Forum:The Tank & Spank Strategy

The Tank and Spank - A Guide to Intelligently Using the Riot Shield.

I'll go ahead and put this guide here -- I'm worried it will just be deleted in the main Riot Shield article. The editors can choose to put this in the main article if they please, I just want to put it out there. This setup works best in Domination.

The shield is severely underrated by those who have experiences dealing with amatuer shield users, and this only adds to your advantage. Most people with it are just too one-dimensional with it -- they sit there, block bullets, maybe try and bash... try and hopelessly land a throwing knife. These are all techniques that rely on chance and don't produce consistent enough results to be a viable option for a main class. I've studied people's behavior when coming face to face with a shield, and I've learned a technique to exploit it; I call it the Tank&Spank strategy.

The Facts

1. Stun Grenades that are in front of your shield will not affect you whatsoever. Even if you toss them inches in front of you, as long as you face that direction, you are completely unaffected.

2. It takes approximately one second to toss a Stun Grenade and put your shield back in front of you.

3. The shield will only cover every portion of your body when you are crouched, put your screen at a slight downward angle to cover your feet, and directly face your opponent -- this is called Turtle Shelling. Moving side to side will put your backside slightly out of protection.

4. You can survive a semtex that is stuck onto your shield if you have Blast Shield, but it will kill you if you switch weapons and it explodes on your back.

5. You run with the shield in your left hand, so while sprinting the shield will orient itself to cover the left side of your body. This can be overcome by facing a portion of your left side toward your enemy while sprinting.

6. The enemy will aim at your feet and the right side of your body 90% of the time -- these are the weak areas you need to be mindful of when moving with the shield.

7. While using Blast Shield (Which you really, really should), you can take a direct hit to the shield from a grenade launcher. If any explosive goes off directly behind of to your sides, however, you will likely go down depending if they use Danger Close or not. Additionally, the Blast Shield will reduce the additional damage of headshots.

8. Switching from the Riot Shield to a Pistol is extremely quick. Switching back to the shield, however, is a bit more sluggish.

The Basics

Primary: Riot Shield

Secondary: Pistol w/ Tactical Knife

Tier 1 - Marathon

Tier 2 - Lightweight

Tier 3 - Last Stand or Commando

Equipment - Blast Shield

Special Grenade - Stun Grenades

The Method

Seeing the Enemy

So you're running along with your shield and you come across your enemy(s). First thing is to switch on your Blast Shield to protect from explosives and headshots. Your next action is going to depend on the distance of this enemy(s). The Stun Grenade will only last approximately 3-10 seconds, depending on how close to them it goes off. You can choose to try and cover some of this distance without a Stun Grenade if they are really far away, the idea is to only use one grenade per group of enemies. A good distance is within 15-20 yards. Speed is your friend -- move quickly and cover the main areas that will be receiving fire (Your feet and right side) -- your intent is to inspire confusion, panic and eventually frustration in your enemies. If they are within appropriate distance, toss your stun grenade directly at their feet. If you decide to close a little distance before tossing your Stun Grenade, sprint 5-6 yards and a time and turtle shell in between. This will throw off their lanes of fire and hopefully make them expend their magazine.

The Approach

Once stunned and that magical "x" appears, they will lose the ability to aim correctly and they will move incredibly slow. Still, they will be aiming downward at your feet and will try and hit your right side. As soon as that "x" appears, sprint to their right side (always their right side) with your view angled slightly downward and to the right to cover your weakspots. Keep sprinting, even after you have outrun their angle of fire and dont switch to your pistol until you are outside of their "knifing angle." Some may reach for a grenade, but -- given the Blast Shield protection -- you will be moving much too quickly for it ever to be close enough to be a threat.

The Kill

Once behind them, Pistol w/Tactical Knife drawn, they will still be trying desperately to turn. If it's just one enemy, knife and quickly switch to your shield and turn back to the direction he came -- there are likely more coming from that direction. If it is more than one enemy, knife the one to the right first, then move to the enemy all the way on the left -- you do this because each enemy is likely trying to follow your movement and is still slowly turning to the left to find you. After killing them, rinse and repeat with the next group.

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This technique can still be performed without stun grenades, but its results aren't as consistent -- depending on well they react and aim. I have used both Commando and Last Stand, and I have learned to prefer Last Stand. Commando is great for increased melee range, but this technique already closes any needed distance. If they are to kill you, it is likely at point blank range directly in front of them -- Last Stand affords you the opportunity to still knife them and any directly surrounding enemies or dispense any remaining stun grenades to set your team up for easy kills and slow their progress. Last Stand also makes you more effective at capturing points, giving you the extra second or two you may need to capture a point.

And there you have it. Have fun spanking! MerrellJ 18:59, January 13, 2010 (UTC)