Unfortunately, this is a big issue if you want to grind a helicopter quickly.
Reward cap in Heli PvE
Many players don’t know this, but rewards in Heli PvE are capped. There is a maximum reward you can get in this game mode. This means there is no real reason to push yourself too hard in every 10-minute reward period.
In practice, around 300 score is already enough to get roughly 90% of the maximum rewards. With 400 score, you’re at about 95%, and pushing to 500 score gives you around 98% of the maximum rewards.
Maximum RP per 10-minute period
So what is the maximum base RP you can get in a single 10-minute period? It’s approximately 565 RP multiplied by the vehicle’s RP modifier. For example, many top-tier helicopters have an RP multiplier of 2.32, which means their maximum base RP per 10-minute period is roughly 565 * 2.32 = 1311 RP. Keep in mind this is only an approximation, as I don’t know the exact formula the devs use to calculate these caps. Still, this calculation works fairly well for all the helicopters I tested.
Once you realize this, you start looking at Helicopter PvE from a completely different perspective. Instead of rushing and killing as many targets as possible, you can play smart, stay relaxed, and even alt-tab during the battle. For example, if I manage to reach 400 score in the first 5 minutes, I usually just do something else in the background for the remaining 5 minutes.
Why spading helicopters takes so long
The main downside of this system is that, because of these limits, spading helicopters takes ages. If you’re capped at around 1311 base RP per 10 minutes and your helicopter needs 306,000 RP to be fully spaded, you need 234 reward periods, assuming you somehow manage to max them out every time (which is unrealistic). Even then, that’s 2340 minutes, or about 54 hours, for a single helicopter!
Why premium, talismans, and boosters matter so much
This is why a premium account, a talisman, and large boosters make such a huge difference. With a premium account, that 1311 base RP is doubled. If the helicopter also has a talisman, and you use it together with a premium account, you effectively quadruple that RP. It gets even better with large RP boosters. For example, a 500% RP booster is calculated from the base RP, so it’s 1311 * 500% = 6555 additional RP. Your total RP for that 10-minute period then looks like this: 1311 (base RP) + 1311 (talisman) + 2622 (premium accounts doubles base RP and talisman effects) + 6555 (500% RP booster) = 11,799 RP in 10 minutes. It’s still nothing amazing, but it becomes reasonable. And since a 500% RP booster lasts 30 minutes, you get three 10-minute reward periods out of it.
Many players will say that you can earn more RP by playing helicopters in Ground Realistic Battles. Yes, but you can also completely waste a 500% RP booster there.
Why I play Helicopter PvE
For me personally, Helicopter PvE is a very relaxing game mode. I usually play it with music, sometimes talk on the phone while playing, and alt-tab a lot. I can basically play with one hand, use big boosters without worrying about performance, slowly progress in the helicopter tech tree, and earn decent SL.
SL income in Heli PvE
I haven’t mentioned SL yet, because it was never a problem for me, but Helicopter PvE can actually pay very well if you use large SL boosters and play properly. With a 500% SL booster, my usual battle gives me around 500k to 700k SL in about 30-40 minutes of relaxed gameplay.
For example, today I played a battle with a 596% SL booster. It was a fairly long match, lasting 51:02, because we had a low number of players, and I managed to earn 858,464 SL. I only played up to around 500 score per 10-minute period, aiming for roughly 98% activity. Considering that I wasn’t even fully focused during the battle, I think that’s a very reasonable SL reward.
Final thoughts and main issues
So I look at Heli PvE a bit differently than most players. This is definitely not a game mode where you can quickly grind stock helicopters. I play it when I’m a bit tired, when I don’t feel like playing PvP, or when I have a big booster waiting to be used. Is it fun? It’s not as bad as I initially thought, before I understood how the system works. Yes, you’re mostly fighting AI targets, but you can treat it almost like a single-player experience. I enjoy single-player games, and Heli PvE lets me learn how to operate helicopters, understand the differences between weapons, and see how various helicopters handle and perform. From that perspective, it can be quite enjoyable.
The real problems are the numerous bugs and the complete lack of balance. Playing a 9.7 BR helicopter with 3.75 km missiles against modern fire-and-forget helicopters with 16-20 km range missiles is extremely frustrating. In my opinion, this is what really needs improvement. If this mode had personal objectives, it could be genuinely fun regardless of which helicopter you use. In its current state, however, you’re effectively pushed to use only the most capable helicopters, with anything weaker being frustrating to play.
