PlanetSide 2 Tank Tips

PlanetSide 2 Tank Tips by BengalTiger

1. The tank belongs to the field.

Not the area next to a watchtower.
Not the courtyard of a contested base.
Not the canyon with enemies on both sides.
And not the forrest in Amerish where the enemy Light Assault troops are waiting in the trees, C4 charges in hand.

The tank has mobility, which it should use. Don’t be afraid of going off road- some of the best firing positions are found by climbing uphill through a narrow valley. It is very useful for the team when the enemy’s Sundy gets spotted and destroyed. If the tanker has enough ammo- free kills vs spawning infantry that will spawn from that specific Sundy before it blows up.

2. Tanks have big guns.

These are to be used for various purposes. The basic gun an MBT comes with is armed with HEAT shells.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Explosive_Anti-Tank

These do a good job at killing:
-Other tanks (combining the firepower with mobility allows to flank the enemy, hits to the side hurt a lot, hits to the rear are a quick and painless way of blowing stuff up)

-Infantry. A direct hit from any tank gun gets the job done. Against moving targets, it’s a good idea to aim at the ground where the enemy will most likely be by the time the shell gets there. A Vanguard’s HEAT shell blowing up at someone’s feet is also likely a kill.
When the enemy is on a cliff, but the ground they’re standing on is visible, it’s good to aim at it instead of the enemy- a shot aimed too high will fly past the target, one aimed too low will still do splash damage when it explodes on the nearby ground.

-Planes. A hovering ESF (Empire Specific Fighter) takes 2 hits to kill using the Lightning’s 100 mm gun, and a single incomplete burst of the basic 75 mm autocannon it comes with stock. A Vanguard will kill enemy ESFs in a single shot.
Due to the low rate of fire of all guns but the Lightning’s C75, it’s good to wait until the ESF hovers before firing. Tanks have gun elevation of some 30-45 degrees.

3. Armor.

Tanks are like Claymore mines:

That’s front and front only. Hits to the sides are painful to MBTs and dangerous to Lightnings. 2 bazooka rounds to the rear will destroy any tank, and a Lightning will be on fire after the first hit.
The top is a bit stronger than the rear, but weaker than the sides in PlanetSide 2. Keep this in mind when thinking about driving up to the walls of an enemy base.
In a perfect world Your tank’s front will be facing the enemy tank’s rear.

The tank’s bottom is also very thin. Watch out for anti-tank mines.

4. Hull down and Turret down positions.

Finding a hull down position allows to have only the heavily armored turret exposed to enemy fire. This works best with the TR tank which has the smallest turret (but due to the tall hull such positions are harder to find compared to the NC MBT), and doesn’t work at all for the Vanu Magrider- its gun is mounted on the floor, so the whole tank must be exposed to fire it.

All MBTs are able to use the turret down position. The remote operated turret is useful when the whole tank is behind cover- for both shooting and observation.

The hidden position is also viable, but the tanker must leave the tank and walk up the hill. Having a rifle with a good scope is useful to do recon before driving into an unknown area. A good commander will leave his/her tank quite often to be sure he/she is not driving straight into the enemy tank rush.

5. Tanks are just part of the bigger picture, not the Alpha and the Omega.

Communicate with friendlies, watch the battlefield and look for friendly soldiers pinned down by machine guns or snipers. Assist them by offering armor (tanks are bulletproof vs hand held guns), and mobile firepower.

Report other tanks and coordinate with friendlies so that someone definitely gets a good side or rear shot.

Stop for stranded soldiers when driving alone in an MBT, that secondary turret is useful, and the friendly soldier will be thankful he/she doesn’t have to sprint for 2 miles to reach the next shootout.