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Tips for the Valley Campaign, or is it still playable?


malibu43

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I have had FC3 for a few years now (and tried FC2 very briefly before that), and am an off-and-on simmer. I jump around between titles and have just jumped back to DCS after the 2.5 update.

 

Even thought the A-10A is the aircraft that appeals to me the most in FC3, I have never been able to get past the 4th or 5th mission (I forget exactly which one) in the "The Valley" campaign.

 

It seems the mission designer placed the SA-11 site to the North to intentionally force the player to fly low in the A-10A, into the engagement envelope of all the mobile AAA and mobile SAMs. I can see why this would be the case and could theoretically make the missions more fun.

 

However, at some point in DCS World development, the gunners on BMPs and Tanks (not to mention ZSU's) became laser accurate. I find it impossible to use CBUs in CCIP mode or the GAU8 without getting torn to pieces. I'm not an expert pilot, but I try to stay fast, jink, and only fly directly at the target for the minimum time possible to employ a weapon and then break off. I still get shot down by the seemingly omniscient and incredibly skilled gunners.

 

In the 20 or so times I've played the A-10A instant action mission in DCS World, I think I've completed it successfully only once, and it was because my wingman had a 100% hit ratio with his AGM-65s. Once I get through my AGM-65's, I always get shot down when trying to continue the attack with CCIP CBUs and the GAU8.

 

I don't remember the gunners being nearly as deadly in FC2...

 

So anyway, I can't progress through the only campaign included for the A-10A, because I'm forced to fly so low I will almost certainly get shot down. Maybe I could only use AGM-65's and fly back to re-arm several times during each mission, but not using the GAU8 or any dumb bombs through the entire campaign would seem a bit odd.

 

I was curious to find out from anyone else that flies the A-10A if there are some techniques or strategies I need to practice and perfect to get through these missions, or if they are, in fact, somewhat "broken" due to the deadliness of the gunners on ground vehicles.

 

Thanks!

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  • 5 months later...
I have had FC3 for a few years now (and tried FC2 very briefly before that), and am an off-and-on simmer. I jump around between titles and have just jumped back to DCS after the 2.5 update.

 

Even thought the A-10A is the aircraft that appeals to me the most in FC3, I have never been able to get past the 4th or 5th mission (I forget exactly which one) in the "The Valley" campaign.

 

It seems the mission designer placed the SA-11 site to the North to intentionally force the player to fly low in the A-10A, into the engagement envelope of all the mobile AAA and mobile SAMs. I can see why this would be the case and could theoretically make the missions more fun.

 

However, at some point in DCS World development, the gunners on BMPs and Tanks (not to mention ZSU's) became laser accurate. I find it impossible to use CBUs in CCIP mode or the GAU8 without getting torn to pieces. I'm not an expert pilot, but I try to stay fast, jink, and only fly directly at the target for the minimum time possible to employ a weapon and then break off. I still get shot down by the seemingly omniscient and incredibly skilled gunners.

 

In the 20 or so times I've played the A-10A instant action mission in DCS World, I think I've completed it successfully only once, and it was because my wingman had a 100% hit ratio with his AGM-65s. Once I get through my AGM-65's, I always get shot down when trying to continue the attack with CCIP CBUs and the GAU8.

 

I don't remember the gunners being nearly as deadly in FC2...

 

So anyway, I can't progress through the only campaign included for the A-10A, because I'm forced to fly so low I will almost certainly get shot down. Maybe I could only use AGM-65's and fly back to re-arm several times during each mission, but not using the GAU8 or any dumb bombs through the entire campaign would seem a bit odd.

 

I was curious to find out from anyone else that flies the A-10A if there are some techniques or strategies I need to practice and perfect to get through these missions, or if they are, in fact, somewhat "broken" due to the deadliness of the gunners on ground vehicles.

 

Thanks!

I'm having the same issues-except it seems my wingbicile just circles without attacking until he gets downed. I'm thinking the answer is sam avoidance since there is only one SA-11:pilotfly:

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  • 6 months later...

Old tread but still.... :)

 

MadDog did a good job fixing most of the default campaigns, but seems a lot of them been broken again.

 

Im currently stuck in A-10A Camp 3B.miz as the F18 support never even spawns.... its a challenge :)

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  • 1 year later...

Ah I have the same problem! It's A-10A Camp 6B.miz ("Interdiction"). I'm using MadDog's repaired version. I don't have any problem with the A-10A instant action mission myself (where I'm able to attack from a reasonable altitude), but I've tried this mission literally dozens of times with no success. There are two SA-11 sites, each with four launchers, so it's pretty impractical to do anything besides stay low, as far as I can tell. And my wingman is useless because he invariably gets shot down right away. I even tried taking out the SA-11s first (which I don't think was the intent of the mission designers), but I couldn't find a good way to do that because they're covered in fog and can't be located until quite close. I was really enjoying this campaign until this mission - if anyone has any pointers, I'd love to hear them as well!


Edited by N22YF
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N22YF said:
Ah I have the same problem! It's A-10A Camp 6B.miz ("Interdiction"). I'm using MadDog's repaired version. I don't have any problem with the A-10A instant action mission myself (where I'm able to attack from a reasonable altitude), but I've tried this mission literally dozens of times with no success. There are two SA-11 sites, each with four launchers, so it's pretty impractical to do anything besides stay low, as far as I can tell. And my wingman is useless because they invariably get shot down right away. I even tried taking out the SA-11s first (which I don't think was the intent of the mission designers), but I couldn't find a good way to do that because they're covered in fog and can't be located until quite close. I was really enjoying this campaign until this mission - if anyone has any pointers, I'd love to hear them as well!

 

stay low, send wingman home, he's useless,

take out strelas and shilkas,

 

you can drop CBU-97 minimums 3000ft.

wind can be an issue sometimes.

 

I have a tendency to pause look F10 map, and then look for all AA threats near where I need to operate.

 

turn on ECM, when at the FEBA turn on your CMS auto while running in, strelas, when you’re to close they will launch straight into the air while your over them.

 

I'm now at the campaign where I have 3 locations, I have to deal with T80Us. and 2 convoys.

 

also you can change you're loadout in the mission planer.

 

When theres a lot of AA in the way I take 6 AGM65D's.


Edited by 71st_Mastiff

" any failure you meet, is never a defeat; merely a set up for a greater come back, "  W Forbes

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts,"  Winston Churchill

" He who never changes his mind, never changes anything," 

MSI z690MPG DDR4 || i914900k|| ddr4-64gb PC3200 || MSI RTX 4070Ti|Game1300w|Win10x64| |turtle beach elite pro 5.1|| ViRpiL,T50cm2|| MFG Crosswinds|| VT50CM-plus rotor Throttle || G10 RGB EVGA Keyboard/MouseLogitech || PiMax Crystal VR || 32 Samsung||

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  • 2 weeks later...

I finished the campaign after 20 sortes.

" any failure you meet, is never a defeat; merely a set up for a greater come back, "  W Forbes

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts,"  Winston Churchill

" He who never changes his mind, never changes anything," 

MSI z690MPG DDR4 || i914900k|| ddr4-64gb PC3200 || MSI RTX 4070Ti|Game1300w|Win10x64| |turtle beach elite pro 5.1|| ViRpiL,T50cm2|| MFG Crosswinds|| VT50CM-plus rotor Throttle || G10 RGB EVGA Keyboard/MouseLogitech || PiMax Crystal VR || 32 Samsung||

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Old tread but still.... :)

 

MadDog did a good job fixing most of the default campaigns, but seems a lot of them been broken again.

 

Im currently stuck in A-10A Camp 3B.miz as the F18 support never even spawns.... its a challenge :)

 

DCS 2.5.6 did break quite a lot (Triggers and other things), But the F-18 is working as programmed, only a 50% chance of it spawning and helping out.

 

I run the mission twice and the F-18 was there both times.

 

Regards, Ian.

Asus p877v-pro, Intel I7 3770k 4.2ghz, 32gb Ripjaw X ram, Nvidia RTX-2070 Super, Samsung 32" TV, Saitek x52 pro Joystick and Combat rudder pedals, TrackIR 5, Win8.1 x64 with SSD and SSHD protected by (Avast AV).

 

DCS Tech Support.

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DCS 2.5.6 did break quite a lot (Triggers and other things), But the F-18 is working as programmed, only a 50% chance of it spawning and helping out.

 

I run the mission twice and the F-18 was there both times.

 

Regards, Ian.

 

and F16, I wait until they pass my airfield then I take off let them do a lot of work first.

" any failure you meet, is never a defeat; merely a set up for a greater come back, "  W Forbes

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts,"  Winston Churchill

" He who never changes his mind, never changes anything," 

MSI z690MPG DDR4 || i914900k|| ddr4-64gb PC3200 || MSI RTX 4070Ti|Game1300w|Win10x64| |turtle beach elite pro 5.1|| ViRpiL,T50cm2|| MFG Crosswinds|| VT50CM-plus rotor Throttle || G10 RGB EVGA Keyboard/MouseLogitech || PiMax Crystal VR || 32 Samsung||

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  • 11 months later...
On 2/5/2018 at 9:03 AM, malibu43 said:

Even thought the A-10A is the aircraft that appeals to me the most in FC3, I have never been able to get past the 4th or 5th mission (I forget exactly which one) in the "The Valley" campaign.

 

It seems the mission designer placed the SA-11 site to the North to intentionally force the player to fly low in the A-10A, into the engagement envelope of all the mobile AAA and mobile SAMs. I can see why this would be the case and could theoretically make the missions more fun.

 

However, at some point in DCS World development, the gunners on BMPs and Tanks (not to mention ZSU's) became laser accurate. I find it impossible to use CBUs in CCIP mode or the GAU8 without getting torn to pieces. I'm not an expert pilot, but I try to stay fast, jink, and only fly directly at the target for the minimum time possible to employ a weapon and then break off. I still get shot down by the seemingly omniscient and incredibly skilled gunners.

 

So anyway, I can't progress through the only campaign included for the A-10A, because I'm forced to fly so low I will almost certainly get shot down. Maybe I could only use AGM-65's and fly back to re-arm several times during each mission, but not using the GAU8 or any dumb bombs through the entire campaign would seem a bit odd.

 

I was curious to find out from anyone else that flies the A-10A if there are some techniques or strategies I need to practice and perfect to get through these missions, or if they are, in fact, somewhat "broken" due to the deadliness of the gunners on ground vehicles.

 

Holy cow, I finally completed this mission! After getting fed up with flying back to the target area from the airbase every time I got shot down, I made an "instant action" edit of this mission that starts at the IP (WP4) so I could try it over and over. After literally over 100 tries (!!!), I finally got it! Here's the tactics I used - not sure if it's the optimal approach, but it worked for me! I was able to do this without changing the loadout or using the F10 map (although I had a pretty detailed mental map after flying it 100 times!).

  • After first passing WP4, immediately take out the three most threating air defenses with Mavericks: the SA-13 between WP4 and WP5 (Unit #28), the ZU-23 emplacement between two armored vehicles just southwest of WP5 (Unit #87), and the SA-13 just past (northwest of) WP5, between the road and the river and near a couple trucks (Unit #29). You can check out their locations before flying in the Mission Planner. If you're handy with Mavericks, you can take out all 3 in a single pass before reaching WP5, and then get out of there to avoid AAA etc. and loop around for passes on the mission objectives. You'll hopefully have one Maverick and 4 CBUs left, plus your cannon, and you need to destroy only 3 of the trucks by WP5 for mission success.
  • There will still be Iglas and more ZU-23s, but I found it more effective to try to just avoid them and concentrate on the mission objectives, rather then spending more time in the danger zone trying to eliminate all the air defenses. Make sure to keep your distance from the ZU-23s northwest of WP5 (Unit #29) and northeast of WP5 (Unit #86), though. You can ask your wingman to engage air defenses, but at least 9 times out of 10 he'll just get shot down before doing anything useful.
  • Keep your head on a swivel to watch out for tracers and Iglas. Be liberal with flares when running in and out.
  • Dropping the CBUs from higher altitudes is difficult in this mission due to wind - I found it most effective to drop from somewhere around 700 ft AGL, which is about 1000 ft MSL (using CCRP).
  • When being engaged by AAA, keep flying in fairly tight turns until you're out of range.

If anyone's interested, I can upload a video/track/screenshots of how I did this mission.

(Thanks @71st_Mastiff for the advice!)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Alright I revisited this mission after finishing the rest of the campaign, and there is a much easier way to complete it. The reason it's so hard is that the IP (WP4) is pretty close to the target, and there's an SA-13 right between the two, so you can't really engage from WP4 without getting really exposed to the air defenses. Not sure whether this is against the intent of the mission designer, but you're much better off approaching the target (WP5) from the southwest, over friendly territory. Stay low after takeoff (~500 ft AGL), turn towards WP5 when you're somewhere between WP2 and WP3, and when you get about 5-6 miles away, quickly climb to about 3000-3500 ft. From this altitude and distance, you should be able to take out at least one of the targets at WP5 with a Maverick and turn away and dive before getting into SHORAD range at all, and without getting an SA-11 fired at you. (Probably want to dump flares while turning away just to be safe, though.) Then, put WP5 on your six, wait until you're >6 miles away again, and loop around and repeat. If you happen to run out of Mavericks before completing the mission (which means taking out at least 3 of the trucks around WP5), another tactic that works well is: approach from the southwest again, and at about 6 miles away, pop up to 1000-2000 feet for better visibility and designate a target for a CCRP CBU release. Then hit the deck and head towards your target at as high of an airspeed as possible. When you're, say, 1.5 miles away, pull into about a 20º climb for a loft delivery, and get out of there (while dumping flares) as soon as the bomb releases. This tactic a little sporty since you'll be exposed to AAA for a few seconds when close to the target, but you should be able to jink enough to avoid major damage.

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  • 9 months later...
  • 1 year later...

This mission is nails, I've been trying it on and off for a month or so now. Glad I'm not the only one grafting at it. 

Ryzen 7 5800x, RTX 4070Tti, 32gb RAM, Quest 2, Delanclip head tracking, Warthog throttle and stick with 100mm extension, TFRP Pedals, 34" ultrawide 1440p monitor. Av8b, F18, M2000C, FC3, F5, A4, UH1, UH60

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everyone,

I had this problem too. After being killed permanently by the SAM, I found a perfect easy way by accident to solve every mission in this campaign:

The two SAM-Sites are placed behind the hills of the valley, so you fly into the valley at VERY low altitude (50-100 ft.) to avoid detection by the Site. Fly over the hilltops straight ahead to the Site, only a few feet above the treetops. The SAM won‘t fire at you, because you are too low for them to be detected. Then I just released one CBU-87 almost directly over them to knock them out (not DIRECTLY over, because the bomb flies some meters while falling to the ground).

The same with the second one: ultra-low-level attack with a CBU-87 or just the cannon.

After this, the way is free to bomb the s**t out of the enemies 🙂

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