How I see AA vs Aircraft...

[Figment]

Note: Flak = relatively low projectile speed, quantative gun, requires large numbers of hits out of big clip => Must lead target well and predict evasion moves.

Burster MAX advantage: Free, rooftops
Dual Burster MAX advantage: Rooftops
Lightning advantage: Larger clip, mobility, endurance

No Fly Zone (300m):
Burster MAX:
Perfect TTK on Aircav: 5s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 75% < X < 100%
Expected TTK: 5s - 6.6s (deterent)

Perfect TTK on Liberator: 12s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 85% < X < 100%
Expected TTK: 12s - 14.1s (PLUS TWO RELOADS) (deterent)

Dual Burster MAX:
Perfect TTK on Aircav: 2.5s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 75% < X < 100%
Expected TTK: 2.5s - 3.3s

Perfect TTK on Liberator: 6s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 85% < X < 100%
Expected TTK: 6s - 7.1s (PLUS RELOAD!)

Lightning Skyguard Turret:
Perfect TTK on Aircav: 2.5s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 75% < X < 100%
Expected TTK: 2.5 - 3.3s

Perfect TTK on Liberator: 6s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 85% < X < 100%
Expected TTK: 6s - 7.1s (NO RELOAD!)

Dangerzone (600m):
Burster MAX
Perfect TTK on Aircav: 5s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 45% < X < 75%
Expected TTK: 6.6 - 11.1s

Perfect TTK on Liberator: 6s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 60% < X < 85%
Expected TTK: 14.1s - 20s (PLUS TWO RELOADS!) (deterent)

Dual Burster MAX
Perfect TTK on Aircav: 2.5s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 45% < X < 75%
Expected TTK: 3.3s - 5.6s

Perfect TTK on Liberator: 6s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 60% < X < 85%
Expected TTK: 7.1s - 10s (PLUS RELOAD!)

Lightning
Perfect TTK on Aircav: 2.5s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 45% < X < 75%
Expected TTK: 3.3s - 5.6s

Perfect TTK on Liberator: 6s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 60% < X < 85%
Expected TTK: 7.1s - 10s (NO RELOAD!)

Risk Zone (750m):
Burster MAX
Perfect TTK on Aircav: 5s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 25% < X < 45%
Expected TTK: 11.1s - 20s

Perfect TTK on Liberator: 6s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 45% < X < 60%
Expected TTK: 20s - 26.7s (PLUS TWO/THREE RELOADS!) (deterent)

Dual Burster MAX
Perfect TTK on Aircav: 2.5s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 25% < X < 45%
Expected TTK: 5.6s - 10s

Perfect TTK on Liberator: 6s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 45% < X < 60%
Expected TTK: 10s - 13.3s (PLUS RELOAD!)

Lightning
Perfect TTK on Aircav: 2.5s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 25% < X < 45%
Expected TTK: 5.6s - 10s

Perfect TTK on Liberator: 6s @ 100% accuracy
Expected accuracy: 45% < X < 60%
Expected TTK: 10s - 13.3s (POSSIBLE RELOAD!)




As you can see, I expect aircraft to try and dodge AA constantly. By reducing their accuracy with AoE weapons, they'd be forced to get into dangerous AA ranges, where few AA units are needed to create local umbrellas in order to allow the majority of a squad to focus on ground threats. Ground units (especially close range units) would be required to clear AA. As aircraft would and should have a hard time doing that with low accuracy.


Above a certain flight level, aircraft are free to do as they please and dogfight as well as escape G2A, but are highly ineffective against smaller ground targets at longer ranges. This due to increased spread and reduced AoE radii, therefore severely reduced accuracy.



By reducing the rate of fire of the Liberator's heavy guns, it is more suited to take on larger units, bombard outposts without slaughtering and infantry and AA units get more time to find shelter or grab AA. This should encourage Liberators to be more about support and suppression fire, rather than camping and killwhoring fire. Larger groups of Liberators in this situation would not by default cause camp issues either. The low accuracy and lower rate of fire would however allow for regular size blast radii to remain. It would be possible to distinguish between AP and HE shells, or go back to very limited amounts of cluster bombs.


The A2A ESF would get their own niche role of dedicated high altitude anti-air hunters as a complementation to ground based AA and far from home AA. Lightnings would in particularly be suited for field AA and AA MAXes for outpost AA.


The ESF with rocketpods should try to make multiple swift, steep angled passes (think Stuka) with frantic maneuvres to throw off AA, not giving them time to line up for or hoverspam small targets with multiple accurate clips, instead focusing on larger targets. Stuka sound effects would be appreciated. :P Idealy, divebombers would be forced to work in packs for effective attacks on single units. This because of all the agility, speed and therefore mobility advantages they have over ground units. ESF air should, from my perspective, only become effective in groups, they too should use safety in numbers, they too should fear death, they too should be considering teamwork (squadron flying) over lonewolfing, even if lonewolfing would still be possible.



For rocketpod ESF to hit infantry with the increased spread, reduced clipsize and small explosion radius, they need to spam at least two clips to get a kill. This should provide infantry with time to find cover and should make the AI guns on the fighter aircraft the more suitable weapon to hunt infantry. Pure rocketpod TTKs on infantry would hence be around 6-8 seconds at close range, and higher at longer range. Machine gun TTK of fighters otoh would remain between 1 and 3 seconds on infantry.


AA otoh, has a bit more spread to reduce accuracy at range and suffers more from gravity, but has larger proximity AoE radii to compensate. Obviously, the AA TTKs are long enough to provide the creative dogfighter to find a ridge.




That's how I perceive AA - Air balance.