Heli Attack 3/Weapon strategies

Pistol

This should be your primary weapon if you haven't collected any other. Simply shoot at the helicopter and dodge shots. Its accuracy is relatively poor, but with the unlimited ammunition you can often take out ground enemies with this anyway.

Knife

Practically useless for helicopters. What it can do, a grenade can do better. However, you can quickly destroy ground enemies with this. Note that once an enemy is destroyed, the score you receive is equal to the amount of damage the enemy sustained times 100, so the knife will grant more points than the bow and arrow or pistol.

Bow&Arrow

Inflicts more DPS than the pistol at close range when every shot hits; however, it's often not worth the time to switch through your weapons unless TriDamage or TimeSink is on.

Grenade

If no better weapon is available, spam these at helicopters flying very close to the ground. Troops can be taken out easily. Keep in mind that you do have a limited supply.

MachineGun

Destroy any enemy (ground troops included) mid-hyperjump to gain 25 ammo to this weapon. This can be done with any weapon, and will automatically give you the MachineGun if you haven't already gotten it from a pickup. Attack ground enemies with this weapon more than usual, since ammo can be easily farmed.

AkimboMac10's

Fits between the Pistol and MachineGun, with faster fire rate (as fast as the ChainGun, due to 2 bullets per shot) but lower damage per bullet. Make sure to compensate for the fairly wide spread and staggered bullet pattern (shot in groups of 2) by shooting at closer ranges. Avoid using on small targets, as they can burn through the already low ammo per pickup.

ChainGun

A direct upgrade to the MachineGun that fires more than twice as fast. Recoil stops kicking the gun upwards after a second of firing. Aiming while firing is sluggish, so make sure to stop firing if you want to re-aim. Wide spread makes this weapon useful on large targets, as it allows most, if not all shots to hit.

Shotgun

Use on larger targets. Get as close as possible to make sure all bullets hit. Shots at longer ranges are unreliable, due to low bullet speed and wide spread.

DoubleShotgun

Same strategy as Shotgun, but more difficult to use in general, since there is only a small damage improvement overall. Effective for clearing out ground enemies, due to wide spread.

SniperRifle

Save this for larger targets, as it one of few weapons that offer high damage, bullet speed, accuracy, and fire rate (with respect to damage). Recoil may be high, but your aim will settle back to its original position by the time you fire your next shot. Use time powers if necessary to help with aiming.

GrenadeLauncher

This weapon has been maligned a lot in HA2, but in fact each ammo pickup can dispatch 3 helis, which is above average. You also can remove 2.5 Big Guns in HA3 with this package. The Grenade Launcher is incredibly versatile, as it works to destroy anything quickly, and another bonus is that even if it misses its target, it may still bounce around back to the target when it explodes.

RPG

The RPG is a great weapon. The fast projectile speed makes it effective at longer ranges. Make sure to lead your target slightly so you can ensure hits. Damage is almost identical to the RocketLauncher and similar weapons, but comes with the advantage of more ammo. A Big Gun can be destroyed in five shots, which is the same number of rockets required to destroy one. This makes the RPG very efficient, as a single pickup can take down up to three Big Guns.

RocketLauncher

This is usable against ground enemies, but the grenade launchers are better suited for the job. Instead, knock out the helis and you might transfer the blast to ground troops. Because of its medium-high damage, fairly large ammunition supply, and good fire rate, the Rocket Launcher is best suited to taking out larger helicopters where the rockets are less likely to miss.

SeekerLauncher

This weapon has less ammunition than the standard launcher. It is a fire-and-forget weapon that rarely misses, so you only need to focus on dodging. Since the rockets fly toward the nearest enemy, make sure that you are clear of any ground enemies when you fire. Rockets will also seek a new target if the previous one has been destroyed or is no longer on-screen; if there are no enemies on-screen, the rockets will fly straight. Keep in mind that rockets will automatically explode if they travel off-screen.

DrunkenLauncher

Don't underestimate this weapon. Two perfect hits will destroy a bomber heli, or leave a Big Gun with few hit points, making this weapon very efficient against them. Either use at close range, or fire at a distance and hope for the remaining rockets to hit a stray target, or the next heli.

GuidedLauncher

The GuidedLauncher is a fun weapon to use. It comes with more rockets than the SeekerLauncher, and fires quicker. Unlike the SeekerLauncher, you can keep multiple rockets active. When a heli comes into view, proceed to guide the rockets and destroy it instantly. Any leftover rockets can be used to destroy the next heli.

ShotgunRockets

This weapon retains good attributes of both of its counterparts with few downsides. Consistent spread makes it arguably more useful than the DrunkenLauncher. Use it on the helis and try to get ground troops with the blast. Three shots will destroy a bomber heli, or leave a Big Gun with few hit points.

FlakCannon

A very powerful shotgun-like weapon to use against helis at very close ranges. A couple of shots can take them out, but at anywhere other than close range, it is difficult to score hits, due to the random velocities of the projectiles. Try to use this in a hyperjump while aiming downwards, for the chance of a stray projectile hitting a ground troop.

GooGun

An excellent weapon for killing ground troops, as the goo behaves like mines. It also works great on helis. A near miss may also end up destroying a ground troop anyway. This is a better weapon than you might think.

SparkPlug

A fairly strong weapon with a decent fire rate. The two sparks are easy enough to hit on larger targets, and travel at a reasonable speed. The greatest benefit is the large amount of ammo that this weapon comes with, which can allow it to destroy up to three Big Guns

FlameThrower

Leading your target is important, as the flames travel slower than most projectiles. Using the FlameThrower at short range guarantees the longest duration of contact with an enemy. With effective use, one ammo pickup can destroy multiple helis.

Bladerang

Try to shoot from the side of a heli. Typically, you should be able to destroy a Big Gun in one or two shots due to the projectile dealing damage as long as it is in contact with the heli. With practice, the Bladerang can be a very efficient weapon.

LaserRifle

This is fairly accurate with fast damage, and can be used in any situation. It's damage potential is situational, but is often seen as an upgrade to the Sniper Rifle. The number of additional hits scored depends on the time spent by the laser in contact with the target. Remember use angled shots and time powers when possible for maximum damage, as with all laser weapons.

AutoLaserRifle

This is less accurate, so should be used more in contests of raw speed where you have to knock out the heli fast compared to the more consistent Laser Rifle. Due to its lack of accuracy, shooting from the side is less effective.

ShotgunLasers

This can kill quickly if shot from the side, and can be done frequently due to the fast reload of the hyperjump. You can easily shoot through a ground troop as well as a heli. Like all other laser weapons, damage of additional hits are affected by TriDamage.

RailGun

A powerful weapon that can shoot through solid objects. Extended use should not be attempted without some space to dodge. This is especially true against a Big Gun, which requires three shots to take down. Using time powers will greatly aid in aiming, due to the hitscan (instant travel speed) nature of the weapon. It is fairly difficult to set up a shot through a ground troop on the way to the heli for extra points, and is best left to other weapons.

Anytime

This Anytime is difficult to master. It lacks consistency, and may take more shots to destroy a heli than the Rail Gun. For more damage, the Anytime should be shot to the side of a heli at an angle similar to the Bladerang/laser weapons. This causes the projectile to be in contact with the heli for the longest possible time. This is because the Anytime's projectiles create explosions at regular intervals while in contact with an enemy or destructible environment. To make the Anytime more effective, use time powers, specifically TimeDistort and TimeRift. By using TimeDistort/TimeRift, the distance between the explosions is reduced, allowing more to be stacked on a heli. Combine this with an angled shot for consistent one-shot kills on almost anything, including Big Guns.

AirStrike

Difficult to use against helis, since the direction that the bombs will be dropped (left or right) is random. As a result, it is a very inconsistent weapon. However, it will purge ground enemies very quickly, and can get a lot of MachineGun ammo via hyperjump.

Taser

Don't just shoot it and wait until the heli goes down...remember that you can switch to other weapons to deal more damage for a quicker kill. This can be done as soon as you shoot the Taser or while the heli is getting shocked. Time powers works better with this than most weapons, as you can focus more on dodging bullets.

Soundwave

This is probably the best and most useful weapon in the entire Heli Attack series. It can be treated as a direct upgrade to the Flamethrower, without the spread or range limitation. Shoot from the side and since it can go through walls, you can take out enemies as well. Typically, 5 or 6 helis can be destroyed with one pack of Soundwaave. If you have TriDamage...I won't even go there. The point: Helicopter pilots don't like bass solos. But you should.

A-BombLauncher

These are slow, so either jump up and blow the heli into the Stone Age as in HA2, or fire the bomb from a fairly low level and hope for the fallout to annihilate a ground enemy as well as the heli for additional score. You can, in addition, shoot at a ground enemy instead and heavily damage a heli to get more points out of one shot, but opportunities for this are rare. With some luck, it is also possible to knock out multiple helis at once with the fallout. Using this weapon under the effect of TriDamage is not recommended (as other weapons could benefit from it), unless going for points.

BlackHoleGenerator

Just jump and suck them into the abyss. Wait until there is a full complement of ground enemies before you fire this, because then you can get large amounts of MachineGun ammo via hyperjump. Note that any enemy bullets, as well as anything you shoot while the black hole is active can and will be sucked up, including RailGun shots and A-Bomb Launcher rockets! The most important rule: do not hold onto the BHG for very long. If you get additional ammo, you have to reload it without using any other weapons! If you do happen to get stuck in such a situation, use time powers to help with dodging.

FireMines

A returning weapon from Heli Attack 2, FireMines have improved in both damage and utility; a single FireMine can destroy up to two of any heli with proper timing. Upon being thrown and touching the ground, a targeting laser will point upwards. Any enemy that crosses the laser will cause the mine to detonate, sending a column of flame upwards (limited height) for 3 seconds which can also pierce walls. Mines will also detonate automatically 5 seconds after being deployed, or by moving off-screen (like most explosives).

AntiMatterCannon

Fires extremely high-damaging waves as fast as the ChainGun. Each shot deals damage equal to half the health of a Big Gun, allowing you to destroy up to four of them with a single pickup. You should be concerned with scoring hits and not oversampling your shots, as the projectiles travel in a wide spread at a speed slower than most projectiles. Use TimeDistort to slow down the fire rate and avoid wasting ammo, as you only get 8 shots per pickup.

It is sometimes possible to kill the biggest helicopter with one shot. When the helicopter is half off-screen and coming toward you, do a hyperjump and shoot horizontally. However, this can be difficult to accomplish successfully.