Thread: Value to "stagnant" chopper transport pilot?

Yesterday in the server (on Sidi Power Plant I believe), I did something I've never done before, just to experiment and see if it provided any value to the team. Nothing revolutionary, nothing new to most people, just new to me actually doing it.

I took a transport chopper, elevated to the max altitude (around 380) and hovered over enemy flags, allowing the chopper to be a "spawn beacon" of sorts for the entire time to drop from.

A little boring to say the least, but I was in a "let's try something new" mode. I made sure to hover over the flag that the squad leader wanted to attack. I moved on the next as he instructed (although, I don't think he realized I was in a chopper the whole time...there was no communication from him other than changing attack targets).

The results:

1) Pretty boring (but I wanted to see if it would be beneficial to the team)

2) Obviously, it meant 1 less person to fulfill a "firepower" or "capture point" role.

3) The entire team was constantly spawning from the chopper and dropping.

4) We took the flags w/i a relatively short period of time as a result of the constant dropping onto them.

5) We held the majority of the flags the entire round (the chopper dropping isn't necessarily the cause, it may have helped though).

6) We did win the round (again, no causation can be proved).

7) The enemy never attempted to engage me, most likely because I was too high for them to realize I was even there. I did this for almost the entire round in the same exact transport chopper.

So, the question is...

Is this a solid tactic? Is it a valuable tactic? Is it worth doing even though it removes 1 man from engaging the enemy? Essentially, I was just a perma spawn beacon on top of the enemy flags.

The only objection that comes to mind for me, is the taking up the resource of a transport chopper like that. However, a few counter-points...

1) I could have sworn that another transport chopper appeared and was used. I am almost positive that I saw 3 friendly choppers on the map (mine included) vs 2 (the transport and combat).

2) The chopper is used to transport units to necessary targets. Enemy flags are necessary targets. My chopper was already there, above those necessary targets.

Lastly, there were absolutely no objections by anyone on the team and they seemed to use it as a beacon regularly.

______________________

I don't know that I'll do it much, if even ever again as it was pretty boring. But I saw it as fulfilling a possible necessary role that can lead to victory if used by the team (and it was). What do you think of this tactic?

I was in the gunship that round and I guess I didn't go high enough to see you. It looked like the pods were materializing out of the air at around 250. I suspected a squad beacon on the ground because of this. Most gunship pilots never go that high so It will work as long as they aren't savvy as to whats going on. Fool me once... =)

Originally Posted by VagrantToad

It will work as long as they aren't savvy as to whats going on. Fool me once... =)

Or they get their friendly engineer buddy to put a vehicle sonar ON the gunship. Another way to identify where the targets are when approaching. Or where the other other gunship is in relation to you when a dogfight is ensuing.

Again, information is power. The sonars are 2D, if you see a transport on your radar and you can see he isn't below you, he MUST be above you.

Laggy

I would say that's a pretty good tactic, if your into it. Some people aren't just fighters, so helping out your squad, whether if its by flying that transport chopper or giving them ammo or meds your doing fine =)

Essen

:6

Originally Posted by Essen

I would say that's a pretty good tactic, if your into it. Some people aren't just fighters, so helping out your squad, whether if its by flying that transport chopper or giving them ammo or meds your doing fine =)

Essen

:6

Well, here is the "problem". I am a decent fighter. So is it worth using someone who is decent at engaging the enemy to fill such a role when no one else will do it?

I would say yes. Remember, mobility is a key component to combat effectiveness. By providing essentially an invisible spawn point for the entire platoon, you provide a rapid response capability that is otherwise lacking. Allowing your team to quickly respond to changing conditions can mean the difference between victory and having your ass handed to you on a silver platter with soy sauce.

Good point, Mury. The individual's life in a titan scenario means very little in terms of winning, aside from dying when you were holding a key piece of real estate like a console. Providing your team a good respawn point means more.