The Anti-tank kit's primary role in Battlefield 2 is to take out vehicles, although many players currently use the Special Forces kit as the primary method of destroying tanks. This is because most players just don't know how to properly use the kit. Two well placed AT rounds from a distance can destroy a tank and keep you out of danger.
Weapons[edit]
As your primary weapon you have either a Sub Machine-gun or a DAO-12 (unlockable). The Sub Machine-gun differs, depending on who you're playing as:
- USA: MP5
- MEC: PP-19. 15 more shots per clip than its counter parts.
- China: Type-85. No single shot ability.
The Sub Machine-guns are in most cases the last resort and should only be used at close quarters and as a defensive weapon. They lack accuracy and stopping power, so should only be used in a pinch. The DAO-12 shotgun on the other hand is arguably the best close quarters weapon in the game. It can take down just about any player within 10 feet, but after that its range limits its killing ability. It's best to switch to your pistol, or for longer distances your AT rocket. It has a 12 round clip, which takes up to 7 and half seconds to reload. You won’t bring down an opponent in one shot even at close range, unlike the pump action shotguns, but with the good fire rate of this weapon you can bring them down quickly with two shots. This may be one of the best unlockable weapons to get early on to help round out the kit. The Anti-tank weapon is your bread and butter when using the Anti-tank class: It comes in three flavors:
- SRAW
- ERYX
- RPG (Special Forces) unguided
All three have the same damage power, but unlike the SRAW and ERYX, the RPG is not laser guided. This has its advantages and disadvantages. The RPG you can shoot quickly and take cover, leaving less chance of being killed. This however is overshadowed by the fact that you have less chance of hitting a specific target area. The SRAW and ERYX you can guide after launch, allowing you to hit distant moving targets or even the ability to out-snipe snipers.
With the SRAW and ERYX, keep the target in the circle at the center of your zoomed view. This will allow you to guide your rocket over long distances and make the kill. If you have a target which is moving, make sure to lead the target since the SRAW and ERYX both cannot make fast turns. Some people, to save time, mark on their screen the center point of the circle so they can use that to guide the rocket and not have to go into zoom mode.
The knife is best used with this class if you have a close quarters kill to make, but lack the DOA-12 unlock or if your DOA-12 needs reloading. The pistol is a better bet for medium range kills than either your DOA-12 or your Sub Machine-gun.
Strategy[edit]
The AT class is best used to take out vehicles, so you need to learn exactly what type of power it has. In most cases, one shot will not take out any vehicles besides buggies and boats in Battlefield 2. It will set most land-based transports on fire with one well placed hit, but in most cases the occupants will have time to escape. At that point you have to resort to normal infantry combat.
Since tanks, APCs, choppers with full health will require more than one hit to bring down, you're going to need to learn to survive to make your second hit. This means you can't just jump in front of the tank and fire away.
Main Battle Tanks[edit]
In most cases it will require more than one hit, so you will need to stay alive to get that second hit off! First try and hit your enemy when they are looking away from your position. Use the cover around you to hide. Remember to keep an eye on the gunner of the MBT. A smart gunner will keep his eye on the rear of the tank and take you out. Once you get your first shot off, take cover again. Remember the tank is powerful and its main shell has splash damage, so if it hits a wall directly behind you, it can still kill you. Also the .50 calibler that the gunner is using can slice through tin fences. Even if the MBT driver and the gunner miss where the first shot came from, they will have an approximate idea of your location. To be safe, it's best not to take your second shot from the exact position you took your first. Hit and move if possible.
From time to time, a good commander will drop supply crates near friendly tanks to repair them. Make sure if you see this to take that out first along with anyone repairing the tank before engaging the tank itself. In many cases tanks will buddy up with other armor. In this case, a lone AT unit will have a nearly impossible task of destroying them. In this case either call for help and keep them off balance by hitting them randomly in weak spots. Try hitting one unit a couple times, then switching to the other. Sometimes you will find that only one has an Engineer present and the other does not. An Engineer cannot repair his own tank from the inside.
The main battle tank's weakest spots are the front tracks. With two hits it’s down instantly. This takes skill to hit though (especially with an RPG), and in many cases you cannot get a clear shot on it. If this is the case, your second choice is the rear. It does slightly less damage, but can get the job done. Hits to the rest of the tank will result in the need for 3 AT rockets to take the tank down.
If a tank driver does not have a way to repair, he will retreat quickly if taking heavy damage. The AT rocket has a long range so get good using it and you can get him before he makes it out of the area. If he pulls around a corner, give chase and try and predict where he is going so you can get a kill shot before he gets to safety. In many cases he will pull back to a spot where he can make repairs. If this is the case, try and steal the tank while he is out of it or kill him before he has a chance to enter the tank again. If you see a supply drop going to his position, take it out! If the tank driver deploys smoke on his retreat, you will need to learn how to estimate his position and take a blind shot. You may just get lucky.
Ultimately a lone AT unit against a tank is going to be a tough kill for the AT unit, two AT units working together can make quick work of a MBT even if it has support. The problem is how often do two AT units work together?
Watch for signs of damage in the tank. You can see 4 levels of damage when watching a tank:
- No smoke: Healthy or mostly-healthy tank.
- Smoke: Damaged tank, which may take as little as one, hit to destroy.
- Sparks and smoke: Tank needs to take very little damage to be destroyed.
- Flames: Tank's about to explode
Armored Personnel Carriers[edit]
The problem with APCs is the fact that they have a high rate of fire and the splash damage of the main cannon is very high. They only need two direct hits anywhere to be set on fire. The problem is they are extremely fast and the high rate of fire in most cases doesn't allow for a second hit. If a tank and APC are buddied up, aim for the APC. It will take at least three quick hits to take down an APC being repaired. Your best bet is to have at least two AT units on one APC. Even one AT hit can spook an APC driver to flee, and two hits, even non-direct ones, will cause the APC driver in many cases to just bail out.
Attack Helicopters[edit]
It takes two hits to seriously hurt an attack chopper with an AT rocket (and more for the HIND), but it's rare to get one hit let alone two even on a rookie pilot. Your best bet is to take a shot from the rear on an attack chopper, which is very close. At any distance the attack choppers are just too quick to hit. The best use of the AT rocket against choppers is just to scare them out of the area. This may be a different story in the next patch which will reduce the hit points of all choppers.
Transport Helicopters[edit]
"Transport chopper" mainly refers to the Blackhawk. Trying to take down a Blackhawk with just one AT unit is pretty futile at this point. The Blackhawk with engineers and its powerful guns, represents an almost impossible kill for a single AT unit. Your job in this situation is to try and aim inside of the chopper and kill the units on the inside. You can hit a repairing Blackhawk all day long with one rocket at a time and not make any progress, so its best to try and kill the engineers on the inside of the chopper. Once a pilot sees that his health points aren't going up, he may bug out buying the others on your team some time until it comes back, which it will. The upcoming patch may affect this scenario as well.