Thread: Comprehensive TACTICS

Gentlemen:

I will be posting some of the text files I have written up over the last few months in an effort to create a "playbook" of sorts for my squad. I believe in sharing information in order for the community to "evolve". The highest form of flattery (short of getting artillery'd) is to have you enemy using your own tactics against you. I will be preceding each of my posts with TACTICS: in the subject such to make them easier to find. Hopefully in the future a tactics forum will be created and highly moderated / filtered for quality. Perhaps a wiki similar to bf2s.com in future.

Please keep in mind; these are still works in progress. However, they should still contain valuable information. Some of these were written prior to bf2s.com's existence. Some of the information contained here can since then be found in other places. I feel pretty confident you folks will appreciate some of the information contained within

So without further ado...

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Chopper piloting

So you want to be a cowboy in the sky do you? Well cool your jets before you go romping in and commandeering a helicopter. There are a few things you need to know first and I'm going to attempt to explain them to you.

Firstly, there are two types of choppers; transport and attack. Let's talk about the transport helicopter...

All too often I join Battlefield 2 servers, and at initial spawn time everyone makes a mad dash for aircraft. Especially for the jets. To make matters worse you have people team-killing one another and attempting to steal jets from each other. I guess they think it makes them cool or something; The concept of teamwork just flies out the window for some people.

That being said, one of the air vehicles that seem to always get left on the ground is the Blackhawk. The Blackhawk is often times left on the deck of an aircraft carrier or helipad, surrounded by troops. That's right, surrounded by troops. I guess these were the troops who lost the blue on blue battle for aircraft. The lost troops stubbornly just look at each other and refuse to get in the Blackhawk. If it's not that, usually one courageous infantryman will spin up the rotors begging people to get in only to be obliterated by incoming enemy fire from on high.

You'd think that the Blackhawk helicopter was a fat girl with bad teeth on prom night.

Let's see if we can understand why this is... For one, no one likes getting into a helicopter, or any other vehicle, with people or persons they don't know can fly, have never spoken to, or cannot rely on in combat scenarios. People are naturally stand-offish in these situations. For another, everyone seems to want jets and attack helos; the line of thinking goes "grab and offensive weapon and rack up more kills".

Kills are fine; We all love a good kill, but you shouldn't underestimate the combat effectiveness of a fully loaded Blackhawk packed with an experienced squad of pain bringers. Let's put some things in perspective.

I've said it in other articles, and I'll repeat myself again here; Battlefield 2 is a multi-player game. It's designed for people to work TOGETHER as a team.

First thing is first; get on the same squad. Pick the most experienced, reliable, and trustworthy sqaud leader availible to you. If you can't find that person, then it's you; so create a squad. Everyone form up on the sqaud leader.

Second thing is, it is essential to use in game coms. I realise there are people out there who use ventrilo, teamspeak, and other VOIP communications packages - but get in the practice of augmenting your VOIP habits to include in-game coms. In-game coms will allow you to reduce radio chatter and confusion by only allowing you to communicate with those players essential to your situation. Let's face it, not everyone is always on the same team that we wish to be on, and 99% of the time ventrilo servers and teamspeak servers are private password protected systems. Make use of in-game coms as the defacto standard while playing BF2 (but you can still stay connected to vent or TS; just create a hot-key to mute it @ game time). [note, another article on voice communications coming soon]

Squad leaders should almost ALWAYS be the pilot of the Blackhawk. Why? So that other squad members can spawn on them when they die. It'll make more sense in just a minute.

Once your squad is formed up, the sqaud leader is in the pilots seat, and everyone is in the chopper it's time to spin up the rotors and take off.

I highly recommend against flying a helicopter without a joystick, preferably one with a twisting stick to allow for easy pivoting while maintaining hover to provide close air support.

Before we start discussing tactics, I'd like to make a little disclaimer here. I'm not a pilot. I've never been a pilot. Everything you read here I have discovered on my own.

The HUD (heads up display):

When you get into a chopper you will see a HUD. Your HUD is essential for flying. You will see gauges for torque, altitude, and elevation. Your throttle increases or decreases your rotor torque. Your elevation is closely affected by your torque. If the marker is dead center you have 0 elevation. If you increase torque your elevation goes up. Easy right? Now if you push forward on the stick, increase torque, you will move faster - the more you apply the faster you go - BUT WAIT you will lose elevation if you are not careful causing you to ram into the ground.

GENTLE flying is the most effective. What I mean to say here is, don't JAM the throttle all the way and leave it there. Adjust it accordingly to your situation. If you are trying to acquire targets for your gunners (and get some outstanding kill assists) - GO SLOW!

Once you master the art of moving around with some finesse, it's time to practice a new skill - HOVERING. Hovering occurs when you have zero airspeed. Have you ever noticed that round circle on your hud that moves away from the center during take off? Well, that's not just a decoration in the game - it's a tool to use. If you have that little circle perfectly centered it means that you are maintaing zero airspeed. You aren't going forward, you aren't going backward. This means that your door gunners can accurate track and kill targets below, and additional passengers, such as anti-tank personnell and snipers can accurately spot and kill enemy forces below. It also means that if you have medics, engineers, or support personnel hovering over friendly forces you can assist them by hovering low and by tossing goodies out the side.

Tactics:

I like to call my tactics by a nickname; that way as word gets out about them and people read these articles they will be able to call the tactics by name and others who have studied the tactics will know what they are referring to and snap into place seamlessly.

Operation Freefall:

Requirements: Blackhawk
Pilot : Squad Leader - Anti-tank or Assault
Left Gunner : Assault
d Right Gunner: Assault
Position 3 : Engineer (wrench out and repairing)
Position 4 : Medic

Acquire Blackhawk, spin up rotors, fill with squad. Increase altitude to +300. Request anti-air munitions support from nearby ground squad. (For example, there are two phalanx weapons systems on the USS Essex; use them! The enemy can't take them both out simultanously and you all in one run.) There is no excuse you should not be able to take off and obtain the perscribed altitude if your TEAM is working as it should. Once @ 300 the pilot / squad leader is to fly over enemy assets and flags while other squad members bail out and parachute down to the flag for acquisition. The pilot does not bail. Should members of your squad die in combat, they are to spawn on the squad leader still floating above the target and parachute down. Use your instruments / HUD to maintain zero air speed and steady hover over the target area. The rest should be pretty self explanatory. Rinse, wash, repeat.

Operation Gale Force Wind

Requirements: Blackhawk
Pilot : Mechanic
Left Gunner : Medic
Right Gunner: Support
Position 3 : variable
Position 4 : variable
Additional Squad members on ground

Acquire Blackhawk, spin up rotors, fill with atleast 2 side gunners. Maintain steady movement over friendly / indigenous forces in the area. The mechanic, medic, and support capabilities from your pilot and gunners will be sufficient enough to keep the squad beneath you alive. It is essential that you have cooperating and communicating ground forces below that will actively take up defensive positions to combat anti-air craft. Ideally the helicopter should not fly directly over friendly forces and DEFINITELY not over the flag for fear of possible artillery strike. The chopper should make slow, wide turns ensuring good visual for door gunners. Gunners should fire at infantry and light vehicles only as the mini-gun on the door of the chopper is combat ineffective against enemy armor. The pilot, and door mechanics should have an evacuation route to a flat area of the map that is less travelled such that the aircraft can be landed and repaired WITHOUT having to go back to the originating helipad. This seems to disorient inexperienced enemy forces who will try to take your chopper down. Your two infantry in positions 3 and 4 can spawn with appropriate weapons to deal with challenging situations as they arrive. Stay in communication with command and ground forces below. Remember to keep an eye on your damage meter while flying as Blackhawks and other helicopters are vulnerable to enemy vehicle fire from below.

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These tactics are applicable to nearly any map within Battlefield 2, and should work for the Chinese forces as well. Using the Blackhawk helicopter is a skill reserved for cool, calm, pilots who do not panic under pressure. Bear in mind that the enemy makes mistakes to, by practicing your routine you will be ready to exploit their mistakes at a moments notice. However, should you falter adapt and overcome. Think fast; use strategy; communicate with other sqaud / team / and commanders. Coordinate your attacks.

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Attack helicopters:

tips:
* do not fly in flag areas attempting to take a flag with the chopper; this is a job for ground forces; your job is to support ground forces

* do not fly at maximum airspeed all the time; consider your co-gunner; if you don't have a co-gunner get one; if you can't find one, then you probabaly shouldn't be flying anyways

* do not engage enemy helicopters unless you know for sure you have a kill; if you fire on them wildly, and they are experienced pilots they will come back and kill you as your reloading

* hover away from the mainland if possible; strike targets from a distance using TV guided air-to-surface munitions

* if possible, the gunner should be constantly spotting targets; you are an MAV (manned aerial vehicle) who can provide intelligence to other ground forces

* prioritize your targets; if there are anti air turrets in the area, and no friendly forces are near by the use them - destroy them first regardless of whether they are manned or unmanned. missiles are cheap and easy, acquiring good pilots, gunners, and helicopters are not.

* communicate with jet pilots; help them help you by spotting enemy aircraft and letting them cover you

* always have a planned alternate airfield in the even of catastrophy and emergency repairs - don't be afraid to land in places other than the helipad.

* use the hills and other low lying terrain; hover behind them lifting up only long enough to engage the enemy (armor) with a lethal shot; this keeps you out of view from approaching enemy jets (they can't lock what they can't see)

* use TV guided missiles to destroy commander assets from a safe distance

* do not fly with a mouse and keyboard setup

Target Acquisition for Pilots:

You are flying, you see a target that needs to be destroyed, what do you do? YOU DO NOT STRAFE IT WITH ROCKETS IF YOU HAVE A CO-GUNNER. You place the target you want dead in the "sweet spot" of the HUD. Center the target in the HUD, hover, then place the target in the centered lower portion of the HUD; this provides your co-gunner with a perfectly centered TV guided missile view. Let your gunner acquire the target and release his missiles. If you gunner misses, calculate your risk: either a.) give him another chance if the situation permits or b.) if the target is life threatening to other team members, strafe him with rockets.

Target Acquisition for Gunners:

You've been flying, the pilot has lined a target up for you in TV guided view, the first thing you should ask yourself is "Is this target STATIONARY (not moving) or MOVING? If the target is stationary, place your cross hairs over it for TV guided missiles THEN click to release ONE TIME. the missile should track over to the target causing destruction.

If the target is moving, use common sense and attempt to lead the target while carefully compensating as the missile tracks toward it. Don't get click happy. If you start clicking too many times in a panic you will miss completely.

If the target is a moving light enemy vehicle (i.e, buggy), use regular guns instead of missiles as these vehicles can be unpredictable and chances are you will kill the infantry driving faster than you could hit it with a missile.

That brings to mind another point: TV guided missiles are cool, yes. But they aren't everything. If you are a gunner don't rely on them exclusively and definitely not in a chopper on chopper dog fight that is up close and personal. The gun is your best option, fired in short 2 to 3 second bursts.

Sniper - How to be an effective force multiplier

It frustrates me to no end to see a sniper just cracking shot after shot at the enemy. I know you are saying and thinking "Hey! That's what snipers do!!" Well, if you said that, you are wrong. WRONG I tell you.

First let's get a few things straight. Battlefield 2 is a multi-player game. It is also a strategic game. Multi means many. Player means you and others. Strategic means, you have to work together as a combined force to be effective on the field of battle.

With that being said I'm going to hit you with something else. The sniper's role is that of a "force multiplier". He is most effective when he is NOT taking shot after shot of a enemy, getting spotted, and then blown up. Not good. Not combat effective. In fact, he's just another statistic. Just another notch on the stock of another, probabaly equally goofy, player who was lucky enough to stumble on him.

Now that I've knocked you down; let me build you up.

How do I become an effective sniper?

For starters, stay away from vehicles. Vehicles are magnets for pain, usually in the form of laser guided munitions, or other bombs dropped from skilled aircraft pilots (don't worry, I'm writing up a whole section on you fly boys too). You may want to whine now and complain about how big the map is and how long it would take you to arrive particular area. Well, you get no sympathy from me, because the second you jumped in that vehicle, be it a dune buggy, a hummer, a tank, or what have you - you have violated the first rule of sniping: KEEP A LOW PROFILE.

Keeping a low profile is essential to a sniper. Move on foot. If you stop and stay stationary for any period of time, lay down on the ground. Use the hills, and use the mountains. Remember, enemy forces hate snipers with a passion. In fact, if they spot you, they will go WAY out of their way to make sure that you don't come back.

Moving on...

DON'T TAKE THAT SHOT

...unless the target is stationary and / or you have developed enough skill to hit moving targets at a distance. When you take shots you make sound, and you also give off other cues such as muzzle flash to help the enemy find you. I lot of you have been playing the role as sniper using "run and gun" tactics. These cues may seem insignificant at first glance, but mind you skilled infantry players are constantly on the prowl for this sort of "run and gun" activity. Your luck will run out. You will get discovered. You will end up very, very dead. If you do take a shot, regardless of whether you hit your target or not, maintain you calm and back out gracefully. Move to another, equally concealed position.

Remember that when choosing positions you do not need to be up close. In fact, stay a safe distance away from all flags.

SPOT THE ENEMY

Recall earlier when I told you that the role of sniper is that of a "force multiplier". You multiply your sqaud / team's applicable force by spotting the enemy. In order to do this properly you must configure a key within your game controls to bring up the communications rose menu and say "spotted". If you see infantry on the ground, spot them. If you see enemy armor, spot them. If you see enemy aircraft, ESPECIALLY spot them.

Snipers work hand in hand with multi-role fighter bombers, helicopters, and other aircraft. You penetrate deep behind enemy lines. You post up in concealed positions. You paint the targets for your team and call in air strikes on enemy assets. By spotting things like aircraft, you assist pilots in the sky in getting behind their bandits for a kill. You also assist pilots and friendly forces on the ground by painting enemy targets like tank armor.

If at all possible, you should join the squad with two efficient pilots in a bomber. Communicate with them via voice coms. Acquire and paint a target for them. Sit back and watch the light show and they dump death from above.

Now that you've read this, I bet you were expecting a bunch of technical how-to instructions for getting the perfect shot. Well here it is: shoot them in the head. It's not complicated. The rest comes naturally.

When playing BF2 keep in mind that it is a MULTIPLAYER GAME, not a LONEWOLF STROKE FEST GAME. Play as a team, communicate as a team, and win as a team.

NOTE: This is definitely a WIP (work in progress) - expect it to be edited in the near future and augmented with graphics.

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I would like to extend a warm welcome, hearty handshake, and thank you to all those taking the time out to read these articles contained within this Wiki. It says something about you as an individual: you desire to improve your game and team work with others.

With that being said, I will write something you will see many times throughout these articles because I cannot emphasize it enough: Battlefield 2 is a first person shooter game augmented with real-time strategy tactics. It relies on the individual players to compete to and win. It is not a lone wolf extravaganza like that of games in days gone by. That means, BF2 is not Half-Life or Doom or Quake. No amount of kills, strafing, jumping up and down like a rabbit, or even vehicles will help you win the game. BF2 is unique in that it is arguably the most advanced FPS to date. It's important to understand these principals early on as we discuss infantry tactics and leadership technique.

The topics are varying and vast, so it's likely that this document will go through many revisions as people other than myself apply their knowledge to it via the Wiki; in fact I encourage other qualified players to submit their techniques, tactics, tips, tricks, etc. to this.

Very good stuff.

I would also like to add a little.

Operation Freefall- When you exit the aircraft and begin freefall do not open the parachute right away. If the pilot has positioned the aircraft directly over the drop zone you will be able to perform a HALO jump. High Altitude Low Opening. The lower you open the sooner you are on the ground. However if you find yourself somewhat distant of the target you can deploy the canopy higher so that you can land in the intended target. I would also suggest that at the point of exit there is a secondary squad leader of sorts that can be the eyes of the squad leader and relay info to him and help direct the squad on the ground.

Operation Gale Force Wind - Since the door guns are ineffective vs. armor consider the AT for positions 3 and 4.

Effect air defense

You know it. You have seen it. Screaming jet turbines howling overhead striking terror and fear in the hearts of those below. They come in fast, swift, and with a lethal property that is unparalleled to any other combat unit in the game. Terror can be summed with with four little letters: JETS.

Fortunately for you, you have found this document and I'm going to teach you how to swat those flies out the sky with style and grace. First let's get to know our target and what he is:

* HE IS FAST - able to travel at supersonic speeds, even faster at high altitude, and even faster still with afterburner roaring

* HE IS DEADLY - equipped with a 20mm auto cannon, air-to-air heatseeking missiles, a "dumb" bombs, and even deadlier still are those armed with laser guided munitions

The above are two attributes that every pilot you encounter in the game will have. Keep in mind however, fast and deadly are just two attributes. Not all pilots know how to use the two effectively, and that is the chink in their chain mail. Let's now take a moment to break down what all pilots are not (though keep in mind, some are):

* all pilots are not smart - face it; pilots are some of the dumbest players in the game. Perhaps it's just because they think they are "cool" to be the first one in the jet. Most times in public servers you will find that they aren't even in a squad or worse, don't even have VOIP capability which effectively makes them a flying hunk of metal just BEGGING to be blown out of the air. If it isn't that, they have no clue how to fly; they wouldn't know a throttle from a rudder or a turbine from landing gear. We will be using this intel against them to great length.

* all pilots are not accurate - theres a lot of finesse with dropping bombs believe it or not. A lot more than many care to acknowledge. You'll find that many pilots hate to give away there best secrets (not to worry, I'm going to expose those as well). Be warned however, some pilots are accurate which brings me to my next point...

* many pilots are GREEDY - especially the ones who possess the ability to accurately hit their targets. You will find they fly over the same target; often the opposing forces air field using their auto cannon trying to destroy the opfor jet before it can take off. Often they kill a lot of players; but I place this blame squarely on the players. (in otherwords, it's your own damned fault for camping in a KNOWN hot spot with 5 other smurfs like you trying to acquire a jet which you all know full well is a juicy target for enemy aircraft - don't worry, I'll tear you punks a new one soon enough too. But before I break away from this; understand that as the author of this document I do not believe there is such a thing as "spawn raping". Your base is there to be attacked. If you don't like it DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.)

* many pilots fly at relatively "low altitude" - this is the best part because this is what were going to really use against them to wipe them out - they generally like to stay around 100m to 200m in the air flying at full throttle and foolishly burning up afterburners. turning at full throttle isn't the easiest thing to do; don't believe me? Go out to your car and jam on the gas and tell me if you can make a 90-degree turn while going 80mph and get back to me.

Let's take a look at your attributes.

* you are stealthy - as an infantry unit on the ground LGM (laser guided munitions) do not track you (unless you are in a vehicle of course); all you have to do is lay down in the bush and jets will typically fly overhead in bound to their (often predictable) targets

* you are mobile - ever hear of the phrase "I'm using Pat and Ben to get there". You can "pat" your foot on the dirt and "Ben'" your knee to walk. Use your feet you lazy schmuck. I know it's slow and miserable; but using your feet will keep you alive in the game. Remember: vehicles attract jets; jets fire and release munitions; munitions will get you closer to Jesus. Vehicles will effectively kill you because you got impatient and wanted to get somewhere fast that you probably had no business being in the first place. There will be plenty of "natural" opportunities to die later. For now, do us all a favor and stay alive until we resolve this jet problem.

* you are a nuisance - well...to a jet atleast. You can make life EXTREMELY difficult on even the best pilot. They hate getting locked and they'll usually panic, fly in circles and throw flares; sometimes so much so they lose track of where they are and fly off the field and / or into the dirt.

* you are not alone - this is the key; you have a team! in fact you have 31 equally deadly weapons to use him where he only has 6 missiles, 2 bombs, and a few (ok...900) rounds of auto cannon ammunition. Really that's only 8 things; well 8.5 if you consider he has only a 1/2 assed chance to evade all of you.

Enough with the pep talk and analysis; let's get this punk out of the sky.

First things first;

1.) find an AA turret
2.) get on it for a split second and rotate it such that the view is not cluttered with trees; aim it up to clear sky
3.) get off the turret so he cannot find you in his reticle; hide in a bush
4.) listen for the enemy; watch for "red" jets in your minimap; communicate with others
5.) SPOT that jet before doing anything; paint him on the screen - by spotting / painting him you are doing everyone on your team a favor
6.) as he passes over head, get on the turrent and lock him up
7.) obtain a "good tone" (solid beep); use your own judgement with respect to timing of fire and him flaring to avoid you - he will be blowing by you as he has already passed so your missiles will crawl right up his tail pipes and KABOOM! - even if one missile hits you've done your job effectively

Now you know! In most cases this requires multiple AA turrets to be manned doing the same thing.

I'll give a brief example...

From round start on Wake Island as US forces spawn atleast one soldier on the island; face that turret toward the Essex; have both Essex turrets manned; now you have effectively created a "Burmuda Triangle" of death and aerial Mayhem for the J-10 pilot that almost certainly going to try to dive bomb all of those smurfs in bound to the carrier deck for some (of what he thinks) easy kills. Sure; he'll probably flare; but between the two phalanx cannons and 10 missiles rest assured he'll be toast. Your team will be able to gingerly make landfall on both bases and probably win the game in record time. It will piss the pilots off. They will probably exit the server. You will grin big probably saying to yourself wryly "Eat that fly boy."

So now you know. You've found out how to take out the enemy aircraft, and in the process hopefully have just realized there is no such thing as "spawn raping". Taking jets down is an easy and fun way to rack up some easy kills. In fact, I feel sorry for those poor pilots; not the other way around.

Oh yeah, and pilots - my squad will be on the ground waiting for you...you prissy little winged pixie.

It should also be noted that when 2 or more infantrymen are jumping out of an air craft they will land much closer to each other by utilizing HALO jumps; thus will allos one another to protect each other and work more closely as a team. HALO jumps will also prevent you from taking enemy fire; remember that everyone enjoys engaging a helpless trooper in a slow moving parachute.

Advanced bombing with LGMs

So you and your cohorts have been playing Maverick and Goose and you think your pretty hot-to-trot right? Well, listen up fly boy because I'm going to let you in on some secrets that you probably don't know, haven't seen, or probabaly haven't even thought of.

Today we will be talking about ADVANCED usage of the Su-34 and F-15 aircraft to effectively give your team the advantage. First let's analyze the the ingredients we will need for this recipe of destruction.

1.) in-game VOIP coms
2.) a good pilot
3.) a bomber who knows how to effectively guide LGM's without missile lock
4.) a bomber jet
5.) a commander with the IQ of mayonaisse (he will need to zoom in via his map view @ some point)
6.) a squad leader (note: the squad leader can also be the co-pilot, but not the pilot)

First things first, the air combat crew should check and verify communication between one another and command. Be sure to let your commander know of your squad number as well as your intentions. For example:

Squad Leader: COMS check
Squad Member: Copy that. Good Coms Over.
Squad Leader to Commander: Commander please be advised this is FOXTROT SQUAD SIX; we will be in the air shortly with an F-15 to provide air support and destroy enemy assets. Please verify this transmission over.

[and hopefully you will hear]

COMMANDER: That's a copy FOXTROT, please advise when you are in the clouds, command will have air strike orders upon request.

...with all that being said FOXTROT squad should be able to take off. Hopefully they have also communicated with their team (who has perhaps read my document re: Effective air defense) such that they will help them take off.

Now here's the key to FOXTROT's success. They must first climb to safe altitude. This requires that the pilot be well versed in reading his instrumentation, knowing his airspeed, heading, altitude are essential.

Here's the secret sauce boys. The bomber is a school bus in the sky in the hands of an unskilled pilot. Ground troops will eat you for lunch and even more so for aggressive enemy aircraft. That being said, you need to understand that the bomber is THE MOST POWERFUL AND MOST DEPLOYABLE WEAPON IN THE GAME. It's splash damage alone can wreak havoc on anything near it. It's only effective if you keep it in the air, and here is how:

ALTITUDE - learn to use your instumentation and your maps. Pilot, altitude is your reponsibility. Resist the urge to dog fight and fly low any more than you must. Co-pilot / squad leader communication and target aquisition is your responsibility. You both will want to be floating around the map at a safe speedy altitude of no less than 400 while acquiring targets.

Let's talk about the three types of acquisition...get ready co-pilot this is all you:

Scenario 1: friendly forces on the ground have spotted enemy armor. While the two of you have been flying at a safe high altitude avoiding enemy forces and being spotted the co-pilot will have his map view up. Co-pilot will see the red armor. Co-pilot will then right click on the armor and paint a DESTROY marker on the target. This will effectively help the pilot adjust his instruments according and turn in to engage the target. The mission is simple: turn on the line, cut throttle and drop altitude on the target, acquire lock, release maverick LGM, destroy target, and MOST IMPORTANTLY pull back up using afterburn and throttle to safe altitude. DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT GET GREEDY. I don't care how many square boxes you see down there and how many kills you THINK you can get by continuously flying low over a hot zone. It isn't worth it to lose that bomber, not even for a second - ESPECIALLY if it is in good hands with a chain of command. ESPECIALLY on a public server where if you crash blue smurfs are sure to try to jump in your aircraft. Be selective. Be safe. Stay alive.

Scenario 2: Commander has deployed a UAV overflight, and or painted a line to a cluster of infantry. Co-pilot accept the line. Descend onto the target as perscribed in Scenario 1. Upon seein the target, click and "DRAG" (keep the mouse button held down) the maverick missile to the designated target effectively destroying the infantry with splash damage and lots of kills. Remember, you will not achieve missile lock so you must be responsible for guiding the missile down to the target manually. Pilot, it is critical that you do not yank, pitch, roll, yaw, and generally be a jack-ass when the maverick missile is being fired. Co-pilot it is your responsibility to let the pilot know when you are firing by calling MAVERICK. Be sure to report back to your commander with the results.

Scenario 3: This one wins wars gentlemen. Commander, zoom in 3X on a stationary enemy asset, place a destroy marker on it for your bomber crew (FOXTROT in this example). It is critical that your market placement be EXACT. Don't half ass it and just put it in near-by. Your bomber crew depends on it for mission success. Pilot, check weapons systems with your gunner and make sure you are not reloading; when weapons are ready for deployment turn into the line. Descend on the target, cutting throttle and flying straight as with Scenario 1. Co-pilot, once you have visual releast the maverick missile and drag the LGM to it's target. You will know when you've scored a hit when the cross hairs "bloom" and you see a yellow destroyed asset marker. It's not over yet! Pilot, pull back up to safe altitude, report to command, and repeat as necessary.

Now you know some of the most advanced tactics of the game. This can literally cripple enemy forces into submission and it will save the lives of special forces soldiers from having the run the proverbial gauntlet of getting in close to enemy assets. Besides...everyone knows it's more fun to rig up booby traps as SPEC OPS rather than to destoy clunky UAV trailers.

Have fun and happy bombing. I only hope to have some of the readers of this document over my head when my crew is on the ground pounding.

In closing I will leave you all with some tips:

* Co-pilot; remember you can change views when not in LGM launching view - use this to your advantage to advise your pilot bogeys which may try to kill you. Expect them to come looking for you after you score a few juicy kills with that bomber of yours.

* Co-pilot: report via coms often to you pilot to advice of your weapons status. For example "I have 4 in the tube." means that you have 4 missiles availible to be deployed as needed.

* Pilot: maintain your altitude and airspeed

* Pilot: if you have a professional quality stick (i.e., X52 flight system) use it to your advantage by configuring the mouse look key so you can look around the cockpit

* Squad: if you are requested to back up ground forces with close air support, do so! Those boys on the ground need help and lives depend on you.

...more to come.

Effective armor

Armor. It's big. It's bulky. Only in the right hands of a squad of team players is it truly effective. Battlefield 2 has been out for a while as of this writing, so I will spare you the usual mantra of "fill the armor and hummers up with engineer and keep them close by". Everyone knows that.

Let's talk for a second about effective armor usage and application in a realistic sense. I use the term realistic for two reason. Firstly, in the sense real as in "real-world", and secondly in the sense of you "really" probably won't start out with a full armor column with humvees, engineers, and all the other ideal ingredients right off the bat. The Battlefield is a dynamic place that is constantly changing, and if you have luck like mine on the 'Field you will often find that this change is not necessarily in your favor.

Let's take a peek at a scenario: Karkand, or as I like to call it, THE MEAT GRINDER. There is a tank at the US base at Karkand. More often than not I see people sprint for this tank as fast as their little nikes can go. They jump in. They jam on the gas like they just robbed a bank and leave EVERYONE on the team in the dust. I mean EVERYONE. Every last man (and woman...c'mon there just has to be a woman that plays this game). Most times he doesn't even wait for a gunner. Just hops in the Cadillac and goes.

STOP RIGHT HERE. This is WRONG. If I see you doing this you will lose many cool points with me. Think about what you are doing. First off, you are wasting a valuable piece of hardware. You are going to smurf out there in front of the enemy and get snarled in a pocket of angry, and most likely skilled, anti-tank infantry, Special Forces, and APC's who will literally tear you to shreds in a fashion that would make demons in hell envious. In addition to that, not only will you be wasting hardware but you will also be killing your team and cause a rapid reduction in tickets. Sure, it won't happen instantaneously, but it will happen. I gaurantee it. Know why? Because your team is going to be forced to face APC's toe-to-toe with no backup from armor. I don't know about you, but GnySgt. NyQuil does NOT like being eat up by APC's. Hell, I don't even like being dead PERIOD. I've said it time and time again, I spend hard earned cash on a high end gaming machine to play this game and I HATE looking at a spawn screen as a result of some smurfs impatience.

Now that we know what is wrong here let's analyze and see what we can do RIGHT.

First, recognize your environment. I use Karkand as an example because nearly everyone is famaliar with it, and if you can make it through the streets of the Meat Grinder you can make it almost anywhere in the 'Field. Karkand is an urban environment which makes it an extremely dangerous environment for tanks and infantry alike. First thing is first.

1.) Recognize that while your tank may be potent with it's main cannon and it's turret machine gun it is NOTHING but a rolling fireball without infantry. I'm not talking about just engineers; I mean INFANTRY. Assualt, support, medics, special forces, and so much more.

2.) Recognize that your tank has limited view. That's right Private Smurf you need people around you on VOIP coms to let you know what the hell is going on. You have a limited view of a very deadly 'Field.

3.) Recognize that your tank, while it may be fast, must NEVER go faster than the slowest man can run. That means rolling slow. What's that you say? You are a rolling target when you roll slow? STOP YOUR WHINING MARINE CUZ I AIN'T YOUR MOMMA. This is an important point because it will help a good tanker in many ways. First, you will help the infantry because they are able to use your profile for cover from small arms fire. Second, the infantry will keep anti-tank troops at bay by engaging them; also they will keep special forces from planting C4 on you. Third, engineers will be able to get behind you and repair you under the pressure of an armor to armor fire fight. In the ideal environment you should have two engineers at any given time.

4.) Engineers keep you rolling. You need two. Two is ideal because if one goes down the other is still there. And if two still breathe air they will be able to repair you simultaneously getting you back into the fight twice as fast. HOOAH!

5.) You need a turret gunner. Ideally two medics should be in the tank to keep people in fighting order. Your main gun should almost always be facing outward to engage other vehicles. That means looking down the street, because last I checked enemy vehicles don't fit down alley ways. Alleys are for infantry, get my drift smurf? That's why you need the on your position.

6.) Squad leaders should not drive tanks. A squad leader in a tank is as foolish as a commander in an aircraft. Sqaud leader you are directly responsible for the well being of your men. You are to constantly be gathering intel from command and painting move and attack lines for the tank crew. Keep your men in line and they will keep you in shape. ALWAYS have a parking space for the Cadillac.

So now we've established some ground rules and standard operating procedures for effective armor combat. Slightly different rules apply for APC's and AA vehicles.

Let's take a moment now to discuss some tank movement ground rules. Tanker, you can only see so much. You have been permitted the honor and granted the priviledge to drive the tank. This can mean a LOT of kills (and points) for you and your team. Squad Leader, you are responsible for the direction of the tank. Tell him when it's safe to back up, go forward, or turn. Advise him on speed.

Tanker, listen to your squad leader and you will be your teams MVP (most valuable player). NEVER PANIC UNDER DURESS. NEVER JAM ON THE GAS. I don't give a damn how threatening that APC looks. Maintain your cool and a Gung Ho attitude (see: GUNG HO). Remember, the stakes here are greater than just you, Tanker. If you die it represents one immediate ticket loss (possibly more later, but that depends on the situation). If you panic it mean so many more tickets could be lost it makes me cringe just thinking about it. Take advice from old 'Quil and keep your cool. That's more important than any projectile you'll ever fire.

Remember, your most valuable weapon is you and your IQ. Don't be stupid. Work as a team and you will succeed and thus slice through the enemy like hot butter. If you find yourself in an environment with bombers who want to eat you for lunch, use your noodle! For every threat there is an equal yet opposite counter to it. Turn the tables. Use your environment to your advantage. The bold shall claim victory; the weak shall perish. It takes a bigger set of balls to stand firm with your squad than it does to try to jam on the gas and panic. Show the enemy that you've got a pair.

You will know that you are a great tanker when you are begging for a re-supply of ammunication for your main cannon; only then will you be worthy of the moniker "Rolling Thunder".

Well said

People hesitate to get in the fatboy for a reason. Not AA, Not enemy jets, but the TV missiles. Im afraid the tactics you describe (staying still so you can let your gunners hit ground targets, providing repair and medical aid from above) make you a prime targets for hostile attack choppers. Besides, the sidegunners can hit anything (even when the pilot is going super slow) after the blackhwak minigun got nerfed, so overall I dont think I can endorse it.