Things to do with buggies

**Zack** · 07-05-2009, 08:28 PM

For as long as I've played this game on TG, I've noticed one thing, particularily on maps like Camp Gibraltar where rushes can make or break the game for the attacking group:

As soon as round starts, buggy shoots out of uncap base, pushes past the first flag, and abruptly bursts into flames, taking anywhere from 1-3 tickets.

While rushes aren't necessarily a bad thing, it's seems a waste to me to send out a buggy rush if it only has a 10% chance of making it through alive. Wouldn't there be some other way to use the buggy, such as another vehicle attacking harbor?

Because let's face it, a team that doesn't mine roads probably is going to lose to a team that would :P

**Spyder228** · 07-05-2009, 10:39 PM

Buggies are always good for a little just out of sight range suppressive fire.

**Nine.Thousand** · 07-06-2009, 03:10 AM

The problem with buggies is that it only takes one guy with some sense to launch his mag of rockets at it and it's done, and the moment somebody says "Enemy vehicle spotted!" half the medics have their finger hovering over the PK button. It's better to just leave them there and only take them when it's tactically sound.

For example, I've had great success parking a buggy to the East of Central Camp and hopping in the turret there. Makes the entire lower floor a deathtrap; you need 2nd floor support though.

**Fruvous** · 07-06-2009, 03:36 AM

buggy rushing in Camp G.. even if it might waste 1-6 tickets (spawning squad?), is definitely worth it.
Why?
Think of how many tickets it costs to capture a flag. 20? 30? 50? Except for the super-duper special-awesome Fruvous Squad, it's rare for a flag to be capped without losing at least 10 tickets. So, PAC gets a flag (if they're lucky), saves a bunch of tickets that would otherwise be wasted at harbor, saves a bunch of tickets that would otherwise be wasted at a Toll<->Harbor pre-standoff duel.

What are the chances of it succeeded?
In TG, there's USUALLY one squad that mines up. Sometimes people get too comfortable with someone else mining.
Or.
Buggy rushing has been largely unsuccessful. Noone tries it, mines go up less, and a buggy rush is once again a valid option.

I don't know the percentage, nor do I want to review all the TG CampG videos to estimate it. BUT, I believe it's pretty uncommon to see a slip up once in a while.

I roll a 1d20 or 1d10 in order to gamble 3 of our tickets to gain a 10-50 ticket lead.

Teams that don't mine up isn't "worse" than a team that would. It's that the other squads relied on another squad to mine it up. They lost a gamble.

**Mercenary90** · 07-06-2009, 11:22 PM

It would be interesting if someone used buggies as mobile MG platforms and micro'd like an APC or Tank driver.

**Deterhek** · 07-06-2009, 11:35 PM

Ha, a buggy assault platform. I guess it could work on an infantry map to hold down a position, provided that there was a driver/gunner/passenger. Passenger could spot enemies coming up, gunner would shoot and if things got messy the driver could scamper on out of there.

**Greyed** · 07-07-2009, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by Deterhek

Ha, a buggy assault platform. I guess it could work on an infantry map to hold down a position, provided that there was a driver/gunner/passenger. Passenger could spot enemies coming up, gunner would shoot and if things got messy the driver could scamper on out of there.

Only really need driver/gunner for that. Passenger would be too exposed. 'sides, this is how a buggy rush should be done. For example on Tunis where both sides are doing a buggy rush for Power Station the SL should have one person spawn in as gunner with the explicit instructions to not hop on the flag but to provide covering fire.

**Zoraster** · 07-07-2009, 09:49 AM

I've found it difficult to use the buggy as a "mobile MG platform." Rockets kill the thing fast if it's standing in one place, and if it's moving it's pretty darn hard to hit anything that you're not moving directly at or away from. If people are too close for rockets to kill it, then you're still pretty exposed to being shot out of the buggy. And of course then you're not even revivable

**SGT.Link** · 07-07-2009, 12:00 PM

Unless the squad is ignoring their orders I don't see where this 2-3 tickets lost is coming from. Most SLs order a spawning freeze and just haul butt with their buggy, and if they are successful then the SMs spawn in, otherwise the SL takes a hit, orders his squad to spawn in and being either a harbor assault or left or right flanking maneuver while he gets ready to respawn.

I've seen many successful buggy runs on Gibi on TG servers. I have often seen the skilled SL get a good spawn, buggy up, and run down that slow engie getting ready to mine his path.

The best spot I've seen to mine actually is right past toll where there's a narrow passage for him to drive through, easier to cover and most buggy rushes are designed to push past toll. Also it's harder to see the mines there.

**Mr.Ander50n** · 07-07-2009, 05:47 PM

I have tried to use the buggy as a mobile attack platform, but it dies too easily, and you can be shot out of it as well.

The buggy rush works best if two buggies go together right through the center, with the front one eating the motion mines, since there is usually only one spot that is mined.

On this map, if I'm EU, I began running two engys, one for each side of toll station, and we stopped numerous buggy rushes in their tracks. However, there was still a time where I had to go chasing after a sniper when his buggy got through the mines/emp nades somehow, so it does still work against the odds.

**N.B. Forrest** · 07-13-2009, 03:44 PM

I personally love the buggy as a mobile mg platform. It has one of the most accurate weapons in the game and it takes forever to overheat.

With a little infantry support, you can lay waste to the other team - be sure to set up "ass first" however as it increases your suvivability dramatically.

**flik2142** · 07-14-2009, 09:30 AM

you talk about rockets taking out a buggy, but dont forget you can nade them, shoot the guys out (very easily), and use the engineer heavy weapons to kill them fast. Also, a couple of assaults firing their rifles into it will kill it quickly. Buggies should be used for transport (with just one guy in it (maybe 2/3 if all SL). The gunner/back seat can use third person sight to give warning to driver (unrealistic type of gameplay, but whatever).

On bigger maps, the buggy can really shine as a mobile swift DOOM machine. Driver resupplies, gunner is medic, guy in back is engineer. You can take back flags, you can drive around vehicles dropping mines or hop out and nuke em from behind. Alternatively, if you're the annoying type, hop in a buggy and drive around tanks to distract them. They can't ignore you because they'll be scared of pilums in the rear and all you have to really do is drive in circles around them until they get fed up or waste their 39 shots, and then you nuke them.

One advice, if you jump in a buggy for suppressing fire, don't stay in it for longer than a couple kills because someone will wise up and kaboom you.

**Arch** · 07-14-2009, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by flik2142

*snip*
One advice, if you jump in a buggy for suppressing fire, don't stay in it for longer than a couple kills because someone will wise up and kaboom you.

What I do to (help) counteract that is to move the buggy after every one or two kills, especially if I'm capping the flag and using the MG on the buggy.
Guy I just killed spawns with a pilum, moves out so he can hit my buggy, except it's not there anymore, and then I kill him. This actually happens a lot, especially on Suez Canal.

The buggy is one of my favorite vehicles, and with a good driver (I'm OK) we can stay alive for a long time.

One memorable moment on Suez 64p: Silo 1 had just gone gray so I hopped in the buggy to go check it out. There was one guy there, intent on placing his motion mines (He was looking at the ground). He had already placed 4-5 MMs. I boosted the buggy towards him and hopped out. Buggy went crashing into him, then the MMs blew it into pieces. I didn't take any damage, and I hopped in the APC and recaptured the silo.

It was so cool because when I ran up he saw/heard me, and I know he expected me to hop out, or get into the turret (right; and get pilumed?)

I really like the buggy when SLing, I use it to move fast around the map, and my SMs can spawn on it and then get out and get into other vehicles to follow me or the objective.
APCs are nice too, we had one round where almost every one of us was driving an APC, 3-4 APCs against a tank / walker isn't fair at all, 2 can EMP it while I get out (and other SMs) and hit it with the Sudnik / Michael.

**Fruvous** · 07-22-2009, 11:40 AM

I was wondering why they put a buggy in miniShingle.. it's not like there would be any trouble getting to any flag.. except for when the only flag left is CC.

So I thought of it as more of a defensive utility

MiniShingle with a few people on board (usually has a distinct lack of IDS)

Dedicated Buggy Squad.
1 support, 1 engi (does EU have buggy on it?)
IDS on Buggy
Patrol the road for squads.. the map itself is a nice 0 shape, and an IDS on the buggy has a wide enough scan area to detect everyone walking by on that half of the screen.

Is someone trying to be sneaky by going west? (which, I've never seen anyone do.. surprising) Large squad going east? Collumns might consider to compensate/Dunes has early warning. Squad moving to CC/Refugee? Buggy will detect before they're down.

The only problem I see with it is, is that EU might think someone is NASCARing for the sole purpose of running people over.

If there's a problem, the buggy can always just move on the upper have the 0, to prevent bypasses to CC/Refugee.

**DocGuo** · 07-23-2009, 12:57 PM

Remember there are 2 buggies! I have often tried to get the first buggy to sacrifice itself so that the 2nd buggy takes no damage and speeds right on through....a game can hinge on what the EU team decides to do.

In response to a squad breaking through,it usually pulls off an entire 1-2 squads off harbor/toll just to deal with an efficient 6 man squad that could wreak havoc in the back flags....