Re: Feedback on AA and lock-on systems

I’ve been using  AA a ton since BF4 and in BF6 there is something  weird/broken definitely going on with the Stinger. 

I can fire at Helo or Jet  that’s flying straight as an arrow and that hasn’t popped flares and I’ll often get a “miss” message or, as you described,  my rocket takes off just fine towards target then diverts at an odd angle nowhere near the locked  target. 

100% with you. We've just finished a game, 2 of us side by side firing AA and couldn't take down a single aircraft. Either out of range before you can lock on or drop too low for lock on. It's a rocket not a radar, it doesn't care how low they are!!

When it does lock on an no flares, it's like the jets just outrun the rockets.

I agree, flares are stupidly quick to recharge.

It's getting boring now

Infantry are completely helpless against helicopters in maps like Manhatan Bridge. The AA missile never hits the helicopter because it crashes into the ground, even if the helicopter doesn't have flares, which it can use very often anyway. This is incredibly unbalanced and I am appaled to see EA has learned nothing from how unbalanced helicopters were in previous games.

Hehe and then you will see posts from pilots that cry about constantly being shot down.

I've spent a lot of time taking down aircraft in BF6 to get the challenges done and, yes, if a pilot is half-decent they are pretty much unkillable unless several players all over the map are all attempting to bring them down.

If someone (more than one, really) is laser painting everything for the whole match then you might get a chance if the jet/chopper doesn't fly low and fast enough after they pop their counters. Might.

It's interesting the OP mentioned BF3/4 jets. Yep. They were unkillable with a half-decent pilot in them.

BF6 feels pretty much the same to me.

The only thing likely to kill is one of the later unlocks on the Bradley tank, but that seems like a bug that will get fixed and it is a later unlock, so most won't have it available.

Jets really don't add anything much to this game but kicks for griefer troll flightsim nerds and annoying frustrating unavoidable random death-from-above for everyone else.

You cannot balance jets with a ground objectives based game.

Agreed the stinger is a heat seeking missle and aircraft can just fly behind a mountain or below the deck and the missle drops off. The AA tanks are weak the jets and helos can pretty much destroy you. 

Let's not forget the idiotic "Below radar" functionality... If you are chased by a heatseeker, you are not gonna evade it by going "below radar"... Unreal how many apparent flaws found their way into production, almost as if people didn't quite think things through.

The fact way too often a missile just decides going off course into oblivion or straight up won't catch the **bleep** plane is just the cherry on top....

So if we have a look at the basic priciple of BF since 1942 - rock paper scissors - there should be a good counter against anything in the game. In the good ol'42 times you had at least a 50-50 chance of bringing down an airplane or being shoot/bombed out of your AA-gun by the flight-boy.

In the later installments the cry of the flight-boys apparently became  louder and the AA counters more and more nerved in the franchise. I agree, trying to bring down anything flying, provided it is not me behind the flightstick trying to figure out where is up/down crashing in the next tree/mountain, is pretty unballanced and in vavour of the flying crews.

Agreed, doing the Engineer challenges (just like the others) was absolutely painful and frustrating. However, from what I’ve noticed, the Stinger seems to predict the aircraft’s flight path — meaning the missile actually leads the target and flies ahead of it automatically.

Yes Stinger predicts plane's flight path... right into the nearest mountain.

Yes, I noticed lol.

AA is completely pathetic my solution when there's a pilot with a brain is to simply leave the game. Life is too short to waste it on clearly unbalanced matchups 

"I can already observe matches in BF6 were [where] helicopters have been totally untouchable from the ground because the AA weapons are so ineffective..."

Absolutely wrong!

I play Engineer mostly, the class challenges were not hard to do, and the Anti-Aircraft Tank is working perfectly. It's missiles refresh more frequently than flares do, allowing you to take out aircraft with your second missile. You can also finish off helicopters with the high-velocity rounds. If you fire missiles they will miss due to range, high altitude, or an aircraft diving for low altitude. 

One of the best things about the Anti-Aircraft Tank is that it virtually never runs out of ammo. It replenishes missiles and 35 mm rounds quickly. The high-velocity rounds will rip a helicopter to shreds rapidly!

As of 4:10 p.m. today, Sunday, Pacific time, I finished a complete battle where I only used the AA Tank. I decided to test and see what the hell you were talking about. RESULT: I shot down SIX helicopters and one JET. I did 14,400 damage to aircraft, and got 29,000 XP for the match -- using only the AA Tank.

The IFV Tank can also fire at aircraft if they have been painted. The IFV is also an excellent tank.

My advice: go back, do over. The tanks are working fine. You need to put some hours in watching the behavior of the pilots and learning to use the equipment.

Strength and  Honor!

I mostly get killed by RPG's, Tow missiles from IFVs and Tanks, other choppers, Jets, maybe try one of those istead of complaining that your no skill lock on missile that the game guides for you isn't doing a good enough job, You know how many matches out of the night i'd consider good from a night of flying, maybe 20% sometimes i can't even leave the base because the locks are instant, Its better when i have a gunner im speaking to but thats rare, can't no life the game like back in the day.

Aaand the theme here is about how inefficient infantry AA gadgets are, and you just confirmed this. 

Yeah im not an idiot.... So its inefficent for me to back off when i get locked and only come back into range when i have flares again? If your team isn't utilizing what they have at their disposal its not a balance problem, lone wolf noob spamming a lock on stinger where the game does all the work for you then complaining they can't solo a 1.0% chopper team is crazy. I very rarly run into people in the chopper that can't be shot down there so many options but you just want the easiest with no effort

And you completely ignored the part where i said i can't even leave the base because of lock ons.... But you're ok with that but as soon as someone gets the upper hand on you, you gotta complain about it, why don't i make a post about those specific games, "ItS uNfAiR tHeY'rE uSiNg TeAm WoRk AgAiNsT mE" thats what you're doing you're isolating those specific games and irgoring the fact that your team just sucks and you arn't full utilizing everything at your disposal, Skill issue, i'll enjoy the matches i enjoy and deal with going against a better team. cya lmao

I mostly get killed by RPG's, Tow missiles from IFVs and Tanks, other choppers, Jets,

I see no mentions of stinger nor mas here. And what's the deal with spawn-locking anyway? You shoot your flares, fly away for a few seconds, and then come back with a full charge again. 

 Skill issue, i'll enjoy the matches i enjoy and deal with going against a better team. cya lmao

What a flame, should I say 🤣

Yeah no mention of stingers in the LONG list of counters that are way more effective against a chopper lmao you just want an easy counter with no skill, Why should a single guy's shoulder lock on weapon where the game does all the work for you be the most effective option against a chopper team thats using teamwork? thats my point, 2 people communicating with stingers makes it easier, but if you're not communicating thats your fault not the games fault, I get dozens of clips a day shooting down choppers with RPG's and TOW missiles very rewarding and fun, enjoy complaining 🤣

I lock on, the aircraft pops flares, I wait, after all the flares come out I wait another couple seconds until the flares disappear, then the lock on re-appears, I shoot and the missile starts going after the jet or aircraft then suddenly turns into the ground, and the reticule changes to miss. I know you are supposed to wait for after the flares come out, but it just doesn't work. The missile refuses to chase and makes a visible turn into the ground and crashes. Are the flares bugged and last longer than the graphical effect? This is really concerning because it makes it extremely easy to exploit by pilots and avoid missiles completely by exploiting this flawed missile behaviour.

Yes I am seeing this exact same behaviour! It was confusing the hell out of me when using the AA tank. Flares were well gone but the missile would still turn to the ground instead of chasing. I'm definitely thinking the flare effect is last longer than the visual of it.

I've witnessed the stinger rocket divert from impacting the back of the aircraft to go after a flare that was yet to be seen leaving the aircraft, something is really not right with this. It's like the rocket had locked onto a flare that wasn't fired yet, maybe it was server desync.

Fly around and tell us how ineffective they are. They do not have to kill you, they can compromise you even if they just make you spend your flares at a bad time.

Piece of advice when shooting down aircraft. I am no Mujahedin able to do it 100% of the time but have a lot of success.

In the AA tank. Lock on, if they don't pop flares, shoot 1 missile. Re-acquire and fire the second one... should hit, unless they fly really well or it hits an obstruction.

When using MANPADs, acquire and track. Get them to leave the scene or pop flares. If they refuse to pop or leave, shoot. Re-acquire, they will leave or go low. Keeping the helo low is just as good as getting it to leave. They can't hit the targets they want and the moment they go high again, acquire, track, shoot. Do this enough and you will either get them to be shy about coming into your AO or they quit engaging. Regardless, you reduced or removed the air threat.

My only complaint when playing solo is the low flying can't acquire. MANPADs should acquire regardless of altitude. A real stinger has a minimum acquire altitude of 15m. A Russian Igla is 30m. That is plenty low for in game. If we know anything about the stinger, it was used to great effect in Afghanistan vs Russian helos back in the early 80s. Especially when fired down into their rotors. On the BF6 map Liberation Peak, a stinger "should" still be able to be fired down when a jet or helo goes into the valley.
The biggest issue is on maps the helos have buildings to fly behind. They hide behind those till their countermeasures are up again. At least staying on them and shooting missiles at them keeps them from just raging over the battlefield at will. You will also have way more success teaming up with someone. Sadly chasing the helo off is not shooting it down for credit and you get no appreciation for keeping the skies somewhat safer.

davek1979 wrote:

Let's not forget the idiotic "Below radar" functionality...

This. And AA's AA' gun does not work on any air vehicle. Velocity is way too low. They must either nerf air's movement or buff aa's aa velocity.