PlanetSide BFR Guide

PlanetSide BFR Guide by NightWolf222

The BFR- possibly the most (insert stupid here if your anti-bfr, amazing if your pro-bfr) things ever to hit Planetside.

Some of us are just disgusted to even see these beasts on the battlefield.  Unfortunately for you anti-bfr pilots, their here to stay whether your like it or not.  This brings up another question.  Sure, their great huge beasts with a rechargable shield that absorbs over half your bullets, but can and is there tactics that can be applied to them?

The answer, like any other vehicle, is of course there are.

I: Your BFR and you!  (Getting familiar with this giant beast)
II:Firepower (w3r3 l3ik, gunn4 sh0w j00 h0w 2 pwn w1th t3h BFR!)
III:How to deal with different enemies (Pwn them… pwn them ALL)
IV: Tactics for soloing
V:  Tactics when your in a group
VI: The advantages of having infantry support
VII: Emergency Tactics, a.k.a. how to deal with malfunctions… (OMG, MY SHIELD IS DOWN!  WHAT AM I GUNNA DO?)

I: YOUR BFR AND YOU! (Getting familiar with this giant beast)

Well, its big, mean, and can look either ugly, beautiful, or like a killing machine depending on your point of view.  But lets get started!

There are different hitboxes to a bfr, YES different hitboxes, which means if you get hit in DIFFERENT places they do DIFFERENT things.  Amazing concept, isn’t it?  Getting hit to the legs means that your speed is decreased.  Getting hit to areas on the torso either does extra damage (cockpit) or takes away some ammo.  Hit on the weapons?  Well gee, your unlucky, because these do all kinds of bad things that turn your weapons into pea-shooters or even worse, highly damaging sprayers.

Oh yeah, see that glowing thingy on the back of your BFR?  Don’t let the baddies hit that… EVER.  Reason?  That is your shield generator.  Without your super-rechargable shield, you wouldn’t have HALF the combat longevity you do now.  Without your shield you have armor no better than a Prowler or a Vanguard.  With it?  You are surrounded in a bubble of protective energy, making it mucho hardo for you to kill!  In short, shields up, GOOD.  Shields down, BAAAD!  In the event your shields DO go down, we’ll go over what to do later…

II: Firepower (w3r3 l3ik, gunn4 sh0w j00 h0w 2 pwn w1th t3h BFR!)

Congradulations, your sitting in a BFR, a vehicle which can absorb HUGE damage and still be alive.  How are you going to deal the damage though?  Weapons of course!  And you have a whooole lot of choices in weapons too!

Unfortunately, I can only say truthfully that my experence with a BFR is limited to using the TR one, hence, I usually play the TR.  So here’s my take on TR weapons:

Anti-Tank Weapon (explosive launcher of DOOM!)-

A great weapon for turning vehicles and infantry into small black piles of ash, this baby packs HUGE range and HUGE damage.  The bad part?  It can’t do much against aircraft!  The rounds fired drop over a distance (they have an ARC for you techies) and their travel rate is the same for most shell-like weapons.  One thing that keeps the TR BFR in check with the others is THIS weapon.  Respect it!  Treat it well, and it will treat YOU well!  BFR charging you?  before his weapons arn’t in range to do crap, unleash the hounds on him!  Chances are that before a whole clip is empty, if your shooting is accurate, his shield will be in bad shape!  The only other downside of this weapon is that its capacity is only 25 rounds.  Expect frequent reloading…

Rotary-Chain Guns (the ultimate pwner of infantry)-

This weapon will turn infantry into pinkish mush, aircraft into swiss cheese, and all other vehicles (save enemy BFR’s) into holey piles of charred metal.  If your a non-TR infantry, FEAR IT!  These weapons have a tremendous firing rate.  Carry plenty of ammo with these babies, you’ll need ever last bit of it!  I find that these weapons are good if there are few enemy BFR’s but many enemy vehicles and infantry.  It chews up and spits out reavers and mosquitoes, takes down infantry in a few shots, and can make most tanks run away at the least.  Best tactic?  Despite this weapons firing rate, it is actually quite accurate.  Thus, thou shalt NOT start shooting when thy enemy is CLOSE.  Thou shalt start shooting when thy enemy is in SIGHT!  Right, your thinking, WOW GREAT GUN!  Unfortunately, I’ve found that this weapon is nearly worthless against other BFR’s.  It just doesn’t pack the punch to to BFR vs BFR battling…

Anti-Aircraft (you better watch out, you better look down…)-

I haven’t actually used this weapon to a great extent, but I’ve seen it in use with horrifying efficiency against aircraft.  It takes down liberators, galaxies, lodestars, reavers, and mossies.  Lets see (counts on fingers), one, two, three, four, five… yes, that would be EVERY plane in the game.  Aircraft users, steer clear of an anti-aircraft BFR!  What really sets this one aside from the AA max is that it’s projectiles actually fly to the maximum altitiude.  I’ve also seen this weapon used as anti-BFR and anti-infantry, but I’ve never actually used it in that way.  So thats I’ll the advice I can give here…

Now for the other empire’s weapons.  I’ve never used them, only been the targets, so my knowledge is limited…

NC weapon “A”…

I don’t know if this is specifically anti-armor, anti infantry, or what else.  All I know is that it fires accurately and packs a punch, though its firing rate is a little slow.  The TR Anti-Armor weapon is superior though.  Generally you’ll be able to chase them off with it…


VS weapon “A” (continuous laser)

I generally don’t take these too seriously in a BFR, because chances are you’ll be able to whittle it down before it reaches you.  If your infantry however, FEAR THIS GUN!  It should be proclaimed as the #1 cheapo infantry killer.  Infantrus Mortus Maximus as I like to call it…


VS weapon “B”

Forget what this weapon is called, but it fires out projectiles similar to the VS anti armor max.  Just one difference, these projectiles eat infantry to breakfast.  They hit hard, travel fast, and don’t have an arc.  Still, you can probably deal with them at long range.  Just remember TR… they might hit hard, but we hit harder from further away!

III: How To Deal With Different Enemies (Pwn them… pwn them ALL!)

Well, despite what many people say, the BFR isn’t even close to being the only thing you see on the battlefield.   Here’s some of the stuff you’ll have to deal with:

Infantry pwning 101:

Lets face it, contrary to what lots of anti-bfr people out there say, infantry can be a HUGE threat to BFR’s.  There are several different types though:

The lone cloaker:

This is potentially the most dangerous type of infantry you can encounter, and is the reason why i consider dark-light vision essential for a BFR pilot.  A pair of boomers or a few mines can turn your BFR into scrap metal before you even know it.  Chances are, the cloaker will have an objective.  Either A: annoy this foolish n00b who can’t fight outside his precious uber 1337 BFR or B: must… destroy… all… BFRS!!! 


Cloakers with objective A generally like to throw jammer nades at you and then make an attempt to blow your shield gen.  These guys are annoying at the most usually, but at times they can be dangerous.  Dealing with them can be easy or hard, depending on your situation.  Now would be a good time to mention that you should flick on darklight ever so often when your in your weapon of mass destruction, to prevent cloakers.  Coming in head on to your bfr is the stupidest, most moronic approach a cloaker could EVER do.  If they do come head on, punish them for their lack of thinking!  A few shots will most likely eliminate them.  Now.. supposing they managed to slip under your radar and are now caught between your legs!  By all means, run away!  In run mode you can go faster than any infantry, as far as I know.  After running a bit, turn around 180 degrees and if the cloaker is chasing you (which he/she very well might be doing) unleash the lead/depleted uranium/explosive shelled hounds on them!  If they came in from the side, try turning while going backwards first, but this usually leads to the afore mentioned situation.

Cloakers with objective B are usually very cunning.  They generally go about their buisness in 2 ways.  The first way is set up a pile of boomers in a BFR infested area and wait for one to cross your path.  This is why you need to keep a VERY sharp eye on the ground you trod on.  See anything suspicious, say, a mine?  Turn on darklight IMMEDIATELY.  Chances are the cloaker will be standing close to the area, waiting for you to take your final step.

The second way is hard to counter.  The cloaker will bolt up to your BFR, throw a jammer grenade, and lay a boomer beneath you.  The counter tactic to this is KEEP MOVING!  Even if your are jammered, you can still move, albut very SLOWLY.  This can be enough usually to get clear of the boomer’s killing zone.  But before you think that your clear, look again.  The cloaker will NOT hesitate to try again!  follow the same rules of attack for the cloakers with mission A when trying to take one of these guys out.  If you keep calm, and have a cool mind you should be able to deal with these cloakers with few problems.

The Lone Supergrunt:

Unfortunately, there are still those who cling to the old way of a lone supergrunt being able to take out basically anything on the battlefield.  These folks are very easy to kill, and since they can’t cloak, they are easy to spot as well.  Just aim and fire for these guys.  In the rare case that they DO get between your BFR’s legs, follow the same steps for dealing with mission A cloakers.  Chances are this grunt will have some sort of AV weapon, which can waste your shield generator very quickly.

The group of tactical grunts:

There are those grunts who have adapted to cope with BFRs, and I must say that the do their job very well.  By all means, do NOT let them get between your legs!  They will take down your BFR so fast you won’t blink in the process.  Just keep in mind, at long range, you have a huge edge over them.  Deal with them at LONG range.  In the case that they do get too close, take down as many as you can.  Every less grunt they have, the easier it is to take them down.


Radiator weilding grunts:

Yes, these guys/gals hold an entire section to their own.  One simple rule applies: DON’T STAY IN THE RADIATOR CLOUD!  It will kill YOU not your BFR, and your shield does nothing against it.  Otherwise, treat them like normal infantry.

Vehicles:

This section will be devided into BFRs and non-BFRs:


non-BFR vehicles:

What else is there to say?  You are superior to them in every way, shape, and form, except for speed.  Just aim and pull the trigger until they die.

BFRs:

Here we go, the big one.  BFR against BFR, when worlds clash.  The winner takes home pride, the looser has to wait out the timer.  The only real piece of advice I can say is to never attack a group of bfr’s bigger than your group of BFR’s.  If your dueling with somebody, keep moving, keep firing, and keep hitting.  Don’t miss.  That’s right, DON’T miss!  All BFR versus BFR battles are relatively long slugging matches, so hang in there if it seems like no damage is being done!

Aircraft:

The only aircraft that will engage you up close and personal would be reavers and mosquitoes.  Punish them for their insolence, your weapons can take them down in seconds!  As for liberators, just stay out of the way of the bombs…

IV: Tactics for Soloing

Well, there are times when you’ll be the only BFR on the field.  The key to soloing in a BFR is to be like a vulture.  Prey upon those who are low on health, low on numbers, or need to fall back.  ‘Nuff said basically.  And remember, nobody will blame you from running from a death trap.  Basically, cause havoc, then run away and repair.  Rinse and repeat…

V:  Tactics When Your in a Group

Being in a group of BFR’s (this doesn’t impliy that you have to be squaded) is a great experience.  There is massive strength in numbers, and it is the infantry’s worst nightmare.  While a few BFR’s can rough up the vehicles and other BFR’s, the other few can turn any approaching infantry into scrap metal.  Honestly… as if it was hard enough taking out ONE!  Your mortal enemy however, is the Orbital Strike.  Never stick too close to each other if your stationary for a while, but if you keep moving, by all means stay close.  Also, help each other out.  If a cloaker is just unreachable by one BFR because its between his legs, another can just spray that area with bullets.  Discourage chasing BFR’s from a friendly one by throwing a wall of lead at them.  And the list of tactics goes on.  Use common sense for the rest of them…

VI: The Advantages of Having Infantry Support

Lets face it, softies are the BFR’s best friend and worst enemy.  Situation, you have a group of supergrunts too close to shoot.  Normally, you would bite the dust, but lo and behold!  The BFR’s best friend, friendly infantry arrives on the sceen and blows away the infantry between your legs!  Never feel that your too ub3r to have infantry support you.  Also, support infantry.  A BFR with infantry around it never fears attacks from infantry and infantry with a BFR or two supporting it never fear vehicles.  It is surprising how effective you can be!

VII: Emergency Tactics, a.k.a. how to deal with malfunctions… (OMG, MY SHIELD IS DOWN!  WHAT AM I GUNNA DO?)

Well, there comes a time for everything, and, let’s face it.  There’s going to be a time when you loose your shield.  There are of course, several options.

The Rambo:

You just keep shooting and going as if nothing happend.  Very dangerous, but if you just need to mop up a few pesky little softies or vehicles, it can actually work quite well!  Unfortunately, if there’s still lots of enemies left, you can kiss your BFR goodbye!  Best done only if your timer on aquiring a BFR is gone!

The tactical retreat:

This move is really only possible when you have support.  Fall back to a quieter spot in the fighitng and wait for the shield to come back.  Once the shield is back up, slip right back into the hot zone.

The Run to Mommy:

About face, and do run mode.  That’s all there is too it.  Just hope they dont come after you…

There are other situations as well that you might get into that really arn’t in your favor:

Surrounded:

Lets face it, if you pave through a group of enemies, those that you didn’t get on the first, second, and quite possibly third row are going to turn around and start shooting at you!  What to do depends on what your facing:

Infantry:

Fear not!  Either keep going or turn around and keep going.  Nothing can really stop you from running.  Just hope they didn’t lay mines…

Vehicles:

Get ready for a hard fight depending on what there is.  Immediately start moving away, but generally you should be able to get out.


BFR’s:

Don’t even TRY to get out of this one unless you got a force backing you.  Actually… if your alone, just do nothing.  Why?  Because we’ve already dug your grave…

Universal Rule of BFRing:

Get in, destroy, and get out when your done or if it gets too hot.

If you can’t get out, sell your life and BFR for a high price…