I don't think helos actually work well for the opener, they're too expensive and constantly need heavy AA protection or they'll just get dived on by planes and taken out for free. What I'm currently thinking for 101st is that the opener should be your Deltas (which should not be anywhere near frontline zones, use the 9 man recon Aero Rifles for that, they should be sneaking around into the enemy back line to spot/snipe HVTs for the rest of the game), and a lot of your cheap Mule units, especially Stingers with the .50 cal transports. That lets you range out infantry and softskinned vehicles since all your units have 1km+ range (so don't try to fight inside towns or in areas with very short sightlines) and most of your units should be stealthy enough to hide fairly well, you should be able to at least delay with that force and keep the opponent from rolling straight to your spawn. If there's heavy armor in the enemy opener then with your first couple of rounds of points, bring out a Kiowa Warrior or an Apache and an ASF to protect it. If they spam low-tier tanks, bring in your M1IPs. Create a secure resupply area for your helos by bringing in massed AA covering one spot to make it a deathtrap for enemy planes, multiple Stingers plus a couple of Vulcans or Chaparrals. Then start building up an overwhelming force of your big infantry squads in Chinooks, and use them to defeat the opponent in detail by seizing each of their zones starting from the least-defended. After you clear a zone, get your Green Berets back into their Chinooks and send them back for resupply, replace them with Aero-Rifle reinforcements to hold the zone. Use all your helos in one big group (with adequate spacing), one AA unit will usually kill any lone helicopter but if they open fire on 4 Chinooks with a couple of gunships with rockets behind them, they will just maybe damage one Chinook and then get blasted. Planes diving your helos should have to face Stingers from your ATAS and/or OH-58C/S and you should have your ASFs out to cover any big maneuvers. Your infantry is strong but not cost-efficient, in an all-out infantry grind over one zone you will probably lose due to being outnumbered, you need to use your helos to keep your infantry concentrated and mobile, while your opponent has to spread their forces to defend multiple zones.
The point of the DAP is the 30mm, it shred infantry and light vehicles better than rockets. On the other hand I've never had the little birds work at all, at best they're for padding out a heli rush but at 4hp you can probably get a better result with empty transports.
I think it's bad and dies easily to any plane. I also don't like the little birds. In general I think helicopters shouldn't die to plane runs so easily
Helis in general cannot loiter on the front lines long or wrap to the rear without SEAD/Scout heli to spot/bait AA. They're meant for rapid hit & run defenses while retreating to your own back lines to reposition/re-arm for another support run. It's why helis with rockets or ATGMs are pretty much the only ones worth running; they're meant to suddenly appear during any enemy's assault (ideally from their most vulnerable/exposed flanks), blow their load quickly, and get out to their own backlines AA before enemy ASF and their AA net can move up. They can be used very well to support an assault, but they require more babysitting than airspam, which you could've just done to begin with and be more oppressive for less micro.
@@hippiehippiehippiehippie Helicopters have enough problems staying in the air without people shooting at them, that's just the way it is with choppers imo
Hey! Wondering if you could confirm something I think I have noticed. I think Notching works against radar AA. Basically I've noticed that my planes get shot down way more when flying in a straight line or constant radius turn. If, whilst flying over enemy aa I input constant movement orders to give an ever tighter turn, the radar aa seems to always miss. Doesn't seem to work against manpads or SACLOS. Wondering if I've just had weird RnG or if something you've noticed, could test?
Was fun with the reveal video and see you after listening for some time, but with all respects, can't you remove yourself again ? :) You take up space in the lower left corner making viewers unable to get the full experience of the game you are casting :)