This is a quick walkthrough by Dirtyrat in how to dominate the battlefield when playing 1943. This is primarily aimed at players new to playing Battlefield games.
Flags of our fathers
Battlefield is all about capturing and holding flags, the more flags your team has the quicker the enemy tickets will deplete so it's imperative your team holds the majority of flags at all times. This may sound obvious but it's amazing how many people get suckered into hunting for kills, when they have the power in their hands to change the tide of the battle!
The game rewards you with
30 points for capturing a flag, the equivalent to 3 kills! This proves the game wants you to help your team first and foremost, and good team players will always have the highest scores at the end and is also why you'll rarely see lonewolf snipers or fighter pilots at the top of the score table!
Ground Pounder
If you follow this thinking further you will quickly come to the conclusion that you have to be
on the ground and constantly moving to new flags (or protecting a flag under direct assault) to be of the most help to your team and thus secure the most points. The best way of doing this by far is in an armoured vehicle.
1943 offers you tanks and jeeps, I rarely use a jeep unless there are no tanks available. Why..?
A Tank is the best and most powerful weapon in the game.
Some of you may be cynical about this statement, and it's true, a well timed bomb from a plane, a sneaky Scout, or a well co-ordinated rocket attack can all make short work of a tank, but I will tell you how to avoid these confrontations to the best of your ability whilst taking and holding flags and racking up kill after kill which also ensures your teams victory.
Class
Always.. always... choose the
Infantry class, when you are tanking, since this allows you to equip a wrench by pressing Y (on 360) and you can repair your tank to full health at any time.
This is a powerful ability to have since after each engagement you can hop out the tank and repair, just be sure to do this quickly, and keep moving, so you don't become an easy target for a nearby sniper.
Viewpoint
Always use the first person view (dpad up to change views) when using the guns, because its very inaccurate in 3rd person. Just make sure you switch back and forth a lot so you can see any enemies trying to flank you.
Protect your rear
Your tank is formidable, but it does have a major weakness. The armour at the rear is much lighter, and therefore all it takes is one rocket, and a grenade to destroy you.
Try to ensure you are facing your enemy head on at all times, and if someone is trying to flank you, back up until they are directly in front of you.
Engaging
When targetting enemies with the machine gun who are moving you will need to lead the target slightly, and when you are shooting at enemies with the cannons from a distance you will need to aim above the target to allow for the drop.
Many people in Tank v Tank battles make the mistake of not moving. You need to practice firing at the enemy quickly, and then moving your tank (normally backwards) so the enemy shells fall short. It's amazing how many people just sit unmoving!
Also aim for the back of their tank if their flank is showing to you.
Coxial Nightmare
Your best weapon by far is the Coxial machine gun (RB). This is what will net you the most kills. Your cannon (RT) is good against vehicles, but not so great at killing infantry, so I mainly use it to destroy cover and expose enemies to the gun.
Always aim for the head if possible since you'll kill them much more quickly and it'll also net you a further 5 points for a
headshot.
Support
Your tank is most effective at a
medium range, by this I mean about half the distance between your flag and an enemy flag. On some maps you can also be deadly at long range, supporting your infantry as they advance by assisting with many kills.
If you find a sweet spot you can sit and gun down enemies as they charge towards your flag, with little fear of being targetted by rockets!
Don't move in to cap the flag you are attacking unless you have support, or are sure you can handle any enemies who will spawn. Your turret moves slowly so if many enemies spawn around you, you will die very quickly.
Death from Above
There is little you can do about Enemy Planes, but if you do see one diving just try and move backwards and it's likely it will miss you. I have also been lucky and gunned down planes as they dive, this is quite easy if they are going slowly, also don't be afraid to try blasting it with your cannon, you may get lucky!
Movement
Your game should flow as follows:
- 1 - Before spawning look where there are any unoccpuied tanks and try to spawn at the relevant flag, or get there by plane or car.
- 2 - Once in tank, ensure no enemies in the vicinity, if so defeat.
- 3 - Move to next objective slowly, take your time and defeat enemies as they approach.
- 4 - Get a view of the enemy flag and use your guns until more of your own team catch up.
- 5 - Repair then move in to cap flag, constantly switch between 3rd person (dpad up) and first person view to ensure you get a good view of the area, so no sneaky Scouts can destroy you.
- 6 - Repair tank if neccessary
I hope this quick guide to tanking in 1943 helps some of you noobs!
If you want to participate in a 1943 fun night, we have a gathering on Xbox Live at 20:30 GMT every Friday...for more info visit the forums at http://www.thedarksideofgaming.com
Add me to your friends on live
DIRTYR4T is my gamer tag if you want to squad up, but please message me first so I know why as I reject anonymous friend requests!
Also, get someone to use the mounted machine gun, who can repair the tank while you stay on the lookout for enemies.
One thing that frustrates me are the planes machine guns. I'm fairly good at flying and have no problems following other planes, but hitting them feels haphazard. I've tried aiming straight at them, in front of them, slightly above them etc. Sometimes I land hits, sometimes I don't. It just feels like there's no way of learning how to aim so you always hit.
The AA gun is a nightmare as well. Planes need to be really close for you to hit them. The machine gun on a boat or a jeep is a better choice imo.
Btw, tried looking up your gamertag on battlefield1943.com but couldn't find it. Weird.
I gun down other aircraft no problem. Hell, the majority of my roughly 1200 kills were against other aircraft.
great tips and yea Im stuck on killing planes like soda. >_>
i use the tank differenly, purely as a support weapon. i'd stop a way before the flag and let the infantry go in, id provide the covering fire. it never fails and i don't risk a rocket up my ass.