From the crazy mind of Talon, who brought you the AT guide, the Medic Guide, and why mashtuur is so much better than karkand, here’s the support guide!
Glossary
Deviation: The amount the bullet flies away from your crosshair.
Base deviation: The minimum it can go. This is how accurate your gun is on single shot.
Deviation per shot: The a random number between the min and max number is chosen every time you shoot. If theres a high max, you could get ridiculous spraying.
Recoil: How much the guns move after you shoot a bullet. Iyts the same for all support weapons.
1. The good, the bad, and the ugly
The Good: You’re the best infantry killer on the battlefield. You get unlimited ammo, and lots of extra points. You have massive clips.
The Bad: You have to prone to hit anything more than 3m away from you.
The Ugly: Your sprint is shorter than the tail of a tail-less monkey. (i.e, practically useless)
2. The Weapons
2.1: Chart
ar (shots to kill armoured)
uar (shots to kill unarmoured)
tar (time to kill armoured)
tur (time to unarmoured)
1HS (1 headshot kill)
Gun AR UAR TAR TUR 1HS
PKM 4 3 0.5 0.4 Yes
MG36 6 4 0.6 0.4 No
M249/T95 7 4 0.5 0.3 No
RPK 5 3 0.5 0.35 Yes
HK21 5 4 0.5 0.4 No
The Support LMGs can be split into three groups. Lights, which have the fastest rate of fire (RoF) and the lowest damage, mediums, which have slower RoF and more damage, and heavies, the slowest RoF and the strongest fire.
Lights: M249, Type 95
Mediums: HK21, RPK, MG35
Heavies: PKM
Now, Battlefield 2 is all about accuracy (for longer range) and kill time (for short range). Kill time is how long it takes to kill your opponent. Playing as support means you get body armour. This means all damage to your torso will be reduced by 33%. This means that close up, Spec-Ops will take 0.7 seconds to kill you with a G36C. You’ll take 0.3-0.5 seconds to kill them (depending on which gun you have). This means you have twice as much reaction time than they do. They can start shooting first and you still win. Good, eh? The guns with the best kill time are the Type 95 and M249, however, they have crappy accuracy.
Accuracy is worked out (mainly) by two factors. One is base deviation. This is how accurate your gun is on single shot. The PKM and MG36 are best at this. The second is deviation added per shot. Every shot you take, the gun gets less accurate. So you want to kill them in the least number of shots (this is one of the reasons MP5s suck in a lot of situations, although they are fun.)
Defaults:
(Light): M249 (USMC)/Type 95 (PLA)
I’ve grouped these guns as they are essentially identical. The only real differences are that the M249 has 200 bullets a clip to the T95’s 100; and that the T95 is better at sustained firing. This doesn’t make too much difference except if you play Karkand/Sharqi. You might find the T95’s clip a little small then.
Both these guns are best used at extreme close range. Along with the G3, they are the fastest killers of both armoured (Assault, AT, Support) and unarmoured (the rest) They work very well against groups of enemies. They have quite a lot of recoil, so you’ll end up spraying bullets everywhere. Since you’re shooting them at 900 a minute, this isn’t a problem. You’re throwing so much lead into the air they can’t really dodge it.
Unfortunately, since they take 7 shots to kill an armoured target, the recoil really hits you when using at longer ranges. The single shot accuracy is ok, but at 7 shots for an armoured target they’re going to have plenty of warning. Best kept to maps like Karkand/Sharqi. Ifg you do get stuck with it at longer ranges, keep to 2-3 shot bursts. Anything more will start adding masses of recoil. Since the PLA don’t appear in any short range maps, the T95 is an essentially useless gun, unless you storm bases with it. Just don’t get caught outside with one, or you’re toast.
Medium: RPK74 (MEC)
The RPK is superior to the M249/T95. Due to the lower amount of shots needed to kill someone, it is more accurate (as described above). It also has the same RoF as the assault rifles and carbines, so you might find it easier to use because of that. It’s the second best support gun, and will kill an unarmoured target in 3 shots. Tactics are similar to the M249, always go prone, full auto at close up, but longer bursts at ranges (3-5 shots, depending on the range). The RPK has the lowest maximum deviation per shot, so its very good for sustained firing when prone.
If you have no unlocks and want to play support, always try and be MEC if possible. The RPK is even a good alternative to the PKM if the low RoF of it bugs you.
Medium: HK21 (EU)
First, a little fun. Put your sound settings to high or ultra high, load up Euro Forces and fire the HK21. It sounds great!
The HK21 is a similar gun to the RPK74. However, it’s worse in a few ways that make it pretty useless compared to the PKM. It takes 7 seconds to reload, which is pretty terrible. You could be killed 20 times over in 7 seconds. Secondly, it does a little less damage than the RPK, which means it takes longer to kill people. Worst of all, while its minimum deviation is 0.2, which is nice and low, its maximum is 5, which is rather high (second highest in the game). Meaning you get the odd shot that flies off nowhere.
Unlocks:
Medium: MG36 (SAS default, SF unlock)
Stay away from this gun. It has a maximum deviation per shot of 10, the highest in the game by far. Single shot is fine, but not especially great, but anything else and you’re risking hitting a 10 or a 9, throwing your bullet off like crap. Its only benefit is that it takes ages to overheat. I’ve never used this gun on Karkand (I’ve never unlocked it, but have tested it extensively on SF), but it might be useful there. It’s a waste of an unlock though, save it for your last two.
It does have a 3 shot-burst fire, but you don’t need this, as you could just hold down the trigger for 3 shots and release…
Heavy: PKM (BF2 Unlock)
The mother of all guns. Firstly, you might have noticed that it’s changed a lot over the patches. In the beginning it couldn't hit a thing (had a base deviation of 0.8, higher than anything else). Then they made it super accurate (base deviation of 0.1) and people used it as a sniper rifle. Now it has a BD of 0.4, so its still accurate but not overly so.
Why is the PKM so good? Mainly because it does 45 damage a shot. That’s the same as an SVD or Type 85 sniper rifle. But it has full auto. This means that you can kill anyone in 3 or 4 shots. Since they’re dead so quickly, the recoil doesn’t have time to build up until they are dead, giving you a super-accurate, quick killing weapon. The G3 does 40 damage, which has the same affect, but only has a 20 shot magazine. The PKM has 100 shots a mag. And with ammo packs, you get unlimited mags.
Unlock the PKM as soon as you can. Always go prone, it doesn’t take long, and don’t be afraid to overkill them at close range. I havn’t tested it recently but you can shoot for about 40-50 bullets (will edit when tested) before it overheats.
At long ranges, you can use single or double shots, since most people will die in 3 shots (most people play sniper, medic or spec ops). This will keep you very accurate. Also, since you don’t have to worry about running out of bullets, you can keep firing while aiming. If a spec-ops only has 10 bullets left in his clip, he’s not gonna want to miss you.
3. The ammo bag
This thing is very useful. Not only does it provide a lot of points, you can rearm yourself whenever you want. This means you get unlimited grenades, which is nice. I won’t post a guide on grenades as they’re pretty easy to use.
If you play medic you’ll notice that hurt people show up with a lifebar over they’re head. This doesn’t seem to happen with ammo unless they are very low. You can get a lot of extra points by handing out ammo bags to players without ammo bars over their heads, and help out your team.
4. General tactics in Q&A
Please PM or post here any questions you want added to this section.
Q: Can I shoot standing up or crouched?
A: You can get away with crouching on any mediums or the PKM. However, going prone makes a huge difference to accuracy, and it doesn’t take long.
Q: Do I need to zoom?
A: No. Zooming has no effect on accuracy. Never zoom at close range, it takes time. At long range, you (not the gun) will place the shots better, so you may as well. Learning to cope without zoom helps a lot though.
Q: So which guns do I use again?
A: Use them in this order of preference: 1. PKM, 2. RPK, 3.Other defaults, 4. MG36
Q: I can’t hit moving targets with the PKM?
A: It has a lower RoF than most other guns. This means it takes a bit of getting used to when shooting targets running across you. Just practice and bullet spam to solve this.
Q: Why is my sprint so low?
A: Unfortunately the support can’t sprint for very long. So don’t do a lot of walking or swimming. Or just enjoy the view. No way to fix this I’m afraid.
Q: Why does everyone say the MG36 owns?
A: Due to the auto-fire being so random, some people will find it better than others. Me, I want a gun that’s reliable. Some of you might like it, try it out on SAS maps.
Q: What maps should I use these guns on?
A: The M249/T95 are best kept for shorter range, city maps. The PKM is fine at medium/long range and can be used for pretty much any map. Although remember the walking thing, so stay away from Zatar Wetlands.
Q: I disagree with your views, what should I do?
A: Post them here without flaming or PM me. If you’re right, I’ll change it.
Glossary
Deviation: The amount the bullet flies away from your crosshair.
Base deviation: The minimum it can go. This is how accurate your gun is on single shot.
Deviation per shot: The a random number between the min and max number is chosen every time you shoot. If theres a high max, you could get ridiculous spraying.
Recoil: How much the guns move after you shoot a bullet. Iyts the same for all support weapons.
1. The good, the bad, and the ugly
The Good: You’re the best infantry killer on the battlefield. You get unlimited ammo, and lots of extra points. You have massive clips.
The Bad: You have to prone to hit anything more than 3m away from you.
The Ugly: Your sprint is shorter than the tail of a tail-less monkey. (i.e, practically useless)
2. The Weapons
2.1: Chart
ar (shots to kill armoured)
uar (shots to kill unarmoured)
tar (time to kill armoured)
tur (time to unarmoured)
1HS (1 headshot kill)
Gun AR UAR TAR TUR 1HS
PKM 4 3 0.5 0.4 Yes
MG36 6 4 0.6 0.4 No
M249/T95 7 4 0.5 0.3 No
RPK 5 3 0.5 0.35 Yes
HK21 5 4 0.5 0.4 No
The Support LMGs can be split into three groups. Lights, which have the fastest rate of fire (RoF) and the lowest damage, mediums, which have slower RoF and more damage, and heavies, the slowest RoF and the strongest fire.
Lights: M249, Type 95
Mediums: HK21, RPK, MG35
Heavies: PKM
Now, Battlefield 2 is all about accuracy (for longer range) and kill time (for short range). Kill time is how long it takes to kill your opponent. Playing as support means you get body armour. This means all damage to your torso will be reduced by 33%. This means that close up, Spec-Ops will take 0.7 seconds to kill you with a G36C. You’ll take 0.3-0.5 seconds to kill them (depending on which gun you have). This means you have twice as much reaction time than they do. They can start shooting first and you still win. Good, eh? The guns with the best kill time are the Type 95 and M249, however, they have crappy accuracy.
Accuracy is worked out (mainly) by two factors. One is base deviation. This is how accurate your gun is on single shot. The PKM and MG36 are best at this. The second is deviation added per shot. Every shot you take, the gun gets less accurate. So you want to kill them in the least number of shots (this is one of the reasons MP5s suck in a lot of situations, although they are fun.)
Defaults:
(Light): M249 (USMC)/Type 95 (PLA)
I’ve grouped these guns as they are essentially identical. The only real differences are that the M249 has 200 bullets a clip to the T95’s 100; and that the T95 is better at sustained firing. This doesn’t make too much difference except if you play Karkand/Sharqi. You might find the T95’s clip a little small then.
Both these guns are best used at extreme close range. Along with the G3, they are the fastest killers of both armoured (Assault, AT, Support) and unarmoured (the rest) They work very well against groups of enemies. They have quite a lot of recoil, so you’ll end up spraying bullets everywhere. Since you’re shooting them at 900 a minute, this isn’t a problem. You’re throwing so much lead into the air they can’t really dodge it.
Unfortunately, since they take 7 shots to kill an armoured target, the recoil really hits you when using at longer ranges. The single shot accuracy is ok, but at 7 shots for an armoured target they’re going to have plenty of warning. Best kept to maps like Karkand/Sharqi. Ifg you do get stuck with it at longer ranges, keep to 2-3 shot bursts. Anything more will start adding masses of recoil. Since the PLA don’t appear in any short range maps, the T95 is an essentially useless gun, unless you storm bases with it. Just don’t get caught outside with one, or you’re toast.
Medium: RPK74 (MEC)
The RPK is superior to the M249/T95. Due to the lower amount of shots needed to kill someone, it is more accurate (as described above). It also has the same RoF as the assault rifles and carbines, so you might find it easier to use because of that. It’s the second best support gun, and will kill an unarmoured target in 3 shots. Tactics are similar to the M249, always go prone, full auto at close up, but longer bursts at ranges (3-5 shots, depending on the range). The RPK has the lowest maximum deviation per shot, so its very good for sustained firing when prone.
If you have no unlocks and want to play support, always try and be MEC if possible. The RPK is even a good alternative to the PKM if the low RoF of it bugs you.
Medium: HK21 (EU)
First, a little fun. Put your sound settings to high or ultra high, load up Euro Forces and fire the HK21. It sounds great!
The HK21 is a similar gun to the RPK74. However, it’s worse in a few ways that make it pretty useless compared to the PKM. It takes 7 seconds to reload, which is pretty terrible. You could be killed 20 times over in 7 seconds. Secondly, it does a little less damage than the RPK, which means it takes longer to kill people. Worst of all, while its minimum deviation is 0.2, which is nice and low, its maximum is 5, which is rather high (second highest in the game). Meaning you get the odd shot that flies off nowhere.
Unlocks:
Medium: MG36 (SAS default, SF unlock)
Stay away from this gun. It has a maximum deviation per shot of 10, the highest in the game by far. Single shot is fine, but not especially great, but anything else and you’re risking hitting a 10 or a 9, throwing your bullet off like crap. Its only benefit is that it takes ages to overheat. I’ve never used this gun on Karkand (I’ve never unlocked it, but have tested it extensively on SF), but it might be useful there. It’s a waste of an unlock though, save it for your last two.
It does have a 3 shot-burst fire, but you don’t need this, as you could just hold down the trigger for 3 shots and release…
Heavy: PKM (BF2 Unlock)
The mother of all guns. Firstly, you might have noticed that it’s changed a lot over the patches. In the beginning it couldn't hit a thing (had a base deviation of 0.8, higher than anything else). Then they made it super accurate (base deviation of 0.1) and people used it as a sniper rifle. Now it has a BD of 0.4, so its still accurate but not overly so.
Why is the PKM so good? Mainly because it does 45 damage a shot. That’s the same as an SVD or Type 85 sniper rifle. But it has full auto. This means that you can kill anyone in 3 or 4 shots. Since they’re dead so quickly, the recoil doesn’t have time to build up until they are dead, giving you a super-accurate, quick killing weapon. The G3 does 40 damage, which has the same affect, but only has a 20 shot magazine. The PKM has 100 shots a mag. And with ammo packs, you get unlimited mags.
Unlock the PKM as soon as you can. Always go prone, it doesn’t take long, and don’t be afraid to overkill them at close range. I havn’t tested it recently but you can shoot for about 40-50 bullets (will edit when tested) before it overheats.
At long ranges, you can use single or double shots, since most people will die in 3 shots (most people play sniper, medic or spec ops). This will keep you very accurate. Also, since you don’t have to worry about running out of bullets, you can keep firing while aiming. If a spec-ops only has 10 bullets left in his clip, he’s not gonna want to miss you.
3. The ammo bag
This thing is very useful. Not only does it provide a lot of points, you can rearm yourself whenever you want. This means you get unlimited grenades, which is nice. I won’t post a guide on grenades as they’re pretty easy to use.
If you play medic you’ll notice that hurt people show up with a lifebar over they’re head. This doesn’t seem to happen with ammo unless they are very low. You can get a lot of extra points by handing out ammo bags to players without ammo bars over their heads, and help out your team.
4. General tactics in Q&A
Please PM or post here any questions you want added to this section.
Q: Can I shoot standing up or crouched?
A: You can get away with crouching on any mediums or the PKM. However, going prone makes a huge difference to accuracy, and it doesn’t take long.
Q: Do I need to zoom?
A: No. Zooming has no effect on accuracy. Never zoom at close range, it takes time. At long range, you (not the gun) will place the shots better, so you may as well. Learning to cope without zoom helps a lot though.
Q: So which guns do I use again?
A: Use them in this order of preference: 1. PKM, 2. RPK, 3.Other defaults, 4. MG36
Q: I can’t hit moving targets with the PKM?
A: It has a lower RoF than most other guns. This means it takes a bit of getting used to when shooting targets running across you. Just practice and bullet spam to solve this.
Q: Why is my sprint so low?
A: Unfortunately the support can’t sprint for very long. So don’t do a lot of walking or swimming. Or just enjoy the view. No way to fix this I’m afraid.
Q: Why does everyone say the MG36 owns?
A: Due to the auto-fire being so random, some people will find it better than others. Me, I want a gun that’s reliable. Some of you might like it, try it out on SAS maps.
Q: What maps should I use these guns on?
A: The M249/T95 are best kept for shorter range, city maps. The PKM is fine at medium/long range and can be used for pretty much any map. Although remember the walking thing, so stay away from Zatar Wetlands.
Q: I disagree with your views, what should I do?
A: Post them here without flaming or PM me. If you’re right, I’ll change it.
Last edited by Talon (2006-08-25 08:08:38)
