@ATFGunr wrote:
@AJ_ClickzAn alternative to a nerf is to give defenders something to defend themselves with. Attackers get all the vehicles, so an easy balance is to give them similar vehicle choices. It’s needed regardless.
I agree, a great idea. But I've got a feeling all they will do is nerf the 30mm, and that's it. Leaving defending teams unable to take down a helicopter so the problem persists.
Just adding the equivalent number of vehicles and aircraft to the defenders would go a long way towards feeling better balanced.
Right now it is hard to have 2x aircraft and multiple vehicles against all infantry feel balanced while they have to be on an objective to defend it.
@ATFGunr Exactly. No vehicles vs a bunch of vehicles and air support. Makes a lot of sense. Take the vehicles out of the equation and makes it ground vs ground.
30mm Canon nerf won't help the problem with the helicopters. It is the gameplay itself, what is flawed.
The Infantry has only lock on missiles, to counter the helicopters, so DICE has to balance around it. If the helicopters has too weak counter measure, you will shoot them down in no time, so they got flares (+ECM jammer), but this is too powerful (what makes the difference, is the ammunition, helicopter has infinite ammo and flares, infantry only 3 rockets... rely on teamplay, what is prevented through different other gameplay mechanics). So DICE is in a bad spot to balance it. The same problem was in BF5, before the Fliegerfaust. The infantry had no counter to planes.
Lis is the only specialist, who can counter the helicopter through skill, but again, it has been made too easy for helicopters to counter it and on the other side, impossible for the vehicles, so it is too strong in this regard. The helicopter pilot gets too much information, he gets information when he will get hacked (in addition, he also gets information, where exactly this person is standing, to kill him!), he gets information when a missile lock is on him (with the same position information, like the hack). He gets information, when a rocket is flying (imagine, the sound of lock on and incoming rocket would be the same, so the helicopter has to flare without knowing, if someone has already shoot a rocket). He gets information, on the radar if Lis rocket is incoming, additional to the bright red light on the rocket.
So, all in all, the helicopter pilot gets every help, to not get shot down.
While the infantry has a hard life. He has no viable option to survive the 30mm canon. It has spread (no aiming needed), there is no cover over all the maps and the lockon time is much higher, then the time to kill for the helicopter. Even the hack needs much more time. So even when the infantry has the highest amount of skill, he will die, except he is Lis and is sitting in some corner. Additional, if you are dependend on the lock on missiles (or hack) you are defensles against other infantry or vehicles.
The helicopter on the other side, can flare and continue shooting, killing the thread. And if another helicopter comes into play, just fly higher, where no rocket or hack can reach you.
This is a complete flawed system. Now, everyone says, "But the helicopters have to be strong!". Why? Really, why? Because in the real life, they are strong? This is a game, in real life, they would kill you probably in some kilometers distance, this game has nothing to do, with real war. The gameplay should always have priority, and from the gameplay perspective, this is just no fun (maybe only for the helicopter pilot).
Then everybody said use teamplay. Ok, but the helicopter can counter it with no problems. I need 4 Raos on every map and everyone with a rocket launcher, to counter only 1 stealth helicopter. And even then, he just can fly above 450m, and nobody can touch him. That is no balance.
I think, on every side, we should have a nuclear bomb... and two people can just shoot them on the other team. Everybody dies, but this it, what happens in real life... nuclear bombs should be strong!
*Nearly 9 months post-launch later*
Air is still fundamentally busted and unbalanced and makes playing infantry miserable against any team with decent pilots unless your team also has good pilots (if you even have access to aircraft).
And DICE is still largely asleep at the wheel and just moving a few deck chairs around on the Titanic.
It continues to feel like DICE has absolutely no sense of urgency or desire to fix/balance the game and meaningfully respond to feedback. Air being unbalanced as heck has been a problem in one form or another (nightbirds first) since launch, and it feels like which aircraft is the broken problem child is the only thing that changes, rather than fundamental changes to how the air-game works in an effort to address the systemic problems.
Lis was a nice addition to try to help infantry out, but even that's hardly enough.
Getting farmed all day every day by aircraft because you don't have competent pilots or don't have a coordinated squad to time a hack and 3+ stingers/M5's with SOFLAM all at once is lame and feels like garbage.
DICE doesn't even seem to think there are bigger problems here, which is honestly the most worrying/concerning bit. BF2042 seems like it's never going to achieve any semblance of "fun balance". Competitive balance ain't something that's ever reasonable for a game like this, but "fun balance" absolutely is, and we're still a long, long, long, long ways off from that.
