How to drift turn in Star Wars: Squadrons and destroy the competition

The flight combat in Star Wars: Squadrons, which Inverse really enjoyed, is intricate enough that it borders on overwhelming. Players will have to balance the energy being put towards their starfighter's shields, lasers, and engines while also getting the proper positioning to take down an enemy. Movement becomes a lot easier once you learn how to drift, which is the most important maneuver in your entire arsenal.

Here's a closer look at how to pull off this dangerous move.

Star Wars: Squadrons actually teaches players how to pull off a drift in Mission 3. New Republic Squadmates Frisk and Keo talk about the maneuver and subsequently ask the customizable player character to attempt it.

We'll break down exactly what the game tells players to do in this situation but provide a bit more detail so you can keep executing the move for a long time to come. You can also refer to EA's official post about the maneuver for further detail.

Step 1: Overcharge your engines and boost.

You can't pull off a drift in Star Wars: Squadrons without boosting first. To boost, you'll need to overcharge your engines first. The button to divert power to your engines is typically left on the D-Pad on a DualShock 4.

Once this happens, a blue engine bar will be full and a yellow bar representing your boost will appear. Then, press the boost button to boost (this is L3 on PlayStation 4). Once you do this, you should start moving in a straight line at great speeds. This will last until you either run out of boost or you manually disengage by pressing the boost button again.

You'll want to know how to do the latter in order to drift properly.

Step 2: Drop all power going to your engines and drift.

Once you've gained enough momentum with your boost, it's time to cut power to your engines and turn in order to drift. Once you're at full speed, press and hold your boost button once again. At the same time, you'll need to start turning in the direction that you want to drift in with the right stick. Holding back on the left stick while doing all of this will also allow you to turn faster.

You have increased directional control here, so it's a good way to quickly turn yourself around if you're being pursued by an enemy starfighter or missile. Then, you can either fight back or boost away in a totally different direction.

It might not be the easiest maneuver to pull off, but once you get the hang of it, drifting becomes one of the most useful skills you can use in a dogfight. Very skilled players have even started to chain drifts together into what they call "Advanced Boost Drifting."

Which controller is best to use for drifting?

While the controller is typically a fine way to play Star Wars: Squadrons, drifting is a bit easier to pull off when using a mouse and keyboard or HOTAS flight stick.

These control schemes offer more direct options to turn, whereas it's a balance with the control sticks to ensure you don't also accelerate or roll when you are trying to turn for a drift. If you're struggling to learn how to drift, definitely practice it in the offline modes instead of attempting to learn in online dogfights.

Star Wars: Squadrons is available now for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and VR platforms.