Assault Class Guide, Attacking on Port Valdez

This post is part of an ongoing series of highly detailed strategy guides for Battlefield Bad Company 2 here at Nightmare Mode. This post assumes that you have read the first 10 basic tips, because a lot of the strategies are not possible without them. Please also note that this post does not always contain pictures of what is being spoken of…it is assumed that you play the game enough to know what parts of the map are being described. However, I will make it my goal to provide specific pictures as soon as possible, and so eventually this post will have posts referring to the specific places that are being referred.

GENERAL INFO BEFORE WE BEGIN:

Ah, the assault class. Nothing like high-octane action being the only thing on the itinerary: if this sounds like your cup of tea, then assault is the class for you. The assault class is also recommended to any new players, as your opening loadout is probably one of the most balanced in the game. Not only this, playing as an assault offers a no-frills introduction to the ins-and-outs of Bad Company 2.

This is you:

Now, your role within the game is relatively simple: you are the cavalry. You headline, well, assaults onto the enemy territory–getting rid of obstacles and enemies in the way of your team. Your tools of the trade are assault rifles as well as a 40mm attachment of choice (unless you’re playing with an all-kits weapon). You are so versatile that you are capable of not only taking down enemy squads, but also most vehicles with a standard well-prepared kit. Not to mention that you have the means to stay in the fight for as long as you can stay alive: your specialization are ammo crates, and so should you find yourself to be an unstoppable beast, you will never have to worry about running out of bullets. Moreover, your teammates may not always be hurt, but they’re probably always going to need more bullets.

Now, writing this guide generally is not possible: my suggestions and loadouts will be catered to specific maps, situations and needs. But if I were to pick an all-purpose loadout, it would have to be

THE ALL PURPOSE LOADOUT

Primary: M16

Secondary: Rex

Attachment: Shotgun

Perk 1:Red Dot

Perk 2: Magnum Ammo

Perk 3: ALT Weapons Package

This assault is deadly both at long range and short range. Your M16 has the least damage reduction at long range, and that fact coupled with your red dot attachment will make taking out enemies–yes, even those Rambo M60 Medics–a zinch. Should you be in a close-quarters situation, your shotgun should be able to take care of enemies in a single shot..but getting used to how the 40MM shotgun works may take some practice. My suggestion is to try to get the person in the middle of your circle reticule and hope for the best–admittedly, sometimes the shotgun can be glitchy, but once you learn how to use it, you will become a machine. The Rex is the most powerful handgun in the game, but may also take some practice to getting used to its slow fire rate. Still, there’s nothing like shooting a singular well-placed Rex bullet to your enemy’s head at close/mid range and watching them fall. The alt weapons package is mostly for Apaches and Hinds–their alternatives are probably the best in the game–but they may also prove useful when manning UAVs, because you don’t have to wait for hellfire to reload, you can simply hack down your enemy with your tiny little turret.

Being an assault on….Port Valdez, Attackers. This is where we stop speaking generally about the assault class and start getting onto specific strategies for the map of Port Valdez.

First Part of the Map

Reccomended Loadout A:

Primary: An allkits weapon you are comfortable with. If you want medium range weapon, I’d suggest the M14, otherwise I’d go with your shotgun of choice

Secondary:Rex

Attachment: C4

Perk 1: Explosives Mk. 1

Perk 2: Explosives Mk 2

Perk 3: It doesn’t matter

Here I am assuming that you have not only installed the game onto your harddrive, but that you also have your kit prepicked such that the second that the match starts, you can spawn without hesitation. This way when the match starts, you will have a 10 second headstart which will prove invaluable. That being said, I would suggest parachuting down to your far right side. What you want to do is land on or near the edges of the pipeline ridge. Then, you want to keep running alongside that ridge, hugging the edges as much as you can without being seen or running into timer-territory…until you get near crate A. Do not, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, shoot at the enemies that you see along the way if they don’t see you. You don’t want to call attention to yourself, because you’re about to take Alpha instantly. Anyway, provided that you made it there safely–which if you ran there as fast as you could without calling attention to yourself, you most likely did–you need to drop down to the side of A.

Unlike this picture, however, you don’t want to be on top of the pipeline or even as far onto the edge as those snipers–you’ll be too visible. Instead, run underneath it until it starts the timer, and then start hugging the edges as much as you can until you get near A. At this point, you will want to jump down.

Now, you have a couple of choices here. You can drop down and put all your C4 on the crate itself and detonate from a safe distance, but this will require more than all the C4 you can carry in one pouch, and thus carries the risk of failure. Similarly you can place C4 on all of the walls and hope that it comes crashing down with one pouch–sometimes, this can work. The safest option would have to be getting in the two-story house and dropping all of your C4 from the second story window. Yes, it will require more than one pouch of C4, but enemies will be running toward A and not necessarily the house next to it…meaning this may give you the extra 10, 15 seconds you need to get one or two more C4s to explode the crate. You see, with explosives MK 2, your explosion radius is so huge that it doesn’t matter that those C4 sticks are a bit far from the actual crate: it will still take damage and so you can throw C4 at it from a safe distance. This plan can work optimally if your squadmates carry C4 themselves, and so you’d be able to take alpha instantly, or if they’re willing to be the distraction downstairs near A, so that enemies don’t come barging into the house next to it instantly. Please note that your chances of getting to A via the ridge are significantly diminished if there are 3 other people running behind you, and so I would suggest telling your teammates to hold off on spawning until you actually get there.

If this fails, then you can try making your primary either the M16 or AN94 with a 40mm grenade attachment. Then you can either arm the charge normally and then blast away at the walls with your 40MM from either the house or the grassy area (while crouching, for optimal cover) or you can blast away the walls without arming and hope that you can get enough walls down for it to crumble before the enemy team notices what you’re doing. If you’re actually arming the crate, I would suggest having a squad with both a medic, a recon and an engineer. Normally I don’t suggest having one of each, but in this situation it may prove useful: the medic can put down a health kit as well as revive anyone that goes down, the recon can throw a motion sensor in alpha such that you may know when someone goes in to disarm it–and then can call in a mortar strike as you arm it, so that not only does the house take damage, but it may kill anyone running toward you once the alarm goes off, and the engineer can shoot carl gustavs at alpha from the house…just in case the arm fails, between your 40MM grenade, your recon’s mortar and your engi’s carl gustavs, the house has probably taken enough damage that either it will go down, or be close enough to going down that you can probably chuck a grenade at it next time you’re close enough and it’ll probably go down.

As for Bravo, I would suggest using the all-purpose loadout and simply arming it. Only, instead of having a 40MM shotgun, it might be useful to have 40MM smoke and lay down cover all around you. This can confuse the enemy as well as muddle their visibility, making it harder for them to see where it is that you’re crouching down. Otherwise, in the way of alternative strategies, you can: provide ammo for teammates attempting to C4 the UAV, or provide ammo for engineers who situate themselves alongside the ridge and who shoot Carl Gustavs at Bravo from that location (as you can situate yourself such that Bravo is completely visible and thus, Carl-Gustavable. Both of these require planning and strategizing, and so it goes without saying that the best people for both of those jobs are people on your team.

Port Valdez, Second Part of the Map

Once you’ve taken both A and B, make sure to restock on all ammo and to start running onto map 2 before it actually tells you to (timing is important in order to do this, though, obviously). You’re going to go for Bravo first, because it is the easier crate to destroy–so, you’re running toward the second base while hugging the right side, up to the overhang with the fence that overlooks the building in front of B, as well as B. If you timed this right, then you will see yourself at Bravo without any hassles or enemies–hopefully. You have a couple of choices here. If you want to destroy the crate without arming it, I would recommend loadout A with a squad that has at least one teammate that also has C4 such that you can take out B instantly. If you want to destroy B a bit more safely, you need the all-purpose loadout with a 40mm grenade attachment. You will need to run past it Bravo, on the right side of the metal house behind it, between the fence and the rocky area, until you get to the metal wall at the back of the base. Here, you may notice that you can run up another ridge with a pipeline on it provided that you hug the edges of that ridge. From here, you can start nailing the house with your 40MM, while a recon calls in mortar strikes to the house and two engineers shoot carl gustavs at it. The key to this strategy is to -not shoot anyone- if they don’t notice you. If they notice you then your plan is foiled, but if you play your cards right you can stay on that ridge for a very long time without anyone seeing you. Doing this may mean that you can’t actually shoot your 40MM without people noticing, and so you may simply want to provide ammo for the Carl-Gustaving or be a body guard/lookout for your teammates. If actually getting behind the base proves to be difficult, then you can rally your squad to station themselves on the overhang with a fence on it that overlooks Bravo, and provide plenty of ammo for your teammates to Carl Gustav from afar, as well as try to keep them safe once enemies notice what you’re doing….and they most certainly will, because this tactic is what most people do in order to take out Bravo.

But if you simply want to arm it? You totally can. I’d recommend the all-purpose loadout, with a recon with C4 as well as at least one medic. Before arming, I would suggest that the medic gets in the attic, and that you stick an ammo crate up there too, as well as having your recon put one stick of C4 on the crate as well as throw a motion sensor on top of it. Then, the recon should get in the attic while you can arm. Most people station themselves behind the stairs, but with this strategy I would suggest getting in front of it. When enemies start coming up, you need to communicate to your recon and medic right away to drop C4/grenades from the attic to the stairs and detonate, should you do this fast enough you should get rid of enemies coming up the stairs without having to fire a single shot yourself. Even if they manage to take you out, your medic can drop down and save you, and the recon can detonate the C4 on the crate to kill the person that is disarming. Doing this tactic successfully will probably result in an armed Bravo.

As for alpha, I don’t have any special strategies other than simply arming it and having a good squad to back you up in doing it. Though this building is destructable, actually C4ing it is pretty difficult to do. You should note, however, that there is an AT stationary rocket behind alpha that, should you be able to get there, you can shoot rockets at the building until it falls down. This, too, is also difficult to do without someone noticing right away–not to mention that enemies spawn pretty close to that location–and so should be done at your own risk.

Port Valdez, 3rd part of the map

Both alpha and bravo are not located in buildings that are destructible. That being said, getting both objectives armed may prove to be difficult–especially when you consider that the enemy team has not just a tank, but also a Apache…as well as an advantage in landscape, because the road into their spawn creates a bottleneck.

To be honest, I don’t have any particular special strategies for this part of the map other than to use the very edges on the left and right to get to either objective.

If you go on the left, make sure to hug the water as much as you can, and there will be stairs which you can use to get behind Bravo. If you follow the pipeline there, you should notice that the building to Bravo has a window on the back, which you can break to get in there. Once inside, take note of the fact that enemies spawn pretty closely to Bravo, and that the Hind spawns right next to Bravo…both of these facts make it so that enemies notice you right away, or, if you manage to put in a charge, are able to come back for more very quickly. If you choose to arm it, you can hide in the stacks of lumber right next to the window in the back. A recon squadmate can throw hang out in the bushes by the fence where the hind spawns, sniping people who try to run in to disarm the charge as well as set off C4 placed directly on the objective, not to mention hijack the Hind should it appear. Aside from this it’s usually a good idea to have a medic with you if not two because things can get crazy quick at Bravo.

If you go on the right, you can hide in the woods while you run. I would recommend having a recon squadmate that hangs out on the concrete blocks at the end of that route, he can provide a spawnpoint for you that is near alpha as well as snipe anyone that tries to either stop you from arming, or attempts to disarm it. Like Bravo, Alpha can be difficult to destroy–especially because enemies like to hang out in the tank that spawns directly in front of alpha. It is also handy to have a medic hanging out in the metal house behind alpha. Other than these facts, I can only wish you good luck in arming alpha, as there are no particular strategies which I find are the most effective in taking this objective out.

Port Valdez, 4th part of the map

Most people find this part of Valdez to be the hardest to take, between the indestructible house which B is located in, to the heavily guarded A. Personally, if I lose on Valdez it is usually on this part of the map. However, my succesful attempts always have one thing in common: I always, always take out Alpha first. The thing is, enemies spawn pretty much on Alpha. So if you take Bravo first, arming and defending the charged Alpha is usually a nightmare. Most people say the exact opposite–that Bravo is impossible to take once Alpha has been taken, because all the enemies become medics and like to hole themselves up in Bravo. I, however, have a 100 percent foolproof method of dealing with that–which I will get to once I describe the best way to get Alpha.

Reccomended Loadout: A

Now, to get to Alpha you should be following the pipeline on the left–if you can, run directly underneath it. However, DO NOT hug the pipeline the entire way–enemies like to wait in that corner of Bravo’s building. Instead, run directly into the woodland. You’ll be surprised at how far into the woodland you can run into–make sure that you are, at the very least, behind the short concrete fence on the end of the road. Should you do this successfully, you can start running upwards through that woodland, completely invisible to the enemies that are most likely waiting on the side of Bravo. Keep going up until you get behind the metal fence, by the exploding tanks. Keep running until you get to a metal shack, run through it and Alpha should be visible. I find that enemies are usually not defending Alpha to begin with, and instead like to run up to Bravo/in front of Bravo. This being said, should you have run to Alpha as fast as you could once the 3rd part of the map was taken, you should most likely find no resistance on Alpha…just make sure to be sneaky and NOT SHOOT at anyone that does NOT SEE YOU. This is key. Anyway, get in the corner of the concrete right outside of alpha and drop an ammo kit. You’re going to need it in a second. Then, get behind Alpha, and start chucking C4 on the wall between the two green garbage bins. Unload entirely then run back to your ammo kit. Do -NOT- set off the already placed C4 until you’ve loaded up on atleast 3 or 4 more C4. Once you’ve done this, set off the C4 and immediately run back between the garbage bins and unload the rest of your stock, and set that off as fast as you can. Undoubtedly enemies will start running toward you once you set off the first set because their game will be telling them that Alpha is taking damage, but if you did it fast enough, Alpha should be destroyed before they have any chance to stop you. To mare sure this is the case, it’s always handy to have a medic with you–they can be the most hidden directly on the second floor of Alpha, since no one expects anyone to be there. A recon can provide cover for you as well if they hang out in the first story of the green building in front of Alpha. Remember, if worse comes to worse, it’s not so bad to explode the C4 while you’re near it…committing suicide is fine so long as you make sure that the objective takes damage. If this occurs, remember that you can simply repeat this process except instead of running to Alpha and setting the charge, you can supply an engineer squadmate that can launch Carl Gustavs from the metal shack you originally ran through until Alpha gets destroyed.

Reccomended Loadout: A

If you got Alpha first, then undoubtedly most enemies will start holing themselves up in Bravo. What you need to do may prove to be difficult, but should you be able to do it, it will pretty much be game over. You need to get on top of Bravo. I find that running the same route to get to Alpha is best, you just make a right instead of a left once you start running up through the woodland. Then you should be near the corner of Bravo, and you can run up the stairs in the front and on top of Bravo. You will most likely find resistance on your way there, but I have no advice on that other than to do your best to take everyone out and to have a squad composed entirely of medics to ensure that that occurs. Okay, once on top of Bravo, look around until you find a small square opening which should have a ladder on it. You want to make it so that you’re facing the direction that makes the door/opening below you–the door almost touching Bravo–visible to you. Crouch down, and start chucking all of your C4 down this square hole. You want to angle it such that you throw it as far into that door as possible–I find that my C4 usually latches onto the wall there or a few feet in front of Bravo, both are fine. Once all of these are in place, simply explode the C4–your explosives may be a bit far away from the objective, but it should still take damage….not only this, but there are usually enemies around that location so you will probably net a few kills. So basically, once you’re up here, just start chucking down C4 as fast as you possibly can–just make sure it HITS THE GROUND before you set it off. Otherwise, if you explode the C4 while its falling down, there’s a huge chance you’ll just kill yourself without making the objective take damage. I find that having another assault with your same loadout, as well as a medic or two usually ensures that I can get up onto Bravo safely, and that I can chuck C4 down the hatch at the fastest possible rate.

Well, those are all my tactics as an attacking assault on Port Valdez. Now get to setting those charges!

The next post in this series will detail being an attacking assault on Valparaiso.