Hello dev team, I wanted to give detailed feedback on the current state of air vehicles, because as someone who has played Battlefield-style games for years (BF1942 through BF6), I’m noticing a recurring issue that may affect the long-term health of ForeFront if it isn’t addressed. This feedback is strictly my perspective as a player, not the entire community, but I hope it helps. 1. Air Vehicles Feel Too Weak and Not a Viable Combat Role Right now, air vehicles (especially the Little Bird and the support helicopter) feel more like temporary “quick transports” rather than an actual combat class. They die extremely fast, and surviving even 30 seconds requires luck more than skill. Some key issues: Every player can quickly unlock the anti-air lock on rocket launcher which each player has 5 rockets anti-air lock-on rockets I'm ok with that however as I point out below A single player can destroy a helicopter in ~20–30 seconds. When 2–4 players lock onto you at once, survival is impossible. Flares have long cooldowns, and you are often re-locked instantly. There is no space to break line-of-sight because maps are large however very open and barren. Tanks can snipe helicopters across the map with ease. Because of these factors, air vehicles feel less like a playstyle and more like a disposable asset with a 2-minute respawn timer. 2. Spawn Locking Makes Flying Near Impossible On some maps (e.g., Paradise), helicopters are locked onto immediately after spawning. Problems include: You can be targeted by AA from across the map the moment you take off. Tanks can fire directly into the air vehicle spawn and snipe you instantly. Infantry can lock on the second you lift off, giving no chance to escape. This creates scenarios where the pilot can’t even leave spawn before being destroyed. 3. Physics and Collision Are Too Punishing The current helicopter rotor collision is extremely unforgiving. For example: Landing under pipes with about 10 feet of clearance Lightly touching or grazing the pipe with the rotor Instantly exploding Realistic damage is fine, but instant death from a tiny scrape feels unfair, especially when pilots already struggle to survive lock-ons, tank shots, and open almost barren maps. 4. Dogfighting Matters — But Winning Means You Die to Ground AA A healthy vehicle meta usually looks like this: Air beats tanks Tanks beat infantry Infantry beats air with teamwork Air vs air is its own fight But currently in ForeFront: If one pilot wins a dogfight, they’re immediately punished by ground AA. They don’t get a chance to help their team because survival time is too short. A single infantryman can delete a helicopter on their own. Air should be dangerous, but not instantly countered by every solo player on the map. 5. Suggestions to Improve Air Balance I’m not asking for helicopters to become overpowered — just more viable. Here are some ideas that I think would help the overall balance: A. Increase Air Vehicle Health Slightly Just enough so that: 1 player = cannot kill a heli alone without sustained effort 2–3 players = kill it realistically A coordinated team = always wins B. Reduce Flare Cooldown Clarification on Flare Cooldown I also want to note that I’m not certain of the exact flare cooldown time. Based on my gameplay experience, it definitely feels longer than 15-20 seconds which I'm ok with. Some players have told me it’s 60 seconds, while others claim it may be even longer. The majority seem to agree on 60 seconds, so I’m using that as a reference. I’ve tried to find the official number online but haven’t been able to confirm it. I apologize if this isn’t completely accurate. All in all, my opinion is that 40-60 seconds is extremely long considering how many lock-ons exist. A fair cooldown would be more in the 30-40 second range. C. Reduce Lock-On Range or Add Spawn Protection Zones Being auto-locked the second you take off is not good gameplay. No-lock zones near spawns would help a lot. D. Limit Lock-On Rocket Supply Instead of giving every player 5 AA rockets: Reduce the number Or require resupply This encourages teamwork instead of spam. E. Make Helicopter Blades More Forgiving Instead of “touch = explode,” small scrapes should cause: Light damage Or engine instability Not instant destruction This would reduce frustration and make piloting feel less punishing. 6. Why This Matters ForeFront is shaping up to be an incredible combined-arms game. But based on my experience with Battlefield titles over the years, games often struggle when aircraft become too weak: Pilots stop flying. Vehicles become unused features. Matches lose variety. Skilled pilots have no room to contribute. I just want ForeFront to avoid falling into the same balance issues some modern shooters have faced. Additional Note on Community Feedback I’ve also seen some players argue against buffing air vehicles because they prefer a Battlefield-style experience where they don’t have to worry about aircraft. I understand that perspective, but it feels wrong to balance the game around only one playstyle when ForeFront clearly supports both air and ground combat. If the game includes both, then both should be viable. Balancing should not cater only to ground players at the expense of pilots. A combined-arms game needs all roles to matter — infantry, vehicles, and air. I appreciate everything you all are doing, and even if nothing changes, I wanted to at least provide my perspective in hopes it helps. Thank you for reading.