I would like to ask if you have any suggestions about which helicopters should be taken into Chinese ground 10.3 and 11.0 presets.
I found that the Z-9W doesn’t have thermal devices and target auto tracking after wasting 3 large XP boosters on it. However, the in-game experience of grinding modifications for OH-58D is not better than for the Z-9W. Both have limited missiles when stock and will take too long to grind for level 4 modifications.
Also, I am having difficulties in choosing between Z-9WA and AH-1W to take into 11.0 ground setup. The Z-9WA is better when grinding for its modifications and can equip multiple TY-90 missiles , but the AH-1W has the AGM-114B missile which has a longer firing range than AKD-9 and has better penetration.
I would appreciate if you can provide me with your opinions and your in-game experience with those helicopters.
I would like to ask an additional question whether Z-19 can still be taken into Chinese ground setups.
Currently the Z-19 has a battle rating of 11.3, between the 11.0 setup with 2 ZTZ-99 and the 11.7 setup with MBT-2000, HQ-17 and Z-10. Taking Z-19 into the former setup will raise its BR and increase the risk of being uptiered, while putting it into the latter will not be better than the Z-10 that can fire better AKD-10 missiles.
From my many GRB (casual) and SRB (competitive) experiences, the Z-9W is arguably better for competitive matches due to the ability to carry TY-90s (20G IRCCM missiles at 10.3 is great), the better maneuverability, and the ability to shoot yours ATGMs through smoke, unlike with the OH-58D.
However, in a pure GRB perspective, I’d argue the 4x Hellfires are more useful than the ability to take 2x TY-90s and 2x HJ-8Es, or 4x HJ-8Es. This is because the OH-58D gets access to thermals (which is very useful for spotting targets) and IRST lock (which is especially useful due to the lower zoom the OH-58D has compared to the Z-9W).
The HJ-8Es are also especially slow and only has 4km max range, which makes it easy to dodge and light tanks / SPAAs (such as the BMP-2M, PUMA, and especially 2S38) can make short work of you. Hellfires are much more likely to one-shot, given if it actually hits.
As for 11.0, like before, the Z-9WA is better for SRB (Squadron Vs Squadron competitive gamemode) due to the ability to use 20G IRCCM missiles, while still having access to competent AGMs (https://youtu.be/EOmHQezP45s).
The Z-9WA also gets access to much better zoom, while still having features such as IRST lock and thermals, like with the AH-1W.
However, hellfires still do much more consistent damage than AKD-9s, but has similar effective range of around 5/6km.
The penetration of the Hellfire Bs are also very nice, but the AKD-9’s isn’t really lacking to begin with (1100mm non-tandem vs 800mm tandem):
Though it may differ for composite armour:
But this just means you should aim centre-mass or the roof armour for NATO MBTs.
The AH-1W also gets access to a chin-mounted 20mm with EEGS, so you can somewhat defend yourself against incoming air targets, unlike the Z-9WA.
This one is harder to say which is better for GRB, as the Z-9WA is much more versatile, but the AH-1W has better killing potential (given the fact that you are closer to the battlefield).
I’d say it’s worth getting the AH-1W if you want better air-to-ground capabilities (which is arguably more important in GRB), but the Z-9WA is for sure the better helicopter in both competitive play and for versatility (being able to kill both air and ground targets fairly well).
At 11.3, the Z-19 is still very capable, though it’s up to you if you want to uptier the ZTZ-99s up to 11.3.
At 11.7, the Z-19 is questionable (as the Z-10 is better in most aspects other than maneuverability and access to radar) but I would say it’s still fine in most cases.
Feel free to ask any questions!
11.3 Ground for China is fine. In terms of 11.3 vehicles, you have the Tor-M1, Z-19, and F-5E, which in my opinion is a justifiable lineup with the ZTZ99s since the GRB decompression.
As for Z-9W vs OH-58D, I would say it’s variable on personal preference. HJ-8E being added recently makes the Z-9W slightly better, but it’s still terrible for CAS. Use it for AA duty since the Antelope sucks, not great at much else. The OH-58D is pretty strong against ground targets, but the engine power and collective response are not great.
11.0 is a bit of the same thing, except that you now have more reason to take the Z-9 (the Z-9WA) due to there being no SPAA at that BR. 8x TY-90 is very terrifying. But from my experience, the AKD-9 really sucks because of its low explosive mass and mediocre damage. Also the AGM-114 is much, much faster; you won’t miss as many kills due to targets going behind cover. For that reason I prefer the AH-1W overall, as it’s the best CAS option you will have at 11.0.
What I do is put the Z-9WA in the crew slot I usually use SPAA in. Then you can take both Z-9WA or AH-1W and use either of them depending on the situation. Crew skills aren’t a big problem for helis except for the rearming time for Heli EC.
I agree with most of what you said.
However,
There still are 2S38s, Otomatics, and especially 2S6s to worry about.
On the statcard the AGM-114s say their top speed is 475m/s whereas the AKD-9’s are 340m/s, but in practice their top speed and acceleration are just about the same. The only difference (from my experience) is that the AKD-9s are still quite maneuverable and responsive past ~5km whereas the AGM-114 isn’t, but the AGM-114 does definitely one-shot a lot more consistently.
Thank you for your detailed explanation and suggestions!
I would like to ask if it is necessary to research the flares/chaff modification of helicopters, like the Z-9WA.
By the way, is it ok to use APKWS missiles in Ground RB or Heli EC? I wonder if it can be used effectively against light armoured targets.
It’s not a priority for most people to research Z-9WA’s countermeasures modifications, because you get stock flares anyways, which are adequate for most situations. But for the OH-58D and AH-1Z, it’s necessary to research flares/chaff modification in order to proceed to the IRCM modification, which is pretty useful.
On the topic of APKWS missiles. They are without a doubt the most terrible missiles you will ever have the displeasure of using. On top of having low penetration and light explosive mass, they are also horribly unmaneuverable. Currently, they are also affected by the guidance bug of all missiles/GBUs with track rate of 10000 deg/s: depending on launch conditions they oscillate mid-flight an incredible amount, and land way off target.
I would say it’s almost unusable for Ground RB (almost useless against MBTs). But in Heli EC, it’s decent. Don’t expect it to hit moving targets reliably, but 7 APKWS missiles are better than 2 Hellfires on the OH-58D. I’d advise taking them on one pylon only due to their unreliable nature, and using them primarily against static targets. A couple things to note: the launch conditions must be greatly optimized. Generally: correct angle (aim similarly as if you were firing unguided rockets), range within 1.5-5km range, and fire consecutive missiles at least 3 seconds apart if you want to hit multiple targets.