So exactly how does a frigate hit my helicopter?

[Disgustipated]

Those are some damn accurate cannons they have on those frigates.

Yeah I know, I'm drinking and playing civ. A deadly combination... for the AI that is.

On a serious note so this thread is not spam, why is it my helicopter can't attack frigates? He can hit me but I can't hit him?

This has been the first game I really had extensive use of helicopters. And they are great for taking cities once the walls are down. I'm pretty happy with their performance. If only they could attack ships...

 

[AriochIV]

It seems to me that the helicopter in Civ VI represents an Air Cavalry infantry unit, rather than a gunship. It can't attack a naval unit for the same reason other infantry units can't, and is vulnerable to artillery fire the same as any other infantry unit.

 

[CoolLizy]

The pilots are aquaphobic.

 

[AppleDumplingHead]

It seems to be an unpopular view when I share it, but I don't see a later-era "swordsman" as a person with swords or a "frigate" as a wood hull boat with cannons pointing off the broadsides. I see later era units as groups of later-era people and equipment with the relative military value of a lesser force. A "musketman" in 1950 still has ak47s and manpads, but the force is decidedly weak to a government-established, trained, equipped fighting force. Similarly, a "frigate" is as a small flotilla of large yachts with weapons capable of harming another military force, be it airforce or naval force, but doesn't stand a chance, toe to toe, with an armed and armored fresh destroyer strike group (which I see as not only one ship, but an accompanying force).

So to me, there is never the tank/spearman conundrum of older Civ iterations. They'd be a rag-tag, relatively small, relatively unskilled group of 20th century fighters. They might get lucky against a modern force which is heavily damaged/depleted, and that doesn't entirely escape belief.

 

[Japper007]

It's dumb, no doubt about it. IMHO helicopters should work like the dirigibles in the Empires of the Smoky Sky scenario from civ 5, those are floating units that can melee attack both ships and land units while not being able to be hit in melee yourself, only taking ranged and retaliation damage. Don't know why they chose to do it in this convoluted way, especially with the extensive role helicopters play in actual modern naval warfare.

But I guess it's just as stupid as an archer shooting at a tank and doing 1% (1HP) damage to it every turn, or archer units outranging modern HMG's.

 

[RealAntithesis]

Helicopters should be their own distinct class of unit, rather than making them a cavalry unit that acts exactly the same as horsemen except with different graphics. They were their own class in previous Civ games, so why not this one too?

 

[AriochIV]

Anti-tank gunships and air-mobile cavalry are really two completely different kinds of units.

 

[UWHabs]

And the way things are set up, spearmen and pikemen get bonuses vs tanks and helicopters, which given how civ operates, sometimes I do feel like that might be intentional.

 

[bladex]

have you ever seen the movie sahara? they destroyed a helicopter with an ironclad

 

[DieselCat18]

I say let the helicopters shoot at frigates...and ban the damn crabs

 

[Agent327]

Those are some damn accurate cannons they have on those frigates.

Yeah I know, I'm drinking and playing civ. A deadly combination... for the AI that is.

On a serious note so this thread is not spam, why is it my helicopter can't attack frigates? He can hit me but I can't hit him?

This has been the first game I really had extensive use of helicopters. And they are great for taking cities once the walls are down. I'm pretty happy with their performance. If only they could attack ships...

Well, you see, embarked helicopters are not really good at attacking frigates. However, frigates are very good at targeting embarked land units.

 

[narmox]

It's ok, it's not as bad as submarines firing torpedoes, said torpedoes heading towards the shore then continuing on their way unimpeded, UNDERGROUND, then hitting ground units from below! Modern technology is amazing I guess!

 

[CoconutTank]

Helis in Civ5 and Civ6 are just ground units with deceptive artwork T_T I also wish helis worked like they used to in Civ2, or like the zeppelins in Empires of the Smoky Skies, or even at least like hover units from Beyond Earth.

Clearly hover units are still a thing for modern Firaxis, but they've insisted on making Helis be bad in the mainline Civ games for awhile now. At least air units are not completely caged in for Civ6...

 

[diamond geezer]

What would be cool is if helicopters could move/attack like normal within shallow water; that must be doable surely.

 

[TomKQT]

I have no problem with this conflict with reality in this case. I see this purely symbolic, helicopter is just top top level of light cavalry class of units and share all properties with horseman etc. Maybe it would be better if they picked a different representation of helicopter, but what would it be? Chopters are often told to be the modern cavalry (well, tanks are also, and the game fits here, too), you can see it in many movies (Vietnam war etc.).

 

[Victoria]

Maybe they should have an LCS class ship and if the chopper is within 2 tile range of it, it can hit frigates.

 

[Karmah]

I have no issue with helicopter being the successor of light cavalery , it actually makes a lot of sense. I don't see how being the 'modern light cav' should make 'light cav' be more important than 'modern'. They simply should stay in the 'fast and light unit' category yet gain the capacity to hurt boats in melee (they have to get close) and only be hit by range. Those facts should not be antagonistic.

 

[DieselCat18]

Maybe they should have an LCS class ship and if the chopper is within 2 tile range of it, it can hit frigates.

View attachment 462438

And have them be able to land on them...same as an aircraft on a carrier.

 

[Victoria]

And have them be able to land on them...same as an aircraft on a carrier.

Well, yes... Ofc