44 replies to this topic

[Admiral FCS]

I recently bought Battlefield 2 and installed on my computer, but I am confused as how this game works, and what is the goal of this game. Can anyone explain to me about this game on how to play it? Some basic tips would be helpful.

[Hobbesy]

Reading the manual that comes with the game usually results in a better understanding of how to play.

Edited by Høbbesy, 15 June 2009 - 04:13.

[RaiDK]

I believe there's also an in game tutorial which goes through the basics of how Conquest works.

[CommanderJB]

Putting Battlefield 2 guide into your browser also comes up with useful things like this. In a nutshell, however, the game works as follows.

(1) Each team has a set number of reinforcements, which represent spawn 'tickets'. Each time you lose your life (and also whenever anyone on your team dies), one 'ticket' will be subtracted from your total reinforcement count. The team which reaches zero first loses, as they can no longer reinforce.

(2) Battlefields are composed of control points, which you must capture in order to win. The team with more than half of the control points will cause a slow drain to the number of enemy reinforcement tickets available even without actively killing them. If a team controls every command point, then the enemy cannot respawn and lose as soon as everyone on their team dies.

(3) Control points are represented by a flag. You can capture a command point simply by standing next to it; the opposing team's flag will come down, then yours will go up. As soon as their flag is down, the control point is neutral, meaning they cannot spawn on it any longer, but your team will not be able to spawn there until your flag is all the way up and the point is fully captured. You can capture command points inside vehicles, but it will take longer. Conversely, having more members of your team next to it will capture it faster.

(4) Some control points are uncapturable; these maps are 'death matches' where it is a simple matter of which team kills the most people on the enemy team fastest.

(5) Vehicle and infantry gameplay integrates seamlessly, and this is one of the key features of the Battlefield series. In order to win your team must field a range of different infantry types, which are split among roles.
Equipping the Assault kit gives you the use of an assault rifle good at medium ranges. This takes a little while to learn properly, but is the best all-round weapon in the game.
The Special Ops kit gets a range of different toys meant for infiltration, including a carbine like an assault rifle but better over shorter ranges, C4 charges to destroy vehicles and commander assets (discussed next) and unlucky troops, and all sorts of other things.
The Engineer is the only infantry unit able maintain your side's vehicles. They use a wrench to restore friendly or unoccupied vehicles to full health and can also place anti-vehicle mines.
Anti-Tank, the Engineer's nemesis, is the only kit able to attack vehicles easily using an anti-tank missile launcher to destroy heavy targets. When firing, instead of clicking, hold the mouse button down; moving your mouse will then guide the missile in flight in the corresponding direction. This takes a bit of getting used to but is extremely important to learn as unguided shots rarely hit anything. By way of compensation for their lethality at everything that rolls, Anti-Tank soldiers are very vulnerable when confronted by enemy infantry as their SMG is useless over range and only really any good at close quarters, and even then there are better options.
The Sniper kit does exactly what it says on the box.
Medics are like Assault soldiers but with slightly less weaponry and a healing kit and defibrillators to compensate. The healing kit will restore health points to you and anyone else near the kit - you can throw it on the ground for faster healing. The defibrillators are a bit different - when you lose all your health, you will lie on the ground for fifteen seconds while you are still 'alive' but unable to do anything. If someone defibrillates you during this time you will return with full health and can get back into combat without subtracting a ticket from your team's reinforcement count as you have not 'died'. The Medic gets good points for doing this too.
Lastly, the Support kit gives ammo and covering fire to his teammates with a light machine gun that is grossly inaccurate unless fired when prone or crouching, but spits out a constant stream of bullets that is best over medium to long ranges in clear areas. They are however very poor at close combat. Support soldiers also get access to an ammo kit that works like the Medic's healing kit, but for ammo instead of health points.

(6) Unique to the Battlefield series is the Commander. Each team has one individual who has access to a range of special options to help his team via a radar map. If you're the commander, you can press home to bring up a radar map where you can see everyone on your team and order special powers by right-clicking on the intended target to bring up the action menu. These special powers are:
Artillery strikes - these are powerful barrages of heavy shells which will kill anything that stays in their area of effect for long, including vehicles. They are indiscriminate and will easily kill your team as well as the enemy if not placed carefully.
UAV scans - this will call in a small plane to circle the area and reveal all enemies nearby to your team on the radar map. Hugely useful, this is perhaps the most critical Commander power.
Vehicle drops - if your team needs a bit of mobility, call in a vehicle drop to deliver a basic vehicle anywhere on the map. It will only be a light transport (like a technical or dune buggy - it varies according to team and map) but it's useful for getting from point A to point B faster and better-protected than on foot.
Supply drops - these are crates which act like the kits dropped by Medics and Support soldiers, but will heal, replenish ammo and repair vehicles simultaneously. Just watch out they don't squash anyone underneath.
All commander powers are dependent on small structures at a team's home command point - if these are blown up by a Special Ops soldier then they will be unavailable until the controller is repaired by an Engineer.
Commanders also issue orders to squads, discussed next - if the squad completes that order (i.e. kills enemies at a CP they've been ordered to assault or defend or someone in it repairs something broken they've been ordered to fix) then the commander gets bonus points. While you have to basically just sit down and watch other people fighting on the map for the most part as Commander, the compensation is that your points score is doubled if your team wins, so successful Commanders are among the highest-scoring players in the game.

The last primary gameplay mechanic of the Battlefield is the squad system. Squads are not 'necessary' in that you do not have to be in a squad to play the game, but squads that work together are much more successful and score many more points that lone wolves. This is because the squad leader can issue orders (or approve a Commander's order), and every time a member of the squad performs an action that helps the squad (i.e. healing, reviving, repairing or resupplying another squad member in the order area - or if any other member of the squad kills an enemy in an assault/defend order area if you're Squad Leader) they get bonus points. Players can also spawn on the Squad Leader, and the Squad Leader can request the Commander use his support powers - the request will appear on the Commander's map at wherever your current weapon is aimed, so take careful note of where your rifle is pointed when requesting artillery barrages; if it's at your feet, get ready to run. Squad members can request this too, but they do not get a direct request sent to the Commander, instead relying on the Squad Leader to relay the message. To access the squad request menu (or, if you're the Commander, to place your powers directly rather than using the map) press and hold 'T' and move the mouse to highlight the relevant option and click.

The request menu is a smaller version of the main 'commo rose'. Press and hold Q and you will bring up a menu of preset quickchat commands that you can send by moving the mouse until they are highlighted and clicking. These are crucial for communicating easily with your team and can send requests for aid almost instantly with practice. If you want a nearby medic to heal or an engineer to repair the vehicle you're in, this is where you go. There are a good many generic messages on here, nearly all of which regularly come in useful.

There are many other features and tips and tricks, but you'll really only pick them up with experience. Experiment with as wide a range of weapons as possible to get used to all the roles, and also make sure you know how each vehicle handles before you hop in the driving seat of your team's APC (or worse, helicopters - stay away from these and jets until you've practised with them extensively in a bot match, as they are extremely difficult to fly for first-timers, myself included).

Edited by CommanderJB, 15 June 2009 - 10:09.

[Admiral FCS]

Thanks a lot. Also, the proverb "practice makes perfect" is indeed correct. I may have other questions so please don't lock the thread yet.

[Rayburn]

- When playing as a sniper, you have to keep bullet drop in mind. This means that you have to adjust the height of your aim on longer distances.
- The unlockable M95 sniper rifle will bring the target down to minimal health. If the target is already injured, it's an instant kill. It also penetrates glass canopies.
- Unlocking the G36E turns your Medic into a point-whoring pest with combat abilities that actually surpass those of a medium-skilled assault player.
- Don't bother using the Engineer class if you're not going to use a vehicle. These guys are only good at keeping vehicles alive and repairing cmdr-assets.
- In the early versions of the game, the Blackhawk miniguns used to be GOOD. They actually cut through APCs. Now they're a waste of time.
- AT-gunners can control the flightpath of their missile by holding the fire button after launch. Applies to TOW missiles as well.
- Strike on Karkand is the most straight-forward map. Play it excessively if you want to rack up tons of points.
- Set all graphics to 'low' and you'll be able to see into dark buildings from outside because you won't see any shadows.

Tips from a former Sergeant Major who played this game for FOUR-HUNDRED and SIXTY-SEVEN HOURS.

[Rich19]

CommanderJB, on 15 Jun 2009, 5:49, said:

The Engineer is the only infantry unit able to attack vehicles easily, using an anti-tank missile launcher to destroy heavy targets. When firing, instead of clicking, hold the mouse button down; move your mouse will then guide the missile in flight. This takes a bit of getting used to but is extremely important to learn as unguided shots rarely hit anything. Engineers can also repair friendly or unoccupied vehicles with a wrench and place anti-vehicle mines.

Actually, the missile launcher comes with the anti tank kit.

Have a go playing with some bots to get used to the game.

Also, I was a Sergeant Major too, though I don't remember how many hours I spent playing. It was probably too much either way...

Edited by Rich19, 15 June 2009 - 08:14.

[RaiDK]

2142 is the one with the engineer with missiles

Pilum > All.

[TehKiller]

Rayburn, on 15 Jun 2009, 5:47, said:

- When playing as a sniper, you have to keep bullet drop in mind. This means that you have to adjust the height of your aim on longer distances.
- The unlockable M95 sniper rifle will bring the target down to minimal health. If the target is already injured, it's an instant kill. It also penetrates glass canopies.
- Unlocking the G36E turns your Medic into a point-whoring pest with combat abilities that actually surpass those of a medium-skilled assault player.
- Don't bother using the Engineer class if you're not going to use a vehicle. These guys are only good at keeping vehicles alive and repairing cmdr-assets.
- In the early versions of the game, the Blackhawk miniguns used to be GOOD. They actually cut through APCs. Now they're a waste of time.
- AT-gunners can control the flightpath of their missile by holding the fire button after launch. Applies to TOW missiles as well.
- Strike on Karkand is the most straight-forward map. Play it excessively if you want to rack up tons of points.
- Set all graphics to 'low' and you'll be able to see into dark buildings from outside because you won't see any shadows.

Tips from a former Sergeant Major who played this game for FOUR-HUNDRED and SIXTY-SEVEN HOURS.

So damn true. Though the first part is wrong as there IS NO BULLET DROP in BF2 (that "bullet drop" people are all talking about is actually a stupid act of EA not adjusting crosshairs how the should be (even wondered why you cant hit proned targets with a MG36? Well its because the iron sights of it are the most messed up of all weapons as its bullets are going way lower then what youre pointing at). I remember a thread on BF2S where someone posted pictures which show where all of the weapons sights are actually aiming at

btw current Sargeant Major with 150 hours of game time (if I played BF2 instead of PR mod i would still be a SGM with over 400 hrs)

Edited by TehKiller, 15 June 2009 - 08:42.

[CommanderJB]

Rich19, on 15 Jun 2009, 18:03, said:

CommanderJB, on 15 Jun 2009, 5:49, said:

The Engineer is the only infantry unit able to attack vehicles easily, using an anti-tank missile launcher to destroy heavy targets. When firing, instead of clicking, hold the mouse button down; move your mouse will then guide the missile in flight. This takes a bit of getting used to but is extremely important to learn as unguided shots rarely hit anything. Engineers can also repair friendly or unoccupied vehicles with a wrench and place anti-vehicle mines.

Actually, the missile launcher comes with the anti tank kit.

RaiDK, on 15 Jun 2009, 18:12, said:

2142 is the one with the engineer with missiles

Pilum > All.

Oh bother, right you are. Definitely been too long since I played the game - I thought I was missing a kit, but I couldn't work out where. 2142's system is much more sensible anyway!

[D.K.]

Oh...

-If you want to have EVERY hostile on your arse, go to uncap base and start destroying assets with C4
-Engie's shotgun is underestimated. Karkand, storage areas in front of hotel (also known as "fragfest") are CRAWLING with players, they can't outgun the shoutgun in that close quarters.
-NEVER take F-35B on Wake Island, if pilots on chinese side are having J-10 in air. YOU WILL LOSE - In order to win, make sure you have all stinger sites on island active and that you fly in tight circles around USS Essex.
-If you like being called whore, make sure that you get G36 weapons... I personally use G36C very much, but most of my kills were actually C4s
-Speaking of C4 - stick them on the jeep/DPV, switch to detonator, and enter the car. Speed away into blob of people or tank, and immediately press E, and then left mouse button in quick succession. That is "Jihad run".

[Nid]

L85A1 (SA80) > Sniper Rifles.
They are great for picking off long range targets on single fire mode, and are powerful on semi-automatic at closer range.
As you can only use them as a medic, you get the added advantage of self healing also.
Though with mid range they are not as good as the G36E option (Also a Medic Weapon)

[Pav:3d]

If you want to be a gd team player:
PKM with support and ammo pack spam (even if your teammate has fired a single round and reloads, u still get an ammo giving point, which quickly adds up)
OR
G36E Medic, and well rayburn pretty much said it. (if you cant get that weapon yet, use the AK-101, its a gem)

And cap those damn flags, you get points for capping them with friends, nuetralising it. If you dont cap em, you dont win.

Join a squad as soon as you join the game. If you become squad leader use the squad command button! (its "T" iirc)

If you wanna be an unhealpful douchebag, then just sit around with the sniper rifle. Sniping people that your team mates would easily kill anyway, snipe people out of vehicles, sniping other snipers, sniping stuff that you think are the enemy, but was actually a bit of scenery.

Also watch out for grenades, but they make so much noise its usually easy to avoid them.

Have your settings on LOW with the highest draw distance. Minimal lag, maximum sight. (unless you have a super computer, BF2 tends to lag anything)

AND PATCH TO 1.41!

Edited by Pav3d, 15 June 2009 - 11:25.

[D.K.]

Quote

And Get Project Reality. Best Mod ever! Content wise and game play wise. Makes BF2 more enjoyable.

AMEN!

I cannot point out that much importance, but PR is THE BEST mod out there. It got Editor's Choice for Best MP mod, and was proclaimed MOTY of 2008 on MODDB.

Just play it.

[Hobbesy]

I hate PR to be honest. It's too slow and a bit too realistic at times.

[TheDR]

Høbbesy, on 15 Jun 2009, 18:59, said:

I hate PR to be honest. It's too slow and a bit too realistic at times.

I have to agree, i hated it when i played it.

[D.K.]

Hehe, that's the point. Otherwise it wouldn't be called Project Reality, eh?
On the other hand, I'd like to see you sprinting 2 miles with all those stuff in backpack.

[TehKiller]

vanilla boons


Though I do find their nerf in weapons for 0.8 to be more than slightly annoying (decrease of accuracy so that the noobs, YES NOOBS not newbies, dont die that often).

Oh and it depends on the maps too (e.g. Kashan Desert is too slow while Asad Khal gives fun infantry combat especially combined with Mumble)

[Admiral FCS]

Played with some bots, and indeed, it's a great game.

One thing though, how do you get to "unlock" the "unlockable" guns?

[CommanderJB]

You have to play online on ranked servers. Every point you earn on these - for killing enemies, repairing/resupplying/reviving/healing teammates, completing objectives, capturing control points et cetera - contributes to your overall score. Your overall score determines your rank; the higher the score, the higher your rank. Each time you climb a rank you gain one unlock credit. The first ranks are really easy to gain; the top ones require dozens of hours of gameplay to go from one to the other.

[Hobbesy]

TehKiller, on 15 Jun 2009, 16:25, said:

vanilla boons

That's another thing that puts me off when I was trying PR. You guys always putting down people who come from vanilla BF2. You're all so arrogant and stuck up about the mod.

[Libains]

Hobbesy, please. We are all friends here and there's no need to group all PR players into one type of person. Similarly, TehKiller, just because people don't play a specific mod, doesn't mean that they don't have a good time.

On the matter of PR, I have tried it before, and it doesn't appeal much to myself either - it's certainly quite a hardcore mod that takes the game to the level of extremes. While it may have been MOTY 2008, I don't frankly give a damn. One of the reasons games are appealing to a wider audience is because it is not quite real. There is a fine line between ultra-realism and semi-realism, one that PR for myself and many others, has stepped over into too realistic, too lifelike. If you want to play in a war, go and play an actual one imo. If you want to play a game to have some fun, don't take it quite so seriously.

Edited by AJ, 16 June 2009 - 02:44.

[CommanderJB]

A few general tips would probably be useful in addition to the basics as well:
- When playing as a squad leader, it is much faster to place orders with your mouse than with the map once you get the hang of it. All CPs will appear on the UI with as flags of the team that owns them with a distance marker to them; if you point your screen at these icons exactly they will highlight. Then pressing and holding T will bring up the default order for that point (i.e. attack for an enemy or neutral point, defend for a friendly point) instead of the normal 'Move Here' command.

- Soliders drop their kits on the ground when they die. When you're starting out, you'll lack a lot of the equipment that other players will be using, so to even this out a bit, when you kill an enemy (or when a friend dies next to you) and you can spare the attention (i.e. if no-one is going to kill you as well) then run over and point the screen at the kit, which looks like a satchel with the soldier's class icon on it. Press 'G' to exchange his kit for yours and use weapons that you do not normally have access to. Note however that you will not get this equipment again if you die and respawn.

- All attack helicopters have a pilot and a gunner position. The pilot gets access to unguided rockets, but stay out of this seat until you're either on your own or have a fair bit of practice under your belt. The gunner, however, has access to both TV-guided missiles and a chaingun. The chaingun is simple enough, but using it effectively depends on whether the pilot flies in such a way as to make it easy for you to shoot people below; don't just pepper the ground with rounds either as it is rather annoying and can make the pilot stop and turn around for no reason. The TVMs are altogether different; they're very powerful anti-vehicle weapons with a limited ammo supply. They have two modes; automatic and manual. To simply fire them at a location you want, move the targeting cursor over the area on the screen and click once. The missile will hit the location you selected, but won't engage moving targets unless you're good at guessing where the enemy will be at the end of the missile's flight time. Much more effective, but much more difficult, is to use the manual mode. To do this, click and hold; your camera will then switch to being on the missile's nose. Steering the missile is then as simple as moving your mouse in the direction you want it to go, but because the missile accelerates extremely fast it's very difficult to hit things on your first goes. The only solution for this is practice, but get the missiles down pat and you'll be a much-valued gunship gunner any day of the week.

- Of all the commands on the commo rose, the one highlighted by default is 'spotted'. This will cause any enemy your weapon is pointed at to flash on your team's radar map for a short time and is invaluable for letting the rest of your side where the enemy is. Use it often, particularly when you're in a gunner position in a vehicle to let the driver or pilot know of any threats to his vehicle.

- Most armoured ground vehicles have smoke grenades activated by pressing 'X'. These will hide your vehicle from view, preventing attacking anti-tank troops or other vehicles from aiming at you accurately. Don't pop them immediately when a warning buzzer sounds indicating you're being painted unless you're sure it's a threat or have room to manoeuvre though; sometimes players will quickly highlight a vehicle and wait for it to pop smoke and then be left defenceless when the smoke dissipates before firing.

- Battlefield's physics engine is not the most realistic, and your parachute is a valuable tool even when outside an aircraft. You can use it to land safely when jumping off a building or vantage point over about two or three stories high - just hammer the correct key as you fall and you'll usually float gently down for the last few centimetres to a gentle stop. It's usually much faster and safer than clambering down a ladder, but you're bound to mistime it sometime and pancake, but once again practice makes perfect.

- Press your shift key to sprint - this is useful for getting across open ground quickly, but you become easily tired, so be careful with it unless you really need it.

- If you're in the gunner position in a tank, press Ctrl to crouch down in the turret. You can't shoot when crouched, but it places the tank between you and anyone outside so it's useful for avoiding snipers. Unfortunately, if the sniper is good you likely won't get a chance.

- Snipers can also plant Claymore mines, which will explode if you pass in front of them. If you're approaching a site that enemy snipers like to camp at, always watch for these on the ground. They can however be bypassed by walking while crouching or crawling while prone - if you see them.

[Rich19]

CommanderJB, on 16 Jun 2009, 4:05, said:

Much more effective, but much more difficult, is to use the manual mode. To do this, click and hold; your camera will then switch to being on the missile's nose. Steering the missile is then as simple as moving your mouse in the direction you want it to go, but because the missile accelerates extremely fast it's very difficult to hit things on your first goes. The only solution for this is practice, but get the missiles down pat and you'll be a much-valued gunship gunner any day of the week.

Actually you don't need to hold down the mouse. Just clicking on the screen will steer the missile to point at the thing you clicked on. It's far simpler to click a lot of times than to hold the mouse.

Edited by Rich19, 16 June 2009 - 09:02.