Essex AA

[Thirdeyez]

Ok the essex AA is good, any Ok or noob pilot will get eaten up by the 8 missles and cannons.
But why and how is fair that any experienced pilot can fly straight at the AA spill flares and destroy the AA in a matter of seconds?

It happened to me plenty of times. Im sitting in AA since some amazing pilot is displaying his ability to destroy sitting ducks, I have the AA pointed in the direction he keeps coming from. As he gets into the area were the AA actually acknoledges him ( not actually locked but at least showing he is in the square about to be locked) the pilot can lay on his cannons and drop flares. In the time it takes for a head on fight with a plane while your sitting in essex AA Ive found its onloy possible to unleash enough cannon to dent him and only be able to release 2 AA missles..which is crap.
Once a pilot has a clear view of the AA, it takes all of 1-2 seconds to destroy it..

And why of why does locked on mean that chances are it will go after a friendly, and this is all AA. Ive had lock ons and watched as missles went totaly diffrent directions.

Anyone else seen missles go through BH's..I see this all the time, from plane missles to AA..they seem to go through the oping in the side..

[machstem]

Re: Essex AA

...argh

Hence, why they are delaying the 1.2 patch.

Hopefully this stuff will be fixed in patch.

PEACE

[LoganX]

Re: Essex AA

I think the search button (However limited) is a great tool.
If used, it would show a plethora of threads complaining about the ineffectiveness of the AA. (All of the AA)
:wall: :wall: :wall:

[imported_Anzen]

Re: Essex AA

...argh

Hence, why they are delaying the 1.2 patch.

Hopefully this stuff will be fixed in patch.

PEACE

Delay is caused by multiplay.co.uk and such companies because there weren't enough serverside bugfixes in 1.2 and they didn't want to wait for 1.3 (unofficial news, www.gamert.nl)

Anyhow, the USS Essex' AA really rapes any aircraft with the vulcan or whatever gun there's mounted on.

[LoganX]

Re: Essex AA

www.gamert.nl)

How about a site every one can read.

[Astralman]

Re: Essex AA

The problem with a hotshot pilot that knows how to approach the Essex AA is, as the gunner, you're dealing with the worst possible angle of attack - head on. If you aim the gun at his nose, he's scooting past your bullets which are making a fine trail under, then behind his plane. He's also closing the distance very quickly. I've shot them down from this angle, and it creates a horrendous din to do it. Aim above the plane so he flies into your bullets. As he grows larger on the screen, drop the gun steadily by a hair until you're firing into his nose. He'll drop. A major problem with this is where he drops. If the carcass of his plane goes on into the already damaged gun, you're gone, too. This isn't easy to do with the chaos he's creating, especially the bullets dinging off your gun's encasement. (If you play as an engineer, you pick up repair points. If the gun is destroyed, you'll respawn before it. Run to it and repair. There's extra points in it for you. If it's slightly damaged, of course, jump out and bring it all the way up to speed, but after the jet has left the area. Jumping out to save yourself as the gun goes up won't get you far enough away fast enough to survive. Bite the bullet.)

Most pilots, when you're feeding the stream of bullets properly, adjust their course. (It's like slapping a puppy on his nose!) He'll zoom past you, that's when you get your favorite angle, from the rear as he flies away. Unfortunately, on the stern gun, your heat-seekers ram into the carrier deck, unless he breaks right for you. Perfect the 180-twirl and continue to feed bullets into his aft. If you didn't get him coming, you'll get him going. Also, expect him to break in either direction once past the carrier. He'll gain altitude with the turn, then your missiles will work. On that side of the carrier, there's less chance of hitting your own assets. (Most pilots are right-handed. They tend to break to their left. They can't help it! :-)

When he adjusts his course from the head-on run, if he turns slightly to his own left, he'll clear the carrier over the deck. Careful not to shoot your own guys, or choppers by raking the deck as he passes. When you do your twirl, don't hold onto the fire button. Reacquire, then continue fire.

The most important thing is to recognize the initial approach. You'll see his bullet tracers before you see him. This takes some eyeballing to get right, but assume the bullets trace back to his nose to get your initial targeting. You can hit him when he's not in sight as well.

Nobody in their right minds defends the Essex. The people don't appreciate it. The team vehicle damage will likely put you in negative points, and your K/D ratio drops to the point that other players claim your stats suck. But, dropping a jet in front of the boys on the carrier deck that were expecting to be blown to bits is pretty satisfying in a "in your eye" kinda way.

I'll add for those who don't know, the targeting lock is for the missiles, not the gun. Use the gun like you're shooting at clay pigeons. Lead the jet and let him fly into the bullets. The lead is an eighth, to a sixteenth of an inch, depending on his distance from the gun.

Fire all your missiles in quick succession while still firing the gun. (Don't overheat the gun...) When the last missile goes, of four, hold the fire button down and keep that aimer on the center of the target box. I've hit jets that have flown out of sight.

Pilots leading a jet back to the carrier should chaff to avoid the Aegis missiles hitting them. Choppers that see the gun in action as they approach should chaff too. Those missiles have a mind of their own, and if one hits you (Essex) the gunner isn't aiming at the wrong target. The missile just did a ninety degree turn and went for you. Chaff as you approach the carrier whether you're being attacked, or not. The missile goes for the chaff.

The dreams of deck gunners will be answered with the patch. IRL the Aegis doesn't require so many hits to down jets, or choppers. This will be the case soon enough. Pilots should trust the gunner, and even lead jets to the Essex to be shot down. Just remember to chaff as you do. Don't punish for a teamkill if you don't. The deck gunner only gets 2 points per jet, and on a good round will only get three, and maybe a chopper.

If the deck gun is too effective, they avoid the carrier, thus allowing you to man your planes and choppers unmolested. He's done his job, and he'll sit there getting no more points because he did his job so well. If he leaves the gun to go get points elsewhere in the game, they'll be back. (If the opposing force's airstrip is capped by your team, and you don't see any enemy for a period of time, figure they won't be coming, and find something else to do. When they recap the airstrip, and they will. The gun should be remanned.) IF BOTH GUNS ARE MANNED...and I've rarely seen this. It's a turkey shoot. Enemy planes expecting to stat whore on your carrier deck have a rude surprise waiting for them. Getting two players to sacrifice for the team, and man both guns is rare, indeed.

DON'T hang out on the carrier deck if you don't have a reason to be there. The enemy commander is less likely to arty the carrier. You won't end up being teamkilled by a deck gunner who's first job is to fend off that incoming jet, not worry about your tired ass. If you're waiting on the carrier for a chopper to spawn, do it on the walkways, not the deck itself.

If you don't understand how the Aegis works, and you can't locate and target jets with it VERY QUICKLY, let someone who knows how use it. The learning curve for this is costly to your team. It keeps them from bringing important assests into the game, and it boosts the egos of enemy pilots to an insufferable degree as they make hamburger of you, and your teammates...and that's the end of this "book". :-)

[Varsol]

Re: Essex AA

I find this to be a very informative post astralman, thanks

[qwero]

Re: Essex AA

i hate AA anywayz so just ignore them and jump for cover with the choppers :)

[KHAN]

Re: Essex AA

I destroy the aa gun everytime i leave to get ammo, it's so easy it's daft... set a course for the carrier, dont use your flare but strafe to the right so the missiles miss then hit flares and blow the AA up. Been destroyed once out of maybe 300 times.

[-{DFA}-Brak710]

Re: Essex AA

It takes practice, and good pilots try to do it diffrently than anyone else.

I presonaly like to fly strait up, and come down like a dive bomber. I use the [.120/.* CAL Cannon] dor the Phlannx gun, and then tilt twards the flight deck and release the bombs to kill the plane campers. AA people are to busy spinning the turret to try to get a lock warning instead of looking up where I am.

Maybe I shouldn't have said that, but I'm working on one that you can never see me till your in death cam and I fly over. :p

[Bizzare inc.]

Re: Essex AA

I've done more damage with a medi-pack.

[iflabs]

Re: Essex AA

I've shot down Jets with knives more times than the Essex Phalanx.

[BiG_F0X]

Re: Essex AA

nice long and informative post astralman. Nice work

[bitvomit]

Re: Essex AA

Alot of people forgot about the mythical essex cannon to the rear of the ship near the UAV. You can surprise alot of pilots with this gun and not only that but it is also a bit of a tricky kill to earn as a pilot cause the gun is in a tight spot unlike the wide open essex cannon at the front of the carrier. The two worst things about the essex are the gun overheating so easily and the bullets dropping too fast. Jet guns can hit whatever you aim at even when you are just outside of the fog while the essex is just limp. This results in a huge advantage for pilots that get you to overheat from shooting at thin air while they're softening you up for the kill.

[Dilla_Incognito]

Re: Essex AA

I heart the essex, and have taken down many an ace with it (by many an ace, i mean the same guy about 3 times, lol, but he got over 50 kills by bombing our carrier...so he was the best pilot i've ever seen.)

i don't fly much, and i suck at bombing, but i rock with the planes chaingun and dodgin missiles...but i was maybe in the air for 5 seconds before that guy shot me from below in his plane and flew just under my wreckage.