Overview:
The Air Strike Role in Frontlines Fuel of War is an extremely versatile, yet vastly powerful role when used correctly. Equally effective on the move or from an overlooking position on the battlefield. Don't think that this is an easy way to get first on the leaderboard though. One must THINK before dropping an air strike because this will maximize its effectiveness which i will cover later. The following information is derived from my play testing and please correct or add anything I was wrong about or overlooked.
The Basics:
- To use your air strike, you can hit the appropriate number on the keyboard or simply hold 'q' and use the mouse to quickly select it. 5 selects your tier one ability, while 6 and 7 your tier two and three abilities respectively.
- Next, you'll see a pair of binocs in your hand. This is your tool of mass destruction which will make players quickly hate you (or become EMP, or both
). To call a strike (even though the different levels of strikes are different, you call them the same way), left click while your binocs are out, and you'll look through them and see a marker where the strike will go. Position the marker over your target (you can also zoom in with right click if you wish) and hit left click to let the reign of terror begin.
- You will hear a plane overhead and then the strike will happen (roughly 7-8 seconds from clicking the spot, with the only exception being the Western Coalition's Gunship which ill explain in a bit).
Precision Strike:
Placing the target:
Impact!
Pretty simple, no? Well, technically speaking, it is. However, to really start owning some fools, it really pays to be patient sometimes as well as knowledge of your target and the air strike you choose. This can throw some people off so let me show you what you have to work with and the best, most effective ways to use them based on the situation.
The Red Star Alliance and the Western Coalition have the same strikes for the fist 2 levels. They are -
Red Star Alliance Strikes:
Western Coalition Strikes:
Level 1 (both factions) - Precision Strike:
This powerful blast is enough to take out a tank (or two if you get lucky) but with the blast radius being quite small, don't expect any more. Best used for a non moving target preferably a vehicle (you can shoot a lone soldier with your weapon). Now, most of the time a person or vehicle isn't going to stand still and let you air strike them. This is where the thinking and patience part come in. Don't try to use it on the first person or vehicle you see. Here are some examples of good times to use a precision strike.
- A big crowd of the enemy is bunched together (like when they're capping a point).
- A tank that's taking pot shots at a CP (since he's probably not moving very much).
- A CP which requires the person to stand in on spot for about 10 seconds while they upload or download something off a computer (only a very few CPs require this but these are the best times for a precision strike).
So, overall, be a little frugal with the PS (precision strike) but dont be over-frugal; as being the lowest strike, it does recharge fairly quickly and you can use it many times in a match.
Level 2 (both factions) - Cluster Bomb:
Ah the cluster bomb. Learn it, Live it, Love it. A powerful bomb that burst into many little bombs and saturates a significant area (about the size of a cap zone on a CP) with powerful blasts. Enough to kill an entire squad or a few tanks/APC's. It recharges pretty slow so only use it when you're sure to get a lot of kills. The same examples of good times to use it are the same for the PS, with a few additions:
- When two tanks or APCs are sitting on a point capping it.
- When one or more squads overrun your position.
This is a very powerful strike and most likely going to be your bread & butter for taking out large groups at a time (don't be surprised to see 6 or more kill messages pop up if placed correctly).
Now the top-tier level 3 strikes are different for each faction. Ill start with the Western Coalition's (WC).
Level 3 (WC) - Gryphon Gunship:
This is one bad boy. If you want to totally ruin your enemy's day, this is for you. This is the only strike which works differently than the other strikes however, so let me explain how it works first. You still point and click with the binocs, but instead of waiting until your little gift of chaos falls from the skies, you're in control! It's actually pretty simply to control too. Your view never leaves your binocs. You basically put your marker over any target (infantry or vehicle, it'll rip up both) and left click to fire. You can keep clickin' and killin' for as long as the strike lasts (about 30 seconds).
Now, when used correctly, you can stop even the largest assault from coming into your CP. However, when using this, you must remember one very important thing - the Gunship needs a visual line of sight to the target or else your marker will show up red meaning it can't fire. Therefore, using on wide open maps (such as Oilfield) is preferred due to the lack of obstacles to get in the way. Don't count on it that much on a city map (like Streets) since the tall buildings will make it very hard to find a clear firing lane for your Gunship.
So a few things to keep in mind when using the Gunship:
- Don't count on it in urban maps with lots of tall buildings.
- Best time to use it would be a complete overrun of your position by multiple squads/vehicles.
- Another good time to use it would be to cover your squad while they take a heavily defended CP.
With a little knowledge of the best times to use it, it can go a long way helping your squad and team. However, make it count as it has the longest recharge time out of all the strike and at most, can be used 2 times per round (depending on length of round).
Level 3 RSA - Fuel Air bomb:
Mother. You don't want to be anywhere near when one of these babies goes off. Think of the Fuel Air bomb as an über cluster bomb with the recharge time of the Gunship. It'll basically wipe out anything and everything within a very large radius of your marker. If you want to make a statement, well, this is about the best you can do. Not much else to say. Best used against a large convoy, heavily defended CPs or when a large number of troops are capturing the point you're defending. It'll clear em out in a hurry
Air Strike Usage:
Now that you know your strikes and how to best use them, I'll show you how the Air Strike Role can fit basically any play-style.
Do you enjoy looking over a battlefield from a high sniper position? Maybe you love to run and gun with your squadmates? Or even perhaps Squad Leading? Or something in between? That's the beauty of the Air Strike role. No matter what type of player you are, you can be effective with it. Let me give you a few pros and cons about each play-style with the Air Strike role:
The Sniper:
Air Strikes seem to be a perfect marriage for this type of player. Looking from high atop a building or tower you can see much of the battlefield. And by being high up, you can more accurately place your strikes.
Pros:- Great vantage point to accurately place strikes.
- Able to use rifle to pick off a few infantry and save strikes for vehicles and larger forces.
- Great for defense of a CP.
Cons:- If the squad has to move (as to attack) it'll be a pain to get down from where you are.
Can be useful for offense if you can find an overlook before you squad assault, but make sure you're always communicating with them and also MAKE SURE YOU WARN THEM BEFORE YOU USE A STRIKE!
Run & Gunner:
You really have to think on your feet here. Come around a corner and see 2 tanks ready to make your acquaintance? Back off, find a flank, get those binocs out BEFORE you come around the corner, quickly place the strike (hopefully without them noticing) and watch the fireworks. Did your CP just get overrun and you're the last one left? Lay a quick strike down and get out of sight and don't fire your weapon yet (so they don't spread out or move too much), wait till you hear BOOM, and clean up the rest. Instant hero.
Pros:- Able to stay with the squad and go where the SL says instantly.
- Able to support the squad against armor if no AT is present.
Cons:- Sometimes it's hard to quickly line up a perfect shot while trying to stay out of sight.
- Unless you're really good, you'll find yourself more often than not dying before you were able to use a strike when you really needed it.
Great to get used to this play-style as it helps out your squad the most imo.
The Squad Leader:
As a mobile spawn point, you don't want to die. you need to keep the push going so you need to stay out of the fight for the most part. Luckily air strike fits this perfectly. Are your squad members getting pounded? They say there are just too many of them? Well lay down the thunder when they aren't looking and let your squad clean up the rest.
Pros:- By being away from the fighting, you usually have a good view of the battlefield.
- Your SMs can tell you where exactly the threats are to help you more accurately place your strikes.
Cons:- Sometimes its hard placing the strike correctly since you don't want to give away your position.
- Sometimes it takes many deaths by your squad members before you know where to place your strike.
So, as you can see, this can be an excellent role for the SL as long as he can stay hidden and stay alive to let his squad members continue spawning on him.
No matter what your play style, Air Strikes can be a powerful tool on the battlefield. Just keep practicing, wait for your opportunities, learn from your misses, and above all - have fun, cuz dammit, bringing down the pain from the skies is just so damn cool.
Air Strike Counters:
Now, don't think you'll have free reign to bomb everything you want all the time. There's a little thing called the EMP beacon. This will be the bane of your existence (it's necessary for game balance though). What it does is protect the enemy within a certain radius on the beacon. When you put you marker up to lay a strike, you'll see a circle with a line through it indicating you cant place you're strike there. Someone on your team MUST destroy the beacon before you can lay strikes in that area. So basically if there are 2 squads with a beacon up guarding a point, good luck cuz that's gonna be one tough nut to crack. The only thing you can do is let your squad mates know and hope someone can get close enough to destroy it. If they let you know they did, well fire away my man!
Now if the enemy isn't smart enough to have anyone playing EMP, well show them the err of their ways!
I hope this little guide helps you further understand one of the most fun roles Frontlines has to offer. Now get in there and start bombing!
Role Guide : Air Strikes
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