Quick Start Guide

Starting the Game

When you join, you'll see a team selection screen. Choose one or the other, or use auto-assign.
If you're on a classic map, you'll be staring at a Commander Voting screen. Make your choice and it will go away. (Or "," is the default to cancel this window.)
While you're waiting for the vote to finish (it won't take long, the vote is about 20 seconds) you can choose a squad by opening the squad window (default "." key) and join or create one.
You'll then be staring at a class selection screen. Pick your class and your weapons, and hit 'accept.' ("n" is the default to open and close this window.)
Finally, a Spawn Map will pop up. Here, you get to choose where you spawn into the game. At the start, you only have one spot- that big fuzzy dot on the map. Click on it, and you're ready to go!

How to get into the action

1. Commander: At the very start of a match, you need to choose a commander. Vote for someone who already has a lot of votes. Do not command if you are new, wait until you understand the basics of the game and understand what research is useful.

A good commander won't guarantee that you win the game, but a bad commander will guarantee that you lose it.

2. Choose the Engineer class at the start of any classic map. Yes, the Scout sounds really cool, but it is near useless unless you know exactly what you're doing. An Engineer can do everything you need early in the game, so you'll be prepared for anything that hits you.

3. Join a squad and move out right away. There is no Vehicle Factory, no armory, and very little in terms of defense at your home base, so don't bother looking for it.

The sooner you reach the front lines, the sooner you can establish a good defensive barrier to defeat the enemy. Don't dawdle around the base!
If you noticed someone who did well in the previous match, follow them if they are an Engineer and watch what they do.
Believe it or not, but the most deaths among new players come from enemy mines. ALWAYS keep a lookout for them on the ground.

4. Use your teammates!

You can get extra ammunition from engineers from ammo boxes they can drop or from an armory which you will not have at the start of the game. Just use the request ammo voice command and an engineer should be willing to help you.
Those Riflemen are really good at killing people. If you're an Engineer, don't be afraid to let them charge into the fray first.

Once the combat really heats up

By pressing enter you can chose where you spawn. After a while into the game the commander may have a forward barracks set up closer to the front lines, or there may be an APC closer to the front. You wont have to spend any time walking to the enemy by choosing to spawn in one of these new areas.
Go easy on your commander. Commanding is probably the toughest job in the game, and not everyone is an expert at it. If someone inexperienced volunteers to command because no one else wants to, remember that they stood up to the challenge when no one else would--so cut them some slack.

How to use the Engineer class

Turrets are really cool. However, placing them right next to your Barracks at the start of the game is a bad idea. You're wasting time: you need to secure forward bases and refineries quickly at the start of the game or the other team will win. So move up and place a turret closer to the enemy, instead.

Get the repair upgrade skill. It lets you build a lot faster meaning your wasting less time building and more time moving up. This is really important at the start of a game when there is a lot of stuff to build. Plus, if you need to create a turret in an emergency, you'll be very grateful that you could build it before the enemy started shooting at you.

Cameras display enemy infantry on your regular screen, almost like a free wall-hack. This can be useful on a map like crossroads where everyone is packed in a small area in the middle.

Those seismic grenades barely scratch infantry or tanks. Save them for buildings, and don't bother using them against anything mobile.

Dealing with Turrets

The best way to destroy a turret is with three well-placed Engineer grenades. Alternatively, a grenadier can use his missile launcher or his mortar to quickly take them out from a distance. The Rifleman also has a few regular grenades that can do the trick, if you're desperate. Shooting them with your machine gun, though, is not a good way to destroy them. Like all buildings, turrets are immune to regular gunfire.

You can throw grenades at Level 1 turrets from far away, because you can throw grenades farther then they can shoot. But once they get to level 2 and 3 you will need a new tactic for destroying them: tanks and grenadiers are the easiest way to destroy a turret, but you can try creating walls to creep up on them with another engineer, or use the geometry of the map to find a way to get close without them shooting you.

Dealing with Walls

One of your first ideas might be to build a giant wall around your base. This is a very bad idea. Remember, you've got to go out and claim that territory before the enemy does! Walls take time to build, time that you need to spend making Refineries and turrets and anything else the commander drops for you.

Walls can be used to provide cover from turrets and to block in tanks or enemy command vehicles. A good way to use walls is to defend buildings against rocket fire. Also, if you have a forward APC that is visible to the enemy, it is a good idea to put walls in front of it so it can't be killed with rockets from far away.

Attacking walls is not an effective way to destroy them- they can take a lot of damage. However, they're weak against the Engineer's build abilities, and he can deconstruct them with his engineering tool quickly and easily.

Vehicles

See Vehicle_customization

Unless you're willing to taxi everyone on your team around the map instead of actually fighting the enemy, jeeps are usually not a good idea. This is especially the case if you just intend to drive to the front lines and abandon the thing. Save up for something better, something with guns on it. They are a specialized vehicle, and are useful in very specific circumstances.

As a general rule of thumb, if your going to buy a jeep, just get an APC instead and park it somewhere safe and walk the rest of the distance. Your team will love you for the extra spawn, and your commander wont get mad at you for wasting resources.

Sometimes there are a lot of different weapons, armor, or engines you can choose to put on your vehicle. If you're not sure what type of tank you should make or how you should customize it, don't be afraid to ask your teammates for advice.

Until you get upgraded armor your tanks will be very weak. Until you get upgraded engines your tank will overheat very easily. Until you get more powerful weapons, your tank won't be able to do a lot of damage. In other words, a single grenadier can destroy even the powerful heavy tank if that vehicle isn't upgraded, but a heavy tank with the best technology in the game can hold off an entire team!

Do not waste your tank. This is not BF2, and they don't respawn for free. They cost your team money, generally money your team cannot afford to lose. Attack, fall back and repair, attack, fall back and repair, repeat. The team that saves their tanks and their money is the team that wins. The Engineer is a good class to drive tanks with, especially with the repair upgrade skill, because you can repair your tank in the field and give yourself ammunition.

Going close to an armory , driving onto a repair bay, or going near an Engineer's ammo box will re-stock your weapons.

Watch out for mines. They hurt your tank--a lot. For this reason, Grenadiers are a great tank driving class because you can chose the mine defusal skill, that will let you drive over mines without setting them off.

Standard cannons aren't that strong against buildings. If you come across a bunch of level 1 turrets, get out and use your infantry items, instead. On the other hand, upgraded weapons like the High Explosive Cannon can destroy turrets very quickly.

Keep an eye on your heat levels. If someone far away from you and driving in circles while you just sit there spamming your weapons, he might just be baiting you. Once you are red(overheated) and cannot run or fire your weapons, he'll swoop in for the kill.

Wait until you have a good, clear shot before firing your weapons. You have consider your tank's speed and the enemy tank's speed when firing. It is tricky, but keep practicing and you'll get the hang of it in no time.

Pay attention to your surroundings. If you're fighting in no-mans land where neither team has the advantage, don't be afraid to retreat and lure the enemy tank into following you. If you can lure him into the range of some turrets, start blasting him and try to ram him so he can't escape the turret range. This also gives you a longer distance to chase the damaged enemy tank before you run into his own turrets. This is just one example of how you can use your surroundings to your advantage, so pay attention to what's happening in the map!

Stay together. Two medium tanks are better than one heavy tank. Make sure to work as a team. If the enemy is focusing fire on your friendly tank and you still have full armor try ramming the enemy tank to block his attack on your teammate. Also, make sure you both concentrate your fire on one target at a time, to eliminate it quickly.