Armor Warfare 101: Effective Use of Ground Vehicles and Anti-Tank Operations


13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU)

Authored By: SupAhShyGuy (XBL: CrazyBagaDonits)
Xbox 360 Platoon / Seminoles Squad Leader


Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Opening

Section 1A: Disclaimer
Section 1B: Introduction

Chapter 2: Vehicular Breakdowns and Strategies

Section 2A: Light Vehicles
Section 2B: Heavy Vehicles
Section 2C: Water Vehicles
Section 2D: Stationary Vehicles

Chapter 3: Being an Engineer

Section 3A: Strategies and Supporting Armor
Section 3B: Weapons and Gadgets

Chapter 4: Communication

Section 4A: Armor-related Command Calls

Chapter 5: Practice Sessions



Chapter 1 – Opening
Today is Wednesday, June 9, I sat at work doing absolutely nothing and got to work on this guide alongside a few projects on the side. Nonetheless, I had a blast writing this as I got my inner soldier to start chronicling the episodes in my BC2 career and those that I wish I had done differently. Hopefully this guide can give some insight on an aspect of the game that makes winners, not noobs.

NOTE: For the purposes of this guide, I will only make mention of how to deal with aircraft attacking or defending an objective. Describing how to effectively use aircraft will take an entirely separate guide.

Section 1A: Disclaimer
This guide is designed to accommodate both introductory players as well as highlight more advanced tactics. Feel free to peruse through this guide at your leisure taking a little and leaving a little information and advice along the way. This information is based 10% on a few internet sources and 90% from battlefield knowledge and experience.

Section 1B: Introduction of Vehicles
Almost every map in Bad Company 2 contains a piece of armor or fast-moving vehicle and oftentimes it is left alone as the other players tend to not know how to effectively operate such vehicles. They’re ubiquitous, but essential to winning a battle! Imagine Atacama Desert or Port Valdez without vehicles… LONG WALKS AND CAMPERS GALORE! You’ll be sniper fodder by the time you reach your objectives. That’s where he ground vehicles come into play, facilitating the swift victory over your foes.

Ground vehicles are categorized into four categories; they are as follows…


Light:
HMMWV 4WD, Vodnik 4WD, Cobra 4WD, Quad Bike

Heavy:
M1A2 Abrams, T-90 MBT, M3A3 Bradley, BMD-3 Bakhcha, BMD-3 Bakhcha AA

Water:
Personal Water Craft (PWC), Patrol Boat (PBLB)

Stationary:
Heavy MG X312, Heavy MG KORD, Stationary AT KORN, Stationary AT TOW2, Anti-Air Gun

Each vehicle has its purposes and functions in combat, and not any single vehicle can win a battle but rather an amalgamation of both light and heavy vehicle superiorities. From mastering the quickness of the quad bike to the commandeering of a T-90’s cannon with co-axial machine gun, a squad can defeat even the most experienced and worthy of enemies; provided that proper communications are in order and that proper fireteams are readily familiar with commands and callsigns.


Chapter 2: Vehicular Breakdowns and Strategies

Section 2A: Light Vehicles
The Humvee (HMMWV), Vodnik, and Cobra are all just variants of a four-man crew of a fast-mover with a powerful mounted machine gun. These however, are very vulnerable and fragile all sorts of gunfire! Though these are good for flanking, you typically would want to use these to quickly inject and deliver a squad deep into enemy territory providing a distraction as the rest of the team provides the attacking force.

Quad-bikes however, are the fastest vehicles with wheels! Only for a crew of two however, they provide superior mobility and flanking. A landing Apache or Havoc should be wary of sneaky quad-bikes as they have the tendency to rush into the area of a repairing helicopter and quickly turn the tides of battle.

Vehicle Specs for Light Vehicles --
Players may want to equip V ARMOR as is provides extra protection against fire. No other spec is relevant however.

Section 2B: Heavy Vehicles
Tanks (Main Battle Tanks or MBTs)
Heavy vehicles require the most attention from engineers! They are perhaps the backbone to an assault and it really pains me to see random smurfs running off in the marvel of an armor vehicle when they just die, losing a ticket and a perfectly good tank in the process. This tends to get my blood going as the momentum of the battle can be turned just from a tank or two.

M1A2 Abrams versus the T-90 MBT. What would win? Technically, the T-90 possesses more firepower per tank shell, however the M1A2 Abrams maintains a faster acceleration and higher top speed. Depending on the pilots, it would be hard to tell!

Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs)
A M3A3 Bradley and BMD-3 Bakhcha are essentially equivalent but variants of one another as Infantry Fighting Vehicles or IFVs. These are are more suited to cramped quarters and more violent for the urban operations. Their autocannons are suitable for dealing splash damage and tear apart infantry hiding behind cover or in buildings! Think of it as stronger grenades capable of tearing down walls as well.

IFVs can have the same specializations are MBTs but are less effective at a range. Equip V ALT to fire a mounted AT4 from the top of your IFV to engage another IFV or MBT! You’ll definitely be able to match yourself against the such! V ELECT is even more useful on an IFV than on a tank because its suited towards taking out more infantry. So pay attention to your minimap as the enemies will light up like Christmas tree lights as they try to respond to the interloping armor.

Long-Range Combat
A good tank commander knows how to demolish a building from a distance without being the effective range of rockets and AT mines, while maintaining a fairly clear surrounding for retreat in case of a mortar strike. As practice should be, squad members should both be calling out tangos in the objective while repairing or firing into the base. The tanks should be shelling buildings and preparing them for collapse. A prime example of this is either zone 1 or 2 of Port Valdez or Zone 1 or 2 of Arica Desert in the Rush game modes.

For long-range engagements such as the scenario above, the tank commander should equip the V WARHD to deal more damage to the target or buildings. V OPTIC is useful as it provides magnification of the target, therefore more rounds are more likely to hit the target. V RELOAD is perhaps the most useful as you can dish out the optimum number of shells in the least amount of time at the target.

Short-Range Combat
SHORT-RANGE COMBAT IS DEADLY FOR BOTH YOU AND THE OPPONENT!

When it comes to short-range combat, many people get their vehicles destroyed. A number of things can happen in the short-range unless you have a few infantry to help you. When you are short on infantry and you have an objective in sight, its smart to take the following specializations!
• V ELECT to watch out for sneaky C4 recons and assaults.
• V ALT also provides an increase to firepower as you are a sitting duck should you miss your cannon shot.
• V ALT allows you to keep on suppressing and demoralizing enemy infantry.
• V SMOKE is invaluable which not only removes the tracer dart on your hull conceals yourself, it conceals your TEAMMATES! Try parking your tank in front of the garage M-COM station in Arica Harbor in Zone 2, then set off the smoke! You would be effectively creating a small kill zone in the newly created chokepoint while creating a distraction in the favor of your teammates.
• V WARHD will allow you to take down M-Coms quickly with a few hits from tank rounds!
• V ARMOR will allow you to take more hits, but if you are a good pilot, you will plan on not getting hit!

Section 2C: Water Vehicles
For the jetskis or PWCs, I can only think that V ARMOR will help. However, as a person using jetskis, you’re never really on these things for long as you are extremely vulnerable. Fast, but vulnerable and without a means of attacking while on it unless you have a passenger! Even so, the both of you make a juicy opportunity for a kill hungry defender!

PBLBs or patrol boats however are several steps up from the PWCs as their grenade launchers are extremely devastating and can be effectively used to take down M-Com stations on Zone 1 of Laguna Presa. Take V WARHD or V RELOAD into battle when using a PBLb for obvious effects.

Section 2D: Stationary Vehicles
In my head, this is a misnomer. If it is stationary, then its not a vehicle! But for the sake of EA calling stationary weapons and emplacements vehicles and for the sake of consistency, I’ll call them vehicles.

To my knowledge, vehicle specializations do not apply to stationary vehicles therefore they are rendered null! Keep this in mind!

Heavy MGs
Heavy MGs such as the X312 or the KORD are extremely extremely effective and important to defending objectives! For example, Zone 2 of Nelson Bay, defenders have 4 emplaced guns at which are super effective at keeping infantry back and buying your team time! Personally, I jump on them whenever I get the chance. However, don’t get too trigger happy about the fact that its unlimited ammo. It will overheat and you will be a sitting duck for a few seconds! Heavy MGs are demoralizing and also very good at shaving enemy tickets down. You may be hit with a rocket, sniped in the head, a very determined mortar will fall on your head, but not after taking down a guaranteed 4-6 enemies!

Stationary ATs
The KORN and the TOW2 are devastating to armor! Enough said! One hit with these things deals anywhere in the ball part of 60%-75% damage to armor! Also, Zone 2 of Valparaiso has a TOW2 missile emplacement on top of a building that has a prime view of both M-Com Stations. NOTE: It only takes 5 hits from the stationary ATs to destroy an M-Com station! This makes the back of Zone 2 valuable!

Also, Zone 2 of Laguna Presa has a couple Stationary ATs at the defenders disposal. Control these and try them against the M-Com stations!

Anti-Air Guns
There should be more of these in every level that has Hinds, Apaches, or Havocs. These emplacements are quite difficult to use but provide a fighting chance against attack helicopters. You have to be able to time your shots as a moving target causes shots to miss. Therefore, try aiming in the predicted position the aircraft is in. There is much estimating to be done. Depending on the distance of the helicopter from you as the move, you may need to compensate and aim further ahead.

After the EA server patch, AA guns are now stronger against helos to my understanding.


Chapter 3: Being an Engineer

The Engineer class in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has gotten a much needed overhaul from the previous Battlefield games; utilizing characteristics that either allow the player to dominate in armored warfare, or equipment to provide the role of anti-tank and emplacements, the Engineer Class is a very versatile pick.


Section 3A: Supporting Armor and Strategies

The Repair Tool
When it comes to vehicles, the most important gadget in the engineer’s arsenal is not his stealthy and deadly sub-machine gun, or his powerful rocket launcher… Its his repair tool! The engineer repair tool is important in both repairing friendly armor as well as dismantling enemy tanks!

Supporting Armor can be a tricky task. But as long as the armor is up and running, provided that the team member inside the armor is doing a good job at deterring the enemy, you should be holding an objective with relative ease. Good engineering is being a repairman while being able to provide secondary fire alongside armor!

When the friendly tank takes damage, an engineer should always be nearby to repair it or to provide extra fire! The engineer should always be behind the armor as it provides a good place to hide as fire comes in, occasionally popping out of cover to fire a rocket.

The Anti-Tank Mine
To avoid the said direct confrontation however, you may consider using the anti-tank mines not only as a form of defense, but also as a armor deterrent and demoralizer. Place anti-tank mines in the shadows from trees overhead, rubble from wreckages, or even in shallow rivers in that of Laguna Presa. Use them in choke points such as the famous choke point of zone 2 in Port Valdez. However, do realize that you sacrifice your ability to confront armor from a distance or demolishing buildings with enemies in them.

Anti-tank mines also make a great explosive against M-Com stations as they are speculatively MORE POWERFUL than C4. This has yet to be confirmed, but a cocktail of AT mines, C4, and a single rocket will not only take the M-Com station down but also the building in which it sits in!

The Rocket Launcher
See Section 3B!

[Strategy Tip] – Dealing Extra Damage while in a Tank - The driver of the tank or IFV should also be an engineer in which once a take fires its round, it takes time to reload, then the pilot should pop out of the tank for a moment to fire a rocket at the enemy tank scoring a second hit in seconds, and then quickly pop back into the tank for a third hit. Repeat the above

General Strategies
The armor strength is different at different parts of the tank. For an example, we'll use the T-90 MBT or M1A1 Abrams. The front armor is strongest, and may take up to 5 shots to bring it down; by the 3rd shot, the tank driver will have most likely retreated to get repaired. So aim for either the side or rear armor. Most times, it will take about two shots in the rear to destroy a Main Battle Tank, and approximately 3 shots in the side. With tracer darts, rockets tend to hit the top armor, which is roughly split the same as the rest of the tank.

As you can see, each launcher serves different purposes; bringing down a tank is a lot harder with an M2CG, while bringing down a building is a bit harder with an RPG-7. Teamwork is essential; the more your team knows to trace a target with a tracer dart, the sooner the armor can be dealt with.

Medics need to make sure to revive any fallen engineers; tanks viewing in 3rd person will easily see the smoke trail, and return fire in the given direction. The Assault class needs to constantly protect the Engineer, and resupply them; no rockets, no armor protection. If you see an engineer launch a rocket, toss an ammo pack at them - they're likely going to be shooting more. The Recon class needs to spot, spot, spot! Tanks are big, so there is no excuse for not spotting them. The sooner an engineer knows where the armor is, the faster he can start shooting it. Tanks will stay back if they know they are in range of anti-tank rockets. Remember; teamwork wins the round!

Section 3B: Weapons and Gadgets

The Engineer's main strength is its Anti tank/vehicle/emplacement rocket launcher, and there are 3 very distinct launchers to choose from; this guide will deal with all three of them each with their own characteristics, strengths, and yes, weaknesses.

The rocket launchers are very accurate, and will almost always land in the same horizontal plane that you aimed it at. However, at long range gravity plays a distinctive role in how you deploy them; just like with sniping, the player needs to aim a bit higher to compensate. There is no definitive guide for compensation, but the player will be able to judge it pretty well after they learn the game mechanics, not to mention a bit of experience.

Another thing worth mentioning is that with the RPG-7 and the M2CG, you can "Fire and Forget". Unlike the M136-AT4, you don't need to guide the rockets in, so it is advised that you aim, shoot, and run for cover.


Here is what should be recommended as a set-up for vehicular combat.

Primary Weapon: Any gun is acceptable, use anything you think will be useful.

Secondary Weapon: If you plan on being a CQB engineer, you probably would want to equip a sidearm that utilizes bullets. Anti-tank engineers also may wield a firearm secondary, however in long distances with many vehicles such as Atacama Desert or Port Valdez, AT Engineers may consider using the Tracer Gun.
The tracer gun is especially effective now that it has gotten a long deserved upgrade to its speed since the update. I find it easier to tag UH-64 Blackhawks now in Valparaiso! In short, a simple tracer gun really takes a lot of the pain away from pesky armor and aircraft. TRACER GUNS ARE MAGICAL!

"Keep note however, that a tank or helicopter can get rid of an enemy tracer by simply deploying V SMOKE or 40 MM Smoke GL upgrades. However, if a tank/helo is tracered and is subsequently smoked either by Vsmoke or smoke grenade, you can tracer it again while its still in smoke and it will stick." - [Credits to Dtiger29 for this last tidbit of tracering and smokes]

To lock onto a “tracered” target, pull out your rocket launcher (RPG-7 or CG )

Gadget: Depending on the situation, you may want a rocket launcher for direct combat, however AT mines are great for making logistical nightmares for the opponents. But even rocket launchers have their differences. Here are my descriptions of the RLs.

RPG-7 AT
• It CAN lock onto tracer darts.
• It performs WELL against Armor.
• It performs average against infantry.
• It performs WELL against helicopters. Usually one shot brings them down, or at the least knocks them out of control.
• It performs average against buildings.
• The reload time is a bit slow.

The RPG isn’t the choice for hitting buildings, but it is a good choice against armor. It tends to move slower than the M2 CG, but faster than the M134-AT4. It does have a big drop after 1-2 seconds of flight.

M2 Carl Gustav
• It CAN lock onto tracer darts.
• It performs average against armor.
• It performs WELL against infantry.
• It performs average against helicopters (it may not always destroy them with one hit).
• It performs WELL against buildings.
• Rocket speed seems to be faster than the RPG-7 AT.


The Carl Gustav is less effective against armor but is very effective against infantry. Also, it is extremely good for urban operations in destroying walls and buildings. Its splash has a great area of effect and is therefore more effective against infantry especially with EXPLMK2.

Remember, if the pilot, gunner or passenger of a helicopter has equipped the upgraded armor package for their vehicle specialization, the rockets will not usually bring them down in one hit. It usually brings them down the 20% health or so, so advise your teammates to hit the helicopter with the Mobile AA or some .50 Cal fire.

M136-AT4
• It CANNOT lock onto tracer darts.
• It performs EXCELLENT against armor.
• It performs poor against infantry.
• It performs EXCELLENT against helicopters (typically hard to hit however, especially against veteran pilots).
• It performs average against buildings.
• Rocket speed is the slowest out of the three.
• It DOES NOT lock onto tracer darts. It acts much like the rocket launcher in Battlefield: 2, or the one from Half Life: 2. When you fire the launcher, you "guide it in" to the target. Wherever the crosshair points, the rocket follows.
• It isn't a one time use, it reloads just like the other launchers.

The guided characteristic of this launcher may be beneficial; guiding the rocket to a weaker area of the armor is always beneficial, but it does expose the Engineer to small arms fire, and more importantly, pose as a sweet, non-moving target to any lurking snipers. It is not recommend that the AT4 be pitted against helicopters.



Chapter 4: Communication
We all know by now that communication is tantamount to having control of both the Apache and the Havoc on Atacama Desert. You are guaranteed to own if your comms are clear, concise, and better yet, followed!

I know I’ve said elsewhere on the forums about keeping the comms clear of unrelated chatter but its so important that it still needs to be restated here! Unrelated chatter disrupts the optimal gameplay that your squadmates and teammates may be having. So don’t ruin it for them and yourself! If you must chat up a storm about the current game is good. But just chatting up a storm about absolutely unrelated material, then its irritating and useless. Battlefield Bad Company 2 really boils down to teamwork as we also all know, it becomes a battle of who has more information, who has more intel about the location of the enemies, objectives, and the enemy armor. Should this intel and information be suddenly disrupted due to other chatter, then chances of winning the rounds are diminished.

Calling out buildings and locations is important as well. Be as specific as you can get while speaking in the third person such as…

“CrazyBagaDonits needs repairs on my vehicle by the sniper hill” or “CrazyBagaDonits needs ammo or health or to be revived” Believe it or not, this tremendously helps the team out. But when it comes to calling out armor, one needs to not only mention the location, but ideally, how much health it has (roughly), number of operators in the tank, and enemies nearby. Being as complete as possible with callouts and marking will really give the team the upperhand.

Section 4A: Armor-related Command Calls
Please see the comprehensive command calls as authored by Spiralus with certain [13] additions found here, http://www.13thmeu.org/bad-company-division-f37/fire-team-field-manual-t2131.htm

Here’s a few I’ve made up.

“Armored Column: Distraction” – Two tanks, one with V RELOAD, another with V ARMOR and an engineer repairing the V ARMOR tank while the V RELOAD tank is in the rear guard firing away at objectives. [Variant: V ARMOR tank equips V SMOKE and drives adjacent to the M-Com and blasts a hole in the wall, delivers the passenger and then the tank driver deploys smoke.]

“Armored Column: Anti-infantry” – Two tanks, both equipped with V ALT. Tanks will strafe around with their gunners and cause havoc in the enemy AO. [Variant: 1 tank V ALT, 1 tank V ELECT for spotting]

“MCOM Rockets” – Typically ineffective, but two engineers, an assault, and medic make up this squad. The Engineer wield AT4s with EXPLMK2 and upgraded explosive charges while the assault provides ammo while protecting the engineers. The medic provides reviving and healing and covering fire. Utilize in elevated or concealed positions.

"Also note it take 8 RPG-7 rounds to destroy an MComm without EXPLMK2" - [Credits to Dtiger29 for this info]

“Anti-Air” – AA Gun, utilize engineers and medics to repair the AA gun, but engineers must be hiding out of the way of the AA gun as people nearby are prone to rocket fire from a single strafe. Engineers may repair in between strafes. Medics will revive the AA gunner. Engineers also may attempt to take down the helos with tracers, but priority is repairing the AA gun.

“Bum Rush” – Quad bikes and other fast movers! Get in however you can, just as long as its quick and dirty.

“Patrol Boats” – Utilizing PBLBs to harass the enemy, deploy infantry units if needed.


Chapter 5: Practice Sessions
More games involve tanks, humvees, and quad bikes, so emphasis on practice should be placed there. However, a good practice session could be on Atacama Desert as each team may have up to three tanks available and have a good old fashioned tank war.

For tank marksmanship training, the US team may stay at their first base, “A” and fire on buildings in “Charlie” (I think its C that is closer to the RU base). We need to find out how many tank rounds it takes to demolish a building. We could set up a fixed number of rounds on a target in a certain amount of time.

For example, “Building X takes 12 tank rounds to demolish, you have 15 tank rounds to spend and only 2 minutes to take it down.”

Now this test gives the tank commander the dilemma of choosing which vehicle specialization to take into battle. Should he take V RELOAD because of the time limit? But then he has to be accurate with his shots. Should he take V OPTIC because of his accuracy? Then he sacrifices reduced reload times, and also V OPTIC makes things a lot closer than they seem so its important that the operator be adjusted to the new specializations. How about V WARHD for a faster takedown? Well, accuracy is still an issue.

Nonetheless, we’ll have the other team confirming hits on the other side. Perhaps the other team can also give pointers to the operator in the tank as he fires his rounds. “Adjust you’re a little higher! You’re coming short!”… depending on the Drill Instructor’s feelings, lets see how things turn out!


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This guide is brought to you by SupAhShyGuy (CrazyBagaDonits)

Oh my god man. This is one of the best guides i have ever seen! GREAT JOB!

Haha, thanks Relentless, I hope you can make good use of it!

I really found inspiration in Spiralus, Fun, Dtiger, and Axx for their thoughts on battle.

Sorry for making it textbook-ish. But I figure, I'll make it as comprehensive as possible.

Best Guide ever! And easy to read too!

**BUMP** with a few minor edits, grammar and syntactical corrections.

Very well written Crazy, this should provide useful intel to those unfamiliar with armored, warfare. Also note it take 8 RPG-7 rounds to destroy an MComm without EXPLSVMk2, and unfortunately no armor can be tracered unless an enemy is in it.

Also note that if a tank is tracered and is subsequently smoked either by Vsmoke or smoke grenade, you can tracer it again while its still in smoke and it will stick.

Also don't forget the UAV station. The UAV can be equipped with smoke to hit a target. As a matter of fact all of the Vehicle specilizations apply to the UAV. If you plan on using the UAV to hunt armor the VReload is best. For anti building, VWarhead; and for infantry VAlt.

Good stuff Dtiger! I incorporated your material (though abridged and slightly reworded) with its essence in tact. Please find that it can be found in sections 3B and 4A in which the credits are marked in [red brackets]: such noted.

I actually did not incorporate the UAV portion as I didn't want to put Air Vehicles into this Tactics Guide, however if you feel its relevant D, I shall work it in.

Nice job man thats like the longest guide/tactics i ever seen!!!

Ferddy876 wrote:

Best Guide ever! And easy to read too!

just saw Ferrdy's post. You're too kind, and I'm glad you thought it was easy to read. I wrote this in MSWord. 12 pages single spaced with some paragraph breaks; nonetheless, written in about 4 hours.

You just wrote the mechanised infantry course material, well done

Wolfhide wrote:

You just wrote the mechanised infantry course material, well done

Oh was there already an existing "mechanised infantry course" guide? I didn't know!

Lol otherwise if not, then mucho thanks!

This is exceptional and had illuminated many aspects of the game that were guess work to me. Nice one.

supahshyguy wrote:

Wolfhide wrote:

You just wrote the mechanised infantry course material, well done

Oh was there already an existing "mechanised infantry course" guide? I didn't know!

Lol otherwise if not, then mucho thanks!

fun is going to get in touch with you about thinking up some more stuff for the course. Probably looking to you as a DI once it starts properly?

Good work keep up the guides

-- removed!

supahshyguy wrote:

• V ARMOR will allow you to take more hits, but if you are a good pilot, you will plan on not getting hit!

I personally agree with everything in this guide except for this quote.

When I pilot, I intend on drawing fire away from my teammates and expect to be hit by various explosives.

Maybe you mean being a good pilot is knowing how to maneuver and place your vehicle in a way that allows you to avoid a bulk of the fire while still keeping up the fire and pressure on the enemy team.

I guess my idea of a tank is based off of playing far too many role-playing games where the so called "tank" is essentially a damage sponge. But I digress.