Congrats on passing the bar!! I had total faith in you. I was waiting to see you on so I could ask " in person."

Congrats excom, and yeah...I understand. I've had one conversation in this game playing with a couple of you guys...otherwise, it's just been silence.

Anybody know of a good chart that shows which guns have which unlocks and in which order? I want to plan my gun unlocks a little better.

Trade secrets my son, trade secrets.

Seriously, the thermal imager is an unfair advantage, IMO. The anti-tank mines are glowing white dots so I'm never a victim of one those... literally never. Also, like I said in an earlier post, the enemies are clearly more visible with the thermal site. Even just a head in a window stands out against the dark background. I can see snipers/engineers on roofs. Hiding on rocks. Wherever. If they can see me, I can see them (unless they're behind me). But I also tend not to put myself in a position where my ass is exposed. Tanks are long range weapons. People that drive them into the middle of shit are using them wrong, because you get bombarded from all directions. It drives me nuts when people take the vehicles for the sole purpose of getting from point A to B faster. They can swing the round in your favor when used correctly.

The scary part is I'm usually alone because no one wants to be a passenger. But the handful of rounds that I've actually had a engineer riding along to fix me and man the other machine gun, I would end with 20+ kills and 0 deaths. The tanks are the overwhelming factor in my K : D ratio.

When used correctly, the only real tank killer in the game is a helicopter. Nothing you can do about it, except hope someone on your team can take it out. I carry the stinger missile with me, just in case.

On a side note, 19K was my MOS in the Army (19K = M1A1 Armor Crewmember). Not that video games are anything like real life, but it helps to know what it's strengths and weaknesses are.

^ awesome tips and strategy

Most important part is always face front. That's where all the armor is. If you take an objective, just spin around in place so you're facing where the action is. And keep moving. Even if it's just forward and back. Helps you see anybody that might be sneaking up behind you. I've had a couple lucky roadkills on someone that i had no idea was on my ass most likely planting C4. You can take multiple hits in the front. If you get hit from the back, you're immediately disabled.

Great tank tips! Thanks, 19K.

My latest tip is you can earn points and ribbons for disabling enemy mines, C4, and claymores. For example, throw a grenade on enemy mines to blow them up (20 points per disabled explosive device and it's either two or three which earn you the ribbon). I will say I haven't had luck shooting them to set them off as I did in BFBC2. Anyone else try and end up with different results? I recently read an Engineer can actually disarm them though it must only be with the EOD robot which I have yet to try.

Very good tip on the explosives.

I'll just add that you need some kind of explosion to blow up mines/claymores/etc.. A grenade will do the trick. Or a rocket launcher. Best option though, shoot them when you're in a vehicle since you have unlimited rounds. A regular gun doesn't seem to get rid of them. At least in my experience. You get an anti-explosive ribbon for every two items you destroy. 200 points per ribbon. Needless to say, you can get a shitload of points if engineers are laying mines all over the place. Shooting one usually sets off a chain reaction if they're close enough together in the road. And it will also kill an enemy if he's near it when it goes off. I have something like 350 of those anti-explosive ribbons. By far the easiest ribbon to earn, cuz the roads are usually littered with mines.

Jumped in again for a bit today...got assraped for a few rounds...mostly by dudes who were more twitchy or more prone than me. My "team" was almost completely worthless...at least half flying around aimlessly in helicopters and jets.

Only upside was that I bumped into my buddy alfredosauce and got the tour on a map.

I'm still waiting for that session where it clicks and I have some fun...but sadly not yet. Really really miss the destruction and hate how much the game messes with your visibility (flashlights and suppression). I'm also not sure that prone is a good addition.

I think I missed you by like a half an hour. With BF3, I rarely jump in if there isn't somebody else around. The game forces you to rely on/play with your squad so much more than bfbc2 and randoms are hit or miss at best. Definitely getting less play time than bfbc2 did.

Yeah...I'm struggling with it. I really really want to like it, but I just don't.

The two times I've managed to cross paths with somebody on my friends list, it was a little better, but more often than not, folks' games are full when I try to jump in, and the game is a complete failure if you aren't with a coordinated team. So I end up running around in silence getting gunned down by dudes I never see who are almost always prone and halfway clipped into a wall or who have guns that allow them to see me in the dark and/or blind me with flashlights.

I can't help but contrast with BC2 where I could run around for a bit in much more open environments and folks could drop in and out at will. It all just seemed so effortless in comparison...both the matchmaking and the gameplay.

This game is definitely not fun when you get assraped over and over. I feel your pain Chess. Believe me. I think at one point I've lost 10 rounds in a row. Then it dawned on me to go into the squad menu and just switch squads (or even teams if it was bunch of every man for himself douchebags). I find myself using that more and more if I get stuck with people that aren't working together. This game definitely rewards teams that work together and communicate. I don't understand why most of the people that are playing right now don't get that. Hopefully those people will go away soon.

Chess, invite me next time you're on and I'll join you.

I saw my buddy "sasquatch" was on BC2 and jumped on for the first time since I've been back...and yeah...I slipped right back in, even in hardened mode. I had a ton of fun running around with him and another dude. My K/D ratio wasn't great, because I've lost a bit of muscle memory over the past 7 months, but I had a freaking blast. Got the ace pin my first game and snagged 3 gold squads to boot.

I thought I had imagined it, but they reversed the d-pad directions for the defib and health pack between BC2 and BF3. It's been driving me crazy...and getting me killed a lot in BF3. WTF?

Added BC2 back to the OP. I'm not done with it, and it will be my pick up and play game.

I'll play BF3 with you guys when you play...but only when I have a guaranteed squad. It's just too frustrating for me to jump in solo. I also think I'm going to switch to the support class in BF3. They've gimped the medic, and reversed the controls for some reason, and I don't want to struggle when I switch back and forth.

Please feel free to invite me too, Chess. I don't think we've ever played together but I can tell you're really wanting to like this game. I think you're just stuck in a rut because you got a late start. It's frustrating as hell in the beginning, especially if you're on your own.

I had the opportunity to play with KTown a couple of weeks ago and it's turned out to be the only time he's had available to play. He let me know, and has since then told me it's okay to pass the word along, that he's being deployed this month (to Afghanistan, I believe). Here's what he sent me on Facebook today:

Really glad they're letting him stay for his daughter's birthday. Is our group destined to have someone deployed at all times?

Crap. I didn't even know KTown was in line to get deployed.

He's not going to Afghanistan...should be in a very safe place. I just had lunch with him.

@ Meatpants: I've tried to join up with you a few times, but games are always full
@ Spatula: Will do

I can't tell you what a relief it was to have fun in BC2 last night. Until then, I thought maybe it was my imagination...but BC2 is just much better designed for my tastes and has much better maps.

LOL...given how much of our group is my circle of friends, I'd say it's definitely possible.

Best way to join up with a friend if the servers are full, use the server browser and find a server that's in the 12-15 people range. Join that game, and then send out invites. I've had decent success with that the few times I've tried it.

Alright we need to rally the troops and get some quality squad time in BF3. It'd be great if we could get a night where we take over a lobby for a few matches. Especially since chess is back and another regular is getting ready to be deployed. I'd be willing to set aside the MW3 for a couple of nights to make this happen.

I don't think KTown is quite as dedicated to gaming as I am. He's much more likely to want to just spend time with his family. But, yes, I would like to figure out how to take over a server like we used to in BC2...maybe get some pointers from you guys.

I'm thinking a week in might be the worst time to get a game like this...still overpopulated with the masses and they all know the maps better than you.

Beating the dead horse, but I really wish it was as easy to set up as BC2...and BC2 didn't even have that good of a system!

I think what 19K threw out there might be the way to go. Pick a server and roll.

I don't even know how to pick a server...just go to quick match...usually after unsuccessfully trying to join any friends' games.

We can also play some of the co-op.