Maps

Obviously enough, strategies for specific maps are going to evolve over time, as people figure out every nook and cranny of a location and start to use them with maximum effectiveness. These strategies here aren't intended to be the be-all-and-end-all of BF2 strategies, then, but should help you get started with the strange and wondrous locations in Battlefield 2.

Dalian Plant

The fight for the Dalian nuclear plant will be a fairly intimate one, with the 16 and 32 player maps rotating around a mere four controllable points, and the 64 player version expanding out to only six contestable flags, as opposed to, say, the ten contestable flags of the 64-player Dragon Valley. The relative concentration of flags is going to result in some pretty intense ground combat here, especially in the smallest version; the 32 and 64 player versions will each expand a bit to include air assets for each side of the battle.

However, we usually find this map to be a contest between armored vehicles and anti-armor infantry forces, whether they take the form of anti-tank kits or of infantry manning stationary TOW missiles. All of the flags are on flat ground that can be easily reached by vehicles, although some, like the southern Support Building flag, are perfect for anti-vehicle mine or defensive C4 placements due to their narrow approaches. Many of them will also either be enclosed or be near sturdy buildings, allowing defenders to take cover from aerial strikes if they happen to be camping the flag. There's also plenty of open sightlines between the various flags, allowing vehicle drivers to spot and converge on enemy infantry if they attempt to move out in the open.

Your focus here is going to depend on your style of play and the size of the map. In the 16-player version, the only air support available is an attack chopper which will spawn at the easternmost Reactors flag, which is initially neutral. Obtaining it will definitely give your team an edge, if you can stay alive in it; the tightness of the map's confines will make you a juicy target for ground-based anti-aircraft. On this smaller map, you'll also have to be careful of enemy soldiers wrapping around the sides of the map and attempting to strike at your commander equipment. Since all of the flags can be captured, though, including the two starting flags, you may want to be more vigilant when guarding against enemies coming in frontally. The U.S. base is perhaps a bit harder to defend than the Chinese base, thanks to its multi-story construction site layout; taking over the Chinese base will usually require someone to sit out in the open until it shifts to neutral.

The map is opened up a bit in the 32 and 64 player versions, with the central four-flag structure expanded a bit and with both sides gaining the use of an airstrip. Neither side will start the round with control of any of the central flags, so you'll have to rush from your rear base in order to capture them quickly. The Chinese will want to hop into a FAV to get going, while the U.S. forces will be forced to either take a boat or load up one of the transport choppers to make landfall.

One thing you'll definitely have to be careful of here as an infantryman is snipers; there are a few spots for them around the map, such as the crane system near the eastern beach and the large smokestack near the power plant. There are also less-likely hiding spots, such as the tufts of grass near the reactors or atop some of the buildings away from the flag points, so be mindful of your path and try not to move in straight lines.

Daqing Oilfields

These intimate maps are going to be the site of plenty of cutthroat infantry combat, especially on the smallest, 16-player map. The central flag point in all of these maps, the Oil Cisterns, is only capturable by infantry, in fact, due to the flag's location in the middle of an enclosed building. It is possible to enter the flag radius by driving a vehicle up to the side of the wall, but you'll usually just wind up getting blown away by an anti-tank soldier on top of the building. There are also anti-air and machinegun positions on top of the building, so before you attempt to overtake it, you'll likely want to pelt it with artillery or a few airplane bombs.

As the map expands, the gameplay becomes a bit more open, but still retains the fairly fast-paced aspect of the smaller map. It's not going to be quite as quick as on a map like Gulf of Oman or Strike at Karkand, due to the fact that most of the flags are separated by hills or buildings, making it difficult to see enemies or defenders as you approach a point, and the maps are large enough to make it difficult to travel from point to point on foot. This leads to a lot of smaller skirmishes in most cases, rather than one huge battle, although the central Oil Cisterns flag can still be a focal point of combat. Since vehicles will typically be sticking to the roads engineers can sometimes rack up some cheap kills by laying anti-vehicle mines out in the no-man's land between bases. Just be ready for some friendly kills due to players not looking straight ahead if you do so, though.

Because of the spread-out nature of the map, it can be tempting to just run around in vehicles and shoot at whatever comes into sight. If you're of a defensive bent, though, you may just want to hang back and defend a point that your team has already captured. Anti-tank or special forces classes are great for base defense, with their rocket launchers and C4 being quite capable of taking down numerous enemies at once.