I recall a video interview in which one of the devs openly stated that they didn't want to make ground-based AA a hard counter for air, to avoid turning any hex with AA in it into an automatic no-fly zone. The goal, as I recall, was to make it a way to kill people who are stupid or take risks (hovering in a Lib, doing a low & slow rocket run, etc.) without instagibbing any fliers in range. He also specifically said that the thing they want to see countering Air-to-Ground is Air-to-Air; a fighter set up with missiles and so forth rather than an AA Max.
No thats not what I meant.
A Hovering Lib is NEVER in danger due to their height and their armour...
A ESF can get out of range/sight of a AA Max at least 90% of the time unless alone. This is cause when an AA Max can not see all the sky (outside) the ESF can disappear behind the building and into the distance, if he is alone though the Max is free to move around outside without fear from other ESF coming along and popping him easily...
To be honest though even a Hovering ESF can disappear well before an AA Max could make use of his Bursters (the moment he is hit he disappears) or hears the lock on start from a AA Rocket. If its not a flyer though the ESF is compleatly safe all the time...
Saying that Air can only be counted by Air is the dumbest thing they can ever choose cause then it will result in what is happening now, Air dominating due to the fact they can Kill Ground with little worries and Swarms coming that can not be removed due to their ability to disappear and reappear fully repaired, which also means you need to have as many or MORE Aircraft to match them cause smaller numbers will be picked off easily...
Let me put it even more clearly. If I have the ability to shoot down an ESF with a Rocket cause its let itself be Locked on and they don't have flares or get behind a bit of terrain before it hits. I EXPECT IT TO EXPLODE FFS. I don't want to see a dink, Punish the people that take Risks and hover there like it should heck... Look at this Trailer...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlJieqRMngcAt the time of 35secs or so you see two Scythes fly past an AA HA. The one on the right is locked on as you can tell, not the left which is damaged. IT BLOWS UP IN ONE HIT...
Do you know why, cause all it fucking did was fly in a straight line in the open skies at a low altitude giving the AA HA plenty of time to lock onto it.
THAT IS WHAT I WANT...
I don't want to Trail a ESF for 10 Seconds trying to keep it in the damn lockon sight to only get the damn thing to half health and watch it bug out into the distance before I can even get a second lock on, if I wanted to shoot rockets, I would stick with the basic and shoot at tanks, they at least make sense when you shoot them with rockets, they can't up and disappear into the sunset like ESF can and they have a good reason to be able to take a few rockets, unlike and ESF that should be made of Light Weight Metals and not covered in 1000thick armour which just gets dented when a rocket hits it...
I just expect to be able to Punish the Risk taking flyers that is all I want. I want to see them go down in one hit cause they let me hit them...
They can pop me from above without me knowing, they get alerts if they get targeted damn it...
One Battle was totally decided by a swarm of Mozzies, a couple of Libs and a single squad of infantry today, the Mozzies had us unable to move while the Infantry sat on the points. Libs were bombing the doors and Mozzies were blowing up everything that came to help..
. Nothing anyone on the ground could do to remove even half of them...