BF2S Forums Helo hints for a helo n00b?

Don't fly at all. That's my hint for a total n00b.

just be aware of what the nose pitch should b for a good tv-m view. nothing is more frustrating than a pilot that has it way in the air, or upside down....

You're on the right track so far.  I used to be absolute shit in the helicopters.  I'm still far from the best, but I'd like to think I'm at least better than average.  All you can really do is practice as much as you can in single player, then move on from there.  It'll take some getting used to with real people instead of bots, but you'll get the hang of it. 

As for your questions...

All gunners prefer different altitudes.  Some like to be right in close because that way they can't miss with the tv missile while others like to be far away.  Really, I do what's comfortable for me as a pilot.  I like to stay a medium distance away.  Too close means you're an easy target for snipers, TOWs, AA, AT, and armor but too far means your gunner will have difficulty mowing down ground units.  If your gunner is having trouble hitting ground infantry from afar, move in a bit closer. 

Barrel rolls don't really do anything that a quick pitch, altitude, and steering adjustment couldn't also do.  It throws your gunner off since he's not usually prepared for it and it can make you an easy target when you pull out of it since you basically end up in the same position you were when you started, but with a bit less altitude.  I don't do them, but different pilots have different flying styles.  If it works for you, then so be it.

You can really only improve your circle strafing by practicing.  Get comfortable going in both directions, switching directions, and lining up your gunner for the gun and the tv missile.  This is when it helps having a good gunner so that he gets people on the first pass, not allowing them to spot you and prepare for a second pass.

Again, barrel rolling is pretty pointless.  It might look cool when someone does it, but it really surves no tactical purpose in-game.  Any other questions, feel free to ask.

Hey thanks a lot ThomasMorgan and tupla_s. Very much appreciated.

http://forums.bf2s.com/viewtopic.php?pid=495934

The rest of the tips so far are pretty good.

IMO, a barrel roll is useful in two situations only. The first is against an enemy jet. Wait a while to drop your flares, about at the top of your roll, and there's no chance in hell a jet pilot shoots you down with his cannons, and the Air to Air will miss you as well. By the time you're back down your flares are almost ready to go again. The only way he kills you in this situation is if he rams into you.

The other time it's remotely useful is Chopper vs. Chopper if you know your gunner is going to need several TV shots to finally land a hit. Whether that means the opposing pilot is very good, or your gunner is bad is irrelevant. But a barrel rolling chopper is extremely hard for an enemy gunner to hit with a TV missile. I really recommend limiting your use of this tactic to a gunner you know well, and have voice communication with. Let him know you're doing it so he doesn't misfire one of his missiles.

A much more useful maneuver in most situations is to go into a backflip until you're upside down, then making a half-barrel roll.

Last edited by Not (2006-07-03 00:38:24)

Hey Not, yea I read that one, thank you ^_^ .

I'm trying to get used to the different missile spreads w/ the different choppers.

as a gunner, any height really, as long as your lined up for that tv missile shot and as long as your not under the troops your shooting, cause the gun doesnt point up!  and if you didnt know, when ever getting in a chopper hit C once, it makes it easier.  When flying hit C four or five times once in a while just to make sure no jets are trying to gun you on their bomb views.  As a pilot barell rolls arent needed that much, avoiding jet missiles is as simple as decreasing altidude or increasing altitude, mostl nose diving is the best.  When avoiding chopper tv missiles, ill try to explain this as i fly with a joystick....roll your chopper 90 degrees left or right and accelerate so that you will start turn while being at a 90 degree angle.  Make sure as a pilot your constantly aware of threats (jeeps,planes,aa,sraws,terrain you may hit,etc.) and be aware of what your gunner may spot.  As a gunner never missile boats or infantry<-i like to though for fun ,and only missile cars only if theyre shooting at you with their mounted MG.  Now, say your pointed at 2 targets and you can only tv missile one.  See what is the biggest threat, which one actually sees you, if theyre shooting at you, and make a decision.  I would missile the target that is either shooting at you or has the best chance of seeing you/taking you down.  Also, when your piloting, never get greedy and gamble.  If your gut instinct tells you not to dive at that tank to rocket him or let your gunner missile him because youll crash, then dont, pass by and come back for a better shot.  hope some of this helped you

dont listen about barell rolls from anyone
they really arent ever needed....if a jet is shooting at you, deploy flares like right when the lock gets a solid tone, and when being targeted by a jet, just turn and change direction or climb in altitude or nose dive

Last edited by eagles1106 (2006-07-03 00:49:47)

well you could check the 4 videos armyDr made. http://files.bf2s.com/files.php?cat=4 (search for the heli tutorials). Those should be a nice start.

I like that you practice on single player, sad thing though that bots as gunners are total crap. They never even use a TV missile. So once you know the basics and know how to fly, you should practice on online maps to have real gunners ;-)

As a gunner, altitude doesn't really matter, it's how fast the chopper is moving and if it's moving at the same speed or not to make it easy killing infantry. Being lined up for a tv is always nice. The lower, the easier it is to kill them though but it makes you more vulnerable. If you notice your gunner is awesome at shooting, you can try a bit higher, if you notice he can't seem to hit a thing, hover lower but go for repairs every time you got hit by something. For the TV missiles I prefer 300 feet (pretty far away) cause I always have this little lag before I see my missile so if the target is far away, I can still adjust.
The mec chopper can kill people from huge distances with his main gun though.

Circle strafing: roll left, steer right (or the other way around). If you are going too fast, you should try not to hold down the acceleration key. But tap it every second, that should do the trick. For making too big circles, don't think that is too bad, too small circles is more annoying as a gunner. You could try to roll in the direction you want to circle first and then suddenly roll to the other side and steer in the opposite direction (difficult to describe though), this way you're circles will be not that big I think and you will switch your chopper almost 180 degrees and then you can continue circling.

And don't do barrel rolls :-) They are only show (although I have seen a chopper evading AA missiles with it but only once so maybe it was luck) It's better to kill the AA gun, or try to take some cover behind trees and buildings till you have flares again, and go take him out then. If you are in chopper vs chopper, don't do barrel rolls neither, you will lose too much height and give him an advantage.

Hope this helped a bit. I'm not that good at describing it though.

Oh and maybe one last hint: Don't always hold the acceleration key! If you are diving towards a tank with full acceleration and you notice you are aiming too high, stop the acceleration and use deceleration, this way your chopper will get lower and you can fire your missiles. Cause if you pitch down some more to hit the tank you might kill him, but you will crash into the ground probably.

ResDog1 wrote:

TIP2:
Fly with a gunner... If you encounter another chopper and he has no gunner, a good gunner will tear him to shreds...

lol a good gunner doesnt need to tear anything to shreads, all it takes is one big explosion from a missile

another tip most experienced people can assume your rank by the altitude and the pitch of which your flying without seeing your name so the higher you fly in a helo the more of a target you are and idiot so best to stay with in the 150alt range or lower. Daqing oil fields is a great place to practice cause there are lower ranks and tonnes of room to practice flying and AA is fairly weak there.

As far as the joystick/keyboard argument goes...It's REALLY a matter of personal preference. There are definitely some maneuvers that you can't do as well without a joystick, but as mentioned, some precision is lost. The bottom line is finding what works best for you, but believe me, if the issue at hand is shelling out the cash for a stick I can tell you firsthand that you can learn to do it with a mouse and keyboard with great success. Don't feel like you absolutely have to fly a chopper with a stick. A great KB/M pilot and Joystick pilot will both be able to do the same things, just practice with it.

Learn with a joystick and not a mouse.