im ranked top 400 in the world in the viper, and i can tell you unequivocally that flares for choppers are completely pointless... ESPECIALLY for the gunner.. using ECM as the pilot is more than enough, and when you gunner uses zoom as opposed to flares/thermal you are far more effective playing a stand-off role... any enemy stingers are pretty much pointless as you stay out of range. your gunner is able to murder any infantry within 300m.
BEST SETUP:
pilot: guided rocket - ECM - heatseekers
gunner: stealth - zoom - tv missile
roles: pilot should concentrate on killing enemy armor, supported by the gunner's tv missile, and keeping an eye on the radar for enemy jets. While the gunner does nothing but pick off infantry and light vehicles and using the TV on command...
it should also be noted that the reload time for the tv missile was reduced in the patch from 10 seconds to 7.. making it far more useful
