rebel or Imperial on leave. Combatants and Special Forces can’t book a flight.
Atmospheric Exploration
A new badge collection: 39 sky areas across all 10 planets, from the Jundland Wastes to Rhoa Yenth. There are three ways to earn them:- Views: fly low over a landmark like Arch Mesa or the Isle of Kun.
- Summits: pass over a planet’s highest peaks.
- Canyon runs: fly a canyon or valley end to end, low and fast, in under 8 minutes.
Dune Sea Flyer,
Naboo Skyfarer,
Corellian Skyrunner
Talus Skyfarer
Rori Swamp Skimmer
Lok Volcano Flyer
Dantooine Plainsrunner
Yavin Jungle Flyer
Endor Cliffrunner
Dathomir Sky Raider
Explore all 39 to earn the title Atmospheric Ace.
Special Thanks
Buba, for generously sharing his work on ship landing and take off, which atmospheric flight is built on.Mala, for the great video showing it all in action.