Need some tips for Mission 2

[BrianK86]

Hi , in mission 2 everything goes just well for me until the first contact with the pair of mig 29s, the second i get the fire order from command i use TWS to lock on both of them and shoot a pair of amraams. best case scenario i hit them both and after a few seconds i get killed by one their rockets without any visual warning on my RWR. Worst case i miss one of them and somehow in the dark the mig 29 quickly find itself on my tail and the AI wingman is completely useless.

I try to avoid using tags and i only use the warning sounds of my RWR to guess when i should start to evade.

Any tips to successfully complete that encounter?

[draconus]

 

[feefifofum]

I'll also add that it's a good idea to drop a couple of flares after cranking and cutting your throttle. This should defeat any long range IR shots the bandits may have made.

[BrianK86]

I made it thanks for the help, loved the mission, a good introduction to the campaign. unfortunately, my wingman wasn't so lucky, I gave the "engage my target" command but it never fired a single shot and got hit. hopefully, I didn't miss any related dialogue.
another thing that was a bit confusing at first, I had to wait a little bit for the bandits to catch up to me from WP4, when the closure rate was too high some of the dialogue was skipped and the bandits already had me locked and fired before I could even separate the mig29s from the others with my radar. a little tricky but fun little BVR engagement.

[feefifofum]

It's always hard to exactly pinpoint the timing; there is a huge variability in when the player can arrive and what they do afterward...if you happened to save a .TRK file I'd love to take a look and see if there's something we can do about the VO timing issue you experienced.

Edited February 1, 2023 by feefifofum

[Hipster]

I just successfully completed Mission 2, after about a half dozen attempts.  I ended up doing a few orbits once Magic notified us about the Fulcrums.  This brought them close enough to engage without ingressing prohibited airspace West of WP4.  Was then "just" a question of a defensive crank (with CMs) and a couple of good AIM-120s to take out the Fulcrums.  The '24s turned back after one had been splashed and Magic announced "weapons hold". 

In my previous attempts I didn't do much different, I suppose the margin between success and failure is quite slim?   However, orbitting until the Mig-29s get to within 80 miles seemed to be a good idea.  Wingman was 100% useless and apart from giving me some-one to talk to, and maybe a spare target for the Mig-29s, appeared to be redundant in combat.  (Not a critiscism just an observation).

Hugely enjoyable and very professionally produced campaign - thank you!

Edited February 3, 2023 by Hipster
spelling

[feefifofum]

Thanks for the kind words! Unfortunately the wingman AI is what it is, and is out of our hands. I've found a little more success directing them to a specific target vs. giving a general "engage bandits" order.

 

Managing your own position vs. the bandits is indeed a challenge (and an intended one!) Good move anchoring somewhere safe until they were about to penetrate the border and having the engagement on your terms. If you dally too long, though, the Fencers will start hitting targets in Georgia which reduces your score.

[BrianK86]

My solution was similar but I only had to reduce my speed from WP4 and it worked perfectly fine without leaving the airspace. sometimes I wish the AI had some plot armor of invincibility to be honest. I replayed a few of the missions because i didn't want to miss any of his radio banter.
I bought this campaign in anticipation of the F15E imminent release, I must say you guys did a really good job! it's so immersive I often forget I'm on a low fidelity aircraft. a great depiction of the 2008 Georgian war showcasing the air to air deterrence capabilities of the F15C at the time.

[Colonel Akir Nakesh]

I replayed this campaign last year and I think what I ended up doing was putting my radar in vertical search mode and turning, working the wings left and right while in my turn to try to pick up as much sky as possible. I'd also look over my shoulder and see if I could spot any lit afterburners. I think my wingman did most of the killing  though

[draconus]

9 hours ago, Colonel Akir Nakesh said:

I replayed this campaign last year and I think what I ended up doing was putting my radar in vertical search mode and turning, working the wings left and right while in my turn to try to pick up as much sky as possible.

Ouch, I hope you learned better tactics by now

[PD919]

Order your wingman to attack them and he usually makes quick work of them.  I launch two 120 at max range then tell my wingman to clean up.

[Ghostb3D]

Isn’t it’s prohibited to fire at bandits before Magic gives you permission to engage? Because that’s the main problem for me. I am allowed to shoot only after MiG-29 fires a missile at me.

[The Stick]

Just reprised this - aging beautifully! 

[Captain_beefcake]

It's one of the hardest missions for me,Soemhow these r-77s know where i am even when i drop flares,At least multiple times i have died 

Edited 20 hours ago by Captain_beefcake

[draconus]

5 hours ago, Captain_beefcake said:

It's one of the hardest missions for me,Soemhow these r-77s know where i am even when i drop flares,At least multiple times i have died 

R-77 are active radar homing missiles. Your flares will be useless against them. You can use notching maneuver and drop chaff instead.

Generally you should wait a bit for the MiGs to come closer into the Georgia border or you'll get punished for entering Abkhazia. Before engagement you should be high and fast to give your AMRAAMS as much energy as possible. Use comms menu to command your wingman to get into line abreast formation and then engage bandits when fired upon. After firing make sure to use crank maneuver to still provide radar guidance to your missiles (until they become active) and keep SA on oppponents while reducing the closure rate. Descent into the lower altitude to make it harder for the enemy missiles to get to you. Best thing is they'll use the same tactics - keep pushing Make another turn into them when necessary and fire another pair.

[Captain_beefcake]

4 hours ago, draconus said:

R-77 are active radar homing missiles. Your flares will be useless against them. You can use notching maneuver and drop chaff instead.

Generally you should wait a bit for the MiGs to come closer into the Georgia border or you'll get punished for entering Abkhazia. Before engagement you should be high and fast to give your AMRAAMS as much energy as possible. Use comms menu to command your wingman to get into line abreast formation and then engage bandits when fired upon. After firing make sure to use crank maneuver to still provide radar guidance to your missiles (until they become active) and keep SA on oppponents while reducing the closure rate. Descent into the lower altitude to make it harder for the enemy missiles to get to you. Best thing is they'll use the same tactics - keep pushing Make another turn into them when necessary and fire another pair.

Actually,just got done with this,The chaff tip worked wonders Just let my wingman Manage the migs then Let me take out a Fencer,did this all with drop tanks still on,Riiight before my game crashed and Sucked the joy out of that kill..

Really an amazing experience,no matter how many times i died

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Captain_beefcake