Star Wars: Squadrons guide: How to drift

The third mission of Star Wars: Squadrons, “Through Enemy Lines,” requires you to pull off a drift — a fancy, mid-flight trick. While you partner, Keo, explains the basics of the drifting maneuver, you may not be able to pull it off during your first few attempts.

In this Star Wars: Squadrons drift guide, we’ll show you exactly how to whip that A-Wing sideways.

How to drift

To perform the drift, the instructions are straightforward:

1. Maximize engine power by either pressing left on your controller’s D-pad or CTRL+1 on your keyboard. Start this process as soon as possible so you build up as much boost as possible.
2. Boost once you travel through the first marker above the Star Destroyer, and continue boosting toward the second marker.
3. Turn hard (yaw) the moment you go through the second marker near the back of the Star Destroyer.
4. Stop boosting mid-turn to begin the drift. We found that clicking the boost button again (instead of manually throttling down) is the easiest way to pull off the drift consistently.

You’ll know that you’ve probably drifted if your spacecraft whips hard in the direction you’ve turned, and you still see the speed boost lines racing across your windshield.

The biggest challenge to pulling off this trick is making sure you’re pressing a button to stop boosting while still holding your turn (yaw) at the same time. Depending on which control scheme you’re using, this can be difficult or easier to perform. If you’re not sure which control setup works best for you, check out our Star Wars: Squadrons guide to controls and keybindings.