Scout Heli BF4 Guide (by Assolley)

Some Info may be wrong/outdated. May repeat itself, it was written over a long period of time and info from other people has been added. Sorry for any spelling/grammatical/format issues I am to lazy to fix it

Update(3/11/19): Re-aranged the whole list. Added lots of stuff under "Random Tips n Stuff!". Added "Ecm Fails..."
Update(6/9/19): Added "Random Useful Links" and "Links To Good Scout Heli Pilots" At the Bottom Of The Page
Update(7/5/19): Added my new mouse layout(502 wireless) under "Random Useful Links"

******WARNING DO NOT FLY THE Z11-W***********

How to start?

-Find a sens you like and stick with it.
-Find key bindings you like. I fly with default.
-Find an empty floodzone/zavod fly around and shoot trees, light poles, signs, anything destructible. Helps with aim and momentum control.
-Use the test range to practice aim on moving and still targets do this while moving and while still. Helps with aim and momentum control.
-Start off flying slow, then try to speed up as your aim gets better.
-Once you feel comfortable with aiming and momentum control join a full server and continue to fly around shooting trees
and signs what ever, but also the players this time.
-After a few rounds try to determine what killed you the most.
-Went out in the open without ECM and got stingered?
-Try to stay near cover and use the environment to dodge locks.
-You keep crashing into random walls?
-Make sure you are using 3rd person to learn your environment. You will start to understand the size of the heli.
-Their heli's keep beating you?
-It happens. Your air to air aim will only get better the more you play. Maybe you can join a 1v1 server play against someone
else learning. If its their atk heli, they simply out damage you at range and close, try to jump them, ECM sneak if you must,
but thats pretty toxic.
-Jets keep killing you?
-Try to fly lower so you are below radar.
-Practice your aim in the test rage on the UAVs, minis shread jets.
-Try to seat switch smaw if they are top downing.
-Tanks/LAVs/AAs keep getting you?
-Don't fly so low near them, try to keep your distance, stay near buildings so they cant get a LOS. Maybe peak really fast
to shoot your laser guides.

Loadout!

-Counter Measures
-ECM-This is probably the best overall, I use this the most. Prevents locks from targeting you, and disrupts incoming locks.
Better against STINGERS. It also unspots you.
-Flares-disrupts incoming locks and breaks locks. Does not last as long as ECM, but better against IGLAS.
-Fire Extinguisher-this will give back mobility, and when in critical health will boots its health. I use this when
practicing stunts and 1v1s if its not a fast respawn server and we end the 1v1 on a disable.
-Primary
-7.62mm-Very high rate of fire, great against air vehicles and infantry. I use this.
-25mm-Lower rate of fire, can be used against armor, but not very effective. Has splash damage, making it very easy to
window pilots. I would not use this to much because it will make your aim sloppy, and you will certainly lose
against a good pilot, also has limited ammo.

-Secondary
-Lazer Guided-Anti-tank, does 30 damage each and can mobility hit. I use this.
-Heatseeker-Anti-air, does 30 damage each, mobility hits, but is useless against a good pilot, they will ECM and shred you since
you just wasted time locking them.
-Upgrades
-Belt Feeder-lets you shoot more before over heating. Use this. You will lose a lot of 1v1s if they have it and you don't.
-Proximity Scan-Scans around the heli for enemies. Useful, but not really needed if you can spot enemies in 3rd person.
-Stealth Coating-Increases the time to lock on to the vehicle. Good paired with Fire EXT, Better to use buildings and ECM
to dodge locks.
-Air Radar,replaces the minimap with a radar showing air vehicles in a large radius. Good if you are getting pooped on by jets,
but you have 3d spotting.
-Gyro Stabilizer-helps stabilize the vehicles after crit damage. Pretty useless.
-Paint
-Just try to match it with the map color, so use an adaptive camo, it changes based on the map color. Can help to not
get spotted by bots.
-Class
-Engineer- You get rockets, and a rep tool. Seat switch and shoot the tanks, land and rep when you are low.
-Support-You get c4, and an ammo bag. Put that ammo bag on top for all of the rockets for ur reps/for ur c4 when seat switching
-Perk
-Shadow-Level 1 Reduces the time you are spotted
-Mechanic-Level 1 Increases the repair tool by 35%, Level 2 Decreases damage from explosives by 15%, Level 4 your vehicle reps
nearby friendly vehicles
-Indirect Fire- Level 4 Resupplies nearby infantry. Use if you don't want to put ammo bag on top of heli.
-Gadgets
-Smaw/RPG- Smaw shoots straighter, rpg does more damage
-Repair Tool- gotta rep dude
-Target detector- Your reps should have this equipped. 3D spots anything in its cross hair, does not have a cool down.

My Controls!

Default flight controls :D
-F1,F2,F3,F4, X, and T(My Big Map) on side of mouse(Logitech G602)
Sens100%(Scout)30%(Attack) 1500dpi

For the controller plebs :P

-Widgitybear's controller layout https://imgur.com/t2Gdu1i
-Some Pilot that cheated on stream's controller layout https://imgur.com/W7WaAa9

STUNTS?

-You can start doing stunts if you want. Some people don't do stunt and that is completely fine and you will probably be more useful to your team and probably have a higher KMP. I suggest floodzone/zavod/dawnbreaker to practice.
-These are just some examples there are tons of different places to fly through and do stunts listing them all would take forever
-USE FIRE EXT WHEN PRACTICING!
-Floodzone
-Try flying through the parking garage, you can actually fly through the stairs, but this is probably the hardest thing
to do consistently.
-You can fly under the bridge, between the poles. This is quite hard, you have to know how to control momentum, don't
just hold W, tap it. If the water is down you can still fly under some parts of it but i would suggest only doing that
when you are very experienced.
-Zavod
-Try flying through the poles next to the train cars, you can fit through all of them. Some are harder to fit through
then others
-You can fly through the buildings, C and D
-Dawnbreaker
-Try flying through the parking garage, the one near US spawn is easier to fly through, there is actually a tunnel when
you go in it to right if you are coming from B which you can go through also. You can fly through the parking garage
closer to CN spawn but it is a lot tighter.
-You can try flying through the building near CN spawn, you can actually fly through where the overpass would be if
you destroy it and the concrete above the doors.
-You can actually fly through the building near C, there are 2 ways in and 2 out. You can go over the metal detector
or through the hallway to the left if you are coming in from C.

Random Tips n Stuff!

⎗
✓
-If you fly under a bridge with mines on top, they can still kill you if you are close enough to the ceiling and the ceiling is
thin. Because dice!
-Lazer designated missles hit you from the top, to dodge them hide under a roof or a behind tall building.
-If you keep getting windowed from the ATK Heli/Scout Heli with 25mm use mechanic perk instead, explosive damage reduction
-If you get up really close the to the enemy heli or whatnot heatseakers/passives/actives have trouble locking you.
-Controller Binds at bottom of page for peasants.
-You can actually set off mines if you fly to close to them. If you are flying fast enough the can go off without killing you.
-Use 3rd person cam when not aiming or flying through stuff. It allows you to see so much more and spot enemies in a larger area.
-Heli not showing up on C on Golmud Railway? Enemy has the heli from when they had it so you don't get your heli until theirs
 dies. Same thing for any vehicle spawning on a flag.
-if you hold down your shoot button after you get shot out it keeps shooting for a few seconds after can kill the disabled enemy
 heli or infantry
-Seat switch seats or getting in and then out quick starts the heli, you can fly right away instead of having to wait for the
engine to fully start. Don't do it in spawn because someone may spawn on it still and take it.
-if your player gets low on hp try to hid and wait for your health to regen.
-when you pop ecm go to cover, use the environment to dodge locks. unless its just one lock then try to find it and kill them if
you can.
-You can seat switch side rep if you get disabled. You can prevent the burn just by touching the side with the torch.
-when engaging the enemy heli if they are using heats either use the building to dodge, or pop ecm and close the distance between
you. They are wasting time locking when they could be shooting you, use this to your advantage.
-The height of the flight ceiling effects your speed, lower flight ceiling means it is slower, higher ceiling means its faster
-when you are at the flight ceiling you will slow down a lot, you cant turn as fast as usual.
-let go of W before u hit something to lower change of taking damage
-use trees to practice momentum, try hitting them and destroying them without taking damage 
-Don't use the z11w. its tail is big as **** https://imgur.com/a/bE3u4
-Use the test range/empty servers.
-Spam Q to spot!
-Use your big map. Mine is set to T.
-Don't hover/flyover/land on light poles. they can flip you sideways.
-Spin Moves!spinning in circles helps dodge missiles and stuffs. The more retarded you fly the harder it is to hit..
-I the LB you can flip vehicles if you side swipe them, in the z11w you can flip with the nose. Much easier with z11w then LB.
-Shoot the lower glass on the cockpit side if there are bullet holes obstructing your view.
-Tree stumps can teleport you...your client only...Trees can respawn...Trees can be invisible...Trees obstruct view...
-Shoot down trees, signs, light poles, they are evil.
-Stay away from the AA, its purpose is to kill air vehicles!
-Heat seekers, active radar, passive radar all don't work below radar, stay close to the ground to avoid them.
-RELOCKING. You can shoot your lazer guide, look away and the relock it. It only get destroyed once it hits the flight ceiling.
So shoot it unlock, wait for them to use their APS, then relock it. Relocking also makes it go faster. 
You can also hit stuff while its mid air... like jets...
-Try to find safe spots, where the enemies cant get to you so you can repair, get back ECM, to hide from enemy helis.
-Try to develop routs, find spots where enemies like to hang out, routs to outmaneuver  enemy helis, infantry spawn points.
-Target Priority. Usually First Engineers, Sniper, Support, Assault. Depends on their equipment and how far you are from them. 
To many different scenarios to list figure it out by playing...
-Just tap W to not go as fast and to control momentum better.
-If you get hit through ecm, spin around, maybe pull the heli to the ground if it is not to dangerous to help dodge rockets.
-Bind one of your chats to ENTER. In the spawn menu click on the heli and hold enter, it will spam enter for you, 
letting you get in the heli when it spawns.
-Holding E in the heli spawn is even faster then spamming in the menu.
-Sens is effected by server HZ,sens is faster in 30hz then 60hz idfk by how much because its to much work for me to switch 
every time i join a new server.
-Switching Seats in the heli unspots you. You can also jump in and out mid air to unspot, but its harder.
-Shadow perk makes the area in which you can be spotted smaller, and reduces spot time by 2 seconds
-You can switch momentum if you seat switch when pulling back
-Back peddling is much better then trying to turn around when there is a heli behind/above you. It forces them to turn around/you 
both back pedal until someone switches around 
-You can switch to F2/F3 Seat to use your SMAW or RPG.
-Reps with mechanic perk is very nice, don't get used to it/rely on it. You can put an ammo bag on top for them so they have 
unlimited RPGs.
-A sniper can PLD from the side of the heli
-Doing stunts can actually help you get away from the enemy heli since they will usually not be able to do it in the z11w
-if you have someone repping you, have them all use different countermeasures. You should have ECM they will have fire ext and/or 
flares. You can seat switch and they can use them even if you used yours.
-use your base AA if you must.
-Do not use ECM when you hear the lock, wait for it to shoot.
-only try to react to aa mines if you have about 100 ping or less on a 60 hz server,on a 30hz server probaly 30 ping or less.
 it can literally be impossible if you have high ping or its a potato server.
-if you are about to crash, jump out/seat switch it will slow down the heli and make it significantly less likely to explode.

Ecm Fails...

⎗
✓
There are several reason ECM may not work... Some ECM fails can happen because your client did not send
the server information fast enough:your connection had packet loss, you have high ping, low bandwidth, and other client side 
network reasons, it can also be caused because of lower server hz, if the server is laggying, and server side network 
issues similar to the client ones, AKA because potato netcode(1-3). Some of these ECM fails can be forced by the player by 
abusing game mechanics, so I will not explain fully how or why they all happen(4-7)

1. Used ECM, but the lock still hits you. Can happen with any type of lock on. The ecm registers server side after 
the lock hitsyou.Can not prevent this ECM fail 
2. Used ECM, the lock spins around the heli like it should, but does not get destroyed and then hits you once the ecm ends. This
 can happen if you use ECM to early and the lock still has a far distance to get to you, it spins around the heli less, and 
therefor it does not get destroyed and hits when ECM ends. It can happen with any lock, especially if you are lazer designated. 
Can not prevent this ECM fail. Can not prevent this ECM fail
3. Lock hits through ecm when it is active and has not ended yet. So you use ecm, the lock rotates around the heli, ecm is still
active, but it still hits. This can because you were flying to fast or in a strange direction or making sharp turns, basically 
you fly into the lock rotating around the heli. Also happens when lazer designated more often becasuse when a lock is 
lazed it rotates around the heli more then normal, and faster. To prevent this type of ECM fail, fly near the ground or a 
wall, the missles will hit it and get destroyed 
4. Instantly getting hit. This happens with Actives the most, you are below radar, then you fly above radar and the lock hits 
pretty much instantly. To prevent this ECM fail, if you see missles fires above you when below radar, wait for them to fly far 
away and get destroyed, or pop ECM 
5. Relocked. Enemy relock their missle, and it can give less time for the player to react. To prevent this ECM Fail have good 
internet, low ping, high hz server, and a react fast... 
6. Sound bugged, no sound. This is not technically an ecm fail but still would like to address it. Vehicles can have no sound and
make no lock tones so they enemy can't hear it. To prevent this type of ECM fail, it it just like 4, watch for missles, 
pop ecm even if you don't hear a lock sound, and stay below radar
7. Sound bugged, only half of lock tone. You can only hear the lock tone right before it hits you, and it does not do the full 
lock tone, giving a super small time to react. To prevent this ECM fail, same as 4 & 6. Also use ECM right when the 
lock tone starts
8. AA mines... Not only are they 100% Ping based, but they can also instantly hit you even with low ping if abused 
properly...BALANCED! To prevent this ECM fail, if you see an AA mine, use ecm before it launches, and destroy it. Gotta have fast
reaction time, low ping, good internet, high server hz, same as 5. Also if you see some engineer holding what looks like nothing 
in his hands, it could be an AA mine, so pop ecm and shred him
9. IGLAs, Passives, Actives. These misses all continue in a straight line after you pop ecm or the lock is lost, so if you do not move
out if its way it will still hit.

I would suggest not to use most of these preventative measures mentioned, unless you are ECM failing persistently on your server.
They are good to know, but should not be adapted into your everyday play style because they can slow down that farm ;p

Anything else?

-Another great way to learn is to watch streams/videos of other good pilots. I have learned a lot just from watching other good players. Unfortunately not many of them are active anymore.
-Keep at it, takes time and practice. Don't give up!
-Do not feel bad if you have to go back to the practice range or join an empty server.
-I actually never flew in empty servers or the test range until I wanted to learn new stunts, but it is useful and I wish I knew/thought about it when I was learning.
-Understand people will be better then you. Gives you a goal to work towards.
-The more you play the better your aim will get, the better you will be at controlling momentum, the smoother your stunts will be.
-If there is already a good pilot don't steal their heli, ask them to fly, switch teams to fight them or find a new server.
-Be nice and help get friendly vehicles unstuck...
-If you spawn on someone who is seat switching/repping don't steal their shit, get out or switch seats.
-TREES ARE OP AS FUCKKK...
-Conquest Large Maps With Scout Heli
-Vanilla maps
-Dawnbreaker, Floodzone, Golmud railway, Hainan resort, Lancang dam, Paracel storm, Zavod 311
-DLC
-Silk Road, Lost Islands, Nansha Strike, Wave Breaker, Sunken Dragon, Operation Whiteout.

Random Useful Links

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kqP7Swg1ME (x8reapz explaining his thought process)
-https://imgur.com/t2Gdu1i (Widgitybear's controller layout)
-https://imgur.com/W7WaAa9 (Some cheaters controller layout)
-https://imgur.com/a/D01jnKd (My Mouse Layout And Key Binds) G602
-https://i.imgur.com/Yq4WCcY(My New Mouse Layout) G502

Links To Good Scout Heli Pilots(some dont stream anymore)

-https://www.twitch.tv/focusbf
-https://www.twitch.tv/x8reapz
-https://www.twitch.tv/iblackeagles
-https://www.twitch.tv/fxral
-https://www.twitch.tv/itzderdy
-https://www.twitch.tv/widgitybear
-https://www.twitch.tv/prolosco
-https://www.twitch.tv/sad__onion
-https://www.twitch.tv/mariiineeee
-https://www.twitch.tv/hossmartin
-https://www.twitch.tv/wreckologyy
-https://www.twitch.tv/capten_planets

Warning