5 Ways to Defeat Tanks in Battlefield 1

The main complaint I have seen since I started played the open beta for DICE’s Battlefield 1 is that the tanks in the game – which come in the form of the one-man light tank, transport-esque landship and massive heavy tank – are way too overpowered. Although yes, these vehicles are more tide-turning than their modern-day equivalents in Battlefield 4, they are by no means unfairly balanced.

First though, we need to look at some history. A lot of people have moaned about how the guns in Battlefield 1 have poor accuracy, recoil and reload times. To those people I say “welcome to World War One” – you can’t expect the weapons (even the prototypes designed in 1918 that DICE have scattered throughout their classes) to be as pin-point accurate as those in modern shooters. Similarly, while tanks in Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 are a nuisance, they’re easy to deal with thanks to the wide variety of anti-tank weaponry available to the modern-day soldier. This is not quite the case in WW1.

Tanks, despite most of them breaking down, poisoning their crews with carbon monoxide or falling into trenches, were a decisive weapon in that conflict. Up until their deployment in large numbers by both sides, just a few tanks were able to push past enemy strongpoints that had been static for years. Infantry simply melted away in front of them. The power of the tank in Battlefield 1 shouldn’t be criticised – since, although their historical ability on the battlefield is represented, so are their weaknesses. Here are a few tips I picked up on how to properly deal with enemy tanks in the beta.

1. Stay in cover

Even if you’re an assault trooper kitted out with anti-tank (AT) equipment, you need to stay in cover right until the moment you throw your grenade or plant the dynamite. Get as close to the tank as you can without revealing yourself, as the minute a wary tank driver spots you, you’re probably going to get a face full of canister shot. Use terrain, rocks, buildings and height to get around and above the tank before attacking - often the driver will be too busy hunting other tanks or in tunnel-vision mode to spot you moving towards him. This exploits the tank’s main weakness...

2. Use their narrow view against them

Tanks in Battlefield 4 had a huge 360 range of vision due to onboard cameras and other modern equipment, but tanks in WW1 had to make do with small horizontal slits cut into the armour plate. As such, a player in a tank has their field of view severely limited, especially to the rear and sides. If you can use cover to get next to the tank, you can effectively walk next to it without the driver knowing. This is even the case on the larger tanks and their side and rear gun ports – between each gun there is a blind spot where you can safely stand. Use this to plant your dynamite or chuck AT grenades, which will do far more damage at such close range.

Of course, this all depends on whether the tank driver you're facing has worked out that they can switch to a 3rd person camera. But, when the game is newly released you can bet not many will know that.

3. Use the AT mines and AT rifle

I cannot stress enough how amazing AT mines are. After a few playthroughs on a map you should know the usual routes that tanks take to objectives (especially in Rush). Use this to your advantage by playing as the assault class and lining the road with AT mines. One mine is enough to disable or severely damage the heaviest tanks and can destroy lighter varients. For extra damage, capitalise on the confusion of the tank’s driver by chucking AT grenades as they try to work out where they’re being attacked from.

The AT rifle, too, is an effective way of chipping away at a tank’s health from afar, though you’ll have to rank up in the assault class to get it. Place yourself where you can get a good field of view over the opponent’s usual routes and snipe away at them.

4. There are AT guns absolutely everywhere

DICE have been kind to players by chucking a load of static defence points all over their maps. Sadly, they are criminally underused. Both the machine gun pits and the AT guns can completely own an enemy team when used right - try to memorise where they are so you can use them on the fly. On Sinai conquest, for example, the gun outside of point B can aim at point A and the Ottoman’s spawn point, picking off tanks as they crawl towards their objectives. Having trouble turning it with the mouse? That’s because you’re supposed to use it for minor adjustments - press A and D (or left stick) to swivel the gun a lot faster.

5. Work together

At the end of the day, Battlefield 1 is a team game. Two or three assaults working together as a squad can decimate the enemy’s armour by popping out and showering them with grenades or mining their retreat paths. Add a support to restock the ammo supplies and you have your very own tank-hunting team.

I hope that these tips will help you get out there are take the fight to tank pilots who think they can lord over the battlefield. Show them what a determined soldier can do!