Barrel Roll is the most versatile Engine Ability

[ALaggyGrunt]

If everyone uses barrel roll, it becomes something every gunship pilot has to be able to compensate for. Learn the routine, lead it, and hope lag doesn't make you miss.

 

It won't save you from some gunship pilots. They'll pick you off when you're partway through the maneuver.

Edited February 14, 2014 by ALaggyGrunt

[Philmors]

Barrel Roll is good but I feel it is pretty much only good for the slower ships. Scouts in general don't really need it and can use another engine maneuver.

[Zoom_VI]

The thing with using barrel roll of fightercraft is that its a purely defensive maneuver. Any attack angle you might of had on a opponent is gone the second you use BR. Engines like retro thrusters allow me to keep my attack position, and not only that they can often extend my time-on-target by a couple seconds.

[Itkovian]

Barrell Roll is god's gift to Protorp users. It's a perfect way to put yourself smack in the middle of the Protorp's launch envelope.

 

And on top of the standard issues with it, loss of control, the fact the enemy is quitting the field for several seconds, I think there are plenty of drawbacks for its advantages.

 

Certainly, it's an excellent engine component, and especially important for non-scouts who want to survive Gunships (without barrel roll gunships would dominate pretty much everyone except scouts), but it's not broken. And you certainly do NOT need barrel roll to chase a barrel roller. Even when I don't protorp I never BR after them: regular boost is more than good enough (and if they BR twice in a row, well then, I've just gained control of the area, and it's no worse than when people retreat back to their cap ship).

[Irongut]

Barrel Roll is certainly better than the turns - I tried them each once, never again! But, it does not have the tactical flexibility of a good Retro Thruster.