Air Battle

An Air Battle (空中戦 Kūchū-sen) is a gameplay mechanic in Kid Icarus: Uprising. Appearing exclusively in Solo Mode, this form of battle typically appears at the beginning of each chapter, with the exception of Chapter 18.

Overview
Air Battles typically trigger when Palutena or Viridi grant Pit the Power of Flight as a means to reach his destination more quickly. This gives him the added benefit of stronger attacks due to the power's influence —however, overusing this power runs the risk of severely harming Pit, forcing the angel to stay on land for most of his missions.

Unlike Land Battles, Pit has almost no control over his flight path, as his route is dependent on whichever goddess is guiding him. In addition, shots from weapons do not lose nor gain power as they travel, and this is the only time during gameplay in which Special Attacks can be performed.

Strategy
The player should generally keep to moving Pit in wide, circular patterns to dodge enemy fire. An alternative is to refrain from attacking altogether, allowing Pit to perform a glide and dodge attacks more easily.

Though this form of battle takes place entirely in the air, the player can move Pit against certain surfaces to allow him to run across them instead, earning extra points in the process. Defeating all enemies in a squad can also earn bonus points.