Dominating the Skies
The Comprehensive Guide to the Air Role
Perhaps no other role in World in Conflict is as simple, yet complex as Air. Like all the roles, Air requires its users to develop a certain set of skills in order for them to master it. While many of the tips and tricks within this guide are, in fact, used by the experts extensively, this will hopefully serve as an intro to air, making its readers more than capable, as the name suggests, of dominating the skies!
Part I: The Units
Since there are only four units for the Air Role to choose from, options appear to be limited. You might think this would make the Air role simple, but in truth it makes the decision on what units to select all the more difficult. As we will see later on, your job as air will revolve around which of the three main air strategies you choose to take advantage of.
Scout Helicopters (Cost 600, HP 980) – The Scout Helicopter appears to be a relatively weak unit and for most purposes, it is. Since it is easy to shoot down and processes low stats, you definitely won’t be using this as a battle copter. Typically, it is only useful because of its long line of sight (useful for scouting out the enemy) or its special ability. The IR Scan can be quite helpful if you are trying to find units hidden in forests, but for most purposes special ability isn’t really going to come into play very often.
Transport Helicopters (Cost 650, HP 1225) – Transport Helicopters will make you very popular with your infantry-playing comrades. They allow you to quickly transport infantry across the map, which on maps like Liberty is a godsend. Yet, they have no offensive ability, and they will fall in droves to other copters or AA.
Medium Helicopters (Cost 900, HP 980) – These guys are the nimble, mobile Heavy-Helicopter-killing birds of the sky. Their anti-air missile special ability allows them to kill Scouts, Heavies, or other Mediums, in three shots or less, while their main cannon is equally devastating to other air units. The best way to describe them might be “cost-effective”. They can bring down their more expensive cousins, or be used to distract the enemy without loosing too many reinforcement points. While they aren’t going to be killing too many heavy tanks, they do fare well against anti-tank infantry or light tanks. But be sure to watch out for AA or regular infantry!
Heavy Helicopters (Cost 1200, HP 980) – Heavy Helicopters, or as I like to call them, Big Birds, are the kings of the sky. They can literally blow their way into any fight with their devastating missile barrage, or really hit the enemy hard with their tank-crushing special ability missile. They can even stand up in a fight against Medium Helis, but it would be best to avoid their air-to-air rockets! Anti-Air and infantry units are the greatest threat to Big Birds, but if you surprise them with a missile or two, they go down just like all the rest. But be careful, losing a unit that costs 1200 reinforcement points is a major blow!
Part II: The Three Great Air Strategies
The Air role has three basic options for battle. They can either be a tank-killing machine by focusing on Heavy Copters, a mobile, wicked Anti-Air by using Medium Birds, or a Transport Infantry-savior by using Transports to ferry infantry from place to place. While mixing up your units between the four types might seem logical, all it really does is force you to micromanage extensively between their various jobs, which often results in mistakes, unit deaths, and defeat.
Strategy #1: Tank Bashing
This strategy is the one that I have been favoring as of late. It basically allows for you to deal the greatest amount of damage in the shortest amount of time with the fewest limitations. However, in using this role, you aren’t helping out the team in an obvious manner, so you might get complaints that you are playing for yourself. In reality, dealing the tremendous damage that you will be is definitely helping out the team; it is just usually away from the main battle.
The idea here is to select from the start 3 Heavy Helicopters. You should immediately charge them deep into enemy territory, to the most distant of “their” checkpoints. Usually, the enemy has rushed light vehicles or heavy tanks to that location. Great news for you! Open fire on them, and make them wish they hadn’t dared to rush! The only problem is if they start out by sending AA at you, but that is rare, and isn’t worth worrying about at this point. If you see Anti-Air units, simply pull back, and pick a new strike location.
After that initial attack, you should have accumulated a fair amount of TA, and also be able to call in a 4th Heavy Helicopter. You can either fall back and wait for it, or advance, find some infantry, and call in an annoying Light Artillery Barrage on them before they are prepared. Either way, regroup with your 4th bird, and prepare to deal some more damage. From this point on, your decisions will depend on how the battle goes. I recommend helping out your allied armor player by shadowing them and killing off vehicles. Never stay in a fight with Medium Helicopters unless you outnumber them, or think you have the time to call in a humiliating Air-to-Air tactical strike! Avoid Heavy Anti-Air unless you can hit them with 2 special ability missiles quickly, and never fight more than one at a time. When facing infantry or tanks using smoke, hold the ‘f’ key, to fire at the ground around them with heavy missiles. This is an underused tactic but absolutely invaluable in-game.
Gradually attempt to get 5 Heavy Helicopters into the game. Many people prefer to get a scout helicopter into the battle instead of a 5th Heavy. While this would give you increased line of sight, it would, in theory, take away twenty percent of your potencial firepower. Again, in my opinion you shouldn’t bother trying to mix up your units with this strategy, because the micromanagement required will often result in mistakes or the unnecessary loss of battles. Try to move your units around the map, never staying in one spot too long, seeking out armor players’ spawn points. Quite possibly the best thing you can do is to find where the support player is camping, drop a tank buster on the AA guarding it, then attack and eliminate the oh-so-expensive, yet oh-so-rewarding Heavy Artillery with a few quick volleys. Also, look for soft targets like Transport Helicopters!
This strategy can result in a huge score for yourself, but remember that the goal is to win the match, so try to help out your team with your accumulated TA points by using tactical aids that will also help them.
Strategy #2: Clear the Skies
In this strategy, you will try to use Medium Helicopters to counter players using a Heavy Helicopter plan. Medium Birds are perfect for beating Heavies, and with proper micromanagement, you can even take other Medium players to school!
One key that I’ve found for using Medium Helicopters is not to send in your troops right away at the onset of the fight. Patiently wait 15 seconds after the game starts for enough points to accumulate for you to order a 5th Medium. This will give you an awesome numerical advantage, plus, since this strategy requires that you wait for the enemy helicopters to appear before you can become effective, it gives you time to wait out their approach!
Now that you’ve got your 5th bird and you see where the enemy is sending its choppers, attack them like there is no tomorrow. Medium Helicopters grant players two types of attack strategies. You can either launch three missiles at two different enemy units (assuming you have 6 helicopters, for 5, launch 3 then 2), to ensure two instant victories, or for the more micro-gifted of the gaming world, you can try to launch two missiles at three different copters, then focus fire on each one at a time, quickly killing three enemy birds before they can react! The 2-2-2 Helicopter Battle Plan is more efficient (since a third missile results in slight overkill and wasted damage), but the 3-3 Battle Plan is the quick and easy way to win. It’s really a matter of personal preference.
Playing as Medium Helicopters means that you must, at all costs, avoid AA of any kind. That includes regular infantry (anti-tank are fair game), Medium Tank AA, Heavy Tank AA, and sometimes even Armored and Amphibious Transports. Fighting Transports is waste of time on any map that isn’t Liberty, unless you are positive that the enemy is going to dominate a match because of them; you’ve got bigger fish to fry.
Remember that your goal is to kill Heavies, other Mediums, and Transports Helicopters. One requirement of this strategy is that there is an enemy playing the Air role. If there isn’t, switch to a Heavy Strategy, as they will have trouble countering you. Much of what you do depends on the situation, but one trick I like to try is to send 3 to 4 of your mediums to engage a massive group of enemy birds. Oftentimes, Air players will cluster together, leaving them wide-open for an air-to-air strike. If you or your teammates have the TA, use a small number of your birds to engage the enemy. Kill what you can, but your goal is to keep them in one place to allow for an Air-to-Air strike to obliterate them. There is nothing as sweet as to see half a dozen enemy helicopters falling to the ground and to hear the groans of your enemy over Voice Chat. But be sure to avoid this fate yourself! Medium players also have the option of finding enemy Artillery and wiping them out. Heavy Art might take a while to kill, but since they don’t fight back, you’ve got time.
Your goal is to eventually crank out six medium choppers. Yet, you will be left with 600 reinforcement points to spare. You have two choices: either save the points to ensure a quick unit replacement, or buy a Scout Helicopter to help you find your enemies. The Scout can also be used to help place TA strikes or to aid your team, so use common sense to help you make your decisions.
Strategy #3: Infantry-Savior
While this plan can be viable on almost any map, it is only really feasible on Liberty. Because of the island theme of the map and the sheer vulnerability of amphibious units, Transport Birds can change the game. On Liberty, Air is a critical role; typically at least 3 players need to take on various roles. But, someone HAS to be a Transport player, and it had might as well be you!
The plan for this strategy is very self-explanatory. Buy 3-4 transports along with 2 (wait a second for reinforcements to build up) Medium Birds as escorts. Wait for allied infantry to load up (they’ll appreciate you for it), and deploy to a command point. Unload, and go back to get some more. Typically, you will need to defend your Transports from attacks by Medium copters with your own Mediums. Try this tactic: When you come under attack, keep your transports moving, and deploy flares immediately. Have your escorts open fire on the lead enemy bird with rockets and cannon fire, hopefully killing it. Then, the other copters might be distracted from the Transport Birds, and fight your escorts. In a perfect world, your allies will come to help, in reality, try to run your Mediums to where your allies already are. One alternative plan might be to include a Scout Helicopter along with your escorts to help spot dangerous enemies and Anti-Air.
This strategy also requires a lot of thinking on your feet. If your allies cease needing your transport, switch to a Medium role (especially on Liberty), and help your allies gain air superiority. But, if experience serves me right, your transports will always be a useful tool. Remember to keep replenishing your numbers, and keep your escorts in good supply.
Transporting infantry might be a rather point-deprived role, but it is necessary on many maps. If it is needed, be the “bigger” player, and help out your team!
Part III: Final Tips and Tricks
Force Attack Ground (“F” Button Firing)
I mentioned this in the Heavy Helicopter strategy section, but I feel it needs reiterating. When using Heavies, be sure to use the ‘F’, attack ground, button to strike at smoke covered units (mainly tanks), and enemy infantry. Against infantry, it’s much more effective than your cannon, and deals quick death to your enemy. While Scouts can also do this with their much weaker missile attack, it’s not nearly as effective.
Flares
Flares can literally save your life as an Air player. They often make enemy missiles miss and can result in a victory in an otherwise even dogfight. I advise deploying the flares within a few seconds of entering battle, as that is when most people fire their missiles. Redeploy them as soon as possible. Anytime you are flying over an area that might have anti-air, or if you think AA may be on the way, go ahead and let those flares drop, just to be on the safe side. Air on the Side of Caution ha!
Unit Grouping
This idea actually works for all World in Conflict roles. When you select your units, it can often be difficult to double click the icon in the heat of battle. So, before you start battle, select all units of the same type, and strike Ctrl+1 for Mediums, Ctrl+2 for Heavies or Transports (depending on what you have). This allows you to quickly hit the 1 or 2 button to get control of your units in battle. Using hotkeys such as these will always improve your battle effectiveness.
Attacking AA
We touched on this idea throughout the article, but it also needs to be restated. Even when playing as Heavy Helicopters, NEVER, never attack when more than one Anti-Air unit is present. You just can’t win. Also, make sure that both of your special abilities are ready to be deployed. Use the flares to buy you some time, and fire your missiles immediately at the AA. It must go down at all costs before the effect of your flares are diminished. (Thanks to Zen for this tip!)
Take the Initiative
There are several occasions where you might send your attack helicopters to an area and deliver a decisive blow to the enemy, only to find that your armor allies are too busy in their own fighting to take the command point. One solution to this might be to call in an Airborne Infantry Tactical Aid. While this is expensive (10 TA per squad for Air players), it will allow you to quickly capture a command point, possibly turning the tide in your favor! Once your allies get around to securing the position, move those infantry into the trees and call down artillery strikes on your opponents!
Final Thoughts
I’d like to thank everyone who reads this guide for taking some time to hear the musings of an air-loving player. I would also love to here any comments or criticisms you may have! Shoot me an email at cheesewiz(at)heavengames(dot)com! Most of all remember to have fun! If this guide accomplishes anything, I hope that it is to help someone out there to enjoy this game more!
