BF2S Forums Chopper tutorial advice outline.

• only way to get hit by ground vehicle is by being near the ground
• fav can only aim so high
• if being shot by one (and you can see tracers)  try to get directly above them, until you can gather your composure.
• if too far out from above them, you have to try your best to take them out, or duck behind something.
• tanks are surprisingly accurate if your low to the ground, don't give em the chance to take you down. (don't fly low)
• this also relates to being aware. 

• many people feel the need to capture flags - Bad, very few reasons to cap a flag
• the longer you don't die the better, hovering in a spot is a bad thing to do
• if you die, you will get camped by the chopper, infantry, and jets, dont go low.
• even if your not just 'hovering' you aren't fully aware of surroundings, and still an easy target for any decent gunner.
• trust me Ive been there.  i learn all this through experience ;p
• its a whole lot harder to get back up than it is to not die in the first place
• if you go below 75% health... id go back to repair, unless in immediate danger by something else
• you need to be able to take one eryx w/o dieing at least... or even better 2 igla shots.
• do not turn and run when in combat w/ another chopper unless you can get out of range of TV
• if you are out of TVs, and they aren't, stand your ground and rocket/gun em down
• if you are both out of TVs, you wont want to run straight, but you can backup while facing them and doge any rockets.
• until you are out of range for certain, turn tail and run for dodge. (gtfo)
• TV is the most effective weapon in bf2 at taking out armor
• you can take out armor much easier w/ a chopper than infantry can
• if you have a gunner (competent one!),  line em up for a TV shot on the tank, if they don't take it then feel free to take it out yourself
• if multiple armor its up to you if you can reliably take them both out, if you mess up w/ rockets, don't get too focused and got shot down by a chopper.
• don't get focused on one thing
• say you know there's a chopper up Somewhere because its been some time since its died, and you see a sniper up on a crane, don't spend 20 seconds trying to kill him
• if in one pass your Gunner doesn't take him down.. leave it at that, you have bigger fish to fry
• same scenario but with a buggy or armor.  !Be aware! of the enemy choppers.  Even I have to fight the urge to chase down those pesky lil buggies
• if hes not shooting at you, and there's a somewhat competent chopper up, go after the chopper
• there are exceptions to the rule.. you know the chopper people are pure idiots, and that buggy has been harassing you (w/ gun turret) you may want to kill it first.
• once all armor and choppers are down you can defend flags/ kill infantry, don't cap flags
• always be watching for the next important target (tank, chopper, buggy) cant stress this enough. Awareness is KEY.

• (tank,fav,AA)  first priority is to take care of that situation and get out of danger by any means possible
• by any means possible i mean, kill the target, hide from it, or run. (depends on situation)
• again stay high, this decreases the things that can hit you, and even if they can it'll be harder /less effective. and you can deal w/ the things in the air.

• geometry on high
• low to high you can see twice as far.  I'm serious.
• ever wonder why you can see tracer fire from a buggy or something, but not see the actual buggy?  its because their geometry is higher than yours
• oh and of course turn up view max distance.
• if its on high, you can see an enemy chopper before the TV missile is even in range.
• this can lead into standoffs .. if your going against a decent chopper team
• just remember they cant hit you if your not in range, don't let them get you in range if your not confident in your gunner.
• good solo pilots will pull back before they shoot the TV, making them turn around... watch out for this.  they will probably be decent gunners too
• most inexperience players will fall into the trap and go forward in order to be in range, meanwhile their TV is on the way, and even if you shoot the TV, they will be out of range- you just have to beat them at their own game and be patient.. or dodge/expect them to miss and be in range to hit them
• effects on medium
• very helpful in jet (can see an airstream)
• helpful for rockets in chopper, can see air stream again, and adjust a little bit better
• i find artillery/explosions can do a number on my system tho. 
• if this is affecting fps too much ( you go below 30 at every explosion) id probably turn it off

• just because you don't see it doesn't mean its not there
• look at your radar! you don't have to SEE it to know its there!
• if you hear something being spotted, look for it on your radar.  even if you don't see it, take note of it,sometimes they don't show up.
• constantly check all your views
• when you get into a chopper what is the first thing you do
• first make sure there's nothing around you (tank, sniper w/ m95, chopper).  if there is, figure out which is most dangerous- take it out asap. - if its a tank
• if its un aware, tilt nose up for gunner to quickly TV (you don't have to be OFF the ground to TV, just a slight tilt)
• if the tank is facing you, don't turn away, face it and rocket it as fast as you can.  try to be as 'skinny' as possible by facing it too.
• you can also try to 'dodge' just by leaning to one side, and getting in the air asap. (remember to stay Above them once you get up)  They WILL shoot you down if you go too low, no reason for that ot happen.
• if you get up and there is a chopper there also, the tank is now neutralized so long as you don't go down into their range,
• take out the chopper, then go back to killing the tank.
• if its a chopper and relatively close to the ground, you can lean your chopper back and your gunner can TV them.
• i find many people try to kill me when I'm on pad, and i just TV em when they fly by like this.
• take advantage of every moment.  When lifting off and you see no immediate danger, you should of course check for any armor/ choppers in area.
• if not, shoot TV to where there could likely be something
• on dalian, when your lifting off from reactor towers, I always line my gunner up (if I'm pilot), and if I'm gunner take a shoot at main entrance chopper. 
• many times there's someone on the pad
• there can be a chopper just starting up
• a piece of armor in the general area
• or a chopper repairing on the pad.
• you should constantly be on look for the next target.
• if your targeted by AA, i often flair, then change views so that i can best see where its coming from.  I then deal w/ it at my leisure (kill something else if i have to, while remaining hidden from it)
• if you see a flag go grey, you can often tv over there immediately (once your in range) and spot anything there and take it out. 
• I often randomly spot area, and if it says enemy spotted, i then know where to look. 
• Sometimes dumbfireing (w/ minigun) is good enough if you know its a highly concentrated area.
• max distance of a TV missile is 450 m
• keep flags on
• you will eventually be able to judge just by visualization
• keep your minimap zoomed out so you can see the most of the map.  Often if something is spotted, and it isnt showing up on minimap. i will hit capslock to get a full map view to see what they are spotting
• even if it doesnt show up, you can sometimes see which person is targeting (their lil dot will blink on the minimap) so you can tell the general area they are looking at targeting.
• if your in a duel against another chopper, DODGE.  if you suspect, or see the enemy shooting a tv, learn to move atleast some to make it more difficult.  And also trry to line your gunner up, doing wild flips constantly helps no one, if your gunner cant ever get a decent shot.
• in relation to that.. if your pilot isnt directly lining you up, but you know an enemy is somewhere within reach, dont be afraid to 'bend' the tv to hit it (even if its out of view at the time)  this is the only way you will survive w/ inexperienced pilots.  And even w/ experienced ones, sometimes they have to dodge multiple targets and can only give you so much of a shot.
• Use your minimap!
• Also remember to keep it zoomed out so you can see as much as possible, i believe i have to press 'n' to make it zoom out.
• Awareness is Huge (this is also why its important for high geometry).   

• don't over-click
• when you click so much that you get a lost control feeling, you clicked too much
• only a few clicks will do, it will hit where you click, so guess where your target will be in the next few moments
• hit the tail rotor on choppers, probably heard this many times, it generally works
• sometimes its just practice, figuring out where the real hit-box is.
• on fast moving vehicles, you will hit behind them, i don't know how  many buggies I missed until i realized how far back i had to hit them

• First, as a pilot, you never want to stay still.  Circle around a given area at a good distance.
• If you see a target you can circle around it somewhat specifically, often if i find the gunner is not noticing it, i will shoot a rocket in its general direction, or spot it.
• dont stop or slow down hoping to give your gunner a better shot, the more consistant and steady you are, the better the chance for the gunner to judge where to shoot.  if an enemy eryx hits you, your too close.  If you stop or slow down you will get hit more likely and make it harder for yoru gunner to hit their target
• If your constant, your gunner can easily hit their targets if they know what they are doing
• When your trying to use the minigun, burst, and sort of 'wave' your gun around.  Dont try to hit them directly.  spread your fire by spraying the general area the enemy is.
• Only hold for one or 2 seconds, even if you think your about to get them, just pause for a second, re-aim and burst again.
• Try to always look where the chopper is looking.  Dont spend too long of a time on one target, often the pilot is lining you up for another one and your stuck on one infantry, when there a vodnik infront of you shooting you.
• if your piloting and notice the gunner shooting/looking/spotting to the right (you can tell which way they are looking w/ the hud) then circle around in that direction so he can get a better shot.  This is of course if there is not a more important target.
• when your pilot is circling you want to kind of aim Behind where your target is, again just takes a little practice to realize this
• Whenever your shooting at Anything w/ the minigun if you do not see 'x' 's appear then you are NOT hitting your target, even if you see smoke/sparks.  adjust your aiming until you see x's, thats all that matters( this goes for infantry too).

Last edited by slicknic (2006-11-12 00:20:02)