Battlefield 1943 Strategy Guide

Take the High Ground

Holding the high-ground on a map is a key to success. High ground will offer your Scouts the perfect vantage point from which to apply their trade of long-range slaughter. Better yet, having the high-ground affords your team with a nice perspective from which to view the battlefield. From this vantage point you’ll gain a much better idea as to what the enemy is doing.

High ground is easier to defend than it is to attack, so secure elevated positions at all cost.

No One Likes a Selfish Driver

Vehicles and boats are a great way to move friendly troops around, so please, if you secure a tank, jeep or boat then don’t just go driving off into the wild blue yonder while your squad mates or team members are left holding their dicks. Be cognizant of people around you and let them hitch a ride. Honk your horn a few times to get their attention by pressing down on the right-thumbstick.

Where the F*&K Are You Driving?!

You’ve taken command of a tank and now, as your passenger, I get to watch you drive into walls and basically get nowhere fast because you have no idea what you’re doing. Before I jump out of this tank and launch a friendly grenade at you, let me explain what you’re doing wrong:

Notice the symbol of of your tank in the middle of the HUD? That illustrates the directional facing of your tank. When you accelerate you will move forward in the direction you are facing, not in the direction you are looking. Where you are looking is where you are shooting and this view can rotate a full 360-degrees. As such, you can be moving in one direction and firing in the opposite. Doing this properly requires some coordination on your part, but will make all the difference in keeping your tank alive…and your passengers friendly.

Only Pansies Go Around Trees

Sure, there was a time in videogames when tanks couldn’t knock over trees, but not so in Battlefield 1943. Trees are made to be knocked down, so do it. Don’t waste time trying to gingerly navigate around trees. Instead, go pedal-to-the-metal and knock down everything in your path. In fact, this works for just about anything like low walls or barriers.

Success With Anti-Aircraft Guns

If you’re getting the hell beaten out of you by enemy planes then you had best secure an Anti-Aircraft gun and get to work. The key to using this bad-boy properly is by leading your target. The faster the plane is moving relative to your view, the more you must lead your target if you hope to nail him.

It Takes Two to Tango

So you have yourself a jeep, tank or boat. What you really need is a second person to help you out. All vehicles offer a secondary weapon that won’t be utilized unless you have someone traveling with you.  Why let the machine-gun on a jeep go to waste? Besides, you’re a sitting duck in a jeep unless you have a gunner aboard who can mow down all threats with relative ease.

A Map Full of Snipers is Pointless

Try to be mindful of what classes are the most popular in the round you find yourself. Having nothing but snipers on a team isn’t a real great way to get things done. You need a nice mix of classes, preferably more infantryman then rifleman, and more riflemen than scouts.

Don’t Practice Flying in a Multiplayer Round

Look, I really appreciate that you want to learn how to fly planes, but please, for the love of all that’s holy, don’t use an actual multiplayer round to figure out what you’re doing. Instead, use the tutorial! Go to the Options screen to launch the tutorial. After a few initial steps that takes less than a two minutes, you’ll have full access to an airfield and you can then crash as many freaking times as you want.

Make Your Own Doors

If you’ve been playing Call of Duty 4 or World at War and have never tried Battlefield Bad Company, then you must learn a new tactic: blowing holes in buildings. This aspect is what sets the Battlefield franchise apart from Call of Duty and makes all the tactical difference. Why are you going through doorways when you can blast a hole in the wall? Use your grenades, tanks and launchers to demolish walls and reveal who may be lurking on the other side. They won’t know what hit ‘em. Blasting holes in walls is also a good way to create your own defensive positions. Wish there were a window facing a specific direction? Make one of your own…

Grenade Launcher Skillz

So you’ve got a grenade launcher and have the overwhelming desire to unleash the dogs of war. Good for you, that’s the spirit. Using the grenade launcher is pretty simple if you keep one thing in mind: the further your target, the higher you must aim. For short and medium-range targets, you can pretty much fire in a straight line, but anything further will require some guesswork on your part.

Note: Use the Battlefield tutorial to practice firing the grenade launcher and make mental notes about how your aim effects distance and accuracy.

When the Screen Goes Red, You’re Nearly Dead

There are no health packs in Battlefield 1943, no first aid kits hidden in crates. So how is one to heal? Simple: hide and wait. Your health will replenish pretty quickly. What you don’t want to do is keep taking hits from the enemy. Too much damage and it’s lights out for you.