Below are some shots from an online session between KLINK (host) and myself finishing up our campaign together. This time I took all rockets and did some tank and truck and bmp hunting. As you can see, as long as the relative speeds are low (<20 kts) Im able to hit static and rolling targets. The faster I go, the more inaccurate it gets. Hovering Im usually 1 shot, 1 kill as KLINK can attest to.







Just for grins, I was flying behind KLINK about a klick behind, took a shot at him, and had similar results - to both of our surprise.

Only the two of you flying last night?
I completely forgot about it. Was so into the AoW High Treason campaign and my ISP was having issues atleast untill 23:00CET (22:00GMT).

I dropped in, only to have my DSL die on me shortly after Klink (host) got dropped to his desktop. Oooooh crap!

Myself and DuckHunter had a couple missions with him driving, myself CP/G while AV8R and klink done the same.

It was very good - spotting four out of five on a Recon using only the TADS was a great experience, and called for good comm and co-operation between the the Pilot and the CP/G.

Second mission (Strike) was not so good, we had a lot of problems - cannon wouldn't fire, avionics failure, etc.

then we got jumped by four enemy Choppers - which was an entirely different kind of problem

I had to bail out at 12.15am unfortunately (Naggin' Nadia)

I was home with my 10 year old all day. So I was mentoring homework and flying from noon till 5pm pst in LB2. Then we switched over and did IL2 for another few hours. Being home alone isnt so bad.

Now Im way behind chores...

The only things I seem to be able to kill with rockets are large stationaries, like HQ tents. I tried coming to a hover and shooting at a AAA on a ridge. No tilting or forward motion of my aircraft was required and yet it still wouldn't hit the target. Laser was on the whole time. In LB1 I have no problems at all. Have you also duplicated this on your system during a campaign?

Notice the range in the screenshots, though...

~1 Km...at that range I usually go to the cannon (though it isn't much good on tanks) rather than line up for rockets. Getting that close to a BMP is usually suicide...unless you approach from the rear aspect as in the screen shot (SWEEET!)

Back in the day, dueling ZSU's with rockets from 3 km (and out of their range) was very SWEET.. It takes a little more nerve these days, and perhaps it is that much sweeter

Recluse

To RAT (Reticuli = network in latin),
That was during the online campaign that we invited you to fly with us in.

To all,

There is a MIN RANGE and a MAX RANGE when employing these rockets. THe MIN was a bit under 1 KLICK (as in the above picture, any closer and MIN RANGE shows up on the HUD and they wont fire). As for the MAX RANGE I think its around 3 KLICKS.

Probably due to system speeds or LB2 bug (which?), there is also a relative speed window for the rockets to hit the mark. Its from 0 ~ 20 kts. Hover, and you can nail em every time.

I noticed that around a klick and beyond most vehicles (tanks and BMPs and artillery) wont shoot you until you fire upon them. So dont miss. Plus you have to maneuver the helo so that you get a good clear angle on them (via hills and valleys and if they are moving).

So yeah, it takes some practice and thinking to line up a rocket shot as implemented in LB2. The good news is that under the contraints, they can be employed accurately (even A2A, lol). I found that I could angle the nose down as long as the target remained in the "I"-beam sight piper on the HUD. Rockets seem to be good when:
- low on hellfires
- low on guns (as Recluse pointed out)
- tanks (better than guns)
- bmps, artillery, trucks, parked a/c
- buildings and bunkers
- splat infantry

Plus, you get to carry alot of them so they are good when youre out SEAD missions.

I tried out the rockets for a little while when I first starting learning LB2 and abandoned them when I did a search on the forums and found out they weren't working. Thanks for the new info AV8R. I've been dying to hit something with them.

I tried it again flying below 20nm at a tank in a bunker (it's not driving away) and they still hit short. What kind of CPU slow down are you using or are you using an older CPU?

AV8R, I got a challenge for you.
Try and get the Hydras to work when you're flying around 90-100kts
I mostly fly 8HF+38HE in LB1. Alot more fun with the mixed payload instead of 16HF, but having to fly <20kts in order to hit something in LB2 takes the fun out of it to me.

SHAD,

You knows ole AV8R flies slow and careful.
So the rockets fit my style just fine.

You young whipper snappers with your NASCAR flying will have to stick to HELLs.

Low and slow in my book is N-O-E: 50-70kts 30 feet off the ground, and that is still too fast for the Hydras to work, right?
I ain't crawling backwards and blindfolded with my hands and arms tied together

I'd like to share a few things:

HE rockets just blow, period. Even if you do manage to hit something with them at a hover at point blank range, they don't offer much over cannon.

MPSM however, really seem to rock, especially if you take the precautions in their use. Their success while moving is limited, but in a hover they can be quite handy for taking on just about anything. What really strikes me is the AI really knows how to work them - I've given my wingman MPSM and he just goes on a killing spree with them. I've managed to bag Tunguskas, T80s, trucks, and IFVs so far using MPSM. They seem much more ideal for NTC over AZR because of the landscape - AZR favors HF over rockets because the terrain doesn't give you a whole lot of elbow room for engagement distances.

Agreed Franze/Walleye

If you look closely at my pictures above
the MPSM are the rockets being used.

Gun cannons require quite a bit of firing before a tank goes up. One MPSM will take it out at a safe distance.