Battlefield: Bad Company 2/Vehicles

Vehicles have separated the Battlefield series from other games. Since the beginning, players have been able to enter tanks, planes, and ships at will and use them to play the game considerably differently each time. Bad Company 2 has continued that tradition, though not to the same extent. Air vehicles are restricted to rotary-winged aircraft. Although F/A-18s, A-10s, and the occasional transport plane appear, none of them are flyable.

Vehicles, just like weapons, gain stars. Unlike weapons, however, stars are awarded by category - obtaining 7 kills with a Humvee and 3 kills with a Vodnik will earn the bronze star for all vehicles in the light vehicle category. The number of kills required for each category is listed to the right of each vehicle category.

Light
Light Vehicles are perhaps one of the hardest vehicles to manage, primarily due to their lack of health and the vulnerability of machine gunners to sniper attacks.

Light vehicles are all extremely fast and are difficult to aim at. As such, the largest vehicles can be used to try and obtain the Wheels of Hazard pin.

Light vehicles come in two main flavours. Armoured cars consist of the US Humvee and the Russian Vodnik and Cobra. The Cobra is the more common of the two Russian cars and appear on desert maps. The Vodnik replaces the Cobra for arctic maps. There is very little difference between the three armoured cars and are virtually interchangeable.

HMMWV 4WD
The HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), more colloquially known as the Humvee, is a vehicle often underused due to its many vulnerabilities. It is equipped with an XM312 machine gun, effective against infantry. Although a variant which contains a BGM-71 TOW missile launcher is seen in single player, it is unavailable to the player outside of the console-specific Onslaught mode.

Humvees are often ignored by players for two major reasons. The first is the vulnerability of the gunner to sniping weapons. Since the Humvee drives at such a considerable speed, it can prove difficult to aim its machine gun at passing infantry, all the while providing enemy snipers a clear view on the gunner. Even the driver can be killed if a lucky shot with the M95 anti-materiel rifle is scored.

The other reason humvees are ignored are due to their fragility. Only a single shot from a tank is enough to destroy a humvee, and these lightly-skinned vehicles only appear on vehicle-centric maps where main battle tanks dominate. Even without the tanks, however, a well-aimed M2 Carl Gustav shot or an RPG-7 will be more than enough to eliminate a Humvee, and their speed can be negated via a tracer dart.

Humvees seat four players - a driver, a gunner, and two passengers who can use their standard weapons from the back. This high capacity and speed can make it more effective as a transport to squads looking for a quick way forward.

The multiplayer map Laguna Presea can prove effective for players wanting to safely use a Humvee - if positioned close to the bridge leading toward the Soviet spawn point, it can effectively support friendlies from this position. It is, however, quite vulnerable to rockets from this position. Arica Harbour can also be effective for Humvees, where they can exploit the up-close vulnerability of snipers after using their speed to run past the tanks.

Official Description: ''High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee) with 4WD capability is used as a personnel and light transport truck by all branches of the U.S. Military. It seats four and is armed with a .50 caliber Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) in a 360-degree weapons ring mount.''

Cobra 4WD
The Cobra is more or less identical to the American Humvee, and appears on desert maps. Like the Humvee, it is extremely thin-skinned, and cannot take much of a beating. It can be used as a mobile emplacement to try and take down helicopters, but this leaves the gunner vulnerable to sniper fire. The Cobra's speed and large size make it an appealing target, and therefore can be often used as a distraction to enemies attempting to leave their spawn point.

The high capacity of the Cobra allows it to act as a troop transport. It can carry a lot more players than the Quad Bike and has a lower centre of gravity, making it far more stable in hilly terrain. Since the Cobra can seat 4, an entire squad can spawn inside it. By flanking the enemy similar to a quad bike, the Cobra can allow for easy flanking attacks by allowing the squad to spawn inside it and then hop out to attack the enemy base.

Using the vehicular armour specialization can prove effective for Cobras, Humvees, and Vodniks, as it allows them to withstand a single rocket or tank shell. The specialization isn't enough to deter mines and C4, however, which will still destroy the vehicle in a single hit.

Note that although in-game the Cobra appears to be able to seat 5 players, it can only seat 4.

Official Description: ''A light armored 4WD vehicle utilizing Humvee components, the hull is designed to increase protection against small arms fire and indirect artillery bursts. It is armed with a .50 caliber Heavy Machine Gun and configured to seat 4.''

Vodnik 4WD
Though commonly found in single player, the Vodnik is almost never found in multiplayer. It is identical except aesthetically to the HMMWV and the Cobra. Follow standard tactics when using the Vodnik. As its main appearance is in Port Valdez, special care must be taken to avoid the Bradley IFV and enemy engineers. The armour specialization can help considerably with this vehicle given its main appearance in a vehicle-centric map.

Official Description: ''High Mobility Multipurpose Combat Vehicle with 4WD. It seats 4 and is armed with a 12.7mm caliber HMG in a 360 degree turret.''

Quad Bike
The Quad Bike is a disposable vehicle designed to traverse a lot of distance quickly. It has the least amount of health of all the major vehicles and only carries two people. The passenger, who sits on the back, can use his or her weapon while the driver is delegated to driving the vehicle.

Obviously not a combat vehicle in any way, the Quad Bike is mostly used to flank opponents during Rush games. As most will be focused on an attack from the front, it can be relatively easy to get in around the back. A simple two-man team can, with enough teamwork, set a charge on an M-COM and force the defenders closer to their objectives, allowing the rest of the team to take ground.

Because Quads are so fast, their manoeuvrability is not the best. They fly off of the smallest hills and have a relatively high centre of gravity, making them difficult to control. Their small size makes them poor roadkillers.

Since empty vehicles leave icons on the minimap, it can be prudent to destroy your vehicle when you can, or at least drive it off the map so it can't be easily spotted on the enemy's minimap. Defenders often observe their maps and locate vehicles that appear to be out of place.

Official Description: ''An Ultra-light Tactical Vehicle used in combat, reconnaissance and logistic support. It allows 2 individuals to increase their mission effectiveness by assisting in moving over any terrain, in all weather and at any altitude.''