ARES: THE IRON VANGUARD Jetpack Mobility & Aerial Combat Guide

To move efficiently and survive combat encounters in ARES: THE IRON VANGUARD, tap your jetpack thrusters in short, controlled bursts instead of holding down the flight input. Stutter-stepping in the air conserves fuel, prevents long cooldown penalties, and keeps your character mobile enough to access multi-tiered terrain or dodge incoming enemy attacks.

Fuel Management and Flight Techniques

The jetpack relies on a dedicated fuel gauge that limits continuous flight. Burning through the entire fuel pool leaves you grounded with a longer cooldown before thrusters can re-engage, leaving you exposed to ground attacks.

To maintain continuous aerial mobility:

Controlled Bursts: Tap the thruster button periodically to maintain momentum across gaps while preserving energy.
Elevated Resting: Land on ledges or high platforms to initiate immediate fuel recharge before committing to another flight path.
Gap Clearance: Reserve full thruster bursts for vertical jumps over wide chasms or multi-tiered terrain steps.

Flight Method	Fuel Consumption	Primary Function
Continuous Hold	High (Rapid depletion)	Vertical elevation and clearing high ledges
Stutter-Stepping	Low (Optimized)	Long-distance traversal and mid-air repositioning
Mid-Air Dash	Moderate	Evading area-of-effect skills and tracking shots
Low-Altitude Dash	Low	Fast ground-level repositioning against anti-air foes

Offensive and Defensive Aerial Tactics

Ascending into the air changes target angles and provides line-of-sight advantages over grounded forces.

High-Ground Offense

Launching abilities from mid-air creates a high-ground angle, making it easier to hit weak points on large bosses and heavily armored targets. Ranged Combat Suits benefit from airborne vantage points because the camera follows your character's height, revealing incoming enemy spawns and ground-based area-of-effect zones across the arena.

Aerial Defense

When enemies charge high-damage abilities, initiate a mid-air dash-dodge using the jetpack. Combining aerial repositioning with active suit-switching allows you to output damage from key vantage points and relocate before melee targets close the distance.

Anti-Air Risks and Movement Limits

Airborne movement does not make your character invulnerable. Specific enemy types carry anti-air weaponry and tracking projectiles designed to punish predictable flight paths.

When facing heavily armed mechanical units or anti-air targets, modify your approach:

Avoid Sustained Flight: Floating in a predictable arc makes you an easy target for homing projectiles.
Use Low-Altitude Dashes: Stay close to the ground using horizontal thruster dashes so you can quickly utilize cover.
Swap to High-Defense Suits: If health drops while airborne or fuel runs out, immediately switch to a tankier Combat Suit upon landing to absorb incoming damage.