A real easy tip for winning almost every map. No cheats involved

[Lorenzo]

This is my observation and will probably conflict with a number of opinions. But I have seen quite a few levels lost because of it.

The Fatal Flag

A lot of people are drawn to guarding or attacking a single flag, doesn't matter which flag it is. And once they decide on this single flag, they attack or guard it at all costs, neglecting every other flag.

What it does for the enemy is allow one guy to stroll up to all your other flags and take them, unopposed.

The commander has scanned the battlefield, found multiple clear flags, and is unable to convince anyone but one or two people to go after the other flag(s).

Meanwhile, the squad leaders are requesting supply drops, uav's, and artillery all on that one fatal flag.

Since the enemy is free to roam the battlefield unopposed, they see the white flag and immediately decend on those two brave soldiers and secure their flag.

Ultimately, when your team loses, they never grasp what lost the level.

The secret to winning almost every time is to forget about defense. Defense loses every time because the time you spend defending one flag, the counter is ticking your points down for all the other flags you do not have.

Consider each flag to be temporarily yours. As soon as you have it, move on to another flag which you do not have.

Think of the strategy as two steps.

1. Get the flag.
2. Move to the next flag.

If you follow that strategy, you will win more times than not. Do not be drawn into the fatal flag obsession. Be assured that your opposing team is happy you like that flag so much.

[x3phyr]

Actually, on many, MANY cases, protecting a single flag can win the round for you. think about it: You're only worrying about one flag. 1 death = 1 ticket. So, they are pushing and pushing for this final flag dieing much more rapidly than those defending it. Now sometimes this isn't the case and the opposing team is actually much better, making the flag an easy capture. But if teams are even, I've noticed that the defending one will usually win.

1. Get the flag.
2. Move to the next flag.

This is a terrible tactic IMO and it really dulls the game.. IMO.. If this is all your team does, your stuck in a game of ring around the rosey. How much fun is that? This tactic also promotes blackhawk whoring. My tactic:

1. Spread out into squads and attack different flags.
2. Defend your squad's flag.
3. If another squad needs help, send a few over.
4. If the opposing army has a concentration, then fight back with your own.

I believe thats the way it was meant to be played, but that's just my opinion again.

[=DoG=Tango7]

I have to agree with x3phyr on this one. Flag hopping is not only boring, it doesn't help the team a great deal. Let the lone wolves run around by themselves, that's what they are there for, while you and your squad fend of attack after attack. A well balanced squad will be able to hold out against just about any odds.

[Grapeapplesnapple]

IMO it's good to have at least one flag under guard *unless you have an Un-cappable base* I hate seeing everyone on my team dead except that one sniper WAAAY in the edge of the map. You know, the one who won't cap a flag ever.

[Sub_Saint]

This is my observation and will probably conflict with a number of opinions. But I have seen quite a few levels lost because of it.
...
The secret to winning almost every time is to forget about defense. Defense loses every time because the time you spend defending one flag, the counter is ticking your points down for all the other flags you do not have.

Seems like a simple concept that is often overlooked...especially once you control all the flags and the enemy is forced to spawn at one flag point...where you can focus your offensive attack.

I largely agree with your strategy and have often wondered the same thing...however, I do think there are some flag points that need guarded... Specifically, home base where the arty/uav/radar is...and of course runways and helopads...

Ultimately, the strategy depends on what your enemy is doing...because if he operates the same way you are...you guys probably keep passing each other on the road...you've got to launch an attack some time...

[Sovetskeey]

Offense wins games. Defense wins championships.
Anybody that watches NFL knows this. To adapt it to BF2 it'd be something like "Offense captures flags, defense wins rounds."

While paying attention to just one flag will inevitably lose you the game, running around chasing after every flag that gets changed isn't going to win it for you either.

[Gulf_War_Syndrome]

Lorenzo, you are right on the "Fatal Flag" bit in the sense that yes, there always seems to be an obsession with one particular capture point, where most deaths seem to occur.
What I think you are trying to say is that every flag has exactly the same value when it comes to forcing ticket bleed on the other team, so you are better off moving away to the other control points, saving on wasted tickets from wave after wave of deaths trying to take that "Fatal Flag".

I think you have taken the theory a little too far however with the "no defence" thing.

For example to me, in Daquin Oilfields, throwing meat at the centre flag seems to be a complete waste of tickets. It seems a much better strategy to defend the surrounding points and let the enemy come to you, allowing your commander to just keep dropping that artillery in the middle. If you keep running between the points, the musical flags thing starts to happen, and no-one seems to gain the upper hand.

Defending a flag is also beneficial since, although I said "every flag has exactly the same value when it comes to forcing ticket bleed", the difference is in terms of the vehicles that spawn at that point, and how easy the point is to defend.
To give you and idea of this, when playing as MEC or China against the USMC, I will often make it my game-length goal to capture the point where their black hawk spawns, and hold it. I figure keeping the black hawk out of the air for as much of the game as possible benefits my team more than running between flags. My personal score will suffer from not getting those Flag Capture points, but I just keep thinking about all those wasted men (and tickets) from the black hawks miniguns and flag hopping.

[maforduk]

Spoken like a True Team Player, Gulf_War_Syndrome :)
Excellent.

[Prince]

I presume you have all seen 'Black Hawk Down', where the American commander sends in two snipers to the downed blackhawk. They are surrouned, yet they manage to pull the job off well as a team. I like to take that approach, two men head to the key point of the enemy's tactics. In the post above, he mentioned holding the blackhawk spawn point. That's a very good tactic, on the team basis. The rest of the team go about holding the flag points, whilst some of the more advanced players hold the vehicle spawn points, making the team's job alot easier.

Probably the reccommended kit's needed would be sniper, maybe 2 spec ops and a support gunner. That way, the sniper can cover the vehicles from a distance, maybe from high land. The spec ops can set their charges on planes, helis etc.. and ambush when the enemy tries to board the vehicles. Whilst the support gunner lays down some covering fire, and supplies the ammunition for the team.

[rankenphile]

I find this to be true, too. I'm still a bit green to the game, but when I first started I kept bouncing from flag to flag, capturing like crazy, and the enemy kept sweeping behind me recapturing the flags I would take. No matter how many flags I would take, we often still lost the round.

I find it much more effective to defend a few key flags near another enemy encampment further away from other flags, so that you can force the enemy to concentrate their force in a couple directions so that you can effectively disrupt their strategies at key bottlenecks, rather than playing catch and release with the flags and scattering both yours and the enemies forces.

This is especially crucial when it comes to capturing enemy air bases. If you can keep and hold the enemy's air power, forcing them to play a ground game while you own the skies, you can win just about any round out there, and keep raining down devestation in the form of jets, attack choppers and artie strikes on their primary respawn sites.


Of course, sometimes it is fun just to capture a flag and abandon it, letting the enemy recapture it, then drop a resupply on them so they gather in one spot, then drop a ton of arty strikes on em. Little bait and switch always makes me laugh.

[jdogg88-Fed]

I have to agree with x3phyr

[Donkey]

Perhaps u use both defensive and offensive squads...now how many of each type would be dictated by A) the map and B) the opposing team....

What I’m getting at is you need both defenders and offenders in order to win a game and they all need to have good communications and work as a team...Its all about sacrifice so you don’t get a point in flag cap but instead you chalk up a win for the team......

so thats my couple pennies on the topic

[Selcal]

yeah the capture and move on is a great idea. but it only works if everyone does it. The most important thing, which most of you have said, is team work. If you have everyone understanding their particular roles in the battle then you don't have a problem. If your teams keep a good pinch down on the enemy then you won't have to worry about defence.

Think of it like this, if you keep dying doing the same thing over and over, then you are doing something wrong. be adaptable

[j4k3]

Defense loses every time because the time you spend defending one flag, the counter is ticking your points down for all the other flags you do not have.

LOL, so true!

[RoadApples]

Hey everyone. It's nice to read a thread where everyone is being mature and offering there opinions without flaming everybody else. There are some real great strategies listed here. Good Job.

What do you think of doing something like this; since each map is kinda symetrical with how many flags are in between each base camp, make it harder to capture flags that are farther from your own base. For example, if someone wants to slip around everyone and capture the flag farthest from their base, make it so that there must be three people there to capture the flag. This would encourage squads to stick together and work as a team. It might make it so that teams rather than playing ring around the rosey, would advance on the flags and meet in the middle of the map to have a frontline. At that point tactics and leadership would decide who would advance the frontline and who would have to fall back. Let me know what you think.