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When I tried the demo when BF2 came out I was rather unimpressed and decided not to buy it for now. However, with the constant popularity and after reading this tread and too much money in my wallet, it's getting tempting to buy it. I also heared there are already several addons for it but not all that good

So... to all BF2 addicts, if I buy BF2, should I stick with vanilla or is there one or more addons worth buying?

I think that Battlefield 2 is one of the best shooters I've ever played online, especially since the new patch has gotten rid of a lot of the kiddie tactics like bunnyhopping. I've not gotten hold of Special Forces yet either, and still having tons of fun, but I definitely will be buying Euro Force in a couple of days time.

Embracer Of Darkness wrote:I think that Battlefield 2 is one of the best shooters I've ever played online, especially since the new patch has gotten rid of a lot of the kiddie tactics like bunnyhopping. I've not gotten hold of Special Forces yet either, and still having tons of fun, but I definitely will be buying Euro Force in a couple of days time.

So there are 2 addons so far with a 3rd one coming up?

No, SF is the Expansion pack and Euro Forces is a "booster pack" (a few maps and new candy for $9.99) so it is soon 2 addons

Special Forces is a full ~$30 USD expansion pack, Euro Force and the upcoming armor pack are "boosters" in the area of ~$15 USD.

SF is alright, it adds some interesting and fun features, a full set of maps (the problem lies in the fact that people are retarded and servers only run about two of them), and, of course, a set of nice unlockable guns. It's definitely an optional expansion, it's not like Broodwars is to StarCraft or anything.

You don't really miss out on much if you don't get Special Forces. IMO SF is attempting to be CS in BF2, focusing on infantry battles. If i wanted to play CS i'd play CS, but i got BF2 so i could play a game where i can use tanks, fly helos, drop bombs and basically do a lot more than foot slog.

Another reason to avoid SF is that the attack helo's suck donkey balls.

2000AD wrote:
Another reason to avoid SF is that the attack helo's suck donkey balls.

One reason to go out and drive like a manic to the store to get SF is that the Grapling hooks are GoD. Nevermind a proper assault in BF2 is beatuy in itself when half a dozen troopers pop up where by no rights anyone should be.

One of the reasons why BF2 is so addicting for me is Voice Over IP (VOIP). It allows you to communicate to your squad and with your commander. I play on tactical gamer quite often and its amazingly fun.

"Squad, I want some covering fire! You there, get ready to run and grab that TOW."

*guns blazing*

Other moments that make this game so worth it are when you play as sniper and hit someone but it doesn't kill them. They start to panic and look around desperately trying to find some cover. It is glorious.

I have mixed feelings about BF2, but they're overall positive.
If you have a decent team or friends playing in a squad, the game is an utter blast. Even without a decent team you can still have fun running around lone wolf (which is what I do on most public servers, trying to get my squad to do anything is an exercise in futility most of the time.) The sheer amount of action on many maps can be breathtaking at times. It really is exciting to be in the middle of a large offensive situated against a single flag, or in a standoff across a particular area (such as the river in Strike at Karkand.)

On the downside, class balance is out of wack. You'll often find servers with literally dozens of special forces running around and almost no support guys. Some weapons feel like peashooters, so choose your unlocks wisely. And assholishness is rather prevalent on many servers, but in general I don't run into it much anymore.
There are also lots of technical problems with the game, and it runs rather poorly on many computers, but things do get better with the patches.

Overall, its a massively fun game regardless of what servers you play on (though tactical gamer is really fun, since using teamwork is absolutely required). Just be aware that some classes and vehicles are unbalanced, and expect frustration.

Captain tycho wrote:Overall, its a massively fun game regardless of what servers you play on (though tactical gamer is really fun, since using teamwork is absolutely required). Just be aware that some classes and vehicles are unbalanced, and expect frustration.

Don't forget that aside from joining Tactical Gamer servers, he could also join Teamplay First =TPF= who promote the same tactical squad play. These two options are more than enough to get away from the l33t gameplay on most pubs.

Captain tycho wrote: so choose your unlocks wisely.

I'll probably going to buy it tonight so whats all this about choosing the right unlocks? Which should I avoid then?

Basically the way it works is as you gain experience (play) you increase in rank, each rank let's you unlock an extra weapon for one of the classes.
For instance, the anti-tank normally has an smg, a rocket launcher, a pistol and a knife. Instead of the SMG, you could unlock an automatic shotgun.

Generally these unlocked weapons are slightly different, and sometimes slightly better under some circumstances. They add a little flavor, but because you don't increase in rank very often, you want to make sure to unlock the weapons you want most (usually the class you like the most, or play most frequently).

Alyeska and I play BF2 together all the time.

Generaly we play on a server local to him and across the Pacific Ocean to me. So my ping is anything between 300 and 350 these days.
But the games net code is done well enough that it's still quite playable (if irritating as hell some times when you can't hit the broadside of a barn on a deflection shot).

The newest patch has made the game kickass to play again and done a LOT to redress the weapons balance problems.

Fire Fly wrote:One of the reasons why BF2 is so addicting for me is Voice Over IP (VOIP). It allows you to communicate to your squad and with your commander. I play on tactical gamer quite often and its amazingly fun.

"Squad, I want some covering fire! You there, get ready to run and grab that TOW."

*guns blazing*

Good luck finding regular public server players that do stuff like that. If you've got friends that play then it can work (Like me and my housemate pwning all in attack helos) but if you just go online and expect people to act a a team straight away then your dreaming.

That's why i play in an organised tournament, BF2 like it's meant to be played. No commanders trying to fly jets and command, no TKing for vehicles, no excessive noob tubers, no group of people jumping around on the helo pads waiting for it to spawn then moaning when they get RT'd and on the flipside, lots of teamwork and co-ordination, flag defences set up, dedicated medics and support not just people who randomly do it, tactics that aren't totally thought up on the fly, the list of goth posotives and negatives goes on.

Bought it with the addon last evening (+ a dirth cheap copy of Codename: Panzers) but only played a bit of solo so far. Couldnt find a good server for the massive 1.2 patch yet

2000AD wrote:Good luck finding regular public server players that do stuff like that. If you've got friends that play then it can work (Like me and my housemate pwning all in attack helos) but if you just go online and expect people to act a a team straight away then your dreaming.

You're right, but, you'll note that I said Tactical Gamer, which is precisely what this "team work" thing that we speak of is all about. I've played there countless times and I enjoy each game, other than the times whem I'm commander and my team loses. Then it sucks.

Its really quite amazing how just a little team work and communication can beat a numerically superior squad.

EDIT: And I agree, public servers majorly suck for any sort of cooperation. Everyone cares about the points and the bling. And getting punished for accidental TKs totally pisses me off. Just because I accidently ran you over because you were too stupid does not mean I should get a -6 point deduction. Arg.

These "Tactical Gamer" servers et al, they are public ranked servers?

And TK punish doesn't affect your score. It just governs whether or not you get booted. Most servers you need to accumulate three punishes IAR and it kicks you.

Tactical Gamer is public but it is not ranked. The "not ranked" is what drives away the assholes. People come for game play, not for points.

Edit: their website is tacticalgamers.com

I played BF2 pretty hard when it first came out. Then the whole patch debacle came around when I was busy with Counter-Strike Source. I was so pissed off, I benched the game. Now that I'm back on cable, I have plans to pick it back up. Unfortunately, Dystopia is eating up a lot of my time.

It's a good game. I jumped into it with a bunch of Natural Selection regs from TacticalGamer and had some great fun. It's worth the money even if you do have to give it to EA Games.

Yay, finally updated. Off to do some virtual killing

Fire Fly wrote:Tactical Gamer is public but it is not ranked. The "not ranked" is what drives away the assholes. People come for game play, not for points.

Edit: their website is tacticalgamers.com

According to their websites, all their servers are empty...

InnocentBystander wrote:According to their websites, all their servers are empty...

The server status link is screwed up for some games. It doesn't work for Natural Selection. I will say that many TG regs and members aren't on until later in the afternoons as it consists of many older gamers with jobs.

InnocentBystander wrote:

Fire Fly wrote:Tactical Gamer is public but it is not ranked. The "not ranked" is what drives away the assholes. People come for game play, not for points.

Edit: their website is tacticalgamers.com

According to their websites, all their servers are empty...

Traffic is typically busiest during the evening and on certain evenings of the week.

I have the game with no expansion packs for the PC, and I LOVE it. It's, in my opinion, the best and most realistic FPS out. The graphics are decent, the weapons are great, and once you figure out how to use what and when, it gets to be pretty damned fun.

The game is also getting more popular - still! Just a few days ago, EA said that they had more users online playing BF2 at one time than they ever had before - over 52,000!

Dooku, I would hardly call BF2 realistic.