Tank Guide

[Alm()nd J()y]

I just finished my tank guide it's probably my best guide yet, has lots of cool info and screenies: http://www.bfglitches.com/tg.htm. I'll have a suicide car bomb guide later.

[Rayzn]

Re: Tank Guide

Did I go to the right page? Their isn't much info there. You should add some more stuff to it. Such as some good routes to take. You just need to add more. Good luck.

[RAF92_Warhawk]

Re: Tank Guide

A good start. It looks like it will be a pretty useful website in the future! LOL, I like you how describe the tanks crosshairs as "jibber jabber" rofl

[Alm()nd J()y]

Re: Tank Guide

Routes to take? All maps are different, it's not a tank/map guide.

[Alm()nd J()y]

Re: Tank Guide

A good start. It looks like it will be a pretty useful website in the future! LOL, I like you how describe the tanks crosshairs as "jibber jabber" rofl

LOL ty

[EvilP]

Re: Tank Guide

Yeah it doesn't cover a lot but the basics. There are a lot of things to consider when going tanking.

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EvilPs guide to tanking:

Classes:

1. Engineer - The obvious choice, you can self repair, repair nearby vehicles and brush off people who rush your tank using the shotguns. (I prefer auto shotgun so you can pop out and spam all 7 shells at the offender, hoping to get him before he blows you up) Mines can be useful if you're in a tank standoff, like the pass out of the US base on Kubra Dam, pop smoke, reverse and lay some traps. You can also leave your tank, place mines under it on one or both sides and go inside a building to cap a flag without having it stolen and used against you. (Think TV station on Sharqi Peninsula)
2. Anti Tank - It's pretty much even with medic because it's essentially a revenge tactic, being able to bail out and retaliate against other vehicles if needed. If you bring another tank down to 20% before your own tank blows up it's important to FINISH HIM so he can't repair or kill nearby friendlies now that he's blown your tank.
3. Medic - You autoheal yourself and more importantly your GUNNER, possibly extending his lifetime significantly. You also aid nearby infantry, which is nice. You also see dead and wounded people on the map/HUD giving you a very good idea of what's going on.
4. Spec Ops - You can place explosives on your tank, allowing you to nip out of it more often and surprise people who expect you to stay in the tank. You can also go up close in a fight and take the enemy with you if you lose, win/win situation?
5. Support - Some team advantages since you give ammo to everyone, but tanks don't have ammo problems themselves.
6. Assault - Uh... Flashbangs could be useful? Tanks already have smoke and make far better craters than the grenade launcher. These guys have nothing to do in vehicles.

Maneuvering:
Tanks have one major weakness. They can't turn and accelerate at the same time! This annoys me to no end. The good thing is that they go both backwards and forwards with ease. Your #1 evasive trick should be reversing. Turning around is just mind blowingly slow and you'll be a sitting duck while you do it. Unfortunately you'll also need to know the map well so as not to ram into obstacles. Changing view could aid reversing, but it's not something I've ever done. Consider binding buttons to the outside views if you're serious about your tanking. Good pilots will probably be doing this already :)

Popping smoke and reversing is a signature tank maneuver. It'll hopefully cut you off from your opponent briefly. Once the smoke has expanded do a little turn if possible so your tank ISN'T IN LINE with where it was before the smoke, it's no good if your opponent can fire by memory.
To counter this search slowly through the smoke for that popup red text to use as a targeting aid. Don't fire through smoke unless it's for the kill however, your position will be given away.
Another counter is to simply chase through the fog. Don't do it unlessyou're either a) willing to take another hit to take him out. b) pretty sure that his cannon hasn't reloaded yet or he's looking away from you. (watch for turret turning as he reverses in smoke!)

While the smoke is up you'll have just enough time to fully repair your tank! This is invaluable. I actually very rarely rarely get killed while repairing mid battle like this, make sure to take cover on the right side of the tank however and don't do it too much against AA vehicles because the splash will take you out even across the breadth of a tank. You can get out of all sorts of hairy situations by popping smoke, reversing only a few metres and quickly repairing your tank.

In urban environments such as Karkand you could also use the cover of the smoke to go back and around to flank your enemy.

Shooting:
Guiding shells takes practice. Alm()nd J()ys guide covers some of the basics of shooting. Just keep 2 things in mind - You often have to aim quite high and far ahead if shooting at aircraft and the shells gain momentum from you so compensate if you're shooting while travelling 'sideways'. I tend to stop and shoot unless it's close combat or an emergency.

Don't be afraid to throw shells at infantry, the little buggers can be a pain and if you think they might get into cover before the machinegun mows them down hit a nearby wall or the ground. Buildings can also be cleared somewhat with the cannon and you can actually kill people inside the under construction type buildings (Kubra - east side of dam & Sharqi - east middle flag) by shooting at the roof inside it, hitting the soldiers cowering on the floor.

Fighting:

• Tanks - You should know what to expect.The winner is the one who hits first and doesn't waste his shots. Use smoke and cover to try to make the opponent miss you just once, then you should have him in the bag. Side threads is possibly the most reliable part to target.
• APCs - The big danger is the guided missile. 2 of those will probably kill you quite dead along with the gun damage. Target his turret or front/rear body, the sides are big, but relatively durable. If possible try to predict when he'll use the missile, it'll probably be about 3 seconds after spotting you and as soon as it's reloaded. If you use smoke or duck in behind a building the missile could miss and then the 10+second reload will be his doom. Don't fear the autocannon unless you're low on health.
• AA Vehicles - These things are cheese, far slower and more vulnerable than APCs with a weaker gun. Up close the 4 missiles can really hurt however! Don't leave the tank because of the insane splash damage. Their shots also shake your aim lots. Don't panic and aim well, it barely hurts your tank!
• Attack Helicopters - If they see you first there's little you can do, you probably won't see it coming and end up a flaming pile on the roadside. If you see the heli however I recommend considering to take it out with the cannon, your chances aren't great however. Take your time and shoot when it's going slowly. If it's coming for you a safe move is to take cover behind something and start turning your turret so you can shoot it in the back when it goes overhead. The gunner machinegun does decent damage against helis and is a better choice at range, the driver machinegun doesn't seem to do nearly as much.
• Infantry - Don't stay still. This discourages them from running up to you. Open with machinegun and shell them when appropriate. Try not to get surrounded because once the laser warning starts ringing you won't know what to do. On maps like Karkand sitting around on the frontlines with the tank won't last long so try to break through their lines and attack from behind. Infantry is slower than vehicles to react, but they can hit from more angles. If you think someone is planting C4 on you get out and shoot him before he detonates it, I'd say it's more likely to succeed than getting him with the turret before he blows you, you could also (rarely) survive the blast if he does get your tank.
• Transports - Like candy. I DO recommend firing both guns since it could be a suicide bomber heading towards you and that extra damage has definitely saved me twice.

Gunner:
The mounted machinegun gunner is seriously underrated. This guy gains a lot of vulnerability from riding on a high profile target like a tank, however he has some important roles.

• Keeping watch - The possibly main role of the gunner is to make up for the fact that the driver can't see around him easily. By spotting targets and enemies, making them show up on the drivers radar hes already making a difference. He can fire his gun to point out infantry that's taken cover or just alert the driver that there is a danger. For this reason the gunner machinegun shouldn't be fired in vain! I'll stop and look around if my gunner fires and I've often spent ages shooting at a guard tower trying to tell a stupid driver that there's a guy with a rocket launcher hiding inside it.
  A good gunner will keep the back and sides covered, check all the alleys and corners you pass by and mark enemy aircraft.
  Don't get carried away shooting at things, keep looking around at all times!
• Defense - When you're capturing a flag with a tank you're massively vulnerable to infantry spawning all around. A good gunner will spin in his seat and hopefully shoot AT infantry and Spec Ops before they get a chance to use their equipment. The gunner can also damage helicopters and transports nicely.

All the above however is no good if the gunner is dead. If the tank driver is a squad leader then respawning in the tank makes things easier, but you're costing your team tickets! Don't be afraid to duck into the tank if things get too warm outside. Get in when enemy armor is in sight and when the infantry gets too prolific. Hoepfully your driver will pull your bacon out of the fire along his.

A skilled gunner can be an awesome asset. I often get laser lock warnings with no idea where it's coming from, a gunner could look around in a heartbeat to spot enemy infantry or APCs. A lone driver has to maneuver to safety while at the same time slowly spinning his turret in hopes of spotting the unknown danger.

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That's quite a bit. I haven't spellchecked properly. Feel free to use it on your site as long as you credit me in the title.

If I get some kudos for this I might expand it to include things like map guides with details like 'Hills And Roads Where Your Miserable Turret Elevation Turns You Into An Expensive Flagpole' (tm), good routes for flanking, cover, general motion, flag capping and more. I don't feel like I need to cover damage zones, there are better thread about that in this forum.

Hope it helps people.

[Alm()nd J()y]

Re: Tank Guide

Wow thanks, I didn't think to include which kit to use, silly me. But the other day I saw a guy do this awsome tactic I had his tank about a quarter and i was about half so he ran like hell shot me with his anti-tank missile then ran back to the tank and shot me up! It was a sweet tactic. Yes I like your guide I'll post it.

[Alm()nd J()y]

Re: Tank Guide

Made a quick knife guide too, http://www.bfglitches.com/knife.htm if you have even more ideas EvilP please share them.

[EvilP]

Re: Tank Guide

In your knife guide you recommend stealing your victims kits so you look like them, this does not work. You only change into your factions version of that kit as far as I know.

There's not a lot ot knifing, but you could mention useful maneuvers in a knife fight like dives, jumps and feints.

Does anyone know if it takes 1 or 2 stabs to take down an armored enemy? Sometimes they seem to take 2 hits to keel over...

[Alm()nd J()y]

Re: Tank Guide

I haven't had any trouble, 1 hit for me and they're done.

[bloodbrood]

Re: Tank Guide

the screenshots you took are kinda low graphic settings but it says on your sig that you have a 6600GT?! unless theyre not yours? pls clarify this. lol thx.

[Alm()nd J()y]

Re: Tank Guide

It's because of my friggin' proccessor It's bottle necking my system, I need a new one.

[IVfluids]

Re: Tank Guide

Download the videos in the bottom of the my sig, host them up on your space/bandwidth and show everyone the wonders of one shot kills and brutal hits.

[RAF92_Warhawk]

Re: Tank Guide

Does anyone know if it takes 1 or 2 stabs to take down an armored enemy? Sometimes they seem to take 2 hits to keel over...

Actually this is true. If your knife stabs directly on the enemies helmet and sometimes in the chest of armoured people, (assault, support, ect.) a big white puff of smoke emerges and they don't lose any health. Its best to stab until you see the kill, not hear it...

[[3MD]D|Cpl.Hustler_Baby]

Re: Tank Guide

You dont talk about combos in the tank. Best combo of driver/gunner is medic and engineer. Medics is driver so he can heal the gunner, while the gunner can jump out (and be covered!) by the driver while he repairs. Also 2 engineers works well for double repair on your fellow teamates and engineer and anti tank.