_____ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ | __ |___| |_| |_| |___| _|_|___| |_| | |_| | __ -| .'| _| _| | -_| _| | -_| | . | _ |_____|__,|_| |_| |_|___|_| |_|___|_|___| |_| _____ _ _____ ___ | __ |___ _| | | |___ _____ ___ ___ ___ _ _ |_ | | __ -| .'| . | | --| . | | . | .'| | | | | _| |_____|__,|___| |_____|___|_|_|_| _|__,|_|_|_ | |___| |_| |___| --------------------------------------------------------- |_________________________________________________________| | RECON CLASS GUIDE | |=========================================================| | BBC2 Recon Class Guide by jimmythesnowman | | Version 1.00 published 8/3/2011 | '---------------------------------------------------------' [I] Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Recon kit is one of four kits in Battlefield Bad Company 2. It is, as some people call it, a "renamed sniper class". However, the Recon kit's abilities are matches so that the player using it will be able to spot lots of enemies - with Motion Mines, the Spotter scope, and the naturally better view through your sniper scope, the class really does earn the distinction "Recon". This guide is meant to help you make the most of your sniping. Tips: - You can use the section numbers and boxes to search out any section of this guide using Ctrl + F, the "Find" function. Alternatively you can just scroll down. - Liked this guide? Click on the orange "Recommend this guide" at the header! [II] Version History ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .--------------------------------. | Version 1.00 - August 3, 2011 |----------------------------. |-------------------------------------------------------------| | First version of this guide, which is pretty much complete. | '-------------------------------------------------------------' [III] Contact Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can be contacted at a[underscore]bilogur[at]yahoo[dot]com. If you email me with questions, make sure they are not already in this guide. If you email me with tips, and I find them helpful, I will add them and give you credit in the Thanks section. If you are requesting permission to use the guide, I will consider it, but generally my response will be "no". I reserve the right not to reply to trolling, spam, or hate mail. [IV] Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [I] Introduction [II] Version History [III] Contact Information [IV] Table of Contents [1] Recon Class [1.01] Basics of class building [1.02] Unlock order [1.03] Sniper Rifles [1.04] Pistols [1.05] C4 and Mortars [1.06] Motion Sensors [1.07] Tier 1 Specializations [1.08] Tier 2 Specializations [1.09] vehicle specializations [2] Sniping [2.01] Role of the sniper [2.02] Long-range sniping [2.03] Close range, quickscoping, and the one-two tactic [2.04] Using cover [2.05] Battling other snipers [2.06] Sniping vehicles [2.07] Being the designated marksman [2.08] Defensive sniping [2.09] Offensive sniping [2.10] Red dot conversion [2.11] Hardcore [2.12] The Shotgun kit [2.13] Differences from other FPS games [3] Pins, Insignias, and Achievements [V] Thank yous [VI] Copyright [1] Recon Class ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1.01] Basics of class building Each of the four classes in Battlefield Bad Company 2 has different weapons, different abilities, and different specializations. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, but all of the abilities are different. The classes, which are Assault, Engineer, Medic, and Recon, are built from 6 parts - a gun, a sidearm, a special weapon, two specializations, and a vehicle specializations. These parts of modular - you can choose one option in each category. Every time you die, or at the beginning of the game, you will be taken to a screen that allows you to adjust each of your classes and choose which one to play with. In addition to these, every class has one other option, a fourth weapon, that is always available to the player if they have unlocked it - it is the first and cheapest class unlock. For Recon users, this is the Motion Sensor, and it is also covered. As you play with a class and gather points with it, you work towards unlocking further weapons and abilities. As you gain more of these, the amount of points needed for the next unlock increases as well. Many weapons and abilities that are available for all classes are unlocked by rank, consequitively up to rank 22. Each subsection in this section deals with each of these class options. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1.02] Unlock order Recon Unlocks ............. Motion Sensor 800 Equipment that can detect nearby enemies. Type 88 Sniper 2200 Semi-automatic sniper rifle. Mortar Strike 4000 Allows you to call down artillery. SV98 6,000 Fastest bolt-action sniper rifle. 4x Scope 8,000 Special scope with lower zoom setting. 12x Scope 10,000 Special scope with higher zoom setting. Red Dot Sight 12,000 More conventional scope for use as an AR. SVU 14,000 Semi-automatic silenced sniper rifle. Sniper Spotting Scope 17,000 Automatically spots targets. GOL 21,000 Heavy bolt-action sniper rifle. VSS 26,000 Fully automatic silenced sniper rifle. M95 34,000 Anti-material bolt-action sniper rifle. Level Unlocks ............. Rank 2 - Private II - 6,500XP Saiga 20k Semi, semi-auto shotgun. Rank 3 - Private III - 11,000XP MP-443 Grach, balanced pistol secondary. Rank 4 - Specialist I - 18,500XP WWII M1911 .45, heavy pistol secondary. Rank 5 - Specialist II - 28,000XP Lightweight Combat Equipment - +10% speed Rank 6 - Specialist III - 40,000XP Ammo Hip Bandolier - more carried ammo. Rank 7 - Corporal I - 53,000XP Grenade Vest - more hand and 40mm gren. Rank 8 - Corporal II - 68,000XP Explosives Leg Pouch - more rockets. Rank 9 - Corporal III - 84,000XP Extended shotgun Magazine Rank 10 - Sergeant I - 100,000XP WWII M1A1 Thompson, antique smg. Rank 11 - Sergeant II - 120,000XP Tracer Gun - fires tracers for missiles. Rank 12 - Sergeant III - 138,000XP MP-412 REX, heavy revolver secondary. Rank 13 - Staff Sergeant I - 158,000XP M93R Burst, burst-fire secondary. Rank 14 - Staff Sergeant II - 179,000XP - Ceramic Body Armor - more health. Rank 15 - Staff Sergeant III - 200,000XP - Magnum Ammunition - more damage. Rank 16 - Master Sergeant I - 224,000XP - 12 Gauge Slugs - more shotty range Rank 17 - Master Sergeant II - 247,000XP - Improved Demolitions Rank 18 - Master Sergeant III - 272,000XP - SPAS-12 Combat, pump shotgun. Rank 19 - First Sergeant I - 297,000XP - M14 Mod 0 Enhanced - Battle rifle. Rank 20 - First Sergeant II - 350,000XP - Neostead 2000 Combat - Pump shotty. Rank 21 - First Sergeant III - 377,000XP - USAS-12 Auto - Automatic shotty. Rank 22 - Warrant Officer I - 405,000XP - G3 - Automatic Assault Rifle. Ranks 23-50 do not unlock anything except advancing emblems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1.03] Sniper Rifles There are basically three classes of sniper rifles. The bolt-action sniper rifles (M24, SV98, GOL, M95) fire the slowest, but also deal the most damage, 100 at close range and 55 at long range. That basically means that a quickscope or lucky shot at close range and a headshot at any range are always kills. The semi-automatic sniper rifles (Type 88, SVU) do 39 damage at close range and 28 at long, meaning they will usually take several shots to get the job done. The fully-automatic VSS stands alone - it does 25 damage close and 20 long, meaning it will always take multiple shots to down the target, but it has the fastest firerate. Note: bolt action rifles fire supersonic rounds that make a distinctive crack in flight, and leaves a tracer behind. .-------------------------------------------------------------------------. | TIP: The maximum one-hit-kill range for a bolt-action sniper rifle is | | 10 feet, as illustrated here: | | http://battlefield.wikia.com/wiki/File:BFBC2Game_M24Range.jpg | '-------------------------------------------------------------------------' .-------------------------------------------------------------------------. | A statistical analysis for sniper rifles (among other things) can be | | found here: http://denkirson.xanga.com/722757523/bad-company-2/. I | | really recommend you see that as well! | '-------------------------------------------------------------------------' --- M24 --- The M24 is the first sniper rifle, available right from the beginning. It is a bolt-action sniper rifle with a small 5 round-magazine, low bullet drop, and relatively fast bolt cycling and reloads. Compared to the other bolt actions, the M24 is heavier then the SV98 and lighter then the GOL and M95. It uses a crosshairs scope. The M24 is statistically inferior to the SV98, but many players perfer it because it uses crosshairs instead of chevrons in its sight. Overall, although the M24 is the first sniper rifle, many players use it even when they complete the whole Recon tree because of its efficiency. The M24 will kill in one hit at close range or at any range with a headshot, and will always kill in 2 hits otherwise (unless shooting through cover). ------- Type 88 ------- The Type 88 is the first semi-automatic sniper rifle you unlock, at 2200 points. It has a 10 round magazine and will kill in 2 headshots or a few body shots. It uses a chevron assembly for its scope, and has fairly high bullet drop and a rate of fire of 260 rounds per minute. Compared to the SVU, its direct competitor, the Type 88 is equivelant in everything except for reload (it is slightly faster), and, critically, the SVU having a built-in silencer. Because of the SVU's silencer, most players perfer that weapon over the louder Type 88. ----- SV-98 ----- The SV-98 is the second bolt-action sniper rifle that you unlock, after the M24 that you initially possess. The SV-98 has a 10 round magazine, 5 more then any of the other bolt action rifles, and also has the fastest bolt cycling and reload times, beating out the M24 by 1 RPM and .25 seconds, respectively. That means that, statistically, the SV-98 is the best bolt-action sniper rifle in the game. However, it uses a chevron assembly for its sight, a cluttered assembly that causes many players to perfer the convetional crosshairs on the other bolt action sniper rifles. Like all bolt-actions, the SV-98 will kill in one shot with a headshot or at close range, and will always kill in at least 2 hits, unless shooting through cover. The SV-98 is unlocked at 6,000 points. --- SVU --- The SVU is the second semi-automatic sniper rifle that you unlock. It requires 15,000 points to unlock, and is automatically silenced when you use it. It takes 2 headshots and 4 body shots to kill at range, making it and its counterpart the Type 88 best at the designated marksman role. Its Silencer allows it to outcompete the Type 88 in most player's minds, but it also uses a chevron assembly in its sight, which many players are not comfortable with. --- GOL --- The GOL is the third bolt-action sniper rifle that you unlock. It boasts slightly lower bullet drop then the M24 and SV-98, but is also heavier, cycling 3 RPM slower then the M24 and reloading .40 seconds slower as well (the differences are slightly more pronounced when compared to the SV-98). The GOL has the simplest sight of all the sniper rifles, simple crosshairs without any mil dots (which don't do anything significant, anyway), but overall the M24 and SV-98 are, strictly speaking, statistically superior - although that doesn't mean that the GOL is not a formidable gun. As with the other bolt actions, the GOL kills in 1 shot to the head at all ranges or any shot at close range, and always kills in at most 2 shots (unless shooting through cover). The GOL is unlocked at 21,000 points. --- VSS --- The VSS is unique, and the strangest gun on the Battlefield - it is fully automatic! The VSS does low damage, killing in 5 body shots or 2 headshots at range, a situation only reduced to 2 headshots and 5 body shots up close. It has the highest bullet drop of all weapons, but this is balanced out by its automatic fire. Most players slap a 4x or Red Dot on this weapon and use it like a faux-assault rifle, in which case it has very high recoil but also very high damage for an assualt rifle. VSS is nearly useless at long range engagements because of the low damage and high bullet drop. Still, skilled players can use it as both a medium-range suppressive weapon and an assualt rifle. When hip firing, the VSS has by far the smallest cone of fire of all the sniper rifles. Comes silenced, and is unlocked at 26,000 points. --- M95 --- The M95 is the last sniper rifle and fourth and last bolt action rifle that you unlock. It is also the slowest and heaviest sniper rifle. It has a 5-round magazine and an unusually slow scoping speed, as well as the slowest bolt cycling (10 RPM slower then the M24) and longest reload (1.8 seconds longer then the M24) of all the sniper rifles. So then, you ask, why use it? Well, the M95 also has the lowest bullet drop of all the sniper rifles, double the close-range one-hit-kill range (at 20 meters instead of 10), and its bullet, the HMG_bullet, is a .50 round strong enough to damage armored vehicles, specifically tanks. Overall, the M95 is a sluggish but extremely hard-hitting sniper rifle, and the last sniper rifle you unlock. Like the other sniper rifles, it kills in 1 hit with a headshot or any shot up to 20 meters, and will practically always kill in at most 2 shots, being able to penetrate cover like nobody's buisness. .-----------------------------------------------------------------------. | TIP: The M95's comparitively larger one-hit-kill range: | | http://battlefield.wikia.com/wiki/File:BFBC2Game_M95Range.jpg | '-----------------------------------------------------------------------' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1.04] Pistols The second choice you have to make when building a class is "What pistol do I want"? There are six pistols in the game: the M9, the MP-443 Grach, the WII M1911 .45, the MP-412 REX, the M93R Burst, and the Tracer Gun. Which one you choose affects your class, as each one has its strengths and weaknesses. Pistols are especially important for snipers because you will be relying on them more then other classes to save your hide at close range, especially if you use the one-two tactic (described later in this guide). when firing pistols, you should almost always be aiming down the sight, except for with the MP-412 REX. In discussing pistols I will disregard their long-distance power, because it is neglicable and you have a sniper rifle for a reason, right? M9 .. The M9 is the first pistol and immediatly available to the player. It does 25 damage up to 12 meters (killing in 4 shots). The M9 is, overall, a very balanced pistol, with a good reload time, a fast firerate, and good damage. It has a 12 round magazine, and its recoil allows it to spam-fired at enemies. Compared to the MP-443 Grach, it has 2 less rounds per magazine but does more damage, taking 1 less round to kill. It also has a slower firerate. MP-433 Grach ............ The Russian counterpart to the American M9, the MP-433 is another well-balanced pistol. It does less damage then the M9, taking 5 bullets to kill, but has 2 more rounds per magazine and a 100 RPM faster firerate. Overall the MP-433 is a slightly faster but slightly weaker gun then the M9. Unlocked at level 3. WWII M1911 .45 .............. The M1911 is a power pistol. It kills in 3 shots; compared to the other power pistol, the MP-412 REX revolver, the M1911 does less damage (but still kills in 3 shots), has 1 more round in the magazine, a faster fire recovery time, and a faster reload. Unlocked at level 4. MP-412 REX .......... The MP-412 REX is the only 6-shooter revolver in the game. It kills in 3 shots like the WWII M1911 .45, making it inferior to the other gun bare; however, with Magnum Ammo, the MP-412 gains the ability to kill in 2 shots, and to kill in a single headshot. The MP-412 REX also has extremely small hipfire crosshairs. However, keep in mind that the large firecap on the MP-412 is a serious problem when trying to hit an enemy more then once, even if only a few hits are lethal. Overall benefits greatly from Magnum Ammunition, if you chose that perk. Unlocked at level 12. M93R Burst .......... The M94R Burst is, francly, suckish. Although it has a 20 round magazine and each burst fires in a group of 3, the bullet do only 12.5 damage, an extremely low number causing 8-hit kills, and its burst-fire charecteristics cause a lot of shots to miss and makes medium-range battle, coupled with the low damage, impossible. I've literally emptied the magazine into an enemy 15 meters away and they survived it. It's only useful at extremely close ranges, and I would recommend you stay away from it. Unlocked at level 13. Tracer Gun .......... A gun that fires Tracers, which allows missiles to home in on the tagged vehicle. Not for Recon users - this is an Engineer tool primarily. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1.05] C4 and Mortars Your third option is a choice between C4 and Mortars. C4 .. C4 is a plastic explosive. You get 3 bricks and a trigger. You can throw the bricks over a short distance and they will stick to the target. You can then detonate the bricks with shattering force. C4 is one of the strongest explosives in the game, and when stuck onto a vehicle, it will destroy it in the blast. The 6 meter lethal blast radius is effective against infantry as well. C4 will destroy even tanks with one brick, unless stuck to the front armor of a tank at full health, as the front armor of the tank is heavier and will survive the blast. The function of C4 on a Recon class is mainly to destroy tanks. If you can get up close to the tank, you can plant a charge, move a safe distance away, and then detonate, destroying the tank and anyone in it. Even if you die, you can respawn, pull out the C4, and detonate the charges, as C4 does not dissapear when you die. C4 can also be used to destroy buildings or cover; attached to vehicles it can be used to suicide bomb enemy tanks; C4 placed on a key point can be used as a detonatable trap for enemies passing over or near it; and it can be used defensively as well, plastering down a flag or M-COM station and blowing up anyone approaching it if needed. C4 can be effectively coupled with Motion Mines when building such traps, which allows you to accurately detonate on enemies without relying on line-of-sight. Mortars ....... Mortars are another Recon tool, unlocked after 4000 points with the Recon class. When switching to Mortars, you pull out binoculars, and have to look through them and select a target with a red box. Once you are satisfied with your hit location, you hold down on the Left Mouse Button for 3 seconds to lock in the area. It takes a few seconds for the shells to come in, but once they do they will do some serious damage. Mortars take a full minute to reload. Mortars drop 8 shells, often in groups of 2, on the target area. Each shell does 200 damage within a 6 meter radius, which is lethal against any infantry standing in the area. However, note that the first pair of shells is almost always the most effective one, as by the time the rest of the package arrives, the enemy known percisely where the artillery is landing, and knows to avoid it. Mortars are effective at doing two things: bombarding objectives and bombarding tanks. Mortars are the reason that tanks do not want to stay in place - the mortar shells are lethal against stationary objectives, but can also bite stationary tanks, as each shell does about 18 health's worth of damage to the tank. Mortars generally will not kill a tank, as it will reverse out of the firezone, but it will take heavy hits from the shells, at least half its health. In terms of bombarding objectives, mortars can be used to bombard enemies and objectives fairly effectively. If there is a group of enemies hiding behind a rock or inside a building, the mortars can pound them out from the rock or bomb down or even collapse the building. Same goes for M-COM stations - enough hits from anything will destroy the station, and Mortar Strike hits do contribute, as long as the target is out in the open. Bombing down the building to collapse on the M-COM station works too. Another, rather cheap way to use Mortars is, if you have a high enough and close enough vantage point, to bombard enemy vehicles that spawn in their base, especially helicopters. If they are not taken up before the package hits, this will keep the helicopter from rising up and shooting at you and your teammates. Note that Mortars are for all intents and purposes completely useless against moving targets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1.06] Motion Sensors Motion Sensors are a Recon tool that is unlocked after just 800 points as a Recon user. They are used by pressing the 4 key, and are always equipped as soon as you unlock it. Motion Sensors do as their name implies - the four rather strangley dotted spheres can be thrown about as far as a grenade, and once they're in the air, even before hitting the ground, they begin transmitting the location of any enemies within a 25 meter radius, for 20 seconds. Motion Sensors work in waves - each wave is spaced about a second away from the other, and refreshes information on nearby enemies. Be advised that, although enemies will have a hard time shooting them, they can hear motion sensors if they are close enough, and will probably sprint to another area. Motion sensors live for 20 seconds. You get 3 of them every time you spawn, and only one of yours may be on the map at a time - each time you throw a fresh one, the old one is deactivated, if it is not dead already. Motion Sensors only detect movement - you will not be able to see the enemy if they are standing still, even if they are firing or throwing things around. Motion Sensors are one of the few things in this game that are truly indestructible - they cannot be blown up by anything in the game. When a sensor detects movement it will beep; this can be heard by the enemy team as well, and will warn them they have been spotted (if they are close enough) Motion Sensors go along with the whole Recon theme of, well, Recon. Recon users spot enemies more then anyone else in the game, and having a tool for monitering areas is a very viable thing. Motion Sensors can be effectively combined with C4 to create manually- detonated traps against enemies. It is often a good idea to throw a Motion Sensor into an area that you are heading to that is potentially enemy-heavy. They are also well placed at or around objectives, to catch people trying to plant the bomb, to held defend the planted bomb, or to assist is guarding/ siezing a flag. When playing Recon and rushing a planted bomb, my first action is always to throw a motion sensor at the bomb. Then a frag grenade. Every time a kill is made on a target lit up by your motion sensor, you get 20 points credited as a Motion Sensor Assist; 30 points if it is a squad action, which gives you a Squad Motion Sensor Assist. Really, there's no reason not to use them! On some maps, for instance Nelson Bay, a Motion Sensor field is a huge asset to the team. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1.07] Tier 1 Specializations There are three specialization tiers, two for the user and one for vehicles. This is the first one, and it contains charecter model additions and weapon attachments. Lightweight Pack - unlocked at level 5 The Lightweight Pack increases sprinting speed by 10%. This is one of the earliest abilities unlocked, and many players going through that stage of their game use this perk. However, given the small size of the bonus and the nature of your job as a sniper, this ability is not very useful. Ammo Hip Bandolier - unlocked at level 6 This perk doubles your carried ammo. As a sniper this allows you to function for extended periods of time without relying on Assualt ammo boxes. If you do not plan on using an attachment instead, this is probably your best option in the Tier 1 category, generally, although if you like laying traps, see Explosive Leg Pouch below. Grenade Vest - unlocked at level 7 This perk doubles the amount of hand grenades and 40mm grenades that you carry. This one is really an Assault Perk - it allows you near infinite 40mm and hand grenades when coupled with the ammo box. Explosive Leg Pouch - unlocked at level 8 Doubles the amount of C4 and rockets you can carry. This is more useful for Engineers then Recon users, but if you like or are toying around with the utility of C4 as a trap item, then this is for you. 4x Scope - unlocked with 8,000 Recon points A weaker scope then the standard 6x optical zoom one. The 4x scope is a red chevron ACOG scope. Some players like it, but I personally don't, as it's not a true sniper scope, and is in no man's land between assualt rifle conversion (Red Dot) and true sniper (standard 6x Scope), although some people like it for exactly that. Makes bullet drop seem to decrease, but this is an effect of the lower zoom - it does not actually drop in reality. 12x Scope - unlocked with 10,000 Recon points Doubles the zoom on the sniper. If you find yourself working, or wish to work, in the Marksman sniper range, then this is an attachment for you. Red Dot Sight - unlocked with 12,000 Recon points The Red Dot sight on a sniper rifle is an interesting proposal. The SVU and Type 88, when equipped with a Red Dot, function just like silenced battle rifles - in fact, the differences in their stats from the M14 are very minor. A Red Dot-equipped VSS function like an especially heavy Assualt Rifle, being able to kill in 4 or 5 shots but also suffering from a large amount of recoil. Bolt-action rifles with Red Dots are very sketchy and not recommended. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1.08] Tier 2 Specializations Tier 2 Specializations deal with damage effects and the special sniper Spotting Scope. Ceramic Body Armor - unlocked at level 14 This increases your health by 25%. Ceramic Body armor is more useful for regular combat then anti-sniper purposes, but having 125 health DOES allow you to survive 2 body shots from a bolt-action - headshots still kill in 1. Magnum Ammunition - unlocked at level 15 Magnum Ammunition increases damage done by both your sniper rifle and pistol by 25%. This basically enlarges the hitbox from which you can kill enemies in one shot at close range to 20.4 meters and 26 meters on the M95. This is also an important attachment option for the MP-412 REX, which gains a one-hit-headshot and two-hit-kill ability with Magnum Ammunition. On Hardcore, Magnum Ammunition allows one-hit-kills at long range with body shots against anyone not using Ceramic Body Armor. Improved Demolitions - unlocked at level 17 Increases damage delt by explosive weapons by 25%. For Recon users, this makes C4 and Mortars pack more bite. This enhances the lethal blast radius on the pair, and also on Hand Grenades. Still, this is rather more useful for Engineers wielding launchers. Sniper Spotter Scope - unlocked with 17,000 Recon points This is a unique ability that is only available to snipers. It basically spots any enemies that you point the scope over, to a limit of course (there is an overuse burner on the Socialize function). The Spotter Scope is wierd in that there will be times when you clearly see an enemy and they will not be spotted, and others when you don't even see them and you suddenly get a red triangle. Obviously this is advantagous as it allows you to keep from pounding Q all day as you snipe. The Sniper Spotter Scope is highly recommended, as the end result of using it will be more Spot Assist points for you, and at 20 points appiece, these WILL stack up. Obviously the times when it spots a hidden enemy is extremely benefitial for you. The fastest rate at which you can continually spot is every 2 seconds; the most you can spot at once is 5. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1.09] Vehicle Specializations The third and last option that you choose when creating a class is the vehicle specialization. This is a buffer effect or ability that is tacked onto any vehicle that you enter. I will be very concise here, but for a more detailed version of these effects, read the "Sepcializations" section of my Vehicle Guide, also posted here on Gamefaqs. Electronic Warfare Package - 1200 Points Causes any enemy infantry, C4, anti-tank mines, and vehicles within a 20 meter radius to show up on the minimap, similar to a motion sensor. This makes you practically immune to AT Mines and C4 charges, as both must get close to take effect. Active Armor Upgrade - 2300 Points Multiplies all damage done to you by 0.75x. Simply allows you to take more damage. It allows you to always survive a hit by a single AT mine. Improved Warheads - 3600 Points Increases the damage you do by 1.25x. The difference between this and the above is best stated as a question: do you want to be able to do more damage then you can take, or take more damage then you can do? Quick Reload Package - 5000 Points Your main weapon reloads 0.85x faster. This is significant in slow-reloading craft, especially the UAV. Smoke Countermeasures Package - 6500 points This package gives you a secondary weapon - smoke in tanks, smoke grenades in the UAV, and chaff in helicopters. These allow you to throw off any enemy tags that allow homing missiles to attack you. Tank smoke is also an effective smokescreen that allows you to back out of battle. The UAV smoke grenades are more useful for providing cover for advancing infantry on the ground. High Powered Optics Package - 8000 points This package basically allows you to zoom in by pressing the right mouse button. Alternate Weapons Package - 10000 Points Gives you, the driver, an alternate weapon; TOW on Light Tanks, coaxial LMG on Main Battle Tanks, Hellfire missile and Tracer Dart Gun on Attack Helicopters, and a mounted LMG on the UAV. [2] Sniping ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.01] Role of the sniper In real life, snipers provide long-range support to their comrades, and when needed can take out high value targets at long ranges, especially commanding officers. We've all played those missions where we have to take out a target from extreme range with a sniper rifle - the Barrett shot from COD 4, the one that took off a certain someone's arm, is, in my opinion, the best mission of all time. In Battlefield, this role is unchanged. Snipers have a much longer reach then other players, because of their superior scopes. In addition, snipers are able to kill enemies in one shot, which simply drops them to the ground and denys them the oppertunity to shelter behind a building or otherwise recover their health. Snipers are best at taking out other snipers. Snipers make easy targets for one another, because they sit back at a range and shoot from a stationary position. On the other hand, the guille suits means that you first have to find them, which, for a well-hidden sniper, is the challenge. However, there is a reason that Recon is called Recon, and not Sniper. Between the superior view of the battlefield, your Motion Sensors, and the Automatic Spotting Scope, you will be marking down enemies far more often then any of the other three classes. Consequentially, you will get far more Spot Assist and Kill Assist points then other classes, as well as getting Motion Sensor Assist points as well. If you are using the semi-automatic or automatic sniper rifles, your role is more of a designated marksman one then a pure sniper. You will be applying the sniper in the medium to medium-long ranges that bolt-action snipers will usually use the one-two tactic in, where you can overpower the enemy in terms of damage delt. At long ranges, the rifles simply lack the power to consistently kill opponents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.02] Long-range sniping With bolt-action rifles, a headshot at any range will kill the opponent. At longer ranges, however, this takes more skill, as you also have to account for bullet drop and, if the target is moving, bullet travel time. Bullet drop is the degree to which a bullet drops at long range, that is, to the effect of gravity. Most of the time, you will be aiming slightly above the enemy's head to get a headshot. Bullet drop depends on the rifle; it is greatest on the VSS, followed by the Type 88 and SVU, SV-98, M24, GOL, and M95, with the M95 having very little bullet drop. At long ranges you have to account for bullet travel time as well; the bullet can take up to a second to arrive on the target at the longest ranges, which means that you have to lead the target that you are shooting by shooting in front of them. You will need to adjust up to an inch in front of them to hit them. It's easier to hit a target bearing directly down on you, as they do not move sideways much, only up and down. That means that it's easiest to hit an enemy that is running towards the zone of battle, or a stationary enemy, generally a sniper. Bullet travel time is much faster on the supersonic bolt-action rifles. As you can already tell, long-range sniping is for the bolt-action rifles, not for the semi- or fully- autos. It is difficult to put down what you have to do in words. How much you need to lead the target and how high you need to aim depends on the sniper rifle and the situation. As you play the Recon class more, you will get a greater grasp of how each gun operates, and a better understanding of where to shoot. Sometimes it's best not to shoot at all if you know you can't make the shot. Another good idea is to move foward to simplify your shot, as long as you don't move into the enemy area, you should be fine. You should always aim for headshots; if you hit an enemy with a body shot, you will deal significant damage, but moreover they will run for the nearest piece of cover and deny you the kill. Oftentime this will result in an Assist later in the game, when someone running towards them knocks them out. When you kill someone with a headshot at long range, past 100 meters, you will Killing an enemy with a headshot at least 100m away. You get a bonus point for every addition meter. This is known as the Marksman Headshot bonus, and is worth 30 points + bonus points. The longest headshot I have ever achieved was across the map on Harvest Day, around 300 meters, which means that the kill was worth 50 points bare + 10 points for Headshot + 30 points for Marksman Headshot + 200 bonus points for a total of 280 points from a single kill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.03] Close range, quickscoping and the one-two tactic At close range, that is, 10 meters for most bolt actions and 20 for the M95, any body shot is lethal. That means that, if someone sneaks up on you at close range and you have the sniper rifle out, you can hit and instantly kill them before they can kill you. This takes a skill known as quickscoping - being able to scope in on a moving target at close range and pull off the shot. Enemies that are at close range but miss you are fair game as well, although then it may be better to use the combat knife. If your shot fails, you need to quick-pull out your pistol and engage them with that. Note that Magnum Ammunition enhances this OHKO box to 20.4 and 26 meters for the regular bolt actions and the M95, respectively. There is a range where this shot stops being lethal, of course. Sniper rifle damage drops of steadily from 10 meters/20 meters (for the M95) to 36 meters from 100 to 55 damage. That means that, within this range, the so-called one- two tactic is very effective. The tactic means that you first shoot the enemy with a bolt-action sniper rifle, severly wounding them, preferably before they can engage you. If you manage a headshot, good for you, but if you hit them in the body, instead of cycling the bolt and refiring, pull out your pistol and finish off the badly wounded enemy. In a clean pistol fight with someone armed with an SMG, LMG, or Assualt Rifle, you will usually lose, but with them missing a good chunk of their health, they will faill easy victims to your sidearm. At lethal hit range the one-two tactic works as a backup for when your quickscope misses. Then you have to pistol fight them, or run away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.04] Using cover Every sniper is equipped with a guille suit by default. The suit allows you to blend in with rural surroundings, although it is not much help in an urban situation. The guille suit is incredibly useful in one regard, and that is that you can plant yourself in the local vegitation and pretend to be a hedge. If you stay low, you will be very difficult to spot in your position. Because snipers are color coded to the surroundings, they are more difficult to see in windows and such as well. Staying still also helps keep your out of sight. However, enemy snipers can target you more easily when you stay still, and staying in place and killing someone will expose your location to the person who was killed, so it's a mixed bag. Elevated positions such as hills are good idea as well if you can find someplace to hide behind, like a knoll or something similar in the hill. An ideal position is one with a long view of the battlefield, or a view of the hottest section, but also with cover, in the form of a building, or cover in the form of a tree or hedge or whatnot. Because the maps in BBC2 are so huge, and because everything is destructible, it's difficult to pinpoint the "best" positions on the map to be at, a problem expediated when we get to the Maps section. Remember: crouching can be annoying because you have to hold down the key, but it shrinks your profile and makes you less visible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.05] Battling other snipers The greatest danger to a sniper is another sniper. Snipers are well equipped with the scopes and spotters to see one another, and the long-range accuracy to kill one another. In addition, because once snipers are set up they tend not to move, snipers are easy to headshot. When you see another sniper, don't hesitate to brain them. If they also see you, then a sniper battle will probably ensue. The first thing that both players usually try to do is get a clean headshot in. In that case, the first person to get a headshot off will win. Body shots hurt, but while they fumble around with the bolt you have a bit more time to calibrate. If you miss or make a body shot, you need to get to cover immediatly. Snipers cannot hit you if you are behind cover. Note that it is very likely that the enemy sniper called out your position (you should call out theirs as well), which means taht your movements behind cover will be visible to them for a short while, so do not stick your head out too quickly. You need to get out from cover quickly and take another shot. To help this process, it is a good idea to scope in in the direction of the enemy. If both shooters miss or are out in the open and away from cover, a open standoff may develop. You may see the enemy moving sideways, jumping around, and reversing course to dodge your shots. Doing so allows them to keep their scope on you while relying on confounding your sense of bullet lag to keep them alive. It's a good idea to start weaving yourself as well - staying in place will not work if you miss the shot, as though it's a bit tougher to shoot on the move, they will be far less liable to miss a stationary target. In these cases, the first person to accurately gauge the enemy movements, or get lucky, will win the standoff. Remember, there is no honor lost in backing down if you know you will lose. Often it is a good idea to move away, disengage and move to another position. It's often a good idea to flee and pick a new position from which you can engage the target, if you can. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.06] Sniping vehicles It is possible to snipe people that are in vehicles, and kill them. In addition, the HMG_Bullet used by the M95 can damage vehicles in general, even tanks. The people in Quad Bikes, Jet Skis, and Patrol Boats are out in the open, and can be shot out even by regular small arms. If they are moving towards you, ae they are attempting a landing near you (as often happens on Laguna Presa), then a good tactic is to put a sniper round in the driver and then try to finish him off with the pistol as he closes the distance. Quad Bikes move so quickly and bounce around so much that it's more a matter of luck, but headshots on Quad Bikes are quite impressive when you make them. Note: forgot to mention, CAV jeeps are also exposed. People do not often man unshielded stationary machine guns for extended periods of time because they are so vulnerable to snipers while on them - between being unshielded and completely stationary, they are brilliant targets for snipers. The same holds true for the Anti-tank Missile Launchers, and somewhat for Stationary Anti-Air guns - these are usually protected by their position at the back of the base. Shielded machine guns, however, are mostly immune to snipers, except if you have a wide enough angle on them to get around the shield at their body, or they are pointed away from you and you can hit them from the side/behind. While on a UAV, you are competely stationary at the module and vulnerable to fire. The gunners on Humvees, Cobras, Vodniks, and the BMD-3 AA gun are all partially shielded from fire. The shield however does not cover their head, meaning that the gunner is mostly immune from small arms fire, but can be taken out by a good sniper shot. Stationary gunners are especially vulnerable to snipers. The screens protecting the drivers of Humvees, Cobras, UH-60 Blackhawks, Mi-24 Hinds, Mi-28 Havoks, and AH Apaches are all penetratable by sniper rounds. However, you have no context for the position of the person within the vehicle in the case of the Humvee and the Cobra, so if you attempt the shot, it's mostly a matter of luck. In helicopters, the heli is moving so fast that it's nearly impossible to land a shot with anything except the greatest luck. The passengers on Blackhawks and Hinds and gunners on Blackhawks can be shot out by snipers as well. Although these helicopters fly slower then the Attack Helicopters, it's still very difficult to hit them, but not impossible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.07] Being the designated marksman Designated marksman is a name that is generally confered to the role given to a sniper wielding a semi-auto or auto sniper rifle in Battlefield Bad Company 2. This is because the bullet drop, slower bullet speed, and far lower damage means that these rifles cannot contend with bolt action rifles at long ranges. Therefore, they do not work well as conventional sniper rifles. Instead, their ability to get a vastly quicker second shot is useful for pecking at enemies instead of outright killing them, and is far more leniant on misses. Therefore designated marksmen can hold their own at medium ranges. Semi-automatic and automatic rifles are able to bridge the gap between snipers and conventional ARs. This allows them to function, at least partially, in both senses in the hands of a skilled marksmen, taking more skill to zero in on the target, but fewer bullets to kill. This is especially noticeable when you and someone carrying an assault rifle are battling; if you are able to scope in first, their AR will not be able to deal out as much damage as your sniper rifle, especially with headshots. Honestly I have a hard time describing designated marksmen; unlike "true" snipers, their roles and abilites are mostly intuitive. When at range, you want a bolt-action, but when you're close enough to throw motion mines into them, you wanted a Type 88 or or SVU or VSS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.08] Defensive sniping One of the primary applications of a sniper is in defending. With motion mines, C4 traps, and long sight, snipers are very much able to keep an eye on the homefront, and take out enemy infantry from a safe position. Motion Sensors are an important tool for defense. In fact, when heading into an objective that is currently being taken by the enemy, it is a good idea to throw a motion mine to help figure out where the breachers are. This works well on defense as well; if the objective is heavily fought over, ae. as objective B is on most maps (and any M-COM station on Rush), then a motion sensor, and especially a lay of several motion sensors, will be especially benefitial to the defenders. You want to position yourself in a place that has a clear view of where your opponents will be heading towards you from, for instance a roof or window near the objective. Once you have established yourself and thrown Sensors, you need to start monitering enemy activity; spotting people coming through, and sniping them as well. Pay special attention to offensive snipers, who will be yearning to take you out and remove you as a threat - being in one place for so long is a problem. In fact, it is a good idea to shift position at intervals, and prevent yourself from being predictable. C4 traps can be effective against vehicles that run through, although the engineer AT Mines, if people are using them, are more effective. C4 can also be dropped on and near the objective, to be blown when someone tries to arm the bomb (killing the person that armed it) or to damage the buildings or hit the people that are trying to collect a flag in Conquest. If you see a fast-moving enemy vehicle, for instance a Quad Bike, and know you cannot handle it, point it out to friendlies via chat - a single quad bike can lead to 8 people digging in behind you with Squad Spawns, allowing them to undermine your control of the flag. You should also call out any UAVs you see- although the pistol and sniper are not ideal in taking UAvs out, concentrated small arms fire from friendlies will destroy it. You need to position yourself where you will be an asset to the team, and NOT so far away that you will be hitting people at long intervals from a rock all the way back at deployment! Remember that too many snipers on a single team is not good. Some servers purposely set limits to force a balance. There should be no more than 6 to 8 snipers to a team, as any more and you get too few front-line soldiers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.09] Offensive sniping Most people understand defensive sniping, but for some reason few people understand offensive sniping. Especially on Rush, many people seem to think that being a sniper on offense is a noobish taboo. However, this is completely untrue, and based on the many people who - stupidly - sit back at base and snipe from extreme ranges without actively contributing to the battle. Offensive snipers are, in their first order of buissness, good at taking out enemy defensive snipers. As noted in the section on sniper battles, a sniper's worst enemy in another competent sniper. In this way offensive snipers can cover teammates from enemy snipers and facilitate advances by your team. Do snipers necessarily have to rush down on the objective? The answer is no, and it's this point that many people do not like. Snipers work better at covering friendly advances then being in the spearhead themselves, because you can't rely on a pistol to outgun an assualt rifle, for instance. Still, that doesn't mean you should be placidly sitting on a rock at the back of the map - on the contrary, you should be shifting positions closer to the enemy whenever possible, if not right into their midst. On some maps, however, like Isla Innocentes, having to stay back or rush in is unavoidable. Remember that you have Motion Sensors! These can be a massive asset to the team if you get up close. Dropping motion sensors where you team advances allows them to pick out enemies and safe buildings without risking their skins. With the guille suit and better blending in, a sniper has an easier time flanking the enemy them any other class. This can be incredibly useful; if you can get yourself behind the enemy, your squad can spawn on you, and then you will have a four-man commando team taking people out from behind. When an objective is being armedof being taken, it's a good idea to drop a Motion Sensor right on top of it and hide. Use the Motion Sensor to pick out anyone that comes to try and stop you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.10] Red dot conversion The Red Dot sight is a unique option available to sniper rifles. It's not an actual sniper scope, so slapping it onto your rifle effectively converts your gun into a battle rifle, a high-caliber assualt rifle, similar to the M14 Mod 0 Enhanced. Attaching a red dot sight onto a bolt action rifle is...sketchy. I can't say I've ever seen anyone do it, although I'm sure it's possible. The choice makes more sense on the Type 88 and SVU, the two semi-auto snipers. The Red Dot basically makes them into silenced battle rifles, semi-automatic rifles with more punch then a conventional rifle, but also much more recoil. The silencer is sort of an added bonus on the SVU. The snipers can kill in 3 shots at close range and 4 at long, but controlling their recoil is very difficult, balancing out this power. There is a big penatly on spamming on the gun in terms of recoil, so you will have to space your shots. If you are a fan of the M14, you might very much like to try these rifles. The VSS with a Red Dot sight becomes a very heavy silenced assault rifle. The gun kills in 4 bullets at close range and 5 bullets at long range, again balanced out by its significant kick, which prevents you from accuratly firing more then 2 bullets at a time at most ranges. The Red Dot on these rifles kind of sucks honestly. The dot is unusually large, and can blot out the target at ranges. Also, you still have to account for bullet lag and drop at longer ranges. I don't have much experiece with these types of builds, but some people like the blend of power and range that these rifles afford. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.11] Hardcore Hardcore mode is a different game setting in Battlefield Bad Company 2, and really in most FPS games nowadays. In Hardcore mode, your health is reduced to 60 from 100, most of the HUD elements are deleted, spotting no longer puts red arrows on people (although there are still radio announcements), killcams are disabled, and you cannot see the areas where you choose to spawn before respawning. Hardcore modes have always and will always encourage the use of weapons with lower damage but a higher firerate, as these weapons are now comparitevly stronger. The bolt action rifles do 55 damage on long-range body shots. Since everyone now have 60 health, this doesn't seem to mean much; however, if you use Magnum Ammunition, which increases damage by 25% (to about 69 damage), this makes ANY shot with a bolt-action rifle a kill shot - one of the most benefitial specialization choices in the game. The only thing that the perk cannot burn through are Ceramic Body Plates, which increase health to 75. Semi-automatic sniper rifles kill in 2 shots at close range and 3 shots at long range. As with the bolt-action rifles, they benefit a lot from Magnum Ammunition as well, increasing long range damage from 28 to 35, a two-hit kill, although close range shots remain two-hit kills. The VSS automatic sniper rifle does 25 to 20 damage, so it kills in 3 shots at both close and long range. Adding Magnum Ammunition to the mix increases the damage to 31 to 25 damage, which means a 2-hit kill at close range and a 3-hit kill at long range. The pistols also benefit from Magnum Ammunition (note that again I only consider close-range damage): - The M9 kills in 3 shots at close range, decreased to 2 shots with Magnum Ammunition. - The MP-443 Grach does not recieve any significant benefit from Magnum Ammo, and still kills in 3 shots. - The M1911 and MP-412 REX do not recieve any significant benefit from Magnum Ammo, still killing in 2 shots. - The M93R kills in 4 shots with Magnum Ammo instead of 5 shots. So what am I pointing at here? On Hardcore, Magnum Ammunition rocks! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.12] The Shotgun kit Every class in the game can equip shotguns, which are unlocked by rank instead of by class unlocks. Running a shotgun kit is pretty much the same, except for the fourth and third pieces of the kit - the parts that are unique to each class (for Recon, this will we C4 or Mortars and the Motion Sensor). Shotguns can be divided into two basic sections: the pump-action shotties, and the semi-atuo/automatic shotguns. Pump-action shotguns have to be pumped between every shot; this eats up valauble time. However, they fire 12 pellets, whereas the semi-automatic and automatic shotguns fire 6 pellets. The pump-action shotguns are the 870 MCS, SPAS-12, and NS-2000. Statistically speaking, all of these weapons are the same - they do the same damage, pump to the same speed, and reload in the same time, except for the NS-2000, which reloads 2 shots at a time. Therefore the differences are aesthetic. Although the USAS is fully-automatic and the SAIGA 2k is semi-automatic, the difference is actually null - their rate of fire is the same. Compared to the pump action shotties, they fire half as many pellets, so will kill in one shot far less often, but can be spammed multiple times in quick succession. The USAS takes slightly longer to reload. There are a few special and especially useful specializations for shotties: Extended Shotgun Magazine - unlocked at level 9 The Extended Shotgun Magazine doubles the ammo capacity of your shotgun, a vital increase from 4 to 8 shells for pump actions and 6 to 12 for the Saiga and the USAS. It is a Tier 2 specialization. Magnum Ammunition - unlocked at level 15 This increases the damage done by each pellet, resulting in longer-range and more reliable kills. It is a Tier 2 specialization. 12 Gauge Slugs - unlocked at level 16 Reduced the damage of the shotgun, but increase its range enourmously. Coupled with Magnum Ammunition, this allows one-hit kills at insane ranges. It's also enourmously cheap. Ammo Hip Bandolier The shotguns do not start with much ammo, so this perk is useful for increasing its ammo count. Note: I do not cover the WWII Thompson, M14 Mod 0 Enhanced, G3, and WWII Granard because using them essentially converts you into an assault class with Motion Sensors, C4/Mortars, and a ghille suit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2.13] Differences from other FPS games Just an extra little section. Game | Gravity? | Bullet Lag? | Heartbeat? | Wind? | | Accurate? | Steady Aim? Call of Duty Black Ops No No No No Yes Yes Battlefield Bad Company 2 Yes Yes No No No* No Ghost Warrior: Sniper Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Halo 3 No Yes No No N/A No * For instance, the M95 is semi-automatic in real life, no bolt action. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [3] Points, Pins, Insignias, and Achievements Pins .... Sniper Rifle Efficiency - In a round, kill 7 enemies with sniper rifles. Handgun Efficiency - In a round, kill 4 enemies with handguns. Kill Assist - In a round, reach 7 kill assists. Marksman - Do 5 headshots. Surviellance Ops - Do 5 motion mine assists. Insignias ......... Elite Marksman Combat - 500 Headshots Distinguished Siderarm Combat - 100 kills with pistols Distinguished Remote Explosives Combat - 100 C4 kills Long Service Sniping Weapons Combat - 500 kills with sniper rifles Long Service Surveillance Ops - 100 Motion Mine Spot Assists Distinguished Marksman Combat - 100 Headshots Achievements ............ Recon Expert - 3 Recon weapons unlocked Pistol Man - 5 kills with every pistol ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [V] Thank yous - Thank you to DICE for this great game! - Thank you to me for writing this guide for all of you. - Thank you to anyone who bothered to actually read the thank yous! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [VI] Copyright This guide is (C) 2011 jimmythesnowman. This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission.