Heavy vehicles consist of both tanks and Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs). While tanks are still at the top of the food chain during ground combat, they’re far from invincible.
Rockets fired by infantry and helicopters pose a big threat, as do other tanks. As usual, a tank’s side and rear armor are the weakest.
For this reason, keep the front armor facing a threat at all times, especially when engaging other tanks. The rounds fired by a tank’s main gun travel in an arc-like trajectory.
Compensate for range by elevating the barrel, aiming above your target. Use the horizontal lines on the tank’s HUD to determine the proper elevation setting to score a hit.
The IFVs are the most versatile vehicles in the game, sometimes referred to as light tanks. They lack the heavy armor of tanks, but still have a lot of firepower.
Their main weapon is an auto cannon, which fires high explosive rounds in quick succession as long as you hold down the fire button.
But the auto cannon can only fire six rounds before a new rack must be loaded, resulting in a brief interruption. The driver can also fire a powerful anti-tank missile equipped with a manual guidance system.
The IFVs also have a machine gun turret—the driver controls the auto cannon while the gunner controls the machine gun. There are also two passenger seats equipped with machine guns, making it ideal for hauling around your entire squad.
Heavy Vehicle Tactics
Never charge into a group of enemy infantry. Both tanks and IFVs are well-armored, but they can’t withstand more than two or three rocket hits, not to mention mines. Instead, hold back and engage infantry from a safe distance, where they can’t sneak up behind you.
Consider playing as an engineer when driving one of these vehicles. As you take damage, retreat, hop out, and use the repair tool to fix your ride. Better yet, have your engineer gunner get out and repair while you continue firing the main gun. This tactic gives you a huge advantage during tank duels.
Helicopters and UAVs are a tank’s worst enemy. However, the machine gun turret is completely capable of taking out these threats. When counterattacking, stay on the move to prevent giving your opponent an easy target.
When engaging a heavy vehicle, try to maneuver so you can score a side or rear hit, but be careful not to expose your own flanks in the process. If possible, hit the enemy armor at a perpendicular angle to maximize penetration. Glancing shots may deflect, causing significantly less damage.
Be careful when transporting your entire squad in an IFV. A hit from a UAV’s Hellfire missile could send your whole squad back to the respawn screen—and award the UAV pilot with four kills.
When driving the BMD3 or M3A3, press the secondary fire button to launch an anti-tank missile. Once fired, the missile can be guided manually, just like the TOW2 or KORN. This is the IFV’s most formidable weapon when facing off against an enemy tank. The missile is also effective against structures.
The machine gun turrets on the tanks and IFVs have a zoom function, allowing for accurate long range kills. Park one of these vehicles several hundred meters back from the action and pick off infantry at a safe distance.
