Strategy:Durutti's Gunship Guide (Battlefield 2142)From EncyClanPedia
Credit for this strategy guide goes to Durutti, whose post was originally found at Total Gaming Network's BF2142 Forums - You can see the original strategy guide here and here. If there is any dispute from the original creator regarding the existence of this archived strategy page, please contact Dairuka to have it changed, or removed.
In the right hands the gunship is the most effective killing machine in Battlefield 2142. It is fast, highly maneuverable, highly lethal and very fun to use. This guide will attempt to educate the reader about the different types of gunships, the roles they play on the battlefield, and how to use them to their fullest extent. Part OneTypes of Gunships and DifferencesEach side in Battlefield 2142 has one type of gunship. For the EU, it is the UD-6 Talon.
For the PAC, it is the Type 4 Doragon.The Doragon is green and tan/beige. It has three VTOL engines of seemingly equal size. The two forward engines constantly point down and the rear one moves from side to side like a rudder. It seems due to the differences in the designs of the two gunships that the Talon is slightly more maneuverable than the Doragon. Basic ControlsPilot PositionW = Accelerate S = Hover A = Rotate Left D = Rotate Right X = Active Defense Shield Mouse = Roll/Pitch Left Mouse Button = Fire Missiles Gunner PositionMouse = Look (for chain-gun only) Left Mouse Button = Fire Right Mouse Button = Switch between chain-gun and tv-missile F1 = Pilot Seat F2 = Gunner Seat F9 = Inside View with Cockpit/Inside View without Cockpit F10 = Outside View (In front of aircraft) F11 = Outside View (Behind the aircraft) F12 = Fly-by Cam Seats and Weapons SystemsEach gunship has two seats. The primary (F1) position is the pilot’s seat. The pilot (duh) pilots the craft and has semi-heat seeking missiles at his/her disposal. These rockets load 10 at a time, and there are 6 rounds of rockets, for a total of 60 rockets. Unlike the attack helicopters in Battlefield 2, which alternated firing between left and right for each rocket, the gunships in Battlefield 2142 fire all the rockets on one side and then all the rockets on the other side. For the EU UD-6 Talon, the rockets fire from the left side and then from the right, and on the PAC Type 4 Doragon, the rockets fire from the right side and then from the left. The secondary (F2) position is the gunner position. The gunner has two weapons at their disposal, a chain gun fixed to the front of the gunship, and a tv-guided missile. The chain gun has unlimited ammunition and there are 8 tv missiles when the gunship is fully loaded. The chain gun makes short work of infantry and the tv-guided missile is a powerful anti-vehicle weapon. The tv missile is controlled simply by moving the mouse in the direction you want it to go. This is not as easy as it sounds, however, as the missile moves incredibly fast and is highly sensitive to even the smallest movement of the mouse. As such, the tv missile is not as easy to use against air targets as it was in Battlefield 2. Your best bet when trying to take down an enemy air vehicle with the tv missile is to wait patiently until your pilot is directly behind the vehicle and both are flying relatively straight. Be advised though that this is most likely when the pilot will attempt to shoot down the aircraft and you may waste a missile.
Gettting the GunshipAt the start of each round assume there is at least one other person who is headed for that gunship and head for it ASAP. That means do not customize your soldier, pick whoever you want and spawn immediately at the spawn point containing the gunship. If you are shot down you can then take the time to customize your soldier as the gunship take approximately 45-60 seconds to respawn. In Titan mode, the gunship always spawns on your titan. On all Conquest maps containing gunships except Sidi Power Plant, the gunship is found in your back and/or uncap base. The Conquest maps containing gunships are Suez Canal, Minsk, Verdun, Shuhia Taiba, and Sidi Power Plant. In Sidi Power Plant (64 player) the gunship is not initially available. There is only one gunship for the whole map. You must capture the center flag to make the gunship spawn on the helipad just south of the flag. If you are good at flying the transport ship get in one fast and fly directly to the center flag. If not, hop in a FAV and drive as fast as you can to the middle flag. Don't forget to exhaust the turbo boost on the straightaways or out of corners.
The Gunship's Damage StatsNote: Damage stats have been updated to reflect the changes to the tv missile and chaingun in patch 1.25 Gunship vs. Walker:Pilot’s Missile: 5 hp of damage per missile. 17 missiles will bring the walker down to 15hp at which point the walker will eventually tip over even if you try to repair it, and 20 will kill it instantly. Gunner’s Chain Gun: No damage whatsoever Gunner’s TV Missile: One tv missile will set the walker on fire and it will explode a few seconds later.
Gunship vs. TankPilot’s Missile: 10 hp of damage per missile, so one full load of 10 missiles will kill a tank, and 9 will set it on fire. Contrary to popular belief, the pilot’s missiles do not do extra damage if they hit the back of the tank, like other weapons in the game, so feel free to engage the tank from whatever direction you like. Obviously attacking from the rear is still the wisest decision as it gives you the element of surprise. Gunner’s Chain Gun: No damage whatsoever Gunner’s TV Missile: One tv missile will set the tank on fire and it will explode a few seconds later.
Gunship vs. APCPilot’s Missile: As far as I can tell, the pilot’s missiles do anywhere from 7-10 hp of damage per missile, depending on where you hit the APC. More damage appears to be done when you hit the side of the APC. However, in my experience, one full load (10 missiles) of direct hits on an APC will kill it instantly. Gunner’s Chain Gun: No damage whatsoever Gunner’s TV Missile: 75 hp per tv missile, regardless of where you hit it.
Gunship vs. GunshipPilot’s Missile: 15 hp of damage per missile, so 6 of them will leave the enemy gunship with 10 hp and it will catch fire, and 7 will destroy it instantly. Gunner’s Chain Gun: One bullet does 3 hp of damage. 4-5 seconds of continuous chaingun fire will destroy an enemy gunship. Gunner’s TV Missile: 100 hp per tv missile. A direct hit is an instant kill against an enemy gunship.
Gunship vs. FAV (car)Pilot’s Missile: 33 hp of damage per missile, so 3 of them will destroy an enemy FAV. Gunner’s Chain Gun: One bullet does approximately 7 hp of damage. One second of continuous chain gun fire causes approximately 70 hp of damage, so less than 2 seconds of chaingun fire will destroy a FAV. Gunner’s TV Missile: 100 hp per tv missile. A direct hit is an instant kill against an enemy FAV.
Gunship vs. Air TransportPilot’s Missile: 10 hp of damage per missile, so 9 of them will set an enemy transport on fire and 10 will make it explode. It seems there is a weak spot on the transports. If you get a direct hit inside the cargo hold, a missile seems to cause 55 hp of damage but I cannot confirm this. Gunner’s Chain Gun: Firing until the gun overheats and hitting every shot will take off approximately 95 hp and the transport will explode a second later. However, the cargo hold is a weak spot on the transport and if you can hit every shot inside the cargo hold the transport will explode before the chaingun overheats. Gunner’s TV Missile: 100 hp per tv missile.
Gunship vs. Fixed AA TurretPilot’s Missile: 23 hp of damage per missile, so 5 of them will destroy an enemy AA turret. Gunner’s Chain Gun: Causes very little damage to the turret but can easily kill the guy inside. Firing until the gun overheats only causes 45 hp of damage. Gunner’s TV Missile: 100 hp per tv missile. A direct hit is an instant kill against an enemy AA turret.
Gunship vs. Titan GunPilot’s Missile: 15 hp of damage per missile, so 7 of them will destroy an enemy titan gun. Gunner’s Chain Gun: Causes only slight damage. Gunner’s TV Missile: 100 hp per tv missile. A direct hit is an instant kill against an enemy titan gun.
Damage Stats To the Gunship
Part TwoMain RoleThe main role of the gunship is air support and air suppression. You are the best defense against enemy gunships that will decimate your armor and infantry. Eliminate the other gunship, and your team can move about the map more easily, capping flags or silos, until the gunship respawns. Once you have taken the enemy gunship out, you should focus on eliminating air transports that are flying around capping flags or silos. If there are no air transports to eliminate, you should focus on APCs and tanks, but leave walkers alone unless you see they are very low on health. If one of your teammates is attacking a walker, you can strafe the walker quickly with your missiles or if you have a gunner, line him up for a tv missile shot, or both. The walker should be distracted by your teammate, but do it quickly. Once done, quickly get out of there before the AA guns on the walker find you. Supporting Roles
Tactics and StrategiesFlyingEver seen Terminator 2? Remember the HK Hunter/Killers and how low to the ground they could fly? You can do the same thing. The gunships in Battlefield 2142 are incredibly stable 3 feet off the ground. Use this to your advantage by flying low behind small hills where AA fire can’t lock onto you. Or whiz along the road at 600 km/h just for thrills. Watch out for trees and lampposts though. Conversely, you can also fly incredibly high in a gunship, and you should. Up high you are very difficult to spot and AA guns have a harder time locking on to you and hitting you. In general I prefer to fly high and only descend to make a kill or help my team capture or defend an outpost. Try to stay towards the edges of the map unless you have a specific target to go after. Never fly aimlessly through the middle of the map, especially low to the ground. Entering a Battle ZoneWhen entering a battle zone, be aware that you do not know everything that is going on. Be cautious. Where is that enemy gunship? Are the AA turrets manned? If you get a lock-on tone, hit “X,” and fly up and get out of there. Re-assess the situation and if needed move to a new position or re-enter the battle zone with a new strategy for dealing with the source of that lock-on tone. Don’t “be a man” and ignore that lock-on tone. You will just die and cost your team the use of the valuable gunship for 90 seconds. Even Superman has his kryptonite. Check Your SixWhat separates the great pilots from the dead pilots is how often they check their six (rear.) Even if you have the PDS-1 slapped on your gunship, you should make it a habit to check your six every five to ten seconds. No matter what your setup, mouse and keyboard, just keyboard, or joystick, you should have the button for cockpit view (F9) and rearview (F11) binded somewhere easy to reach so that you can be constantly checking your six. Be StealthyThe element of surprise is the biggest advantage you can have on the battlefield. Use stealth to sneak around behind your enemy, line yourself up for a sure shot, and unload as quickly but as accurately as possible before the enemy can put up their shields. If you are gunner do not shoot your chaingun at your enemy as your pilot is positioning himself. You will simply alert the enemy to your presence. This is especially true against armor, where your chaingun does nothing. Against other air assets, where your chaingun deals extensive damage, be patient, and only fire your chaingun when your pilot is in position and ready to fire. Otherwise you will let the enemy pilot know you are there early and ruin the element of surprise. Gunship vs. GunshipIn air combat there are three possible positions for you to be in, defensive, neutral, and offensive. Defensive is when the enemy has a shot at you and you must take evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit. Neutral is when neither aircraft has a viable shot. Offensive is when you are in a position to shoot down your enemy. Obviously the offensive position is the most desirable. When in a defensive position your primary objective is to take evasive maneuvers in order to move into a neutral position, or if possible an offensive position, though this is not usually possible and you should just be glad to move into a neutral position. When in a neutral position you should then try to lose your enemy if you have just come out of a defensive position or move into an offensive position. DogfightingDOES NOT EXIST ANYMORE!!! This cannot be over-emphasized. If you are a veteran jet pilot from Battlefield 2 you have a whole new set of skills to learn. The gunships’ unwillingness to do a barrel roll in 2142 ruins any chances of dogfighting, and the addition of the hover capability gives a huge advantage to the pilot who best utilizes it. The gunship can still do loops and holding "s" (hover) while tilting your nose back does a sort of stationary backflip where you lose little altitude. However, hovering means that you no longer have to follow your enemy aircraft through all those loops and turns they do to try and lose you. Hover, watch them as they twist and turn uselessly, and follow them through all their maneuvers. Be warned though, don’t hover for too long, as a hovering gunship is an easy target for all kinds of ground vehicles. Circumference TurnsImagine a flag or combat zone. Now imagine a rough circle drawn around it. If you can hover following that imaginary circle while maintaining your front facing the battle zone, you have 100% dominance over that area, meaning there are very few places your enemy can hide. To do a circumference turn, or circumference hover, which by the way is sometimes called maintaining a diameter among many other terms, hold “S” to hover and either “A” or “D” depending on which way you want to circle, clockwise or counter-clockwise. Hold the mouse the opposite direction of the direction you are turning. In other words, if you hit “A” push the mouse right, and if you hit “D” push the mouse left. Also pull down a bit on the mouse. You will lose altitude but you will turn the circumference of the circle a bit faster, making you a harder target to hit. Practice this and in no time you will be racking up the kills and everyone will want to be your gunner. When flying and you want to quickly face in the opposite direction, slam “S” to cut your airspeed and use this trick to quickly face the opposite direction. This can be very useful when an enemy is behind you or when you swept in for a kill but didn’t quite get it and want to turn around quickly to finish them off. Evasive ManeuversEvasive maneuvers are much more difficult to achieve in Battlefield 2142 due to the lack of barrel rolls and immelman turns. A standard loop with some twisting can work, but veteran pilots will most likely be able to stay on you. Watch your tail, wait until they are lined up for a shot, and hit your shields to maximize their usage. When the shields are up, hit “S” and do a quick 180? using the circumference turn technique described above to turn and face your enemy. With some luck and a lot of practice the hunter will now become the hunted, and you will now be in the offensive position. If you are low on health and can't risk an encounter, a good evasive maneuver is a reverse immelman. Get up high, flip the gunship over, and start a reverse loop back down to earth. Normally gunships cannot right themselves and you will crash into the ground, but if you are high enough you can manage to pull a reverse immelman loop out of it, and you will be headed in the opposite direction you were originally flying in. If you are lucky your enemy will not be able to replicate what you just did and you will lose them, or they may crash themselves. But beware, they may also have spotted you using the Comma Rose and may be watching you on the minimap for the next few seconds until your icon disappears. In the Offensive PositionWhen attempting to shoot down an enemy aircraft remember that your missiles are semi-heatseeking. Get behind them or underneath them, near the hot jet exhaust, aim and unload. If you are close enough all of the missiles will find their way into the hot jet exhaust and give you a quick kill. Remember to try and use stealth whenever possible to move into position and quickly unload all of your rockets before they realize what is happening and put up their shields. Gunship vs. ArmorThis is the meat and potatoes of gunship piloting. Fully loaded tanks will give you two kills and fully loaded APCs will give you six incredibly satisfying kills. Don’t get too close to the APC or the tank though, or you will get EMP’d or worse, killed by a tank shell. You have the advantage here, because unless the driver has a PDS-1 slapped on his armor or a teammate has spotted you, you can easily close in on their six and quickly unload and kill them before they even know what is happening. The closer you are, the easier it will be for all of your missiles to hit. As you get better you will be able to aim from further away, increasing your lethality greatly. If you miss some shots and need to swoop in a second time, be cautious, as they now know you are there and will do everything they can to kill you before you kill them. Be wary as one of them may be an Engineer with a SAAW 86 who will be more than happy to hop out and unload two AA missiles into your freshly smoldering heap. In that case activate shields and get the hell out of there, or at least let them think you have left and come back when they least suspect it. Remember that armor are slow moving. Fly by, assess the situation, hit your rearview to watch them as you fly past, fly for at least five seconds, and then turn around. Don’t worry, they can’t have gone far. Check to see what approach you should make as you come back. Is the target behind some trees or a building which will make swooping down on it impossible from a certain angle? Fly around and make your approach count. Start of a roundAt the start of a round, be it Conquest or Titan, your number one priority is killing the enemy gunship so that your armor has a better chance of making it to flags/silos. Fly high, but not so high that you can’t see underneath you, and head for the spawnpoint of the enemy gunship. If you are lucky you will see it pass underneath you, in which case you should spot it with the “Q” button, immediately turn around, descend, get on its six, and destroy it. If it is flying at roughly the same altitude as you, it will see you and probably head straight for you. If so, activate your shields as it gets in range, and pray that you don’t collide. It is then up to your air-to-air combat skills to decide who will emerge victorious. Try to be aggressive and not get in the defensive position. Whatever you do, don’t run, as the enemy will simply follow you, get on your six and kill you. If you are having trouble finding the enemy gunship, do a quick fly-by over the enemy gunship spawn point to see if it is there. If no one on the team has taken it, and you are not playing Titan mode where the gunship is protected by the forcefield, destroy the gunship to put the enemy team at a significant disadvantage. Try to pass by every 90 seconds to keep denying your enemy the use of the gunship. If the gunship is not there and you still can’t find it, continuously check your six to make sure it is not tailing you, and wait. Eventually someone on your team will spot it for you. Try and stay towards the edges of the map, and fly high, so that AA guns will not be able to get you. Once the gunship is destroyed, your two priorities are enemy transport ships and enemy armor capping flags/silos. If you have a gunner you can also quickly eliminate any infantry in the area, though these are not your highest priority at the start of a round. Don’t forget about the gunship that will respawn soon and the enemy pilot who will be out for vengeance. Check your six often, even when the enemy gunship has been destroyed. Midway through a roundYour top three priorities are always gunships, air transports and armor, in that order, but later in a round, especially if you have a gunner, you can be of great help to your team in defending or capturing an outpost. Titan Shields Are DownWhen your team’s titan shields are down you should do routine passes over the back of your titan to check for enemy transports parked there. Also, once the shields are down your team tends to stay on the titan more to defend it. This allows the enemy armor easier access to silos. Don’t let them take those silos! Destroy the armor before it caps the silos or else you may face all five silos being in the hands of your enemy. If you are doing your job well, your team should hold an advantage of at least three silos to the enemy’s two. AA Lock-On Tone SoundsFLY UP!!! And don’t forget to activate your shield. It does nothing to counter the EMP of AA turrets and walkers but that is what flying high is for. The higher you fly, the further away from the source of the lock-on tone you get, and if the lock-on is coming from EMP, the higher you are the better chance you have of not crashing into the ground and not getting torn to shreds by AA fire. Countering the SAAW 86A persistent SAAW (shoulder-mounted AA missile) user is perhaps the most dangerous thing you can face on the battlefield. If you do not deal with the SAAW wielder they will continually cut your time in the gunship short. Find them and kill them with extreme prejudice. The best way to find them is to remember the approximate location of where they keep shooting you down. If they are continuously moving throughout the map you are in for a tough time, as this is possibly the hardest scenario a gunship pilot can face. If you notice that you keep getting shot down in the same area, take the gunship out for a flight over that area. Make sure there are no fixed AA emplacements manned by an enemy. If it is clear, turn around as if you are flying away from the area but hit your rearview camera (F11) so that you can see the area behind you. When you get the lock on tone, activate your shields and look to see where the SAAW missiles come from. When you see where they are, immediately turn the gunship around and dive straight for them. Time is of the essence here because the SAAW takes about 5 seconds to recharge but your shields take awhile longer. You must turn around and kill the person as fast as you can. Hopefully you will have a gunner. If so, the chaingun will make short work of them. If not, fret not. The missiles can still kill them. Get as close as you can to them and unload all ten missiles directly at them. Hopefully you will teach them a lesson not to mess with you, but always activate your shields when you hear that lock on tone and hit F11 as you are flying up and out of there to see if the lock on tone was AA EMP or a SAAW. If it was a SAAW, plan your approach back to that spot when your shields are recharged and eliminate the threat. GunningThe number one rule is: don’t ruin the element of surprise. Don’t just fire that chaingun because you have A.D.D and you’re bored. Jump out if you don’t want to be of any help. Beyond that you are at the mercy of the pilot. Hopefully he will line you up for some shots and do circumference turns to let you rack up the kills. Remember that your chaingun has a wide field of vision so look around and spot targets for your pilot. Here is a pic that should help pilots line up the gunner for better tv missile shots. Thanks to Jepzilla from TacticalGamer for the pic. Helpful Hints
That’s it. If you have any helpful additions to make please add them below and I will give you credit. Happy hunting!
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