Yeah I do better at top tier ground as well, but the grind for ground is so much slower than for air. I can get a top tier jet (not foldered) in less than a day, but a top tier tank (also not foldered) takes me 1.5-2 days at least.
I honestly do not really know how to feel about this event anymore. I was looking forward to it, but after playing it, it mostly just felt disappointing. It makes me wonder if the feedback from the first test was really taken into account. The only cope I am having is that this is maybe just a stress test for a very missile heavy environment, AI mechanics, server performance with heavy load etc and that the current balance is not meant to stay like this…
Right now, most matches seem to play out the same way.
The red team can launch ARMs very early after takeoff, and they are fast enough to still reach air defense targets (Late game I NEVER see any enemy die to SAMP/T cuz they are all gone). Cuz of this, a lot of the blue team air defense dies VERY quickly. After that, blue team has to fight enemy jets with tons of FOX-3 missiles (looking at you Mr. SU-30SM2), while also dealing with countless BUKs each firing multiple ARH missiles at you. This makes the mode feel less like a nuclear event and more like a missile spam match.
There are also way too many AI air defense systems. They should be reduced a lot, maybe by half even. Right now it feels like they are everywhere, and they can fire too many missiles without really running out of ammo. I have seen a BUK fire multiple missiles at just one AGM-88C HARM, which feels REALLY excessive.
Air defense also still feels too effective. SEAD does not feel reliable at all… Because even close range HARMs can still get intercepted. I launched two AGM-88C on a 2S6 at like 6km and that AI intercepted BOTH of them (While moving btw). At the same time, the red team can use strong long range ARMs to remove blue team air defense very early on and they are so quick that evne these overpowered SPAA can not intercept them a lot of the times. VERY one sided fight imo.
Also some SPAAs can use IR tracking at close ranges I think, which gives no proper warning (I sometimes just blow up to a Pantsir suddenly). This just feels really off idk. It almost feels like a bug even.
Team balance is also a big issue. In many of my matches, blue team had only a few players while red team had way more. Sometimes it felt like 5 or 6 players on blue team had to fight 15 or more enemies. And when that happens, the match is basically already over… especially if blue team air defense is already gone.
I have played like atleast 8 matches today and oh boy, it becomes so lame when enemies can literally take a dogfith with you at YOUR AIRFIELD cuz all the SPAA is gone. I bet everyoneto even just ATTEMPT this against russian teams (spoiler: you wont, cuz u will get sent to the void by pantsirs and even 2S6s).
The nuclear part of the event barely matters. Nuke aircraft feel too weak and too easy to stop. Most of the match is just trying to survive against multiple SAM launches and player fox3s.
Right now the mode feels so oversaturated that it becomes more stressful than fun. There is almost never a quiet moment. I constantly have multiple SAMs & Jets on my RWR and tons of missiles coming at me from different directions. And please keep in mind… I have my RWR sensitivity set to 35% for this mode, and it still feels completely excessive.
I understand that the mode is probably meant to feel fast and intense and is trying to go for that fast paced gameplay most games nowadays head for, but this is too much. If you climb even for a few seconds to look for ground targets or try to do CAS, you instantly get several missiles launched at you. The only way to survive is often to hide behind the airfield and stay extremely low, which is not really enjoyable gameplay.
My main suggestions would be:
- Reduce the amount of AI SAMs and SPAAs
- Give AI air defense real ammo limits (there is a reason ammo depots exist… right?)
- Lower AI interception efficiency (lower rate of fire, remove firing while moving)
- Limit max player size greatly.
- Ban 2S6 from roleplaying as S400s (and ITOs from roleplaying as Patriots)
And for the ramjet ARM… tbh I really dont know how to “fix” this. Its just such a massive difference in performance and shouldn’t have been added in the first place.
I really hope this test is used to make bigger changes, because if the event goes live like this, I do not think many people will enjoy it for too long.
Edit:
Ok so this might help with blue team SAMs engaging ramjet ARMs earlier buuuut at the same time this means it will be EVEN harder to kill BUKs now, no? Atm, what I do is, I spam like 20 Glide bombs at them and it does work (sometimes lol) but I have a feeling it will be basically not possible anymore with this change, cuz they will start shooting them down way earlier = by the time they would have reached they are all long gone.
10 Likes
It really doesn’t help that a lot of planes in game just can’t see the pantsir’s K band track radar, that might be your problem. What planes have you been using mostly?
This is mostly an issue for US mains whose RWRs can’t see it aside for the hornets and the pobit iirc
1 Like
Also personally I haven’t really had a problem with 2s6’s. Unlike the OSA whose missile burns for the entire time its in the air aside from the last few seconds before it self destructs, the 2s6 missile only burns for the first few seconds of its flight so you can bleed it of its energy and dodge it kinematically fairly easily. Where I have had a problem with the 2s6 was up close with its guns. The servers seem to have some pretty bad desync, so it will look like its guns missed you by 20m, but you will still just explode.
My guy, I am literally 5km away from my AF and already get tracked by BUKS systems.
I’ve been having them launch at me while I am still on the ground doing my takeoff run ._.
It’s funny because with Britain being on redfor for some reason I’ve gotten a feel for how absurdly light the nato air defense is. If I climb out to about 10km and stick above m1.4, the ito90 are totally non-threatening, the SAMP/T are totally non threatening, I’ve never even seen the SPYDER sites launch at anyone, meanwhile the buk just eats anyone that tries to climb up and come for me. It’s hilarious.
2 Likes
explain how you deal with buks then??
The only time I have been able to actually get anything done was when I had a squadmate join using the japanese SU30 who used the russian ARMs to clear out all the buks on one side of the map
Yeah I mean usually the entirety of NATO air defense is gone within the first 5min of the match thanks to everybody and their dog having 30SM2s and the russian teams being consistently larger than the NATO ones, not helped by gaijin putting 2 NATO countries with Russia for some reason.
2 Likes
Some issues I’ve encountered:
Issue 1: Target spotting
The spotted targets disappear waaaaay too quickly. If you or a teammate spots a depot, it should be permanently spotted on your map until it is destroyed. I was doing high altitude bombing with the F-15E and Su-30SM2 using GBU-39s, JSOWs and Grom-2s, and it was very difficult to mark all the buildings I needed to bomb because they would disappear after a second of being spotted.
The same goes for static AAs. They’re vehicles, so maybe being permanently spotted is too much, but at least give them a timer where they slowly fade out before disappearing.
Another option would be to let you directly select spotted targets on the minimap so that you don’t need to fully zoom in. Currently I’m spending a lot of time to make sure my target points are accurate, and it really takes me out of the game.
This would really help make the new multiple target point mechanic much more useful. Otherwise, after I do get everything marked, it’s really fun to salvo launch GPS bombs and watch everything glide in.
Also, perhaps move the main airbase further back to give players more distance to climb (for toptier only)
Issue 2: AI respawning
I am EXTREMELY displeased with the AI respawning mechanics
They are very unfun and unrealistic, and are the main reason I prefer high altitude bombing. AI should not just pop back into existence a few minutes after blowing up. This would be a bit better if there weren’t so many of them, but right now its just too much.
I suggest that AI vehicles be ONLY allowed to spawn from vehicle depots, and must transit to their desired location. The same can be done for depots, by requiring an engineering vehicle arrive before being repaired. This would add so much depth to the game mode, and I feel would be a welcomed addition by nearly everyone.
Also, disable convoy SPAA from firing, it’s not realistic and very frustrating to kill them, to the point where I normally just avoid them.
Issue 3: AI supplies
The AI having infinite ammo, while not as big of an issue as the previous one, is still frustrating and needs to be addressed. We have ammo depots, they should have a purpose. Even if the AI resupply and reload as fast as they do in GRB, it would still be an improvement. If depots only had a limited amount of ammo, and required resupply from convoys, that would be even better.
Issue 4: AI location
It makes no sense to me why all the AI is so heavily concentrated near the front line. Depots should be spread throughout the entire map, and the front line should be reserved for entrenched vehicles and FOBs. This allows the same issue to occur as last time, where you can simply fly around the battlefield, avoid all the SACLOS SHORAD, and destroy the mid-range and long-range AAA by multipathing up to them. Please fix this by spreading everything out more, and put stuff in the mountainous area too.
Also, perhaps even add equipment factories/industry/oil refineries behind the main airfield for additional targets.
Issue 5: Player capabilities:
I enjoyed doing high altitude bombing the most. It takes me ~20 minutes after taking off from the main airbase to having my bombs land on target when doing this strat. Maybe it’s balanced, since the AAA has a very hard time intercepting you and your munitions, but its still annoying. I would like to suggest adding more powerful strike aircraft (the retired cold war ones are included cause they’re cool) and GNSS cruise missiles:
USA:
F-15EX, B-1B, B-52J
AGM-86, AGM-158, AGM-184A/JSM
Germany:
AGM-158 (planned), AGM-184A/JSM (ordered), Taurus KEPD 350
Russia:
MiG-31BM, Su-34M, Tu-22, Tu-160
Grom-1, Kh-50, Kh-69, Kh-101,
UK:
Avro Vulcan
Storm Shadow, AGM-158 🇦🇺, AGM-184A/JSM 🇦🇺 (ordered)
Japan:
AGM-158 (ordered), AGM-184A/JSM
China:
Xian H-6
AGM-158 🇹🇼, AKF-98, CJ-10K, CJ-20
Italy:
Storm Shadow, AGM-158 (requested)
France:
Mirage IV
AGM-158 🇳🇱 (ordered), AGM-184A/JSM 🇧🇪 (ordered), SCALP-EG
Sweden:
AGM-158 🇫🇮, AGM-184A/JSM 🇳🇴, Taurus KEPD 350
Israel:
Popeye Turbo ALCM, Wind Demon
If these additions may be too powerful, in which case I suggest adding a small SP cost to them, even if they’re non nuclear.
I also understand that these advanced cruise missiles could disrupt the balance of other game modes, and thats why I also suggest Gaijin add the ability to restrict specific weapons based on gamemode. This would allow Gaijin to not worry about GRB, ARB and ASB balancing when adding stuff for Nuclear Escalation, and would allow greater testing before introducing these weapons to those gamemodes. Other weapon types that could be added if this feature was implemented are air-launched ballistic missiles, and nuclear-tipped ALBM/ALCMs which would be SUPER cool (and would obviously come with a high SP cost). Right now I don’t even want to use the default nuclear bombers, they just don’t interest me and feel like a waste of time. Additionally, Gaijin to give weapons their LOAL capabilities, such as the Brimstone’s mmW mode.
With the addition of LOAL and mmW, this would also allow top tier helicopters to be viable, such as the AH-64D with it’s AGM-114Ls. Helicopters would greatly expand the depth of the game mode and would be perfect for scouting targets for heavier strike aircraft, and taking out those pesky convoys using ambush tactics and man-in-the-loop targeting. Helipads could be added to every depot location, especially if they were further spread throughout the entire map. This could even open up a completely new gameplay avenue of transporting (potentially special) equipment/supplies to the front line via utility helicopters.
One last thing. Please implement a “disable seeker” or “switch guidance” mechanic, similar to how you can switch fuse types for ammunition in ground battles. This would be extremely helpful when trying to ripple fire guided munitions like SPICE 250s or GBU-53s. This could even be an early version of LOAL.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for listening to my rambling :)
11 Likes
Super Hornet, F15E and PoBit
And some EF2K but I figured fast that 2 HARMs wouldnt be enough
The only one on that list that can’t see K band is the F15E so maybe not
have the servers been fixed?
Russian side SPAA is broken above and beyond, BUK could track and shoot down NATO planes while they are taking off in the airfield.
Almost US/NATO weapons could barely do anything, everytime it got intercepted meanwhile Russian ATGMs could easily destroy ground units from afar.
US HARMS having a hard time destroying SPAA while Russian ones could kill SAMP-T kilometers away behind the front line.
The only enjoyable part of this is the naval front.
3 Likes
Popeye could also be given US
Also maybe AGM-158D JASSM ER and AGM-158 XR (though these would be overkill ngl)
but the HARM has better seeker
Is there any chance of nerfing the Russian side’s anti-aircraft guns, or buffing the Blue side’s?
By replacing the Spyder with NASAMS and the SAMPT with IRIST or another, more effective anti-aircraft gun?
I played as the Russians and it was surprising how easy it is to destroy the TADS with the Kh-31s, I launched them from the airfield! They don’t react or defend themselves; 6 out of 6 missiles always hit, and it’s impressive how fast they arrive to the blue side and the enemy SAMPT doesnt react.
However, with the Blue side, it’s very difficult. Destroying the BUK M3’s TADS is very complicated; the missiles don’t reach their target, and they defend themselves very easily. The AGM-88s seem good, but there’s a huge imbalance compared to playing as the Russian side.
Not even 10 minutes into the match, where can I destroy the Blue side’s TADS and space climb without fear, killing everyone from their airfields because their anti-aircraft guns are TERRIBLE?
But with the Blue side I can’t even respond against the enemy if the space climb, they do their typical Iron dome or I can’t even get in their altitude because of enemy BUK M3, very dissapointed with the AA selection this time…
Ah, Considering that the ITO only responds at a range of 12 kilometers and has no cannon defenses, while the Pantsir responds at 20 kilometers and if bomb or missile exceed their appropriate distance for missile use they respond with cannons, it’s very unfair! Allowing the ITO to have a GEPARD or some short-range anti-aircraft gun for company use as anti-projectile defense would be good
9 Likes
seeker is not the problem, somehow Pantsir could easily intercept it.