Battlefield 1942 MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMM M ,, a X , r , B ., i. 7 : i 8 ; ., M .S M M M:M0 XMMW 7MM MM M rXWMM XX@MM MM7 ZrMM M Mr 2, M. M MM8 M :a@ MS M ;M,:M ZM M MM M MMi,M MM,XM M8r MX.M M Mi MM MM M MMa M M M 2M M M M XM M MM M M@ M M7 M M8i M a, M Mi MM MM M MMS M M Mi M M .M M SM M MM M MM M MM M M8; M7 M, M M: MM MM M :M M MM M M .M M 7M M MM M .MM 7MM M8; MM M M: MM MM M MMW MXr MM M,M .M M XM M MM M MMMMM MMMMM M8; MMMM M M: MM MM M MMX MM 8M8 M M XM M MM M M@ M MX M M8i M Z, M M, MM MM M MMZ MM MMMr MW M M XM M MM M MM M MW M M8; M 8, M 8, MM MM M ii MX M: M MM M M .M M 2 MM X;.MM MB M M2 B aM W WM S MM MMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMM MMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM M@MZMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM M2Xr:i SXZ: :irrriS :r8aM XX ;: :: i M8Xr i7Sar,,irrr:r7irr.M 0irM8Mir;iMWMSi;:WBMMr;;r M WM B8B M,M M 0;:@0M8:iia@BM:;i;M0MirW W ;Mr W0 @M .Z ,7M BMM MZ aM 8 MM aM 7M; W MMMMMMMMMMM@MMMMMMMMMMMMM ;MMMMMM MMMMMMM .MMMMM@MMMMMMMMMMMMM@MMMM Battlefield 1942: A Player's FAQ Version 0.35 Last Edited: Sunday 29th February 2004 Author: [SAL] Imperion (cynical@silentandlethal.tk) Author's Note: HUGE apologies to all those who contacted me regarding permission to host the FAQ on their sites- my comp crashed the other day and I lost all my emails (and loadsa other stuff- I had to download the FAQ from GameFAQs to get it back). Please e-mail me once more and I will try to respond quickly! Also, don't expect any updates for the next 2-3 weeks because my prelims start on March 1st You'll have to squint your eyes a bit to make out the ASCII art! ********** *Contents* ********** ********************************************************* 1. Preliminary Stuff --1.1 About the author --1.2 Contacting Me/Email Policy --1.3 Why bother writing this? --1.4 Changes/Updates --1.5 Legal Stuff ---1.5.1 Copyright Notice/Disclaimer ---1.5.2 Distribution ----1.5.2.1 How to get permission to distribute ----1.5.2.2 Authorised distributors --1.5.3 Credits --1.6 Frequently Asked Frequently Asked Questions 2. Infantry Guide ___________________________________________ --2.1 Different classes ---2.1.1 Common Weapons ----2.1.1.1 Knife ----2.1.1.2 Pistol ___________________________________________ ---2.1.2 Assault ----2.1.2.1 Main Armament: Sub Machine Gun ----2.1.2.2 Explosives: Grenades ___________________________________________ ---2.1.3 Scout ----2.1.3.1 Main Armament: Scoped Rifle ----2.1.3.2 Explosives: Grenades ----2.1.3.3 Special: Binoculars ___________________________________________ ---2.1.4 Engineer ----2.1.4.1 Main Armament: Rifle -----2.1.4.1.1 Bolt-action rifle -----2.1.4.1.2 Carbine ----2.1.4.2 Explosives: Detpacks ----2.1.4.3 Special 1: Wrench ----2.1.4.4 Special 2: Anti Tank Mines ___________________________________________ ---2.1.5 Medic ----2.1.5.1 Main Armament: Sub Machine Gun ----2.1.5.2 Explosives: Grenades ----2.1.5.3 Special: Healing ___________________________________________ 3. Ground Vehicle Guide ______________________________________________ --3.1 Jeeps ______________________________________________ --3.2 Tanks ---3.2.1 M4 'Sherman' Tank (Americans/British) ---3.2.2 M10 'Pershing' Tank (Americans) ---3.2.3 Panzer IV Tank (Germans) ---3.2.4 Panzer VI 'Tiger' Tank (Germans) ---3.2.5 Chi Ha Tank (Japanese) ---3.2.6 T34 Tank (Russians) ---3.2.7 T34-85 Tank (Russians) _____________________________________________ --3.3 Artillery ---3.1 Priest (Americans/British) ---3.2 Wespe (Germans/Japanese) ---3.3 BM13 Katyusha (Russians) _____________________________________________ --3.4 Half Tracks ---3.4.1 Allies' Half Track ---3.4.2 Axis Half Track _____________________________________________ 4. Aircraft Guide _____________________________________________ --4.1 Spitfire (British) --4.2 BF109 (Germans) --4.3 Corsair (Americans) --4.4 Zero (Japanese) --4.5 Yak9 (Russians) --4.6 Ju87 Stuka (Russians) --4.7 SBD 'Dauntless' (Americans) --4.8 SBD-T (Americans) --4.9 AichiVal (Japanese) --4.10 AichiVal-T (Japanese) --4.11 Ju88 (Germans) --4.12 B-17 'Flying Fortress' (Americans) --4.13 Fighter Tactics --4.14 Dive Bomber Tactics --4.15 Heavy Bomber Tactics --4.16 Low Flying Chancer 5. Naval Guide _____________________________________________ --5.1 Destroyer --5.2 Battleship --5.3 Aircraft Carrier --5.4 Submarine --5.5 Landing Craft ---5.5.1 Allied landing craft ---5.5.2 Japanese landing craft --5.6 PT Boat --5.7 Dinghy ______________________________________________ 6. Map Guide ______________________________________________ --6.1 Battle of Midway ---6.1.1 Spawnpoints ---6.1.2 Vehicles ---6.1.3 Strategy ______________________________________________ 7. Anti-Cheat Guide ______________________________________________ --7.1 Spawncamping --7.2 Vehicle Camping --7.3 Teamkilling (TKing) **************************** Section 1- Preliminary Stuff **************************** 1.1 About the Author This is the first guide I have written for ANY game, so bear with me- if there's anything you don't understand or think could be improved then please contact me! If you must know I'm a student from Glasgow, Scotland who spends far too much time playing games and not enough time studying 1.2 Contacting Me/Email Policy If you have any issues with the FAQ- suggestions, criticisms (no flames plz :P), requests to distribute etc. then feel free to either email me or add me to MSN Messenger (the address for BOTH is cynical@silentandlethal.tk) 1.3 Why bother writing this? Battlefield 1942 (BF for short from now own) is one of the most complex games around- try finding anything with a more complex range of tasks that the user can perform-infantry combat, flight, car driving, tank/armoured truck driving, even ships and submarines can be piloted and used to your every whim. It can be done without a guide (hey I managed but I spend too much time playing the game as I already said) but with this guide hopefully you can skip at least some of the boring learning and actually start enjoying the game. 1.4 Changes/Updates Version 0.35 Map Guide started Anti-Cheat Guide started Version 0.3 Ground vehicle, aircraft and naval guides complete Version 0.2 First release! Probably typos and errors, but hopefully these will be pointed out by readers. Class Guide is complete. Next version will hopefully include the vehicle guide or at least a good proportion of it 1.5 Legal Stuff 1.5.1 Copyright Notice/Disclaimer This guide and all its contents are copyright (c)2004 David Alexander Russell. You may NOT re-distribute it inany way without my permission. 'Battlefield 1942'is the intellectual property of Digital Illusions CE, Electronic ArtsInc. and/or other third parties and I make no claim to it (or any related intellectual property of any other third parties) whatsoever. 1.5.2 Distribution 1.5.2.1 How to get permission to distribute If you wish to re-distribute this guide in ANY way then please email me to ask for permission. I will usually give permission subject to the following conditions -The guide must be reproduced INTACT, with no modifications, in its original .txt format -The guide must not be commercially exploited (e.g. sold for money, put on magazine disc, subscribers-only website) (NB: the above does not include sites with MODERATE amounts of advertising) -The FAQ is held on your own web server (rather than leeching off someone else) -You check my GameFAQs contributor page regularly (at least 1 time per month) for guide updates If you don't feel you can comply with all of these, than by all means STILL EMAIL ME and we may be able to work something out 1.5.2.2 Authorised Distributors The following sites/organisations are allowed to distribute this guide: gamefaqs.com davidarussell.co.uk neversaynevernet.tk cheatbook.de cheatchannel.com Cheatbook Database (program) dlh.net Distribution by ANY other site (or by any other medium such as magazine discs) is NOT licensed and may be a violation of copyright law. This is the one thing you CAN report by email- in fact please do! 1.5.3 Credits Thanks to Jan Goyvaerts and Just Great Software for writing the EditPad Lite program I use to write this guide. Fantastic work! 1.6 Frequently Asked Frequently Asked Questions No it's not a typo, but since this is sort of a FAQ anyway, this is the FAQ-within-an-FAQ Q: How do I open my parachute? A: First of all, press Enter/Exit (I've got it mapped to E) to get out of the plane. Then, before you get too close to the ground (it takes about 1/4 second to open) press 9 (default key) to open your 'chute Q: How do I work the ramp on the landing craft? A: Press the Up Arrow to make the ramp go down and press the Down Arrow to make it go back up. Q: How do I deal with teamkillers/spawncampers or whatever? A: Hold TAB to view the scoreboard, and beside the name of the griefer will be a number (the column with the hash above it is what you're looking for). Open the console with ` (the key to the left of 1 on the top of your keyboard) then type kick followed by the ID number of the player. Like if you want to kick player 13 type kick 13 The other players will then get a window asking them to vote Yes or No, and if enough vote Yes the griefer will be kicked. Be prepared to offer an explanation via Global Chat (K by default) for why you are trying to kick the person Q: How do I drop bombs? A: Whether you are in a heavy bomber (like the Ju-88 or B-17) or a dive-bomber (like the SBD, AichiVal and Stuka), you press Alternate Fire (right-click by default) to drop bombs- even if your position has no other weapons Q: Why isn't the flag I'm at changing to my side? A: On some maps it can take a while for the flag to change sides, so just be patient. If its definitely not going to change then its probably for one of two reasons- either: > You aren't close enough to the flag- make sure the circle with the picture of the white flag is showing ALL the time (if you are in a moving vehicle for example) > There is an enemy within 'capture distance' of the flag- maybe hiding in a building. Remember if the flag is the other team's colour then their soldiers can respawn there. Q: Why aren't there any spawnpoints? A: Your team has probably lost the level- e.g. a vital objective (such as the carrier in Coral Sea) has been destroyed- wait a minute or so and your team's tickets will start falling VERY quickly if this is the case- otherwise its a bug in the game probably Q: How do I move to a different part of the vehicle A: First of all check the image of the vehicle at the bottom of the screen. So long as there is at least one space (grey dot) left, you can move to a different position. Press the number keys along the top of the keyboard to switch positions e.g. position 2 for gunner on a Priest. Just remember NOT to switch positions if you are the pilot of an aircraft (unless it has yet to take off) otherwise it will crash! ************************* Section 2- Infantry Guide ************************* 2.1 Different Classes The first thing that you'll have to do when you join any game of BF- online or botmatch- is choose a class. Don't worry, it isn't permanent- you can change class every time you respawn (and choose which class you want to be next while you're still alive) by pressing Return to bring up the spawn interface (which, as the name suggests, also allows you to choose WHERE you spawn 2.1.1 Common Weapons No matter what you choose, you will have these in your inventory. Not much use in themselves, but if its a choice between them and nothing you'd think about it. 2.1.1 Knife A chib a day keeps the doctor away (from you!). This isn't really something you should plan on using but if you manage to sneak up on someone (quite possible for people on fixed weapons or campers to be caught unawares) its a good silent (and instant) kill. If you run out of ammo for EVERYTHING else the mad-knife-rush will be your last hope (and probably won't work, but hey what else are you gonna do?) 2.1.2 Pistol At close range even the knife is better, but as a slightly longer range annoyance weapon the pistol will buy you some time to get to an ammo cabinet and refill your real weapon. Again don't rely on it but don't neglect it if you're left with no other option. 2.1.2 Assault Your basic grunt- this guy doesn't do anything special, he's the bread-and-butter that keeps the more specialised classes alive. Anyone new to BF will probably be most comfortable with this class (from playing other WWII-based) games like MOH or Call of Duty. That doesn't mean, however, that it's an easy class to master, or is n00bs-only. A good assault trooper is the only real all-rounder available in BF and without them your team doesn't have much of a chance. 2.1.2.1 Main Armament: Sub Machine Gun This automatic weapon is good at short to medium range- and as long as you use short bursts is PASSABLE (but not advisable)for long range combat as well. And don't try to use full-auto while running across a beach. You'll just cause the dirt a lot of pain (both from your poorly aimed bullets and your corpse when you die quickly). Also, some weapons (especially the BAR) have low magazine capacities- that guy with the semi-auto rifle suddenly becomes a lot more dangerous when he has bullets left and you don't. 2.1.2.2 Explosives: Grenades One of the Assault class's main benefits is that he gets 4 of these death-dealing beauties. Not quite as deadly as those in Enemy Territory or CoD, but they still form a valuable part of your arsenal that not every class is able to utilise (and those that can don't get very many). The most obvious use is against a group of enemies- its best to throw the grenade without them seeing you if possible-otherwise most of them will probably run away. Of course you can use this to your advantage throw a grenade to make them scatter and easier to pick off with SMG fire (or they may move to a position from which they can't shoot you!) The other common one- sadly not as useful in BF as in other games- is in close quarters: you charge into that room with a gun and you'll probably get shot before you even see the guy hiding behind the door. But throw a grenade in and you'll either kill/damage any defenders or at least distract them long enough to give you a half chance. A use that never really happens in real life, but is reeeeeaaallly popular in online play is as a 'revenge weapon'- if you are outgunned and about to die, unobtrusively drop a grenade so that when your slayer continues forward (probably over where you were standing) there's a good chance they'll get blown to bits. If you're good at it you can really rack up the kills doing this (although obviously its best NOT to die in the first place) Remember that not every action needs to be direct- if you throw a grenade towards a different way into the base, anyone who isn't paying good enough attention (that's most vehiclecampers) will probably think that you are attacking from that direction- you'll probably laugh with satisfaction the first time you shoot a planecamper in the ass by doing this. 2.1.3 Scout Most people new to BF think this guy sits on a hill somewhere, picking off players as they spawn. Anyone doing that will probably get shot by a REAL scout. Your role as a BF scout will be to pick off enemy soldiers before they have the chance to shoot back at you or your teammates- whatever the range and using both your own and others' weaponry. 2.1.3.1 Main Armament: Scoped Rifle What most people choose the sniper for: long range, fairly accurate (not!) rifle that can take down opponents with one shot if you know how to use it. Catch is most people don't. Ideally you want to be prone when firing this, but this isn't practical in most cases for two simple reasons: >Going prone might leave you lower down than your cover (which you should always have) so you can't actually shoot >If you're prone and someone sees you it's gonna take a while (and a minor miracle) for you to be able to stand back up and relocate. Its also a real nightmare for counter-sniping or avoiding artillery For these reasons I usually find the Crouch position (Ctrl) effective in most situations- it still gives you reasonable accuracy (which is all a decent marksman should need) but gives you the mobility and survivability that will turn you from a rifle-toting halfwit to a strategic resource that can turn the tide of battle for your team if used properly. Although it leaves you more exposed, this can in some cases be an advantage: if you're prone then the chances are any shots are going to hit your head, which isn't pleasant as you can imagine, but if you're crouched then although there's more chance of being hit, the hits you do take will be less damaging (also in counter-sniper situations, most n00b snipers will take the first shot they have- usually a body shot if you're crouched) Even if you're being actively shot at, you should NEVER take a shot at anything other than the person's head- because all you'll do otherwise is irritate your target into killing you faster. Given the long reload time you ain't getting a second shot 2.1.3.2 Explosives: Grenades As you might expect, snipers don't have a whole bunch of grenades so those you do have should be used very sparingly. NOT for the same purpose as an Assault soldier would- your grenades should be used as a get-out clause: if someone gets too close for comfort, lob a grenade at them then run away while they're avoiding it. 2.1.3.3 Special: Binoculars What's the point in having binoculars if you've got a scoped rifle? First of all the binos have a wider field of view, so they are better for spotting enemy movement (for reporting back to teammates). But this isn't the main reason for their use- hey you could always scroll the rifle crosshair from side to side. The real purpose of the binoculars is to place remote cameras: just zoom in on your target and press the fire button. Rather than artillery units having to either get within sight range of a target (dangerous given their poor armour and maneuverability) or fire blind (never gonna work really), the remote camera allows them a 'birds eye view' of the target which makes artillery fire much more lethal and ammo-efficient. It's a rewarding sight when your remote camera brings artillery shells raining down on a capture point to allow your team's tanks to come steamrollering in and secure the point. Just remember though: the camera only lasts for 60 seconds, so you'll be a lot more helpful if you can wait around for a while to place another one, but if you are killed then ANY remote camera you have placed will de-activate regardless of the amount of time it has left. 2.1.4 Engineer Unlike in Enemy Territory this guy isn't the be-all end-all class. But he's pretty damn important. Both defensively and offensively, a good engineer is someone you want on your side. 2.1.4.1 Main Armament: Rifle On most maps, the engineer has a non-scoped version of the same rifle used by the scout. On others (such as Guadalcanal) the Engineer gets a carbine-type weapon: semi auto rather than bolt-action. I'll deal with each one separately. 2.1.4.1.1 Bolt-action rifle Just as powerful as the sniper's version. The catch is that you have to aim it like a normal gun- no zoomed crosshairs here I'm afraid. This makes it rather unwieldy and dangerously slow-firing for the average user, but if your shooting accuracy in BF is fairly good you shouldn't do too badly: you get more ammo than a sniper so if short-range marksmanship is your game this is perfect. Just don't expect to take out a group of opponents- you should either chuck a grenade, run away, or wait for backup before engaging more than one person who has an automatic weapon 2.1.4.1.2 Carbine A very good gun: sure, it doesn't have as much power as its larger cousin but it can still pack a mighty punch in the hands of a skilled operator. The main strength of this weapon is that it is semi-automatic- ie one click, one bullet (rather than having to wait for a reload as with the bolt-action rifle). Basically the faster you can click the mouse button the more lethal the weapon is- although don't go overboard the magazine is really small (like 8 rounds for the American version). If you're planning to fight at long range don't bother, but this makes a great personal weapon for taking out enemies that directly threaten you but nothing much else really. 2.1.4.2 Explosives: Detpacks Ooooh bombs! An old fashioned stick of dynamite except with a remote detonator. Good for causing amusing deaths to infantry or humiliating deaths to armoured vehicles. Quite simply, these are meant as a stealth weapon. Place them, for example, at the exit of a building and then go hide somewhere. Wait until someone gets too close and press the plunger. BOOM! What they're more often used for, though, is as an anti-tank weapon. The chances are if you, as an engineer, are spotted by a tank at close range, you're going home in a box. So just run up to the tank, throw a detpack on it (on the back if possible) and blow it there and then. It will take out the tank almost always. If you want, you could try getting behind cover before you blow the bomb but you might either get killed or the tank driver might shake the bomb off before you can get the detonator pressed. Even if you die it will annoy the hell out of the enemy: if its just a tank with a driver you'll stay at the same score (+1 kill, -1 for suicide) but if you get a tank with a gunner or something your score could actually increase by killing yourself. Great fun! 2.1.4.3 Special 1: Wrench Bob the Builder anyone? Use this to repair friendly (or neutral) vehicles/weapon emplacements. First of all, on some maps it is an essential mission objective to protect a specific building or vehicle- two that immediately spring to mind are the factory in Battle of Britain and the carrier in Coral Sea. Even a single engineer (although preferably a team of at least 4) can make it last that much longer- which could be the difference between victory and defeat. A more active form of help is in terms of vehicle repair. Sure you could repair other people's vehicles but they rarely stay still long enough for you to do so. What is more useful is that when you pull into a 'safe area', as in well behind the frontlines, jump out of your tank (you wouldn't be alone in a halftrack, you're not that stupid surely) and repair any damage from your last fight. This will make your steel death-dealer last a lot longer (thus killing more enemies). In a more extreme situation, if you are being bombed by a pilot who isn't really very good (ie he keeps missing and relies on 'splash' to deal damage), after each run, jump out and make what repairs you can before he comes back (at which point you should get back into the tank and start moving for protection). Just remember though, it isn't infinite. Don't rely on it recharging like in other games- the only feasible way to get more 'repair juice' is to go to an ammo cabinet- which could be a problem if they're all at the other side of the map. It still makes you a much more useful and versatile player. 2.1.4.4 Special 2: Anti-Tank Mines These won't do much use if you're actually being attacked by a tank (unless you're suicidal enough to try and place one UNDER the tank- which will probably just make the tank driver run you over). They are instead used to set traps for drivers who aren't paying attention (mines are bright green and therefore fairly easy for a good tank driver to spot). If the tank spots the mines, they aren't entirely useless- either they'll have to go VERY slowly and carefully to go over the mines without blowing them (I haven't seen many people pull this off) or take another route- which will take up time that wil l be to your advantage. However as far as I am aware (please correct me if anyone knows differently) mines do NOT persist after you die and fade away after a certain time automatically if you don't (to stop the level being clogged with mines) 2.1.5 Medic Many a time I've called out the MEDIC!!! alarm in BF only to realise that our team has none! This is seriously the most under-used class in the game: everyone wants one but nobody is willing to be one. It's not like you're useless offensively so come on people get healing! 2.1.5.1 Main Armament: Sub Machine Gun This automatic weapon is good at short to medium range- and as long as you use short bursts is PASSABLE (but not advisable) for long range combat as well. And don't try to use full-auto while running across a beach. You'll just cause the dirt a lot of pain (both from your poorly aimed bullets and your corpse when you die quickly)- a dead medic is no use to anyone. Also, some weapons (especially the BAR) have low magazine capacities- that guy with the semi-auto rifle suddenly becomes a lot more dangerous when he has bullets left and you don't. 2.1.5.2 Explosives: Grenades Unlike the Scout you are perfectly capable of fighting at close quarters, so don't be afraid to use your nades as precursors to an assault. Just remember that they might come in handy if you're try to heal someone- those extra few seconds could give you the time you need 2.1.5.3 Special: Healing Similar to the Engineer's wrench except its for people not objects. This is the whole point of the class- and to be honest I don't know why more people don't take advantage of it. What's the one thing that most people would want in a game other than an uber-l33t gun or m4d5k1llz? The ability to heal themselves probably? What are you waiting for, get killing! Even if you don't come across any teammates to heal the healing ability will help YOU last longer. ******************************* Section 3- Ground Vehicle Guide ******************************* The most game-changing of the three vehicle types: the only ones (realistically) that can capture most control points, but you have to learn to use them effectively. I think I've covered all the vehicles in the game but if I've missed any please point them out 3.1 Jeeps Fast and reasonably maneouverable, the jeeps available to each side are pretty much equal in terms of specification and usage- they are totally defenseless so your aim should be to avoid enemy fire while in the jeep. Of course what quite often happens is that jeeps are used simply for transit across empty areas of the level- then when an enemy control point is nearby everyone piles out and advances on foot. Remember that when you're in a jeep you can be shot- any kind of bullet will go through the windscreen, and obviously you can be shot easily from the sides or behind. This makes you easy pray for pretty much anything around. The good thing is that as I mentioned earlier jeeps are pretty damn fast. In fact, if you get up to top speed it will be very difficult for anyone to hit you- even planes will have difficulty (pilots have trouble enough with slow-moving targets like tanks) taking you out. This speed comes at a price- there is absolutely no armour whatsoever. In most cases they can be destroyed by a single antitank rocket (definitely by a tank round) or in some cases even by fire from a fixed machine gun. If you do get hit, don't count on being around long enough to dodge the next shot. You can of course use this to your advantage- if there is an armoured vehicle in your way (ESPECIALLY if it has more than one person in it) then just ram it at top speed and it will usually explode (from the explosion of your jeep). In short, the jeep is useful as a time-saver or a taxi but not as an actual combat vehicle. You can't fire your weapons from inside it, and if you jump out when you see a tank the explosion of the jeep will probably kill you anyway 3.2 Tanks Steel-armoured, lead-spitting foe-stomping lumps that trundle around the battlefield like a horse and cart (most of the time anyway). Sure, these things have alright top speed but if you even turn slightly you basically stop and have to start the acceleration process all over again. Each tank varies slightly in its capabilities and application 3.2.1 M4 'Sherman' Tank (Americans/British) The Sherman was a mass-produced American tank desgned just before WWII. As a result, there are usually a few Shermans lying around each Allied base. They are actually quite fast (but still suffer the turn=slowdown problem of all tanks in the game) compared to other tanks, but their armour isn't as good as the armour on the German Panzers (especially the Tigers). To do well in a Sherman you need to use its maneouverability to the maximum extent- make yourself harder to hit but remember to shoot back. Also, being an engineer class is pretty vital for the Sherman Tank because it takes more damage- if you can repair damage after each fight you negate what is probably its main weakness Basically pretend your an infantry unit with a large cannon: if you want to have a chance against enemy tanks you have to keep moving and try to get a shot in on their rear armour. 3.2.2 M10 'Pershing' Tank (Americans) After the Sherman took a bit of a battering in the Normandy campaign, these rare vehicles were a godsend to the armour divisions trying to force their way towards Berlin. You don't see these very often, but when you do they should be used immediately. Not as fast as the Shermans, but then given the amount of turning the average BF player does neither tank is likely to reach its top speed anyway. The armour on these things is fantastic- even a Tiger has difficulty getting its rounds through. It can fairly dish out the punishment as well with its large caliber gun. Its one drawback is that it doesn't have a machine-gunner leaving it more vulnerable to anti-tank soldiers than other tanks (although with its armour strength you should be able to maneouver into a position where you can take them out with the turret mg before they can kill you) 3.2.3 Panzer IV Tank (Germans) The Germans' equivalent to a Sherman, except it has better armour and firepower. In a one on one fight, so long as you are a resonably competent tank driver, a Panzer should win easily. Unfortunately it isn't quite as fast, so it can often be outmaneouvered by Shermans (or even anti-tank soldiers). Basically you should try to have two of these working together. Of course you should still try to keep moving as much as possible, but remember to use that thicker front armour to your advantage 3.2.4 Panzer VI 'Tiger' Tank (Germans) The most feared tank in the war, and for good reason. At one point Allied commanders estimated it took five Shermans to kill just one Tiger. This is the Germans' heavier tank. It isn't quite as capable- in terms of firepower AND armour- as the Pershing, but it is seen more often and sometimes in places where the opposition doesn't have any heavy tanks at all. If these are available they should be used where they are most needed- don't send them on a wild goose chase halfway across the level- use them as they were designed: as heavy battle units. Whether attacking or defending control points, the Tiger should be your first port of call. Unlike the Pershing and Sherman, the two German tanks actually look quite similar, so you're less likely to be targetted by the enemy because you're in a better tank. 3.2.5 Chi Ha Tank (Japanese) A Japanese tank. This isn't really particularly good but its (marginally) better than being on foot. Really a light tank- its fast but doesn't have good armour plate or armament- it won't have much of a chance against Shermans unless i) It has backup that outnumbers the Shermans ii) The Chi Ha driver is very skilled and/or the Sherman drivers are idiot n00bs This should mainly be used to support infantry. Leave this tank out on its own and it will get mauled by the most inexperienced BF players. 3.2.6 T34 Tank (Russians) One of the most successful tanks ever built, the T34 was surprisingly good considering the conditions its factories had to operate under. The T34 is the Russians' heavy tank in BF, comparable to the Tiger or Pershing. It maintains a reasonable speed without sacrificing combat power, and is probably the most versatile unit in its theater. Like the Pershing though, it doesn't have a secondary machine gun leaving it vulnerable if unsupported. 3.2.7 T34-85 (Russians) To cut back production time/costs and produce a faster unit, the T34 was given certain modifications such as thinner armour and a lighter gun. The medium tank that resulted was christened the T34-85. It should be used as you would use the other medium tanks- but it is rarer so try not to die- at least one of its two crew should be an engineer (preferably the driver since the MG gunner tends to get killed quickly). 3.3 Artillery 3.3.1 Priest (Americans/British) A gun-based artillery platform. It has fairly good top speed but it is a large unit making it worryingly easy for opposing forces to target and hit. Designed for use by two people (driver and gunner) the nature of the unit means it is perfectly usable by one person- when you get to a firing position just hit '2' to hop into the cannon and let 'em fly. The only problem is that this means you have to switch positions if your target moves out of the narrow turning scope of the gun (or if you need to make a hurried exit) and also some n00b will probably come along and start driving the unit if you do this. 3.3.2 Wespe (Germans/Japanese) Another gun-based unit. It has a very low silhouette making it a nightmare for the Allies to hit back at you. Use the same tactics as in the Priest but remember that you aren't as maneouverable. 3.3.3 BM13 Katyusha (Russians) The first tactical rocket artillery unit- the most famous one nowadays is the American MLRS. Unlike the other two artillery units this isn't a dedicated armoured vehicle- its just basically a rocket turret welded on to the back of a (poorly) armoured truck. This gives it incredible top speed (well, by artillery standards) but leaves it pretty defenceless if anyone decides to shoot back. Given this vulnerability you should try to have a driver AND a gunner so that if you miss your target you can escape quicker. The Katyusha has a turret that has a wide range of motion so if the driver moves slightly you'll still be able to shoot. 3.4 Half-Tracks Probably the least used units in BF, these are the main transport units. Probably the reason they are so unpopular is that only two of the 6-8 people on board can actually do anything. 3.4.1 Allies' Halftrack (if any1 knows a name for this please let me know via my boards) Basically a truck with its back wheels replaced with caterpillars, this unit is fairly fast but vulnerable to attack. Make use of the 'Bail Out' command when you need to- hopefully if you get out and run away the passengers will get the message that you ain't gonna survive that Tiger shooting at you 3.4.2 Axis Halftrack (again if any1 knows a name for this please let me know via my boards) Better armoured than its American counterpart, but this comes at the expense of speed. Probably a better option all-round as it gives your troops a better chance of getting to where they're going than the US-built counterpart. ************************* Section 4- Aircraft Guide ************************* What you have to remember is that to make the gameplay more enjoyable and balanced, the fighters in BF have 15 bombs in addition to their machine guns. They drop in singles and take a while to reload, but should not be neglected. 4.1 Spitfire (British) Type: Fighter Armed with machine guns and (for balancing issues) bombs. Its advantage is maneouverability so use this to the full extent. Try not to dive too much because the Spitfire doesn't have a fantastic rate of climb- and that will be a real pain on Battle of Britain among others. 4.2 BF109 (Germans) Type: Fighter Armed with machine guns and bombs. Has a major climbing advantage so use this in dogfights- for example don't even think of trying to out-turn a Spitfire, just get above him and then do your worst. 4.3 Corsair (Americans) Type: Fighter Personally my favourite as it out-performs any other aircraft in its theater. You should go for whatever you feel comfortable with- climbing or turning. But just remember that not all pilots will try to avoid you if you pull up in front of them 4.4 Zero (Japanese) Type: Fighter Compared to the Corsair this is a pretty poor aircraft, but its better than ground-pounding I suppose. As with the Chi Ha you'll have to use the element of surprise if you want to have a good chance of coming out on top 4.5 Yak9 (Russians) Type: Fighter Not a brilliant aircraft, but its slightly lower speed makes it excellent on the forest/ruined urban settings in which it tends to fight. Try to keep out of sight of flak cannons though you really don't stand a chance in this plane 4.6 Ju87 Stuka (Germans) Type: Dive Bomber One of the most famous aircraft in WWII, it has unfortunately been nerfed in the extreme by BF. Most of the maps it appears in are no fit environment for dive bombing, and where it would be useful its respawns are far too far apart for the Stuka to make a real difference. Even by dive bomber standards it isn't particularly fast or maneouverable either 4.7 SBD 'Dauntless' (Americans) Type: Dive Bomber The Yanks' standard ground-attack aircraft. Not as maneouverable as the Corsair and unless you're a reasonably competent pilot it isn't much use for dogfighting. Having said that if you get comfortable with your flying it can be incredibly potent for air-to-air battles because its machine guns are so much more powerful- you don't have to train your fire on the enemy for so long a time 4.8 SBD-T (Americans) Type: Torpedo Bomber Like the standard SBD except its armed with torpedoes instead of bombs. They aren't actually all that powerful so unless you're going after landing craft (and you're a really crap machine gun shot) or submarines (Midway only and the chances of you seeing a submarine are small) then go for the standard issue SBD instead. 4.9 AichiVal (Japanese) Type: Dive Bomber Not quite as powerful as the SBD but it still performs its role admirably. Try not to get into dogfights as you don't have the same firepower advantage as the SBD does. 4.10 AichiVal-T (Japanese) Type: Torpedo Bomber Identical to the normal AichiVal except it has torpedoes rather than bombs. Same problem as the SBD-T in that the torpedoes aren't actually all that good (and you need to fly VERY low to drop them successfully making you dogmeat for your target's AA defences- AichiVal vs carrier flakcannon= dead pilot!) 4.11 Ju88 (Germans) Type: Heavy Bomber A heavy bomber that is (afaik) only featured on one map (Battle of Britain) which is unfortunate for the Germans. The Ju88, since it is smaller than the B-17, has better maneouverability than its American counterpart (that's in relative terms, it still handles like a pig). This is balanced out by its lighter bomb load though 4.12 B-17 'Flying Fortress' (Americans) Type: Heavy Bomber A big, lumbering death machine that needs a good pilot to be used effectively. The emphasis here is on accuracy: if you miss on your first bombing run its going to be a looooooonnnnnng time before you can force your plane round for another pass, by which time your target will probably have moved (how unfair of it :P). Having said that it's quite an achievement to miss completely: the B-17 can drop 8 bomhs per run (2 more than a Ju88) so you'd have to be spectacularly bad to not even do splash damage with ONE of them. Just remember that even with a full complement of machine gunners you're very vulnerable to fighters- basically if you see a BF109 you might as well bail out unless he doesn't spot you. 4.13 Fighter Tactics First of all you should read the entry for the aircraft you will be flying, but tbere are some general rules which apply to flying any kind of aircraft. Its a matter of preference, but I ALWAYS use the 'nose cam' (press F9 while already in the cockpit) when flying any type of aircraft: it offers you an unmatched view of what's going on above and below you. This is even more important for fighters- they RELY on spotting bombers before the bomber's tail gunner spots them. You shouldn't try to take on tanks unless you are fantastic at aiming bombs: the fighters only drop 1 at a time and take an age to reload. Meaning that you really have to hit dead-on at your first attempt or you'll probably get taken down by the MG turret (or even the main gun if the tank driver knows his stuff). Infantry are a different story. Of course the amount of ammo it uses up means you should only go for groups of infantry- all you do is 'walk' the fire along the ground to where they are. In other words you don't have to go slow enough to actually aim, all you do is just before your crosshairs reach them start firing: you can always get more ammo! Landing craft are easy pickings, especially the American ones. Instead of trying to sink the boat outright, try machine-gunning the people in it. That gets you just as many kills (especially if its a single person in the boat and the retard stops to try and use the MG) and also leaves the landing craft floating empty in the middle of the sea (which means it will be longer before it respawns at the enemy's spawnpoint so it impairs their attempts to attack you). For fighters' intended purpose- shooting down other aicraft. Basically you should fly at a medium sort of height. Basically so that you're high enough to be able to climb to attack incoming bombers, but low enough to see what's going on at ground level (or spot any low-flying chancers) Fighters are very good at barrel rolls (which, bizarrely, increase your speed significantly). Make sure you have reasonable height- not as high as your 'patrol' altitude but high enough- and then just start rolling (don't use the rudder). Keep dragging the mouse repeatedly across the mousepad (remember to pick it up when you get to the edge) until you've turned a full circle lengthwise- just remember to pull up afterwards as you can go into a steep dive after this maneouver if you aren't careful. 4.14 Dive Bomber Tactics First of all you should read the entry for the aircraft you will be flying, but tbere are some general rules which apply to flying any kind of aircraft. Its a matter of preference, but I ALWAYS use the 'nose cam' (press F9 while already in the cockpit) when flying any type of aircraft: it offers you an unmatched view of what's going on above and below you. Its great for spotting tanks and other targets. Even if you're only halfway decent at bombing, a dive bomber gives you a good chance at taking on tanks. It fires two bombs at a time (which is why you have a loadout of 30) but still has the speed necessary for you to take out the tank before it can take cover or shoot back. Its perfectly possible to take on infantry with your bombs, your machine guns or both, but to be honest its a waste. Unless they're actively threatening a control point leave the infantry for someone else- you've got bigger fish to fry. Landing craft are a dive bomber's nightmare. They're pretty maneouverable, and pretty small. Don't even think about trying to drop bombs on them (unless you use the 'low flying chancer' tactic I'll talk about later) so just use the same tactics as fighters: machine gun the people IN the landing craft rather than the landing craft itself A lot of people say that you should avoid air-to-air combat in divebombers. They know nothing. Sure you aren't as maneouverable as the fighters, but there aren't really many good fighter pilots out there that make full use of the aircraft's capabilities- most of them are in the ladders- so if you know your plane its perfectly possible to fight another aircraft and survive (and it gives you better chances than trying to run away and LET them shoot at you anyway). The reason for this? The dive bombers have a much better machine-gun than fighters, so its perfectly possible to take someone down in a single pass. Just don't try this in the Stuka (which as I said has been badly nerfed by DiCE) Dive bombers can pull off barrel rolls (which, bizarrely, increase your speed significantly), but its a bit more difficult. Make sure you have reasonable height- higher than if you were doing it in a fighter- and then just start rolling (don't use the rudder). Keep dragging the mouse repeatedly across the mousepad (remember to pick it up when you get to the edge) until you've turned a full circle lengthwise- just remember to pull up afterwards as you can go into a steep dive after this maneouver if you aren't careful.. 4.15 Heavy Bomber Tactics First of all you should read the entry for the aircraft you will be flying, but tbere are some general rules which apply to flying any kind of aircraft. Using the nose-cam is highly optional for bombers: you don't really need to have eyes-on your target (since you're probably taking on a base rather than an individual tank) so the chase view (F10 I think) works almost as well (and gives you better awareness when you're being shot at by fighters). Most BF players either wait 'till their bomber has its full crew of machine-gunners (people who aren't confident enough) or take off as soon as they get to the plane (n00b plane campers usually). You should try to go for somewhere in between: make sure you have at least one machine gunner. If more are available then great, but don't hang around if nobody's there. A single machine gunner, making good use of the different views, can usually defend you fairly well by just switching between the positions as necessary. It can also be beneficial to have one person who knows where everything is rather than three or four people who only know about their own individual portion of sky. Try to fly level when you're about to release your bombs, otherwise aiming becomes even more hellishly difficult (I saw one hilarious case on Battle of Britain where some idiot in a Ju88 dropped bombs on his own fighter cover :P) and don't change height/direction too drastically afterwards or you'll just go into the ground. Obviously you don't even THINK of doing a barrel roll in a bomber. 4.16 Low Flying Chancer This is mainly a dive bomber tactic but it could apply to fighters as well if you're desperate. Rather than trying to aim a bomb (which takes frustrating and difficult to assess practice), if you're attacking a building such as a defgun or a factory (which most of the time you will be) then you could fly SO low that your bomb actually hits the side of the building - basically fly horizontally towards the building as if you're going to hit it and then release your bomb and pull up at the last moment. This can expose you to some serious AA fire, but in other cases (esp. the Defgun next to the carrier in Coral Sea) it can actually put you below their field of fire ********************** Section 5- Naval Guide ********************** 5.1 Destroyer The most common 'heavy' warship, it's quite often used as a substitute for heavy artillery. Its main advantage is that it is armed with depth charges and is fairly maneouverable. Also the turrets turn fairly quickly- once I shot down 5 aircraft with a destroyer's main gun inside a few minutes. If you end up in a one-on-one fight with a battleship (a situation which you should avoid) first of all call for Air (F2- F6) and Naval (F2- F4) support, then get in as close as you can so that his guns can't get trained on you- then just blast away and hope your support arrives quickly 5.2 Battleship The capital ship of the first part of the twentieth century superceded only by the aircraft carrier. It has massively thick armour, and equally massive guns. Might is right here. Don't go in any closer to the shore than you spawn, however, as these things will run aground very easily. Your main weakness is submarines- although if the fool has his periscope up you could blast at him with the main gun and have a fair chance. 5.3 Aircraft Carrier Now we're talking. Probably the most dangerous ship in the game (even though it doesn't look much). It can launch fighters and dive bombers, and has 4 AA guns (2 per side) making it excellent at attack and defence. Its main weakness is that it has no surface-to-surface weapons of its own so it can be vulnerable against other ships. Can also lead to massive points for the other team- if they machine gun the deck of your carrier they'll probably kill about 10 planecamping n00bs minimum. 5.4 Submarine Quite rare actually, and with good reason. Very few people want to use these as they are VERRRRRRYYY SLLLLLLLLLOWWWWWW and don't pack all that much of a punch. If you're taking on another submarine then your torpedoes will be useful but against a surface ship bigger than a landing craft you'll just irritate them. What's probably a better idea is the 'suicide sub'- try to stealthily approach the enemy ship, get underneath it and then try to surface. You'll either heavily damage or destroy outright the enemy ship 5.5 Landing Craft Just a means of getting from ship to shore, these aren't really naval units as such but they float so they go in here. Remember that once you beach them that's it, so it might be a better idea to stop a few metres out and swim the rest of the way- so that if the shit hits the fan you can run back to your landing craft and escape (at least in theory). Remember that if you are the only person in a landing craft do NOT switch to the machine gun if you are attacked by air- it is very exposed and makes you a sitting duck because you won't be moving any more. 5.5.1 Allied Landing Craft Not good. The driver is totally exposed making the entire boat vulnerable to air attack. 5.5.2 Japanese Landing Craft Now we're talking. At least the driver in this boat has his own cabin-type enclosure that protects him from machine gun fire. Not quite as fast but more survivable. 5.6 PT Boat Currently only seen on one map, the multiplayer-only Invasion of the Phillipines. Probably my favourite unit, they're great for hit-and-run attacks or annoyance on other ships- fire torpedoes into it then go in front of it firing mines while your torpedoes are reloading. The dual machine gun (which should be manned by a second player where possible) gives you fairly decent anti-aircraft defence (which along with your maneouverability should make you a pain in the ass to actually hit) 5.7 Dinghy WTF? Yeah I know a rubber raft shouldn't be in the same category as a battleship but you got any better ideas? On the new 1.6 map, Liberation of Caen, the 'extra option' it talks about is a few dinghies floating at the riverside closest to the south-east control point. Not fast, stupidly easy to sink and cargo of only 2 people, but they give you a greater depth of options for capturing the highly difficult north-of-bridge control point. ******************** Section 6- Map Guide ******************** In this section I will list the 'mechanics' of each map- spawnpoints, vehicles, etc. as well as some strategies to take advantage of. Remember that for a spawnpoint, the vehicles that spawn around it will depend on who owns the spawnpoint. 6.1 Battle of Midway 6.1.1 Spawnpoints Each side has the following non-capturable spawnpoints: 1 carrier 1 battleship 2 destroyers 1 submarine There are also two capturable spawnpoints in single player Airfield Coastal Defences And an additional two in multiplayer- the 'sea flags'- one for the start location of each fleet 6.1.2 Vehicles Aside from the actual ships themselves (!) the vehicles are as follows: Carrier Spawnpoint: 1x fighter (Corsair or Zero) 1x dive-bomber (SBD or AichiVal) 4x landing craft (Higgins or Daihatsu) Battleship Spawnpoint: 4x landing craft (Higgins or Daihatsu) Destroyers 2x landing craft (Higgins or Daihatsu) Airfield 2x torpedo bomber (SBD-T or AichiVal-T) 1x halftrack 1x jeep Coastal Defences 1x jeep 1x tank (Sherman or ChiHa) 6.1.3 Strategy First of all, control of the skies is nigh-on essential. The island itself is tiny so your priority should be stopping the enemy from getting onshore at all (by attacking their landing craft) rather than getting bogged down in a ground war (since there are lots of places for invaders to hide while capturing spawnpoints). The sea points are a bit of a pain- it isn't worth going for the other team's but you need to make sure you hold on to your own. Since a favourite capture method is to park a submarine next to the flag, the easiest way to do this is to have a destroyer stationed in the vicinity. This gives you a good chance of retaining the CP but leaves the bulk of your naval power for other duties. Even aircraft should be possible (though NOT easy) to take down in a destroyer- most pilots fly stupidly low (a tactic that only works if you really know what you're doing, and most people don't) so well timed switching between the two gun positions will allow you to shoot down careless aircraft with your cannons. One thing you should be aware of is that the enemy occasionally sends a larger force at the sea points (often a battleship and a destroyer together). If this happens, unless your team is low on tickets and can't afford to have the point captured even for a little while, you should try to escape while alerting your team mates- with the Enemy Ship Spotted and Request Support voice commands. Just remember NOT to turn towards the island itself- you'd be surprised how quickly a destroyer will run aground. Which class to choose? Combat in this map is overwhelmingly vehicle-based, so you'll probably want to be a sniper at the start (to make initial capture of the island easier) and then switch to Engineer once your team has the island secured. Pilots, on the other hand, should probably stick to assault, because this is the easiest class for the type of close-in fighting required to steal a ride home. However as usual I advise against planning your class selection JUST for flying, because the planes in Midway take a while to respawn and with the amount of planecamping n00bs around on BF servers your chances of actually getting one are small. *************************** Section 7- Anti-Cheat Guide *************************** Before any lamerz read further, THIS DOES NOT TELL YOU HOW TO CHEAT IN BATTLEFIELD 1942. GO GET A LIFE YOU WORTHELESS TRASH. Ok enough rants. On with the guide 7.1 Spawncamping I know that I will probably get flamed for including this in the anti-cheat section, but I don't honestly care. The bottom line is that some servers allow spawncamping and some don't- so if you're on a server that doesn't allow it then it's cheating. First of all by 'spawncamping' I don't mean people who sit in their OWN base doing nothing (thats usually vehicle camping), I mean people who sit in the opposition's MAIN, non-capturable base (or continually overfly it in an aircraft etc.) killing people as they spawn. It is PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE to spawncamp a capturable base- one that doesn't have the 'Cancel' type thing (someone please tell me what that's called) over its map marker. No sane server admin will penalise you for doing this as it is the whole object of the game (any who do should be reported to community sites as complete morons). One of the 'grey areas' is stealing a vehicle from the enemy base, since escaping will usually always involve spawnkilling. Obviously if you are shot down out of a plane and land in the enemy's base then everyone expects you to try and get out, but driving a vehicle (jeep etc.) purposefully into the enemy base just to steal their vehicles isn't really fair is it? Yes, some argue that any fool can take out a spawncamper. It's probably true, but in any case spawncamping degrades the fun for both sides (the people getting spawncamped AND your teammates, who have less people fighting THEM fairly) so unless it's specifically allowed by the server rules DON'T DO IT. The only thing you can really do about spawncamping is to kickvote the person (or complain to the server admin if present). 7.2 Vehicle Camping A real pain in the ass this one. It's most commonly seen in the form of planecamping (very few lamerz are sad enough to camp for 5 minutes waiting for a halftrack) and can be the most irritating type of cheat. Although not many servers specifically forbid vehicle camping in their rules, its still unpopular with most decent BF players so it will probably get you kicked if you do it to excess. As well as irritating other people by taking vehicles that they were going for fairly, it also detriments your team- battlefield is designed to have roughly equal teams fighting it out, not half of one team sitting on their asses doing damn all at the airfield because they're too n00bish to do well in infantry combat. Again there's nothing built into BF to stop this, but you could try kickvotes or admin complaints. 7.3 Teamkilling (TKing) The one that players of other games will be most familiar with. Basically involves what the name suggests- killing people on your own team. There is no real justification for this- it doesn't benefit you personally, and it doesn't benefit the team. Don't do it. If someone TKs you, use the game's built-in systems for dealing with that. 'TK wars' don't help anyone and make you look as n00bish as the guy (or gal) that started it. As I said before the game has a number of different systems for dealing with TKers- the first being the good old kickvote. Given that most people just vote yes without thinking, if you call a kickvote AND explain what the person has done they've got a pretty high chance of getting kicked. On some servers, the game will kick people automatically if they reach a certain number of TKs. Sometimes this will be automatic (and you have to type 'ftk' into the console to avoid penalising someone), but more often than not you have to specifically 'complain' about the TK to get the person penalised. Basically, open up the console (usually the key to the left of 1 at the top of the keyboard) and enter 'ptk' (without quotes) to lower their score).
Amazing Games. Many Cheats. Such Wow.
