Usefulness of Helicoptors?

[hoeleng]

Not very sure what to use helicoptors for. they seem to be pretty weak against most units/structures and get easily destroyed. usually i use them only for scouting purposes as they can fly above land and sea.

anybody got any strategy on how to use them effectively?

[Ctulu]

Use them as a cav archer, take out civilians. And don't forget they have an attack bonus against tanks!

So you have 2 options: raid or as support unit in your regular army.
I also believe that they ar not a primary target (except for moving AA's and fighters), so you could take out more inf's/tanks with them in your army! I mean they can be taken out by long ranged inf's but the inf's would rather target other inf's in a mass battle!

Don't mass build them though, 4-5 should do the bussines!

[Flip McWho]

Helicoptors are the best tank destroyers that u can find. Many times i've mowed through a large group of tanks with only about 4-5 helicoptors before they got destroyed by the foot units on the ground.
If u see helicoptors heading for your tanks turn and run as fast as you can. Even with air defense they do some harm to your tank brigade.

Other purposes well en masse they can be quite useful for general invasion purposes (niDe did this in a game we recently had but i was already dead from an allies of his attacks and he was just flying around softening up cities and that stuff) but thats about it really they are only tank busters.

[hoeleng]

the thing about helicoptors is that they can be targeted by both air and land based defenses/troops. that really sucks.

[Flip McWho]

Yeah thats true the do suffer from being targetted by virtually everyone.

I usually build a few (like 4-5) and rush in their and take out the enemies tanks expecting to lose them all i just fear tanks more than the few resources that they cost to build. (well ok not that few but less than a tank, especially with the efficiency that they take tanks out with)

[niDe]

Helicopters are great. You can mow through plenty of armour with them. They are great for raiding oil wells and resource collection outposts because these are rarely guarded by anit-air, especially oil since it is usually out in the middle of nowhere.

So yeah, flying around with helicopters can quickly cripple your enemies economy.

[Signa]

But have just a few Air-to-Air mobile units in your armor (ie Tank) group and you can beat the helos no problem...

Helos are great raiders, as they can rule civies, caravans, and merchants; and on sea map take out fishermen. If you take them with your tanks (in an armor group) you truely rule as very little can harm you (no more Tanks beat Tank counterattacks).

[davepy]

They're also hunt subs. Great for backing up AC on coatal raids.

[UndyingFlame]

Yea - you can't forget the navy. I use helis as support troops, but sometimes i disengage them, go for a raid or two. They're also, strangely enough, excellent scouts. They're fast, versatile, and if used properly - deadly. I love helis.

[Bridger]

Heli's are great for anti-sub and anti-tank.

[Q Classic]

i find that five or six of them provide excellent support in the modern/information era in an invasion force, simply because they deal with enemy tanks so well.

[WoodenTaco]

I've always found them to be far superior to bazookas, since they cant be killed quickly by the normal infantry, unlike bazookas. And I've found that in SP at least the computer almost never builds mobile AA guns, so my helis are relatively safe. They are the best tank killers, no doubt about it.

[Signa]

Strange... the AIs I face seem to pump out as many AAs as they do tanks, but that probably is because I'm a fighter nut (i make like 50 a game).

[tetleytea]

Spies are awfully good anti-tank, too. Just cause tanks are so BIG. Easy to click on.

[Hendrik]

Brian Reynolds posted on another forum (I believe RoN Heaven) saying that they are considering changing how anti air and helis work, right now a heli will kill a tank in 2 shots, which is kind of ridiculous considering how sucky ground based anti air is. Fighters are nice but they can't hover over your troops.

A good invasion strategy in the modern age is to get your enemy to scramble his fighters with a bomber diversion force, then use cruise missles on his AA batteries or AA sites, then rape his tanks with some helis. There simply is no ground based counter to helis that can stop them from demolishing tanks in a hurry.