At this point Annihilator could really use explosive rounds.

[Sussus Amongus]

f*ck no! The heli is fine as is! It's damage has been bumped up alot an I've taken out a fully upgraded Entity XF with one. I have a vid of me kicking ass with it. Will post the link tomorrow.

[Turkey Shenanigans]

YES. YES. YES.

 

I missed TLaD.

[-Red_October-]

Code so that rounds only explode on contact with other aircraft. Profit.

Edited February 23, 2015 by -Red_October-

[.Vooodu.]

f*ck no! The heli is fine as is! It's damage has been bumped up alot an I've taken out a fully upgraded Entity XF with one. I have a vid of me kicking ass with it. Will post the link tomorrow.

 

 

You have done nothing of the sort unless the Entity XF was just parked on the side of the road. Or the guy is a total newb... Which means even if you did take it out it would not matter. Anyone with half a brain would have simply pulled over and deal with you asap.

 

Its the weakest attack vehicle in the game and the slowest chopper you can buy.. Which is fact. Lord knows i don`t sweat it if i see one chasing me.

[REXX]

 

 

f*ck no! The heli is fine as is! It's damage has been bumped up alot an I've taken out a fully upgraded Entity XF with one. I have a vid of me kicking ass with it. Will post the link tomorrow.

 

You have done nothing of the sort unless the Entity XF was just parked on the side of the road. Or the guy is a total newb... Which means even if you did take it out it would not matter. Anyone with half a brain would have simply pulled over and deal with you asap.

 

Its the weakest attack vehicle in the game and the slowest chopper you can buy.. Which is fact. Lord knows i don`t sweat it if i see one chasing me.

Weakest vehicle in the game is actually the Cheval Fugitive during Rooftop Rumble

 

EDIT: Sorry, I didn't see the word "attack", so let me correct myself, the slowest attack vehicle is the Rhino. However I do agree with you that it is slow. I wouldn't say its weak though. Too expensive for what you get though.

Edited February 24, 2015 by REXX93

[justinlynch3]

 

 

f*ck no! The heli is fine as is! It's damage has been bumped up alot an I've taken out a fully upgraded Entity XF with one. I have a vid of me kicking ass with it. Will post the link tomorrow.

 

You have done nothing of the sort unless the Entity XF was just parked on the side of the road. Or the guy is a total newb... Which means even if you did take it out it would not matter. Anyone with half a brain would have simply pulled over and deal with you asap.

 

Its the weakest attack vehicle in the game and the slowest chopper you can buy.. Which is fact. Lord knows i don`t sweat it if i see one chasing me.

Weakest vehicle in the game is actually the Cheval Fugitive during Rooftop Rumble

 

EDIT: Sorry, I didn't see the word "attack", so let me correct myself, the slowest attack vehicle is the Rhino. However I do agree with you that it is slow. I wouldn't say its weak though. Too expensive for what you get though.

 

But it is weak. Sure firing into a parked car it'll blow within seconds, but in a high speed pursuit where you get minimal hits on what your firing at, it's actually quite worthless.

[Goldie-]

Lol for me the rhino is the fastest vechicle. Said it in my stats at a wopping 193 MPH.

[lol232]

I have actually have made a few kills with it, even killed a couple of Buzzards with it, and once I killed a Lazer pilot out of pure luck with it.

 

Still needs to be buffed, though.

 

They can make the Annihilator a bit faster and more agile, as it was very fast in IV. Or make the guns have better range. OR, even, add FLARES to it so it can dodge homing missiles.

Edited February 25, 2015 by lol232

[WWEMichaelB]

I still don't know why people are split on this forum. The helicopter isn't useless if you know what you're doing. It is useless to those who don't know how to use it. That ladies and gentlemen is a fact.

[REXX]

I have actually have made a few kills with it, even killed a couple of Buzzards with it, and once I killed a Lazer pilot out of pure luck with it.

 

Still needs to be buffed, though.

 

They can make the Annihilator a bit faster and more agile, as it was very fast in IV. Or make the guns have better range. OR, even, add FLARES to it so it can dodge homing missiles.

Just to point out, the Annihilator was actually faster than the Buzzard in the Episodes of Liberty City. Seems Rockstar decided to reverse it for GTA V.

[justinlynch3]

So with the addition of the new Valkyrie helicopter having a explosive round, amiable cannon as well as 2 mounted miniguns. As well as the addition of the Hydra jet being able to hover and also having explosive round cannons.

 

Would you still say it's unfair to give the Annihilator explosive rounds, or at least buff it's machine guns.

[kollow]

So with the addition of the new Valkyrie helicopter having a explosive round, amiable cannon as well as 2 mounted miniguns. As well as the addition of the Hydra jet being able to hover and also having explosive round cannons.

 

Would you still say it's unfair to give the Annihilator explosive rounds, or at least buff it's machine guns.

Don't forget about the new Savage Attack Helicopter which also has an explosive round minigun as well has homing rockets.

[badblack87gn]

So I saved and saved and saved when I first got this game and GTA:O released (however long ago that was) and bought the annhilator thinking it would be the best helicopter (As it was certainly the most expensive).

Boy was I wrong..

Since I can't SELL the Annihilator back.. I always hoped a buff would come.

 

I also came up with some ideas that I proposed (about a week before Heists dropped) to Rockstar..

I STILL think they would be a good idea.

I don't think explosive rounds would be overpowered, but I do think it's a bit boring in the grand scheme of things.

In light of things like the heavy Insurgent, I can see how people might think my "more interesting option" could be overpowered but I'll get to that after the proposal..

So here's my proposal I sent:

 

I've been doing a lot of thinking about my personal favorite helicopter the Annhilator, and how it could be made better (while still being balanced) for GTA online.

Lets look at some info about the Annihilator before we get into the ways to improve it.

Currently it's not the cheapest helicopter, it's not the fastest helicopter, it's not the most well armed helicopter, it's not the helicopter that can carry the most people.

Well.. Technically the last statement is wrong.. It CAN hold the most people (with the exception of the cargo bob).

I suspect, but am not sure, that it's the most well armored helicopter but it's overall size and speed make it a bullet magnet when in a job so that's sort of hard to judge. Almost any time I call for my Annhilator in a mission (such as that one with the prison bus and the guy you need to pick up for Lester) I find the thing smoking and worthless before I've gotten any reasonable distance with it.

Currently, the Annhilator is the most expensive helicopter.

Imagine my dismay when I did mission after mission (back when GTA launched, heck I think I bought the annhilator before I bought a 10 car garage property) to get enough money to get the most expensive helicopter only to learn I should have gone for the frogger (for speed) or buzzard (for overall utility) both of which are cheaper options.

With the lack of missiles on this thing it's pretty offensively worthless. While the 4 miniguns can make short work of something in front of them aside from the occasional helicopter (most often people are just running from them anyway) this is close to impossible to achieve on a ground target.

So my thoughts to improve the annihilator are one of two things..

1) Turn the miniguns into explosive rounds like the Laser jet. That at least make them a bit more viable. I think this is sort of a boring option though.

or

2) (the better option to me) Make the body of the helicopter bullet proof not explosive proof (I'm not entirely sure if the tank is bullet proof or just can take so much damage it seems that way.. but that's what the armoring of the Annihilator should be in my opinion) and make those doors closable (either by pilot or people in the rear of the helicopter). This would turn the Annhilator into an armored troop/crew transport vehicle with some minor offensive capabilities. I wouldn't make the glass bullet proof so the driver/passengers can be picked off with well aimed shots. In the event the rear passenger doors can be closed I'd also make it such that shooting out of the helicopter was not possible or even MORE limited than trying to shoot out the side of a helicopter already is.

It'd still be slower than some of the other helicopters, an easier target, able to be taken down by an RPG/homing missile/sticky bomb/grenade launcher, but it would be a viable vehicle to use in missions/the upcoming heists and make it more worth it's price tag.

It would give the annihilator a viable purpose and make the cost justifiable.

Thanks for your consideration!

So why isn't this overpowered like the Heavy Insurgent
First and foremost.. the Heavy insurgent is fairly explosive proof. The helicopter should not be.. Maybe let it take one RPG and then blow up, but certainly I'm not opposed to it not being able to stand up to more than one rocket/rpg/whatever.

The annhilator has some big old windows.. Typically speaking.. if the pilot is aiming his miniguns in a direction to hit a ground based player he's at an angle that one feasibly could lock aim on the pilot and kill him (as the windows themselves wouldn't be bullet proof). Sure if the player is hovering over head from directly below without an RPG or anything gun fire wouldn't kill the pilot (no windows at the bottom), but then typically speaking the helicopter wouldn't have any offensive capabilities.. Unless your passengers open the doors to fire out.. in which case the passengers (IE the offensive capabilities) would be exposing themselves to gunfire..

That to me would give the Annihilator a nice purpose while not being overpowered.

At least where normal use is concerned.

I suspect such changes won't happen since there could be a chance of making it over powered in missions..

Of course between the Karin Kuruma (armored) and the buzzard/savage/valkyrie most missions are laughable now anyway.

[Wallly]

f*ck no

 

we don't need a hovering vehicle with explosive rounds

Hydra

[happygrowls]

Why are you bumping alot of old threads?

[Misanthrope Z]

 

f*ck no

 

we don't need a hovering vehicle with explosive rounds

Hydra

 

you are late as f*ck

[Mr. Scratch]

I'd rather have the miniguns from the Valkyrie on it.

[Setzaroth]

I'd rather have the miniguns from the Valkyrie on it.

 

Equally worthless.

 

They either need to let them independently target vehicles, or give them explosive rounds

[The Lone Wanderer]

I see no reason not to, but the explosions should be small, not like the savage.

4 streams of savage gunfire would be op

[Mr. Scratch]

 

I'd rather have the miniguns from the Valkyrie on it.

Equally worthless.

 

They either need to let them independently target vehicles, or give them explosive rounds

I'm not done, miniguns WITH explosive rounds.

[Rabid Vulpix]

Annihilator is perfect for clearing out item sensitive areas in contact missions.

Parts where a Savage's explosive rounds would fail the mission.

[BruisingEmu]

What about changing the guns so they converge at a certain point? As it stands now the minigun isn't so strong on it's own. Especially since they're so spread out on the annihilator that only two miniguns could possibly hit a target at the same time. (and even thats awkward because both those guns would be on the same side)

Now if all 4 miniguns were angled slightly to the center (like on real aircraft) then it would be no question that the helicopter would be capable of a lot more damage. Also maintaining the identity of it being the only helicopter that relies solely on regular bullets to do damage.

 

To clarify, I'm suggesting that the guns all aim somewhat towards the center so that the bullets all meet at a certain point. So it's possible for all 4 miniguns to hit a single "car" sized target.

 

Add a little armor and cruising speed (since it IS a larger, bulkier helicopter) and I think it would have it's own niche that some would definitely enjoy.

Someone earlier mentioned closable doors. You could make it like the van where the doors close when the passenger isn't aiming.

Im not sure what the state of its armor is now. But I would think that one RPG setting it on fire but not outright destroying it to be fair.

Edited July 10, 2015 by BruisingEmu

[Arachne]

I think it should have explosive rounds because the heli is waaaaaaaay toooo slow.The heli can be destroyed with an well-aimed RPG or homing missile

 

 

Also,why the hell,does everybody purchase planes,helicopters and boats? IT'S A WASTE!

[Daemian]

I feel like the annihilator is too slow, needs a little bit more of armor and not so sure about explosive rounds on this helicopter, maybe add explosive rounds but at a more reduced damage, not an instakill explosion but it would cover more area

[Mattoropael]

Annihilator is perfect for clearing out item sensitive areas in contact missions.

Parts where a Savage's explosive rounds would fail the mission.

 

I fail to see why not to use a Buzzard instead of an Annihilator. At least I'd still have rockets when shooting at things that are ten miles away from the mission object.

 

I bought the Annihilator for one thing: Highest capacity out of all choppers. Yep, that's it, the guns are pretty much decoration at this point.

[Rabid Vulpix]

 

Annihilator is perfect for clearing out item sensitive areas in contact missions.

Parts where a Savage's explosive rounds would fail the mission.

 

I fail to see why not to use a Buzzard instead of an Annihilator. At least I'd still have rockets when shooting at things that are ten miles away from the mission object.

 

I bought the Annihilator for one thing: Highest capacity out of all choppers. Yep, that's it, the guns are pretty much decoration at this point.

 

 

The stability & non-converging 4 mini-guns make it great for sweeping areas, such as the lower floor on High Priority Case.

The Buzzard's dual guns converge & the helicopter itself is not as stable for using mini-guns.

[ExplosiveTurkey1]

Or just make the 4 cannons independently autoaim in a fixed cone in front of you, and have the autoaim spread out if there are multiple targets, so if there was a single car, all 4 would shoot at it together on pressing Fire, but if they are 4 NPCs in your aiming cone, every enemy would get a gun pointed at their face at the same time.

Much OP

Edited August 5, 2015 by ExplosiveTurkey1

[Rabid Vulpix]

At least a cycle through option (between explosive & standard ammunition) would be nice.

[mybones121]

actually the annihilator rounds are better than the machine gun rounds on the buzzard but are weaker than the jets and savage machine guns.