How the F does Loach work exactly?

[AshyGreen]

The training video says "fly close to enemy on the ground to spot them", how close? Do I have to have direct line of sight with enemies to spot them, or do I have to just hover over them for a bit? Does ground cover matter? Can I still spot them if they're in a tunnel, in a house, or under trees? Why do I get tons of spotting assists in Hill 937 but practically zero in An Lao valley? Does minigun have splash damage or do I have to get a direct hit? How many hits? HOW THE BLOODY HOW DOES LOACH WORK?

[static]

As in the actual Vietnam War, the Loach is designed to work as part of a "Hunter-Killer" duo with the Cobra.

The Loach is the Hunter, it automatically spots enemy positions and tunnels when it flies overhead. It's a fast little thing that screams past enemy positions, spotting as it goes and suppressing key areas (like heavy MG emplacements) with its minigun.

The Cobra, the "Killer", follows close behind, using its heavier weapons and larger crew to efficiently service targets spotted by the Loach. An added bonus for the Cobra is potentially being able to spot tracers and muzzle flash from additional enemies firing at the Loach running a few hundred meters ahead of it.

In a different mission profile entirely, your team commander can ride in the back of a Loach, and can easily place artillery marks and make radio calls while airborne, if flown by a reasonably competent pilot.

It takes decent pilots and good coomunication & teamwork to pull off, similarly to everything else in RS2. Very epic and effective when you see the helos working as a team, it never gets old.

[AshyGreen]

Originally posted by static:

As in the actual Vietnam War, the Loach is designed to work as part of a "Hunter-Killer" duo with the Cobra.

The Loach is the Hunter, it automatically spots enemy positions and tunnels when it flies overhead. It's minigun is also monstrously effective at suppressing enemies. Your team commander can ride in the back of a Loach, and can easily place artillery marks and make radio calls while airborne, if flown by a reasonably competent pilot.

The Loach is a fast little thing, so it screams past enemy positions, spotting as it goes and suppressing key areas (like heavy MG emplacements) with its minigun.

The Cobra, the "Killer", follows close behind, using its heavier weapons and larger crew to efficiently service targets spotted by the Loach. An added bonus for the Cobra is potentially being able to spot tracers and muzzle flash from additional enemies firing at the Loach running a few hundred meters ahead of it.


It takes decent pilots and good coomunication & teamwork to pull off, similarly to everything else in RS2. Very epic and effective when you see the helos working as a team, it never gets old.

You didn't answer a single question I asked. I am disappoint.

[static]

My understanding is that when Northern forces are crouched or prone, you won't be able to spot them with the recon aircraft or Loach. If you're playing as NVA/NLF, this ability is active when you see ferns and vegetation silhouetted on the bottom of your screen.

I believe direct line of sight is required, and you have to be relatively close to what you're attempting to spot. It's all automatic as far as my experience has shown. I doubt you can spot things underground or inside structures, it's primarily enemy squad tunnels and heavy weapons you're looking for.

As I suggested earlier, the Loach minigun is much more effective at suppression than actually killing enemies. This helps when leading a Cobra into an area; the Loach can suppress a machinegun position very quickly, reducing the threat for both helicopters and making it easier for the Cobra to kill it without taking any fire.

[Chaunsey]

why would a minigun have splash damage? its firing bullets.

jungle areas give cover to the vietnamese side, they also can lay prone to avoid showing up on scouts.

an lao has lots of jungle, 937 is a bare muddy hill, so it makes sense its easier to scout with the loach.

the other thing the loach does is act as a command platform, the commander can get in and set his own points from the air, and the loach acts as a radio too so he can use the commander abilities from there.

heres the helicopters tutorial vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIN47jnyTgw