Battlefield 1942 Survival Guide

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Contents

Level 1 Misc. (done)
Section 1A Guide Purpose
Level 2 Vehicles (done)
Section 2A American Vehicles
Section 2B British Vehicles
Section 2C Canadian Vehicles (with 1.6 patch)
Section 2D German Vehicles
Section 2E Japanese Vehicles
Section 2F Russian Vehicles
Level 3 Classes (listed in order on spawn menu)(done)
Section 3A Scout
Section 3B Assult
Section 3C Anti-tank
Section 3D Medic
Section 3E Engineer
Level 4 Maps
Section 4A Eastern Europe Maps ----- where the guide stops for now -----
Section 4B North Africa Maps
Section 4C Pacific Maps
Section 4D Western Europe Maps
Section 4E Histroical Campain Info
Level 5 Fun Suff
Section 5A Cool Things :)
Section 5B Hero's Tails

LEVEL 1 Misc

Section 1A Guide Purpose

Hello there fellow BF1942 gamers. I made this guide because I saw that the
BF1942 general FAQs havn't been updated in a while. Instead of bugging the
writers of these I made up my mind to make my own FAQ. I hope this lives up to
the current guides as I've done my best to overcome my being lazy all the time
and give you a nearly complete guide. Hence The Battlefield Survival Guide was
born. You can see me online as GEN^Orange=*****=2nd

Level 2 Vehicals

These are based on my experiance.

Section 2A American Vehicles

Ok here are the American Vehicals. They have a pretty decent group of vehicles.
IMO there pacific fighter stinks while the European fighter is the best in the
game. Other then that theres not realy anything for the general summery.
Remember threw this level that vehicles are only as good as there user.

Land (names will be there if i can remember what they are, otherwise its they
type of vehicle)

Preist (mobile artillery)
Armor 1/5
Acceleration 2/5
Speed 2/5
Firepower 4/5
Manuvering 1/5

The Preist is a mobile artillery unit. That means its lightly armored and has a
huge gun on it. Needs two people to fire and move at same time. If a scout calls
for artillery the gunner can alt fire to bring up a coordonate system to fire
long distance accuately. Also it seems to have a bit more armor then the wespe
but its not noticable.

M1A3(i think) (APC)
Armor 2.5/5
Acceleration 3/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 1/5
Manuevering 1/5

APC is one of my favorites. Its usualy underestimated because it can't shoot
except a MG in a turret. This is used by ALL of the allied nations so it won't
be listed again. For more see Cool Things 5A. I've descovered quite a number of
"nice" things to do with them that are some what unconventional.

Sherman (Medium tank)
Armor 3/5
Acceleration 2/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 3/5
Manuvering 3/5

The Sherman Tank is about middle of the road as medium tanks go. It does not
have any pros and cons. Besides the main position it has a turret gun but that
is rarly used.

Wolverene (heavy tank)
Armor 4/5
Acceleration 1/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 4/5
Manuvering 2/5

The Wolverene is IMO the worst of the three heavy tanks. Its basicly a sherman
with a bigger gun and more armor but with less manuvering power because of the
size.

Jeep
Armor 1/5
Acceleration 5/5
Speed 5/5
Firepower N/A
Manuvering 3/5

Ahhh my favorite vehicle the jeep :). The jeep is a car basicly with room for
two people. Its mainly used for transport or kamaking into tanks. If you want a
bit of firepower have someone jump on the back or from of teh jeep and prone
with a gun. Drive carefuly :)

Sea

America is one of the two sides with ships.

Aircraft Carrer
Armor 5/5
Acceleration 1/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower N/A (though it does have AA capablities)
Manuvering 1/5

Those stats may look whimpy but belive me its not. It may be considered the
single most important ship there is because it spawns a figher and a dive
bomber. Its heavily armored and has four anti aircraft guns. It may take a while
to get up to speed but once it is well... lets just say you can ram stuff
before they even know what you were doing. Good luck turning if they try to move
though. (Note: Only use it to ram things as a last resort)

Battleship
Armor 5/5
Acceleration 1/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 5/5
Manuering 1/5

Think aircraft carrier but with massive guns instead of planes. Watch out for
subs and destroyers that get close. Both main guns can be used as artillery and
it has two flak cannons on the side.

Destroyer
Armor 3/5
Acceleration 3/5
Speed 4/5
Firepower 2/5
Manuvering 3/5

The destroyer is best used to guard the carrier or battleship. Its faster and
more manuverable then the battleship but has less firepower. It has depthcharges
to kill enemy subs by way of sonar. Its rear guns can be used as artillery. It
has two machine guns on a tower to use aginst planes but you can't switch to
them with the number keys.

Sub
Armor 2/5
Acceleration (varries)
Speed (varries)
Firepower 2/5
Manuvering 2/5

The subs has two torpedos and can submearge if you hold down the up arrow. It
surfaces by the down arrow. If you submerge far enough you see a map as you
parascope is underwater. Submerged you accelerate slower and can't go as fast.
Its main job is to kill ships though watch out for destoyers and planes.


LCVP
Armor 1/5
Acceleration 5/5
Speed 5/5
Firepower 1/5
Manuvering 5/5

This is the transport that spawns at the back of any surface ship.

Patrol boat
Armor 2/5
Acceleration 2/5 (rated because slowing down is almost impossible)
Speed 4/5
Firepower 3.8/5
Manuvering 1.5/5

This is on the special Invasion of the Philipens map. It has torpedos and mines
for use aginst the destoryer (or other patrol craft if your lucky). All of them
have a MG that is more like the turrets on a Bomber. Some have sheilds for the
gunner. If the Japaneese capture one of the harbors they can get patrol boats
too witch are basicly the same. If destroyed in water (meaning your not beached)
a life raft appers with room for 2 but its helth deteriorates at about 1 bar
per 2.5 sec.

Air

Note Air units have extra stats. Also if you plan to fly alot I'd recomend you
get yourself a joystick.

Mustang (European fighter)
Armor 1/5
Accleration 5/5
Speed 5/5
Firepower 4/5
Turning 3/5
Climbing 4/5
Loops 4/5
Rolls 5/5

This is the ultimate fighter. Speed is its main advantage. Its matched aginst
BF109s so unless you stink at dogfighting all you need to worry about from them
is hight advantage.

Corsair(Pacific fighter)
Armor 1/5
Acceleration 3/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 3/5
Turning 2/5
Climbing 4/5
Loops 5/5
Rolls 1/5

Personaly I hate this plane. Its hard to keep it level and the zeros just eat it
for breakfast. Its speed is average but the zeros are fast so you get the idea.
However it can do some nice loops. I wonder why the mustangs arn't in the
Pacific.

SBD (dive bomber)
Armor 2/5
Acceleration 2/5
Speed 2/5
Firepower 4/5
Turning 1/5
Climbing 2/5
Loops 1/5
Rolls 1/5

This is a decent dive bomber but still not as good as the japanese counter. The
stats may look bad but thats pretty much how all of the dive bombers are.

SBD-T (torpedo bomber)

This is the same as the SBD exept instead of two bombs it has a torpedo.

B-17
Armor 4/5
Acceleration 1/5
Speed 1/5
Firepower 5/5
Turning .5/5
Climbing .5/5
Loops .1/5
Rolls .1/5

Thats right those are decimal points. The B-17 is a (insert cuss word here) to
fly. But its worth it because it can drop up to 8 bombs at a time. You can bomb
the living daylights out of the enemy with it. Be careful as if you get in....
your a prime target for AA. Britsh have this too.

Section 2B British Vehicles

The British basicaly have the same vehicles as the Americans with a few minor
changes. Only changes from American vehicles are noted here.

Land

Jeep

Same jeep as America exept with a horn on the Battle of Britain level.

Sea

Britain has no sea vehicles.

Air

Spitfire
Armor 1/5
Acceleration 1/5
Speed 2/5
Firepower 3/5
Turning 5/5
Climbing 3/5
Loops 2/5
Rolls 3/5

Instead of the Mustang or Corsair the British have the Spitfire. It is the best
in turning but it slows at the slightest of moves and its stats are shown
accordingly.

Section 2C Canadian Vehicles

Canada is only in one map... Liberation of Caen. Its vehicles are the same as
America/Britain exept for the following changes.

Land

Armored Car

Same as jeep exept with a horn.

Sexton (artillery)
Armor 1/5
Acceleration 2.5/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 4/5
Manivering 1/5

this is basicly a Preist execpt only one seat.

Sea

The only sea vehicle Canada has is a commando raft. Its like a escape boat from
the patrol boat. Too bad theres only a river to use.

Air

Canada has no planes.

Section 2D German Vehicles

German vehicles are overal above average in my opinion. The have nice tanks but
not as nice as the Russians. There planes are pretty good too.

Weisp (Moblie artillery)
Armor 1/5
Acceleration 2/5
Speed 2/5
Firepower 4/5
Manuvering 1/5

The Weisp is basicly the Axis version of the Preist. It is used by both Japan
and Germany.

Hanomeg (APC)
Armor 4/5
Acceleration 1.5/5
Speed 2/5
Firepower 1/5
Manuvering 3/5

The German APC. Its like the M1A3 exept it is a bit slower and has more armor
(witch is basicly how all German Vehicles are).

PanzerIV (medium tank)
Armor 3/5
Acceleration 3/5
Speed 4/5
Firepower 3/5
Manuvering 3/5

This is my favorite medium tank. Its faster then a sherman and a bit bigger. Its
size doesn't hamper manuvering.

Tiger (heavy tank)
Armor 5/5
Acceleration 2/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 5/5
Manuvering 2/5

The tiger is hard to drive. Its speed isn't that great either. However it has
nice armor and firepower so if you can get to the American wolvereens then their
in for a tough fight. The Russian Tanks can contend with the tiger just fine
though.

Kubelwagon
Armor 1/5
Acceleration 4/5
Speed 5/5
Firepower N/A
Manuvering 3/5

Kubelwagon translates to bucket car. Its alot like the jeep except it isn't as
good at offroading so you should use the roads with this. If ya want go
offroading go steal a jeep.

Motercycle
Armor 1/5
Acceleration 3/5
Speed 4/5
Firepower 1/5
Manuvering 2/5

Instead of kubelwagons in the map "caen" the Germans have a motercycle. It isn't
as easy to handle as a jeep or kubelwagon but it has a MG42 on the back so at
least you can fire out of it.

Sea

There are no German ships in this game.

Air

BF109 (fighter)
Armor 1/5
Accleration 5/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 2/5
Turning 3/5
Climbing 5/5
Loops 4/5
Rolls 3/5

The BF109 is the German fighter. Its a favorite plane of many players (including
myself as its the only fighter I'll fly) of varing skill levels. It can
outclime all the other fighters witch is good as its the only way you can kill a
Mustang in bocage. The bombing is a little off on it as it seems it harder to
hit things with the bombs if you bomb like you do in other fighters. (could
someone send me some info on this problem?) Also you have a great advantage over
the British spitfires in North Africa. You can do several stunts in the air and
hardly lose any speed. The Spitfires on the other hand will run out of speed
and crash if they try to follow you move for move.

Stuka (Dive Bomber)
Armor 1.5/5
Accelration 3/5
Speed 2.5/5
Firepower 3/5
Turning 3/5
Climbing 3/5
Loops 1/5
Rolls 1/5

The stuka is a decent dive bomber... untill you try to do any fancy manuvers in
it. It is basicly middle of the road but your in serious trouble if an enemy
fighter is on your tail. I have never lost an enemy once he got on my tail in
this. I highly suggest that you have a tail gunner to keep fighters off your
tail.

JU88
Armor 3/5
Acceleration 2/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 4/5
Turning 3/5
Climbing 3/5
Loops 2/5
Rolls 2/5

This is only in one map, Battle of Britain, but its way better then the B-17. It
has three gunner instead of two. Its like 10 times more manuverable and can
even do loops and roll if you try hard enough. Only down side is it drops six
bombs instead of eight.

Section 2E Japaneese Vehicles

The Japaneese excel at sea and air vehicles. There ships tend to have a few
extra cannons then the Americans and there Zeros can eat up opposing Corsairs.
However there tanks leave somthign to be desired. In the first release alot of
there land vehicles were borrowed from the Germans and even now there artillery
still is.

Scout Car
Armor 1/5
Acceleration 4/5
Speed 5/5
Firepower N/A
Manuvering 2/5

This is simmaler to the Canadian Armored Car but it has no roof. It comes with a
horn :D Other then that its basicly just a normal car.

APC
Armor 2.2/5
Acceleration 2.5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 1.5/5
Manuvering 3/5

My Favorite APC. This is the second vehicle patches have changed from borrowed
German vehicles (origionaly the Japaneese had kubelwagons). It has an open roof
at the back but instead of a turret it has 2 MGs, each facing out the sides of
the APC. This is the best APC for the roadblock stratagy in Cool Things 5A.

Chi Ha (Medium Tank)
Armor 2/5
Acceleration 2/5
Speed 3.5/5
Firepower 2/5
Manuvering 3/5

This is a sad excuse for a tank. Low armor, small gun, and kinda lurchy when
moving. Good thing there are no Heavy tanks in the Pacific maps or you'd would
be totaly beat. When playing as Japaneese steal a sherman if you can, it will
save your life and you will be better able to protect your team.

Sea

Japaneese ships are the same as the Americans basicly with extra cannons.

Air

Zero (fighter)
Armor 1.5/5
Acceleration 4/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 2/5
Turning 3/5
Climbing 3.5/5
Loops 3/5
Rolls 4/5

The zero is an excelant plane that compleatly tears up Corsairs. Its probaly the
2nd best plane only toped byt the Mustang. If American try to steal one.

Ahci-val (Dive bomber)
Armor 2.75/5
Acceleration 3/5
Speed 2.5/5
Firepower 3.5/5
Turning 3/5
Climbing 3/5
Loops 1.75/5
Rolls 2/5

For a dive bomber this is extreamly manuverable. This is my al time favorite
plane. I can out dog fight most anything unless the other player is more
experianced. It can come with a Torpedo just like the SBD.


Section 2F Russian Vehicles

Well the Russians have few vehicles but they have cool artillery and powerful
tanks.

Jeep
The Russians use the same jeep as Britain and the US.

Stalin Organ/Katshin... somthing like that (mobile artilery)
Armor .8/5
Acceleration 3/5
Speed 3/5
Firepower 5.5/5 (lol realy it is 5.5/5)
Manuvering 2/5

MAN THIS THING ROCKS! Its basicly a pickup truck with a rocket lancher on the
back. It has huge firepower as it fires a rocket that is like 1.5x the normal
artillery strength and it fires 6 at a time. Plus its quicker as its on a truck
not a tank bottom. However it is slightly easier to destroy.

T34-?? (medium tank)
Armor 4/5
Acceleration 4/5
Speed 4/5
Firepower 4/5
Manuvering 2/5

This was the most advanced tank of WWII and its stats show. Its the fastest tank
(well T98 is tied i guess)and has the best acceleration. Its got nice firepower
too. Good thing half the maps its on are open enough to take advantage of the
speed. It does seem a bit hard to stear though.

T34-?? (heavy tank)
Armor 5/5
Acceleration 3.5/5
Speed 4/5
Firepower 4/5
Manuvering 2/5

Personaly i don't notice much of a difference between this and the other tank. I
prefer the other one for the MG to shoot at planes. However if you like armor
over speed you may wanna pick this.

Sea

The Russians have no ships.

Air

Yak (fighter)
Armor 1.5/5
Acceleration 3/5
Speed 4/5
Firepower 2/5
Turning 2/5
Climbing 3/5
Loops 2/5
Rolls 2/4

The Yak is a decent fighter. Its got some speed but every thing else is medocre.
On the 2 maps its on it outnumbers the BF109s 3 to 1.

Level 3 Classes

Section 3A Scout

Equipment
Sniper rifle, Knife, Pistol, Granades, Binocluers

The scout is basicly someone who goes solo and snipes/spots for artillery. It is
the best for long range combat. The sniper rifle is bolt action and has a
scope. You need to lead your targets if moving and aim farther up if the target
is far away. The knife is used by all classes. It is a last resort weapon used
at point blank range. Only use it if your out of ammo or in the case of the
scout if your snuck up on when sniping. The pistol is a short range weapon all
classes use but is important to the scout because he can be snuck up on. It
holds around 8 shots and isn't too accurate. Granades are used by all but one
class and are a 'anywhere near' weapon. This means throw it near an enemy and
unless he gets far away it will kill him. Also this is effective aginst tanks
and other vehicles. Alt fire for a power meter on your throw. The binoculers are
used to spot for artillery. Alt fire to zoom in and click to call for
artillery. A scot is useless without this.

Section 3B Assult

Equipment
Assult rifle, Knife, Pistol, Granades

The assult is the class to use if you need to charge all out and gun down some
heavy opponates. The assult rifle is fully automatic and has alot of recoil but
if you prone you can be accurate (if you care about accuracy, I don't). The
assuly rifle can damage lightly armored vehicles like jeeps, artillery, and can
even take out a plane with a full clip to the propellers. The assult doesn't
realy need a pistol or knife unless theres no ammo crates about but granades can
be valuble for softing up the enemy before a charge.

Section 3C Anti-tank

Equipment
Anti-tank rocket, Knife, Pistol, Granades

The anti-tank is made to destroy armored vehicles. Other than that he can't do
much else though see sabatoging ships in the Cool Things section. The anti-tank
rocket does most dammage to the back or the treads of a tank. You need to aim up
the farther the tank is away. Also you better hide as once you fire all the
enemy most likely knows where you are. That means the Knife and Pistol are
important to the anti-tank. Granades can kill tankers seeking revenge but I
usualy use them to finish a tank if I run out of rockets.

Section 3D Medic

Equipment
SMG, Knife, Pistol, Granades, Medic kit

The medic's main job is to heal but he has a nice SMG to defend himself with.
Its not as powerful as the assult rifle but it'll usualy get the job done. If
you need more ammo quickly switch to your pistol or if your desperate your
knife. The Granades are helpful too. The medic kit is waht makes a medic. You
can heal yourself and others (if others in radius they get healed first). This
almost makes the medic more deadly then the assult because he can heal himself
after each encounter but the assult is still better for run and gun action
because hes more likely to survive to find somthing to heal him.

Section 3E Engineer

Equipment
Bolt Action Rifle/Simi Auto Rifle, Kinfe, Pistol, Mines, TNT, Wrench

The Engineer has so many uses I can't possibly descrive them all so I will list
uses by weapons.

Rifles

In the Pacific Engineers get a simi auto rifle. They are acuurate and powerfull.
You can simi auto snipe if you zoome in. Everywhere else engineers get bolt
action rifles. They are exactly like sniper rifles execpt no scope.

Knife

The knife is a bit imporatnt for engineers because they have rifles and pistols
can run out of ammo quite qucikly.

Pistol

The engineer's pistol is important to his/her survival. Unless your in the
Pacific it takes awhile to empty a clip on your main weapon so many people fire
once then switch to the pistol and fire.

Mines

I love mines. They are a insta-kill for any vehicle unlucky (or stupid) enough
to hit one. Place them on bridges, hide them on well travled routes, or place
them in obvious places to block traffic and hope the drive isn't another
engineer. Do not just place them randomly and hope someone hits something.
Anoter nice (for your team) thing to do is place one on top of a tank or on the
tread. As soon as the person moves *BOOM*. Also there is a way to place mines
UNDER the tread so the second someone enters they blow up. This is usefull if
someone just hops into the tank to use the secondary gun to shoot at one of your
planes. One of my favorite (and hardest to get away with) things to do is place
one in a landing craft then hide. The second it lowers down the mine will fall
with it and *BOOM*. Speaking of boats if you find yourself on a hostile
carrier, place a mine under the wheel of a plane. They will catch on eventualy
but when the do you can place some on the deck farther down. Many times the
enemy doesn't check the whole carrier before take off. This is EXTREAMLY useful
on Coral Sea. Note: Mines don't hurt infantry.

TNT

These are like mines but remote detonated. They unlike mines hurt infantry as
well as vehicles. Once placed right click to bring out the detonater. You can do
many fun things with these. First on maps with landing craft place a few under
the water on beaches where landing craft are likly to uhhh... land. Then hide.
Once one pulls up press the button and you just got youself up to 6 kills.
Another nice trick is to place TNT in teh grate of a repair pad. The tank thinks
its safe but no and long as you survie to press the button. Other then than
that you can place some in a vehicle and drive carfuly and park next to some
tanks and get out run and blow er up.

Level 4 Maps

Note: I'd like to say here most of my stratagies take the level of teamwork you
pretty much only find in a clan that has a voice chat server. Stratagies given
will include how to capture each base, Stratagy for each team, an atleast two
backup plans.

Section 4A Eastern Europe Maps

KURSK

Kursk is a pretty much liniar map on a Russian plane. Two outpost are in the
center and at each end is a main base. I don't play this one much so this
stratagy may be bad.

Control points

Bases (non captureable) - Each side has a base with planes and a few tanks and a
jeep. The are pretty much identical but the russians have more planes.

Sawmill - This is in my opinion the better of the two outposts. It spawns two
artillery (I love Russian arty :D) that come in very handy. Offence: Rush a jeep
to the back and capture it right off the bat. Defence: Park a tank nearby and
blast any jeeps that come your way. Mine the two sandbag enterances to the back
keeping one of the arty there to blast any stray enemies won't hurt. Also you
will find many more people spawn here to play with the arty. Keep a few infanty
IN the building for cover.

Work Camp (I call it Tank Outpost so thats what I mean) - This has a heavy tank
in a camo net. Hard to defend as there is little cover. Offence: Come from many
directions as there is even less cover that protects form 2 ways. Defence: Keep
some tanks nearby and have one arty cover it.

German Stratagy - Rush the Sawmill with a jeep and a tank. Have everyone else go
for the other outpost. If you were fast enough you should have them captured
just as the first Russians arive. Have the majority of your forces at the tank
outpost and have a tank, arty, and a few infantry at the sawmill. Even though
the sawmill is more important it is easier to defend.

Russian Stratagy - As this map is way ballanced just use the German Stratagy but
you should take adavantage of your planes.

Backup Plan #1 (they got the out posts before we did) - OK so you let them beat
ya to the outposts. Shame on you. Well if you havn't sat here wondering what to
do too long there is still hope. Preform a tank rush with some medics and maybe
a anti-tank if your tanks are mainly destroyed. Have your remaining people
create a screen to block off any enemy from the sawmill who will try to flank
your atackin party. After you are able to capture the tank outpost have the
forces who atacked it attack the sawmill whilet the screen defends the tank
outpost. The force attacking the sawmill should atack for behind them for maxium
effect. If you acomplish this you can switch back to then main stratagy.


Backup Plan #2 (German only: They have our planes outnumbered, what do we do?) -
Yes having your planes outnumbered is an annoyance isn't it. Well there are two
ways you can fix this. A) You can put gunners on your meduim tanks to shoot at
planes with the secondary machine gun or B) Sneek by in a jeep and steal one of
theres before a piolet respawns and grabs it.

STALINGRAD

Stalingrad is one of the few head on maps that have majorly different starting
locations (more on this later)and also one of the two urban warfare maps. Bfs
Stalingrad reminds me of Call of Duty's SP map. The major action here will
occur around the center flag in the railroad tracks. All of the vehicles spawn
at the non-capturable bases so if you spawn at an outpost don't expect much
tank support unless you call for it on the radio. Also there will be alot of
n00bs trying to be an urban sniper.

Control Points

Western Railroad Station - (German non-capturable base) - 2 Panzer IVs and a
Kubelwagon spawn here. It has a mg for defence if you somehow get held up back
here. I personaly like this location better becuase its closer to the outposts
and you have a relitivly clear path there

German City HQ - Its a tall building with a main enterance and a ladder going
down from the back top floor. It has a health locker. Offence: Have a few guys
run in the main enterance and up the stairs while a few people go up the back
ladder. Defence: Have two people guard the ladder and 3-4 people in the windows
in the front plus a sniper if ya want.

Raliroads - The main focus of the map. Has nice cover and you can't drive a tank
right up to it. One of my favorite things to do here is spam granades at the
enemy city HQ. Hold this and you basicly won if the enemy doesn't try anything.
Offence: Throw a few granades over the rail cars then have 3-4 people attack
from each end. Defence: Put those 5 MGs to good use and mow some enemys down.
Don't forget to granade spam.

Russian City HQ - The exact same as the German City HQ but facing the other way.
Stratagies are the same.

Bombed Out Port - (Russian non-capturable base) - Spawns 2 heavy tanks and a
jeep. Has more ammo, health, and MGs but is farther away and you hafta go uphill
and make several turns due to buildings to get to the outposts.

German Stratagy - You have it slightly easier then the Russians as you are
closer. Send 2-3 ppl to your HQ and the rest to the railroads. Have the 2 tanks
cover you as you capture the railroad. Don't bother with their HQ just spam it
:D with granades.

Russian Statagy - Basicly same as German stratagy but you have to work faster.
Also Your tanks can stop at your HQ and still cover the rail road. Again just
spam there HQ.

Backup Plan #1 (You didn't get there fast enough) Ok so you wern't able to
capture the railroad and you don't know what to do. Don't worry lots of time
they won't guard their HQ so there is a opening you can take. Take 5-6 Infantry
and sneek around the outside of the city and assult the enemy HQ from behind...
up the ladder. Once you have it captured all the capturers should take up
positions in the forward windows of the enemy HQ and start blasting the living
potatos out of the railroads while someother teammates take up positions in the
front windows of your HQ and do the same thing. Here you have two options. 1.
You can just continue to smash them into oblivion and make there tickets drain
or 2. After about 30-45 seconds of the above stratagy have 3-4 people assult the
railraod from each side.

Backup Plan #2 (ARG! They pulled Backup Plan #1 on us) Ok heres one of the few
spots where I will tell you how to defeat one of my own stratagies. If the enemy
team does get you in the afore mentioned situation there is a risky way to
defeat it. You'll only get one shot at it and it will only work maybe half the
time. First off have two people go back and get your tanks and have them atack
your captured HQ. Keep in the railroad untill you hear your friendly tanks
rolling along to atack then have EVERYONE atack your HQ. Hopefuly the 2 tanks
and almost your entire team will be enough to run out the isolated 6-7 people
who may be at your HQ. If you do manage to pull this off leave 1-2 people there
to find any enemys who may still be there and have the rest of your team return
to the railroads before they manage to take it over.

Battlefield 1942

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)