BF2S Forums Being chopper pilot not rewarding enough....

I get plenty of points as a pilot... thats not what I am complaining about really.

I need less than 5 hours until I meet the time requirement for my Helo Medal. The thing is, since I am always piloting the choppers, I still need 500 kills until I can get it. I think this is how my time in a chopper is split - 80% Pilot, 20% Gunner.

I'm a average pilot, but I'm a decent shot with the TV.

Problem is, I play pubby servers a lot, which means 7 out of 10 times, I hop into a chopper I watch as my pilot tilts his nose down at a tank, dives past it blowing his load like a teenager on prom night, and slams into a wall.

I've made that mistake a lot, but that was back when I was a private for god sakes. It's like sometimes the pilot is so excited that he made it off the damn chopper pad alive, and wasn't shot in the face with a friendly M95, that he loses all control and decides to go Kamikaze on something.

So the point of this? A good pilot deserves respect, but in my experience, good pilots can get a decent amount of kills with their own rockets. It's not like they're in a Blackhawk relying on their gunners for all their firepower.. I think the scoring system in place now is satisfactory.

I dont have any problems with being pilot the whole round
me and elmo have a go now and then he gets 120 points and I am the runner up with 100 points
and yes I use my rockets,

Pubic wrote:

-1: "piloting requires way more skill newb and should pay of more!!!"

Who was this?  Grow enough balls to sign your name or don't issue karma

I can tell you it wasn't me, I made this topic to make some up some conversation.
Actually right now I'm ok with the thing how many points pilot gets. One round I was flying with one guy (I was the pilot) and he got over 125 points and I got something like 70-80 (I killed some enemies too). So I think pilot gets enough of points.

Good gunner is one who can:
-take enemies out in threat order. (Like first AA-vehicles, then IGLA's, then Tanks, then Humvees and DVPs, then APC's)
-Use TV missle effectivily and not waste it
-can look around

I used to think this to, till I realized that stats dont matter, that why I have like 130 hours in the helicopter, but only 6000 kills..

I enjoy flying people around, and I know how to use the tv missile, but its not as easy as it looks, so when a gunner misses, I dont really care and just lign him up for another shot

Tyferra wrote:

Look at it this way. Gunners get a lot of flack regarding missed shots. If I miss with a TV, sometimes my pilot goes apeshit at me. Not fun.
There have been numerous anti-gunner threads here with people either complaining that their gunner is a fuck-tard, or that they didn't get the gunner they wanted and that they killed them by flying to the edge of the map. It's a tough gig. Us gunners wish we could do the same when we get a pilot we don't want, after all, you have no control as a gunner.
Also, as a gunner and a schite pilot, it is quite difficult to get a pilot who allows me to... perform. When it does happen it is really great, and I do feel kind of guilty for getting a lot of kills when it is really my pilot who has the real skills.

I hope, you good attack chopper pilots, feel the appreciation.
I reckon their should be some incentive for pilots to let their gunners get kills... some kind of award or point system, but for the while, accept my unstemming respect and appreciation.


- Ty.

I mostly fly with clan mates for that simple reason.  They can fly and keep us alive.  Anytime I get a good pilot clanmate or other I always thank them.  I do feel bad if they don't get a medal, but sometimes things are out of your's and his control.  The other day I got silver on gulf of oman thanks to my pilot.  He had the 4th best total score.  We were on the USMC side. 

People always complain about gunners.  As a gunner, I hate pilots who cause you to suicide by flying you to the edge of the map.  They complain about you missing shots with the tv missle.  They complain about you doing this or that wrong or not knowing how to use the tv missle. 

Guess What.  You idiot pilots who like to solo piss me off.  I watched some idiot solo himself into a negative k/d ratio the other day.

I don't play this game for points or stats, I get my satisfaction from putting my gunner in the position were I allow him to get a kill and points.
Guess you could cap some flags to get points, but that would be breaking rule 1. Never cap flags in the chopper unless server is lightly populated.

It's a catch 22 sometimes. You get a good pilot, but then you get a gunner who uses the gun for absolutely everything and never use the TV missiles. These guys irritate me to no end. Please, at least try using TV's!
If I get a gunner seat, it's rare I get a pilot who knows how to use some tact and be sneaky or use the flares and maneuver to avoid planes. When you do get those good pilots, it makes a world of difference.
I'll complain every now and then if a gunner misses an easy TV kill. If they miss the attack chopper, oh well. It can be hard sometimes.
I think the pilots get enough points off the gunner kills. Kill assist really do start tacking on some points. If he misses, you can always use rockets. I would prefer that he kills them with TV tho, quicker and safer kill most of the time. It's even better if he is an engie, med or support guy. If things are cool enough to hover around friendlies, he'll get some resupply, heal or repair points. If I'm not mistaken you get something from that too don't ya? Driver specialty points or something?

elmo1337 wrote:

I used to think this to, till I realized that stats dont matter, that why I have like 130 hours in the helicopter, but only 6000 kills..

I enjoy flying people around, and I know how to use the tv missile, but its not as easy as it looks, so when a gunner misses, I dont really care and just lign him up for another shot

I know what you mean but like, the stats are there for a reason. If you pilot great and don't kill anything all you get is a general driver assist point. It's very general and doesn't show how efficient you are, just that you assisted someone in some vehicle getting a kill.

Anyway, you can still get plenty of kills as a pilot with rockets and still do a good job for your gunner, only thing i dont like is when they nerfed the 14 rocket pods down to 8, that was not needed at all

I find flying ejoyable enough to justify getting a mere 60-70 points IAR compared to your gunners 130

elmo1337 wrote:

Btw, anyone wants to pilot me RIGHT NOW, so I can my 40 kills for spec ops badge

[edit] didnt they make the rockets stronger then?

I would help but i gotta go to bed

I'm pretty sure they didn't make the rockets stronger...

And per request via PM. Here are the screenshots. I'll walk you through them as well.


This is the standard cockpit view. Note the horizon line extending from the target reticle.




This shot shows how the horizon line tilts when you tilt your chopper.





Most people leave it at that. The horizon line bar is there to do nothing more than to show you which way you're tilted, so that you can regain balance and hover when necessary. This isn't the case.




As you can see in this shot, when I'm pointing my nose down to close in on the jets, that horizon line leaves the midpoint of my target reticle and moves up. This is because the horizon line also acts as your missile placement on the Y axis.







The trick to firing these missiles is to use the target reticle to judge where on the X axis (Horizontally) your missiles will go, then using that horizon line to determine where they'll actually land in regard to distance.


Here's a colored pic to describe it visually. Picture this in your mind. Your crosshair isn't your center target reticle, your crosshair is dynamic in regard to your horizon line position, and your center reticle. The purple dot is about where you should hit.






A couple things to keep in mind:

1. Turning the chopper left or right throws everything off. The key is coming in straight, don't bother firing while turning unless you've got a LOT of practice doing it.

2. Everyone's video settings are different. There's no way to determine 100% where you need to aim based on someone else's screenshots. It's the same with the TV missile. Find your own sweet spot.

Not wrote:

[...]
1. Turning the chopper left or right throws everything off. The key is coming in straight, don't bother firing while turning unless you've got a LOT of practice doing it.

You should practice using the pilot rockets if you're turning left/right. It's one of the keys to get more effective. For example there are attack choppers with a really wide missile spread, for example the Mi-28. If your Gunner misses and you want to go for the kill, you have to either get very close to the target so that you hit with all your missiles or you have to strafe/circle your target. I prefer the second tactic, it maybe take a lot of practice but it gives you the ability to hit point on point with the pilots missile.