Staying alive is indeed an issue. I'd like to think I've gotten fairly good with AA vehicles, so here's a few tips:Coolbeano wrote:
Nicely done.
But I must know what your secret is to staying alive in that thing. The armor is absolutely terrible and even if you've got an engineer in the turret he can't even duck to avoid snipers.
- Play as engineer. Don't be afraid to drive off somewhere behind a hill and jump out to repair youself.
- Don't travel on regularly used routes, you need to skirt the edges. Pilots get lazy, and often just repeatedly sweep the same lanes of attack. If you're not on that lane, you're much safer. For example, on Road Rage, don't drive up the highway, drive over the hills to one side. Also, taking up a position near the edge of the map means that you're more likely to get a side-on attack on enemy jets, which is helpful (I'll come to that in a moment)
- Stick near, but not too near, other vehicles. When enemy jets are sweeping an area, they'll look for those little boxes on their HUD, and they'll go for the first one that appears (because they need to line up their run, they'll probably ignore later targets that appear), or they'll go for wherever they see a couple of boxes together, as this increases their chances of bomb-kills. If your AA vehicle is hanging behind the tank (or tanks) in front, you're far less likely to be the target of the bombs, and of course the sucker who's bombing has just shot his load on something that isn't the kind of threat you are.
- Similarly, keeping bigger threats like tanks nearby helps keep you safe from AT troopers. It shouldn't, because the AA vehicle is not only a softer target, but it's also better at killing foot soldiers. But people are dumb, and they try and take out the tank first. When AT rockets start flying at the tank, you can see where the AT guy is and slaughter him. If you're lucky, the tank will survive and you can get in beside him and maybe pick up a repair point while you're there.
- Do your best to not let those AT guys get a second shot. You can survive one hit. Obviously, if it's a co-ordinated squad of AT, you're dead in the water, but if it's not you've a chance. If you saw where the hit came from, pour fire towards him. The Linebacker is best for this kind of thing, since it's got a decent splash. If you didn't see where the rocket came from, you have to get out of there as quickly as you can. Run like bejesus, and to hell with honour! Get a building or hill between you and wherever your best guess for that guy is. Once your somewhere safe, fix your AA and go back and get the fucker.
- Be careful with your ammo. You've got a very limited supply of missiles. I've gotten in the habit of only ever firing two missiles at a jet in any one attack. Note that that's not enough to make the kill, you have to make some gun hits too, but only one or two. If you're not careful, you'll find yourself with only one missile, or in the middle of a reload when a jet finally finds you and comes in on a dive. With two missiles and the gun, you should be able to kill an oncoming jet, and maybe in time to save yourself. With one, you can't, so watch for that. The reason I mentioned side-on attacks against jets earlier is because of this ammo-conservation. With a side attack you can keep a lock on him, making a couple of gun-hits, while his flares are deployed, then as soon as you have a proper lock, let loose with two missiles aimed at his rear and he should be toast.
- Avoid enemy armour like the plague. They are by far the biggest threat to your well-being. Someone in a T-90 seeing a Linebacker in his sights is probably going to pick up an easy kill. Avoiding them isn't always easy. Keep a careful eye on your minimap, and hope you've got a helpful commander and a team that's good at Q-spotting enemy armour. If you see a tank before it sees you, engage Plan "Get the Fuck Outta There". Don't shoot at him, whatever you do, that'll just let him know where you are, and piss him off. Once again, keeping a friendly tank between you and the front lines of combat is your best bet. Note that the same applies to APCs. On the other hand, light vehicles, the transports and cars, are to be considered targets.
In the screenshot above, I had just followed a friendly tank up the road from the gas station at the US end of the highway, and he'd run into that mob of infantry who'd taken him apart with AT rockets, leaving me to pick up a few kills in the aftermath.
Having said all that above, you're right, the AA vehicles are pretty fragile. If your going for the AA badge like this, expect to get killed a good bit. If you are trying for the badge, never abandon your Linebacker/Tunguska. If you can't get away and repair it, then die in it. that way, you can respawn and be ready for it when it respawns, and no-one'll have nicked it in the meantime.
Hope some of that helps. Good luck...
