Burning Sands CAS tactics

[GOATier]

I was running a CAS squad on Burning Sands the other day and it was one of the most frustrating experiences that I have ever had in this game. I know the standard tactic for attack helicopters is to fly very high and have the gunner shoot at whatever he sees near the edge of the draw distance, but when the draw distance is less than 400m you are just asking to get shot down at that elevation. Does anyone have recommendations from personal experience, or should I just only do attacks on FOBs and lases?

[Spook]

Only attack lazes. I didnt have any success on Burning so far either. The new viewdistance and buffed AAs make CAS ultra hardcore. You need to go down to 300 alt to see the ground. On that alt you cannot dodge AAs anymore. And Burning is very centralized, unlike Shijia, which has similar VD but where combat areas are spread out across the map and not focused on one city where all the AAs gather up. So you will basically always run into AAs which you cannot dodge on your attacks.

Lazes go further than the viewdistance, you have to use that. So do AA locks though, so be careful. Only fly with a spotter on the ground and kill targets from BVR. Dont bother without one.

[DC_K]

400-450 meters in air, assuming airspace is yours. listen closely to intel, have good situational awareness, and keep your finger ready to spam flares when you get locked and away from the source. only attack targets you know are there for sure, and whether its worth risking the chopper or not (logi vs tank), intel is key.

as spook has said, lazes go further than view, so having a team of spotters will take you a long way.

[GOATier]

Thanks for the help, I guess I will just practice dive bombing on the map, although on games where there is no commander I might not even bother regardless.

[DC_K]

diving was really effective in .97, but depending on the map and target, it could be counter productive. might be a good idea to dive on a map like kokan, but a terrible idea on a map like burning, just because there's more AA on burning than kokan.

i would just practice how to run from AA, which is spamming your flares button and running away

[Cassius]

You need to rely on fools on the ground more than ever. If you run CAS on BS the SL needs to be on the ground with the GTLD and you need a spotter too. Then you engage the closes ground threat to your CAS with a laze.

[matty1053]

My tactic:

Step A: Find the enemy CAS before they find you.

Step B: Hover in the air and wait for lases.

This map is good for all assets IMO. (And infantry)... I think CAS is perfect for this map. It forces people to be smart, and not mindless and fly at 200 altitude.

You should thank the drawdistance... it will help you if you stay above it.

[GOATier]

You should thank the drawdistance... it will help you if you stay above it.

The draw distance would only be beneficial if the AA where from SPAGGs and not SAMs. I'm not saying that they should change it, only that it is noticeably harder to fly than in Burning Sands than most maps.

[ComradeHX]

How about relying on teamwork(laze, tell infantry to kill AA...etc.)?