I was a terrible at Battlefield 4. Here's how I improved.

I was always the person at the bottom of the leader boards. Scores of 2 kills, 9 deaths would be a good night for me. 1 kill and 11 deaths was far more common. It was depressing. I wanted to play games like the best of them, but how could I? The game wasn't even fun after having score of 1/11. But I still wanted to be good at Battlefield 4.

I would spawn and immediately get shot. Snipers would kill me from long ranges. I'd get blown up in tanks with C4s. Shotguns, Rifles, Machine Guns. It seems as if the enemy was somehow always behind me. It didn't matter if I had silencers on. Nothing I did worked. This went on for a year of me playing.

After becoming upset, I finally decided I'd try a game mode other than Large Conquest. I ended up playing Rush. I figured at minimum, I wouldn't have people behind me.

Surprisingly, playing Rush worked, but not for the reason I thought it did.

In playing Rush, a number of things happened. First, I played through the same parts of the maps over and over. I learned all of the nooks and crannies. I learned what worked, and what didn't work. I learned the best areas in each section of the map.

For some reason, I stopped aiming so much, and started moving around more. I found that often, it is disadvantageous to aim the gun. While aiming, you walk slower. This makes you less maneuverable. It makes you an easier target. And more often than not, you don't aim as well as you think you do. It turns out, the decreased accuracy of the gun makes accounts for you lack of ability to aim.

My score started improving. I started to have fun. But I still wasn't where I wanted to be.

Then, on some weird lucky night, I managed to get in a tank. I managed to get a score of 15 kills 0 deaths. I was baffled. How could I do this?

A score of 15/0 was amazing. I had never been good at videogames.

That night built my confidence. I learned that I was as good as everybody else. It just turns out that I was using the wrong tools. This is when I really started picking up how to play the game.

I realized soon that that 'snap' I was hearing was actually snipers shooting at me. I realized that mean my position was compromised, and it was time to move somewhere else.

I also, through both fighting others, as well as working with team-mates, learned tank-warfare.

I will mow you down in a tank. Period.

I learned from others how to engage armored vehicles. I learned that proper tank warfare requires driving the tank with an AP Shell, as well as a Staff Shell. It also requires a gunner with incendiary grenades, who has a repair tool and the LAW rocket launcher.

Why is this the setup?

As it turns out, in 1 vs 1 tank warfare on a RUSH game, the tank is the most valuable asset to your team. Whoever wins the tank battle controls the map until the team's tank respawns. This is why it is imperative to take out the enemy tank immediately.

The enemy tank must be taken out immediately. How is this done?

If you are in a tank, you need to use both the staff shell and AP shells. Unfortunately, this combination leaves you very vulnerable to enemy infantry, who often have rockets or C4. To counter the infantry, you need to have the Coax machine gun. But this makes you vulnerable to tanks with both AP and Staff shells who also have a machine gunner.

In proper tank warefare, (meaning, you have a machine gunner who knows what he is doing), the tank will be outfitted with the Staff and AP for taking out the enemy tank. In addition, the machine gunner will jump out of the tank and fire a LAW rocket at the enemy tank for an additional 21 damage.

This makes the difference between having 75 health and having 50 health.

The machine gunner will take out enemy infantry using grenades and the machine gun. When the tank is low on armor, you will seek cover and either you, or he, will repair the tank.

However, you often don't have a gunner.

This means its up to you to take out the infantry. That means that valuable staff shell extra shot will need to be sidelined. You'll need to be very careful, and be conscientious of the position of your armor. Don't let the enemy get behind you. You need to also be extra careful about where you drive. Make sure you have FLIR enabled. Watch the ground for mines.

In some circumstances, it can even be beneficial to quickly switch to the machine gunner, lob a grenade, and then switch back to the tank. This is an advanced technique that can be very difficult to pull off. But if its one on one against the tank, and the enemy is in a nasty position, it definitely works.

This technique works for LAVs as well

LAVs are operated in the same manner. Ideally you should avoid tanks, as LAVs are easily disabled. Once disabled, your dead. But the STAFF shell comes in handy. And there are times when I have wasted tanks in LAVs (if you carefully approach from behind and use buildings for cover). Still, I would recommend picking a different fight in an LAV.

Don't be stupid. Don't shoot helicopters

Helicopters will often leave you alone. That is, until your idiot machine gunner gets bored and starts shooting at it. Don't let this happen. Be aware that bad players will do this. If you shoot at a helicopter, I pretty much know you're a terrible player.

That is, unless you're that crazy tank guy who has sniped me in a helicopter. But that was one hell of a shot across the map. Kudos to you, whoever you are.

Stop going into enclosed areas

Stay away from places where snipers can stick you with C4. Watch the sides. Make sure you have actually cleared an area. Ideally, stick together in tank-groups. Let someone else go ahead first, and cover him.

Often people in tanks are really stupid, and don't have any strategy. So by reading this post, you'll have a leg up.

Sure... Some people call me a newb.

Some people call me a newb for being in a tank. I think it is all the opposite. I am actually to the point where I will make sure I am in a tank because I can't trust my other teammates to drive it. The tank is a tool, and you need to make sure it is used correctly. Otherwise your team will get squashed. Its really frustrating to see a person waste the teams tank on some frivolous exploit.

But I will willingfully share

I recognize that two people in the same tank is better than two people in separate tanks -- If both people know how to operate as a unit. I actually enjoy riding as the machine gunner in a tank because I can waste so many people. In some cases, I will get more kills than the tanks. Often, this is an unskilled player. But I don't mind so much as he doesn't commit suicide or do stupid things. I enjoy seeing how long I can keep us alive in the hands of an unskilled player. In addition, I hope that he learns from me.

Some battles can't be won.

I have observed this twice. Keep in mind, that Battlefield has 64 players in a match. Often those players are uncoordinated and not communicating. When you run into a group of people who are playing together an cooperating, this is a holy-hell. I've been on both sides of this.

I've fought against boats that strategically could not be killed. I mean this. There was no way to kill them (other than teamwork). But since teamwork was not an option, the boat could not be killed.

I've encountered three boats that could not be killed. This was 3 boats, with 6 machine gunners. They could shoot down planes easily. They were grouped together and would make runs around the islands. One guy had a TV guided missile to shoot down airplanes when they got too close.

Yet I've been on the other side of this.

I ran in an LAV as a machine gunner. The main driver got a score of something crazy like 94/4. Let me be frank. It was boring being the machine gunner. He drove so fast, and killed guys so fast, there was nothing left for me to pick up.Still, I did my duty by marking enemies in case he didn't see them.

Let me explain how this guy worked. He was playing with a group of 4 players. 1 guy was in an Tank with a machine gunner. This insane player who got the crazy score was in the LAV. The last guy was a sniper with a drone for watching enemies.

The sniper would visit each of the conquest goals and scope out where the enemies were. He would tell the team over team chat where the enemies were prior to entering the zone. So the tank and LAV would roll in together, wipe out everybody, and then roll into the next area. This was an unstoppable combination. I watch this unfold, as they allowed me to join their team party. This was probably the only time I was strictly an 'observer' in the machine gunners seat. He wiped out everything. Total devastation.

When this happens, just leave.

I'm sorry. You can't stop this on your own. There is nothing you can do. Accept defeat, and move on to another server. The odds are stacked against you, and unless you have 3 other friends who can join and cooperatively work together, you can't stop them.

As I have mentioned before with proper tank warfare -- A single solder with a LAW can do nothing to stop this. They can't do enough damage. The tank will hide away and repair. You will eventually run out of rockets, and you will eventually die. Unless there are multiple rockets flying at the tank, which, often there are not, you can not stop this combination. Not even in a tank of your own (unless you are also using the same strategy - but then you'll just reach a stalemate).

Don't trust other players.

Do not, under any circumstance, get in a Huey, except at the very beginning of a match. Jump out immediately. That is the purpose of the Huey - for the beginning of the match. Do not trust players will get on the chain guns. Even if they do, you will be shot down by someone. Get in, get out.

The only thing I have ever seen done smart with a huey, was to hover very high over an objective. But this only works if there isn't an attack helicopter to shoot you down. Otherwise, don't use those. It will just add a point to your deaths.

And you thought this was just about tanks?

It turns out, I can play as infantry as well. But the tanks built my confidence, as well as my situational awareness. It's often not worth playing as an infantry if there are armored vehicles available.

One of the most difficult things in playing Battlefield is being smart. You will see tactically that you need to capture Objective F. But you can't do it on your own. And everyone is paying attention to Objective C.

In this case, as infantry, go to Objective C. Unless you are in a tank, Objective F is not being sought for by infantry. You will have no backup, and the enemy will respawn behind you somewhere as you are capturing. So these outer objectives are vehicle only objectives. Don't get out of the armor. Let someone else spawn near you and take it.

Know your tool, and where to use it.

I have found special spots where I have mowed down people with a silenced M249 on a bipod. These are special places where everybody runs for the objective and thinks they can make it to cover before you kill them. They can't. The few smart people who found my position had a difficult enough time getting to it such that they only killed me 3-4 times. It was always the same player as well. This is one of those 'thinking' players who will create a strategy against you.

I am a close-range player. I need to make sure I plan my routes this way. I've always played with shotguns in games, so I guess this is fitting that I can't play as a sniper-- in any game. I've just become accustomed to shotgun strategy.

As it turns out, the FAMAS is a good alternative to the shotgun. It is a rifle, but with a high rate of fire. Enough to make it so you will kill them before they kill you. I may like this more than the traditional shotgun I use.

Turn off that laser!

I realized I was often giving away my position by having my laser on. I will selectively turn it on an off depending on where I am. But this is not just for concealment. This is also for when you are rounding around corners. That little dot on the wall can give you away prior to walking around a corner. So turn it off.

Don't be the first guy through the door

Often, there are 4 guys on the other side of that door, and no one is going to follow you. Instead, you need to painstakeningly kill them off one by one and hope that eventually a push is made. Otherwise, try another enterance.

If you can, use robots.

Oh man! I love this technique. I did this once, but I'd love to try it again.

I realized that by being an engineer and sitting on top of an ammo box, you get more robots. If you are having trouble making it through a door (as is often the case in operation locker) nag someone to drop an ammo box. Go prone, and send robot, after robot, after robot.

The enemies won't be expecting that many robots because people forget that you can get your grenades and items back on an ammo box. So they will think that you are 3 different players sending robots on, when this is not the case. If you teamates were smart, they would follow the robot in, but this is never the case. Enemies get wildly distracted by robots and focus on nothing else. I turns a low-scoring game of mine into a 2:1 ratio because I was able to send in 9 robots and take out an enormous number of guys. We never were able to breach. but we also didn't lose any more ground.

Know your enemy and their techniques.

This is very important. And it is also very rewarding. I recall playing against someone who would put radio beacons behind enemy lines. He would spawn in on a parachute, somehow get behind us, and shotgun 3-4 people from behind before he got killed. He'd end up with scores of 64/30. This is one of those players that there is nothing you can do to stop them. But you can... mitigate... the issue.

This was one of the most rewarding things I have done. I knew his strategy. I knew he was probably not looking where he was going.

So I politely mowed him down with my machine gun.

He, naturally, was grudgeful. I still had my bipod on, and was waiting for him to show up somewhere. I wanted to learn how he was getting behind us. Where was the leak?

Suddenly... Boom. The claymore I had carefully set up behind myself exploded. I killed him twice in a row. That really pissed him off.

Naturally, that only worked once. But it was sweet when it did.

Do not engage tanks

You in all likely hood won't kill them. They take anywhere from 3-5 rockets, and unless you have someone on your team, it isn't worth it. That goes for helicopters too. You probably can't kill a helicopter unless someone else has a rocket launcher too. In these cases, just bite the bullet, accept that your team sucks, and try a different strategy. As I said, you can't win them all, especially against players who work together.

Sometimes you'll get lucky with mines. But if you are fighting against me, you've gotta hope I back up in to them. They won't get me if you've placed them in front of me.

Situational Awareness!

Be aware of your situation. Pay close attention to the battlefield lines. Pay close attention to what is being guarded. Make sure to be aware of ingress point from the enemy. In operation locker, entrance from the outside is notorious. Usually 1-2 snipers can hold the ground. But once they die, you can easily lose an object. Make sure to watch for this.

Use concealment

Its surprising... but concealment actually works if you are willing to move around after you've killed someone. I was able to make some very important game-winning kills by eliminating some guys from the brush. This was just enough time to let our squad respawn to get backup.

Finally... Good Luck

I hope you improve your skills. Even more, I hope I've changed you drive tanks. That way, I can hop in as a gunner for you, and we can tear it up.

Good luck, and I hope you enjoyed reading the article!