Is there an advantage using Light AA over Medium AA?

[dizzy]

I usually put only Medium Anti Aircraft guns on my ship. I really don't know how either work. Bigger is better? Is there any advantage to using Lighter AA?

Thanks

[generalmacnut]

Accord to Dev Diary, Light AA have shorter range and less powerful than Medium, mean less chance to 'properly' down enemy bird, they use is to reduce enemy strike accuracy, as well as damage enemy plane, which may lead to enemy plane choose to turn back instead trying to bomb your ship.

[dizzy]

Ok, so once medium comes out, bigger is better. Thanks.

[generalmacnut]

Not exactly, chance for AA to exactly down plane are extremely pathetic, while i stuck with 30 era tech Medium AA are entirely useless, with no plane getting hit, i believe it should be mix, Medium AA for range and firepower, and Light for prevent enemy to successfully hit.

[mycophobia]

May 31, 2019 11:45:09 GMT -6 dizzy said:

Ok, so once medium comes out, bigger is better. Thanks.

It is possible that light AA have a stronger disruption effect than Medium AA, but again we don't have exact numbers.

Something we are certain given the manual:
The chance for Light AA to pre-emptively down a plane scales with a plane's speed. So they are more likely to down or at least damage slower planes than faster ones. Which might mean they might be more effective for their value in the early stages of the game.

Also, you get multiple techs that improves medium and light AA separately, depending what tech you end up, especially with variable tech, it might make sense to use light AA over medium?

[L0ckAndL0ad]

The way I understand what the manual says is that Light AA always applies disruption BEFORE the hit chance calculation, meaning they're reliable way to decrease enemy aircraft's accuracy. MAA and HAA are only chance-based to cause disruption then, I guess?

[jwsmith26]

Being larger, with longer ranges, MAA is more effective than LAA, both at causing disruption and downing or damaging enemy planes. I believe MAA will benefit from AA directors while LAA does not. Other than this, the primary differentiation is that, if a plane is shot down by LAA, that event will occur after the plane has executed its bombing run, while the plane will be shot down prior to its bombing attack if downed by HAA or MAA. As L0ckAndL0ad indicates disruption for both LAA and MAA will occur prior to a bombing attack.

[rimbecano]

Light AA has visible tracer rounds and a high rate of fire, so it provides the light show that gives the enemy pilot that "oh crap" feeling and makes him flinch. Medium AA is more likely to do enough structural damage to tear the aircraft apart if it hits, but isn't visible enough to scare the pilot. Heavy AA (DP guns) provides big flak bursts that can kill an aircraft without a direct hit.

[alsadius]

May 31, 2019 12:40:50 GMT -6 jwsmith26 said:

Being larger, with longer ranges, MAA is more effective than LAA, both at causing disruption and downing or damaging enemy planes. I believe MAA will benefit from AA directors while LAA does not. Other than this, the primary differentiation is that, if a plane is shot down by LAA, that event will occur after the plane has executed its bombing run, while the plane will be shot down prior to its bombing attack if downed by HAA or MAA. As L0ckAndL0ad indicates disruption for both LAA and MAA will occur prior to a bombing attack.

So basically, the only advantage of LAA is in cost? 

[dorn]

May 31, 2019 12:49:28 GMT -6 alsadius said:

May 31, 2019 12:40:50 GMT -6 jwsmith26 said:

Being larger, with longer ranges, MAA is more effective than LAA, both at causing disruption and downing or damaging enemy planes. I believe MAA will benefit from AA directors while LAA does not. Other than this, the primary differentiation is that, if a plane is shot down by LAA, that event will occur after the plane has executed its bombing run, while the plane will be shot down prior to its bombing attack if downed by HAA or MAA. As L0ckAndL0ad indicates disruption for both LAA and MAA will occur prior to a bombing attack.

So basically, the only advantage of LAA is in cost? 

I do not know how it is done in RTW2 however you should need both.

[alsadius]

May 31, 2019 13:21:07 GMT -6 dorn said:

May 31, 2019 12:49:28 GMT -6 alsadius said:

So basically, the only advantage of LAA is in cost? 

I do not know how it is done in RTW2 however you should need both.

jwsmith26's quote implied no advantages for LAA, only disadvantages. If you can fit twice as many on for a given tonnage/cost/topside space, that's fine, but you need to have that numerical advantage or they're just strictly inferior.