Constructive Feedback: Improving Helicopter Survivability & Role Clarity
I’ve been spending a lot of time in the pilot seat since the Season 2 launch, and while I love the flight model, I believe the current balance for helicopters has reached a point where the "skill floor" is becoming a barrier for most players. Currently, helicopters feel a bit too fragile against certain low-risk threats.
I’d like to offer some polite, balanced suggestions to bring them back into a healthy spot without making them overbearing.
1. The "Guided Shell" & TOW Responsiveness
The return of Guided Shells on MBTs has created a "no-fly zone" that is very difficult to counter. Currently, these travel with high velocity and high maneuverability.
Solution: Increase the lock-on time for MBT Guided Shells or add a slight "momentum" to the TOW guidance so they can’t pull 90-degree turns to hit a maneuvering heli. This keeps them as a skill-shot while rewarding evasive piloting.
Personal Note: If a TOW can't one shot a tank, why can it one shot a heli? There's zero chance of recovery or repair.
2. Armor Scaling vs. Secondary Gunners
It currently feels inconsistent that an Attack Heli's secondary gunner can "delete" another helicopter faster than the pilot's anti-vehicle rockets or AA missiles.
Solution: Introduce a specific damage resistance for helicopters against light vehicle-mounted cannons. This would extend the duration of heli-vs-heli dogfights, making them about positioning and pilot skill rather than who has the better gunner tracking.
3. Small Arms and Auto-Repair
Right now, a single player with an LMG can prevent a helicopter from ever initiating auto-repair from across the map.
Solution: Implement a damage threshold for repair interruption. If a hit deals less than, say, 1% of the vehicle's total health (standard small arms at range), it shouldn't reset the auto-repair timer. This allows pilots to retreat and reset without being "harassed" out of the game by one infantryman.
4. Countermeasure Integrity
We are still seeing instances where missiles bypass flares or where the re-lock speed is faster than the flare's active duration.
Solution: Ensure a "Grace Period" after flares are deployed where a new lock cannot be initiated for 1.5–2 seconds. This gives the pilot a small window to actually dive for cover after successfully burning a countermeasure.
I’m not looking for helicopters to be unkillable tanks—I just want the risk-vs-reward to feel fair. They're simply out of balance.
I’m curious to hear what the community (and hopefully the devs) think about these minor tweaks.
