Battlefield: Bad Company Howitzer Artillery Offensive Strategies

The Howitzer is one of my favorite weapons in Battlefield: Bad Company. It is devastating, long range, and can get you a very decent amount of kills while you help your team advance (or defend). Four maps in the game have Howitzers: Oasis, Harvest Day, Valley Run, and End of the Line. While the maps vary in size and the guns' range is different in each, there are some basic strategies that can be employed on all of them.

Offensive Strategies:

The Howitzer is in the starting base of the attacking team on each map. There is usually a mad scramble for the gun after the map loads, so it's important to know where it is and head there immediately if you want any chance of getting on it. If someone else gets there before you DO NOT teamkill them. There is nothing worse than some jerk knifing a teammate just because the teammate got to the best toy before them and their mommy never taught them to share. Grab a tank, or a helicopter, or a boat, or any of the huge number of vehicles in the game and go help out your team.

Teamkilling only leads to revenge teamkilling, which just means that the rest of your team gets no artillery support and usually leads to the Howitzer getting destroyed.

Assuming you've gotten there first, and nobody from your team has knifed you, there is quite a bit you can do to further your team's offensive (not to mention rack up a decent number of kills for yourself).

It's very important to make sure you're not firing too close to your teammates. It's easy to mistake a friendly tank for an enemy in the black and white satellite view. Always check your mini map before you fire. Friendlies will always show up blue. Enemies will either show up orange or not at all.

If you're playing on Oasis or End of the Line, it's usually a good idea to take out the defending team's anti-aircraft gun first. Helicopter support can make or break an offensive and eliminating the AA gun keeps your team's helicopter flying that much longer.

Target the defender's empty tanks. Aim slightly ahead of the tank, wait for someone to run in, and then pull the trigger. If you time it right, you'll get 10 points for the kill and another ten for destroying the tank. You're also helping out your team by keeping the defenders' tanks out of commission.

Between shots, scan the approach to the base for snipers and keep an eye on enemy tanks. You obviously can't shoot while the gun is reloading, but you can plan your next shot and if you center your satellite crosshairs on an enemy tank or foot soldier long enough, they will show up on your teammates' radar. It's much easier for them to kill a tank when they know it is coming.

To hit tanks on the move, you need to anticipate their path. Many drivers will stick to the roads, making this easy. Aim 3-4 tank-lengths ahead and pull the trigger. It will take a few tries to get the timing down but once you do you should be able to nail them on the first try.

A less-obvious way you can help out your team is by dropping shells on the building housing the gold crates. You may not damage the crate or kill anyone, but you will tear down walls and give your team a much easier run at the objective.

Shell well-known sniper hiding spots as well. The house across the bridge from the defenders' first base on Oasis is a good example of what I mean. You may not be able to see them, but often you'll get a kill or two just by firing off a random shot like this. At the very least you'll destroy a wall or two, making hiding there that much more difficult.

Keep an eye out for snipers on ridgelines and hiding in foliage as well. You have a unique bird's eye view of the battlefield. A single well-hidden sniper can devastate attackers with his laser-guided missiles and high powered rifle. It's never a waste of a shot to take one out, plus its fun to watch.

Between shots, it's a good idea to scan the area between the enemy base and yourself. Often, someone on the team will get fed up with you raining death down upon them repeatedly and undertake a suicide mission to your base just to take you out. Destroying a tank that is bearing down on your position is very satisfying.

The Howitzer is a great way to deal with entrenched defenders near an objective. They're usually stationary, and often in groups. One well-placed shot can get you 30 points or more.

Hopefully you find some useful information here. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you on the battlefield.