[Guide] How to not be a C4 victim as a tanker

Hi guys,

As an expert in stalking helpless tankers (both lightning and my favorite - the MBT), I feel it is time to let you tankers in on the secrets of the trade. Mainly, my goal is to provide you with the knowledge to protect your massacre chariot and fight the good fight. Maybe camp a spawn or two. Whatever you want, I'm here for you.

A little background on me - my main character has over 8000 C4 put down, with somewhere around 1600 kills. I would guess my kills on tanks to be 500+, which is quite a few when you consider the time it takes to properly stalk and claim your victim. That's really a guess, but it would fit with the number of vehicle kills I have and considering I very rarely attack other vehicles when in a tank because...well, let's be honest, why would you? But enough of me...let's get started!

Lesson 1 - Moving, the enemy of the lazy
You're on a hill, spamming your shells of your greatness while Coldplay blasts in the background. The enemy tries in vain to run up the hill, much like the final scene in Glory, but your valiant stand continues to push them back for the good of the empire. Waves fall before you, wives weep in sorrow, children cry in *BOOOM*. Where did that **** come from?!? How DARE he!

Now let me clue you in to the sequence of events that lead to your demise. You were somewhere continually spamming and you very likely either killed me or hit me with enough damage that it pissed me off. Normally, if you're off farming people running around in the open, I wouldn't care...but you shot me. At some point, I see where you're sitting and start my trek to you. Luckily for me, you stay there in perceived safety as I run up behind you, drop my C4, play a hand or two of poker while I wait for it to arm, maybe spam a taunt or shoot your tank with my pistol, and finally allow you to ascend to your god. Moral of the story - while your camping spot might be perfect for farming kills, it makes you a big, easy target for the motivated.

Lesson 2 - Vehicle Stealth, the "Don't call me, I'll call you" for C4'ers
You graduated from Lesson 1 and figured out that moving makes you a bit less of a target for the hatred of thousands. After all, there are many others who are too lazy to drive (huh?) around the battlefield, why should any of the enemy take notice of *your* death machine? You're just another wolf in the pack that's occasionally destroying entire generations of helpless sheep. You stop for a second to rest your poor, overworked fingers from holding down the accelerate key when *BOOOM*, back to a familiar place.

Here's the deal. If I'm hunting tanks (especially as LA), I'm not physically looking for you with my main HUD. That does a dumb thing called put me in your LOS (line of sight). When I'm in your LOS, I get a nice big tank shell up the backside and that doesn't really appeal to me. What I'm doing is looking at that crazy little minimap thing (more on this in the final lesson), seeing the location of a USDA prime choice target and going in for the kill. You often light up on my screen as a huge red blob that attracts me like the latest SI Swimsuit edition. Go where you want with that analogy and you're probably right. While, yes, you do sacrifice some utility by using stealth, a game typically balances things by letting you offset something while sacrificing in another category. Kind of like how I can't heal myself as LA when I use C4. To be blunt, if you use stealth as a tank, you almost always will escape my notice.

Lesson 3 - Proximity Radar, the Colonoscopy for C4'ers
Lesson 1, check. Lesson 2, sigh but check. Okay, now you can find a secluded forest to shoot your shells of glorious explosion at will. You can farm those little two leggers to the point they sit at their spawn screens crying in shame and self pity. You can drive under that bridge mowing through thousands of heathens who should be grateful you were the vehicle for their delivery to *BOOOM*. WHAT THE ****, WHERE DID HE COME FROM?? I WILL MURDERIZE HIS VIRTUAL FACE!!

I feel your rage. It actually is a key builder of my self confidence as a person in the virtual world. The fury cannot be expressed in simple letters and I often wish voice comms worked cross empire (then I realize this is the internet and that is a BAD, BAD idea). There's one thing I fear when I hunt tankers. It's when I spot a juicy destruction beast sitting on the hill, run up behind him and see the turret suddenly whip around to stare straight at me, giving me enough time to say in TeamSpeak "Oh ****" before I am greeted by my own personal choice of wonderful destinations to travel to in a mere 15 seconds. I hate radar tanks because their drivers are typically very situationally aware (meaning they actually realized the game came with a minimap free of charge) and become near impossible for me to cull. Truthfully, I avoid them like I avoid skinny jeans...nothing good comes from a man wearing skinny jeans.

More advanced tankers will argue that you don't need prox radar as you can go in 3rd person every now and then and rotate around to check for threats. Plus, avoiding areas where someone can jump from a rock/tree/bridge/building will help greatly. Or understanding the flow of the battlefield and making educated guesses on where someone could sneak up on you. But those are for the advanced class and I don't have time for that right now.

Summary, TLDR, DIAC4F
Move often, use the tools available, and farm away. Unless you make me REALLY angry and then I'll just pull a liberator, dump the nosegun into you, bail as LA and C4 you while playing Eye Of The Tiger in prox voice chat.

So you're telling me that I have to continuously move, invest over other, more solid options like shield, burner, anchor, smoke, or nanite repair, and just generally be a nancy in a tank rather then wanting to be able to smash skulls and take names?

C4 nerf incoming live with it.

Yes, that was a much more concise version of his wall o' text.

Jak I shall look forward to targeting you in battle, that way when I kill you you will know that I know I have accepted the challenge of you trying to get me.

He would be telling you that, if vehicle stealth replaced any of those options.

I still think it's cute that people expect and apparently demand to be able to one-shot a main battle tank as infantry. Short of someone physically mounting your tank, carefully hacking or blowing the hatch and coming in to murder the driver, I kind of doubt that should ever be the case.

Related: Bring back vehicle hacking ah my god.

An here is whats wrong with the player base, they dont want to be responsible for themselves, you show them how an they outright refuse to do it... Instead they go to forums an demand nerfs cos lets face it, its easier than actually thinking for yourselves

ZSame thing happened with Mines, they had every tool available to never ever even once die to mines, but they refused to use them, because they new soe would play the game for them.

I wouldn't be too proud, its you an types like you destroying the game, eventually your gonna be only ones here an then you will in forum crying waaaa it isn't fair none will play with me

It's less not being willing to use the tools. I know how to drive my vanguard. But a tank is meant to be a tank. This argument is age old, and you should be ashamed that I need to repeat it to you. Tanks were acceptable when weak but plentiful, but now that they're expensive they don't carry the weight to match.

As well, no one like being shoehorned into using a specific set up to just counter one thing. It's the Metaknight Problem applied without the solution for it.

You are not being shoehorned at all, you can sue any fitting you want an still not die to C4 if you use your head. But as I said before, SOE will play the game for you an remove any need to care about C4.

So you blast me for 'not using the tools' and I explained that indeed that I do (guess what Vanguard shield is good for?) and accuse me of not using my head. That's silly.

I don't want C4 nerfed into the ground. I want my tank to be a viable threat for the resources that need to be poured into it versus the resources necessary to take it out. Seems pretty fair that I'd want it a little more even, no?

Hard counter to C4 in any tank except 1 is situtational awareness and scout radar.
1# never drive solo in Magrider.

you can do this and make your tank weak vs other tanks or they can nerf C4

i say nerf

Tanks are already very powerful, I have said this a hundred times

Tank
Endless reloads for free
Repaired for free
30 rounds for main game before a reload, hundreds of shots for secondary gun before reload.
2 people to protect your tank
Immune to small arms weapons
Travels very fast

LA with C4
Dead if ANYTHING sees it...Instantly...

He's telling you that you are not correctly identifying the "solid" options.

fixed

Or you just press S

dieing more to tanks vs killing more LA?

If all goes well it will just be a cost increase.