san4's Mobile AA Guide
This guide is about using mobile AA to shoot down helicopters and jets. There are easier ways to get mobile AA kills (such as mowing down infantry on Ghost Town) but shooting down aircraft is a particularly rewarding activity. I started playing mobile AA regularly because I was bitter about never being able to get into a jet and I wanted to kill pilots. Also, I am relatively incompetent in the attack heli but in mobile AA I get to kill chopper crews who are more skilled than I ever will be.
More importantly, shooting down aircraft can help your team. Enemy aircraft can have a huge effect on the outcome of the game and mobile AA can neutralize them. It can shoot them down, damage them, make them use their flares, and draw their attention. Mobile AA is important because it can attack the other team’s most powerful weapons.
So mobile AA is great, right? You think you want to play mobile AA?
Think again. When you are in mobile AA, almost everybody can kill you:
So you are probably thinking, if everything can kill mobile AA, how can I get kills with it? How can I help my team with it? And what kind of nitwit has it as his most played vehicle?
The key is to play defensively. Stay near cover, change locations frequently, use your missiles to kill attackers and take advantage when enemy aircraft aren’t paying attention to you. What follows is just the long version of those two sentences.
Have four missiles ready
Always have four missiles ready and always shoot all four. This is a very basic point but it is fundamental. It takes at least two missiles to shoot down aircraft and many of your shots will miss. If a heli attacks you and you only have two missiles ready, you are basically defenseless. Always have four ready to go.
Here’s a simple little example. The heli is destroyed by the first missile, but the mobile AA gets rid of the last three immediately so it can reload four.
Focus on winning “The Race”
When you lock onto an enemy aircraft a race begins: can the aircraft get out of sight before you get a solid lock? You can help yourself win this race by (1) getting aircraft to drop their flares as early as possible and (2) locating your mobile AA in a spot that provides a wide view of the sky. A wide view means aircraft will stay in view for a long time.
This heli barely wins the race, getting out of range right when its flares clear. Notice that the mobile AA has a wide and long view of the sky by the end of the clip. The heli has to travel a long way to get out of the mobile AA's view. The heli survives because the mobile AA was not able to force it to drop flares immediately.
This heli loses the race because a jet forced it to drop flares too soon. It does not have time to get out of range of the mobile AA. Again, notice that the mobile AA has a wide and long view of the sky. This is also a good example of how easy it is to destroy targets that are distracted and not paying attention to the mobile AA.
Spot all aircraft so you can lock on the moment they come in range
Do not let a single enemy aircraft go by without spotting it. It is critical for you to know where aircraft are so you can lock on to them as soon as they come in range. Spotting helis is especially important so they don’t sneak up behind you. If you know when aircraft are coming you can lock on as soon as they get into range or move behind cover as they approach, then pop out and fire missiles after they go overhead. In all the videos in this guide, notice how the mobile AA spots every aircraft. It should be a reflex, something you do automatically when you see enemy aircraft.
Here’s an example of how spotting can help mobile AA lock onto aircraft the moment they get into range. The mobile AA in the clip spots two jets. You can see on the minimap that one of the spotted jets flies over the US runway and comes back toward the mobile AA. The mobile AA has been watching it on the minimap and is ready to lock on the moment the jet comes back into range.
Wait for a good shot
AA missiles are most effective against aircraft that are close to you and moving away from you. This means that you want to shoot your missiles when a jet is at its closest point and starts moving away. The same rules apply for helis except missiles will also hit a heli that is moving towards you. Avoid shooting at helis that are moving across your field of vision.
This clip is a nice example of shooting when a jet reaches its closest point and starts moving away.
This clip demonstrates that missiles will not hit jets that are moving toward you at full speed. It's a little hard to see with the fuzzy YouTube video quality, but in this clip the mobile AA fires two missiles when the jet is moving towards it and the missiles do not hit. (You can tell because there aren't any explosions.) In contrast, the third missile tracked the jet and would have hit because it was fired as the jet started to move away. It looks like the tree got in the way of the jet and the last missile didn't quite have time to reach the target.
This slow-motion clip demonstrates that mobile AA missiles will not hit a heli that is moving across the mobile AA’s field of vision. Only one of the four missiles hits the target. (The hit indicator only flashes an X once.) The missiles miss because the heli is moving perpendicular to the path of the missiles. The trees and sign that pass in front of the heli aren't helping, but notice that the missile lock isn't broken. The missiles miss because of the direction the helicopter is moving relative to the missiles’ flight path.
This clip is a better example of missiles failing to hit a helicopter moving across the mobile AA's field of view. The mobile AA has a solid lock on the heli and shoots four missiles. All the missiles come close but only one missile hits. Note that the one missile hits when the heli begins to move toward the mobile AA.
It takes patience to wait for aircraft to drop their flares and start moving away from you but you’ll waste precious missiles if you don’t. You can frequently get a helicopter to drop flares simply by locking on to it for about a second. If the pilot does not drop flares, you can shoot a single missile and see if that gives you an easy hit or convinces the pilot to drop flares. (This happens in the “tricky” clip with the xfire messages below.) Helis are particularly likely to drop flares if you lock on and also shoot your cannon at them, but this can be a dangerous strategy against good heli crews. The flash of the cannon makes your mobile AA easy to find and a good target for a quick TV shot. (Thanks to aj for pointing this out.)
With jets you can either shoot your missiles the moment you first get a lock (and try to get a missile or two in before the flares come out) or wait for the pilot to drop flares and then wait some more for the flares to clear. One advantage of shooting missiles the moment you first get a lock is that jets that are being chased by other jets may not have flares available. The sooner you get your missiles into the air, the more likely you can shoot all four missiles before the enemy jet flies out of range. On the other hand, an advantage of waiting for a jet’s flares to clear is that if you fire four missiles while you are locked onto a jet that has used up its flares, it is a virtually guaranteed kill. The hard part is getting all four missiles off before the jet gets out of range of your lock.
The correct choice--shooting missiles before the flares or after the flares--depends on the situation. If a jet is being chased, it usually makes sense to shoot missiles the moment you get a lock. If you notice that a particular enemy pilot typically drops flares immediately when you lock on, you may be able to wait for that pilot’s flares to clear before firing your missiles. If you're up against an extremely good fighter jet pilot you probably want to go for a lucky shot, firing missiles as soon as you see the plane, because a good jet pilot will duck behind a hill before you can get a decent lock. It can make sense to go for a lucky shot through flares if a jet is smoking and you only need one missile hit to destroy it. There is no simple rule to tell you when to fire. It requires judgment based on more factors than I can list. A major part of the skill involved in playing mobile AA is learning to make this judgment about when to fire missiles.
Here are some examples of mobile AA making this judgment about when to fire. Notice how patient the mobile AA is in this clip, waiting for a good shot. If it had fired missiles earlier, they would have missed and only served to alert the helicopter to the mobile AA’s location. Instead, the mobile AA waited until the heli (a) used its flares, (b) was locked, and (c) was at its nearest point, starting to head away. Note also that the mobile AA does not fire its cannon, making it harder for the heli to locate it.
In this clip the mobile AA has a lock but waits for the heli to drop its flares. Then the mobile AA waits for the heli to be at its closest point and start moving away. Finally, the mobile AA is in position for a guaranteed kill and takes it. Note that the mobile AA would not have gotten the kill if it had fired missiles before the flares came out. There was a solid lock but there wasn't quite enough time to get three missiles off before the lock was broken by the flares.
The heli pilot in this clip doesn’t know how to use flares. Notice how long the mobile AA is locked on before it fires. It’s waiting for the flares but they never come, so it finally fires, killing the stupid pilot. Also notice the juicy bomber flying by low and slow at the end, but the mobile AA is reloading and can’t give the bomber pilot what he is asking for.
This one is tricky (and not just because of the xfire messages popping up). The mobile AA has a good lock and shoots at the heli to try to get it to drop flares. But the heli pilot is good and does not drop flares until the mobile AA fires a missile. Then the heli ducks behind some trees and gets away. Meanwhile, the mobile AA gets rid of its remaining three missiles so it has a full load of four and it chases the heli. Maybe the heli pilot isn’t so good because he hovers in an open area to repair when there's a mobile AA around. The heli makes an easy target once the mobile AA catches up to it. Note that the mobile AA gets away with an error at the end, failing to stay in motion while the helicopter might have been lining up a TV missile shot.
Another heli pilot who does not know how to use flares. The mobile AA waits for the flares but eventually has to shoot when the heli reaches its nearest point and starts heading away.
Location
I generally park my mobile AA somewhere and wait for aircraft to come by. There are a number of things to think about when choosing a location. Two keys are to choose a location where (1) you can defend yourself and (2) you can see a lot of sky.
Protect one side
Park next to something that will prevent aircraft from attacking you from at least one side. That way you will be looking in the direction from which aircraft will approach. You will be ready to lock on and start moving as soon as they get in range. You will die quickly if aircraft can attack you from every side.
Parking in a spot that is protected on one side also hides you a little so aircraft won’t spot you so quickly. I park up against trees, at the bottom of hills or next to buildings, and sometimes up on the side of a hill. If aircraft fly over you from your protected side, they won’t be able to attack you and you will have an opportunity to attack them as they fly away. A spot with good protection from a hill is the road below the Vista Point flag on Dragon Valley, across from the Temple flag. If jets approach you from over the Temple they have to pull up before they get close to you.
Defend yourself with cover
It is also good to be in a location that provides cover for you to go behind when attacked. It can be effective to pop out, shoot your missiles and pop back behind cover. For example, the trees up at the Vista Point flag on Dragon Valley can provide decent cover. In contrast, the location below the Vista Point flag (pictured above) has no cover at all, which makes it dangerous. The railroad shed on Daqing Oilfields between Power Station and Oil Cisterns also provides good cover to duck in and out of. I’ve had helis try to get low and shoot the TV missile into the shed, or even fly through shed door to attack me. Those are easy kills because the helis are close, head-on and nearly stationary.
Defend yourself by staying hidden
Don’t give away your position by shooting your cannon into the sky. I rarely shoot the cannon at enemy jets and I only shoot it at helis when I am attacking them with missiles. In most situations, the cannon gives away your position without doing enough damage to make it worthwhile. I will generally use the cannon to shoot down the enemy UAV when it is over me because the UAV is giving my position away anyway.
Defend yourself by staying out of the way
Choose a location where you will not run into tanks, AT infantry or other mobile AA. If enemy armor comes near you, hide or drive away. Don't engage it because you will lose. Pay attention to which bases the enemy controls and stay away from bases that spawn tanks. You generally want to stay near friendly armor because it can defend you against enemy armor. Friendly armor will also draw enemy aircraft for you to shoot down. (Don't tell your teammates you are using them as bait. ) Also stay away from enemy mobile AA vehicles. The cannon on the Chinese PGZ-95 is particularly ineffective against other AA vehicles so it will lose fights against the U.S. Linebacker. Even if you survive a fight with another AA vehicle, you will be damaged and easy for aircraft to kill. You don’t even want to run into enemy cars because the players in them might kill you with C4 or jump out and get you with anti-tank rockets.
Don’t go out looking for trouble
The vulnerability of mobile AA to armor and infantry is an important reason to stay in one location rather than constantly drive the mobile AA around the map. If you drive around the map you will run into armor or AT infantry sooner or later. If you park in a spot where enemies rarely come by on the ground, you may be able to avoid them for longer periods of time.
Defend yourself by changing locations
No location is perfect. Jets, helis, tanks and AT infantry can attack you no matter where you are. It is critical to change locations periodically so aircraft don't have time to take advantage of the weaknesses of any particular spot you park in and ground-based enemies don’t have time to trudge to your location and attack you. Changing locations also makes your attacks less predictable, which is extremely helpful if you are trying to kill skilled pilots and heli crews.
Move when you are being attacked
If you move when you are being attacked it makes a bomber’s aim a tiny bit harder and it makes a heli's TV missile shot slightly more difficult. At the same time, moving won't affect the accuracy of your heat-seeking missiles. Moving won’t help you very much against really good players, but it doesn’t hurt you either.
If you look at the trees in this clip you can see that the mobile AA is moving during the entire encounter. The TV missile is launched before the heli is destroyed but the missile goes astray because the heli gunner is no longer guiding it and the mobile AA moves out of its path.
Moving when you are attacked is easiest when you park at the top of a hill and drive down the slope when aircraft come after you. Skilled bombers and TV gunners will still get you, but you can accelerate faster when you go down a hill, and the elevation change makes bombing you a little harder. The hills near East Oilfield on Daqing Oilfields are good in this respect. The big hills surrounding the Market flag on Dragon Valley have good slopes to drive down if you need to avoid an attack, but you have to be careful not to get killed from driving down a slope that is too steep.
In this clip the mobile AA does not move and gets TV’d before it can get enough missiles off. It is an easy target when it is standing still. The mobile AA should have been moving down the hill the entire time it was in the heli's sight, forcing the heli pilot to adjust to keep it in the gunner's TV missile screen. It might not have saved it, but it could have delayed the TV shot just enough to get a couple more missiles off.
See lots of sky
As mentioned above (in the discussion of "the race"), this is the most important offensive factor in picking a location. Although it is important to protect one side, have cover, etc., you won’t shoot down enemy aircraft unless you let yourself see as much sky as possible. This is important because aircraft will protect themselves from you by dropping flares and getting out of sight before the flares dissipate. If you have a wide view of the sky, it takes longer for aircraft to get out of sight. That extra time will allow you to lock back on after the flares go away. You don't want to sit between tall structures where you can see only a small amount of sky (e.g., the oil cisterns on Daqing), even though they can provide you with protection. The tops of hills are ideal for getting a sweeping view that keeps aircraft in your sight for a long time. The big hill between Hill Village and Market on Dragon Valley has a huge view. It has no cover, unfortunately, so it is a dangerous place to park. The Vista Point flag has a wide view and cover from trees, as does the hill on Daqing between East Oilfield and Gas Station.
It can be useful to park on the path enemy jets take to get back to their airfield
You can’t chase aircraft around the map, so you have to find a location where they will come to you. The hills near East Oilfield on Daqing are a good location because the Chinese jets go by there to reach their runway. There are also helis taking off and reloading at the East Oilfield flag. (And whenever your team takes that flag, enemy jets will come by to bomb it.) You can use the trees and the side of the hill for cover, and you can drive down the hill to make yourself a moving target when you are attacked. On Dragon Valley, the Vista Point flag is a good location for the PLA mobile AA because there is lots of air traffic near the US carrier and the trees around Vista Point provide cover. The hill just north of the Market flag is also a good spot on Dragon Valley because there is a little cover from trees and you will have a shot at US aircraft when they leave the carrier.
Miscellaneous locations
Inside the train shed on Daqing Oilfields (between Oil Cisterns and Power Station). You are very well-protected and you can peek out either end to take shots at aircraft. Helis are frequently around the Refinery flag, and you can catch Chinese jets coming from their airfield over the Power Station. A downside is that armor spawns at Refinery and Power Station and it will sometimes come by and kill you. Also you don’t get too many good shots because you can’t see very much sky. This spot is most useful when skilled enemies have been killing you and you need very good protection at the cost of getting fewer kills.
Also on Daqing, the area south of the warehouses between Refinery and West Oilfield can be good to catch U.S. jets going back to their runway as well as helis at Refinery, Power Station, West Oilfield, and Oil Cisterns. The U.S. helicopter sometimes cuts through Refinery after repairing at the U.S. uncap base. Helis also come by Refinery to repair themselves at the helipad in Refinery itself.
On Dragon Valley, a major problem for mobile AA is avoiding armor. One way to avoid it is to stay off the roads. In addition to the Vista Point flag, the hills above the Market flag, and the road below the Vista Point flag across from the Temple flag (not safe from armor), I sometimes park on the slope on the north side of Hill Village (right below the TOW). That spot provides a decent view of the open area over the water and you’re protected somewhat by the hill in front of you and the trees around you.
On DV I also park near the clumps of trees on the west side of the map near Island Farmhouse, but armor always comes by there sooner or later. Dragon Valley is a pretty good mobile AA map because there are wide open spaces, lots of aircraft and no pesky bombers to blow you to smithereens.
Supply crates
It is important to keep your mobile AA vehicle 100% repaired because attacks from fighter jets will frequently bring you down from full health to three or four bars. You can survive fighter jet attacks if you start out at full health; if you survive, you can shoot missiles at the fighter jet as it flies away. A wise commander will drop a supply crate near you, or you can form a squad and request one. But stay away from your supply crate. The only time you should be near the supply crate is when you are repairing your vehicle. If you are near the crate it will be destroyed when you are bombed and you won’t be able to use it for repairs. Most commanders won't give you a lot of supply crates so you need to protect any you get. Make sure you thank your commander if you do get one because that will increase your chances of getting another one later.
Starting the round
At the start of the round on a map with bombers (like Daqing or Kubra), I frequently let other vehicles leave the base first so they will be the ones the enemy jets bomb first (and then I can avenge their deaths ). It is common for aircraft to head straight to the enemy base at the start of the game. If you are parked behind cover inside your base you will be ready to shoot them down.
Support kit
Play support if you are going to spend the round in mobile AA. Don't get out of the vehicle to drop an ammo pack because an enemy can steal your vehicle. (And it’s very embarrassing to be killed with your own vehicle.) Resupply yourself by switching to the second seat with F2 and tossing down an ammo pack.
So get out there and whore the mobile AA!
If you play defensively, spot aircraft, and wait for good shots, you’ll help your team, bug the crap out of enemy pilots, and develop a skill that few BF2 players possess.
This guide is about using mobile AA to shoot down helicopters and jets. There are easier ways to get mobile AA kills (such as mowing down infantry on Ghost Town) but shooting down aircraft is a particularly rewarding activity. I started playing mobile AA regularly because I was bitter about never being able to get into a jet and I wanted to kill pilots. Also, I am relatively incompetent in the attack heli but in mobile AA I get to kill chopper crews who are more skilled than I ever will be.
More importantly, shooting down aircraft can help your team. Enemy aircraft can have a huge effect on the outcome of the game and mobile AA can neutralize them. It can shoot them down, damage them, make them use their flares, and draw their attention. Mobile AA is important because it can attack the other team’s most powerful weapons.
So mobile AA is great, right? You think you want to play mobile AA?
Think again. When you are in mobile AA, almost everybody can kill you:
- Bombers. The laser-guided bomb is virtually unstoppable, and you can't survive a regular bombing run either. When you see the enemy bomber bearing down at you, you are going to die.
- Fighter jets. They can shoot you with their guns, drop their bombs on you, then pull up and duck behind a hill. You can’t touch them when they do that, and they can do it as many times as it takes to kill you.
- Tanks. Their guns are more powerful than yours and their armor is stronger. They also move faster, so you can’t get away.
- Anti-tank infantry. It takes only two rockets and it is not hard for infantry to hide between shots. And if there are two AT infantry attacking, you can die instantly.
- Attack helicopters. The TV missile has a longer range than the mobile AA lock. All helis have to do is get far away and shoot you with the TV missile. Even if a heli is closer it can just pop out from behind cover, drop flares and fire the TV missile faster than you can lock on.Here’s an example demonstrating that the helicopter’s TV missile has a longer range than the mobile AA’s missile lock. The heli gets out of range but still is able to TV the mobile AA.
So you are probably thinking, if everything can kill mobile AA, how can I get kills with it? How can I help my team with it? And what kind of nitwit has it as his most played vehicle?
The key is to play defensively. Stay near cover, change locations frequently, use your missiles to kill attackers and take advantage when enemy aircraft aren’t paying attention to you. What follows is just the long version of those two sentences.
Have four missiles ready
Always have four missiles ready and always shoot all four. This is a very basic point but it is fundamental. It takes at least two missiles to shoot down aircraft and many of your shots will miss. If a heli attacks you and you only have two missiles ready, you are basically defenseless. Always have four ready to go.
Here’s a simple little example. The heli is destroyed by the first missile, but the mobile AA gets rid of the last three immediately so it can reload four.
Focus on winning “The Race”
When you lock onto an enemy aircraft a race begins: can the aircraft get out of sight before you get a solid lock? You can help yourself win this race by (1) getting aircraft to drop their flares as early as possible and (2) locating your mobile AA in a spot that provides a wide view of the sky. A wide view means aircraft will stay in view for a long time.
This heli barely wins the race, getting out of range right when its flares clear. Notice that the mobile AA has a wide and long view of the sky by the end of the clip. The heli has to travel a long way to get out of the mobile AA's view. The heli survives because the mobile AA was not able to force it to drop flares immediately.
This heli loses the race because a jet forced it to drop flares too soon. It does not have time to get out of range of the mobile AA. Again, notice that the mobile AA has a wide and long view of the sky. This is also a good example of how easy it is to destroy targets that are distracted and not paying attention to the mobile AA.
Spot all aircraft so you can lock on the moment they come in range
Do not let a single enemy aircraft go by without spotting it. It is critical for you to know where aircraft are so you can lock on to them as soon as they come in range. Spotting helis is especially important so they don’t sneak up behind you. If you know when aircraft are coming you can lock on as soon as they get into range or move behind cover as they approach, then pop out and fire missiles after they go overhead. In all the videos in this guide, notice how the mobile AA spots every aircraft. It should be a reflex, something you do automatically when you see enemy aircraft.
Here’s an example of how spotting can help mobile AA lock onto aircraft the moment they get into range. The mobile AA in the clip spots two jets. You can see on the minimap that one of the spotted jets flies over the US runway and comes back toward the mobile AA. The mobile AA has been watching it on the minimap and is ready to lock on the moment the jet comes back into range.
Wait for a good shot
AA missiles are most effective against aircraft that are close to you and moving away from you. This means that you want to shoot your missiles when a jet is at its closest point and starts moving away. The same rules apply for helis except missiles will also hit a heli that is moving towards you. Avoid shooting at helis that are moving across your field of vision.
This clip is a nice example of shooting when a jet reaches its closest point and starts moving away.
This clip demonstrates that missiles will not hit jets that are moving toward you at full speed. It's a little hard to see with the fuzzy YouTube video quality, but in this clip the mobile AA fires two missiles when the jet is moving towards it and the missiles do not hit. (You can tell because there aren't any explosions.) In contrast, the third missile tracked the jet and would have hit because it was fired as the jet started to move away. It looks like the tree got in the way of the jet and the last missile didn't quite have time to reach the target.
This slow-motion clip demonstrates that mobile AA missiles will not hit a heli that is moving across the mobile AA’s field of vision. Only one of the four missiles hits the target. (The hit indicator only flashes an X once.) The missiles miss because the heli is moving perpendicular to the path of the missiles. The trees and sign that pass in front of the heli aren't helping, but notice that the missile lock isn't broken. The missiles miss because of the direction the helicopter is moving relative to the missiles’ flight path.
This clip is a better example of missiles failing to hit a helicopter moving across the mobile AA's field of view. The mobile AA has a solid lock on the heli and shoots four missiles. All the missiles come close but only one missile hits. Note that the one missile hits when the heli begins to move toward the mobile AA.
It takes patience to wait for aircraft to drop their flares and start moving away from you but you’ll waste precious missiles if you don’t. You can frequently get a helicopter to drop flares simply by locking on to it for about a second. If the pilot does not drop flares, you can shoot a single missile and see if that gives you an easy hit or convinces the pilot to drop flares. (This happens in the “tricky” clip with the xfire messages below.) Helis are particularly likely to drop flares if you lock on and also shoot your cannon at them, but this can be a dangerous strategy against good heli crews. The flash of the cannon makes your mobile AA easy to find and a good target for a quick TV shot. (Thanks to aj for pointing this out.)
With jets you can either shoot your missiles the moment you first get a lock (and try to get a missile or two in before the flares come out) or wait for the pilot to drop flares and then wait some more for the flares to clear. One advantage of shooting missiles the moment you first get a lock is that jets that are being chased by other jets may not have flares available. The sooner you get your missiles into the air, the more likely you can shoot all four missiles before the enemy jet flies out of range. On the other hand, an advantage of waiting for a jet’s flares to clear is that if you fire four missiles while you are locked onto a jet that has used up its flares, it is a virtually guaranteed kill. The hard part is getting all four missiles off before the jet gets out of range of your lock.
The correct choice--shooting missiles before the flares or after the flares--depends on the situation. If a jet is being chased, it usually makes sense to shoot missiles the moment you get a lock. If you notice that a particular enemy pilot typically drops flares immediately when you lock on, you may be able to wait for that pilot’s flares to clear before firing your missiles. If you're up against an extremely good fighter jet pilot you probably want to go for a lucky shot, firing missiles as soon as you see the plane, because a good jet pilot will duck behind a hill before you can get a decent lock. It can make sense to go for a lucky shot through flares if a jet is smoking and you only need one missile hit to destroy it. There is no simple rule to tell you when to fire. It requires judgment based on more factors than I can list. A major part of the skill involved in playing mobile AA is learning to make this judgment about when to fire missiles.
Here are some examples of mobile AA making this judgment about when to fire. Notice how patient the mobile AA is in this clip, waiting for a good shot. If it had fired missiles earlier, they would have missed and only served to alert the helicopter to the mobile AA’s location. Instead, the mobile AA waited until the heli (a) used its flares, (b) was locked, and (c) was at its nearest point, starting to head away. Note also that the mobile AA does not fire its cannon, making it harder for the heli to locate it.
In this clip the mobile AA has a lock but waits for the heli to drop its flares. Then the mobile AA waits for the heli to be at its closest point and start moving away. Finally, the mobile AA is in position for a guaranteed kill and takes it. Note that the mobile AA would not have gotten the kill if it had fired missiles before the flares came out. There was a solid lock but there wasn't quite enough time to get three missiles off before the lock was broken by the flares.
The heli pilot in this clip doesn’t know how to use flares. Notice how long the mobile AA is locked on before it fires. It’s waiting for the flares but they never come, so it finally fires, killing the stupid pilot. Also notice the juicy bomber flying by low and slow at the end, but the mobile AA is reloading and can’t give the bomber pilot what he is asking for.
This one is tricky (and not just because of the xfire messages popping up). The mobile AA has a good lock and shoots at the heli to try to get it to drop flares. But the heli pilot is good and does not drop flares until the mobile AA fires a missile. Then the heli ducks behind some trees and gets away. Meanwhile, the mobile AA gets rid of its remaining three missiles so it has a full load of four and it chases the heli. Maybe the heli pilot isn’t so good because he hovers in an open area to repair when there's a mobile AA around. The heli makes an easy target once the mobile AA catches up to it. Note that the mobile AA gets away with an error at the end, failing to stay in motion while the helicopter might have been lining up a TV missile shot.
Another heli pilot who does not know how to use flares. The mobile AA waits for the flares but eventually has to shoot when the heli reaches its nearest point and starts heading away.
Location
I generally park my mobile AA somewhere and wait for aircraft to come by. There are a number of things to think about when choosing a location. Two keys are to choose a location where (1) you can defend yourself and (2) you can see a lot of sky.
Protect one side
Park next to something that will prevent aircraft from attacking you from at least one side. That way you will be looking in the direction from which aircraft will approach. You will be ready to lock on and start moving as soon as they get in range. You will die quickly if aircraft can attack you from every side.
Parking in a spot that is protected on one side also hides you a little so aircraft won’t spot you so quickly. I park up against trees, at the bottom of hills or next to buildings, and sometimes up on the side of a hill. If aircraft fly over you from your protected side, they won’t be able to attack you and you will have an opportunity to attack them as they fly away. A spot with good protection from a hill is the road below the Vista Point flag on Dragon Valley, across from the Temple flag. If jets approach you from over the Temple they have to pull up before they get close to you.
Defend yourself with cover
It is also good to be in a location that provides cover for you to go behind when attacked. It can be effective to pop out, shoot your missiles and pop back behind cover. For example, the trees up at the Vista Point flag on Dragon Valley can provide decent cover. In contrast, the location below the Vista Point flag (pictured above) has no cover at all, which makes it dangerous. The railroad shed on Daqing Oilfields between Power Station and Oil Cisterns also provides good cover to duck in and out of. I’ve had helis try to get low and shoot the TV missile into the shed, or even fly through shed door to attack me. Those are easy kills because the helis are close, head-on and nearly stationary.
Defend yourself by staying hidden
Don’t give away your position by shooting your cannon into the sky. I rarely shoot the cannon at enemy jets and I only shoot it at helis when I am attacking them with missiles. In most situations, the cannon gives away your position without doing enough damage to make it worthwhile. I will generally use the cannon to shoot down the enemy UAV when it is over me because the UAV is giving my position away anyway.
Defend yourself by staying out of the way
Choose a location where you will not run into tanks, AT infantry or other mobile AA. If enemy armor comes near you, hide or drive away. Don't engage it because you will lose. Pay attention to which bases the enemy controls and stay away from bases that spawn tanks. You generally want to stay near friendly armor because it can defend you against enemy armor. Friendly armor will also draw enemy aircraft for you to shoot down. (Don't tell your teammates you are using them as bait. ) Also stay away from enemy mobile AA vehicles. The cannon on the Chinese PGZ-95 is particularly ineffective against other AA vehicles so it will lose fights against the U.S. Linebacker. Even if you survive a fight with another AA vehicle, you will be damaged and easy for aircraft to kill. You don’t even want to run into enemy cars because the players in them might kill you with C4 or jump out and get you with anti-tank rockets.
Don’t go out looking for trouble
The vulnerability of mobile AA to armor and infantry is an important reason to stay in one location rather than constantly drive the mobile AA around the map. If you drive around the map you will run into armor or AT infantry sooner or later. If you park in a spot where enemies rarely come by on the ground, you may be able to avoid them for longer periods of time.
Defend yourself by changing locations
No location is perfect. Jets, helis, tanks and AT infantry can attack you no matter where you are. It is critical to change locations periodically so aircraft don't have time to take advantage of the weaknesses of any particular spot you park in and ground-based enemies don’t have time to trudge to your location and attack you. Changing locations also makes your attacks less predictable, which is extremely helpful if you are trying to kill skilled pilots and heli crews.
Move when you are being attacked
If you move when you are being attacked it makes a bomber’s aim a tiny bit harder and it makes a heli's TV missile shot slightly more difficult. At the same time, moving won't affect the accuracy of your heat-seeking missiles. Moving won’t help you very much against really good players, but it doesn’t hurt you either.
If you look at the trees in this clip you can see that the mobile AA is moving during the entire encounter. The TV missile is launched before the heli is destroyed but the missile goes astray because the heli gunner is no longer guiding it and the mobile AA moves out of its path.
Moving when you are attacked is easiest when you park at the top of a hill and drive down the slope when aircraft come after you. Skilled bombers and TV gunners will still get you, but you can accelerate faster when you go down a hill, and the elevation change makes bombing you a little harder. The hills near East Oilfield on Daqing Oilfields are good in this respect. The big hills surrounding the Market flag on Dragon Valley have good slopes to drive down if you need to avoid an attack, but you have to be careful not to get killed from driving down a slope that is too steep.
In this clip the mobile AA does not move and gets TV’d before it can get enough missiles off. It is an easy target when it is standing still. The mobile AA should have been moving down the hill the entire time it was in the heli's sight, forcing the heli pilot to adjust to keep it in the gunner's TV missile screen. It might not have saved it, but it could have delayed the TV shot just enough to get a couple more missiles off.
See lots of sky
As mentioned above (in the discussion of "the race"), this is the most important offensive factor in picking a location. Although it is important to protect one side, have cover, etc., you won’t shoot down enemy aircraft unless you let yourself see as much sky as possible. This is important because aircraft will protect themselves from you by dropping flares and getting out of sight before the flares dissipate. If you have a wide view of the sky, it takes longer for aircraft to get out of sight. That extra time will allow you to lock back on after the flares go away. You don't want to sit between tall structures where you can see only a small amount of sky (e.g., the oil cisterns on Daqing), even though they can provide you with protection. The tops of hills are ideal for getting a sweeping view that keeps aircraft in your sight for a long time. The big hill between Hill Village and Market on Dragon Valley has a huge view. It has no cover, unfortunately, so it is a dangerous place to park. The Vista Point flag has a wide view and cover from trees, as does the hill on Daqing between East Oilfield and Gas Station.
It can be useful to park on the path enemy jets take to get back to their airfield
You can’t chase aircraft around the map, so you have to find a location where they will come to you. The hills near East Oilfield on Daqing are a good location because the Chinese jets go by there to reach their runway. There are also helis taking off and reloading at the East Oilfield flag. (And whenever your team takes that flag, enemy jets will come by to bomb it.) You can use the trees and the side of the hill for cover, and you can drive down the hill to make yourself a moving target when you are attacked. On Dragon Valley, the Vista Point flag is a good location for the PLA mobile AA because there is lots of air traffic near the US carrier and the trees around Vista Point provide cover. The hill just north of the Market flag is also a good spot on Dragon Valley because there is a little cover from trees and you will have a shot at US aircraft when they leave the carrier.
Miscellaneous locations
Inside the train shed on Daqing Oilfields (between Oil Cisterns and Power Station). You are very well-protected and you can peek out either end to take shots at aircraft. Helis are frequently around the Refinery flag, and you can catch Chinese jets coming from their airfield over the Power Station. A downside is that armor spawns at Refinery and Power Station and it will sometimes come by and kill you. Also you don’t get too many good shots because you can’t see very much sky. This spot is most useful when skilled enemies have been killing you and you need very good protection at the cost of getting fewer kills.
Also on Daqing, the area south of the warehouses between Refinery and West Oilfield can be good to catch U.S. jets going back to their runway as well as helis at Refinery, Power Station, West Oilfield, and Oil Cisterns. The U.S. helicopter sometimes cuts through Refinery after repairing at the U.S. uncap base. Helis also come by Refinery to repair themselves at the helipad in Refinery itself.
On Dragon Valley, a major problem for mobile AA is avoiding armor. One way to avoid it is to stay off the roads. In addition to the Vista Point flag, the hills above the Market flag, and the road below the Vista Point flag across from the Temple flag (not safe from armor), I sometimes park on the slope on the north side of Hill Village (right below the TOW). That spot provides a decent view of the open area over the water and you’re protected somewhat by the hill in front of you and the trees around you.
On DV I also park near the clumps of trees on the west side of the map near Island Farmhouse, but armor always comes by there sooner or later. Dragon Valley is a pretty good mobile AA map because there are wide open spaces, lots of aircraft and no pesky bombers to blow you to smithereens.
Supply crates
It is important to keep your mobile AA vehicle 100% repaired because attacks from fighter jets will frequently bring you down from full health to three or four bars. You can survive fighter jet attacks if you start out at full health; if you survive, you can shoot missiles at the fighter jet as it flies away. A wise commander will drop a supply crate near you, or you can form a squad and request one. But stay away from your supply crate. The only time you should be near the supply crate is when you are repairing your vehicle. If you are near the crate it will be destroyed when you are bombed and you won’t be able to use it for repairs. Most commanders won't give you a lot of supply crates so you need to protect any you get. Make sure you thank your commander if you do get one because that will increase your chances of getting another one later.
Starting the round
At the start of the round on a map with bombers (like Daqing or Kubra), I frequently let other vehicles leave the base first so they will be the ones the enemy jets bomb first (and then I can avenge their deaths ). It is common for aircraft to head straight to the enemy base at the start of the game. If you are parked behind cover inside your base you will be ready to shoot them down.
Support kit
Play support if you are going to spend the round in mobile AA. Don't get out of the vehicle to drop an ammo pack because an enemy can steal your vehicle. (And it’s very embarrassing to be killed with your own vehicle.) Resupply yourself by switching to the second seat with F2 and tossing down an ammo pack.
So get out there and whore the mobile AA!
If you play defensively, spot aircraft, and wait for good shots, you’ll help your team, bug the crap out of enemy pilots, and develop a skill that few BF2 players possess.
Last edited by san4 (2008-07-23 18:15:46)
