IEDs, the ins and outs of it [Tips, Tricks & Aspects]

[Pronck]

This thread is reserved for an tutorial about the IEDs. The IEDs are updated after .87, this was a big nerf for the pipebomb IED and gave the BLUFOR some more space to move. In the following days I will finish this thread and try to explain you where, when, how and again how you can be effective with IEDs.

What will I show you;

- The technical aspects of the 3 types of IEDs. (I might include claymores too)
- The "material" effects of these IEDs.
- The psychological effects of IEDs.
- How to use them to make use of these effects.
- When to make the right decision.
- How it still can be effective when you stop doing it in the middle of the round.
- How you can make use of your surroundings.

This evening the first part will be posted here, if you want to give your input post it, but please don't be an idiot we already have enough of them. For examples I will also lead you to my topic in "tales from the front" where you can see the effects of IEDs.

The technical aspects

First of all there are 3 types of IEDs, you have pipebomb IEDs, artillery IEDs and proximity IEDs also known as "mines".

- The pipebomb IED

The pipebomb IED can be found in either the standard sapper kit or the rifleman AP kit in the taliban/militia faction. The standard sapper has 2 trigger groups, I am not sure about the rifleman AP but it definitely has enough explosives to be effective. On each trigger group you can set 5 IEDs. So make sure you count them right. You also want to make sure where you have placed which trigger group so you don't blow up the wrong one when a blast is needed. The pipebomb IED is not effective against vehicles, many light vehicles survive direct hits. The pipebomb is very effective against infantry, you can either use them to kill or wound them. It's also a weapon that is noticeable by the contrast of the colours, but since they are pretty small, you can hide them in cheeky spots. They dissappear when the kit is gone, so don't lose your kit!

- The artillery IED

The artillery IED also known as "Arty IEDs" are the most effective IEDs ingame. It can be found in the taliban/militia engineer kit (request able) and they spawn in most of the insurgent mainbases. A interesting fact is that on operation Archer a few kits can be found with arty IEDs near the taliban vehicle spawn. The arty IEDs have a huge blast radius for PR standards and are very effective against vehicles except tanks, these need some more of them. It is also effective against low flying or even high flying helicopters (further explained later on) You can place more than one of course, you have the ability to place 5 arty IEDs per trigger group. The engineers only have one trigger group, correct me if I am wrong, and the pick-up kit has 2 trigger groups. The arty IEDs also blend in pretty well with the Iraqi/afghan roads and are also hard to spot in the Russian tall grass. So hiding is not really necessary. They disappear when the kit is gone, so don't lose your kit!

- The proximity IED

The proximity IED also known as the "mine" or "land mines" are very effective against both enemy as friendly vehicles, so always mark them (press Q and left mouse button when planting) and make sure your supply lines aren't mined by these little devils. The proximity IED can be found in all sapper kits and the the engineer kits. You can place up to 3 mine MARKERS, so don't start spamming these everywhere, place them concentrated. You can place up to 30 mines which will disappear after 20 minutes since your last death unless you retrieve the kit. The mines have a 5 second arm time, so when you get caught placing it, the chance is big that they won't be effective. The mines don't blend in with the ground so place them under rocks, behind hills or in the tall grass. But when placing these close to your supply lines make them visible for your mates.

The material effects of the IED

- Pipebomb IEDs
The pipebomb IED is effective against infantry, they can be used to blow up compounds and blow up bridges although you need a lot of them. When using these against light vehicles make sure you have more than one set because light vehicles only start smoking after a direct impact from one IED.

- Arty IEDs
The arty IED is effective against all kinds of vehicles, vessels and aircraft when used in the right way. One arty IED will kill a light vehicle in a 30 meter radius. It will blow up armoured vehicles in a 10 meter radius sometimes or even further away. But with one arty IED the odds are big that the vehicle will explode after several seconds, so make sure the crew doesn't kill you. If you want a bigger effective radius, place two or more arty IEDs in a wider area with 30 meters between them, giving you a bigger chance of killing BLUFOR forces. You can use them to blow up bridges, compounds and even your own cache, so make sure they are not to close! When using these arty IEDs as anti-infantry make sure you blow it up when it's really needed otherwise man up and start shooting. By the way, tanks such as the Abrahams can survive one or two arty IEDs. So when you want to IED it, make sure you got 5 IEDs in a small area of 20 by 20 meters spread around it or place it under a bridge to make it swim!

- Proximity IEDs
The proximity IED also known as "mine" is only effective against vehicles or in some cases against vessels (Kokan). The fact that you never know where they are make it an effective weapon explained further on. They can take out tanks, but since they have a five second arm time, there is a chance that they survive it when you place them under their tracks.

The psychological effects of IEDs.

Psychological warfare is underrated in the mod. It is actually a huge factor, think about the fact that everyone starts sneaking for cover when under sniper fire, it is an effect that is caused mainly because you are scared. You are scared about the fact that you could be killed in one hit by an enemy you don't see. With IEDs it is the same case. APC drivers, tank drivers, infantry even pilots in some case are constantly aware of the fact that they could be blow up by IEDs every moment. This can cause a lot of things for example they start to move up very slowly. Giving you valuable time to setup hideouts or defensive positions. It can also cause them to draw more troops away from the front for EOD missions. Giving you a better chance to win the game. So constant fear is a psychological effect another one is losing awareness because you are constantly aware of IEDs and not of troop movement. The biggest effect that is not mainly psychological but comes out of the fear issue is restricting the area use able for vehicles. Because when you made a casualty on a certain crossroad, the enemy team will probably not use that crossroad again for a while or approach it with such a speed that you buy more time for your team. So you can actually denies them a whole area to be used by armored vehicles. For infantry almost the same case, when you have made the first casualty by either pipebombs or nadetraps, they will pay more attention to it giving you an advantage.

The effect that is the most in their disadvantage is suspecting anything, when a BLUFOR squads gets blown up or almost they'll start shooting at everything they see, sometimes at nothing, sometimes at civilians, or at you in the worst case. Same thing for APCs and other vehicles. They run out of ammo constantly, so they need to keep going back and forward giving you an opportunity to blow them up when they are RTBing. When you actually do this, you'll even scare them more than ever because you actually managed to blow them in their "safe zone". So maybe they pull back their armour and go on foot giving you again a better chance to win the game. When you do this for example on Archer by ambushing both exit roads they' ll start using chinooks for transport and the APCs need to drive such big distances that the round is often decided before they arrive. All these effects open a window of opportunity to strike even harder.

So how do you make use of these effects? Well first of all you need to kill them once to make them more aware of the IED thread. Then you start to anticipate on their movements, so maybe you need to replace your ambush or not, because maybe they think lightning never strikes twice, well look the video below to see that it does strike twice.

Now the most difficult or let's say the most time-conserving thing about this is tactics, setting up the ambush and wait.

Tactics
So as stated before in many other tutorials you want to place your IED by a route (a road isn't even necessary) that enemy uses to travel frequently. You place it up here in the middle of the route when possible, in cities this is even easier since you have some trees or landmarks in the middle of the road. By placing your IED in the middle you can cover the most ground. But when it is out of your deadly range, let's say 30 meters, try to get a second IED to finish the vehicle off. Hide it below rocks, near the sidewalk or in a building next to the street when possible. When placing it at bridges, try to place it under the bridge so the vehicle will actually sink instead of explode. Now we will get into the more difficult tactics for the people that want to take it a step higher.

1- The Anticipate IED
For example, you have a cache in the south side of Al-Basrah. Enemy vehicles will often travel towards the dike road that's going from east to west on the south side of the road. These vehicles often mount up there to suppress and kill people near the cache. What you can do is place 1 or more IEDs (Use the trigger groups!) on this road where they will probably stand still. Now you just need to wait until a vehicle will stop there. By doing this you "abuse" their tactics against them.

2- The travel IED
It is almost like the two tactics mentioned above, but this time you place your IED as close as you can to their main base and you use the road they'll most likely use to get to the cache area. You hit them whenever possible holding them for a while and you let them lose their tickets if you hit a vehicle, the advantage of this tactic is that you'll hit them on the move and when they are not-focused yet when the IED is setup close to their main.

3- The square IED
This one requires a lot of ammo and protection of others. You'll rig up a whole square or crossroad by placing the IEDs in a square and one in the middle of it (5 IEDs in total) this one is very useful against choppers and tanks. You can either cover a lot of ground or hit the heavy-vehicles without giving them a chance to get away.


Tomorrow I will place the next part, if you think it is useful don't be shy to thank me.