Introduction
This is no long intro, so reading it wont kill you but might help you. This guide was written to help all sorts of people, those that were never in a battle walker and those that don't know anymore that a normal human doesn't do a 10 foot step. Reading it completely might show you some things that you did not know yet and make you a better pilot (or co-pilot). This not only helps you enjoy the game more, as you stomp around, but also will make you more valuable for your team.
General Battle Walker Info
A battle walker is a gigantic two legged machine, that is the horror of every infantry. Everything else, including tanks, also has to fear them, and it mostly takes a team effort or some very good shooting and moving to take one down alone. Battle Walkers are not invincible, in fact two tanks at once almost always win against one battle walker, assuming all start with full health and don't get shot at any other way. The advantage of the walker is that he can look over things and step over things. The only other vehicle is the attack gunship that can speak of similar advantages. While infantry can hide from a tank behind a wall, the Battle walker can look over it. Also a low wall, train, rail, concrete block or stairs are no problem for the battle walker, while a tank has to drive around those obstacles.
The walkers have a very big radius of fire. They can shoot what's basically between their feet, so running at one while he is looking at you will mean your death for sure. Their main gun will kill infantry and AFVs but does no damage at all to tanks. All flying objects can also be hit by the main gun but the damage is not very high. More dangerous for them is the top mounted AA gun. APCs and Tanks will take a lot of damage from the swarm missiles though. Those missiles also help against static AV or AA installations. although AA doesn't do much damage its annoying and can block some sight.
Their biggest disadvantage is their mobility and their height. They can only turn very slowly on the spot and are even slower walking backwards. Their height makes it impossible for them to "hide" when under heavy attack.
As you move around, do not fear that you tip over. The walker cannot be tipped over by anything. The only time you might see an animation like that in the game, is when its already destroyed, it just "dies" that way. This is only seen when a walker has taken critical damage and is on fire, without being repaired.
Although sometimes things just... go wrong
EU and PAC Walker comparison
Aside from the looks the only real differences are in the weaponry. The swarm missiles are the same, but the main cannon and the AA guns are different.
The EU L-5 RIESIG sports a dual Gatling against smaller targets. It has unlimited ammo for that one but it overheats pretty quickly. The Anti Air seat has a gun that has shells and will run out over time, so they will need a refill if you fight for a longer period.
On the PAC side, the T-39 BOGATYR has a not clearly defined front weapon that simply is called dual cannon. The shells have a certain splash damage, a low one at that though. The biggest difference is that it has a limited amount of shells, so it needs a restock every once in a while. The Anti Air seat has unlimited ammo though.
As far as I can tell, both are armored the same way.
Basic Movement
A battle walker moves like a tank. The legs are like the tracks of the tank, while the upper body is like the tank turret. So you can technically walk forward and shoot backwards. A indicator in the HUD always tells you in what direction your feet are pointing.
So when you normal press forward you walk forward at normal speed.
Backwards is about half speed, so if you can, avoid walking backwards at all costs, rather "walk by" then "walk into" something, be it a combat situation or a dead end area.
Pressing either key to the side, that would normally be used for strafe movements with your soldier, turns the lower torso into that direction. This way you can independently turn your feet and walking direction while aiming the upper torso somewhere else.
Many pilots I see do not know this so read carefully: The walker can sprint for an unlimited amount of time. Again, you have sprint capabilities. Simply press shift and hold it down (or whatever your sprint key is) while going forward. This will increase the speed of your walker a great deal and will help you avoid fire as well as taking you faster form one location to another. There is a down side to this, as it increases bobbing, but more on that in the aiming section below.
The second secret most pilots I saw never use is the crouch. Yes it can crouch. This makes it smaller (a smaller target) and the aim is better, more steady. While crouched you can't move your feet, but you still can move the upper torso normally. To crouch use the same key as you would to lie down (default is Z), not the normal crouch key!
You now know the basic movements of the walker. You should be able to reach targets fast now and hopefully not crash while doing so.
And no, Battle Walkers can't jump.
Advanced Movement
One of the maneuvers every FPS gamer to date should know is the circle strafe. Imagine a circle around your target. The target is in the center of that circle. Now you move on the virtual circles line, while aiming at the target in the center. For normal infantry, this is done by strafing to the left while adjusting the aim constantly to the right with your mouse (or opposite directions for a circle in the other direction). The battle walker can't strafe, so the practice is a bit different. Since you can only walk forward first you need to get into walking a circle (lets say clockwise). For this you have to constantly adjust your walking to the right. Tapping the key with a small break in between mostly does the trick. Now aim your torso to the center. If you do not move it, it technically always points to the center if you would do a perfect circle with your feet. But since that mostly isn't the case you have to constantly shift the aim a bit to the right and to the left, specially when you are turning with your feet.
Now in theory this is all fine and nice, but suggests a target that does not move. A 2 story high battle machine is shooting at you and you don't move? So in reality your target is moving constantly in most cases, so you have to adapt to that. What you have to look out the most for are obstacles you can't walk over. In case of doubt, look ahead, align yourself so you can walk for a while without hitting anything and then turn to fire. Once you get stuck in something (like a tree) it takes you way too long to get out of it again if you are being shot at. Try to move forward constantly when under fire.
A maneuver you have to try out a little is sort of a positioning move. You have a wall that's L shaped and you know behind that is one or more infantry. When you move, the infantry will move to another side of the wall, hiding from you and very effectively at that. This move will allow you to fast position yourself while also trick the infantry a little. It works surprisingly often. The infantry close to the wall can't see you very well. If you are one step from the wall, you are out of their field of view already. So take one diagonal step away from the wall then turn on the spot and take a step directly towards the wall. In an ideal case you try to get to the corner of the L shaped wall, as this will allow you to see almost all of the area. Rain down with your main gun and you should have cleared that threat in no time.
Something that has been the downfall of many walker pilots is knowing when to stop the walker. Bad locations are next to a wall with an opening or a corner. Facing an obstacle is also bad, always face a way where you can simply walk forward to get out of it. Never stand to close to anything that can give cover to infantry. One recon cloaked is enough to put some RDX on your legs and kill you.
So now you are in combat and your movements are crucial. Keep always in mind that an infantry can sprint faster than you can walk backwards. Always use forward and sprint in the walker when an enemy is coming towards you, as they are secure from your fire between your legs.
Aiming and Shooting
Aim and shoot. Whats the big deal? The walker is an over sized version of the normal soldiers models. Shooting while walking or even sprinting will surely get some bullets out there but its very imprecise.
Each step you take the walker bobs up and down, you even have a guage for that. If you shoot a bit while walking you soon will discover there is a lot of bobbing going on. Only the EU main pilot and the PAC walker AA seat have unlimited ammo. Shooting short bursts in the general direction you want to hit something is only a good idea if you are one of those two. Otherwise you are bound to run out of ammo and should preserve it.
When you stand still you aim a lot better but it still is effected by vibrations and gets imprecise. If you want to be a precise machine of destruction crouch with the walker and you will hit over even larger distances.
Your main gun should only be used against infantry, AFV vehicles and AA/AV installations. You can also use it against grounded air vehicles of the enemy (together with rockets i suggest) but never use it against low flying or hovering air vehicles, they can outrun you easy. Never use your maingun against tanks or APCs. They do literally no damage to those vehicles so you will just overheat or lose ammo for no real reason.
The rockets are useless against infantry so don't waste them. If they are in an AV or AA installation, the rockets can help, so rain down both at them. AFVs are too fast for rockets, usually, unless it's parked, so just use your main gun if you see one. Mainly, the rockets are reserved for APCs and Tanks.
Now you have an APC shooting EMP at you and a tank taking you out, who you gonna attack first? The APC. The EMP will make it impossible for you to do anything useful, so go at it and take it out, because its also less armored. With a bit of luck, someone will spawn in there and you will get two kills (or if there is already someone in there, but they will usually use pods before it explodes). If you can, walk around the vehicle and shoot in the back, that's where it's most vulnerable. The PAC tank with its strafing ability will most likely not allow you to do that. The EU tank also can turn on the spot and a good tank driver will only show you his front.
The best way is to be very close for the rockets to have a good impact. After about 3 tank lengths the rockets fly so unpredictable that you wont hit anything really. So go close, press the right mouse button (or whatever your button is for those rockets) and hold it. The walker will release 6 missiles then it will "overheat" the missile pod. Release the button, wait for it to cool down about half then repeat. Never wait for it to cool down fully. In the mean time, you could already be shot at from a second position and that would mean your death. With 9 impacts you usually can kill a tank and, with about 7, an APC.
If your target (APC or tank) did not see you first, run the walker up behind them and give them a good blast close up into its back. If you use your active defense for its first shot and wait with firing your next rockets until your defense is gone, you should be able to kill it without taking any damage.
Never stand too close to the target as the missiles can also damage you if you are too close to the explosions. A step of the walker or about a width of a tank/APC is a good distance to shoot from.
Should someone jump out you can always take them off with the main gun, other than that do not use your main guns on any APC or Tank. Again, its a waste of your bullets and only overheats your defense against infantry.
Anti Aircraft Position
If you haven't read the Aiming and Shooting above you should, it contains vital information for you.
You are susceptible to the same laws that the main gunner is. As long as the walker is moving, the only thing you can do is spray and pray. The missiles will find their targets for flying objects, but your bullets will more go to waste than anything else. So wait for the battle walker to stand or even crouch.
Your job is to spot things. See where the main turret is facing and guard the sides and rear. Spot first tanks then APCs then air vehicles. Those are what get you into trouble mostly. When spotting air vehicles, pray you got a good pilot who will stop moving, even crouch so you can attack that air vehicle. Fire in short bursts or the gun will overheat and then you wont be able to shoot for a long while (and your target will elude you).
If you spot infantry you can kill them yourself. There are two things about attacking infantry you need to know. First you can't kill too close targets, let the main gunner do them, he can usually gun them down when they are even almost between his feet. Second your gunner can't aim very high, so if you see high positioned infantry (on walls for example) get them as your pilot wont be able to.
Also consider what walker you are in. A PAC walker has unlimited ammo for that seat, so go on and shoot them all. The EU walker has limited ammo for the AA but unlimited for the main gun, so let the pilot kill them if possible.
Now the number one mistake you can make: Shoot at tanks or APCs. Never ever do that. Your bullets and rockets do zero damage to them. In fact worse, they even could get the drivers attention and they might fight back at you while your pilot could do a clean kill.
The main reason this seat exists is to be a mobile AA station. So do that first, then go for infantry and spot vehicles for the main pilot.
Working together, Pilot and AA Position
When you have a walker filled with two people, you should form a squad together. If either of you has a Network Battlefield unlock, this will transmit enhanced info to the other player and help a great deal in staying alive. If you can, use voice, as that will also enhance your chances.
Make sure each person understands their postion and responsibilities.
As the main gunner you pilot the vehicle, kill infantry within your reach, kill vehicles that do not fly, and use the active defense if needed. Also, you have to listen to your co-pilot for what he spots or when he needs you to stand still for taking down a flying vehicle.
In the AA seat you kill high-positioned Infantry that the main gunner can't reach, sometimes help in infantry in lower elevations, spot all sorts of vehicles, and take down air vehicles.
Together you are a walking machine of destruction. Only a titan can kill in a one on one. All others need luck or excellent skill (or both) to take you down. Work together very well and the walker is a point-raising machine like no other.
Seat shifting
You can pilot a walker alone and shift seats. This is another tactic that's useful against infantry for the tanks. However, if you are a squad leader, a member might spawn on you and not get out of the vehicle again. Also of course at any point a member of your team might run up to you and occupy the empty seat. So in case of doubt, stay in the seat you are most comfy with.
Shifting from pilot to the AA seat is only viable in two situations. One is where you have an aircraft in the area, the other is where infantry is too high up for you to hit it with your main gun. You should never change the seat for anything else. For the PAC walker it can be sometimes of interest to also pick off closer infantry to preserve ammo for the double cannon.
Be careful when shifting seats, as in the AA seat you can't deploy the active defense. So only shift when you are in a secure position to stop the walker and take down your target.
Never shift seats when you have an armored vehicle close by or in the middle of infantry, your main cannon can get them best.
Class selection
The best class to start with is the engineer as it is with tanks. It allows you to repair the damage a fight or a bump into something made on your battle walker. If you are in a team, have the other person pick the support class. Now you can re-arm and repair your vehicle on the go. These two classes also have a good benefit because of their networked battlefield abilities. The engineer will show you if the enemy is in a vehicle and what type, while the support will show you their health and ammo status.
Weak spots
This is important to know for the pilot as well as when you attack a walker. There are in fact 2 weak spots. One is where you get a little less armor, the other is a very weak spot where you will blow up basically instantly, if an anti vehicle weapon hits you there.
First your upper part is very well armored, all around. So hitting that wont matter much. Your legs and the part that they are attached to, are a different ball game. The legs themselves are vulnerable, the part the upper body is on is a little bit less vulnerable. So if you can, find things to stand next to that cover your lower part. If you attack a walker, always hit the legs from a distance, or if you cant get a shot, the part above them.
Now if an enemy gets close to you, you might get taken down quickly if they hit your very weak spot. On the picture you can see here (click it for a close up) the L-5 RIESIG has two small holes left and right that you can hit. Its more vulnerable to those attacks as its easier to see them once you are below it. The T-39 BOGATYR has only one wide duct. This is also a bit indented, so its harder to hit. Those spots need one hit with any anti vehicle weapon (standard or unlock) and the walker will blow up. But, you can also use your normal gun and shoot into there and it will take damage. So if its already a bit damaged you might finish it off this way.
So keep the enemy at all costs from between your legs. Rotate that turret frequently, or you wont get very far. |
