Combat Tips

To get you ready for the mission walk-throughs, here are some general pointers to help you stay alive longer and maximize your kill count. These tips are especially important if you plan to play Battlezone against human opponents over the Internet or on a LAN.

Tip One: Learn how to use the circle of death. This time-honored tactic has been used successfully in all sorts of first-person shooters, and it will help you pound enemies to dust while you avoid their fire. To circle an opponent, strafe to the left or right as you turn gradually in the other direction. With enough practice you can make a complete circle around an enemy without your targeting sight ever leaving him.

Tip Two: Take advantage of the terrain. Look over the map carefully to find geysers located near scrap fields - this will speed up the building of units considerably. You also should keep on the lookout for spots where several geysers are grouped closely together - this allows you to keep buildings that require geyser power in the same vicinity, making them easier to defend. Finally, take advantage of deep chasms and valleys by guarding them with turrets or, if possible, gun towers.

Tip Three: Master the art of jumping. Getting up some of the hills and mountains in this game can be tough, but once you know what to do you'll be surprised just where you can take your tank. To get up a steep cliff face, find a natural outcropping of rock and head for it at full speed. When you hit it, pull your tank's nose upward to start climbing, and when you start to slow down, point it down as far as it will go to start moving forward as you climb.

Tip Four: Use Nav Beacons to make controlling units easier. If you know you're going to be sending ships to certain locations, drop Nav Beacons in those spots so that you can order them to move out regardless of where you are at the time. If you run out of Nav Beacons (unlikely), have the armory make one for you.

Tip Five: Armories are good. It's amazing, but I've talked to several players who didn't realize they could upgrade their tank's gun and other weapons by building an armory. And after playing the game for dozens and dozens of hours, I'm convinced that upgrading your weapons is one of the most important things you can do: A tank with SP-Stabbers is at least two or three times more powerful than a tank with the regular weapons configuration. Armories also produce ammo and repair more quickly than the recycler, and you can shoot them through the sky to any spot on the map. Trust me - armories are good.

Tip Six: Fire both cannons at once. Before heading into combat, select your cannons and press the L key to lock them so that both fire at the same time. It'll significantly speed up the time it takes to kill an enemy.

Tip Seven: Find the ship that's best for you. Personally, I prefer the versatility of the standard tank: It has mounts for two cannons, a mortar, and a special weapon. But you might go for the power of a rocket tank or the maneuverability of a light tank, so try out each vehicle and see which one is best. The only ships I definitely suggest you avoid are the bomber and the Fury: Both are powerful, but also slow and unwieldy.

Tip Eight: Don't bother with the Day Wrecker. It sounds wonderful, but every time I dropped the Day Wrecker on a target, it had little or no effect - and what's worse is it costs 20 units of scrap to construct.

Tip Nine: Avoid leaving howitzers sitting at your base. Howitzers will automatically fire on any enemy within range, and if enemy units come into your base, they'll start bombarding them - and doing damage to any nearby friendly units.

Tip Ten: Save your game after key battles. No, I don't mean battles as in missions. Battlezone lets you save your game in the middle of a mission, so after you've achieved a certain goal it's a good idea to save it. That way, if you wind up losing, you'll be able to avoid having to play all the way to that point all over again.