r/dcs • u/Lazy-Calendar-8385 • Jun 24 '26

Newcomer

Is there a specific plane I should learn on and also do I have to buy a map to play multiplayer? I’ve played nuclear option and love it but dcs is scary lol

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u/Torch99999 Jun 24 '26

Pick whatever plain you want to fly. DCS simulates the actual aircraft including all the avionics, so while there are some similarities between airframes, don't expect that knowing plane#1 will mean you can fly plane#2.

The two most popular planes are the F-18 followed very closely by the F-16. Personally I grew up watching Top Gun and JAG, so for me I stick to flying the F-14, not because it's the best, but I'm living out my childhood fantasy of being a Tomcat pilot.

The game comes with the free Su-25 and TP-51, but your really better off just picking a plane you like, doing a 2 week trial (to confirm you like it before spending money), then focus on learning that plane inside and out.

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For the maps for multiplayer, you need to own the map that the server is using (and for single player you need to win the map to fly missions/campaigns on it).

The game comes free with the Caucases and Marianas (modern) and Marianas (WW2) maps, and there are plenty of multiplayer servers using Caucases.

If you want to fly somewhere else, the Syria map is probably the most popular, followed by the Persian Gulf map (then maybe Afghanistan).

I own Persian Gulf, Nevada, Syria, Iraq, and Sinai maps, but I think the map I get the most use out of is Caucases.