The Knife: A weapon most player overlook in Battlefield 2. It is rarely used, and in most cases is left collecting dust in its' sheath, never to see the light of day. But the knife IS an effective weapon, and when it is used efficiently and correctly, can get you out of very tight situations quickly, and very stylishly I might add. This is my very first attempt at a guide of any sorts. Feel free to flame or disagree with anything i say. I don't claim to be the Best in the field, but i do have plenty of experience with the knife, and it is responsible for 8% of my kills.
On a side note, I would have loved to have made this guide earlier to help players out with Expert Knife, but with the addition of version 1.3, the expert knife badge has now very much become a joke. I commend player who got the badge pre-1.3 (and not on Knife/Pistol servers) as 17 knife kills in a round is no mean feat. It is however very possible, and very probable given the right "know-how".
Some notes on the knife:
It kills all infantry with one effective strike, regardless of where you connect, even those with body armour.
You never run out of ammo with the knife.
All kits have knives, not all kits have grenades.
Contrary to my first point, you will not always kill the enemy with one strike. BF2's crappy net code make the hit detection for knife strikes terrible, and often you will need to connect more than once. On the other-hand, you may swing and miss, but still get the kill.
Anyway, lets get started.
0. Best and worst kits for knifing.
This is really up to you. Kits with body armour are good, because you can take more damage, but you can sprint more without armour, and some kits are less visible, like sniper. Anti-tank and support kits are more visible, so you have less chance of being stealth. IMO, the kit to which the knife is the of the greatest Value is the sniper. Its his most effective line of defence(and offence) at close range
Snipers are the easiest to knife as well, simply because they're best line of defence is the knife itself. The enemy sniper has a greater chance of surviving if he simply pulls his knife ass well.
Charging a support player is a bad move. His PKM will tear through you in seconds before you even get close, unless your opponent isnt aware of you, or is autistic. Guys with shotguns are also not a great idea to charge, although exceptions do apply.
Playing Assault with the F2000 unlock is also an excellent choice of kits when going for knife kills. See a couple of guys inside a building, or on top of it, pop a flashbang inside. Theyll end of jumping around very sporadically, but wont be able to shoot you for shit.....thanks to straz_mataz
1. Know your map.
This rule should really be applied to any guide, so this one is no different. You need to know where players spawn, the most frequent traffic route for infantry and where the traffic's blind spots are. You need to know where players like to hide/wait, and how to get around and flank these players. The city entrance at Karkand is a prime example of how players like to wait at certain areas with c4 and PKMs etc. Learn these points, and learn how to approach them unconventionally.
2. Keep your eyes on your map.
The UAV is our BEST FRIEND! you may as well be able to see through walls with this! What could be easier than knowing exactly where your enemies are hiding and concentrating! The enemy UAV is also your worst enemy. When the enemy has a UAV over your position, you are stuffed, and no movement you make is a secret. So always look at the sky around your area, even if your inside a building. Just look up, and if you see "UAV" written in red circling above you, dont attempt any James Bond shit. So, when you see a red dot around the next corner, and your certain there is no UAV overhead, charge with your knife. Chances are, you'll suprise him, which should give you the upper hand and a quick kill!
3. Pistols are for range
When you come across an enemy at close range, and find yourself out of ammo, dont use the pistol. (unless you KNOW your enemy is very low on health) You can kill him far more quickly with the knife, and if you're well practised, far more easily. Using the pistol, you will need to be still to be accurate, whilst with the knife you can move around and be frantic, posing a difficult target. Which coincides with my next point...
4. Be slippery.
When going for the kill, move around sporadically. Jump around, go prone at random, side step, and make sure to sprint whenever you can. Your opponent will quickly run out of ammo, and when he does you pretty much have him! Using guns like the G3, your opponent can run out of ammo quickly. When you know he's out of ammo, pounce quickly. This also counts for LMG's overheating, although if this happens, your opponent is obviously a very poor shot, or you are just EXTREMLY slippery.
5. Medic Whores are your friend.
You've just taken a guy out the last round of your AK. So you chill somewhere and reload your gun, keeping your eyes open. Suddenly, a medic has spotted the corpse and has his shock paddles out 25 meters before he reaches the corpse. This is a GOLDEN opportunity, and happens really really often. Medic often get tunnel vision once they've spotted a revive, and wont even notice you. Chace the medic, wait for the revive, and get two of the quickest, easiest knife kills.
6. CHAAAARGE!
The element of surpise is your greatest asset. Players arent ready for a raving lunatic chargin them out of nowhere. But obviously dont charge a guy with a PKM in the middle of the square at the Mosque in Mashtuur. See a guy around the corner on the UAV? He doesnt see you? CHAAAAARGE!
7. Dont stop swinging............
......until your target is dead. Chances are, you'll get the satisfying "squelch" and puff of dust, but not get the kill. Keep swinging until you get the kill.
8. Technique.
When your opponent has no clue as to your presence behind him, technique isn't really important. But if you take your enemy by surpise, and he can see you, speed is the key, so always sprint at your opponent. Sprint until you are 1 meter from the target, and then prone into him. A second after you've hit your prone key, swing the knife. Remember, even if you hit him in the ankles or shins, he's dead. Proning also makes you a smaller target, and a lots more difficult to hit.
9. When/Where?
In my opinion, Sharqui, Karkand and Mashtuur are the best maps to get knife kills. Karkand and sharqui are very tight, and very close with lots of blind spots. Mashtuur has lots of buildings to clean out, and lots of blindspots too.
10. Look for the signs.
Noticing your friendly glag slowloy dropping? This lets you know that an enemy is somewhere very close by, and you can work out where he is. Player are most succeptable to knives when taking points. They tend to lie still. Sometimes, you will also see a foot "clipping" through a fence or wall. Take advantage and stab the foot!
This is all for now, but i most certainly will be making multiple edits, adding left out info, screenshots and some fraps videos in future demonstrating some of the points.
As I said, this is my first "guide" so feel free to flame, mock, disagree, or send me large volumes of cash.
On a side note, I would have loved to have made this guide earlier to help players out with Expert Knife, but with the addition of version 1.3, the expert knife badge has now very much become a joke. I commend player who got the badge pre-1.3 (and not on Knife/Pistol servers) as 17 knife kills in a round is no mean feat. It is however very possible, and very probable given the right "know-how".
Some notes on the knife:
It kills all infantry with one effective strike, regardless of where you connect, even those with body armour.
You never run out of ammo with the knife.
All kits have knives, not all kits have grenades.
Contrary to my first point, you will not always kill the enemy with one strike. BF2's crappy net code make the hit detection for knife strikes terrible, and often you will need to connect more than once. On the other-hand, you may swing and miss, but still get the kill.
Anyway, lets get started.
0. Best and worst kits for knifing.
This is really up to you. Kits with body armour are good, because you can take more damage, but you can sprint more without armour, and some kits are less visible, like sniper. Anti-tank and support kits are more visible, so you have less chance of being stealth. IMO, the kit to which the knife is the of the greatest Value is the sniper. Its his most effective line of defence(and offence) at close range
Snipers are the easiest to knife as well, simply because they're best line of defence is the knife itself. The enemy sniper has a greater chance of surviving if he simply pulls his knife ass well.
Charging a support player is a bad move. His PKM will tear through you in seconds before you even get close, unless your opponent isnt aware of you, or is autistic. Guys with shotguns are also not a great idea to charge, although exceptions do apply.
Playing Assault with the F2000 unlock is also an excellent choice of kits when going for knife kills. See a couple of guys inside a building, or on top of it, pop a flashbang inside. Theyll end of jumping around very sporadically, but wont be able to shoot you for shit.....thanks to straz_mataz
1. Know your map.
This rule should really be applied to any guide, so this one is no different. You need to know where players spawn, the most frequent traffic route for infantry and where the traffic's blind spots are. You need to know where players like to hide/wait, and how to get around and flank these players. The city entrance at Karkand is a prime example of how players like to wait at certain areas with c4 and PKMs etc. Learn these points, and learn how to approach them unconventionally.
2. Keep your eyes on your map.
The UAV is our BEST FRIEND! you may as well be able to see through walls with this! What could be easier than knowing exactly where your enemies are hiding and concentrating! The enemy UAV is also your worst enemy. When the enemy has a UAV over your position, you are stuffed, and no movement you make is a secret. So always look at the sky around your area, even if your inside a building. Just look up, and if you see "UAV" written in red circling above you, dont attempt any James Bond shit. So, when you see a red dot around the next corner, and your certain there is no UAV overhead, charge with your knife. Chances are, you'll suprise him, which should give you the upper hand and a quick kill!
3. Pistols are for range
When you come across an enemy at close range, and find yourself out of ammo, dont use the pistol. (unless you KNOW your enemy is very low on health) You can kill him far more quickly with the knife, and if you're well practised, far more easily. Using the pistol, you will need to be still to be accurate, whilst with the knife you can move around and be frantic, posing a difficult target. Which coincides with my next point...
4. Be slippery.
When going for the kill, move around sporadically. Jump around, go prone at random, side step, and make sure to sprint whenever you can. Your opponent will quickly run out of ammo, and when he does you pretty much have him! Using guns like the G3, your opponent can run out of ammo quickly. When you know he's out of ammo, pounce quickly. This also counts for LMG's overheating, although if this happens, your opponent is obviously a very poor shot, or you are just EXTREMLY slippery.
5. Medic Whores are your friend.
You've just taken a guy out the last round of your AK. So you chill somewhere and reload your gun, keeping your eyes open. Suddenly, a medic has spotted the corpse and has his shock paddles out 25 meters before he reaches the corpse. This is a GOLDEN opportunity, and happens really really often. Medic often get tunnel vision once they've spotted a revive, and wont even notice you. Chace the medic, wait for the revive, and get two of the quickest, easiest knife kills.
6. CHAAAARGE!
The element of surpise is your greatest asset. Players arent ready for a raving lunatic chargin them out of nowhere. But obviously dont charge a guy with a PKM in the middle of the square at the Mosque in Mashtuur. See a guy around the corner on the UAV? He doesnt see you? CHAAAAARGE!
7. Dont stop swinging............
......until your target is dead. Chances are, you'll get the satisfying "squelch" and puff of dust, but not get the kill. Keep swinging until you get the kill.
8. Technique.
When your opponent has no clue as to your presence behind him, technique isn't really important. But if you take your enemy by surpise, and he can see you, speed is the key, so always sprint at your opponent. Sprint until you are 1 meter from the target, and then prone into him. A second after you've hit your prone key, swing the knife. Remember, even if you hit him in the ankles or shins, he's dead. Proning also makes you a smaller target, and a lots more difficult to hit.
9. When/Where?
In my opinion, Sharqui, Karkand and Mashtuur are the best maps to get knife kills. Karkand and sharqui are very tight, and very close with lots of blind spots. Mashtuur has lots of buildings to clean out, and lots of blindspots too.
10. Look for the signs.
Noticing your friendly glag slowloy dropping? This lets you know that an enemy is somewhere very close by, and you can work out where he is. Player are most succeptable to knives when taking points. They tend to lie still. Sometimes, you will also see a foot "clipping" through a fence or wall. Take advantage and stab the foot!
This is all for now, but i most certainly will be making multiple edits, adding left out info, screenshots and some fraps videos in future demonstrating some of the points.
As I said, this is my first "guide" so feel free to flame, mock, disagree, or send me large volumes of cash.
Last edited by RD_The_Dog (2006-06-07 08:12:07)