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[left]BZ STRATEGY GUIDE
VERSION 11-16-2003
FORENOTES
I am not going to rewrite the BZ Guide that accompanied the game when you bought it, you should know it already. It's up to you to learn which Tank benefits you the most in the game. As a strategy player, you should never stop trying to improve your technique or tactics. This is where most people fail and remain average players at best and this is where I hope to help you succeed. Reviews and corrections will continually be added so check the version date for latest issue.
- Gabriel
PRE GAME SETTINGS
- RESOLUTION: Adjust this accordingly. For older pc’s the 800 x 600 is a great setting, plus everything is huge. The average setting is 1024 x 768 these days.
- AUTO LEVEL OFF: Having it turned on restricts a lot of your movement so turn it off.
- SNIPER SCOPE ZOOM SET: This is adjusted with the plus and minus keys. Set this as soon as you can at the beginning of the game. Who knows when you may have to use your sniper rifle.
- HUD SETTINGS: Adjust these well before the game, one setting removed the enclosure and the viewing of outside your tank. It is necessary to be able to see as much as possible.
- MOUSE – KEYBOARD: Set them as needed, options permitted in the console.
- LIGHTING: The only way you can do this properly is to tinker with it. The older your monitor the higher or brighter setting you will need, fortunately, it can not be over done like in the newer games.
TANKS:
As a general rule if you are a beginner, you need to use the CZAR tank, if you are somewhere in the middle (or better), you need to be in either the B-DOG GRIZZLY tank, or the GRIZZLY tank. I will explain the differences and why.
The CZAR is by far the deadliest piece in this game when it comes to the tanks. With very little skill, you put two SP-Stabbers, linking them and a Pop Mortar in it, keeping its assigned Thumper and you will be a force to be reckoned with on the playing field. The best player I have ever seen in the CZAR is BUM, a former JUDGE member. His favorite set up is to place two (2) Blast Cannons in his tank for his main guns. Normally I would not recommend this, however BUM has been around long enough that he rarely misses which makes him devastating on the battlefield. The Czars pitfalls are, that it drives (moves) slower than the rest of the Tanks and is bulkier and harder to steer. This trade-off is acceptable when you look at the benefits it offers, i.e. more ammo and a higher level hull strength along with the Blast Cannon option not offered on the US side.
The B-DOG GRIZZLY, this is an excellent Tank, its basic design allows for it to be the best Tank for a quick defence and offense. From the spawn it comes with one built in Sp-Stabber. Quickly dropping one more Sp-Stabber for use makes you a ready force for fighting if necessary. Your options for offence or defence, depending on your opponent, makes this tank the preferred tank by most senior players. I only recommend this Tank only if you are going to play a quick DM style strategy game or are an average to good player or if you just prefer to be ready quickly. The pitfalls are it has a lower level of hull strength and ammo making resupplies constant and necessary. On the same token, given enough ground you will be able to catch up to or out run a CZAR if necessary,
The GRIZZLY, (my preferred Tank) has the best all around advantage. It comes with an At-Stabber, Mini Gun, a very useful Mortar, and a Thumper. I believe this Tank to be the most versatile Tank offered in the game. To me it’s the best go between of both the CZAR and the B-DOG. This tank is what you will see the most advanced players using. It has a higher level of ammo and hull than the B-Dog but it’s also lower than the CZAR. Either way, this tank is sufficiently designed to be the best of both worlds.
OFFENSE - DEFENSE, or BOTH?
Now the next question you will have to answer. "Will you be an offensive or defensive player?" Once you come to this decision, then you can adjust your playing techniques accordingly. I suggest you 1st learn to become an offensive player and later, after you feel you have reached the summit of your playability potential, then switch over to a defensive posture and go from there. After becoming proficient in both fields, then combine your knowledge and fight using both techniques.
OFFENSE:
While playing as an offensive player, you will learn a ton of things, some for example:
- The true distance those infamous and deadly defensive towers will hit you at, which is between 200-205 meters depending on ping.
- How to move while you are dog-fighting and fighting drones.
- Placement of ammo and supplies and areas best suited for backups, (aka satellite posts)
- How to applying a constant pressure on your opponent generally produces decent scrap collection ability during the game.
- How to strafe... yeah this is very IMPORTANT!
- How to advance, and take ground you won’t lose and much more . . . (to be discussed later)
DEFENCE:
While you are playing as an defensive player you will learn:
- How to set up your defensive towers
- How to use turrets
- How to use miners
- Where to designate your coverage vehicles and how.
- How thick or thin you want your fort to be. (Density makes a difference)
- How to continually improve on your set up
- How to speed up your forts setup
- Angles and locations for placement of silos, hangers and supplies
and much more...
PLAYING BOTH OFFENCE AND DEFENCE:
- You learn all the above at a slower pace, what you gain in return is a more complete understanding of the game and useful winning tactics.
• WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
First the MAPS: "KNOW YOUR MAPS, INSIDE AND OUT!"
Maps have their each and very own unique advantages and disadvantages, and you should know what they are. It can be anything from tall mountains to pits that trap Tanks and Scavengers or even hard to find geysers. It's always good idea to know which advantages or disadvantages you are working with. One of the maps I'm going to cover is a standard map that comes with BATTLEZONE, named "CORNERS." Most beginners make the mistake of setting their Recycler at the 1st set of geysers, located closest to the spawn point, which, strategically, is the worst place on the map. You will find it a constant in all BATTLEZONE maps, never set up where you spawn.
Start by first moving your Recycler to either the east or west set of gysers on either side or corners, on your side. (FYI, typically when leaving the spawning ground, you should hang a left as you exit the spawning point. Nearly everyone, right handed people, have that natural pull. Once at the set of two geysers, set the Recycler, and build your Constructor, with two Scavengers, remember to have them “follow” you into the scrap field area closest to you, and then build a silo with the remaining four pieces of scrap. Then set your Scavengers to Scavenge.
The scrap they collect will build up fast, at this time I would suggest to you to either build 3-4 more Scavengers and call them to your point, or drop a navigation beacon there and call them to it in that same area. If you are going to leave the area, then tell them to Scavenge when they arrive to the navigation point. I would say its best to have 5-6 Scavengers in that area before you leave. For additional protection it is generally a good idea to go to the far side of your scrap field on your opponents’ side and build some well-placed towers there with 3-4 power sources to assist them. This will help stop your opponent from entering there and getting your scrap or coming there to kill you or your Scavengers. Building one or two power sources isn’t enough to keep a decent to good player from rushing into the tower area and killing the power sources, so build 3 or 4 or more. If your opponent gains that area and holds that ground, you will be in for a tough fight to get it back. Once ground lost it's always twice as hard to regain.
The more ground you hold, the best off you are, as long as you can defend it. When you lose ground you lose scrap and additionally, you give it to your opponent. On "Corners," I have literally kept people in their fort by taking all surrounding grounds. If you take the corners to the left and right of your opponent's side, winning is probability, not a certainty, as long as you let them come out to play. Pretty soon you opponent will run out of scrap and have to recycle their main equipment to keep fighting. Be careful with people who are masters at this game, pinning them in is like offering your hand to a Rottweiler. They will eat you alive. The toughest two games I've ever had is on this map was against SHOGUN and OGC ORBIT. With Shogun, I had him pinned in his center set of geysers in about 30 minutes of fighting. Again winning was a probable, not a certainty. We continued playing another hour and a half and on several occasions I almost lost the game to him because of a poor set up. OGC ORBIT, I had down to nothing accept a Recycler, killing him was easy when he had equipment, it was when he didn’t is when the problems started. His sniping skills were so good that for almost two hours I chased his from one side of the map to the other. Never did I dare get into his line of sights as deadly as he was with a snipers rifle.
Lessons learned here:
- Never think you're going to win or that winning will be a cinch.
- And NEVER underestimate your opponent
Back to the ground thing: When you take ground, make sure you have enough Tanks / supplies to back you up and keep the ground you've taken. i.e., extra Tanks should be loaded up and ready to fight. In addition, be prepared to build and take down silos, towers, hangers, etc. Don't make the mistake of having to run the length of the map to replenish your Tank(s) ammo and hull. 5 minutes away will lose you everything you built. They will retake the ground, hold it and get your equipment and scrap. It's better to be established and ready rather than always being on the run.
DISCUSSING OTHER MAPS:
Another widely used map is Ice-Ice; it's a three-way map. Most players don't realize that they do not normally get all the scrap from their side. To do this you need to travel the entire length of the gully next to your fort and drop a Nav. beacon at the end of it. When the Nav. is located there, the Scavengers will see the scrap at the very end of the valley and then will pick it up. Most players also make the mistake of building their towers in and close to the Recycler. Place your towers at the outside of your entrance and yourself on the inner side of the opening. This creates less congestion for you and your Tanks and scavengers plus it establishes essentially two very effective lines of defence, first being the towers, second being you and your Tanks. Also you will have enough room to build hangers and supplies for quick reloads there, if you're not too congested.
Canyon Madness is yet another classic. It offers a lot of scrap, and plenty of building room. This is probably the best strategy map that I have seen and definitely the best to learn on. This map offers all terrain types. This map also offers you the opportunity to learn how to hide your equipment. Here, do not set your Recycler initially; you need to move to a set of four geysers located to the left or right geyser areas. In doing, so you also set your Recycler down in a scrap field, which also increases the speed of your scrap intake initially. If you set your Recycler down at your spawn point the Scavengers will eventually make their way to the scrap fields where the four geysers are anyway and you will have lost valuable time and if your opponent is somewhat knowledgeable on this map, he will easily maintain twice the scrap you have if not more, if you waste too much time. Some people move their Recycler to the center set of geysers. I don't recommend this. Those who do you will find, will have large build times. Time is needed for them to put the Recycler there and also build the towers required to protect it effectively. So, setting up there is only a good idea if you have a long set up/ build time. If the time is an issue, your Recycler will be subjected to easy termination.
Most people go in the center and look around to sniff your location out. If they find you there, they will be more than happy to kill your Recycler and/or your Tank in the process if possible. Try all these areas and figure out which is best for your set up technique. Fair warning though, if you set up where you spawn and your fort is attacked, and also you are killed in that area, when you re-spawn it is fairly certain that you will be killed again by the battling Tanks, in the heat of combat. Which, again, is another reason why you do not set up at your spawning location, ever. Expect spawn kills if you do, either intentional or not. Also, on this map you need to have your constructor follow you and place silos’ throughout the map. Normally what I do is set the Recycler build a constructor and two Scavengers, I build a silo with the remaining four pieces of scrap and place a Nav. by the silo. Once that is done, I move to another scrap area taking my Recycler and constructor with me, If I'm passing through a secondary area that has scrap, I'll deploy the constructor to build a silo there and drop a nav., keeping my Recycler moving with me to the 3rd area I'm heading for. Once my Recycler is deployed in the 3rd scrap area or point, and I have called the constructor to follow me again I will build three Scavengers and send them to the nav. point #two and build three more for the area where my Recycler is. So, now I have three areas covered and all three taking in scrap.
FYI: If you set up at your spawn point, you will be killed during spawning should there be a war going on at the time you respawn. Not only can the opponent Tanks kill you, so can yours, and even your Scavengers will run you over if you're not paying attention.
• SHOOTING DISTANCE:
Distance does make a difference when shooting your opponent, if you are within 30-40 meters it seems your shots are almost in vain, whereas if you maintain a distance of 150-200 meters, the shots have a great effect. 'Course he's harder to hit the farther they are away. Also remember when you are going in to kill a main piece such as a Recycler, Factory, Armoury, etc. You shoot from a distance an reserve enough ammo to fight your opponent if necessary.
• ON TARGETING:
Using the targeting Key is a simple process. Aim your Tank at your opponent and press the "T" key on your keyboard, a red Circle will appear, inside that will be a red box and inside that red box will be a white box. Aim at the white box. Once you have targeted your opponent, you will see his distance and movement. You can also target your opponents’ Tank and send your drones after him. Press the shift +1 key, this selects all your Tanks, point your site reticule at your opponents’ Tank and press the enter key. All the Tanks will engage just his Tank and leave his drones alone. When using the targeting key for your shooting, you will initially need to see how much "ping" is affecting your game and adjust accordingly. Cable-cable connections are pretty much dead on, however, there are times even with cable connections I have had to lead my targeting box and shoot up to an inch in front of it. It's almost like having to guess where he's going to be, before he goes there. The targeting key is a very effective tool for you to use, but know it is affected by ping and my not always be right on.
This leads us into the next topic . . . Lag Shooting.
• LAG SHOOTING:
Lag shooting can be difficult and can cause a lot of stress! There is nothing like giving a Tank a good pounding on your screen while you're shooting behind him on his. Bad Ping affects everything in your game, rarely does it go in your favour of course. Shooting your opponent and not seeing damage is one of the problems with bad pings, keep your distance 150-200 meters, lessen your strafe, move slower and take shots at your opponents he strafes left and right, make a note of the distance of both hits and misses. Sometimes you only have a few shots to adjust properly when dog fighting. In severe Lag games just quit, as there is no need to attempt a good game with bad ping and lag.
• STRAFING:
If there is a point to make this one is it! Learn how to move your Tank when you fight, I don't know how many people I kill easily just because the only thing they do is to move left-right-left-right-left-right, and on the same count! Strafing isn't hard to do, just do it unpredictably and use all your movement keys in the process. Forward-back-left-right- hover, use them all but just not in same sequence or time variance. Learning to strafe and shoot at the same time is a must. It determines your effectiveness. I would suggest playing a lot of DM games to get used to it and then start into strategy. If not, I hope you like air time, because you're going to see a lot of it.
• TYPE OF GAME PLAYED:
Know the type of game you are going to play. This will save you a lot of stress. Know the rules, and play by them, if there are no rules, play like there aren't any rules, you can bet your opponent will be playing that way. Playing an old-timer is much different from playing beginners; old-timers will conform to your game and draw "you" into theirs. Beginners are interested in only one thing, "killing the opponent." So, beginners be careful what you ask for. I was taunted into a “No Rules” match with JENS STRATKING, and out of spite and to shut him up I took all three of his lives in 48 seconds from the start on the ICE-ICE map. Another game of "No Rules" with a player named “Hi Pal” I won in just over three minutes (and I was being nice about it) Neither player thought it was possible with their “No Rules” preferences. I guess they hadn’t played the right people. Additionally, in previous games they both rushed me at the beginning attempting to win, death was their punishment. To note: These games were merely revenge and point oriented nothing more. Knowing the rules will dictate how you are going to plan your strategies, so play by the rules. If the host wants a brawl, give him one, if he wants build time; use it to your advantage and build yourself.
• SILOS:
Silos are an easy topic, find a scrap field place one in it, LOL. Place a nav. beacon by the silo and call your Scavengers to the nav. and tell them to Scavenge. While you are off doing other things, they will continue to collect scrap, not just in this area but others as well.
• AMMO SUPPLIES:
Ammo supplies should be place tactically either in your fort or in a satellite fort, it is generally good to have one placed somewhere away from your fort, for a just in case. Placing a Nav. Beacon at an ammo supply is also another good idea. You can call your Tanks to those locations where they can reload instead automatically instead of you having to take them to the reloading points yourself.
• HULL SUPPLIES:
Hull supplies are the same as ammo supplies, apply tactfully and place one away from base just in case of an emergency. A Nav. beacon also needs to be placed on one.
• NAVIGATION BEACONS:
You get10, place the strategically and far apart. Preferably in inconspicuous places where your opponent wont readily see them.
• FORT SET UP:
There are tons of ways to set up your fort, none of which are perfect. It is under a general consensus that towers and Turrets around your Recycler are the best protectors. I disagree. I would submit to you that if you are worried about protecting your Recycler that much you need to stay in your fort. "YOU" are the best protector for the Recycler. I've seen some good ones, towers backed with Wolverines around the Recycler etc., I've seen players put barracks around the Recycler then tower to protect, which is a great defence against Bombers, it takes a lot to kill barracks. I guess "IF" I were a really big fort builder, I would have to say this would be my set up: The Recycler would be in the center, north south east and west would be barracks, placed between the barracks and close to the Recycler would be a power source, I would then place a tower on each corner and in the center of each tower. In between the towers I would place the Turrets, in addition to Tanks to protect the Recycler I would have mine layers moving all around dropping mines, In this same area I would have two hangers and two ammo supplies for refuelling, in the Tanks I would use duel SP-Stabbers and a pop mine. A Scavenger and silo are nearby to pick up what is left of the poor fool, who just tried to kill my Recycler =)
On the same token I have never seen a fort set up that I could not penetrate unless the opponent was present. Even present, it just took a few extra minutes to take it down.
• TOWERS:
Towers present a unique problem in this game. For a beginner they are a horror, for a seasoned player they are merely touch and go obstacles, easily passed. There are four ways to deal with towers,
-1st is the best, and that is to kill the power source or sources. No power- No tower.
-2nd way to beat a tower is run past it, and keep going. A tower may hit you one out of every 3-4 times it shoots. But you still have to negotiate the tower on your way back out.
-3rd is to ride the 200-meter line of the Sp-Stabber, (assuming you have upgraded your weapons) and strafe side-to-side shooting the tower. You will not be seen by the tower and can kill it easily. Watch how far you go in, because it will read your position at around 190 meters or so.
-4th Run straight into it placing your nose on it and start shooting. This of course means it is for only one tower.
Gun Towers do not have the ability to determine friendly/ foe targets. This means if an enemy Tank is targeted and friendly Tanks are in the way, it will still shoot hitting your Tanks. Also, if you build a lot of towers around your Recycler and someone decides to dive into your Recycler and stand there, the surrounding towers will keep shooting at him and they will eventually kill the Recycler. This activity is commonly refereed to as, "Rec-diving" Generally. You’ll find beginners “Rec-diving.” Also, Turrets have the same faults.
There are several things to consider when and if you decide to use towers in your fort set up. The amount of scrap used makes them fairly substantial. To build a tower or towers you must first build a power source, then to ensure they are not easy killed or disabled, you will need to apply at least two power sources per tower, which means more scrap is used. The more scrap you use here the less you can use on Tanks and other more worthy utilities. It is in my opinion that the only time you use towers is when you have an excess of scrap or you most definitely are closing in on your opponent to keep them in a particular area. I typically don't use towers, unless I need a really quick defensive set up. I find them useless and I have better uses for the scrap. Use them to your own accord, you may have a nice set up you like and is good for defensive reasons, I just like the 10 mobile Tanks, loaded up and ready for war.
• SCAVENGERS:
Scavengers are a necessity and generally should be the 1st thing you build, and at least two of them. During your game try not to fall short of at least five on the board, keep as many as you can without them being in the way. Congestion is a killer.
• TANK SET UP:
The best set up I have found in this game for all intensive purpose is a "Grizzly" Tank. Load it with 2 Sp- Stabbers and a pop mine, and it comes with a Thumper. This Tank is quick, has more ammo and hull than the B-Dog Grizzly. 2nd in line would be the Czar, with the same set up, this is the fiercest Tank on the board, when used well, it is virtually unstoppable. Use the same weapons set up, add 2 Sp-Stabbers and a pop mine, Thumper is stock, and 3rd is the B-Dog Grizzly, its downfall is that it comes with a splinter mine, and in games where no splinters are allowed, you immediately have to get something else, and waiting for the exchange can be a problem. Same weapons set up here as well, 2 Sp- Stabbers and a pop mine. A Recent game has opened my eyes to yet another wonderful combination but it's for the CZAR. It's the CZAR Tank loaded with 1 SP Stabber and a Blast Gun. This Blast Cannon is only offered with the CCA. BUM, is the award winner here for this set up. He is Deadly with this combination.
• BOMBERS:
Some people like to use Bombers to kill they are slow and they share damage when hit. Their own rounds can kill them, granted if used properly they are effective, but not to be used on a good player. I have taken all 10 Bombers out alone before; it's not hard. A test I once did with 10 Tanks loaded with two sp-stabbers and pop mines, against 10 Bombers, ranged around 1-2 of my Tanks being killed, to around 5-6 at most Tanks killed. This is without player intervention.
• APC’S:
APC's are increasingly the favourites of beginners. They can be very effective on mid-level players on down to the beginner level players. Someone who is good only finds them to be a temporary annoyance. If you use the Grizzly, you will have a MD Mortar as a stock option, (don't get the pop mine, it will replace the mortar) shoot the mortar in the pilot group and right click to detonate it- BOOM, it kills the pilots. However, depending on the ping, you may have to do this two or three times. The mortar gun shoots fairly quickly as well. APC's are good for using on beginners because they try to shoot the individual pilots instead of either dropping mines or using MDM. Mortars to kill a multiple of them. APC's also can rake havoc on a fort if properly delivered. All in all, don’t underestimate what APC's are capable of and you will be fine.
Also, with most people being on cable these days, the “lag” effect that APC users counted on for the wreckage does not occur. Your kill rate will go thru the roof is thats what you are into.
• STRATEGY SNIPING:
If you can not snipe, then you need to learn. This is strategy game play, not using a resource or not knowing how to use a resource will only hurt you. If you do not want to learn how to snipe at least be very familiar with it. There are (3) three game genre's to BATTLEZONE,
1 Strategy,
2 Snipe, and
3 Death Match.
You should complete all the games on both sides of the Single Player missions. These will make you familiar with the HUD and various units.
You need to know how to do all of them to some extent to be a good strategy player. I will say this, I’m a strategy player and I have played in many DM games and have always been a strong competitor, unlike the vise-versa. DM'ers play miserably at Strategy. Strategy is much different; it’s more intense and drawn out, not just that particular instant or who has the faster machine. If I kill your Tank, you are not going to spawn one next to you when you land back on the ground; you’ll be at your original spawn point. This is when the “Aww s***” effect sets in. The true Recovery time of a lost Tank is not what they are accustomed to. They also tend to dogfight alone, and in Strategy that is a major no-no.
Sniping also is a difficult thing to do. It takes time and effort to learn it but it will also pay off in the end. I don't know how many times I have sniped a Tank that was trying to run me over, or won the game by sniping my opponent on my fall back to the earth. To snipe a Tank hit your "T" key this will give you an idea where the pilot is and where to place your cross hairs and as the scope comes up look at your scope find the gold globe and hit it. Hitting a moving target is tough but you'll get the hang of it. Also, there will be times you will have to lead the Tank and shoot; ping does play a great factor when trying to snipe. Learn to snipe! So not allow yourself to be isolated to just one skill in strategy, this will limit your potential.
• A SET UP SCHEME FOR YOU:
Build two Scavengers and a constructor, call them to follow you, find a scrap yard and build a silo, call Scavengers to Scavenge. Build 2-3 more Scavengers call them to the same scrap area and tell them to Scavenge if they don't automatically start doing so. Build an armoury next, set armoury Upload your drone Tanks with your preferred weapons (two SP- stabbers) build a few more Scavengers, then Build your factory, set the factory, and begin building Tanks, a minimum of three, upload them with SP stabbers and pop mines, as you collect your scrap, while they are up loading call your constructor into your fort and build an ammo supply and hanger, place them beside the Recycler, and have your Tanks protect the Recycler. Continue looking for other scrap fields with your constructor and places to put silos. Remember, as with any item on the board, be it Tanks or the Recycler, or anything else, if you are close to them and call them to follow you they will move much faster. If you find a place to put a silo, and call the constructor to place it there, and its far away; it will take forever and a day to get there. Just have it (constructor) follow you to speed things up. My constructor follows me all over the map.
• GRAY SCRAP:
It is illegal to use in a game, but this is how you get it. Say there are three players in a game, you kill one off, and he leaves before the Scavengers can pick up the scrap from the Tanks and equipment you killed of his. Place a silo on or next to the gray scrap, as close as you can. Call a Scavenger to the gray scrap and snipe the pilot, (you snipe the pilot because you don't want the pilot from the Scavenger to get into your Tank.) Place the Scavenger over the gray scrap and press the "K" key on your keyboard repeatedly and quickly. As long as you are close enough to the silo you will continually pick up scrap, three presses of the "K" key will give you six pieces of scrap. If your scrap count isn't going up, you're too far away from the silo, or the silo is too far from the scrap. The kicker thing here is that gray scrap is and endless supply. As long as you keep hitting the "K" key you will keep receiving scrap until all the silos are full, and yes you can be building while this is going on. So if you are short on Tanks, while you are loading up on scrap, build them, keep a watchful eye though, you are not in your Tank and probably away from the safety of your base your opponent may happen up on you and kill you. Not to mention he will be pretty upset if he catches you taking gray scrap and yes it's considered cheating.
• CONSTRUCTORS SCRAP:
Easy to explain, build a constructor for 8 scrap pieces, kill it, the Scavenger will pick up 12 pieces of scrap, this is an oversight of Activision and they have not nor do they want to correct it. It "is" a game flaw, and its use changes from host to host. Some players consider it acceptable; others don't, so ask the game host before you start killing your constructor.
• OTHER KNOWLEDGE:
Call your Recycler to follow you always, it will move faster, (noticeably faster.) The same holds true for every other piece of equipment, even the constructor will move faster believe it or not. This is most effective at the beginning of the game when you need to move quickly across a lot of ground to a geyser in a scrap field area with either the Recycler constructor. Typically two times at the beginning of the game you will need to your equipment to follow you.
-1st is taking your Recycler to a geyser, the
-2nd is when you build your Constructor, after building it, call it to follow you, DO NOT OUT RUN THE CONSTRUCTOR, IT WILL MOVE FASTER THE CLOSER IT IS TO YOU, IT LOSES SPEED IF YOU ARE OUTRUNNING IT . . . HINT, HINT!
Keep your Tank moving forever more, even when reloading, do not sit still. There is nothing like finding yourself at your spawn point while your opponent is giving your Tank a few seconds to reload and use it against you. Any good Strategy player will snipe you in a blind second. And yes you deserve it for setting still. If you stop at a hanger and are sniped there, they can and will listen to hear if reloading is complete before entering the Tank, and then will continue fighting you. Be aware there are three types of players in this game, aggressive, passive aggressive, and passive.
Continually moving your Recycler has a number of advantages and only one downside. If you move it several times during a game, you will keep your opponent guessing where it could be but if you have a stroke of bad luck while you are moving it and your opponent finds it, he will definitely kill it. I move mine constantly. Especially in an area where I know my opponent has looked for it and left, he knows it’s not there, but then after he leaves . . . it is. The easiest way to move your Recycler is by using your Nav. beacons. Place your Nav. beacon over a geyser at different points on the map as well as in gullies and less-travelled paths of vehicles. You can hide most anything on any given map. Here's another idea to hide Tanks on your maps, place them on top of geysers, this is a good trick to use if you want to keep a backup Tank close to your opponent without him knowing it. Make sure when you place the Tank directly over the geyser. When placing Nav. beacons on geysers make sure you place them in the center of the geyser as well.
• STACKING MINES:
This is also another trait common to medium players. This is where you place 5-6 mines on top of one another and lure your opponent over them, it will kill the Tank instantly and with good pings it will kill the pilot as well. The average player generally accepts mine stacking. The down side to this is if you are caught just after laying the mines, you will have low ammo in your Tank and it will be hard to protect yourself. In addition, if a master player setting there catches you, you will probably be sniped and the Tank destroyed or appropriated. Good strategy players are always looking on the ground for mines anyway, so don’t waste your time.
• RESERVE TANK:
This is an old tactic and still used by many old timers. After making your 1st Tank put it in a safe place and loaded it up with the same Tank setup as yours has. Build the rest of your Tanks, after making the other nine Tanks; load them up one at a time the same way. Once you have your Tanks loaded and ready to go, and you’re planning to raid your opponent, call all 10 Tanks to follow you. While you are in route to his fort, and about 200 to 250 meters out call your #1 Tank to stop at a designated location, this will be your back up Tank if you lose your main Tank in addition it is also a good idea to have your constructor following you and place a hull supply in an area near your backup Tank/assault line. If time is permitting and your opponent is just looking at you, build an ammo supply as well and a silo if possible. Attack slowly at first, looking around for hidden Turrets, towers, miners etc. Never-ever rush in on your first skirmish. When your Tank is killed, you need to fall/fly back in the direction of your reserve Tank and call it to come and pick you up.
• BZ GAME TWEAKING:
BATTLEZONE can be tweaked in any number of ways. Here are a few:
1) In the Render file located in your BATTLEZONE file, you can adjust visibility. Generally this is a trial and error method. I believe the factory settings are 150% of 150% you can raise them much higher, I was using a geforce3 and tested the card with the 200% of 200% settings and the card worked like a charm. Different brands of cards may require different settings; I do not tweak mine unless I'm testing a new card to see how it handles this game. (Warning!!! If you have any maps in your addon that in the TRN file visibility is 500 meters or more, do not exceed 150% visibility. You will lose all multiplayer capability. Kahless' map Gladiator Pit is one such example)
2) You can also adjust the resolution by turning on the high resolution. Do this by removing the semicolon (; ) from the beginning of the line. Click on "save" and exit. 800 x 600 seems to be the best setting for this game. Everything gets really small after that. Turn music off and lower your voice and sound settings. Located in your option’s menu at the bottom left of the screen after you get past the splash screen when you start the game
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• CONNECTIONS:
There are numerous connection types and with that ping rates. This is also something to look at when you are playing your opponent. Watch the pings are it goes up and down, or even spikes. Playing someone that you can't kill is a real pain in the butt, and those games you need to just leave and find another player to play. Typically cable connections are the best to play. Then the T1's to DSL and lastly the phone's 56k. If you want an advantage over your opponent, play on a 56k, typically the worse your connection, the best off you are, i.e., instead of five hits to kill your Tank it may take 20. Cable is bad because if you stub your toe, you'll Receive damage. Lag OPTIONS: auto level off music off.
• TANK LURES:
This is done by setting up towers in an open spot not far from your opponent. You run into your opponent’s area shooting at the Tanks/ drones, after getting their attention and they start following you, you continue back to where you set up the towers, leading them right straight into the tower kill zone. Hopefully you set up a silo and had Scav's follow you there, once the Tanks are dead, the Scavengers will do their job, and you with a few other Tanks will protect the Scavengers from your opponent’s Tank. Make sure you are wounding the Tanks as they follow you; the object is to get them away from their fort and other protected areas where your Scavengers may be destroyed.
• SCAVENGER LURES:
Placing several Gun Towers in a general area that you know your opponents Scavengers are, or will be easily does this.
Build, say 3-5 towers, place one of your Scavengers in the center, kill it, and wait. You must also keep control of your Scavengers. Keep them away from the scrap you just made; they will come for it. Just keep sending them to a navigation beacon, far away. Try to always keep count of the number of Scavengers you kill or snipe.
• PLAYER LURES:
Here's something to try on an opponent, if you know he is in dire need of a tank and is hiding out there somewhere. Move back somewhere where he isn’t in direct view of you and drop all your mines underneath your tank without moving it. Make sure he knows it's you or is placed in his path so he will find it and leave it there. He'll 1st try to snipe it and notices the tank is empty. Since the tank is on the ground at that point he will not see the mines underneath it. He'll run to get into the tank and BOOM! he's dead. Again make sure you drop a full load of mines and not just one or two, you'll need the full effect. Another way to lure your opponent is to carefully select an area you know he is going to pass thru and build away from it about 100 meters, have your Scavengers, tanks or whatever setting around it or protecting it. Jump out of your tank and run towards him and get into once of the crevices facing your equipment and face your equipment. You should be about 180-200 meters in his direction so he will pass by you not noticing you hiding there. Most players will slow down and take a look at around 200 meters and closing. When he slows down, or stops, you unleash that mighty snipers bullet into the back of his head. =) Of course if you get caught trying this, it wont hurt but for a second, lol.
• SNIPING SCAVENGERS:
The main reason you do this, (and this is quite a nasty thing to do) is when you snipe a Scavenger your opponent remains in control of it and in addition, he cannot build another to replace it until it is destroyed. This is a good thing for you, if you snipe all 10 Scavengers, he is not collecting any scrap and wont until "he" kills the Scavengers, so keep count and leave the sniped ones alone. They are empty vessels, and their existence is a feather in your hat. When you end his scrap intake, you have another pawn in your favor. Even some of the most advanced players are sometimes caught off guard with this technique, when they don’t keep an eye on their Scavengers activities. (Point from Kahless: If you can get at least four of his Scavs sniped, even the most patient player will consider you a threat and come out of their base looking for blood. This could be viewed as another 'luring' technique; even though it is primarily an effective scrap-choking measure. Trust me, I've been the fool taking the lure a few times.)
• INTENTIONALLY LAGGING A GAME:
There are several ways you can intentionally lag the game in your favour. However, it is viewed as lame by advanced players. I will only tell you only three of them and only because most people do it by mistake and don't realize it.
The 1st is by building 10 scouts / Razors and keep them together in a pack. When they start shooting at their opponent, they shoot so fast with the mini-guns that the computers/ connections can't keep up with the information being sent and Received. This makes the scouts less likely to Receive damage or as much damage as they should and they become very effective killers, now what do you do if your opponent is lagging the game on you with these? Put your bad butt grizzly in reverse still facing the scouts and shoot in the middle of them and keep shooting, you need to do a little strafing as well while you're backing away. You will kill most of them if not all, and if they do get you call your reserve Tank, not far away to pick you up and then you finish them off.
The 2nd way to lag the game is a choice play of several players such as, "Bambi's Revenge" and a few other lamers are by building a bunch of APC's and sending them to your location. When they deploy their five pilots who start shooting, and as they numbers grow higher to 20 plus pilots you will become so choppy and laggy that there really isn't much you can do, accept to shoot a few rounds off and keep strafing, and hopefully your spawn point is not at that location. Shooting MDM-Mortars into the crowed pilots will eliminate this problem slowly but surely. However it will take several shots because of the lag involved. Keep moving, strafing. You will die quickly if you don't.
The 3rd is to begin the game, shrink the screen down, go to a pre-designated site with some god-awful file you want to download, and begin the download. Return to the game and start playing. Jen-Stratking does this in every game. Combine this with his dial-up, and you have the Recipe for a true warp-king game. I suggest leaving the game. It’s only going to cause stress on your side of the board.
LAME PLAY
For Strategy players some rules are and/or playing tactics are considered lame, meaning if you use these tactics, you are lame and can't play. I am adding these rules for your viewing pleasure.
1) Rushing: meaning attacking your opponent within the 1st 3 minutes after game has started.
2) Rec Diving: Diving into some ones protected Recycler to have their own towers or Turrets kill the Rec. (Also the Rec can be used to shield you while you are sniping units.)
3) Splintering: Using the splinter weapon continuously inside someone base to kill everything in there
4) Spawn killing your opponent (killing your opponent where he spawns into the game after being killed)
5) Mine stacking: meaning u set in one place and drop mines a top of each other. (5 to kill tank, all in tank will kill tank and person w/ good ping)
6) Fighting using 10 razors. ( this seriously warps the game for your opponent)
7) Use in excess of 3-4 APC's on an attack. (Again this seriously warps the game.)
8) Playing against the rules of the host
9) No collecting Gray scrap
10) Using blasts as a main weapon in a Tank,(CCA, CZAR TANK), basically resultS in no actual playing.
11) No hacks or altered files.
12) No clift hanging
13) No ghost sniping
14) No Alt tabbing out of game
15) No running programs or downloads to alter ping in game.
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FURION
He slapped me in 5 mins, but since I knew he's a pro stratter I didn't cry. From that day all I wanted was to beat that blasting bastard and get on the pros list. 
Then my bro met Jon Blund and the rest is history... 
