Lock-On Missiles Ignore Flares
There is currently a major issue with lock-on missiles ignoring flares.
Right now, it feels like there is roughly a 30% chance for any lock-on missile, no matter if it’s from a MANAD, MAA, jet etc. to completely ignore countermeasures and continue tracking through flares. This happens across multiple lock-on weapons, but the IGLA is by far the worst offender.
The problem is that flare timing does not seem to matter at all:
- Flaring instantly after launch
- Flaring midway through tracking
- Flaring right before impact
If the missile decides to ignore flares, it simply continues tracking no matter what.
The IGLA in particular feels extremely inconsistent and borderline broken right now. Honestly, it feels like it ignores flares around 70% of the time.
This became even more noticeable after the recent velocity buff to the IGLA:
- Missiles arrive much faster
- Pilots have less reaction time
- And the flare inconsistency feels even worse now
At the moment, using flares often feels random instead of skill-based. Sometimes they work correctly, sometimes they do absolutely nothing. That creates situations where pilots die despite using countermeasures properly.
To be clear, this is NOT a complaint about lock-ons being strong.
MANPADS should absolutely be effective area denial tools and should force helicopters/jets to disengage or flare.
The issue is that countermeasures themselves currently feel unreliable and bugged.
If a pilot uses flares correctly, the missile should consistently lose tracking.
Please investigate:
- Lock-ons ignoring flares
- IGLA tracking behavior specifically
- General flare reliability and desync issues
Additionally, I would really like to see ECM return as a loadout option similar to Battlefield 4.
Having both:
- traditional flares
- and an ECM jammer option
would add more depth and counterplay to air vehicle gameplay while helping reduce the frustration caused by inconsistent missile tracking.
(cm edit updated title for vis)
