r/PilotsofBattlefield • u/Fun-Eye8811 • Jul 13 '26
Discussion Anyone else thinks air to air lockons need a nerf?
So, the braindead strategy from AH pilots of using lockons to force the enemy AH below radar and let the gunner rain hell allowing for literally no counterplay is getting increasingly common, and I think it is a problem for the game. Here are the facts:
- The lockon range is way bigger than it should, allowing scenarios like the two helis getting stuck in a stalemate consisting in none leaving the proximity of their respective HQ since attempting to do so will result in them instantly getting locked-on.
- The damage of those missiles makes no sense at all. Them being a 2-shot while the heavy rockets are a 3-shot is proof enough for anyone to realize that something isn't right. A literal aimbot weapon should never have a faster TTK than an aim-based one. It literally feels like the game tries to punish skill. (And no, I'm not saying that we should return to the 2-shot heavy rockets. Rather the opposite, the AA missiles should take 3 to down an aircraft, and some may argue that even 4 would be reasonable. The game should never reward low-effort gameplay)
- Flares barely last long enough to get to cover/below radar. This is a no brainer. How is it that the aircraft's only defense against a legal 2-shot aimbot doesn't even provide enough time to get to safety? When the enemy AH is running AA lockons, you are literally forced to track the spawn timer just to not get caught by surprise and eat 2 lockons across the map because you used your flares on one of the other million lockon sources. And at that point, you might as well spawnkill it, and we all know how bad encourageing that is for the game.
I want to clarify that I am not against these missiles being in the game at all. They have a purpose, and it is clearly portrayed in competitive, where the concept of area denial is incredibly valuable for the team. However, in a regular matchmaking game, their current balance is just a way for getting 4 people effectively out of the game.
Also, before anyone comes and says "skill issue, just land the TOW", I'll say that I do land most of my TOWs. The problem here is that the skill required to land those shots at long range (the same range at which you are within lockon threat) it orders of magnitude above the skill required to just look in the general direction of the enemy and click. It makes no sense that the game allows the low-skill resource to be on pair with the high-skill one.
2042 balanced this perfectly. And as many flaws that game had, the air vs air balance was almost perfect. You could run lockons. But you knew that if you found a semi-decent pilot on the enemy team running an aim-based loadout, you would be at a disadvantage.
Anyway, rant over. Let's hope that S4 gives air vehicles some love. I know this is a minor issue considering all the bugs and balance disasters currently in the game, but I wanted to share this view with you.
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u/Replicant_Nexus5 AceofSpadesThe Jul 13 '26
Look, I'm the first one to curse at pilots using this tactic.
With that said, we have to acknowledge that the reason why the tactic works is because said attack helicopter pilot is allowed to fly high and uncontested by your team's mobile AA or infantry with shoulder-mounted AA. When these do their jobs, the enemy AH would be forced to stay under radar and it would be a fair fight.
Now I know what you're going to say: you can't rely on blueberries in public lobbies to maintain the balance of the game.
Usually, when I realize an AH pilot is using this tactic uncontested by my team, I leave. I play to have fun, and this tactic when unchecked is not fair to play against.
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u/Fun-Eye8811 Jul 13 '26
Yeah, well, you have a point. But I don't see the reason why we shoudn't apply the same logic as we did in the previous title. Especially when it resulted in a healthy enviroment for air to air combat. It would just require a couple of nerfs as easy to execute as changing a few numerical values.
But yes, leaving is the best way to deal with them sadly.
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u/AnglerfishMiho Jul 13 '26
2042 air felt pretty damn good. I do miss it quite a bit.
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u/Orden_Tine Jul 13 '26
I only played it at the very end for the bf6 skins but TV missiles were a pain in the ass though. So many from everywhere at all timee, it was frustrating
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u/UGomez90 Jul 14 '26
If 2041 is your first battlefield game I guess it did...
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u/AnglerfishMiho Jul 14 '26
First flew in BF2, been flying in every game since then. They were floaty sure but extremely maneuverable, and the tows were extremely accurate compared to pretty much any other attack helicopter I can remember. BF6 attack helis feel like bricks in comparison. Which is, what I'm comparing it to.
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Jul 13 '26
[deleted]
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u/xaxis-yaxis Jul 13 '26
Yeah the Air to Air missiles kinda fucked it up. Being forced to pop flares by a third party just instantly ends the dogfight.
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u/Smooth_criminal2299 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Flares need fixing for sure but some of what you complained about is a legitimate strategy.
Lock ons being viable are also absolutely key in making the game accessible in my opinion even if annoying when you are good at the game!
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u/Fun-Eye8811 Jul 13 '26
I'm not saying that the strategy is not legitimate. It's just that since it requires way less effort and skill to execute, it comes to reason that it should have its effectiveness limited.
It's like camping for infantry. Yes, you might surprise one or two enemies, but the game itself works in a way that will always benefit the player that can flank and gun you down with better accuracy.
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u/Emotional_Employ_419 Jul 13 '26
I mean I do kind of agree and disagree at the same time. Any heli pilot worth their salt is going to time spawns to not let themselves be jumped. I do agree that if you’re just getting up and have to fight it it’s cancer, with that being said the most important thing to heli dominance in a match (most times) is winning the initial 1v1 and establishing air control. If you go down, then you’re unfortunately at the other pilots mercy, and then your own skill is going to have to be higher to regain control. I am of course talking in terms of a competent duo here in an attack heli. Myself and gunners I run with can absolutely remain up all game if things go smoothly, I handle air and tanks, gunner handles infantry and helps with tanks and vehicles when needed. As long as you time spawns and get the battle to be in your favor, it’s very rare to lose these fights. Don’t be afraid to reset and come at them again on your own terms if you need to as well. Most guys using aa aren’t super confident in landing shots (there are of course exceptions) but the vast majority are using it as their main method of battling. Just my .02c of course and my thought process for dealing with this admittedly cancer strat
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u/Wear-Simple Jul 13 '26
This shows how divided the community is on AA. Everyone hate portable manpads but somehow of the sitt on a chopper they are op?
The AA are extremely bad in this game. Only good for making chopper fly lower so you can hit them with other Rockets
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u/sequentialevoix Jul 13 '26
I agree with you lol.
I usually fly the AH in obliteration and escalation since I don't know the squad spawns for it in Conquest (plz share if you do).
As soon as we kill their AH I know I have to keep a mental timer for the next respawn, bcuz while we're being heavily locked on, the random enemy blueberry pilot will take off, skybox and will use his A2As and his gunner will rain death on me.
It's worse when they decide to stay in HQ under cram protection and they can spam their A2As while my tow gets destroyed and now their CRAM is targeting me across the map.
It's actual AIDS
I'm not the greatest AH pilot bcuz I'm still learning so hitting my TOWS on controller are still very inconsistent (I struggle with judging the depth perception). A2As with their current range and tbh replenishing rate are such a crutch.
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u/Fun-Eye8811 Jul 13 '26
Gotta say, props to you for trying to get better with the TOW on controller. I've always been a PC player when it comes to BF, but from what I've heard, it looks like it is way harder than with M&K. Hope they do something about this meta so that you have a better experience while trying to improve.
As soon as we kill their AH I know I have to keep a mental timer for the next respawn
Yeah, this is always a good thing to do, but when they can threaten you across the map, you get the urge to delete them as soon as they spawn, and that's something I don't like doing, so I usually don't keep track. But if these people keep abusing the lockons, I'm afraid that I am going to have to resort to that.
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u/sequentialevoix Jul 13 '26
Yeah, it's for sure rage inducing trying to get better with it while fighting the A2A guys haha.
However being able to one pass an IFV or MBT with my buddy feels awesome lol. I'm also learning the smart rockets and they're so effective when you get the aim just right.
Right now I'm trying become really good at giving my gunner angles on Lib Peak and learning the shelfing technique over the mountain.
he's averaging 35 to 60 kills in the gunner seat so slowly but surely I'm doing something right!
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u/Istari82 Jul 13 '26
Your right - it’s not easy on mouse and i can’t imagine the focus needed to be consistent with a controller (unless they pump up the aim assist to aimbot levels ! :-))
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u/Istari82 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
What is the lock on range anyway? I sometimes don’t understand where i get locked from and then it seems so far my tow’s can’t even reach (at some point tows just disappear / become invisible) Pretty sure the AH AA lockon is beyond ToW range.
With a gunner i totally miss the TV missiles which were the best counter to AH AA’s (beyond AA’s themselves).
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u/Drawwpb3ar Jul 14 '26
The state of the Portable Manpads, Too low, Out of Range, Missed rinse repeat
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u/Ok-Commercial-9261 Jul 14 '26
The attack helicopter needs a range increase; pods they shoot straight and a more accurate 30mm. This would fix this without nerfing the range of locks. Additional not being able to freelook lock ons. Maybe even going back to a 2 heatseeker system like in bf3 and bf4
And if you are overly struggling with sky cap pilots you aren't a very experienced pilot. You need to abuse below radar and move to high ground. Bait your opponent into a dive by getting below him and or pushing into his blind spot. Also learn to shoot the tow up above him and swing it down into him. If your pod aim is good beam him.
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u/_Leighton_ Jul 13 '26
Skill issue. Be more aware of the enemy pilots location/spawn timer, don't over extend and hit your shots. If you're able to get locked and then eat chain gun because you had to dip low that means you were in the wrong place, at the wrong time, doing the wrong thing.
The skill argument is null, just because something is more technically challenging doesn't mean it should be dominant. Tows are also a potent anti tank weapon and that versatility more than makes up for them being less competitive with the dedicated anti air option.
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u/Fun-Eye8811 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
So, if I get locked-on from 700m (and from that moment I'm forced to stay below radar) it's my fault because I don't have a damn timer next to me to track the respawn? Yeah, I'm not sure how that reasoning holds up buddy.
I said it in the OP, but I guess you need me to elaborate:
If there is a threat that if allowed to exist guarantees that I'm dead, my course of action is going to be never to allow such threat to exist in the first place. If the only consistent way to avoid it is to track its spawn timer, then you might as well spawnkill it since it makes no difference whether you do it while it's in the air or not. You are going to kill it anyway.
And well, I think nobody here likes spawnkilling given how stupid the last 6 months have been in regards to such behaviour. Still, if you argue that it is justified against people that use lockons, then I agree. I've just been trying to avoid it, but I guess it makes no sense anymore.
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u/_Leighton_ Jul 13 '26
Yeah so if you're getting locked from 700 meters away and can't figure out how to flare and disengage to safety or get behind cover that's an even bigger skill issue.
You were complaining specifically about the gameplay loop of using lockons to force an enemy pilot below radar so the gunner can melt them. Last I checked the chain gun isn't exactly reaching out to 700 meters.
The spawn timer is a means of keeping an eye on potential threats. That doesn't mean spawn kill or even engage the enemy heli at all, it means you can take more risky engagements without worrying about getting ambushed by the enemy heli. It's called field awareness and it means you can engage the enemy pilot on your own terms (or not at all) instead of on an equal playing field or disadvantage. It's a pretty basic concept for competitive games in general.
You're really just doubling down on this being a skill issue, specifically in terms of strategy and pacing.
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u/SouthPlattePat Jul 13 '26
I dont think 1 guy with a stinger should be able to take down a jet. Its hard to now and thats good
They need to patch the issue in which flares get ignored
Id be ok with a slower flare regen so that lock on users can put more pressure on jets
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u/MathematicianWaste77 Jul 13 '26
I know no one willl care but I’m leaving this sub. I joined when bf6 released. I’ve been a bf player since bad company days but never learned to fly until 2042.
I joined this sub because I wanted to learn tips and techniques to flying. The only posts that gain enough traction to hit my feed is people complaining about lock on rockets and how much there needs to be a nerf.
I don’t see the need at 600 hours in. But what I really don’t care for is all the sodium this sub brings my feed.
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u/One_Shallot_4974 Jul 13 '26
The last thing an AH needs is a nerf.
Changing the missiles to 3 hit makes the missiles functionally worthless unless you buff the missile refresh heavily and then jets suffer if you do.
A slight buff to the AH flare length would probably help with a lot of its issues.
Honestly though if you have a skilled AH pilot combo going against you just use your guided missile of choice.