This was originally a forum post for my BF2 clanmates. I was going through miscellaneous files on my flash drive and decided to publish it here as well.
1. Playing Infantry…
Against Artillery: As soon as you hear the first whistle of an artillery shell, RUN AWAY from the flag. If there’s a wall to jump over or a hill nearby, head in that direction and jump (to quickly increase the distance between yourself and the flag). If there’s a building with a door/room nearby, go inside of there for cover. Something else – if the commander is hitting you with artillery often, do something about it. Blow up his assets as Special Forces. Try to bring along a Support player and a Medic Player. Someone’s gotta do it, so it may as well be you if no-one else is up to the challenge.
Against enemy choppers: After a short while of playing on a new server (or a new map, etc.) you can get an idea of if the enemy has a good chopper pilot or not. If he’s “raping” your team, you need to react to this and get defensive. A good chopper pilot (and gunner, for that matter) can add a lot of power to a team. Try to stay near the TOW – be prepared to shoot that chopper down. If you are weak with these weapons, get some practice with them, because they are not to be overlooked. Just note that a good chopper pilot/gunner knows where they are, so you’ll have to be quick! Also, don’t overlook Humvees and Vodniks – the machine guns on them eat through choppers and, better yet, they don’t “alert” the chopper of your presence (such as a missle does). Just make sure to not sit out in the open – drive your vehicle into a secluded spot. At the very least, it will distract the chopper and make him get repaired, which is a good defensive play.
Against Tanks/APCs: Use buildings and objects to your advantage as defense. You are much quicker than these vehicles, so it’s easy to escape. Be aware of the “splash damage” that APCs have – hiding behind a corner may not be helpful enough – you may have to run away further. Always spot these vehicles so that your Anti-Tank and Special Forces teammates can take them out. Note where their turrets are facing if you are going to try to C4 it. If possible, take out the gunner of the tank when he’s not looking in your direction. If you are Anti-Tank, don’t keep hitting him from the same spot. Run around the building, fence, etc. and hit him from a different direction each time. Don’t just shoot at them aimlessly – check out this link, which shows the sweet spots. If I recall correctly, you want to hit the APC either in the front wheel well (right above the front tire) or where the turret meets the frame in the front. For tanks, aim at the treads from the front of rear – not the side. I think where the turret meets the frame is a good spot too for hitting tanks. Last, if he’s “sitting on a supply crate”, blow it up!
Movement: Always have a goal of where you’re going. Don’t wander around aimlessly. If you aren’t sure, find a safe spot to hide, go prone, look at the map and decide where your goal is. Ideally you will be in a squad with a squad leader, so you’ll have a waypoint, but unfortunately it doesn’t always work out this way. I find it’s better so stick to the side of buildings and objects when you’re moving, as opposed to running in the middle of a street or open area. Be aware of your surroundings and use them to your advantage. For example, if you are in the middle of the road, people can see you from all angles (360 degrees). If you are on the side of a building, then (theoretically) enemies can only see you 50% less (180 degrees) – this also means you have less of an area to watch for enemies, which is good – it’s easier to focus on a smaller area.
Grenades: Get familiar with aiming them first off, of course. They are very useful when you run into a large group of enemies or you see an enemy Medic running up to revive someone – time it so right after he’s revived, they both get blown up by the nade. Don’t “spam” them though because that’s just annoying and doesn’t take much skill … I guess an exception is if you are covering a flag and you are a Support kit on top of a roof – it makes tactical sense then.
2. Playing Tank/APC…
Defensive tips against Anti-Tank and Special Forces: When you’re in closed quarters and/or capturing a flag, press F10 to switch to the outside view. This will help you see if there’s a Special Forces enemy sneaking up on you trying to plant C4 on your vehicle. It also helps spot Anti-Tank enemies. I also like to move back and forth while staying in the perimeter of the flag to capture it, instead of just staying still. This way, if a SF is running toward me and I’m already moving toward him, I just keep advancing and run him over. If I’m already headed the other way I just keep moving in that direction then blast him when there’s enough distance between us.
Engineer: Play Engineer, of course, and try to stay near other vehicles so you can keep them repaired. Hopefully they are informed enough and they are Engineer as well, so they can help you as well. If your vehicle has 50% health or less, retreat to an area that’s not usually populated, hop out and repair your vehicle. Don’t forget to drop AT mines in hot spots.
Don’t be a lone wolf: Tanks are great supporting infrantry (and vice versa). This way, your fellow infantry can help ward off enemy Anti-Tank kits and Special Forces kits. And, in case there’s a hostile vehicle/armor, you are there to protect them.
Use your weapons properly: Remember that the APC has a nasty rocket (right-click) – not just the turret. Use that against enemy APCs and enemy Tanks. Don’t waste it on enemy vehicles though.
Ground Defense weapons (i.e. TOW, HJ-8): Be are of where they are and take them out as soon as you see them (unless your friendly infantry are there defending that flag, of course).
AT mines: Watch out for them! Get in the habit of looking at the ground ahead of you (not just for enemies). Note that if you are Engineer you can use your wrench to disable them – be careful though of getting out of your vehicle! This works best when you are an Engineer playing gunner.
If you are faced against multiple Anti-Tank enemies, or you keep getting hit by one guy and you can’t see him, move elsewhere. Chances are, if you stick around, you’re toast. You want the element of surprise, and with you being spotted on the enemies radar, the surprise is gone. Go get repaired and move along somewhere else.
3. Playing attack chopper (pilot and gunner)…
Move, move move. Don’t hover or else you’re a sitting duck and you’ll have to start avoiding Anti-Tank kits instead of just Ground Defense weapons. Get in the habit of taking out Ground Defense weapons (namely the TOW) as you pass by them, regardless if someone is in it.
Dog fights (against other choppers): ELEVATE. You are in a better defensive position being more elevated than your opponent’s chopper. The basic procedure is to strafe either left or right to dodge their (potential) TV guide missle, then sit still for a second while your gunner shoots a TV guided missle, then strafe the opposite direction. Rinse and repeat … and keep elevating.
When you have 50% armor or less get healed.
Communicate with your fellow pilot/gunner!
Give support to your squads. Both choppers may as well not even be in the game if you are just going to dog fight an enemy chopper.
4. Playing transport chopper…
These things can be great assets if used properly. Drop snipers on tall buildings. Move troops from capture point to capture point and capture flags quickly.
5. General tips…
Don’t be afraid to retreat when you are at a disadvantage. I’m sure we’re all guilty of this. We either want revenge on someone that just killed us, or we feel like Rambo. It’s a hard habit to break but once you do, you’re rewarded for it because you have less deaths (therefore a better score and better stats), in addition to the fact that the enemy (and their team) will get less points, which is important for maps like Sharqi where that’s what matters. Example: You turn around a corner and see 2 guys who see you. Statistically, they have a better chance of killing you then you do of them. So why risk it? There is no shame in retreating – “live to fight another day”. Since I adopted this approach, I realized how helpful it is. Usually I get hit a few times but it’s OK because I find a Medic or med kit and I’m good-to-go.
6. BF2S… There’s a lot of useful information on the BF2S wiki (http://wiki.bf2s.com). Additionally, there are plenty of “kit guides” etc. on the BF2S forums (http://forums.bf2s.com). Highly recommended.
