APB Tactics, Techniques, & Procedures

[SpacePirateAural 10]

Steam Guide , Dexem's Guide [Beginner to Advanced]
 

APB Tactics, Techniques, & Procedures

By: Aural

*Seeing as theres new hope for APB, I'm reposting this guide and will be updating it in the future*

Introduction

 

Hello, and welcome to the Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures guide for APB.  My name is Aural: the leader of the clan “RockNRollas” from Joker NA East.

 

The guide will provide insight for players of all skills, ranging from newer players with a general idea of how the game’s mechanics work to the experts of the game who are simply killing machines and nothing but winners.  The idea is to improve upon everybody’s established skills in APB, and in doing so will hopefully better you guys as players in the game.

 

My intentions for creating this guide, with the help of friends/ players, revolve around my curiosity for how some of the top-dog players in APB got to be at the skill level that they are at now.  This motivated me to search for tips and tactics anything that will provide me with insight on how the best players play; my search came up empty.  I only found basic strategies that players should already know coming into a game like APB.  Most of these strategies lacked heavily in detail, and the better players don’t provide the community with the knowledge at bettering other players.  Of those good players that do share their information, some helped write this guide, but still only a fraction of the more skilled players help at all.  So how do I solve this?  I decided to make a guide:  a guide on how I play with the contribution of others and how they play something that will serve as a foundation for the community’s bettering-of-themselves and additionally bring discussion on how we can improve as players.  With everything said so far, I invite everyone to provide feedback on the entirety of the guide:  this can cover whether something needs to be removed, added, more detail, or less detail.  I especially encourage the “alpha players” who always find themselves on killstreaks and win streaks to provide feedback as well (I don’t expect you to spill every one of your secrets, but to hear our knowledge plus yours would be appreciated.)  To become a better player and share this knowledge to improve others’ skills:  that is the goal here.

 

Inspiration

 

A HUGE inspiration of this guide is the ArmA 3 Tactical Guide.  I decided to take ideas from the ArmA guide and put them here because I feel that many of the ideas apply to both ArmA and APB.  Credits for the ArmA 3 TTP guide goes to Dslyexci of the ArmA community, Shack Tactical.  To look at the ArmA 3 guide, click me!

 

Computer and Hardware

 

 

 

First thing we need to look at is your equipment. You’re only going to be as good as your PC allows you to be. Obviously running APB on a older, outdated PC is going to hold you back.

 

APB System Requirements

These are the system requirement taken straight from the retail box

 

OS: Win XP-Win 7, 64-bit recommended

CPU: Intel Core2Duo E8400 3.0ghz or better

Memory: 4GB

Hard Drive: 12GB HDD

Video Card: Nvidia 8800w 256MB PX 3.0

Direct X: DirectX9.0c

 

Make sure you meet or exceed the requirements. Not meeting these requirements will severely hold you back. Not much else needs to be said about this.

 

Basic Player Skills

 

 

 

 

Before we move on to the advanced parts of the guide, we need to cover the fundamentals. Without basic concepts, the rest of the guide doesn’t mean much at all.

Movement

 

Don’t bunch up! If you see a teammate at a corner, don’t stand right next to them. If they go out of cover and need to get back in, you will be in their way and will get them killed. Instead, you should spread out. Look around and see if there’s available cover away from other players. Not only will this prevent multi-kills from the enemy, but also you will be able to back each other up. If using the same cover or corner is absolutely necessary, refer to the High/Low corner stack under the Combat Tips/ Tactics section.

 

Sprinting

 

Sprinting is more of a mean for transportation of yourself than it is anything related to be tactical (cover to cover situations).  A good majority of your time will be spent sprinting, as it is the fastest form of on-foot movement.  Sprinting is best for fast movement, but in APB, it’s also very useful for avoiding fire and returning fire with a handful of certain weapons (not all weapons can be shot while sprinting).  However, sprinting while firing some weapons will come at the price of accuracy loss and basically it comes down to either knowing where you’re aiming/ shooting (which is where jogging might become handy), or how well you can dodge enemy fire (sprinting).

 

Aiming

 

Aiming is only a personal task; no advice or tips can improve your aim better than practice can. However, keep the following in mind when aiming:

 

• Always try to keep your crosshair at center mass. Doing this will give you a better visual target to shoot at.

• Keep your crosshair edge of every corner you look at so you do not have to react and move your crosshair if an enemy happens to be there.

• Don’t be afraid to switch shoulder views(Default key: ‘V’) to get your aim down. Switching views can give you a better view around corners and allow you to readjust your aim mid firefight.

 

Your mouse sensitivity

 

You need to be able to track your target smoothly. You should not have to keep moving your mouse back on target while you’re following him; you usually see this with people on high mouse sensitivity. You should take the time to play around and find the perfect sensitivity for you. Also, just for example, my mouse dpi is at 800. In game, I’ve had to reduce my sensitivity to 11 to get that smooth, not-too-slow aim.

*Note: mouse smoothing can mess up your aim. It's recommended to turn this feature off in game.*

 

Cover

 

Cover blocks bullets, and bullets hurt you. Don’t be that player that just runs out into the open only to be shot at by multiple enemies. Use cover! Cover isn’t only for when you're in combat. It’s useful to stay hidden, ambush players, or to approach an objective without being seen. Doing this will keep you alive longer. Various objects can be used as cover, but arguably most important are vehicles.  If you use a vehicle as cover, be aware that you can be shot from under the vehicle and that vehicles do explode. Vehicles that are deployed by players outside of the mission are not valid cover; you will get shot through these vehicles.

 

Hitbox

 

In APB, there is only one hitbox. There are no headshots, legshots, etc. You will always be better off aiming center mass instead of going for headshots. The player’s height also does not change the hitbox.  Keep that in mind:  just because you’re in cover doesn't mean you’re safe from fire because your character is short and is below the cover’s height.

 

Switching weapons to fit the area

 

You should always make sure that you adapt to the situation you are in, which is inclusive of switching weapons according to the area you’re in. A sniper rifle isn’t going to be as effective in a place like Asylum compared to an SMG or shotgun. Always analyze your mission area, and switch to the best weapon as soon as possible.

 

Mission Types

 

 

 

It’s not a “run-and-gun” game, there’s more to it than that.  There is no such thing as a solo artist in APB; teamwork is an asset, and to win missions of various objectives, your team will have to use the best available strategies that fit what your team is trying to accomplish: offense or defense. For a list of APB’s missions and the stages in them check out the APB Wiki page.  

 

The Common Stages

 

Attacking

 

The less favorable of the two, your team is forced to break through the enemy’s wall of defense to get to an objective.  The best way to start while attacking an objective is either to find the enemy or find the entrance, and that all depends on which comes first; sometimes enemies will anticipate you entering the area before you can even enter the area.  The more your team can avoid enemy detection, the easier breaking their defense will be by a long shot.  As expected, sometimes you just can’t not be seen, and so your team undergoes fire. The radar is a vital tool that indicates where and how close an enemy is.  In a nutshell, attacking is a combination of utilizing team-based strategies and effectively using whatever weapons/equipment your team has at its disposal.

 

Defending

 

Everyone’s favorite mission type, your team is assigned to a location where you get to relax, wait for enemies, and defend your castle.  Entrance points are going to determine whether or not the attacking team can breach your castle, so make sure to cover entrances. Aside from entrances, keeping the enemy off of the objective is the only thing that counts.  The only differentiation between objectives, aside from where they are, is how long they take to complete. Some objectives may take a lot longer than others; some objectives can take up to 45 seconds to complete, while others are instant. Not many players do this so much, but reading the mission description in the top right-hand corner can indicate what items your enemy has to keep, hold, or drop off.  This can be used to your advantage if you manage to get the upper hand over your enemies, and you can defend items that they dropped instead of defending their drop off point (which allows them to more time to drop their items off.)  

 

The Final Stages

 

Every mission that doesn’t end by the defending team stopping the attacking team before the time expires on the 2nd-to-last will have an ending in which both teams will have equal opportunities to defeat the opponent in various mission ending types.

 

Team Base/Enemy Base

 

1, 3, or 5 items will be dropped usually at the location of the 2nd-to-last stage, but sometimes will be spawned at a random location, or the 2nd-to-last stage will be dedicated entirely to getting those items.  Each team will have to deliver a majority (50+%) of the items, or at least prevent the other team from dropping any off.  The first team to a certain number of points, or to have more points by the timer’s end, wins the match.  It’s recommended that your team take all of the items if possible, or just the majority only, which can be either 1 of 1, 2 of 3, or 3 of 5, while at the same time trying to prevent the enemy from capturing any.

 

Area Capture

 

1 or 3 circular locations will spawn in any random location on the map and will be available for capture.  Each circle will start off in a neutral (gray) status, and will assume either a capture (orange) or a defend (blue) status.  If an area is captured and you must capture it back, the process of the your team recapturing the area will take 2 steps:  the first is reverting back to neutral, which will stop your enemies from getting points; the second is capturing the area for your team to now receive points.  Once again, the first team to a certain number of points, or to have more points by the timer’s end, wins the match.

 

Spray Capture

 

Very similar to Area Capture, Spray Capture is whoever can spray the objective and defend it to earn points.  The first team to earn a certain number of points, or have more points by round’s-end, wins.

 

Item Hold

 

A medium (item enabling a jogging-only pace) or a heavy (item enabling a walking-only pace) item will spawn, and the objective is to hold the item for as long as possible; the first team to a certain number of points, or to have more points by the timer’s end, wins the match.  A fair warning:  capturing the item and then driving away with it is highly scolded in this game and is not recommended.

 

Tug of War Kill Mission

 

Both teams are now forced to simply kill the other team in a domination-styled ending.  The objective here is to kill off the enemy team to a certain number, but every death your team has will lower your team’s kill count by 1.  In other words, if your team has 4 out of the 8 kills your team needs to win and one of your teammates dies, your team now only has 3 out of the 8 kills.  In this ending, if no team has the required number of kills by the time’s end, then the team with more kills will win.  Both teams will be visible to each other throughout the entire map (names can be seen through any object), so no team can get 1 kill and run away undetected. Stay alive, and don’t die!

 

Deathmatch Kill Mission

 

Another ending where all you need to do is kill the enemy.  This time, it’s whoever has more kills first, wins; no reduction in points, only get all your kills first, otherwise you lose.  Once again both teams are visible to each other throughout the entire map.

 

VIP

 

Depending on the mission itself, one team will have their team leader be reduced to a specific number of lives as well as having the attacking team reduced to a slightly greater number of lives.  The most common scenario, assuming the team is a group of 4, will be the attacking team has 23 lives (chances) to kill the VIP and every member on the team will have a life taken away if they die; the defending team will only lose a life only if their VIP dies.  Every other member who isn’t the VIP on the defending team can die as many times as they want and nothing will happen to their score.  If the attacking team doesn’t kill the VIP for every life he/ she has before the time’s end, regardless of how many kills they have on him/ her, then they will lose.

 

Bomb Defuse

 

An overall timer will be counting down from the start of the last stage, but Criminals will have to arm a bomb to start a secondary timer with about half the amount of time as the overall time, and they will have to protect the bomb from the Enforcers who are trying to defuse the bomb.  If the Enforcers manage to defuse the bomb, the secondary timer will be paused, and the Criminals must reactivate the bomb to resume the secondary timer.  If the overall timer ends before the bomb timer ends, the Enforcers win; if the bomb timer ends before the overall timer ends, the Criminals win.  On a rare occasion, no secondary timer will be added, it will only matter if the bomb is armed or not that will determine which faction wins.

 

Truck Hold

 

Specific to the Enforcer mission The Fast and the Incarcerated, this mission ending is a game of “Keep Away” with an armored truck as the objective.  It’s very simple, whoever has the truck for a specific amount of points, or as the timer runs out, wins.  It’s unfortunate to mention that this mission ending is very unfavorable because running away with an objective is frowned upon, but in this ending, it’s the only logical strategy in order to win.

 

Combat System

 

Knowing how your gun works is one of the most important aspects for your team to win.  Without knowing what gun goes well with any given situation, your team might as well forfeit.  This section is dedicated to generalizing each major group of weapons, and it will point out when and where not to use them, as well as how to utilize each weapon in each group.  Each group has weapons in which they were duplicated in statistics, but were given a different real life model gun for aesthetic purposes.  Also for some groups, some guns were added as variants to their parent weapons, but statistics were modified slightly.

 

Weapon Groups

 

 

 

 

Pistols/Secondaries are the easiest of all the weapon types to choose from.  Pistols in APB are substantial and efficient at finishing off weak opponents, or killing targets by themselves with enough practice.  Most notably, some pistols have a higher damage than a number of primary weapons, but their range tends to be their downfall, so try to engage hostiles in a close-quarter engagement unless you have a high-caliber secondary.  The list of secondary weapons is as follows:

• ACT 44

• Colby .45 AP

• Colby Commander

• Colby RSA

• Colby SNR 850

• Flare Gun

• Firework Launcher

• Joker RFP-9

• N-FA 9

• Obeya FBW

• Obeya FBW-SD

• OCA Nano ‘Connoisseur’

• OSCP ‘Kommandant’

• S-AS PDW

 

Up next are shotguns, the ideal group of guns for stuffing a barrel down a throat.  So far the game has not released any lethal slug-shelled shotguns, so every shotgun so far has buckshot shells.  Most shotguns are pump action, with the exception of one and its rarer variant.  The list of shotguns is as follows:  

• Colby CSG-20

• DOW ‘Thumper”

• JG-840

• Joker TAS20

• NFAS-12

• NFAS-12 ‘True Ogre’

 

The most basic type of primary weapon is a submachine gun.  Every SMG in the game is fully automatic, and some more than others are meant for a simple barrel stuffing session.  All SMGs are handy in close-quarters, but some can be used in mid-ranged situations.  SMGs come in a close second in terms of versatility, which is lost to the next category.  The list of SMGs is as follows:  

• Agrotech ACES

• CBMP-45

• Colby M-1922

• Colby PMG-28

• Obeya CAP40.

• OCA-EW 626

• OCA-EW 626 Whisper

• PDW 57

 

Assault rifles are arguably the most versatile weapons in the entire game, as almost all of them have a mid-range design, but a close-range capability.  All assault rifles are fully automatic, and they do considerable amounts of damage for their rates of fire and their recoil/ spread.  The list of assault rifles is as follows:  

• Agrotech ACES Rifle

• Agrotech VAS R2

• ATAC 424

• COBR-A

• Joker CR-5

• N-TEC 5

• N-TEC 7 ‘Ursus’

• STAR 556

• STAR 556 LCR

 

Seemingly the cousin group to assault rifles, semi-auto rifles are just the names for the assault rifles that aren’t fully automatic.  Some of these weapons are single-fire weapons, while others have a burst-fire of a number ranging from 2 to 4.  Each of the semi-auto rifles has a mid-range capability, but about half of them are split between having either short- or long-ranged capabilities.  Either way, semi-auto rifles are a mix of assault rifle and SMG/ sniper rifle (depending on which gun you have and its range design.)  The list of semi-auto rifles is as follows:

• FFA 556 ‘Bullshark’

• Joker SR15 Carbine

• Obeya CR762

• Obeya SLR-762

• OBIR

• OSCAR

• STAC 10

• VBR ‘Huntress’

 

The big guns are the extremes and outliers of any gun in the game, which makes the light machine guns useful for very specific situations.  While all LMGs can be used on cars and damage, that is not all of their primary goals.  LMGs in APB are used as a bit of a boost in killing multiple targets in short times depending on which gun you use and how you utilize that gun.  The list of light machine guns is as follows:

• ALIG 762

• CASE ‘The K.O’

• N-SSW 74

• SHAW 556

 

Support in a team-based game is like breathing air:  you need it.  That’s where sniper rifles are very handy.  The 2nd highest damage-inducing weapon group in the game, sniper rifles often trigger sluggish movement, unless the rifle is what the game refers to as a ‘scout rifle’.  Patience is the name of the game when it comes to being a sniper, and if you don’t have patience as the ultimate supporting character, you might as well breathe oil.  The list of sniper rifles is as follows:

• Agrotech DMR-AV

• Agrotech DMR-SD

• NCR-762 ‘Anubis’

• N-HVR 243 ‘Scout’

• N-HVR 762

• N-ISSR-B

• Pathfinder

 

Some teams just need this group of weapons, which may be for the mission, the location, or the entertainment. Explosive weapons are a group of weapons which can only be described as situational, no way around it.  A rocket launcher, a grenade launcher, and a bazooka can be used for vehicles or trajectory arcs that would otherwise be impossible with the world’s best grenade stack.  If your opposition has any of these weapons, put on a Flak Jacket:

• AAEPD ‘Volcano JC’

• O-PGL 79R

• OSMAW

 

And specific to Enforcers only:  if your Batman-filled childhood has led you to believing that justice must mean that we cannot stoop down to the level of our enemies, and you just don’t have money to buy Batarangs, then crowd control guns are just what you are looking for.  Both primary and secondary weapon classes have less than lethal (LTL) weapons for you to stun your criminal targets.  Either bean bag rounds or some form of darts, these weapons will render the target immobile for a short period of time, so if you plan on arresting them, be sure to stun them where you can reach them in time, otherwise they’ll get up and kill you!  The list of crowd control guns is as follows:

• O-PGL 79 CD

• Stabba CCG

• Stabba NL9

• Stabba PIG

• Stabba TG-8

 

It’s also nice to keep in mind the fact that you have grenades to throw at people!  Fragmentation grenades are unlocked from the get-go, and from there you will have to unlock more grenades by killing with grenades.  Low-Yield Frag grenades are unlocked at a much higher level, and Stun grenades are unlocked for Enforcers by reaching Cop level 4.  The list of grenades is as follows:

• Concussion Grenades

• Fragmentation Grenades

• Low-Yield Fragmentation Grenades

• Percussion Grenades

• Stun Grenades

• 8-Ball & Half-Brick (non-explosive)

• Snow balls (seasonal, non-explosive)

 

The Weapons Themselves

 

For the sake of simplicity, each recommended strategy will be stated in fragments rather than in paragraph form, for this section will be long enough with the amount of weapons alone.  If any weapon’s description says, “See weapon name here above/below”, this indicates that the weapon is only a reskin, and the parent weapon will be the one with a description.  Some weapons are exact duplicates with the addition or removal of one or a few stats, and will be referenced to its parent weapon also.

 

• ACT 44 - take time, aim carefully, crouch for added accuracy; hip-fire in CQC if needed

• Colby .45 AP - aim down sights in mid-range, shoot in fastly-timed increments; hip-fire in CQC, stay mobile, sprint-shoot if needed

• Colby Commander - see Colby RSA directly below

• Colby RSA - shoot slowly, aim with caution; pray to God in CQC

• Colby SNR 850 - aim in close-/mid-ranges unless enemy is point-blank (hip-fire then); stay mobile

• Flare Gun - utilize walls and objects, learn angle measurements and arc trajectories to optimize the Flare’s Spotter; shoot in sky’s direction for open targets

• Firework Launcher - refer to Flare Gun directly above, but fires in a straight line versus an arc

• Joker RFP-9 - avoid sprint-shooting, aim down sights or hip fire for best accuracy; stay mobile always

• N-FA 9 - engage target head on, stay within handshaking distance

• Obeya FBW - strafe constantly, sprint-shoot if necessary, stay mobile, time shots accordingly (don’t shoot too fast)

• Obeya FBW-SD - see Obeya FBW directly above

• OCA Nano ‘Connoisseur’ - use Obeya FBW tips two points above, with possibility of aiming down sights for more stability

• OSCP ‘Kommandant’ - later

• S-AS PDW - N-FA 9 with minimal extra range and aiming down sights for stability

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• Colby CSG-20 - remain strafing in any direction, sprint-shoot if necessary (may cause “ghost shots”), actually aim (shotguns don’t register if the center pellet doesn’t hit your target!!!)

• DOW ‘Thumper’ - refer to NFAS-12, but aim down the sights for added accuracy from the mod

• JG-840 - Colby CSG-20 with requirement to be in closer proximity to enemy (the spread is more wild with this gun compared to the CSG’s compacted, more circular spread)

• Joker TAS20 - see Colby CSG-20 two named above

• NFAS-12 - engage head on, and unleash your semi-auto shotgun fury

• NFAS-12 ‘True Ogre’ - see NFAS-12 directly above. Has a timer before it fires.

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• Agrotech ACES - best when engaged in close proximity, shoot controlled bursts if not in 5m radius

• CBMP-45 - see Colby PMG-20 two points below

• Colby M-1922 - best when aiming down sights, only hip fire if within contact range; stay mobile, circle and confuse your target. Don’t forget to move your mouse down as you fire to control the weapon.

• Colby PMG-28 - can either be hip fired at close- to mid-ranged distances, or be aiming down sights (no real difference will exist); stay mobile, strafing helps, try shooting bursts if recoil becomes too hectic

• Obeya CAP40 - try to shoot in controlled bursts at a distance (spray all the bullets in CQC)

• OCA-EW 626 - hip fire for most benefit, best to not engage at mid-range; utilize the fire rate for a quick death, don't sit still

• OCA-EW 626 Whisper - see OCA-EW 626 directly above

• PDW 57 - see OCA-EW 626 two points above

• VAS-C2 - refer to Agrotech ACES Rifle directly below, but slightly lower firing speed and slightly more bloom

     --------------------------------------

• Agrotech ACES Rifle - aiming down sights is recommended, still highly useful hip-firing in CQC; keep active, only burst-fire if N-TEC range

• Agrotech VAS R2 - see N-TEC 5 four points below

• ATAC 424 - aiming down sights is suggested, not as useful as ACES Rifle hip-firing; avoid fire, and utilize the quick fire rate for surprise attacks

• COBR-A - refer to Joker Carbine SR15, but start with a tap-fire and allow for bloom to recover

• Joker CR-5 - see N-TEC 5 directly below

• N-TEC 5 - aim down sights at any range except for immediate contact, tap fire at ranges (single-shot), only burst-fire in semi-mid-ranges (in between close-/mid-range); avoid fire as much as possible, use cover when possible

• N-TEC 7 ‘Ursus’ - refer to N-TEC 5, however do NOT full-auto (the spread is too hectic)

• STAR 556 - use same idea as N-TEC 5, but keep in mind that STAR has slower bloom recovery (every shot takes longer to minimize reticle); use a spray-and-pray method if needed

• STAR 556 LCR - refer to STAR 556, but regard the lower cyclic rate and much higher accuracy

     --------------------------------------

• FFA 556 ‘Bullshark’ - refer to OBIR, as the FFA 556 is just a 4-shot burst OBIR

• Joker SR15 Carbine - master the rate of fire, engage aggressively and hip-fire; for longer ranges, crouch for added accuracy, aim down sights, and control your fire rate; constantly dodge enemy fire and counter-fire simultaneously, run-and-gun

• Obeya CR762 - keep at mid-to-long ranges, crouch for accuracy, master the slower rate of fire; utilize cover to the maximum, land as many shots in as little time as possible

• Obeya SLR-762 - see Obeya CR762 directly above

• OBIR - practice keeping enemies at mid-/long-range, hip-fire if CQC is needed; use cover as much as possible

• OSCAR - refer to Joker SR15 Carbine, as the OSCAR is just a 2-shot burst Carbine

• STAC 10 - see Joker SR15 Carbine five points above

• VBR ‘Huntress’ - refer to Joker SR15 Carbine, keep the fire rate controlled (the spread is too hectic to shoot at the maximum fire rate). Only max fire rate when the enemy is within 1-20m.

     --------------------------------------

• ALIG 762 - avoid using on enemies and try to use your secondary for killing; use on cars primarily, surprise attacks on vehicles will work depending on the enemy’s situational awareness and their reaction speed

• CASE ‘The K.O.’ - refer ALIG 762 directly above

• N-SSW 74 - treat this as a heavier N-TEC 5, only crouch more often and use controlled bursts more often for faster killing speeds

• SHAW 556 - avoid using on cars unless necessary.  At range, crouch, aim down sights, and use controlled bursts (unless you’re feeling lucky, in which case, spray); in CQC, avoid aiming down sights (dance around the enemy and unleash your fury)

     --------------------------------------

• Agrotech DMR-AV - see Agrotech DMR-SD directly below (used primarily for vehicles, but works just fine with enemies as well)

• Agrotech DMR-SD - whenever possible, utilize the weapon’s ability to 2-shot kill enemies from 90m+ (or stun from certain ranges); land as many shots in as little time as possible, crouch for accuracy, and aim (duh…)

• NCR-762 ‘Anubis’ - utilize the normal sprinting speed to maneuver quickly between cover and fire, land as many shots in as little time as possible, only crouch if needed for accuracy (mobile version of the DMR, except for the 2-shot kill)

• N-HVR 243 ‘Scout’ - refer to NCR-762 ‘Anubis’ directly above, as the Scout is just a 2-shot kill at most ranges (mobile version of the N-HVR)

• N-HVR 762 - coordinate with teammates to quickly take down enemies (referred to as “tagging and bagging”); use cover as much as possible

• N-ISSR-B - refer to NCR-762 two points above, only with faster rate of fire, and suppressor

• Pathfinder - see N-HVR 243 'Scout' three points above

     --------------------------------------

• O-PGL 79 CD - refer to O-PGL 79R, but stuns targets in 2 direct hits (as opposed to killing in 1). This version of the O-PGL has a larger radius compared to the lethal version (For Enforcers only, attained at Cop role, level 15)

• Stabba CCG - aiming down sights is recommended for mid-/long-ranged combat, hip-fire for CQC; spray and pray/ utilize the high accuracy to surprise opponents; only stun if able to arrest, otherwise don't miss an opportunity to kill him

• Stabba NL9 - aim down sights for more accuracy, only sprint-shoot if needed; try not to engage in CQC, for the rate of fire and accuracy's combination make for an easy target

• Stabba PIG - stuns in 2 hits, but only has 10m range:  surprise your enemy!  Try not to aim down sights in CQC

• Stabba TG-8 - refer to a non-lethal Obeya FBW at beginning of section

     --------------------------------------

• AAEPD 'Volcano JC' - refer to OSMAW, except with less car damage and slightly less player damage at close range. Damage increases as range increases. Rockets have an arc and also detonate at 100-110m.

• O-PGL 79R - practice angles, arc measurements, and bank shots (using walls) to maximize utility of grenade rounds; use whenever a straight 'direct rush' is not possible because of the location's circumstances

• OSMAW - use on vehicles primarily. The rocket also detonates at 150m. You can use this to your advantage if you find yourself in a tricky situation.

      --------------------------------------

• Fragmentation Grenade - default starting grenade,  practice the sluggish traveling arc of the frag and use to weaken enemies with 750 damage (on a 5 second timer)

• Percussion Grenade - two percs deals as much damage as one frag, and explode on impact of any surface; same arc as frag

• Concussion Grenade - the most deadly grenade,  concs deal 850 damage and can blow up most cars in one,  direct impact; has a slightly more sluggish arc than frags (on a 5 second timer)

• Low-Yield Fragmentation Grenade - a lighter grenade then the previous three, low-yields have a faster traveling speed and greater arc,  it deals around the damage between percs and frags; the timer is also reduce to 3 seconds

• 8-Ball - one of three non-explosive grenades, the billiards ball has a lighter weight, faster traveling speed, and better arc trajectory than the next selection; aim slightly above target at closer ranges, aim dramatically upwards at farther ranges

• Half-Brick - the second of three non-explosive grenades, a brick cut in half has more weight, barely slower speed, and a less drastic arc trajectory than the 8-Ball; refer to 8-Ball with tactics

• Snowball - the third and least common non-explosive grenades, the Snowballs are a winter-season-only grenade, and thus cannot be used when the New Year passes and until the winter next season; refer to 8-Ball, except less dramatic with the upward aiming

 

Range Drop-Offs

 

Every weapon that isn’t a reskin of another weapon has its own unique effective range.  Effective range is the range that, specific to that weapon, will do its maximum amount of damage from anywhere within that range.  Once your target goes outside of the gun’s effective range, however, then the damage begins to drop at a rate that corresponds with the increasing distance between you and your target.  For the sake of example, let’s use the N-TEC 5 as our selected weapon.  Assuming that no character modifications are added to your target that would tamper with the default 1000 health points (HP) every character has, the N-TEC 5 deals 190 damage per shot within 50 meters (m).  Go even 1m past the effective range of 50m, and the damage now does only 183 damage per shot.  This would still be 6 shots to kill because if you look at the stats of this, 183x = 1000, where x = 5.46.  This means that it would theoretically take approximately 5.46 shots to kill your target, but obviously can’t just shoot 5 shots at him, so you must shoot 6 to kill.  Don’t think about this too much, because in the heat of combat, you will have to keep shooting until one man drops.  In order to utilize your gun most effectively, it’s important to know and understand the following:

• Know what ranges your weapon is meant for.

• Know your weapon’s damage count.

• Know that every character, without certain mods, has 1000 HP (this corresponds with the in-game point system; for example, 19 assist points = 190 damage dealt.)

• Know that the Fragile mod decreases health by 14% (860 HP)

• Know that the Kevlar Implant mods increase health by exponential amounts [1 by 10% (1,100 HP), 2 by 20% (1,200 HP), and 3 by 30% (1,300 HP)].

• Know that the Clotting Agent mods allow for faster healing start times as well as faster healing rates.

 

Modifications

 

 

 

Weapon mods, the icing on your cake.  Without mods, weapons wouldn't be weapons, but to some players, not all weapons need mods. Every weapon could be heavily benefited with certain mods, but just don't go throwing mods on weapons because in some cases that's like putting broccoli frosting on your chocolate cake.  Know what mods are benefited where and where their downfall is.  For more details on individual mods and recommended mods on weapons, click here!

 

Sight mods are those that enhance the zoom level of the weapon, but depending on which mod will determine if the mod makes the reticle spread more or not.

• Reflex Sight - this will decrease the zoom level of the gun, but the reticle will have a larger bloom that makes aiming down sights slightly worse for some guns (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Hunting Sight - this will increase the zoom level of the gun, and additionally compresses the reticle to assist in aiming down sights (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• High-Magnification Scope - highly magnifies the zoom level and simulates a real sniper rifle scope; also has a distance indicator to show how far the item in the crosshair is (has no levels)

• Hunting Sight: Anubis - acts as another hunting sight, but changes the crosshair (specific to NCR-762 'Anubis')

 

Barrel mods alter the weapon's barrel, which can have numerous effects on the gun from fire rate to range efficiency.

• Cooling Jacket - increases the rate of fire of the weapon (either firing speed or the bolt pull speed), but may cause the recoil/ spread of the weapon to increase (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Improved Rifling - increases the maximum effective range of the weapon, but increases the maximum potential spread/ recoil of the weapon, not the spread/ recoil itself (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Heavy Barrel - increases the overall accuracy of the gun by adding counterweight to the front of the weapon, but causes the damage to drop (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Horizontal Muzzle Break - the break will decrease the spread to the left and right of the crosshair and focus it more up and down; best for spray weapons (has no levels)

• ACES Short Barrel - increases fire rate for the ACES, but also decreases accuracy (specific to ACES SMG)

• ACES Extended Barrel - slightly reduces the rate of fire, but increases accuracy, damage, and range very lightly (specific to ACES Rifle)

• 4-Round Burst - increases the round burst to 4, but deals slightly less damage (specific to FFA 556 ‘Bullshark’)

• Mechanical Choke - decreases the spread when aiming down the sights of the weapon, but shoots at half the speed of the original weapon fire rate (specific to DOW ‘Thumper’)

 

Magazine mods are mods that alter numerical values in one way, but time/ action values in the other way

• Magazine Pull - this allows for the magazine to be pulled and reloaded faster at the cost of a smaller magazine with fewer rounds (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Extended Magazine - gives a larger number of rounds, but makes reloading slower (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Bandolier - increases the amount of stored ammo overall, but this makes the time to refill on ammo slower (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Double-Drum Mag - doubles the magazine size and amount of ammo stored, but increases recoil, the time to reload, and the time after reloading before you can shoot (specific to NFAS-12 ‘True Ogre’)

• Curved Magazine - increases the magazine size slightly, but decreases stored ammo count slightly (specific to FFA 556 ‘Bullshark’)

• Micro-Rockets - no official statistics, except that OSMAW rockets are replaced with these (specific to AAEPD ‘Volcano JC’)

• Chambered Round - when the magazine is empty, your reload speed is slowed down; when your magazine is NOT empty, you chamber one extra round, and your reload is moderately sped up (specific to VBR ‘Huntress’)

 

Receiver mods are structure-changing mods that change how the weapon holsters, unholsters, or adds new features to the weapon not possible before.

• 3-Point Sling - only increases the speed to equip your weapon, no negative statistics (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Mobility Sling - increases the player’s speed of movement when aiming down sights, but slightly lowers the time to equip your weapon (has no levels)

• Tagger - places an indicative insignia over your opposition whenever even the slightest amount of damage is dealt (has no levels)

• Piercing  - allows the bullet to pierce through thinner objects, reducing the damage 30% every pierce, with the ability to pierce 3 enemies; reduces the vehicle damage by half (specific to Colby Commander and Obeya CAP40)

• Flare Ammo - same idea as Tagger, but no damage needs to be done; the flare needs to be in direct line of sight of enemy within 70m (specific to Flare Gun and Firework Launcher)

 

Character mods are what would make real life unfair, but more fun.  There are four types of character mods that enhance the way your character reacts to the environment around him, use tools to an advantage in combat, or lay out deployables as a way to even scales or even tip them.

 

Activated Mods have no specific purpose as a group, but the concept is in the name:  you activate them.

• Field Supplier - lays down an ammo supply unit that lasts 30 seconds once deployed; weapons, mods, and tools can also be access/ changed here also within a 5m radius (has no levels)

• Field Supplier - Wide Radius - just the Field Supplier with a 10m radius, but a shorter supply duration of only 20 seconds (has no levels)

• Radar Jammer - jams the enemies’ radars with your symbol; only enemies within 50m will be jammed, anyone outside of 50m will constantly see you on their radar until Radar Jammer is deactivated (has no levels)

• Spotter - allows for a Tagger-like indicator to appear above the character when the mod is active AND the crosshair hovers over an opponent; the marker lasts for 8 seconds, the mod lasts for 10 seconds, and the marker sees through walls (has no levels)

• Remote Detonator - grants the wearer with a remote detonation device that blows up your vehicle on a timer, which is dependent on how far away you are from your vehicle; it starts out at 2 seconds before detonation, and then increases by 0.05 seconds for every meter the distance between you and your car increases (has no levels)

• Blowtorch - with the same animation as a sidearm, you now hold a blowtorch in your hand with practically no limit to your fire power; it repairs every breakable, metal thing in the game, ranging from parking meters to your own vehicle (has no levels)

 

Healing Mods  affect how your character plays in the battlefield, and what advantages your character will have in gun play.  All mods here will have an impact on your health, whether it gives or takes away some, or changes how quickly you regain it.

• Clotting Agent - alters the rate at which you heal, but simultaneously alters how soon after taking damage you start the healing process (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Kevlar Implants - simply adds additional health at a cost of sprint speed and jogging speed (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Fragile - add 14% more sprint speed at the cost of 14% less HP (has no levels)

• Flak Jacket - moderately reduces the damage taken from explosives, but takes one grenade away from your loadout (has no levels)

 

Utility Mods are those that add features with how your character reacts to the environment around you; they generally have no similarities as a group other than they add features and drawbacks as you move throughout the world.

• Happy Landings - as the level of the mod goes up, the less and less damage you will take from falling great heights until you finally only do stamina damage; this is countered by a falter with your character, as it must take roughly one second to recover from the fall (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Hard Landing - this removes the falter your character has entirely, but falling great distances will do slightly more damage, thus increasing your risk of death (has no levels)

• Car Surfer - has no negative statistics, it only allows you to stick and freely move on the top of any vehicle; if you can’t reach the top of the vehicle conveniently, that would be the only draw back (has no levels)

• Valzipram Tablets - this heavily increases your chances of survival from a speeding vehicle, but it does NOT make you impervious to them (has no levels)

 

Deployable Mods are the character only mods that are counted in numbers.  In other words, when you complete any mission, you receive a certain number of a randomly chosen Deployable if you didn’t receive any other mission reward.  Deployable Mods are simply game-changing activations that you only get one of per activation, and once you use it, you better make the best use of it because it is removed from your inventory after it expires/ is destroyed.  

*Note:  these mods are effective to both factions (will work/ can be used by the other faction in your mission)*

• Med Spray - when activated, anyone within a 5m circular cloud of the spray will automatically begin the healing process if they have been damaged

• Epinephrine Injector - your health is dropped down to 50% and you can’t jump essentially, but your speed is increased five fold

• Mobile Cover - a shield that, when crouching, covers the entire height of your character and protects you from enemy fire; the shield does have a certain number of health points, so over time and damage it will break and stop working, which can be prevented by repairing it with the Blowtorch mod before it breaks completely

• Satchel Charge - a miniscule explosive in a carriable pouch, once deployed it is detonated based off of a timer; the damage dealt is pretty low, so it’s only useful to start the downfall of your enemy, that is if they don’t hear the loud beeping noise that it gives off (explodes and deals damage if destroyed)

• Resupply Box - a movable box that does everything the Field Supplier does, but has a meter that determines how much ammo is left for grabs in the box (explodes and deals damage if destroyed)

• Boom Box - if your music player is playing a song, then once you deploy your Boom Box it will broadcast said song, and both teammates and enemies can steal your Boom Box at any time; your Boom Box will make you always visible on enemy radars (will be discussed shortly)

 

Vehicle Mods

 

They aren’t necessarily as important as weapon or character mods, but knowing what mods will make the most sense on a slotted vehicle can definitely improve chances of things like survival, escaping, cover, and more.  These are the mods that can be put into vehicles, and unlike the previous mod groups, vehicles have five types of mods.

 

Engine Mods are those that can be used to alter the car’s engine in ways that alter its utility as a vehicle, or possibly even a weapon.

• Armored Engine - the time between your car’s engine is smoking and it setting on fire is increased by incremental amounts as the level of mods goes up, but similarly the time from being on fire to exploding is reduced by incremental amounts as well (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Fireproofing - while keeping the same time between smoking and combusting, the mod only increases the amount of damage needed to cause an explosion from its burning state (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Muffler - when not accelerating, the car will not show up on the radar, it will coast for longer distances, but the braking efficiency is decreased minimally (has no levels)

 

Activated Mods, once again, no purpose from the group as a whole, but they are mods that are activated by the press of a button.

• Nitro Booster - this makes your car have the vehicle-equivalent of an adrenaline rush:  the engine’s torque is increased by a substantial amount, the speed is increased as a result, but turning is made near impossible with its sluggish movement (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3.

*Note:  Top-speed, or high-torque engine, cars will see almost no effect on speed

• Brick - it really is as simple as the name suggests, a brick is placed on the gas pedal for 10 seconds and accelerating is constant with the mod activated (has no levels)

 

Chassis Mods update the chassis (CHA-see), hull, or armor of your vehicle is various ways, and some mods will affect other vehicle aspects besides how tough your car is, such as speed.

• Steel Plating - this is the overall improvement of the armor against bullets, but it lessens the speed of the car (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Chassis Strengthening - this decreases the damage taken from vehicle collisions by a small amount, but this means that it reduces the damage dealt from vehicle collisions by the same small amount (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Ramming Plate - allows for a ramming ability with increased ramming damage, but increases the damage taken from collisions while also decreasing braking efficiency (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

 

Trunk Mods are, as expected, mods in the rear of the car that also serve no purpose collectively.

• Extra Cargo Capacity - this only increases the amount of storage space in your trunk for heavy items (5 units) or medium items (2 units) (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Mobile Supply Unit - allows for a Field Supplier in the trunk of your car, but requires four trunk spaces for storage (has no levels)

• Mobile Spawn Point - creates a spawn point wherever your car is placed; spawn car will NOT work if within 20m of death location, if an enemy is within 35m, or the car’s available seats are all taken (has no levels)

• Mobile Radar Tower - any enemy within 20m will appear on the radar, but the enemy will see both the car and that they are on the radar as well (has no levels)

 

Generic Mods are most likely the most randomly chosen additions/ stipulations added to the vehicles.  Of all the groups mentioned, this is the only group that the game itself clarifies no relationship to whatsoever, so these are just perks.

• Fast-Fix Chassis - when driving through a gas station, the repair speed of any damage done to the vehicle is sped up (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• Explosives - the explosion’s blast radius is increased from the center of the car; no official positive or negative statistics because the blast can go both ways:  friendly-killing or enemy-killing (comes in levels 1, 2, and 3)

• High-Burn Fuel - when the car explodes, the car combusts but deals no damage at all (has no levels)

 

Usage of Grenades

Grenades are an extremely effective tool in the game.  They can blow up cars, drive players out of their cover, prepare an area, and more.  Two types of grenades exist in APB:  explosive and non-explosive (also referred to as “throwables”), mentioned previously in the The Weapons Themselves subsection.  The effectiveness of grenades tends to be on the high end of the meter, so to maximize their utility, here are some tactics to use on your enemies.

 

Area/ Objective Denial - Sending a grenade or two at a certain area will drive the enemy back, make him wait for detonation, weaken him, or kill him if he decides to try and take it. If an enemy refuses to leave cover, grenades are your answer. It is safer for you to throw a grenade than to try and shoot him away from cover. As for objectives, sending grenades to an objective as the last team member there can keep the enemy off long enough for your teammates to get back into defense.  

 

Weakening Enemies When The Odds Are Against You - Grenades are very useful for these types of situations. Grenades allows you to focus on one person while the detonation kills or weakens other enemies. Even if you die, you’ll at least have weakened a few enemies for your teammates.

 

Vehicles - Grenades are one of vehicles’ worst enemies, especially the Concussion grenade. Do not hesitate to use grenades at vehicles; use them to destroy car spawners near enemies so you do not appear on their radar. If anyone is in that vehicle, they will die if they stay, in or they will be greeted by rounds to the face.

 

“In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

 

 

Situational Awareness

 

 

 

THIS IS A BIG THING that needs to be instilled in one’s head for any game that they play. Situational awareness is what allows you to not only win against enemies and dominate them, but also avoid friendly kills.

 

An example of me failing to maintain situational awareness.

 

Basic Guidelines

 

• Always scan for the enemy! According to Murphy's Laws of Combat, the moment you let your guard down and stop scanning is the moment the enemy will appear. This is necessary whether you’re attacking or defending.

 

• Cover all areas! Be able to adapt to the situation and pick out any dangerous areas that may need coverage. Covering the entrances that are not covered is what keeps you and your teammates safe, or at least alerted of enemy presence.

 

• Stay alert! There is no "safe" time in a combat zone. If you let your guard down, you will either die from it, or you will get a teammate killed because of it.

 

• Avoid “Tunnel Vision”! Do not become too fixated on a specific target, object, or area that you fail to stay aware of everything else around you. Remember that for every enemy you see, there are probably others that you do not see. Fixating on a single enemy will get you flanked and killed. Stay alert and aware.

 

• Check the mini-map frequently! Checking the mini-map allows you to maintain awareness of friendly positions, suspected enemy locations, and the likes of those two. The map can also be used to place waypoints. Ensure that you check it frequently to keep up-to-date on your mission objectives and friendly positions.

 

The Radar

 

The radar is your best friend in APB. It tells you where your enemies and teammates are, how far they are from you, and their location. It is the most useful thing to have to maintain situational awareness:  be familiar with it.

 

 

The Radar is located at the bottom right of your screen

 

Field of View

 

On the radar, you will notice a lighter gray triangle inside the compass. This is your field of view. In theory, anything inside this cone should be visible to you. Of course, objects can reduce your vision. You can use this to as a way to orient enemies and objectives to your front.  

 

Compass

 

One of the more important parts of the radar, the compass allows you to give accurate directions and contact reports. The simplest and recommended way to use a compass is by using the cardinal directions North, South, East, West. This is very useful for calling out enemies and is the most common way to give callouts in APB. It allows your teammates to be able to pinpoint where the enemy is. If you want to give a more precise direction (I don’t really recommend this due to the fact that using N,S,E,W will be faster), you can use the degrees on

the compass, which goes from 0 to 359. Each large dash is 10, the medium-sized dashes are 5, and the smallest dashes are 1. The dots in between the cardinal directions are the NE, SE, SW, NW directions. They are the midpoints and you should be familiar with them if you want to give a bearing faster to your teammates.

Use this as a guideline for compass bearings

 

Various Mission Indicators

 

• Green Circles indicates your teammates, friendly players. Keep an eye on friendlies. You can use their position on the radar to adjust yourself and maintain good coverage on your objective.

• Red Triangles indicates enemy players.These only appear under certain circumstances, like firing a weapon or driving a vehicle. You stay on the radar for 8 seconds after firing weapons; suppressed weapons will still show up on radar. As for driving, unless you have the Muffler mod and coast in, you will show up while driving.

• Orange Markers indicates offensive mission objectives.

• Blue Markers indicates defensive mission objectives. They also indicate personal markers set on the map.

• Purple Markers indicates mission items such as packages and vehicles that are essential for completion, but have to be recovered or picked up.

• Pink/Pale Blue Markers indicates mission items, such as packages and vehicles, that need to be delivered.

• Green/Yellow Markers are group waypoints. Yellow markers are set by your group leader while Green markers are set by group individuals.

 

Things that DO NOT cause a red marker to appear:

• Throwing Grenades

• Sprinting

• Climbing ladders and kicking through doors

• Reloading

• Causing noise by knocking over trash cans, etc (Even if you're not on the radar, the noise you caused can still indicate your whereabouts)

• Muffled cars allow vehicles to travel without being accelerated and remain undetected (the Muffler vehicle mod)

 

What should I keep in mind at all times?

 

• Where are my teammates located? Knowing this will help you to pick where to set yourself up and help avoid friendly fire. This includes knowing where your own teammates are and where they are looking.

 

• Where is the enemy most likely relative to me? Where would the enemy most likely be positioned at?  What can you do to avoid or minimize contact with them?

 

• Where is the nearest piece of cover? This is important to know if you take fire unexpectedly, or when you find the enemy and must hide to ambush them.

 

• Where are my teammates watching? Knowing this helps you position yourself in a way that complements the rest of the team.

 

LISTEN!

 

A sharp ear is often as valuable as a sharp eye! There are many things you will want to listen for such as the sounds of weapons, vehicles, movement, and voices.

 

Sounds of weapons -  This is the most obvious sign. If you hear firing, figure out what direction it's coming from and alert your teammates if they haven't noticed it. Occasionally you will run into inexperienced enemy players firing their weapons; this can be used to determine where enemies are, even if they're out of direct visual observation. Don’t forget to refer to your radar to find out where they are! The more experienced you are, the more likely you'll be able to distinguish the different types of fire from a distance.

 

Sounds of vehicles -  Being able to hear a vehicle from a distance can help to prevent surprises and keep you from becoming road kill. Once again, the radar is also a handy tool in coordination with your hearing.

 

Sounds of movement -  Players make noise as they move around the area, so listen for it. The sound of someone running around, climbing a ladder, kicking a door open, priming a grenade, or anything else that catches the ear.

 

Sounds of voices -  If you’re using the in-game VOIP, you will be able to hear enemies talking to each other. They can also hear you too! Know who your teammates are, and know their voices. If you hear someone you don't recognize, it could quite possibly be the enemy. If you know you're in an area with enemies, stay particularly alert for any unknown voices, and use any that you hear to help guide you towards the enemy and deal some damage to them. Bear in mind too that the enemy may be crafty and attempt to lure players into an ambush by having one person speak loudly while others wait in ambush.

 

 

Combat Tactics/Tips

 

*Note: Keep in mind when reading this section that some of these are basically theories. They are not 100% guaranteed to work in APB; some of these are tactics I find useful in ArmA and have had some success using them in APB. I feel that having knowledge of these things can prove to be beneficial to you in APB.*

 

 

 

Objective is ALWAYS first!

 

Most players and teams in APB tend to get kill hungry. Being kill hungry, the team tends to push out more and leave the objective vulnerable to an enemy that is sneaking up on it. This type of thinking needs to be avoided whenever possible. Your actions must benefit the mission and team, not you.

 

High/Low Corner Stack

 

VERY important for attacking people when you’re using one corner and also useful to keep in mind at all times. Basically, one player kneels/ crouches while the other stands behind them. Using this can allow you to have two weapons covering one area while avoiding friendly fire and blocking players in case they need to get into cover.

Running the Rabbit (Baiting)

 

Running the Rabbit is having one player run across a street, doorway, et cetera to draw fire and reveal positions. It’s very useful if you do not have a Flare Gun and need to know which side of the street or door an enemy is. Another way to run the rabbit or bait, is for a player to run deep into a room of enemies...surprisingly... For example, if the objective is in the middle of the room. It might be best to have a player become the rabbit and run deep while the rest of the team come in seconds after to kill the distracted enemies and grab the item.

 

With most of the attention at the center of the room, the rest of the team can come from both entries with an advantage over the enemy

 

Entry & Stack Methods

 

If you and your team ever need to enter a room at once, these methods and procedures will prove helpful. It will help prevent players from going in halfway and firing from the doorway, blocking everyone else behind him or her. Also keep in mind that once you enter through the door, you’re committed. There’s no going back! You need to push through and let everyone else in.

 

Hook - When the player enters, he/she will hook to the side that they stacked up on. For example, if the person was on the right side of the door, he/she will immediately go right when entering.

 

Cross - The player enters and moves opposite of the direction where they had been stacked up on. For example - if the player was on the right side of the doorway, he/she will cross to the left side of the room when entering.

There are also multiple ways to stack on a door. You can stack on the left side, the right side, or do a split stack. The split stack is best used on a closed door while the side stacks are used for open doors.

 

Two man left side stack ⤴

Two man split stack ⤴

Procedures

 

1. Make sure you have a full magazine in your weapon.

2. You can throw grenades in before entering to soften up the enemies. Make sure the grenades blow up before entering.

3. Enter in sequence, firing at enemies while moving through the door as quickly as possible.

4. After you get past the doorway, keep going based on the type of entry, Hook or Cross. Move to your corner of the room to allow other players to get inside and fire on the enemies.

5. After clearing the corner, continue moving towards the far corner

6. When you get to the far corner, start clearing the center of the room then the other side of the room.

7. When the room is clear, let your teammates know! Then do your thing whether its the objective or a funky dance in the middle of the room.

 

Goals in a Firefight

 

Find - Find your enemies before they find you. If you can achieve this then you have already increased your chance of winning a firefight. Finding them before any shooting starts can help you plan your attack. Stealth is an important part in finding your enemy. You should make sure

that your approach is not exposed and obvious. Use cover! Keep in mind that your name above your head is a very easy way to be spotted. Make an effort to stay completely hidden.

 

Fix - Once the enemy is found, position yourself and your teammates to where you can fix your enemy. You can do this by covering escape routes, finding positions that will dominate, and have a view of other enemies (if possible) to back up teammates if needed.

 

Flank - A simple maneuver. Basically it’s moving to a place of weakness in the enemy's position and taking advantage of it. When attempting to flank, make sure that you have people taking and grabbing the attention of the enemies (if an enemy dies during this stage, they can position their spawn to flank you and/or make the flanking team’s job difficult. Also, don’t attempt a flank if your team is fixed. Most likely you’ll just end up dying. Make a call on how many of the team members go to flank according to the enemy size.)

 

Finish - Simply put, kill them. Hit them hard and stick with the plan. Make sure that they can't escape or that their escape does not let them have a sight on the target. Keep in mind though that this stage is better if it is done fast to prevent the respawned enemies from flanking you or make actions that will prevent you from completing the objective.

 

 

Mission Strategies and Tactics

 

 

 

This is the advanced section based on the Mission Types section, which defines the various mission concepts at a basic level.  This section goes in depth on the strategies recommended for each mission type, but makes them applicable to every mission.  With the combined knowledge of the mission type and these universal attack/ defense methods, success rates are bound to go up.

 

Attacking

 

Reconnaissance

 

You must find out where the enemy is at and must be achieved without being spotted.     Refer to the “Find” section under “Goals in a Firefight”

 

Isolation

 

You want to make sure that you can cut off a player or a group of players from the rest of  their team whenever possible. Remember that leaving a gap that the enemy thinks they can escape from can be a very effective tactic; players can force enemies into an area where they’ll be dominated.

 

Preparation

 

Grenades (grenade spam), O-PGL or OSMAW if it is already equipped on your team (IF not equipped, keep it that way unless its absolutely necessary. You’ll be better off with a real weapon.) Basically, soften the enemies up by blowing up the crap out of them.  

 

Surprise

 

Sometimes it’s better to surprise the enemy rather than blowing them up with explosives. A sudden, fast, aggressive attack can confuse and leave the enemies little time to react.

 

Flexibility

 

Remain flexible. I know that “No plan survives first contact with the enemy” sounds a bit cliché, but it holds true here. You need to be able to deal with things if everything goes wrong.

 

“Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.”

 

Types of Attacks (4-Man Team)

 

Here will will talk about the types of attacks you can use. We will use a team of 4 in this section.

 

• Frontal  -  A very straight foward attack. Basically in APB most groups or teams attack this way:  the whole team attacks from one direction. Frontal attacks are not a bad thing. In fact they can be useful in some situations. The problem that comes with frontal attacks in APB is that the team generally sticks to this tactic at the same approach.

 

• Single Envelopment  -  In a single envelopment attack, you have a base-of-fire element that grabs the attention and keeps the enemies at bay while you have another element flanking them. For example, in a team of four, you can split up into two groups of two. Two people (preferably the sniper and another player) be the base-of-fire while the other two flank and attack the enemy at their weak spots.

 

• Double Envelopment  -  Here you have a base-of-fire element with two others attacking both flanks of the enemies. In a team of four, you can split up the group into three teams. Two players act as the base, while the other two individually attack the enemy’s flanks.

 

• Deep Envelopment  -  Something I like to call a obnoxious flank. In a deep envelopment, you take the flanking team around past the flank and attack them from behind. You only do this to one side only. Also, while having a good amount of people may be useful for this type of attack you can do it with a Four-man team. You can do either one of the following two: one-man base of fire and a three-man flank team; two-man base-of-fire and two-man flank team

 

Defending

 

Security

 

If you’re not maintaining security, you’re not defending. You need make sure that you and your team observes every possible avenue of approach to your objective.

 

Positioning

 

You need to position yourself and the team at spots that make yourselves hard targets, where you guys can fight from, and where you can back each other up if needed.

 

Depth

 

Spreading out too much does not bring in a good defense. You need to have the guys that are at the front be able to retreat while being covered by other teammates. Also, the people up front should not be the only defensive line. If the first line is killed or retreats, the other line needs to be able to clean up after them.

 

Mutual support

 

Providing back up to teammates when needed. The goal of this is that the enemy should not be able to attack a player in isolation. If the goal is achieved, the enemy will always find themselves double or tripled teamed.

 

Flexibility

 

Like before, remain flexible. You should be able to shift your defense to the enemies’ spawn and that spawn WILL change, so stay aware. You also need to be able to get pushed back a little bit comfortably.

 

Types of Defenses

 

• Perimeter Defense  -  Useful for any environment. It’s usually used for when you expect to be attacked from multiple sides at once without knowing where the enemy is.The concept is pretty simple, you create a perimeter around the objective covering every approach you can with the ability to back each other up.

 

• Defense of a Strongpoint  -  This is somewhat similar to the perimeter defense. You need to be able to dominate the streets and choke points, have a fall back position, don’t bunch up, and take high ground if possible.

 

• The Spoiling Attack  -  A rather risky tactic. In a spoiling attack, you attack the attacking team to disrupt them and confuse them. Though its a great way of surprising and stopping an attack, you have a high potential of getting wiped and losing your objective.

 

“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

 

When to camp an objective versus item

 

This is important to keep in mind. In APB there are drop-off missions where the enemy has to take an item or vehicle to a drop off point. In these missions, when and if you kill the enemy, look at the ground. Look for items that when you go to the dropped items, you can’t pick them up and are related to the mission description at the top right of your screen.  Don’t forget to call it out:  if you find an item like that, camp it; make the enemy work for that item and don’t let them get away with it.  Now if the next stage of the mission is not a drop-off but another defend, usually it is better for you to leave the item and protect your objective. Camping the item can wait until the later stages of the mission when the drop-off stage does appear.

 

Deception

 

Deceiving the enemy team is one of the most powerful tools in ANY game, especially in item drop missions in APB. As I said above, when defending against an item drop, it is best to camp the item if found. Deception is useful for a situation that I described above. If you’re able to get the enemy’s attention away from the item long enough for them to not discover it right away, you can grab a car near the item and start driving off to the drop to pull as many enemies as you can with you. This will allow your team to grab the items and and get it to the drop.  

 

“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”

-- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

 

When to fall back

 

You will lose objectives when playing APB. You need to be able to identify that you have lost the objective and be ready to fall back to the next objective. Do not stay at the old objective unless it is an item drop-off stage. Being at the current objective with your team is more important than kills.

 

Communication

 

 

 

 

The key to working with a team successfully. communication is what complements situational awareness. It allows a team to pass information smoothly and effectively. APB has its own VoIP, but it’s recommended that you use TeamSpeak or any similar program. The reason being is the fact that enemies will be able to hear you over the ingame VoIP. They’ll be able to listen in and hear what you have coming for them. It ruins the element of surprise and you end up increasing their situational awareness instead of yours.

 

Core Principles of Communication

 

Brevity - You need to be able to say a lot about a situation with as few words as possible. A lot of people need to say something about the situation, and being able to keep it short can get a lot of information passed along that can help you and your team.

 

Clarity - You have to be clear in what you’re saying. Use your group’s terms, keep it short, have a clear and loud voice, and repeat messages that are important.  For example, “Get Back! Get Back! Get Back!” when calling back your team as you’re about to prep the objective with grenades.

 

Use common game language - This is also important for letting your team be able to pinpoint exactly what and where during communication. There are many places in APB that are nicknamed by the community, for example, Pizza Hut.

 

The building with the orange roof is referred to as “Pizza Hut”.

 

That’s just one example; learn the common names, contact names and the area surrounding them, and also street names on the bottom right below your radar.

Evaluating the Enemy

 

Proximity - How close is the enemy to ANY friendlies? Is your enemy within your weapon’s effective range? How much of a threat does the enemy pose to your team?  Answer these questions, and if the answer puts your team in danger, do anything to balance the scale.  If the answer is in your favor, plan accordingly.

 

Awareness -  Does the enemy know where you and/or teammates are? Are they going to act on that knowledge? Are your teammates running to a position to where they can alert the enemy?

 

Danger - Is the enemy engaging? Is the enemy in a position that can wipe the team if he does engage?

 

“Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.”

-Sun Tzu, The Art of War

 

React to Contact

• Alert - Callout the enemy or fire at the enemy if close.

• Cover - Improve your protection if possible.

• Scan - Search for the enemy and adjust position if needed.

• Engage - Fire at the enemy and keep your teammates up to date.

 

Contact Reports/ Calling out the Enemy

 

Contact reports are a way where you can call out an enemy without unnecessary confusion. It’s broken up into four parts: Alert, Orient, Describe, Expound.

 

1. Alert - This one is simple. This usually is achieved by calling out ‘Enemy!’, ‘Car’, ‘Contact’, or ‘Player’s Name’. This will let people know that you found an enemy and you’re ready to tell them where he is and any other necessary information.

 

2. Orient - This is where you get your teammates to start looking at the direction of the enemy. At this phase, your radar is VERY important. You can get your teammates looking at the direction of the enemy by using:

 

- Relative bearing - If you and your teammates are facing one direction, it can be better to use directions like “Front”, “Left”, “Right”, “Rear”.

 

- Cardinal Directions/Bearing - This is very easy to understand for most people. Just use general bearings like “North”, “North-East”, et cetera.

 

If the contact is within 100 meters, SAY SO! APB’s view distance goes up to 100 meters. If there are enemies past 100 meters that are known, they’re not a threat. Keep in mind that the OSMAW and AAEPD rockets can blow up past 100m. The OSMAW goes up to 150m before detonation and the Volcano explodes from 100-110m.

 

3. Describe - Is it a car? A player? Is it a random dude doing an epic dance in the middle of the street wearing nothing but underwear and a big pink afro? Say what you see with as few words possible and be clear! Ex. “Player”, “Vegas”, “Shawcopter”

 

4. Expound - Range! How far is the contact? 80 meters? Far? Close? This is important to communicate to the team.

*Note: This is not needed when range is called out during the Orient step. After the range is given and you have time, give further information about the contact like weapon, mods, or if the target is tagged or not.

 

Examples:

 

Bad Callouts

"Uh, guys...theres a player over there"

 

"Uh, guys... I see players. Uhh... they're over there, by that car down the street. No, uhh... the other car."

 

Good Callouts

"Fruitini, to the NW, very close!" (Most common and useful callout)

 

"Enemy, about 50 meters, it’s Fruitini!"

 

"Enemies, Northwest, corner camping, about 80 meters. There's a white-walled building with a red roof - on the right side of that is a brown building. One guy on the roof of the brown building with a sniper rifle, two guys corner camping from the entrance of the white-walled building. One has a N-TEC, the other an OCA.”

 

Universal Rules of Engagement

 

This is something that you must always follow. By having a team that knows the Universal ROE, you can avoid confusion and be able to make quicker decisions.  The entire idea behind engagement communication is a question of “will my decision benefit the team?”  In order to answer this question, you must fully understand the concepts behind these other two questions: “do I shoot first?”, and “do I talk first?”  Before details are shown, know this: there are two types of Contact:

 

Soft Contact - an enemy is seen or heard, but is unaware of friendly presence

 

Hard Contact - an enemy is aware of friendlies; is engaging or about to

 

With this in mind, now you need to apply this to APB's combat system (range, shots to kill, weapon mods, character mods, et cetera) because what is to follow can make or break a stage in a mission, or an entire mission.

 

Shoot First - APB has a vast majority of players with an itchy trigger finger. The problem with that is not everyone considers what happens when you open fire on sight but don't kill your target; all you have now is an enemy who knows where you are and telling his team (if he needs to; the radar might do that job for him). You should only take action without word when you know for a fact that you have the chance to kill your opponent:  you can gun him down with enough rounds and enough time to pump those shots out.  Don't give yourself away if there isn't the probability that your enemy gets taken down, otherwise it benefits the other team, and not you.  Only if it is clear, also, that your team or mission objective is jeopardized by any enemies should you take action against said threats.

 

Talk First - when contact is made, usually it's for a short period of time.  The only time it would be extended past 10 or 15 seconds would be if the enemy is in the wide open field.  The ideal spotting of an enemy would be soft contact in which they are running to the general area of the objective(s) without spotting you.  In this case if you spot them and they're already almost into cover of any kind, it would be pointless to open fire because the only chance you would have at killing them would be if you had an N-HVR and they underwent some form of damage; in other words, you would only be able to scratch the surface of their HP if you let bullets fly for one second.  This is where talking to your team and informing them of the contact call benefits your team because not only do you keep the element of surprise, you keep off the radar, AND now you can plan your attack using one of the methods in the Combat Tactics/ Tips section such as the entry stack methods, the bait tactics, so on and so forth. 

 

“He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War 

 

 

 

 

Anything Else We Missed

 

 

 

To close out the TTP Guide, this section will be to cover ideas and subjects that can’t really be talked about anywhere else that makes complete and total sense.  In simpler words, this is just random but useful stuff.

 

Chill - despite this guide giving off an amount of serious procedures, don't take the game too seriously.  After all, it is just a game.  Failure to keep your head on straight will result in a syndrome called Rage, and to prevent that would be a whole other guide on its own.

 

Familiarize locations - any knowledge on common locations in the game in any district will benefit you because communication becomes easier, and shortcuts become apparent.  It's like the difference between book smart and street smart:  follow this guide and you gain definitive knowledge, sure, but play the game, and you learn from experience (the best kind of knowledge.)

 

ARMAS Marketplace - a very big fraction of the weapons we listed above can only be attained by means of real-life money.  There are some that are just ARMAS exclusives, some that can be unlocked with clothing packs, vehicle packs, and the likes; only a few of the weapons are considered ‘legendary’, and are very difficult to attain (via in-game money savings, or real money and gambling.)

 

 

In Closing

 

As I said before, this was made as a way for players to get a grasp on how others play and on how they could play. I look forward to people using this guide to learn on how they play and pick up new tactics. Writing this, with the help of TheKiller14, Zascha, CrocodileTears, and others, was rather enjoyable.  That’s my guide for APB: Reloaded.

 

This guide will be updated as new content comes out.

 

 

Thanks for reading! AND remember to have fun out there!

 

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by VivaLaAural

[Dexem 57]

In my guide I have linked your guide several times because I think it has really cool information! Definitely recommend

 

Would you care to help me make my forum post look more presentable?

[SpacePirateAural 10]

Hey! Thanks for the links. Linked your guide also at the top

Also sent you a pm about the guide, as for the forum posts. I just used spoilers to not make it one huge page

[i d o L 0]

Amazing job aural! Hope to see you around again, you and your whole clan were amazing players to face with!

[Nophromoo 6]

Long time I didnt play the game, does hitting ops with a nade raise prestige on crims just like on enfos?

[Dexem 57]

7 minutes ago, Nophromoo said:

Long time I didnt play the game, does hitting ops with a nade raise prestige on crims just like on enfos?

Yes but hitting anything else with a nade will increase prestige (notoriety),  so it's not a great indicator.

[Zascha 47]

 

[Valkyrie96 3]

thxyou for making this

[LovelyJasmine 10]

Thank you great guide! :3

 

 LovelyJasmine

[FaleFly 1]

Great guide! Keep it up

[TheMessiah 430]

my favorite shotgun tactics tutorial i've seen :

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2018 by BingoBookBG

[gordoIsMyName 69]

killer resource. absolute MUST READ for all level players.