As a reminder, friends: the air player isn't the only player who can build anti-air! Don't forget to build your own!
+5 / -0
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what somebody will hear from this: everybody get your AA-plate and make AA planes!!1!
+0 / -0
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Depends on map and number of players imo. Ground AA can only cover a limited area, so on a bigger map it may be inefficient for everyone to make some AA. On the other hand, a little ground AA support can really help in some situations.
+0 / -0
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I think the ideal is something like 70% your air player countering the enemy air player 20% your token ground AA pieces making it hard for the enemy air player to come into your area and not lose the air fight badly, 10% eventual completion of long-range ground AA making it possible for your air player to relax later in the game Relying only on fighter screens will let the enemy eventually win the air superiority fight, relying only on ground aa will just get you bombed by massive local overmatch or anywhere the AA isn't, and/or crushed on ground due to overinvestment, relying only on mega statics likely just gets them bombed before they are completed.
+3 / -0
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As an occasional air player I would say there are many units that are not AA specific but do a great job against air. I would name moderators, reavers, ogres and sumos as the worst culprits. Note: by PSA in the title you mean 'public service announcement’ ?
+1 / -0
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wait, air players making fighters? what is this? 2013? make bombers before someone plops a chainsaw mid map and hard locks you out of the game...
+0 / -1
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"Note: by PSA in the title you mean 'public service announcement’?" Close, but probably more accurate to say it's "public screwup announcement". The more you know ~~~
+0 / -0
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Ground air building flak is probably the most useful thing in the world in order to achieve ground superiority. Makes it easy for me to bait their air into a mess of flak!
+0 / -0
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Fun fact: 5 Ravens can kill a Chainsaw while only suffering one casualty.
+2 / -0
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And it takes more than one Likho to kill flak :(
+0 / -0
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I would stress that AA is not the only AA, as well. Plenty of units & structures double as "flex-AA," like the Newton, which can yank aircraft right out of the sky with the Pull function. Faradays have the effect of all but freezing planes in midair and stopping them from turning and running away. I've even seen Phantoms snipe bombers clean out of the sky because bombers move in a straight, predictable line and sniper shots are VERY fast.
+1 / -0
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Am I the only one who finds shooting stuff down with AA units to be incredibly satisfying? I'm not sure why, but having like 7 Gremlins melting a plane is just so much fun to me.
+1 / -0
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quote:
Am I the only one who finds shooting stuff down with AA units to be incredibly satisfying? I'm not sure why, but having like 7 Gremlins melting a plane is just so much fun to me. |
Maybe you're a vandal at heart.
+3 / -0
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I feel that Anarchid is about right. It's mostly the air player's duty to play overwatch and the nullify the enemy air. Ground AA greatly helps but unless you're investing in Artemis it won't stop a mass raid. The air player should not be fiddling with units or buildings on the ground ... he should be zoomed out and watching the movements of the enemy air and working on a plan to kill their fighter screen so that he can switch to bombers. There's nothing that pisses me off more than being in a frontline slogging match, and winning my lane when two enemy Likhos steam in and turn my army into wreckage ... and then looking to see where our air is and there's a cloud of our Raptors milling around directly over the air player's plate at the back. There's a few guys that do air right and when they are on song (Jummy, Swappan come to mind) they can turn a game single handed.
+3 / -0
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I think that the appropriate anti-air cover is pretty situational, and sometimes your air player can't help you very much. If your army is a bunch of Minotaurs and Cyclops that want to dive into enemy positions and even behind enemy lines, and the opponent has a decent amount of ground-based AA, you cannot really expect your air player to follow you in and get all their Swifts killed. You have to either bring your own AA or just absorb the damage from the bombers in that case. Even just dangling a Lance or something a bit too close to the front line can result in a Likho strike which your air player cannot do a lot about - the Likho is just not exposed for long enough, and chasing a Likho deep behind enemy lines to shoot it down is often not a winning proposition. If the other team has a Chainsaw or something covering the front line, your team's bombers may be able to get in now and then but it's not terribly practical for your teammate to fight a pitched air-to-air battle there, unless you also have substantial ground-to-air assets. Similar story against a gunship player with a bunch of Tridents.
+2 / -0
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There is no one universal air playing strategy. Every game air player should decide what to do. There is many strategies. Its possible win game even just trolling with phoenix in right game and right moment. Even one early disarm can win game. However there is one fundamental rule still - above all other things air player must scout and provide vision for his team. Even few radar planes can make radical difference. And every air player should note that late game air falls out as effective assault force in most games. Air playing is one of most serious task in game. In ZK there is few players who have truly mastered air play. And of course. Nothing start irritate like players who think that air players should only for them and they are chosen who can demand all air resources. And then yell after game - 'nub air'. Its mostly not even own team who decide how good their air played, its enemy team can. But in general - yepp, that's big problem that peoples on ground don't understand that air player can't in same time bomb, defend air and scout with radar planes because he have same limited resources like any other player.
+1 / -0
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Isn't it obvious? But the question is what is your intention of stating the obvious? If you are playing an team game and one did go air initially, that air is expected to cover the sky. You don't expect your team members to divert their already limited metal which subjectively base on their factory be either not effective or expensive, either way end up putting more burden on these players while they still need to push forward to expand and deal with resistance. In other words, your team members can build AA but that is not expected nor strategical sound at the start where time is of essence to expand and secure what can be secured. There is always priority in a team game.
+0 / -0
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i am not sure about mobile aa or razors, but a flak or a chainsaw always seems a good choice for a ground player as it gives the air player a good advantage, in particular the chainsaw due the long reach
+1 / -0
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quote:
In other words, your team members can build AA but that is not expected nor strategical sound at the start where time ... |
While this is true in most cases, I think it could be still strategically sound depending on situation (ex: multiple enemy air/gunship players, much better enemy air player).
+1 / -0
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how to AA: 1. make normal units as usual 2. when you see air make 4 defenders - the both protect vs ground and air 3. once front is set up make a chainsaw if air is a clear and present threat - ie they actually made bombers instead of fighters like a retard follow these 3 simple steps and the enemy air player will never even consider attacking you
+0 / -0
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