Can the hawk hit both tanks and aircraft? Can the crow hit both tanks and aircraft? Or are they both limited to only being able to lock on to one or the other? I hear AA is underpowered for the launchers, so which do you recommend?
You can dumb fire either of them at anything but they will only lock on to what they are supposed to. I usually use the Hawk because it is easier to dumb fire and hit a tank then an ESF
The Crow might do more damage to an esf but have you ever tried hitting one with it? With the Hawk you can take on either.
Things you can kill with a Crow: ESFs that are on fire and Libs/Gals with like one point of health left that are nearby and that are most likely to be shot down by MAX, AA or other air. Also, since the Crow is a lot more popular, squads of HAs all rolling with Hawks is going to be a rare sight.
I agree that you made the right choice in picking the AA launcher. During beta I found both AA and AV to do nearly the same if not the same damage to all targets, the only difference being lock-on capabilities. With vehicles, there are a lot more obstacles everywhere for them to hide behind to avoid locks so it's easier to hit them with dumbfire anyway whereas aircraft might not be hit, but simply deterring them with a lock is beneficial. You also have to expose yourself during the locking process, which is often more lethal in the case of engaging tanks than ESF flying around. Either launcher is better than stock though due to lack of drop and increased projectile velocity.. unless that has been changed.
For a short time, before everyone who hops in an ESF has flares, the Hawk will be okay. Once everyone's got flares again the hawk will be useless garbage. The Crow will always be useful though. It's a decision that makes itself.
But I have no issues hitting a tank/other vehicles with or without a lock...the aircraft is a different story, never once have I hit one without a lock. So I can still do damage to armor considering I am used to aiming with the default anyways.
Also, a tank will get out of the way when being locked but not when be shot at normally, so the crow may actually not be that good. GL dumbfiring a scythe.
This! A tank can just move back and forth behind a rock to dodge rockets. An ESF needs to run away and quite possibly abandon the attack run. You don't even need ammo for your launcher to screw with an ESF. All you have to do is lock onto it and you'll distract the pilot, if not make him spaz and abort. It's also a fun way to make bad pilots waste their flares.
