Well I played with the new patch last night & decided to grab the jet to see what all the fuss is about with the AA.
Now let me say firstly that I have 170 hours flying experience in the jet with 10,000+ kills. I have the veteran aviator badge & need 30 more hrs flying time to get my air combat medal. So im hardly a noob.
Anyway I jump in a jet last night & within 30 secs Im blown out of the air. I take one hit (from where I dont know) then a few secs later on red health its 'good night Dick'. Hmm. So I take the jet again a few secs later & this time im in the air about 1 min then same thing happens. Only this time its a J10 that takes me down that had like lock on me for about 3 secs.
So I respawn on the carrier & stand there for a few minutes contemplating how fucked up this new patch is. My first thought was EA have ruined it. Jets just arent the same. Assholes.
But then I notice something odd. The jet has respawned & no-ones in it or running for it. Hmm. Cool. So I jump in it again. This time I give what just happened a bit of thought. Ok so I was knocked out the air after being locked on albeit for a few seconds. And it appeared the problem was with the AA. Before the patch AA was simply an annoyance & an easy target. Now it was war!! I decide there & then 'you f*ckers are going to pay'.
So this time around I get smarter. Flying in from a high altitude I take a glance at the map & determine where the enemy will be. I ask myself what SAM sites would they currently be occupying considering a lock on to a jet is likely going to result in 2+ global points. And swooping in I hit the afterburners & dive holding back on the gattling guns until I have my 1st victim truly in my sight. Then bang, I hit him out of nowhere. By the time he feels the wrath of my guns spraying all around him its too late to turn around & try a lock on. Hes dead already. Now for my next victim. Let me see. A check of the map. And around I turn, again coming in at a great height. This time though he gets a lock on, shit..off with the flares as I take a hit..the view gets a tad blury for a second as the jet shakes. I spray madly at him with the guns but not registering as a kill immediately I revert to something even more deadly. Yup, its bomb time you grunt. And bang, in one swoop I get to scratch another kill on the side of my jet. That takes care of 2 SAMS. I feel a further degree of satisfaction as I look back down & see a friendly chopper fly past the SAM I just destroyed..unharmed & free to fly on to his destination.
A short time later Im in the thick of it again, this time however in a slightly different way. I notice im flying higher than I used to but so are the enemy jets & even the choppers. Its a whole new world up here lol. The SAMS are back & missiles are flying around everywhere but it was cool. Chances are if their firing at me they have just as much chance of hitting someone else up here. And hey that J10 that just flew past in front of me is toast if he hasnt seen me. Hes banking as I pull up behind him so I let fly with 2 missiles to test this new patch. Normally they would taper off but not this time. One misses just but the other hits with a plume of flame bursting from it for a second. I bank off to head back to the carrier to rearm & repair & as I do I see a 'you killed xxxx' in the lower corner of my screen. More satisfaction. Later Im killed & respawn & its kind of eerie. Theres no jets attacking our carrier anymore & hey theres both the jet AND the Cobra just sitting there. Now im beginning to really like this game.
Im playing only my 2nd round in the jet mainly since the new patch & the round finishes. Ive come second top in my team. Pipped at the post.
So in summary. I like the patch. The jets no longer dominate. Gone are the days of flying around the WHOLE round in the jet, finishing top with 40+ kills & not dying once. But I couldnt care less. I found last night flying the jet is no longer a yawn. It takes skill to get up there & stay alive now & I love the challenge. I love the game of cat & mouse with the AA. Though sometimes no amount of skill in the world will save you if you have 2 AA & one jet locked onto you thats just the way it is. Same as if your team only has one flag & your getting killed as soon as you spawn. Its just part of the game.
But the patch has brought the AA into it. After 50,000 global points & 6 mths of playing with 750 hrs playing time, Ive only spent 11 hrs in AA. Thats likely to change.
Ive yet to see how the new AA affects the choppers. I expect this will be the down side. I cant possibly see how a chopper can avoid AA with only a few flares to throw now & then, & without it having speed on its side, as does the jet. And if they have made them weaker then I dont expect I'll be flying choppers too much.
But as far as flying a jet goes & the new AA. Its made it more of a team game. The AA IS now a factor & it needs to be dealt with. If you have a good team the guys on the ground will help to take them out so jets can bomb. Jets will take them out so choppers can fly. And on that note I found myself doing that last night. Rather than just spamming the enemy heli pad I found myself looking out for my teams choppers. Seeing one head toward a flag I would fly ahead & take out the AA where I could. Rather than being a lone ranger in a jet Im more a team player now. Theres more purpose in the jet. Flags are capped just as they would be in real life. Jets come in & take out the AA, choppers can then fly in & take out the armor & hurt the infantry. Infantry can then move in & clean up & take the flag. Its the way it should be.
And though it may change in future it doesnt appear as though players congregate as much on jet/chopper spawns like they used to. The jets stay away from the carrier as its almost certain death if both AA are manned. This is a good thing. And on that I noticed last night as I took off in the jet & glanced at the map something odd. From the rear of the carrier there were no less than SIX boats heading off to Wake Island. That must have been a sight if you were in the last boat. And there were 2 more heading off from the bow.
With the new AA give the choppers MORE armour & flares, but apart from that the patch seems to be a plus. My 2 cents.
PS Mods please move this to the correct forum (sorry).
Now let me say firstly that I have 170 hours flying experience in the jet with 10,000+ kills. I have the veteran aviator badge & need 30 more hrs flying time to get my air combat medal. So im hardly a noob.
Anyway I jump in a jet last night & within 30 secs Im blown out of the air. I take one hit (from where I dont know) then a few secs later on red health its 'good night Dick'. Hmm. So I take the jet again a few secs later & this time im in the air about 1 min then same thing happens. Only this time its a J10 that takes me down that had like lock on me for about 3 secs.
So I respawn on the carrier & stand there for a few minutes contemplating how fucked up this new patch is. My first thought was EA have ruined it. Jets just arent the same. Assholes.
But then I notice something odd. The jet has respawned & no-ones in it or running for it. Hmm. Cool. So I jump in it again. This time I give what just happened a bit of thought. Ok so I was knocked out the air after being locked on albeit for a few seconds. And it appeared the problem was with the AA. Before the patch AA was simply an annoyance & an easy target. Now it was war!! I decide there & then 'you f*ckers are going to pay'.
So this time around I get smarter. Flying in from a high altitude I take a glance at the map & determine where the enemy will be. I ask myself what SAM sites would they currently be occupying considering a lock on to a jet is likely going to result in 2+ global points. And swooping in I hit the afterburners & dive holding back on the gattling guns until I have my 1st victim truly in my sight. Then bang, I hit him out of nowhere. By the time he feels the wrath of my guns spraying all around him its too late to turn around & try a lock on. Hes dead already. Now for my next victim. Let me see. A check of the map. And around I turn, again coming in at a great height. This time though he gets a lock on, shit..off with the flares as I take a hit..the view gets a tad blury for a second as the jet shakes. I spray madly at him with the guns but not registering as a kill immediately I revert to something even more deadly. Yup, its bomb time you grunt. And bang, in one swoop I get to scratch another kill on the side of my jet. That takes care of 2 SAMS. I feel a further degree of satisfaction as I look back down & see a friendly chopper fly past the SAM I just destroyed..unharmed & free to fly on to his destination.
A short time later Im in the thick of it again, this time however in a slightly different way. I notice im flying higher than I used to but so are the enemy jets & even the choppers. Its a whole new world up here lol. The SAMS are back & missiles are flying around everywhere but it was cool. Chances are if their firing at me they have just as much chance of hitting someone else up here. And hey that J10 that just flew past in front of me is toast if he hasnt seen me. Hes banking as I pull up behind him so I let fly with 2 missiles to test this new patch. Normally they would taper off but not this time. One misses just but the other hits with a plume of flame bursting from it for a second. I bank off to head back to the carrier to rearm & repair & as I do I see a 'you killed xxxx' in the lower corner of my screen. More satisfaction. Later Im killed & respawn & its kind of eerie. Theres no jets attacking our carrier anymore & hey theres both the jet AND the Cobra just sitting there. Now im beginning to really like this game.
Im playing only my 2nd round in the jet mainly since the new patch & the round finishes. Ive come second top in my team. Pipped at the post.
So in summary. I like the patch. The jets no longer dominate. Gone are the days of flying around the WHOLE round in the jet, finishing top with 40+ kills & not dying once. But I couldnt care less. I found last night flying the jet is no longer a yawn. It takes skill to get up there & stay alive now & I love the challenge. I love the game of cat & mouse with the AA. Though sometimes no amount of skill in the world will save you if you have 2 AA & one jet locked onto you thats just the way it is. Same as if your team only has one flag & your getting killed as soon as you spawn. Its just part of the game.
But the patch has brought the AA into it. After 50,000 global points & 6 mths of playing with 750 hrs playing time, Ive only spent 11 hrs in AA. Thats likely to change.
Ive yet to see how the new AA affects the choppers. I expect this will be the down side. I cant possibly see how a chopper can avoid AA with only a few flares to throw now & then, & without it having speed on its side, as does the jet. And if they have made them weaker then I dont expect I'll be flying choppers too much.
But as far as flying a jet goes & the new AA. Its made it more of a team game. The AA IS now a factor & it needs to be dealt with. If you have a good team the guys on the ground will help to take them out so jets can bomb. Jets will take them out so choppers can fly. And on that note I found myself doing that last night. Rather than just spamming the enemy heli pad I found myself looking out for my teams choppers. Seeing one head toward a flag I would fly ahead & take out the AA where I could. Rather than being a lone ranger in a jet Im more a team player now. Theres more purpose in the jet. Flags are capped just as they would be in real life. Jets come in & take out the AA, choppers can then fly in & take out the armor & hurt the infantry. Infantry can then move in & clean up & take the flag. Its the way it should be.
And though it may change in future it doesnt appear as though players congregate as much on jet/chopper spawns like they used to. The jets stay away from the carrier as its almost certain death if both AA are manned. This is a good thing. And on that I noticed last night as I took off in the jet & glanced at the map something odd. From the rear of the carrier there were no less than SIX boats heading off to Wake Island. That must have been a sight if you were in the last boat. And there were 2 more heading off from the bow.
With the new AA give the choppers MORE armour & flares, but apart from that the patch seems to be a plus. My 2 cents.
PS Mods please move this to the correct forum (sorry).
Last edited by Flyboy63 (2006-02-15 20:10:22)