Battlefield 3 – Havoc vs. Viper

battlefield-3

As a passionate Helicopter Pilot in BF3 with over 30 hours, I feel that the US Attack Helicopter (Viper), is way more mobile and maneuverable than the RU Helicopter (Havoc).

How does the Havoc compare against the Viper, esp. in terms of mobility, maneuvrability, firepower/damage, armor etc.? What are the trade-offs in choosing one or the other, or is the Havoc considered inferior to the Viper?

Best Answer

This is hard to answer definitively, but here's what I know about the Havoc compared to the Viper:

  • Prior to the 1.04 patch for BF3, the Mi28 Havoc was significantly worse at manoeuvring than the Viper. This video highlights the differences quite well:
  • The 1.04 patch addressed this with the following change:

    The Mi28 has received upgrades to its climbing and yawing abilities.

  • This video of Havoc yaw speed before and after the patch confirms that it was significantly improved:

  • After the patch, there is still some debate as to how similar the two helicopters are. For example, some Reddit users (example 1, example 2) believe that the Viper is still better, whereas at least one other (example) believe that the difference is negligible. Personally, I can't tell a difference between the two now, but I haven't spent enough time in the air to say that with certainty.