I need some lessons from SAAW masters!

[Unzen]

Nailing tanks in the butt with a Pilum only carries so much amusement for a while. Having unlocked the SAAW some time ago, I'm after hunting a few gunships and transports instead.

But, I'm having trouble getting the 'knack' - in particular against the even moderately good gunship pilots.

I wait until the tone provides a lock-on and then fire the SAAW - keeping the mouse button held down all the way. Sure enough, the SAM goes after the gunship, but often starts circling it rather than hitting it and exploding it. On top of that, it takes SOOOOOOOOO LOOOOOOONNNNGGGG to get the lock, most gunships turn around on the spot and strafe me in a matter of seconds.

What am I doing wrong? :)

[Fingulfin]

Well, you don't have to hold down the mouse button anymore... The missiles are now fire and forget.

As for tips, I am sorry but I can't really help you... I suck with the SAAW vs aircraft, but I think it makes a MEAN shotgun for CQC :p

[sempf]

aim not scoped. get a better position defend it(mines) and try to lure them. wait till they flew over and then use your rockets.

[Unzen]

Cool - good tips guys!

[Killerus]

if you are tired of shooting tanks in the rear with pilum, try shooting the gunships with it instead :) One pilum shot is enough to kill a gunship. Most of the time the gunships get so close its rather easy to shoot them with the pilum. I love hitting them and have them fly away only to blow up like 5 seconds later.

I use the SAAW occasionally, but have much better luck downing gunships with the pilum.

[TheRealWolfgang]

The SAAW is great for those surprise kills, though. I've had a couple times where I fire the missiles off and nothing happens so I figured I missed, so I reload and start to walk away and all of a sudded I get two kills. I also shot a couple SAAW missiles at a passing transport only to have it fly past it and somehow locate the enemy gunship and kill it. I lol'd.

And yes it's fun busting up a gunship with the Pilum, but if you're not going to use the SAAW you're better off with the defaults (IMO) since you can make any error corrections necessary. But the SAAW allows you to harass gunships halfway across the map, and that's just such a fun feeling. :D

~Wolfgang

[Unzen]

Ah, Pilum gunship kills are great. And as you say Killerus - seeing them fly off and not eject quick enough..... BOOM! LOL!

Usually I whack the vehicle sensor on the silo I'm attacking and hunker down awaiting the vehicles returning. Nothing better than a slow approaching gunship, almost at eye level - waiting to strafe someone. Pop up...... HELLO..... Pilum straight into it.

[messfeeder]

I love pilum gunship kills.

[tonks950]

Well, you don't have to hold down the mouse button anymore... The missiles are now fire and forget.

As for tips, I am sorry but I can't really help you... I suck with the SAAW vs aircraft, but I think it makes a MEAN shotgun for CQC :p

I have to disagree with your point about the missile being fire-and-forget.

From the 1.25 patch notes • Improved SAAW missile tracking: The SAAW will now consistently track all airborne targets. The missiles still require visual lock to be maintained in order to seek targets.

Even though you aren't scoped you still need to at least face the SAAW in the general direction of the gunships in order for them to track.

[Fingulfin]

Weird, I fire and forget and everything goes fine...

[Dtneter]

yup same for me normally I randomly fire at the enemy titan or uncap and get in a vehicle and like 15 secs later I get a kill or 4 :P

or when I locked on a gunship but it moved away out of vision I also just shoot the other way but the rocket instantly tries to go for the gunship.

[DunNa]

Weird, I fire and forget and everything goes fine...

When people just fly in a straight line after you shoot you can basicly just let them go but if they turn much or anything you will generally not hit crap.

But you with holding down the button afterwards you can basicly have people doing loops and you'll still hit them eventually.

[Bradley]

The SAAW is great for those surprise kills, though. I've had a couple times where I fire the missiles off and nothing happens so I figured I missed, so I reload and start to walk away and all of a sudded I get two kills. I also shot a couple SAAW missiles at a passing transport only to have it fly past it and somehow locate the enemy gunship and kill it. I lol'd.

And yes it's fun busting up a gunship with the Pilum, but if you're not going to use the SAAW you're better off with the defaults (IMO) since you can make any error corrections necessary. But the SAAW allows you to harass gunships halfway across the map, and that's just such a fun feeling. :D

~Wolfgang


LOL I love harassing a gunship, even when it's beyond visual range you still see the lock on moving all over the place, with the guy trying to lose the lock.



Now here's a trick or two I know.

-Always shoot at it from the rear, if it turns toward you then the missile has like a 1/3 chance on hitting.

-Lock onto the gunship when it's far away, harrasing it, and it will end up flying all over the map. Which includes right into a perfect shot.


-Even an idiot pilot will know enough to fly low when he gets locked on. So when you shoot at a gunship, make sure that within the time it'll take to hit he can't get zig-zagging through buildings and mountains, ect... Or just find a well elevated position.


Oh and as mentioned, there is no more satisfying feeling then to take out a gunship with a rocket or a pilum.

Oh and that reminds me, I own gunships with tanks, always have since BF2. I love shooting em down with those 120mm cannons. So yeah, yesterday I was in the A8 Tiger (Type-32 sucks I always take em out) and this one idiot podded out of an APC, and I pretended not to see him about to land on me. Then I took a step out of the way and I pumped his a$$ full of lead with me BAUR, after that it was a battle for who could own who the most. And later I saw this gunship flying realy far away, starting a switf turn. So I though to my self, "Why not I got so much ammo". So I shot and WAAAAAM "You killed whoeveritmayconcern".

[TheRealWolfgang]

You got out of your tank to Baur a guy? That's risky, and I just know that would have backfired if I'd have tried that. He would have hopped in his tank and wtfpwned me with it. But then again BF hates me, so yeah. :salute:

~Wolfgang

[toek]

not a master, will tell you a few things ive found out, transport takes 3 to 4 rockets if not damaged. gunship only takes two, best results is when gunship
flies from left to right, or right to left from you, fire both rockets as soon as it
locks and you dont have to hold lock for them to hit. if there comeing right at
you rockets might hit, if there going away from you and they have any distance, one rocket might land. but just haveing a lock, sure makes them bug
out after ya shotem down a few times,lol

[Bradley]

You got out of your tank to Baur a guy? That's risky, and I just know that would have backfired if I'd have tried that. He would have hopped in his tank and wtfpwned me with it. But then again BF hates me, so yeah. :salute:

~Wolfgang


Nobody steals my tank :cool: I didn't lie but I accidently skiped a part in that story. I never got out of my tank.

[Twizzz]

The SAAW can change the pace of the battle. I've spawned in, in the middle of a few matches where the enemy's air power had free range and shut down any advances my team tried to make. With (as far as I know) one player equipped with the SAAW, the enemy's air craft had to play a bit more defensively . They were no longer allowed to fly freely. Their flight patterns dramatically changed from mid-level aggressive attacks, to low level flights with fairly unpredictable movements. Our team was allowed to move some armor and advance. Certainly not capable of single handedly winning the game (which we lost, by the way), but definitely a key part in helping the team move across the map.

Establishing a lock-on is sometime all that's needed to fend off a gun ship. They either immediately hit their shields or take evasive actions. Either way, they're not focusing in on targeting your team.

I usually fire a single rocket as soon as I get the lock-on signal, then fire the second rocket a few seconds later (while maintaing lock-on). In theory, if they immediately hit the shield when lock-on signals first established, the first rocket will not do any damage, but by the time the shields burn, the second rockets on it's way. They will either try to stay and fight, which after reloading, the third rocket will bring them down, or fly off for repairs. Keeping the skys clear long enough for your team to advance.

With two gun ships and two transports, there is plenty of work for a dedicated SAAW. Depending on the map, try to find a out-of-the-way and elevated position free from obstructions. Having to keep the air ships in the center of your screen to maintain the lock, even when reloading, has you vulnerable and an easy target for a sniper. Or, follow your squad in either a APC or a buggy, but stay off the front line, ready to defend your team against any enemy air craft attacks.

Gunships take two rockets, transporters take three or four. You can not lock on to empty air craft on the ground. And the rockets do no damage to armor.

[Unzen]

^^^^ - good reading there, Twizzz. All taken onboard and will hopefully be used!

It's funny. In the few times I've used it, the attitude of the the enemy flyers instantly changes (like you say) to a much more defensive role. Just disrupting their normal pwnage of armour and infantry, is enough to swing the battle back in your favour.

Just a shame you don't get many points fending them off!

[TheRealWolfgang]

Just a shame you don't get many points fending them off!

Which is one reason you don't see many SAAW dudes around. Well that, and unless people are being completely raped by aircraft most people will just spawn with AT instead. But yeah, the SAAW is a lot of fun to use.

~Wolfgang

[sempf]

i always use it except when i get raped with armor(in titan maps if i take a tank). i use standart AT wapons so i can pwn the gunship whores then. my favorite titan map has turned to highway tampa: 3 tanks at the beginning. it is awesome haveing a six man squad all on ts and pwning the enemies.

[Unzen]

On a slightly seperate note, does anyone know if and how many rounds it takes from a SAAW to destroy the titan turrets?

[sempf]

is that even possible? if so you need to have a dam good aim if it isnt guided. but it is a waste if you dont have any supllies leave the titangunspammers for guys in stationary aa

[Unzen]

I did wonder if it was possible - so long as the missile went straight-ish. Might be an interesting test, I think.

[Erhardt]

I haven't used the SAAW much... too tough in most cases to make kills with it, IMO, but one time I had an idea that paid off handsomely... playing Titan and as happens often, the Titans ended up hanging nose-to-nose. I tried getting some Titan AA kills but the guys on the other side knew how to dive straight down out of the hangar so I kitted for the SAAW, respawned, and podded over to their titan... only I didn't want to be a big fat target for any guys they had covering the top, so I came down on a lip on the very front, just below the hangar deck and hung out there with my SAAW... whenever a gunship took off and did his nosedive, I popped 'em.

Worked out really well (until I ran out of ammo, of course). =) I don't think anybody ever saw me, either. I think 6 of my 8 SAAW kills were from that round alone. =P

[Snakeyezzz]

<<loves my SAAW.......used to be a top of the leaderboard for kills at one time...still use it alot...but loves my tank more...LOL:D:laugh:

Ive never destroyed a titan turret with a SAAW..thats not what they are designed to do.....Pilum is the weapon to use for that and it takes 3 hits to knock one of those out.I dont know if anyone has mentioned this but.......the best time to knock out a gunship is when its leaving the hangar.....so get a good place to lurk where you have a nice clear view......Lock-on....and fire once it is justtt taking off...even if they countermeasure...it wont help em...it will eat thru the shield......kaboom!!!