non-Airfield AAs are murdering me suddenly

I am trying to farm ground targets for special task. One occurring I realized is in some maps, bombing bases have 2 really capable AA vehicles that are really acting like airfield AAs, damaging your plane constantly to yellow then orange then red, regardless of their shoots connecting.

But today, what broke the camel’s back was pillbox AAs becoming really accurate and burning my plane suddenly, from 500+ meter distance… Who buffed those AAs that normally act like decor but right now, act like radar guided AA in 3.7 BR…

Here is a screenshot from my fuel fire moment and I marked closest two pillboxes. I am really far from bombing bases, so their AAs are not in the equation. Possible shooting AAs are marked with yellow

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once you engage ground forces, you become a priority target for AA compared to someone who hasn’t engaged them at all.

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I don’t think that is correct. In that yes, they do get “pissed” when you shoot at them. But I have been shot up by mid-field AAA while minding my own business.
Its just the lethality has been ramped up in the past couple of weeks. Unannounced of course, just like they do with the airfield AA periodically.
Very annoying.
I’ve read it theorized that its to “dissuade” strike A/C spawn planes from rushing in and “stealing” bases from bombers. But that gives Gaijin more credit than I would.

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At this point in time, I didn’t engage them yet. I was going to, though.

Yeah, this might explain. But in this case, how do we deal with ground AA as strike/close support bomber planes then, if we are discouraged to bomb bases…

It’s just a bit of a middle finger it seems, even not touching ground troops they can still randomly target you.
Also I remember specifically on that map you’re playing that AA was a menace and it would hit you once and turn every part of your plane yellow, especially frustrating when we had the injured pilot mechanic that would pretty much end your game after being hit once by a random AA flying at high altitude.

Ground pound bots and shoot bot planes.

Its if you have ground attack weapons they’ll attack you, if you have none, then they shouldnt engage you.

I’ve been pilot sniped in a fighter at 3 km AGL. Slant range to the gun was probably something like 5 km.
One of those “Alt+F4” moments.

As a power user of the B7A2 - i am not sure if you have realized that the deadly “mini-base-defending aaa” often remains intact, even if the base was destroyed. So even if you keep your distance to fresh respawning bases - a few aaa’s might be still there and kill you with this hitscan mechanic.

As a result of multiple losses 3 weeks ago - i changed my game play totally and avoid getting closer than 4 km to locations of the initial bases - and subsequently i lost not a single plane since then…

Btw - if you have just a wing fire: Try the old A6M trick and put the wing on fire up and the undamaged wing low. In a lot of cases the fire is not spreading and goes out after the wing tank is empty. U might want to try it.

AA next to pillboxes isn’t a problem, but due to overpowered AAA at bases I have no idea how to play slower planes with bombs anymore. Even when I fly at tree top level I usually get shot down before I’m able to drop my bombs. There are dive bombers which don’t have sights and have to dive in order to bomb and AAA again usually kills me before I release the bombs… What’s the point of buffing these AAA so much?

Yeah, never mind what I said. Was playing props today and got a shot straight in my propeller from across the map out of the blue and I hadn’t touched them at all.

Yeah it really bad. You can’t dogfight at all over enemy AA otherwise they pick you apart more than the other players.
Really stupid.

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Definitely this. This is a new mechanic that disables your plane. I was diving down to base and in all cases, base AA shoots breaks my propeller all the times. It makes it one way trip, I can sometimes get away with all modules yellow or oranged but this new prop breaking mechanic is just BS and over the top.

I was at 2km altitude and roughly 8km away from the closest AA/SPAA

I feel like this is a new game mechanic…
If you have small bombs (100 kg), AAAs outside the base are harmless, i.e. you can fly near the ground…
If you already have more than 250 kg bombs and larger, then you have to bomb the base from the height at which you were thrown into the game, during airstart, because otherwise AAA will destroy you without mercy…
I feel like this is an effort to make the big bases only for high flying bombers that have heavy bomb loads…
And the others, they can fly close to the ground, with bombs of low weight …
I also noticed that the detonation timer disappeared for the heavy bombs, ie. that the bomb explodes immediately after impact and destroys your plane as well…

I don’t know if this is the case with all bombers, I noticed it with the Pe-2 series 359 …

It looks like Gaijin wants to force players to use all types of ammo, including rockets, to bomb from different heights, depending on the type and weight of the ammo suspended
and wants to remove so that players only load heavy bombs and bomb everything with them …

There are still maps with relatively inactive AA guns. I think it is just a trial phase with ultimate goal to prevent, Wyvern type strike aicraft dropping shitloads of bomb on bases and continue to play like interceptor.

Maybe they are showing love to regular bombers after all?

Hard to say …
Sometimes the bases are equipped with laser cannons, if they don’t shoot the player right away, then usually the first hit causes heavy damage to the plane and the next hit, it’s over…

Wyvern…
When the player knows what they want to do with the Wywern, the machine is absolutely dominant…
Personally, I think the Wywern belongs at a battle rating of 6.7; where the first Me-262 Pulkzerstörer is.
The problem with the Wywern is its premium origin…
I have been playing this game for over ten years and I remember well when the premium German P-47 Tboldt came into play. Today this aircraft is at br 3.7; but then it was on br 3.0 or 3.3, I can’t remember exactly … and that was the only time in the entire game that Gaijin recognized that this was too dominant by flight … but it’s a plane bought by a big a lot of real money players and that’s the problem…

Bombers…
These are the biggest Cinderellas in this game…
You will have to fly as high as possible and wait to see how the battle unfolds,
or you have to fly/spy near the ground like a dusty dog and hope to find a target before some fighter comes to shoot you down on holiday…

I have that idea, but it’s just my idea, about the bombers…
Heavy bombers - airspawn 5000-7500 meters
Medium bombers - aispawn 3500 - 5000 meters
Attack planes - 2000 meters, in front of the airport
Heavy fighters - 1000 meters, behind the airport
Fighters - all, ground start only

Anyone who wants to shoot down a bomber has to go up…

But this is a player’s point of view, sometimes I feel like the game is set up to go against the players, for various reasons … the worse the players do, the better for the developers …

Tonight, the Me-110 F2 …
After about 15 -ARB- battles, I’m sure, the big target bases are very heavily protected by AAA, up to a distance of about 5 km, and those AAA are damn accurate…
So the edit is clear, big basses are only for high bombers, or if someone can dive bomb from a great height…
For attack aircraft, poorly rated (silver lions) AAA on bunkers, howitzers, armored personnel carriers, tanks, etc. are reserved.

They only kill u if u carry bombs/rockets - or if you have previously killed ground. Unfortunately a base kill counts as ground attack, too. So in a bomber ur second run requires climb 4 km above ground level - like with af aaa…