Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: AquaShrimp on February 10, 2008, 01:12:40 AM
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I just flew a HQ bomber raid that was put together by AATalen. It was a lot of fun, and very well organized. He had the bombers (B-17s) in two different flights, staggered in a realistic combat box formation. He also had two types of escort fighters, P-51s and P-47Ns. The P-47Ns provided top cover (they were at 35k), while the P-51s stayed with the bombers at 32k. Escorts and bombers each had their own radio frequency.
While we (the escorts) easily dispatched any prop planes that came close to us, Me163s demolished the bomber flight on the bomb-run. A few 163s were damaged and destroyed, but for the most part the escorts couldn't even touch them. The HQ was damaged, but not destroyed.
Heres my thoughts:
-Each bomber needs 1 human gunner. 163 attacks come when the bombers near the HQ.
-The only effective countermeasure for 163s is human gunners on bombers, or destroying the fuel of the 163 base in advance.
-The P-47N is a much better extremely high altitude (30K+) escort than the P-51D is.
-Bombing from above 30k is very difficult for even the best pilots.
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....or possibly make good use of the perk system and do to 163s what should be done.
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It was a fun raid, I ended up heading to a 163 base and killed a 262 at the end. But the sheer number of 163s that attacked us was insane. I don't know how many people were actually flying them, but I saw at least 10 different 163s at any time. My guess would of been 20-30 in total. No escort can even get a shot at one unless the 163 makes a mistake. I agree with Aquashrimp that the only counter is to have gunners in each bomber.
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No, the counter is to send in a few fighers to hit the fuel before* you get into range to be intercepted.
Failure to do so will always resault in a sea of 163's..lets face it, they dont get flown alot so when intell comes in about a massive fleet of targets, well..you know how things go.
Even if they know your coming, if they have no fuel, they cannot intercept.
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Originally posted by BaDkaRmA158Th
No, the counter is to send in a few fighers to hit the fuel before* you get into range to be intercepted.
Failure to do so will always resault in a sea of 163's..lets face it, they dont get flown alot so when intell comes in about a massive fleet of targets, well..you know how things go.
Even if they know your coming, if they have no fuel, they cannot intercept.
Think i'll Add that too my next raid.
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hitting fuel isn't going to help, as you can't get it down enough to stop them from upping. However, if you break off a wing of your escorts and have them dive out in advance of your raid, they can cap the field that the 163 up from and thin there numbers greatly before they get up there speed.
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Isn't fighting the fight the point of a raid? How boring is it to to not only climb for 40 mins... run another 40 mins and you don't want any opposition? Why not just fly offline and call it a day?
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Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
Isn't fighting the fight the point of a raid? How boring is it to to not only climb for 40 mins... run another 40 mins and you don't want any opposition? Why not just fly offline and call it a day?
I sorta can udnerstand the HQ raiders.
Fighting is one thing, but facing clouds of 163s is usually just a slaughter.
If you could prevent 163 from effectively participating, you wouldn't stop the fight at all. There are still a lot of other fighters that can & will engage you.
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Bombing mission to 163 base right before HQ raid. Bomber escorts divert to 163 base after hangers pop. It's all in the planning gents.:D
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Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
Isn't fighting the fight the point of a raid? How boring is it to to not only climb for 40 mins... run another 40 mins and you don't want any opposition? Why not just fly offline and call it a day?
QFT.
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i kinda think its silly that these AA HQ raides are done at 30K + when B17s never used to do that... also at full throttle too...
but then it does kinda make sense when you get to the HQ and get ruined.
i created a HQ thread in the Wishlists forums, i wish it would go back to the old ways of a % of damage kills dot dar, and only full 100% damage to the whole city kills the HQ. that way it would be more effective/realistic compaired to bombing 1 big building.
163s are a pain, but as most others said, get a small wing of p47D40s or something to go in, kill the fuel/ack (hell even the FH's if your fast enough) and cap the field.
to those saying whats the point of flying online if you dont want the fight... :rolleyes: they do want the fight... but 163s are horrific and generally these days are the only option a country uses on defending there HQ. very few will up 262s/152s or whatever, they just choose the easy option.
I been on the recieving end of a AAolds/Talen HQ raid, and its quality, i got 4 kills in a Ta152 before i rammed a 1 wing'ed B17, 3 kills in a 262 before i blew up, and 4 in a 163 which again i rammed someone with lol :(
i want to be on for the next one so i can switch countries and be a part of it (as long as they not hitting knits lol).
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Yeah seems like it would really suck to fly for a long time and then have someone up for 3 minutes and shoot you down.:cry
donkey
PS Talen how often do you do you high alt HQ runs? I want to try flying a 38 escort that high (after I drop my payload of course:D ).
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Originally posted by DoNKeY
Yeah seems like it would really suck to fly for a long time and then have someone up for 3 minutes and shoot you down.:cry
donkey
PS Talen how often do you do you high alt HQ runs? I want to try flying a 38 escort that high (after I drop my payload of course:D ).
there u go AA's, get these B38s (sorry P38s) to bomb the 163 base first.... :D
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I agree with those thinking that the ability for the 163's to launch should be dealt with as part of the overall mission strategy.
I have flown many well organized missions like this to many targets and I have found that dealing with even a couple 262's or 163's is a challenge. If you are faced with 5 or more I think that represents an extreme challenge. As much fun as that may be the mission planner may want to consider tactics to eleminate that to allow misson success.
A few things could be done for this if that is the path chosen. Here are some thoughts about that.
As part of the overall raid a separate force of either fighters or medium bombers could be sent to shut down launch hangers, cap and suppress their return.
Yes you could also man the guns on the bombers but I have found that it is difficult to get more than 15-20 pilots just to fill out the main strike force. This represents a problem to the possible tactic stated above.
You need 9 or more for the main bomber force and 6 or more for the main fighter escort. This means you need another 6 or more to deal with the launch capabilities of enemy jets and rockets.
So IMHO numbers of those participating in the overall mission is the limiting factor. I have found this to be the norm in missions like this. Yes we can all recall the mission where there were 45+ pilots but how often have any of you particpated in one of these? Typically I have seen under 20 unless it was communicated days or weeks in advance via message boards or similar.
Never having flown a 262 or a 163 due to lack of fighter perk points I dont know which bases can launch both. I do know that those capable of launching 163's are extremely limited. If I am correct I believe only the larger bases can launch either. Since I dont recall a map where large bases are side by side I believe this may be a viable tactic provided you have the numbers of pilots to employ it.
If successful this may force enemy defenders to launch from more distant bases to climb to intercept altitudes and vector their defese from distance. I believe that mission altitudes should be extreme for success. As mentioned your bomb wing altitude was 30k+. I think this is a must if you want to actually hit the target. The HQ building is very small from 30k and requires a large amount of direct hits to destroy. IIRC 37k lbs of bombs as direct hits to destroy??? B-17's only carry 6 1000 lbs bombs and in a Combat Box formation you will be hard pressed to hit a building <100 feet wide with the proper ord requirement for destruction.
IMHO for proper accuracy the bomb groups must be unhampered by fighter interception during the bomb run. I am sure that there are other ways to deal with this that may be mentioned on this thread. Just some thoughts I had about it. Overall the limiting factor will be volume of pilot participation.
Later,
KayBay
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Originally posted by KayBayRay
Never having flown a 262 or a 163 due to lack of fighter perk points I dont know which bases can launch both. I do know that those capable of launching 163's are extremely limited. If I am correct I believe only the larger bases can launch either. Since I dont recall a map where large bases are side by side I believe this may be a viable tactic provided you have the numbers of pilots to employ it.
262's can be upped from any airfield.
There is always only a single base close to HQ on which 163's are enabled. Actually there is even a map which hasn't any 163's enabled at all ;)
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Originally posted by Lusche
I sorta can udnerstand the HQ raiders.
Fighting is one thing, but facing clouds of 163s is usually just a slaughter.
If you could prevent 163 from effectively participating, you wouldn't stop the fight at all. There are still a lot of other fighters that can & will engage you.
That's the thing, if you disable 163's, the escorts can take the remaining types of fighters regardless. Take a few sets of Bostons before the raid, go NOE to the 163 base, pork all the fuels (Only brings it to 75%, but it's better than nothing). This limit's the 163's flying time. Like they said, bring 5-7 ponies or jugs over the 163 base and pick off 163's as they up.
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Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
Isn't fighting the fight the point of a raid? How boring is it to to not only climb for 40 mins... run another 40 mins and you don't want any opposition? Why not just fly offline and call it a day?
normally, i think most would agree with that.......but bombing is idfferent.........it's all about getting your ords on target sucessfully, and then getting your ship home. when i do my bomber runs, i don't generally plane big missions like that, but i only usually run into 1 or 2 fighters too......which i sometimes dispatch fairly quickly..but as i said......once on the mission isn't done till my ships are on the ground. now in a fighter/? that's waaaay different........i drop into a furball, and as long as i get a kill or two before i die.......i'm happy:D
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Originally posted by Lusche
Actually there is even a map which hasn't any 163's enabled at all ;)
My FAVORITE map ever. :D
I still think 262s should be limited as well. At LEAST to just the Zone Bases.
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I think the 163 needs a much higher perk price. It is the most unbalancing plane in the game as is shown every time a HQ raid gets slaughtered by droves of them. 250-300 perks is probably about right to limit their numbers enough to make HQ raids viable again.
What I did find interesting in that raid last night was the performance of the TA-152 vs the P47N. At 30k, if I went into a 45 degree climbing turn the jug was unable to stay with me and fell beneath never coming close to getting guns on me. At first I thought it was just a noob behind the stick, but I did this against 3 or 4 different 47's and had the exact same result. The 152 held its E wonderfully even pulling a decent ammount of AoA and seemed to just simply outpower the jug.
I was pleasantly surprised. Might need to go to the TA and test the two at 30k+ w/ Widewing.
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Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
Isn't fighting the fight the point of a raid? How boring is it to to not only climb for 40 mins... run another 40 mins and you don't want any opposition? Why not just fly offline and call it a day?
HERE, HERE! Well said.
I think, however, the frustration is the volume of 163's. Quite unrealistic.
That said, it's part of the game. Yankee ingenuity will figure it out!
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163's use rocket fuel.
I don't think you can pork the rocket fuel.
Normally 163's take off from 1 Large Airfield nearest to the HQ.
You'd have to bomb all 7 Fighter Hangers for a 15minute window of shutting down 163s. That's about 3 sectors worth for B17s at 30k.
Takes at the minimum of 3 bomber pilots all hitting the fighter hangers at the same time in 1 pass over that enemy airfield.
You still have to knock out the VH that spawns nearest to HQ as well as knock out ammo at the nearest airfield to prevent C47s from resupplying HQ. Also hitting the City Strat before this mission helps keep HQ down longer.
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Originally posted by Kermit de frog
163's use rocket fuel.
I don't think you can pork the rocket fuel.
Normally 163's take off from 1 Large Airfield nearest to the HQ.
You'd have to bomb all 7 Fighter Hangers for a 15minute window of shutting down 163s. That's about 3 sectors worth for B17s at 30k.
Takes at the minimum of 3 bomber pilots all hitting the fighter hangers at the same time in 1 pass over that enemy airfield.
You still have to knock out the VH that spawns nearest to HQ as well as knock out ammo at the nearest airfield to prevent C47s from resupplying HQ. Also hitting the City Strat before this mission helps keep HQ down longer.
Even killing all the FHs would be a hassle with the 163's trying to stop you from doing that. I thought FH d/t was 10 mins?
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When Talen stabbed his friends in the back and went Bish:cry We got hit by some of his HQ raids and at least to me they caused a pretty good hindrance to the Rooks. Enough that I spent a long time in goons to get the thing back up. For a couple days they kept at it and I did a lot of gooning to keep up. In my mind, from that experience, the HQ raids are worth it.
I dont often fly them because I just dont want to see 163s again. I think its terrible that an airplane that had such a negligible effect on the war, almost none actually, should have such a big impact on this game. I dont believe the airplane belongs here.
But...others like it, which is cool, so I just avoid them. Much would be solved if they were just perked higher. I know many of those who fly 163s are very good in other types of fighters but I have seen the sky go red with the things, even outnumbering bombers in huge bomber raids. Its just gotten silly with the 163s and I avoid runs where your likely to see them.
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And whats to stop 163s from upping and destroying the bombers that are trying to destroy the 163 base's FHs?
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Originally posted by Rich46yo
When Talen stabbed his friends in the back and went Bish:cry
:lol
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I posted what you had to do, nothing more.
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On the HQ raid I flew before Talens, I managed to knock down two Me163s and a La7 with the guns of my B17s. All it really takes are some competent gunners. The problem most bombers face is that the workload suddenly increases exponentially when they get within 25 miles of the HQ. They have to calibrate the bombsight, line up on target, maintain formation, keep speed stabilized, and fight off swarms of me163s. Its a wonder any bombers get through at all!
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Originally posted by Overlag
i kinda think its silly that these AA HQ raides are done at 30K + when B17s never used to do that... also at full throttle too...
but then it does kinda make sense when you get to the HQ and get ruined.
i created a HQ thread in the Wishlists forums, i wish it would go back to the old ways of a % of damage kills dot dar, and only full 100% damage to the whole city kills the HQ. that way it would be more effective/realistic compaired to bombing 1 big building.
163s are a pain, but as most others said, get a small wing of p47D40s or something to go in, kill the fuel/ack (hell even the FH's if your fast enough) and cap the field.
to those saying whats the point of flying online if you dont want the fight... :rolleyes: they do want the fight... but 163s are horrific and generally these days are the only option a country uses on defending there HQ. very few will up 262s/152s or whatever, they just choose the easy option.
I been on the recieving end of a AAolds/Talen HQ raid, and its quality, i got 4 kills in a Ta152 before i rammed a 1 wing'ed B17, 3 kills in a 262 before i blew up, and 4 in a 163 which again i rammed someone with lol :(
i want to be on for the next one so i can switch countries and be a part of it (as long as they not hitting knits lol).
Alrighty, here is why i run raids at 30k+.
-Normally, at 30k+ Prop based fighters ( not including the 152 ) Have difficulty trying to set up a pass on the formation that high, only problem are basically the 163s and Ta 152s. So i run missions that high the conventional interceptors have trouble climbing, setting up a run on the bombers.
- Donkey, i run em About once a week, maybe 2. All depends on the time, and amount of players we have online. Join rooks sometime :).
-Rich, i totally understand how ya feel bro, i wondered why ya didn't join up on the mission last night.
-Shrimp, You are correct sir. If all of the bombers had secondary gunners, the gunners could focus on the 163s, while the pilots concentrate on the target, formation, and overall SA. Once those 163s make an appearance, anyone without a gunner WILL have there work cut out for them trying to do everything you stated below at once. Think i might add that into the factor on my next HQ raid.
Overall in general folks, trying to maintain a formation at 30k is somewhat difficult. You have to take into the fact that even when people join up on the mission ( i have my buffs hold the runway until ALL bombers are spawned in ). There's going to be some AFK people which will miss some instructions, causing some of the bombers to fall behind greatly. But it's doable, you just have to have the bombers at a stable speed, in and around the lead, so all of the guns will be focused on the enemy interceptors.
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I am very interested in doing strategic work and not just base hopping.
I sorta feel like the war can be won easier with the enemies' resources bombed to smithereens. Problem is no one seems to have the patience for it. Or agree. I get laughed at. A lot. Seems the game is out of balance somewhat. It used to be a more viable option anyways.
Is there a squad out there with a fetish for strat bombing?
I'll certainly look around for Talon's missions :aok
(wheehaw, first post in nearly a decade)
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massive HQ raids and denfend against,used to be the best fun in AH1,
imop, the game needs few changes to ecouraje players to attack and defend HQ:
--bring back the 4 steps progressive damage model for HQ, like in AH1, even if is not total destroyed, the bomber pilot gets something, not only 30mm shells, for the long flight and bombing skills, maybe more perks also
---HQ downtime, at least 30 min without resup option, now the HQ is resuped before the bombers get back to base
-- i would go to a formula where even the war is lost and map reset if the HQ is destroyed, like in chess, atack the king,you can have all the toys on the table but still get checkmate: If Hitler would have been killed , i'm sure WW2 would have finished early: This 40% of the both enemy bases win/reset model, makes the game inactive and boring with same map for weeks
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Sounds good to me. HQ and capitol city down? Game over.
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Originally posted by AquaShrimp
On the HQ raid I flew before Talens, I managed to knock down two Me163s and a La7 with the guns of my B17s. All it really takes are some competent gunners. The problem most bombers face is that the workload suddenly increases exponentially when they get within 25 miles of the HQ. They have to calibrate the bombsight, line up on target, maintain formation, keep speed stabilized, and fight off swarms of me163s. Its a wonder any bombers get through at all!
a bit of a hijack here...sorta////////
re-read the above, and realize that's only ingame. imagine what it must've been like in RL for these brave men? i've tried, and can't. i've talked with a couple bombardiers, from b17's and b24's...and an engineer from a b17.....and they were all good at conveying what it was like.......but stilll....very brave men they were..........
thanks to all of them past and present!!
<>
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Wolfskin
I agree with you. Strat bombing makes perfect sense to increase down time. However there are only 2 factories I don't go out my way to bomb anymore. Troop training and fuel. Fairly pointless on the whole unless the baddies have captured your zone base.
As for HQ raids they are absolutely pointless unless you own a field next to their HQ or have destroyed every barracks at every base next to HQ.....tall order in itself.
I can understand some guys wanting to get the feel for a mass bomber raid and the subsequent fighter attacks. That one thing but total annihilation is another. You can do it and it's novel the first time but it's akin to pissing in the wind. For me defeat is only popular with a black fella with a sense of humour.
As for HQ hardness it's pretty much annoying but I do remember why they set it so. Knights without dar for 3 days. Knights logging off etc. I just wish they'd bring back the teared damage model if we're to keep this hardness and freakin gazillion barracks. At least these guys could get a morsel of value for their efforts.
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Originally posted by Wolfskin
I am very interested in doing strategic work and not just base hopping.
I sorta feel like the war can be won easier with the enemies' resources bombed to smithereens. Problem is no one seems to have the patience for it. Or agree. I get laughed at. A lot. Seems the game is out of balance somewhat. It used to be a more viable option anyways.
Is there a squad out there with a fetish for strat bombing?
I'll certainly look around for Talon's missions :aok
(wheehaw, first post in nearly a decade)
9GIAP is a squad that favours strat based play.
It's getting pretty disappointing now with many strats now not worth the porking.
I remember a time when hitting the fuel at a base actually had some effect. There was a time when setting up a coordinated fuel pork used to actually reduce the horde effect from base taking. It used be hard for the enemy to up hordes of La7's when there was only 25% fuel since they'd get up, have a couple of laps around the airfield and have to land or run out of fuel.
It seems the game is becoming less friendly to strategic combat simulation and catering more to the air quake crowd where you're guaranteed 3/4 of a tank and a plane full of ammo at any base regardless of it's status.
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163 is widely used as HQ defender because its only plane which can climb to bombers altitude before they land at their home base. Give HQ undestractble 5 sectors "anti-bombers" radar (which will show bombers or group of bombers only) and you will face enough conventional interceptors.
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N.O.E. stukka with the 1800kg. all u nits/rooks look out
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Originally posted by SD67
9GIAP is a squad that favours strat based play.
It's getting pretty disappointing now with many strats now not worth the porking.
I remember a time when hitting the fuel at a base actually had some effect. There was a time when setting up a coordinated fuel pork used to actually reduce the horde effect from base taking. It used be hard for the enemy to up hordes of La7's when there was only 25% fuel since they'd get up, have a couple of laps around the airfield and have to land or run out of fuel.
It seems the game is becoming less friendly to strategic combat simulation and catering more to the air quake crowd where you're guaranteed 3/4 of a tank and a plane full of ammo at any base regardless of it's status.
Strongly disagree with a style of play that thrives on taking away the other teams' ability to fly. ENY restricts what you fly, but the old base tactical systme gave such disproportionate power to porkers that it stalled defenders more than ENY ever would. Current setup way better than that, and the Wirbelwind will even further redress the tactical deisadvantages of the defenders.
Now, not to be picky, but you're "hit the fuel" approach is tactical interdiction. It is not Strategic at all in the term's military usage, though in casual talk some might call it "strategy."
Personally, I wish that really strategic actions -- essentially treating the zone and fafctory system like more than a milkrun target -- had more impact that they do. Unfortunately, while the current design DOES have a strategic combat layer, the effort required far outweighs the benefits gained. Even in the subset of players who both like strategic play and understand the system, the problem is obvious -- they vote with thier feet and ignore the strats, instead hitting hagars and towns.
Like many others, I would love to see HTC rebalance the effort/effect equation, without grounding players.
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How far do you go to avoid a fight? The point is to minimize risk, not REMOVE risk. Flying 32k at full speed with dozens of escorts from 35k to 40k is akin to flying 50+ spit16s to kill a single 110G.
How far do you go to avoid a fight?
Last night I had a highly cowardly B-17G pilot flying 10 sectors behind the knit lines at 35k, bombing strat.
I took a 109K up. This is the highest-alt non-152 plane the LW has. I took it for speed, climb, 30mm gun, and the ability to intercept. I am pretty sure NO other plane in the game would have suited this mission.
I was unable to catch him inside 10-15 minutes of chase. He was flying SO high that I was developing 1.0 ata and WEP wasn't doing anything.
Okay, that's one thing. That's just being scared.
How far does he take it? As soon as I get in guns range, this rock-steady target, with no lag or warping, suddenly warps 3x in a row 1k forward then back into position, spoiling my attack. In the meanwhile, while still warping he kills my radiator, 30mm, and landing gear with a single ping.
(note: He was firing from 1k+ it was only when I got into < 800 yards that he pulled his cable).
At a certain point you just have to cancel your account, throw the joystick away, and play offline.
So sure, have a HQ run at 50k! Include 500+ fighters!!!
At what point does it become a testiment to lameness rather than an awe-inspiring feat?
P.S. 262s can barely fly past 25k. Can't keep level at 30k, can't climb or attack above this alt, so they are no threat to cons above 25k. I've killed multiple 163s as a gunner in a single HQ run on several occasions. They're easy enough to shoot down. I've also lost wings many times in 163s trying the opposite.
The 163 is not a super weapon. It's just the ONLY weapon that can get to certain folks who play in a dweeby manner.
P.P.S. If the HQ raid is at a reasonable alt, you find many non-163 planes. I've seen hordes of 109s, 110s, spits, typhs, etc, all attacking HQ raids, as long as the raids are below 30k. You want less 163s? Come in out of the stratosphere.
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Originally posted by Krusty
P.P.S. If the HQ raid is at a reasonable alt, you find many non-163 planes. I've seen hordes of 109s, 110s, spits, typhs, etc, all attacking HQ raids, as long as the raids are below 30k. You want less 163s? Come in out of the stratosphere.
You won't see less 163's just because the raid is at an lower alt. Players are not thinking "Oh, they come in at 20k, I'll be nice and up a prop plane". You will just see more prop planes attacking that raid in addition to 163's.
BTW; I do like to fight against very high altitude raids. There are very rare, but a really nice change of pace from the usual <15K MA action. I fondly remember a doghfight vs a escorting P38 I had a few months which started at 30K and went down to the deck.
Originally posted by Krusty
The 163 is not a super weapon. It's just the ONLY weapon that can get to certain folks who play in a dweeby manner.
Bombers are dead meat under 20k. Flying at high alt is far from being "dweeby". Actually the player has to pay a hefty investment in form of his playing time (in return for often meagre "results"), unlike other tactics like bomb&bail or Lancstuka.
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In my experience, HQ Raids
a) are usually perpetrated against the most "down-trodden" of the 3 sides in the game.
b) occur primarily when one side already has a numbers advantage and most of another country's territory.
c) seem to result mostly in a number of players for the side that loses radar either logging, switching arenas, or changing sides.
As a result, what they mostly seem to do in my opinion is make guys who are already frustrated even more so. This sucks for everyone, because ENY shoots through the roof as a result of the loss of defenders, so the aggressors are suddenly limited in plane choices - meanwhile the defenders that are left get to circle around aimlessly trying to find the fight that was going strong before the radar went down.
Admittedly, I tend to mostly fly for the side that's outnumbered, so perhaps I see their negative impact more than those who are performing them do.
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Originally posted by Krusty
How far do you go to avoid a fight? The point is to minimize risk, not REMOVE risk. Flying 32k at full speed with dozens of escorts from 35k to 40k is akin to flying 50+ spit16s to kill a single 110G.
How far do you go to avoid a fight?
Last night I had a highly cowardly B-17G pilot flying 10 sectors behind the knit lines at 35k, bombing strat.
I took a 109K up. This is the highest-alt non-152 plane the LW has. I took it for speed, climb, 30mm gun, and the ability to intercept. I am pretty sure NO other plane in the game would have suited this mission.
I was unable to catch him inside 10-15 minutes of chase. He was flying SO high that I was developing 1.0 ata and WEP wasn't doing anything.
Okay, that's one thing. That's just being scared.
How far does he take it? As soon as I get in guns range, this rock-steady target, with no lag or warping, suddenly warps 3x in a row 1k forward then back into position, spoiling my attack. In the meanwhile, while still warping he kills my radiator, 30mm, and landing gear with a single ping.
(note: He was firing from 1k+ it was only when I got into < 800 yards that he pulled his cable).
At a certain point you just have to cancel your account, throw the joystick away, and play offline.
So sure, have a HQ run at 50k! Include 500+ fighters!!!
At what point does it become a testiment to lameness rather than an awe-inspiring feat?
P.S. 262s can barely fly past 25k. Can't keep level at 30k, can't climb or attack above this alt, so they are no threat to cons above 25k. I've killed multiple 163s as a gunner in a single HQ run on several occasions. They're easy enough to shoot down. I've also lost wings many times in 163s trying the opposite.
The 163 is not a super weapon. It's just the ONLY weapon that can get to certain folks who play in a dweeby manner.
P.P.S. If the HQ raid is at a reasonable alt, you find many non-163 planes. I've seen hordes of 109s, 110s, spits, typhs, etc, all attacking HQ raids, as long as the raids are below 30k. You want less 163s? Come in out of the stratosphere.
Yep, 262s cannot keep up with a 30k+ HQ raid, it has trouble climbin up past 25k, and once leveled at 30k it has to THEN set up a pass on the bomber formation.
If HTC made it so that only a limited number of 163s were able to be in the air at once for the corresponding country, then i would roll HQ raids at the historical alt of 20-24k of the bombers.