Hooahguy Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Ok so in a recent game I was beset by four Syrian tanks, all in a row. My tanks were a ways out, and wouldnt get there in time before all my Strykers, which were assisting my infantry as they cleared out a building complex, would be destroyed. But I had an FO on the hill so they could call in mortars. So I called in heavy barrage, with the "maximum" set for duration. I wasnt so sure what that meant, but I assumed that because they were tanks, I needed the "maximum." Not until later when I tried to call in support again did I realize that it meant "exhaust ammo supply on target." It was a clear mistake on my part, but I want to know what type of situations, in your opinions (Im just going to assume that most people here are very experienced) would call for the mortars to exhaust their ammo supplies? Just kinda curious. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abneo3sierra Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 There are several options. Thie first, where you choose the ROF...maximum means heavy fire rate, not necessarily heavy ammunition types, especially with regards to mortars. The second choice immediately after ROF is duration of fire...if you choose maximum for this, your artillery will fire until they are empty(maximum duration of fire, means until they expend their ammo) Usually, I will not order maximum for that one..if I order max ROF in the first menu, then will usually make the second one short or quick duration...meaning a bunch of rounds, fired very quickly,but not emptying their ammo on the target, unless it really,really needs to be certain. The best way to figure the right combination in the game is by experimenting. Just remember...first "maximum" is ROF,second is how long you want them to fire. One thing to keep in mind if playing against a human, is they wont usually sit still long enough for a "maximum"duration of fire to have any more effect than a "short"duration,especially if they are in mobile (vehicle/tank) units. Good luck. Ron 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonm Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 If you have only Mortars I'd only use them to fire smoke on a feature somewhere between you and them to provide a short lived screen (which maybe all the time you need). Mortar HE (depending on the calibre of course) is pretty pointless against tanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooahguy Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 Mortar HE (depending on the calibre of course) is pretty pointless against tanks. Well I had to think of something. The possibility of losing five Strykers within a few minutes is very scary. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonm Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Sure, Hence the initial sentence about firing smoke. Blinding the tanks (albeit temporarily) is just as effective as trying to destroy/damage them with something that wont. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooahguy Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 Ah, thanks for the tip. So it can be assumed that mortars are ineffective against armor? And per my original question, what type of situation would call for one to exhaust rounds on a target? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonm Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Ah, thanks for the tip. So it can be assumed that mortars are ineffective against armor? No, I didn’t say that did I? “Tanks“ are a sub set of “armour”. Also “Mortars“ come in all shapes and sizes. So big mortars against light armour (not tanks) can be effective, especially if the target is open topped or to a lesser extent “opened up” when the initial rounds start to fall. You can get a feel for that yourself by firing Syrian 120mm mortars at static Strykers. Fire the same mortars at M1s and you’ll probably see a different amount of damage. Of course both assume that the target is happy to remain static while you drop rounds on it and one of the key characteristics of armour is mobility and they tend to move out of the way of such things pretty quickly. And per my original question, what type of situation would call for one to exhaust rounds on a target? Well that’s a real “how long is a piece of string question?” isn’t it? The answer is it all depends. If you are all alone and your platoon is about to be over run then sure exhaust the rounds. If you need a lot of suppression on a target then again fire what you have. There is no exhaustive checklist of when to do or not do things like this. Each situation will be influenced by a myriad of factors and the commander on the ground has to make their own assessment. Certainly as you gain more experience this will guide you but as I say there is no definitive list. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euri Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Ok so in a recent game I was beset by four Syrian tanks, all in a row. My tanks were a ways out, and wouldnt get there in time before all my Strykers, which were assisting my infantry as they cleared out a building complex, would be destroyed. But I had an FO on the hill so they could call in mortars. So I called in heavy barrage, with the "maximum" set for duration. I wasnt so sure what that meant, but I assumed that because they were tanks, I needed the "maximum." Not until later when I tried to call in support again did I realize that it meant "exhaust ammo supply on target." It was a clear mistake on my part, but I want to know what type of situations, in your opinions (Im just going to assume that most people here are very experienced) would call for the mortars to exhaust their ammo supplies? Just kinda curious. Heany-Medium-Light-Smoke is for rate of fire Maximum-Long-Short-Quick is for number of rounds (i.e. duration) Maximum exhausts ammo supply. Manual page 81 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praetori Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Ah, thanks for the tip. So it can be assumed that mortars are ineffective against armor? And per my original question, what type of situation would call for one to exhaust rounds on a target? To my knowledge all indirect arty vs MBTs is less than optimal AFK (unless you happen to have some smart munitions, like Excalibur, in your arsenal). Damaged optics and in best case a mobility kill is what you could hope for. I've never heard of a dumb arty shell knocking out a modern MBT (from the 70's and onwards). Smart rounds are a totally different story though. And few tank commanders would enter an area under heavy barrage if there were other options so regular rounds are not bad for delaying or protection. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny(FGM) Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I have knocked out several (red)tanks with 155mm arty, you need quite a few rounds but as soon as you get a direct top hit it's game over for the tank 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praetori Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I have knocked out several (red)tanks with 155mm arty, you need quite a few rounds but as soon as you get a direct top hit it's game over for the tank I'm assuming you've used General or Armor as the mission "type" in those cases? I believe there are almost always smart rounds in the blueforce arsenal and those will indeed kill MBTs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny(FGM) Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I used armour. I was under the impression smart rounds were not modelled in game? The rounds seemed to follow a normal spread anyway 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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