steelie34 wrote:
..the hind is an acquired taste... difficult to fly at first, but once perfected it is by far the best for infantry rapage. the apache is well suited to ghost town, but the hind is my choice for gator. once you have mastered the circle of death, you are basically unstoppable. on mass des. and surge, the hind really comes into its own. tanks can be taken down with rockets! don't just try to run straight on against armor, as most of your rockets will miss. the trick is to start by circling above the armor, until you have them lined up for a rocket shot. you'll notice that as you fire rockets while your spinning, the rockets will all hit the same spot. make sure the armor is on the receiving end of the shots, and you can't go wrong. 4 rockets will take out any tank or apc, so you only have to line up one side of your hind. also, the steeper your angle of attack, the more pinpointed the rockets will be. this probably sounds really confusing, and i can't find any video examples (the posted video doesn't show any sustained circles)... just hop in with an experienced pilot, and you'll soon see what i mean.
flying the hind requires a different mindset than the apache. the apache is great for speedy attack runs against armor and other enemy postions. very simple... you find a target, and fly in rockets blazing, and then egress behind cover. the hind is a little different. it requires some thought before you attack, especailly with regard to all of the threats you might see after you start your attack. you have to predict where an enemy is going, and try to surprise them from above or behind. when i start out flying, i basically head to where i know an enemy tank will be, unless my team spots any other threats. once i've picked a target, i'll set up a good circle of death above them, giving my gunner a shot or taking care of business myself. while i'm doing this, i'll pick my next target, and keep the circle going until i can smoothly move on to the next target. i'm usually flying sideways more than head-on with the hind, as it's easier to immediately start a circle of death when necessary.
the last bit of advice, if you are locked onto by an enemy, DONT PANIC! so many people hear that sound and flip out. then they crash because they try some crazy-ass barrel roll that the hind really shouldn't be doing. when you hear the lock, you have to make a quick decision to fight or flight. this decision should be entirely based on what you can most easily do in the stiuation. if you see the threat (tracers, missle trails, etc), then you should easily be able to position yourself for a counter-attack. if the attack came from behind, you need to get low and far away fast. use cover, and try to determine where the attack has come from. (use the map!) if you have damage, you will need stealth to take out the threat, even if it means flying all the way around the outside of the map to get behind the enemy. if you have full health, you can go heads up against the threat. no igla or stinger can take out a heli with only two shots, so even if your flares fail and you still get hit, you can finish the job. if the target is an AA tank, well you have to hope you can divert at least two of the missles with your flares, and then finish off the enemy. i cannot stress enough about the importance of staying calm. focus on one target at a time, and fly with a purpose. ALWAYS use your map. situational awareness is the single greatest skill a soldier can have. when you hear the "enemy armor spotted" open your map and find the bastard. a hind is great for close support, and your ground troops will thank you for it.
practice and perfect the circle of death move, and you will come to love the hind as much as i do. i've lost count of all the kick votes against me and how many gator servers i've emptied out because of the hind.
wow, I couldn't of said that better. perfect summary. add soloing onto that and the hind has no problem with the apache.
