FeralShadow

Hey everybody. Thought I'd share what I've learned while using walkers during my time playing 2142:

Since starting playing BF2142 I took a special liking to the usage of the walkers. Why? Well, it probably has something to do with my heavy background in games that use giant mechanical bipedal shooting machines of doom. From the humble beginnings of me playing games, I played Mechwarrior 2. loved it. I found Starsiege, another mech game. Loved it. Created my own clan and had lots of practice with tactics online and such. Then, the last mech game I played was Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries. Played it for years. Well, you play those games online and you learn nifty little tricks that always seem to translate well into other games with giant mechanical battlewalkers, like BF2142.

First thing I'm going to say that you must do when piloting a walker is to plan your path. Take a look at your destination, and take a look at your surroundings. You need to plot a course that makes the best use of the cover possible (if you plan on engaging other armor) or exposes infantry as much as possible (if you're battling infantry, with armor absent).

Tactics vs. other armor:

When planning on engaging enemy armor, you must first assess the situation; Does the armor know that I'm there? Does it know where I'm going if it does? Does it have infantry support? If the answer is no, no, and no, then you're golden. Get up to it so you dont miss, and pummel it into dust. The closer you are to your target, the easier it is for your missiles to hit it (the missiles are the only thing that hurts other armor). Always remember to keep moving, as when you start hitting it and it puts up its shield, it's sure to know you're there and a moving target is harder to hit than a still target, and a moving target that's moving in a circle around it is extremely harder than hitting a moving target coming straight at it. When moving in a circle it poses the challenge of leading your missiles so they hit the target. I usually aim about 10 feet behind it when i'm circling. So you're shooting like this, roughly: [ ! ] = walker, ( ! ) = tank, * means where you shooot, -> means direction of motion:

* (!)

->[!]

I know that isn't the best representation, but I don't have any pictures to illustrate my point. If the tank/walker is indeed fast enough to put up its shield before you can destroy it fully, you can bet your arse that you have a major advantage. Not only is the enemy armor already damaged, but they no longer have the use of their protective shield. They start firing at you, use your shield and patiently wait for theirs to expire, letting your missiles recharge. Once it's down, let loose a full salvo and you'll have killed it, with probably no damage to yourself.

Now, if the armor DOES see you, you need to immediately go into motion rotating around the armor to keep up what i like to call your Transversal velocity. If you're fighting against another walker, here's the tactic: If the walker's at distance, this is a good thing if you're a better shot than he. Keep moving in a circle around him and try to hit him with the missiles, but since it's pretty far away, only shoot one or two at a time. They are fairly accurate at range, but have a tendancy to arc up and to the right or left depending on which side it launches from. Use the terrain to your advantage and try to put things between you and the target when you're not firing, and walk between objects when you are firing.

If the walker isn't at distance, you need to immediately survey your surroundings and see what you can dodge behind. During all this you ALWAYS want to be using the shift button to fast walk, as it makes you a lot harder to hit. As you walk to go behind cover, get off a few pot shots so he uses his shield, but try not to use yours unless you really need to. This way, he's wasted his shield while you're behind cover and he can't hit you. Keep the environment between you and him until his shield has run out, then go between cover objects firing at him between the gaps, using your shield if needed, now that he doesn't have his to protect him. Generally 2 full volleys will kill an enemy walker, and ideally you want to time your missiles so you dont overheat. If you do overheat, dodge behind that cover again and let the missiles cool down. This whole time you need exceptional situational awareness so as you're walking from cover to cover, strafing around the walker, you don't run into anything. It takes a bit of practice.

Tactics against tanks:

In either case, vs. the hover tank or the Eu tank, you need to close the distance as soon as possible. the only way the tank could ever really kill the walker *unless the walker pilot is really bad* is if the tank has the range advantage. Your missiles aren't as accurate as his cannon at range, so you need to cover that ground ASAP while weaving back and forth to provide a difficult target to hit. Using cover against tanks isn't as useful as it is against the walker because the tanks cannons are much more accurate and capable of firing through gaps in the environment or hitting the very top of the walker as it pokes out from above a rock. Use your shield as needed, because unlike walker vs. walker fights, saving your shield and making them use theirs isn't as crucial. Once you are in range, strafe around that tank as tight as humanly possible. This makes it very hard for their cannon to track you, and even harder for them to lead the shot enough to hit you. Getting behind the EU tank and shooting the vent is a very good thing to do, but the hover tank if the pilot knows what they're doing can sometimes out maneuver the walker and keep you at range while keeping their barrel pointed at you. Again, just keep moving as fast as possible providing the most difficult target to hit while closing the distance.

Tactics Vs. Infantry:

Believe it or not, I definately believe that infantry is one of the biggest threats against a walker (besides a competant TV missile gunner). They're hard to see a lot of the times, are able to lock you in place with motion mines, and capable of getting a couple pilum hits in on you before you realize where they are. Having proper intel is the key to nullifying infantry threats. If you have a top gunner in your walker, always have him come in as engineer so he can hop out with mine bait, while you come in as support with an IDS. that little scanner can save you a lot of headache. If you don't have a gunner, well, Engy is really the best bet just make sure you bring mine bait with you as well. You really need to know where the infantry front lines are at all times with the walker, and stay at range. Too many new walker pilots like to run right in with their walker and gun down the infantry. This works for a little bit, but then that enterprising support guy with EMP grenades ruins his day, or he runs into motion mine trap, and is dead in the water. Staying behind the front line and using the walker's exceptional range and accuracy with their main guns is key to taking out infantry. Again, using cover when you're being shot at and moving constantly is a good idea as it makes you hard to hit, and those infantry take a lot longer to move around than your walker does meaning they have to do a TON more running. More often than not when on maps like Gibralter in the walker, I find myself camping toward the back of toll Station behind our front lines of infantry, picking off the guys that run across and the guys who go up on the catwalks. If the walker shows up, it either runs in and promptly gets killed, or hangs back in which case you have one of the "long distance showdowns". In armor maps it's a bit more difficult, but generally there's a lot of open ground so if you pay attention you can normally sight the motion mines before you walk into them, or the engineer hiding in the bunker. Again, playing defensively is honestly the single best tactic to use against enemy infantry because it forces them to expose themselves or move into exposed terrain areas to shoot you. Once they do that, it's a chicken shoot.

Tactics vs. Gunship:

Honestly if the gunship pilot and gunner are good, there isn't much at all that a walker can do against it. Yeah, you can put up your shields, but that means the stuff you are fightin on the ground will have the upper hand once it comes down. Yeah, you have the top turret gunner sometimes, and he has EMP rockets that track the gunship, but it's hard to hit the gunship with them. So really, your best bet is to just hope the gunship doesn't come your way and if it does, make sure you put up your shield in expectation of that TV missile. Other than that, there's really not much you can do from the walker.

Well, this is basically what I've learned while piloting the walker in those countless battles. Hope it helps!

-Feral

__________________

Lyramion

There is ONE good counter vs Gunships you can use when not in action currently.

Tell your Gunner to gtfo and look for another task. Then sit your walker into some trees and man the top position. While the Driver seat is empty, your Walker will NOT show up in the TV missile view while you can still lock the Gunship. Do not shoot too early - only shoot EMPs. Use your machine gun only when the EMPs have hit and you have a good chance to get the Gunship. Otherwise you will give away your position too easily.

The only big danger is an EMP/Orbital Strike in this position.


Alternatively you can just sit the Walker in the woods and get out yourself. Walk around and repair the walker while your gunner has his fun. Or you are really on the ball and have a SAWW with you even



It might not be the best way to use a walker but 1 hit with a TV would KO you anyway. I often use it if there is a competent Gunship team on the other side.

__________________

Ponies need you !

FeralShadow

Ah! nice! i never knew!

__________________

<FHC]==0 HighNoon

I definitely feel it's worth re-iteration here, despite FeralShadow mentioning it several times. In case anyone missed it:

DO NOT
STOP
MOVING

Move around constantly and at all times. If the enemy commander is worth half his weight in dirt, he will be sitting in his command position with that EMP cursor right over you and the instant you stop moving, you'll get EMP/Orbitaled and then it's all over. If you absolutely must stay still (i.e. all flags are capped and you're the last one alive and have to cap a flag), alternate walking back and forth. It's saved my hide many times.

I'd also like to add that, if the option is available to you, set the Chase Front, Cockpit, and Chase Rear views to hotkeys that are easily reachable (I've set mine to three of my mouse buttons). I'm sure I've frustrated many would-be fun-ruiners by popping my shields up the moment before a pilum/rocket shot struck my walker while looking in the complete opposite direction. Check your six and check it often, no different than gunship piloting.

Oh, another thing that some people may find useful. I've heard that a lot of people have difficulty aiming using the PAC walker. Here's a tip. When your enemies are at fairly close range (around 0-40 meters) try and place the bottom of your crosshair on them as your shots strike around that point rather than the center. At longer ranges (60-70+) use the middle of your crosshair.

Other than that I agree with everything FeralShadow brought up. Great post Feral, I wish I'd found this a year ago.

Uranium - 235

WALKER TIP NUMBER 0 - Your guns, if you're the gunner, or the driver, does NOTHING to anything heavier than an FAV. Seriously, STOP IT. Stop shooting that tank, stop shooting the APC. I will FREAK OUT if I catch you doing this. YES. FREAKING WILL OCCUR ALL OVER YOUR FACE.

Never seen a TV missile instagib a walker, not a shot to the rear chassis, the top, or anything. Only when it's damaged (duh). A shot to the rear chassis will make it burn, but that's not really a one-shot KO now, is it?

I'll add my valuable advice to this -

ALWAYS remember which rocket is going to fire - left or right. The trajectories are somewhat predictable, it's a matter of aiming down and to the left / right depending on which rocket is going to fire first. By remembering that it's going to come out the right side, you can save yourself valuable armor by hitting that Rorsche the first time, and not the second or third.

Learning the trajectories the rockets travel, as I said, is SOMEWHAT predictable - I was able to take a tank out at amazingly appreciable range (it was from across the river on Verdun, I'd guess maybe a hundred fifty meters) by just aiming left and right enough.

Finally, don't forget that if the squishies get under you, just hold the prone key to mash them flat.

LordKelvin

It does do something, actually. It makes the enemy driver unable to see straight. Valuable against tanks that are out of your effective range but are pummeling you. Also blinds the heck out of the top gunner in the enemy walker.

__________________







Why MTG has lost any sense of balance:
Lotus Cobra

Lyramion

For once I have to agree with Uranium. The chance the other driver gets confused if more than offset by the times I was about to close in distance to an unaware tank and the gunner was shootng at him warning him early. Also often when the Gunner is shooting infantry it acts as smokegrenade.... for them! So I cannot see where they are.


A TV missile hitting the walker will bring it to 15 health or less. While you might not see it trip over instantly if it was at full health - it´s life is over in the long run. TV missile really is a 1hit kill on a Walker. Over many many hours in the Gunship and in the Walker - there was never a Walker who survived a hit.

__________________

Ponies need you !

Razcsak

TV missiles don't instagib, but the walker is effectively done for.

If you're in the gunner's seat, your job is to watch for air units or other armor and only rarely to engage infantry, and then only with your driver's permission. You'll obscure the target and only rarely kill them.

If you're running a walker squad, the driver should be support or engineer with the gunner as engineer. Having the gunner be engineer lets someone jump out and repair while the walker remains operational. While repairing, look at the ground. You'll be able to see the EMP-strike signature before it actually hits and call it out, letting the walker pilot get move to safety. The driver-as-support lets you use the very valuable IDS, highlighting close-range threats and targets, as well as making you act as a roving UAV for your whole team.

Shurikane

All the machine gun does is make sparks fly and nothing else. A walker shooting at me has never impaired my aiming.

1) Always remain mobile. If you're capping, circle around the silo. If you have nothing better to do, rotate around yourself.

2) If you are standing still for any reason, mash F10 and F11 to see RDXers and EMP strikes coming.

3) Keep enemy armor at an angle while approaching them. They won't hear the alarm until you actually get your targeting reticle on them.

4) Don't take a gunner with you unless he's a squadmate and he needs a ride to the next silo. For everything else, be the sole occupant. Make sure the AA gun is always facing straight ahead so you have a quick point of reference when it's time to counter a gunship.

5) If you hear quick beeps, take evasive action. Zig-zag and move in random patterns until you identify the threat. Usually, a very short duration means TV missile. A hit almost at the same time as the beeps means a railgun. A prolonged duration means either an enemy walker or a guided anti-vehicle missile. A sudden rumble without any alarm means a tank is shooting at you.

6) If you hear long beeps, stop immediately. I swear to God, I will go medieval on the next person who attempts to flee from motion mines. It's useless. If you're pinned down by mines, either clear them out with a defuser or bait, or wait for them to disappear on their own.

7) Whatever you do, do not abandon your ride. If you really have to ditch the walker, then demolish it before you leave unless you have a sexual attraction to armor stealing. Anything and everything you abandon can and will be used against you.

8) The walker's weakness is that it's the slowest vehicle on the battlefield. Its purpose is as a powerful area denial tool at the cost of mobility. If nothing's happening in your neck of the woods, move closer to the front lines - but do not go back and forth across the map everytime your team loses a silo. Pick a patrol route and stick to it.

9) Never shoot what you can't kill. This should apply to all vehicles and I really shouldn't have to yell at people for that so often. Infantry? Machine guns. Railguns? Machine guns as well - aim for the side for a quick driver kill, the splash damage will do the job nicely. Armor? Rockets. Jihad Jeep? Aim a foot off the driver side and be ready to snipe the driver as soon as he spawns out of his vehicle. Air vehicles? Go for the AA gun - though if they have landed, a combo of machine gun and rockets will do the job more quickly.

10) Never shoot the AA gun at the ground. It raises an incredible amount of dust and hinders the pilot's vision. You absolutely have no business trying to hit infantry from the second seat on a moving walker. No, this does not trouble the targeted infantry one bit. I speak by experience. Between blinding someone who has to shoot at the broad side of a two-story building and someone who has to snipe a pinhead with a machine gun, the former has a much bigger advantage when fighting blind. Stick to the AA (and I really mean, stick to it. I should get hit by gunship rockets after you've begun firing at it, not the other way around) and annoy infantry only when they are on the top floor of a building and know the driver can't get to him.

__________________

Uranium - 235

Oddly, in all my tank vs. walker experience, not once has that caused any problem whatsoever. It's actually pretty lolworthy because once his guns overheat, your buddy can jump out and Pilum him.

Well, and obviously, if they're behind you with a missile of love


This is a good time to ask, does anyone have one of those colored damage charts for the walker? I always try to hit the legs because I know they're one of the weakest parts, but I can't remember the rear of the chassis...

<FHC]==0 HighNoon

I tried to search for it but unfortunately the original link for it seems to be down. I'd be interested in seeing it if anyone else had a copy to post though. :-)

darksteel525

__________________

PM07SNV

So true.. Another reminder!!

I was Commanding on Fall of Berlin, and the walker was not moving. I could have orbital'd it's ass sooner, but was waiting for the APC slightly behind it. When both sitting next to each other, it makes for a nice "2 birds with 1 stone" moment.. Don't give me the satisfation of doing this to you!

__________________

Lusitano Louco

Also watch out for tanks in close proximity that deliberately try to inflict a lot of damage by ramming your legs. Their next shot or two will take you out.

LordKelvin

I never really realized that even hurt the walker... usually all I'd notice when I accidentally collided with them that I lost more of my precious tank's armor value....

__________________







Why MTG has lost any sense of balance:
Lotus Cobra