Battlefield 2142 is a major change of pace for those of us that
come from the glory days of BF1942, the first in the series. I
never got into BF Vietnam, nor did I remotely care for BF2.
However, BF2124 takes the best parts of the previous three and throws
them into a dystopian, ice aged future. Like its predecessors, 2142
offers multiple classes to suit the respective playstyles of its players.
I've found the most versatile of these classes to be support. Its
default weaponset is both powerful and accurate, and the added bonus
of a resupply crate allows you to carry on endlessly (until somebody
kills you, obviously). Additionally, support units provide a major
bonus to those that fight with them by providing critical supply crates,
and revealing invisible units from afar.
Without further ado, let's jump into the basics of this mighty and
underestimated class.
It's important to understand both the strengths and weaknesses of your
class, and while support is a strong class, it isn't invulnerable.
STRENGTHS:
- Default machine gun gets more accurate the more you fire it.
- Huge magazine capacity.
- Resupply is incredibly useful, both to you and to your team.
- Resupplying team members grants you bonus points.
- High damage, high rate of fire, short - long range = MMMMONSTER KILL
- Probably the single best class to have defending a titan
- Well placed sentry gun can be devastating
- Instantly detect nearby invisibles
WEAKNESSES:
- Gun can overheat if you're not paying attention
- Reload times are a tad long
- Ineffective against vehicles
- Only explosives are grenades
- Poorly placed sentry gun can be worthless
- First few shots will probably miss
DETAILED ANALYSIS:
>>> LIGHT ARMOR VS HEAVY ARMOR <<<
Depends on the situation. When defending a position, always go heavy.
You're not going to be running too far, especially in Titan corridors,
so go ahead and take the heavy armor. However, light armor comes in
handy when running from place to place, capturing points. Look out
for snipers when you're in light armor, though. An upgraded sniper
can take you out in one shot, unless you're protected with something
heavier.
>>> SUPPORT VS VEHICLES <<<
Support, like all classes, can attack vehicles, but pick your battles
very carefully. If the enemy is in a dinky FAV, then fire away and
hope he doesn't see you and run you down. You can take out a FAV
rather easily provided you don't die first. Contributor Splaah says
battlewalkers can be taken out by firing your rifle at their vents
exposed in their underbelly. He recommends tossing an EMP grenade to
buy you the time to run under and take the thing out, but if this isn't
executed properly, you're probably going to die. If the walker is
standing still, you can just sneak under it without using an EMP to
alert it to your presence beforehand. Either strategy could work, so
use the EMP or don't. It's up to you to know what is appropriate for
the situation at hand.
Also, avoid tanks like the plague. Support can't do much to them.
>>> WEAPON O' CHOICE <<<
Ganz vs Shotgun vs Default - Depending on the map, I'd almost always go
with the default. The shotgun is too close quartered, and thus lacks
the versatility of the Bianchi. It is, however, quite deadly if you
manage to get close enough to use it. As I'll explain in further detail
later, the Ganz is the most overrated and worthless gun in the game.
Its power increase is offset by its terrible accuracy and high
overheating rate. Once again, stick with the default.
>>> HMG VS LMG <<<
[Contributed by charondeath17, Edited/paraphrased by me] As if I don't
spend enough time in this FAQ railing against the HMG (Heavy Machine Gun,
also called the Ganz), a contributer takes an intuitive, numerical
comparison of it against the LMG (Light Machine Gun, the default support
weapon). According to his statistics (gathered from the game files),
the HMG and the LMG share the same rate of fire (900 RPM), whereas the
LMG overheats in 2.7 seconds of continuous fire, and the HMG does so in
only 1.8 seconds. However, the HMG does an additional 50 damage/second
than the LMG (which I guess is how DICE justifies the existence of such
a crappy gun).
So, if the LMG fires at a rate of 15 rounds/sec (900/60) and each round
does 18 damage, multiplied by 2.7 (# of seconds until overheat), it will
net 720 damage before overheat.
The HMG, firing at 15 rounds/sec, times 1.8 seconds, times 22 damage,
will overheat at 594 damage. Due to its higher damage, the HMG will
reach 594 slightly before the LMG does, but that's only in the ideal
situation. You know, the one that never happens. It doesn't happen
because the HMG has pitiful accuracy.
>>> CROUCHING VS PRONE <<<
The first few weeks of this game I felt like I was the only person using
crouch, and the resulting massacre proved its superiority, provided the
proper circumstances. Crouching is a near-instantaneous improvement in
your accuracy and reduction in your profile, making you harder to hit.
Your opponent may likely jump straight into prone, leaving them vulnerable
while their aim adjusts. Meanwhile, you've already killed them.
Conversely, go prone if you're defending a position, and are planning on
being stationary for a longer duration.
>>> RANGE EFFECTIVENESS <<<
Up close and personal, the Bianchi or Shuko may be overcome by various
assault rifles from other classes, but the difference can be made up for
with skill. At a medium range, the support weapons dominate. Just aim
and fire away, and within a few shots your precision will be dead on, pun
intended. Even long range kills can be made easily with these wonder
weapons, but don't expect to take down a sniper unless you've got the jump
on them. Anything beyond 150 meters is pushing the limit.
>>> PROPER TURRET USAGE <<<
Turrets are best deployed in small corridors. That being said, they're
best used on Titan maps to defend consoles. They won't stand up long
against grenades and are vulnerable from behind, however they are quite
capable of racking up a few kills in a short time. Don't rely on them too
much, as they can be rather inaccurate. I prefer to use them as a
distraction and deterrent rather than a weapon. Turrets out in the open
are fairly worthless.
>>> SQUAD UP, SUCKA <<<
Get in a squad. Supporters support supportees. People need ammo, and
those people can be best found in a squad. Aside from the point-bonus
you receive for accomplishing squad objectives, resupplying your squadmates
will give you the usual supply points.
>>> DO NOT FEAR THE RECOIL MONSTER <<<
Remember, your support gun has almost zero recoil. Just point and shoot.
And shoot. And keep shooting. The only thing holding you back is the end
of that rather large barrel of bullets strapped to your gun, and of course
overheating.
>>> KNOW THY BOOMSTICK <<<
Learn how quickly your gun can overheat. Keep an eye on it. Often, it
isn't an issue. Both the default support weapons can fire a stream of
bullets before heat becomes a problem, but if you're not paying attention
to your heat gauge, then you'll be pushing up daisies for a living. err
dying. Whatever.
>>> BE TRICKY <<<
Remember, every situation is different. General tips will only carry you
so far. What will really give you the edge is your ability to think your
way out of a situation. Don't run out in the open to kill somebody. Don't
underestimate their intelligence or their skill. Use the environment to
your advantage, but never rely on anything to protect you 100%. No
advantage is sustainable in the fast paced world of BF2142. So know the
map, know common opponent tactics, and try to do things they won't expect.
>>> FRAGS <<<
One of your first unlocks should be fragmentation grenades. Nothing says
"I love you" like a grenade to the face. Frags are easily one of the best
items in the game.
>>> VISIBILITY <<<
Your best defense is visibility. If the enemy can't tell where the fire's
coming from, he's as good as dead. I play as Recon frequently. Once I was
sniping in Fall of Berlin. I found a great spot, low visibility, and killed
many an enemy. None of the other team could see where I was. Then a nooby
support player comes along, plops down the glowing bright red IPS shield,
able to be seen from space, and a sentry gun, which doesn't understand the
concepts of discretion and concealment. Five seconds later we were both as
good as dead.
Moral of the story is don't deploy your IPS unless you want a big sign that
screams "HEY I'M RIGHT HERE!!!" Also, never set your sentry gun anywhere
near where you're hiding. There are exceptions to these rules, of course.
Just be sure to use these items with the constant threat of giving away
your position and those of your comrades in mind.
*** If I had to pick the three most important tips from this list, it would
be crouch, visibility, and be tricky. If you do those right,
then you're on the road to point city. ***
DAMAGE: Medium
SPEED: Fast
CLIP SIZE/SPARES: Shuko - 200/3, Bianchi - 150/4
ACCURACY: Surprisingly good after first few shots
RANGE: Short - Long (Not sniper long)
These are the guns that extend support class into the realm of heavy assault.
They're relatively the same, except the Shuko has 200 rounds to the Bianchi's
150, and the Bianchi carries four magazines to the Shuko's three.
You'll need to be wary of overheating if you're firing these too much
without giving them a break. However, the more you fire, the more accurate
these guns get. That's the primary difference between support and everyone
else. Firing frantically is actually a strength rather than a weakness, as
opposed to all the other classes where you have to pace yourself and
conserve ammo.
Effective ranges are short to long. Obviously the further you go, the less
accurate and damaging you'll be. These light machine guns are not
replacements for a sniper rifle, but will still kill an unsuspecting
victim at surprising distances.
As stated earlier, these are best suited for defending Titan corridors with
the close assistance of a sentry gun, but can also make effective assault
weapons for capturing points or knocking out Titans. Their speed, power,
and accuracy are the backbone of the support class, giving it the impressive
versatility it has.
=== EU PEREIRA/PAC TAKAO PISTOLS ===
DAMAGE: Low
SPEED: Medium
CLIP SIZE/SPARES: Pereira - 8/6, Takao - 12/4
ACCURACY: Medium
RANGE: Short - Medium
Not much to say here. A pistol's a pistol. Hopefully you won't have to
resort to using them. They're not terrible, nor are they good. For
anything.
=== COMBAT KNIFE ===
DAMAGE: Can be a one hit kill
SPEED: Medium
CLIP SIZE/SPARES: 20WENTY LOL!!!1
ACCURACY: Good at point blank range
RANGE: Point blank
Well it's a knife. Some people swear by them, others don't even care to
bother with them. If you're looking for dogtags, then go ahead and use
it. Whatever.
=== SUPPLY CRATE ===
Don't leave home without it, not that you have a choice. The supply
crate is exactly why support isn't called "Heavy assault." Throw it
down near your allies and give them all some ammo. The best part is
the more you resupply your teammates, the more points you get.
I've never run out of these. There appears to be a lag between how often
you can drop a crate, but if you run out of crates, the next one you drop
will resupply your supply of crates (insofar as I know).
Once you set down another crate, your old one blows up. Use these often.
Great unlock. Not only does it resupply you and your teammates faster,
it also allows you to resupply vehicles and units within vehicles
when you're in it. Doesn't take an extra slot, so there's little
reason not to get this.
=== V5 EMP GRENADE ===
The introduction of EMP technology into the BF universe would have been
so much more useful if only it disabled vehicles for longer than just
a few seconds. EMP land mines ruined the engineer class, which was
able to destroy a tank with one mine in BF1942. But no, now we're
stuck with EMP tech.
You can only disable a vehicle for a few seconds, so if your teammates
don't act quickly, they won't be able to take advantage of that brief
moment. Also, they confuse soldiers caught within their radius a bit,
but a frag grenade would do better.
My advice - carry them, use them frequently if you want, if only to slow
the enemy and be annoying. You have infinite thanks to your supply crate.
As mentioned earlier, a contributor, Splaah, recommends tossing these at
enemy walkers to momentarily disable them so you can fire your LMG at
their exposed vents in their crotch-ish area. This is a good strategy
if the walker is moving around too much, and could also work on FAVs
(sans the vents).
=== NETBAT ACTIVE CAMO ID ===
This handy gizmo doesn't take up an additional slot, and detects camo'd
units from a reasonable distance. That info is relayed to your teammates
as well.
I remember the first time I got this thing. I didn't read the
description and really didn't care much what it did. The next game,
guy went invisibo around the other side of a building, and instantly a
red dot showed up on my map, with a corresponding red diamond on my
screen at his location. Then I watched as this man-shaped blur
confidently ran right in front of me, clearly and unknowingly indicated
by a red diamond everywhere he went.
After I gave him a few new air holes, I gained newfound appreciation for
this useful tool. Definitely worth the unlock, even moreso because it
doesn't occupy an empty slot. Get it.
(I think this thing only works if the camo is activated within the
detectable radius, not if the cloaked guy walks into the radius. If
anyone can confirm this for me, shoot me an email at deathor@gmail.com)
=== GANZ HMG (HEAVY MACHINE GUN) ===
DAMAGE: Medium high (Higher than default)
SPEED: Fast
CLIP SIZE/SPARES: 120/4
ACCURACY: Badly bad.
RANGE: Short - Medium
If you read EA's official description of this waste of an unlock,
you'll think this is the greatest gun in the game. Well EA's full of
LIES! DAMNED LIES I SAY! This gun is crap!
With this gun, you'll have the same firing rate, a smaller magazine,
higher overheating rate, higher damage, and MUCH worse accuracy than
the default set.
So if you've been tricked by the hype and misleading descriptions of
the Ganz, you'll no doubt think the added power will overcome the
severe loss of accuracy, or maybe that there is an increase in both
power AND accuracy! Woopee!
There's a reason why very few people use this gun. I think it takes
your bullets, and uses advanced futuristic technology to guide them
around your target, rather than at him. It's a safety feature!
That added damage might hurt the objects around your foe, but it
won't do jack to whatever you're aiming at (and missing). It takes
much more firing for the accuracy to hone in, meanwhile the faster
overheating rate of the Ganz is working against you. Not to
mention your enemy also has a gun, and his probably doesn't suck
as much as yours does.
Long story short, I hate the Ganz. And I don't like its ugly face.
For a detailed breakdown of its suckiness, see the "Basics" section.
Note: There has been significant dispute about the firing rate of
the Ganz. The concensus is it's less than or at most equal to that
of the LMGs. Either way, it's a bad unlock.
=== CLARK 15B SHOTGUN ===
DAMAGE: High
SPEED: Slowish
CLIP SIZE/SPARES: 7/6
ACCURACY: Not so great
RANGE: Short
My experience with this gun is limited, but if you can get within
close range of your opponent, you can hit him in his weak spot
for MASSIVE DAMAGE!!11
In the right hands, and the right setting, this weapon can be
devastating. Obviously, a shotgun will be best suited for very
close-quarters combat, so don't plan on taking it out in the
open often. If someone puts a bit of distance between you and
him, he'll have the all-important accuracy advantage.
I value accuracy above all else when determining what weapon I
should bring into combat, and the shotgun clearly won't meet that
standard. It's extremely effective at close range, but not quite
versatile enough to live up to the Bianchi or Shuko's standards.
=== DYSTEK PULSE METER ===
I also haven't gotten much mileage out of this doodad, but it
can be quite useful for spotting hidden opponents. Once
activated, it scans the area in front of you, revealing enemies
for a reasonable distance. They stay revealed on your map for
about ten seconds, long enough to make a kill.
The recharge is prompt, so following your enemies' movements
is simple. This will definitely give you the edge if you're
sneaking about, but for some reason I still prefer to put the
worthless EMP Grenade in its place.
This unlock is highly recommended if you frequently attack or
defend Titans.
=== IPS SHIELD ===
I'm not a fan of the IPS Shield. You throw it down in front of
you and it protects you from enemy fire. Well, the dang thing
works both ways, so it protects the enemy from your fire too!
You're only protected if you're in full prone, and switching
from prone to crouching/standing leaves you vulnerable, also
giving your opponent time (and good reason) to chuck a few
grenades your way. Shield doesn't like grenades. They had a
falling out in high school. Plus, grenade blows up shield.
And kills you.
So these things really just get in the way. Specifically,
your way. However, you can use that annoyance against your
enemy by strategically blocking their path (say, on a titan).
Even so, I'd rather take the worthless EMP Grenade over this.
Incidentally, EMP grenades take shields out pretty well.
There are a few folks that like to use the shield in
conjunction with a medic kit, standing and firing, then ducking
to heal and stay shielded. A good sniper or a good toss of
the grenade will quickly dispatch these folks.
A contributor, Michael, recommends deploying the shield to
cover an exposed side, if you happen to be "sniping" from a
tower with one side to the wall and the other vulnerable to
fire. That's a good strategy that I had overlooked, since
I usually am on the move, or defending a titan. In this
case, the shield should give you the protection where you
need it, but could also dramatically increase your
visibility.
Michael also suggests using the shield to protect the sentry
gun's unprotected posterior. There are situations where it
might be quite necessary to protect your sentry, but on the
whole I feel that slot would be better filled with something
more versatile, but don't rule the shield out entirely.
Bringing the right tool to the right job is up to you.
=== A12 ENFORCER SENTRY GUN ===
The A12 is an automatic machine gun that stays put wherever
you set it down and covers about a 120 degree angle. When
placed properly, the sentry can take down numerous attackers,
but its accuracy over longer ranges is basically zilch.
So always place the sentry where people aren't likely to see
it, or where they aren't likely to escape it. If they have
a decent range between them and the sentry, they can easily
take it out. It's also quite vulnerable from behind, and
doesn't like grenades a whole lot.
Aside from providing covering fire, the sentry gun fulfills
a few very valuable roles. First, it can act as an early
warning system. I'll throw it down in a Titan corridor and
wait for it to start firing in some random direction. It
does so because it detects an enemy, probably on the other
side of a wall, and probably unseen by anyone else. It
doesn't matter. The sentry gun apparently sees through walls.
So follow the aim of the sentry, as it can indicate when an
enemy is about to round a corner, and you'll be ready for him.
Second, the sentry is a deterrant. An enemy doesn't like
going against a muzzle flash, but to see two guns blasting
away at him can often deter him from attacking that corridor
until he can return with greater numbers.
Third, the turret can be a useful distraction to the enemy.
If he's being shot at by a turret, he'll likely shoot right
back. While he's doing that, you could be killifying him
from his unwatched flank. It doesn't even matter if he
destroys your turret. You're freaking support, man! You've
got all the ammo in the world! Just throw down another and
you're good to go.
The turret is a must have. It has permanently occupied a
slot in my loadout.
1.0 - 11/4/06: First version
1.01 - 11/5/06: Added neoseeker to permissions
1.1 - 11/8/06: Added 1up, mycheats to permissions. Also added
charondeath17's HMG vs LMG lineup to "Basics"
section. Added "Version Info" section. Also,
Contributors. Also, formatting of Basics.
1.11 - 11/9/06: Added permissions for gizmogarage, supercheats
Added contributor info for Michael, along with
his IPS shield tips
1.12 - 11/16/06: Added more random stuff, including contributor
tips and visibility info. Revised EMP 'Nade
section because I was probably a bit harsh on
it before.
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.
Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any
public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of
copyright.
