The quad in live is extremely effective, it shoots down planes in their first pass sometime before they even start shooting. From the little testing I did in mod it seem very capable there also.
Re-tested, it seems pretty strong. Unless directly targeted by the loiter, of course
Anti-air is, at any rate, implemented on a target-table basis. Therefore, we can simply make adjustments to damage as necessary.
We will look into this. However, how much difference in % (very roughly) would you say there is between the Ostwind, the pintle MG and the Quad?
I've done further testing, and I have different results: I've created a blob of enemy vehicles, then put the AA unit outside of the Loiter zone.
Used WM Stuka CAS to test. Keep in mind this loiter actually makes one final pass after the ability duration is over.
AA units listed in order of effectiveness.
Very Effective (downed both aircraft before duration of ability ended)
- Ostwind: approx. 20 sec
- M17 Quad: approx. 25 sec
- Bofors: approx. 30 sec. I tested this against Typhoons (Vanguard Operations Strafing Support), but they should perform the same way.
- Schwerer Panzer HQ: approx. 30 sec
- Sdkfz. 251/17 Flak HT: approx. 35 sec
- Centuar AAMk. II: approx. 40 sec
Effective (downed one aircraft before duration of ability ended)
- M15A1 AAHT: Its MGs do almost nothing, while the 37mm AAA is pretty effective. Also, it happens to rotate when engaging enemy aircraft, so it is advised to use handbrake.
- Sdkfz. 222
- pintle DshK: The pintle-mounted DshK is surprisingly effective.
Mediocre (downed one aircraft after duration of ability ended)
- 2cm Flak Emplacement
Ineffective (downed no aircraft after duration of ability ended)
- pintle M2HB: Reliably damages aircraft, never can bring them down however.
- pintle MG42: Pretty useless against aircraft.
In summary:
I would say that the M15A1 and the Centuar need a slight buff in the AA department. If you could fix the tendency of the M15A1 to "dance" when it engages aircraft (perhaps related to its limited firing arc?) that might do the trick. The Centuar is a dedicated AA platform much like the Ostwind, I would like to see it perform as well in the anti-aircraft department.
Additionally, the poor Flak Emplacement needs some love (although base Flak Emplacements need to not be able attack aircraft, or OKW would be more OP). Perhaps make it especially strong against aircraft to give it a niche role?