Launcher Success Stats

[dale08]

I'm wondering what the success rates are of all the lock on launchers. I've been using the Stinger to take down enemy airborne killstreaks however when targeting harriers or helicopter from far range it seems that it is more likely to be deflected into a random airspace, I can't see any flares popping out of it either.

Thanks guys.

[cptmacmillan]

The same for all. I've seen that happen with Javelins and AT-4s as well. Rather humerous with a Javelin, especially if it ends up curving all the way back around to hit the underside (Stingers can do it too and presumably AT-4s although at-4s aren't used enough to see it).

The reason it seems like it happens more often with a stinger is because the stinger is by far the most used for anti-air.

[mannon]

I've read that if a missile gets fired while another is in the air they can sometimes lock on each other. *shrugs*

[bshift]

So far I've had two odd experiences with launchers.

One being the completely missed shots even though I had lock-on with the Stinger. I've noticed this happens far more often if you die just as you launch a missile off. Probably has something to do with lag and the missile not having actually launched to the other players even though it appeared to on client-side. This is also exactly like when you're watching a killcam where you know you've fired a few shots before dying but on the killcam you were still turning towards them.

Second experience was also with the Stinger. The enemy had a Chopper Gunner and a Harrier up. They were close together, but the Chopper was out of LoS so I took a shot at the Harrier. Unexpectedly, the missile veered right off away from the Harrier, because the Chopper deployed it's flares. Moments later I get a +300 and a Harrier downed message. So I guess this is a little tip if you're faced with the decision of which Air Support to shoot down first. Go for the ones with no flares, as it'll trigger flares on nearby Air Support, but will still hit the original target, leaving you free to shoot down another one with flares in one life.

[sstedium]

My first post here, great board btw, it's nice to have some facts. I love a good fact rather than opinion.

With the exception of being shot by the Air support, I have not failed to have a stinger hit either a Harrier or a Cobra.
Apache's and AC130 are harder, Paves I tend to hide from as they are a bit more "aggressive" . I've been trying to get to the facts of shooting AC130/AH64 down and made a first vid on the subject which leaves loads of room for investigation. It was just a quick look with some friends and well below the standard for fact I would like.

It's here if you would like to see it but as I said it's not really a finished work yet.



cheers
you are my bro, bro.
(or is that strictly only to be applied to your first new thread rather than post...)

[chip sandwich]

Sometimes I notice that my javelins just whiff. I fire at harriers, chopper gunners and AC-130s but don't see anything. It's like the missile just disappears.

[acidsnow]

I've gotten a double aircraft kill against a Harrier and some Heli (forgot which it was) when I shot a Stinger and the two aircraft were close together. ...And I've had probably 4 Stingers miss my targets by just a few feet :\

[novanleon]

I've noticed some odd Stinger behavior before too. Particularly when firing from longer ranges, sometimes they miss unexplainably even though supposedly "locked on", and no flares were visible.

Something cool did happen the other day though. There were two enemy harriers up in the same location and my teammate used a stinger to down one of the harriers and ended up getting both of them with one shot. Interesting.

[calstap]

Dec 16, 2009 11:56:40 GMT -5 novanleon said:

There were two enemy harriers up in the same location and my teammate used a stinger to down one of the harriers and ended up getting both of them with one shot. Interesting.

Ive done this too, in favela 2 harriers were half inside each other and i took em down with single stinger missile.

[mdnl]

A few weeks back me and my mate shot between us 6 stingers at the 1 Harrier on Highrise and none hit, they where going very off course as if there was flares going off every time.

[smokemaxx]

My hypothesis is it has something to do with sloppy aiming after the lock-on. I always assumed that "lock on" meant definite hit so I'd move my reticle a bit off-target before the launcher fired. Even stingers, which require lock-on, still fired. However, not aiming correctly (or having the plane move during my launch) caused the missile to miss. Anyone able to confirm this?

[yurdletheturtle]

Here's what actually happens (from personal experience):

When an air support vehicle releases its flares, the missile that was locked on to it will miss, no matter what. This is displayed as the missile phasing through objects and curving its path away from the vehicle. At certain ranges, this can look really odd as you'll see the missile randomly and rapidly swerve away from its target, ignoring the laws of physics.

It also explains why the missile "disappears" when you're firing at close range or underneath the air support vehicle.

As for success rates, Stingers are the best anti-air weapons. They get 2 missiles off the bat, pull out relatively quickly, and reload relatively quickly. If anything, the 2 missiles are worth it, since it allows you to take out attack choppers and Harriers (they only have one flare) by yourself, or waste the 2 flares of a Pave Low or AC-130.

[smokemaxx]

I think you're failing to understand the situation. Missiles miss when no flares come out. Not only that, but locked on missiles miss Harriers that don't emit flares. I missed a harrier 4 times in a row with locked-on stinger missiles. Even if it DID have flares, the flares don't last that long AND it doesn't have four sets of flares.

[mw0swedeking]

i had this problem a lot with the ATH-4s, which REALLY suck... even with danger close it won't take out a harrier, come on! But I don't know if it's EVER happened to me with a stinger, so I don't know.

Here's a question though. If two people fire at the same time at a vehicle with flares, does it deploy 2 flares, or does one deflect both missiles? As in if three people fired at the same moment could they take out an ac130?

[hobbert]

i almost never miss with the stingers.
but whenever i move or jump or try to sprint a immediatley after i shoot it it misses almost all the time

[mannon]

The Apache actually has the same health and flares as the cobra, but it does seem harder to shoot down as it seems to fly more erratically and lower, going behind obstacles more often.

I don't think your aim after lock on has a lot to do with whether or not you'll hit the target unless maybe you aim really far off target forcing the missile to take a long curved path to target which could theoretically give it a greater chance to miss, particularly if it can't turn fast enough to get back on target.

Although I wonder if you could actually make a missile miss but curve back around to hit the chopper on purpose. If you could reproduce that behavior you might be able to get the aircraft to use it's flares but keep the missile in the air long enough to reacquire after the flare is used up. I kinda doubt it would work, but would be fun to try. hehe

The Jav has a chance to ignore flares, but it's so random that Stingers are definitely the better anti air weapon.