If you have unlocked Ikarus in Tyr and immediately thought he looked cool, you’re probably not alone. You might have tried flying straight into the enemy team, dealt some damage, got instantly destroyed, and then wondered why anyone would want to play this thing.
Yeah, I’ve been there too.
The good news is that Ikarus can be incredibly fast, fun, and annoying for the enemy team when you play him properly. The problem is that he is also very easy to throw away if you treat him like a normal frontline tank.
In this post, I’ll explain how I usually play Ikarus, from the early game all the way to the late game. I’ll start with the quick version for anyone who just wants the important points, then go deeper into how I approach matches.
Tyr Ikarus Guide – How to Play Ikarus, Build, Tech Points
If you don’t have time to read everything, here are the main things you need to remember when playing Ikarus:
- Ikarus is not a frontline tank.
- Your mobility is basically your armor.
- Hit, run, and reposition.
- Look for isolated, damaged, or distracted enemies.
- Use flight for positioning, attacking, and escaping.
- Always think about where you’re going to land.
- Don’t waste your energy when you don’t need to.
- Don’t chase a kill if it puts you in a terrible position.
- After you shoot, assume the enemy knows where you are.
- In the late game, use your mobility to clean up enemies and control the map.
- You don’t need to win every fight. Pick the fights you actually want to take.
- If you manage to take some HP from an enemy or reveal them for your team, you have still gained something from the trade.
- Use pings to communicate with your team. Always assume your teammates aren’t seeing what you’re seeing.
Ikarus Build
The build I use focuses on making Ikarus as slippery and difficult to catch as possible while still keeping some damage and sustain.
I also prioritize speed, reload speed, camouflage, and spotting power.
For me, the camouflage capstone in the Tech Tree is one of the best choices. It lets you scout while flying without immediately getting spotted and sniped the moment you appear.
Tech Points
Most of my Tech Tree choices stay the same every match. You can move some points around if you feel like getting more maximum HP helps you personally, but I usually stick with the same setup.
I find it better to learn the character using a consistent build instead of constantly changing things around.
Components and Shells
The same idea applies to Components and Shells.
If you are getting better results with them, you can experiment with the option that gives 6% camouflage from Ark or use Silenced Ammo instead of Explosive Ammo.
Other than those changes, I personally wouldn’t move too far away from the setup.
The main goal is simple: stay fast, difficult to detect, and difficult to catch while still having enough damage to punish enemies who make mistakes.
How I Usually Play Ikarus
Early Game
Spawn Phase and the First Minute
When you spawn, try to grab the ammo spawn if it’s nearby. This can help your teammates while you’re waiting for your skill cooldown to finish.
Then look at the minimap.
See where most of your team is heading and take flight in roughly the same direction. Your first job is to spot as much of the enemy team as possible.
This simple move can give your team a huge advantage right at the start of the match.
Don’t be the first player flying directly into the fight.
Once you have gathered information, start thinking about where you’re going to land. I usually like landing inside a bush somewhere around the middle of the map and waiting for an enemy to leave cover.
When they give me an opening, I take the shot and try to get some early HP damage.
The early game is really about three things:
- Get information.
- See where the enemy team is moving.
- Look for an opening.
And seriously, use your pings.
Your teammates cannot always see what you see from the air, so communicate with them whenever you spot enemies or notice something important.
Mid Game
Once the Teams Start Splitting Up
This is where Ikarus starts becoming really fun.
Now you’re basically a bomber jet looking for mistakes.
Once teams begin spreading out, start watching for damaged tanks, enemies fighting your teammates, isolated targets, tanks sitting in bad positions, and players trying to retreat.
Keep your eyes open and wait for one of those situations to appear.
Your long-range aim isn’t amazing, so don’t just fire because you can. Shoot when you know you’re likely to hit, or move closer first.
You have high camouflage, so getting into a better position usually shouldn’t be a huge problem.
One situation I especially look for is a heavy tank sitting out of position with medium or low HP.
Take flight, move behind them, land, and start shooting.
Most of the time, you can outrun them. You can either finish them off or take a huge amount of HP before they can properly react.
Ikarus can be extremely effective against heavy tanks.
In my experience, heavy tanks are one of the matchups you can really punish with Ikarus.
However, if your HP gets too low, don’t try to be a hero.
Just fly away.
That is one of the biggest advantages of playing Ikarus, and there is no reason to stay around and die when you have an escape available.
Be Careful Around Medium Tanks
Medium tanks are much more dangerous for Ikarus.
I generally try to avoid them when possible because they have a combination of mobility, damage, and armor that makes them much harder to deal with.
They can keep up with you better than heavy tanks and can punish you when you’re trying to reposition.
So while you should be looking to bully isolated and slow targets, be much more careful when medium tanks are nearby.
Late Game
Don’t Tunnel Vision One Tank Across Half the Map
Late game is where a lot of Ikarus players can throw a match.
You might see an enemy sitting at 20% HP and immediately decide that you absolutely need to finish them.
Don’t.
At this stage of the game, there are usually only two or three enemies left, and you probably don’t know exactly where all of them are.
If chasing that low-HP enemy means flying directly toward an Ark hiding in a bush behind them, then the kill simply isn’t worth it.
Let the enemy or your teammates make the next mistake first.
Then go in.
Late game is where your mobility becomes even more valuable. You can rotate around the map quickly, finish damaged targets, contest objectives, and generally make life miserable for the remaining enemy players.
They will often be busy watching something else instead of looking for a small green bird flying above them or hiding somewhere nearby.
Low HP Doesn’t Mean You Have to Play Scared
Having low HP doesn’t always mean you should completely disappear from the match.
Sometimes, late game is actually the perfect moment to bait the remaining enemies.
You can use your mobility to force them into awkward decisions and make them move into bad positions.
If nothing important is happening, you can also try capping the enemy base.
Sometimes simply landing there is enough to force the enemy team to react.
They now have to come and contest you, and that can put them into a terrible position.
Use that pressure.
You don’t always need to kill someone yourself. Sometimes forcing the enemy to move is already enough to create an opening for your team.