Battlefield Play4Free Helicopters Guide

Battlefield Play4Free Helicopters Guide by cvwalker

Introduction:

So here goes, this is my first BFP4F Guide so feel free to leave feedback. Ok, a little backround. I started playing Battlefield back in the 1942 days and have played ever since(except for 2142). I have to say Bf2 was my favourite before now. After seeing many heli pilots scoring high in Bf2, I decided that it was worth the time it took to master the heli. By the way, that was my first piece of advice-the heli takes time to master. Oh, and pay no attention to typos…. (no i didnt win the spelling bee in grade school).

This guide does not assume these are the only legitimate strategies or the only way of doing things. It is simply advice to new players at flying the heli. Like I said earlier if you as expert pilot have any suggestions pm me or leave a reply. On to the guide!

I.Info and Basics

A.General Helicopter Info
1. US Attack Heli
[Image: UsAttackHeli-1.png]

  • Pilot and Copilot positions
  • Pilot-light(15) and heavy(2) rockets
  • Copilot-cannon(25) and tracer dart(1)
  • 800 Armour Points

2. Rus. Attack Heli
[Image: RuAttackHeli-1.png]

  • Pilot and Copilot positions
  • Pilot-light(15) and heavy(2) rockets
  • Copilot-cannon(25) and tracer dart(1)
  • 800 Armour Points

3. US Transport Heli
[Image: UsTransportheli-1.png]

  • Pilot,Sidegunner,and Passenger positions
  • Pilot and Passengers- have no weapons
  • Sidegunners-Twin Chainguns
  • 1000 Armour Points

4. Rus. Transport Heli
[Image: RuTransportHeli-1.png]

  • Pilot,Sidegunner,and Passenger positions
  • Pilot and Passengers- have no weapons
  • Sidegunners-Twin Machineguns
  • 1200 Armour Points

5. US Light-Attack Chopper

  • Pilot and Passenger positions
  • Pilot-Twin Miniguns(220)
  • Passengers-personal armament
  • 500 Armour Points

6. Rus. Light-Attack Chopper

  • Pilot and Passenger positions
  • Pilot-Twin Miniguns(220)
  • Passengers-personal armament
  • 500 Armour Points

B.Other Helicopter Info
Currently in bfp4f, you will only be able to fly the helicopters on three of the seven maps. The other maps do not have a helicopter that spawns on them. The three maps that the heli spawns in are Dragon Valley, Dalian, and Oman. Hopefully the next map will include helicopters!

On Dragon Valley each team recieves one transport and and one attack chopper that spawn in each teams respective base. Dragon Valley is also the only map that the light-attack heli spawns on. This heli spawns at base “B” when one team has the base captured. Remember that only light helicopter will spawn at a time so if you capture the base, but someone is already in the light helicopter you will have to wait until they die to get in it.

On Oman, the Russian side start with one attack heli and one transport heli at their base. The US team start with one attack heli and one transport heli on the Carrier. On some battles the US recieves a second attack heli, also on the carrier.

On the last map, Dalian, one attack heli spawns at each teams home base(for the US its the carrier). There are several interesting things about ths map. The first is that the russian chopper has no sound(yes, this is a bug and has been reported). Secondly, your helicopter will not repair at the heli pad if you do not have a specific base(“A” for US, and “D” for Russia). Last of all this is the only map where both teams have a chance for two attack helis at the same time.

C.AA Placements
1.Oman- Base “A”,”D”, Home bases
2.Dalian- Base “A”,”D”, Home bases
3.Dragon Valley- Home bases

II.Training Points

A.Best Build
-(one pictured)This is the maximum number of points that you spend on the helicopter currently..(Total # of pts. you need = 13)
B.My Build
-The same build as above with 2 less points in “Ground Crew Support”. I’d rather save some of my points for other suff then spend them on +10% repair speed. Just my two cents worth, its really up to you.(Total # of pts. you need = 11)

[Image: TrainingPoints-2.png]

III.Control Scheme

A.Default Controls
-These are the original settings that came with the game. I use these controls as I am used to the keyboard.

[Image: DefaultControls-1.png]

B. Other Options
1.Joystick- More Info on this Here
2.Xbox/Playstation/Gamepad- More Info on this Here

IV.Attack Priorities

-These are just some generalizations based on the average players skill. This is by no means the exact order that should be followed in every situation. Obviously you should start by confronting whatever you deem is the biggest threat to you. In the Next section I will give you advice on each priorities and the best way to take it out. On to the list.

1.Enemy AA Implacements(dont worry about these on Dragon Valley as they are only at the bases)
2.Enemy Attack Helicopter(or light attack chopper)
3.Enemy Tank/APC
4.Enemy Cars/Transport Helicopter
5.Groups of Enemy Infantry
6.Enemy “Lone Wolves”

A skilled player, in say, the Attack helicopter can easily bump that to the number one spot. Or a good APC driver can do the same. So always go for the person that poses the most threat to you.

V.Tactics

A. AA Emplacements
You know that a enemy AA is targeting you by this symbol and a warning note. As soon as you here the sound of an AA targeting you wait about one second and then realse you flare. While you are doing this attempt to locate where the Enemy AA is and put a piece of cover between you and the emplacements. This involves skill, so dont be dicouraged if you get shot down several times.

On Oman you are looking to get behind the Hotel, Warehouse, Hills, or one of the palm trees. Doing this will cause most missle to hit a object in the way and the AA to lose a “LOCK” on you.
On Dragon Valley the cover is harder to find, so your best bet is to fly low and fast away from the AA. Dalian you have the two big reactor towers…..Smile

Now that was how to avoid being hit by the AA, but eventully you are going to have to kill the operator. In order to do this you must be pretty close. Wait until you have your flares have reloaded and fly low toward the AA, behind cover whenever possible. Try to attack from an unexpected angle. Once close enough you will be able to pop up from behind cover and begin firing missiles at the AA. If you are a good shot with the missle and are moving slow use the light missiles, otherwise use a heavy missile.

B.Attack Helicopters
Next to an AA, the attack chopper will shoot you down the fastest. Always be on the lookout for these buggers. When sighted be sure to Spot. Also turn up the video setting to the highest possible setting your computer will run. This will enable you to see where the heli is at extended ranges. Once spotted(or better yet, at the same time) gain altitude. This allows you to attack from above, avoiding the tracer on the enemy heli. Also this allow you to do some of the advanced actions discussed later in the guide. Begin to move closer to the enemy heli firing one or two of your light missiles to see where you are shooting in relation to the targeting reticle. Be sure to lead the chopper in which ever direction it is currently flying. Once you are get several hit on the chopper you should be fairly close. At this point you begin firing missles more rapidly. Then you are very sure of a hit fire the two heavy missiles. If all goes well you should see “KILLED ENEMY +50” and “DESTROYED VEHICLE +50”. If not you might think about doing a Split-S or Barrel Roll. Continues to try to avoid the front of the enemy heli while still firing missiles at it.

The most important thing is to practice against a moving target. Mastering this aspect of the chopper takes time so keep at it!

C.Tanks and APCs
In this category the threat posed is largely dependent on the skill of the driver. Anyone who is not a total noob can still do large amounts of damage. Also because of the high health and improved armour skills for the respective vehicles, it can be challenging to kill them in one pass.

A key thing to remember here is that unlike infantry which can look straight up, the armour has a limited field of view. So after completing a attack run if you stop directly above the armour and rise straight up the driver will be unable to shoot at you. Keeping this in mind it is wise to start your attack run from a high angle and end at a high angle. The tank’s “unviewable area” is slightly larger then the APC’s as the tanks turret does not rotate as high. Also the APC has six high damageing rounds thereby increasing the chance of a hit. The tank on the other hand has only one highly damaging round, its main gun. This is not as effective due to the tanks low turret angle and the fact that its main weapon has a long reload time. That being said if the operator does manage to hit you it will deal an impressive 395 damage to your attack heli and will one-hit kill your light aatck heli. APC’s on the other hand only deal 60 damage to transport heli,80 some to the attack heli, and 120 to the light attack heli.

The best way to combat the armour in BFP4F is to attack from the side which will present you with the largest target. As with the attack heli open up your attack with some light missiles then as you are sure of a hit work in some heavy missiles.

D.Transport helis and Cars
These do not pose much of a treat to you but give you very good XP. The transport heli is THE largest target on the game and has the most health. This means you can blast away and get up to 1000 xp plus the ponts for however many people were inside of the chopper and bonus points for destroyed vehicle and multikill. Cars give you points in a much different way. Unlike the chopper they are not a sinkhole for points. The cars because of their low health can be taken out with on heavy missile fired in the general area giving you any where between 0-400 points(plus kills) depending on the current health of the vehicle.

Cars and transport helis are also good points because many times they have multiple units in them. This can really add up quick as you get points for destroying the vehicle and for multiple kills(+50 for 2,+75 for 3, and +100 fro 4+ kills).

The most important thing to remember is to lead the cars a long ways. This is because the cars are moving fast at full speed. If the car is moving try a big missile but if it is still try to use several light missiles. With transport helis it is the exact opposite. Heavy missiles for still targets, light for moving targets.

VI.Advanced Manuevers

These manuevers are very useful for dodging missiles and and/or getting to an advantageous position. These are range in level of difficulty,but most are challening so dont be dicouraged if you find yourself wrecking alot. I suggest you find a empty server to practice these moves on so that your team do not get upset with you.

A.Barrel Roll
A move useful for dodging missiles.
[Image: barrelroll.png]

B.Split-S
A move that allows you to dodge missiles and get behind the enemy heli.
[Image: Imelman.png]

C.????
I have no idea what this move is called. This allows you to gain altitude while still aiming up. Useful if you find yourself below the enemy chopper. Be carful because you will also go backwards while doing this move.
[Image: up.png]

VII.Advice

A.Computer
Very simple- dont try to use the helis if you have a slow/bad computer. This will lead to crashing/missing a target/ramming other helis/general waste of a helicopter. Also make sure only to play on servers to which you have a good conection to. Also you really need to have the drw distance up as high as possible as this enables you to

B.Practice
The best place to practice general piloting skills is a almost empty or empty server. This enables you to get the chopper and fly around with out having teamates get mad at you, people tring to steal the chopper from you, and the other team shooting at you.
Eventully you will want to practice dodging enemy missiles,planes,helis,etc. I suggest to get on a server where it is not only air maps because that is where the hardcore pilots hang out and you will have trouble getting good time in the chopper.
Another good idea is to pick up a copy of bf2 for cheap on amazon or ebay. Bf2 has a single player mode in which the helis preform in much the same way as on Bfp4f. There might also still be the bf2 demo for free some where.

C.Game Start Strategy
As you begin the game seek out the enemy attack heli. This will get rid of your of your number one threat and allow you to focus on the ground troops and rack up those kills. Then you will want to focus on any other imediate threats to you. On your way to confront the enemy heli you may want to stop and assist your team and capture a base.

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