Basic Recon Overview

Despite some criticism, the recon class remains the most flexible class available in Battlefield 2142.  The range of unlocks and early maturity of the recon's unlock tree make it a prime candidate for mastery.  Several myths tarnish the recon class, most notably the perception that the recon class is not team oriented.  

This guide will help you understand the basics of the recon.

UNLOCKS



A fairly solid recon class can be developed with a few quick upgrades.  My favorite recon combination involves the active cammo (preferably the advanced cammo from NS), the Lambert Carbine, the apm mines, and the rdx mines.  This is a very effective combination for just about any combat scenario.  The Lambert is a very good gun which is suitable for short and medium range combat.  APM mines can be littered about the battlefield and provide you with easy kills.  RDX explosives can take out a range of things, vehicles, commander assets, titan consoles, titan cores, and infantry.

Typically, you are going to want to use the Lambert Carbine gun, active cammo, and apm mine combinations.  This will allow you to deal very effectively with infantry threats.  However, it is necessary to equip the RDX when dealing with vehicle threats.    

If you are interested in sniping, you will want to unlock the DysTek Hi-scope as quickly as possible.  Even with the stock recon gun, you will benefit greatly from having access to the scope.  If you are interested in learning more about the role of the Recon as a sniper, check out our tutorial on Sniping 101.

Similarly, the recon class is uniquely suited to dog tagging.  If you are interested in dog tagging tips, please check out our section on Dog tagging.

Unlocks which are not so useful include the DS-22 Decoy and the Gruber 5 stabilizer.  The decoy projects a false location signature if the recon is within 50 meters of the decoy.  While this theoretically is helpful, real world experience has proven that it is generally not worth equipping.  The Gruber stabilizer works by pressing the space bar and keeps the scope steady for a period of about 3 seconds.  This is not much of a performance gain for an unlock.  It should work passively.

SPECIAL ROLES FOR THE RECON

Sniping

The recon is obviously the best class for sniping.  An experienced recon can definitely leverage the long range accuracy of the scopes to score plenty of kills around silos and capture points.  The disadvantage is that when using a sniper's gun, the recon cannot effectively engage in short range combat scenarios.  In fact, if I am equipped with a gun like the Zellar-H, I prefer to try to cloak up on my victims and knife them instead.  Some maps, like Belgrade, are particularly good for snipers.  In general, however, I prefer to use a Lambert because of its effectiveness at short and medium range combat scenarios.

Ghosting

The ability to cloak is amazing and being a "ghost" is really what the recon class is all about.  There are two things you must get used to while ghosting.  First, you need to have a basic understanding of how long the cammo will last.  You do not want to de-cloak at the wrong time.  For this reason, I prefer to go with light armor when I play recon.  It allows me to move faster and further while cloaked.  

The second thing you must remember is that you are not undetectable.  The active cammo emits a noise which higher end sound cards can locate.  Visually you are not completely hidden either.  It is also important to remember that people can spot you out before you cloak, infantry ids detectors can reveal you, UAV can identify you, and that a commander can spot you.  There are times when ghosting is simply not worth doing.

Ghosting allows you to break behind enemy lines and capture or defend flag points.  Look at how the attacker below is caught off guard by a defending ghost.

Ghosting is also helpful for turning flags.  

It is particularly helpful to your squad if you as a squad leader can break behind enemy lines and place a beacon in the right place.  Even in defended titan corridors, a ghost can slip by defenders and the sentry's will not immediately detect you.  That being said, there are limits to cloaking and carelessness will get you killed.  When you are ghosting behind enemy lines, be sure to communicate information to your teammates.  If you see people, try to use the VOIP to relay information.  I have my comm rosie quick-keyed to mouse 3, so I can spot the enemy quickly.  Be careful not to make too much noise as a recon- when in doubt, VOIP.

Demolition and Sabotage

The recon is particularly well suited to blowing up key enemy assets.  It takes about 3 rdx to blow up a commander asset such as "UAV", "Sat Track", "Orbital Strike", or "EMP Strikes".   Sometimes you can blow up an enemy asset with only 2 rdx.  A titan console takes 3 RDX.  Titan cores are durable and will take multiple refills to successfully blow.   A recon/supply combo is the most effective method of destroying a titan core.  A goliath can have about 1/2 of its health removed by 5 RDX packs.  I once died placing the five RDX packs on the back of a goliath.  When I respawned, the RDX was still on the back of the goliath.  I placed another 5 RDX packs on the back of the goliath and detonated it.  The combined explosion, effectively 10 RDX, managed to destroy the enemy goliath.   Tanks and walkers take about 3 RDX placed on them.

Of course, you can leave RDX on flags or attached to vehicles and wait for people.  Placed on the back of a tank and the results are obvious.  

APM mines are very effective at anti-infantry operations.  I prefer to place APM mines in corridors and tight passages, or near flags.  Watch where other players routinely walk and place your APM mines accordingly.   I often make a placement of APM mines at key access points when I am trying to turn a flag.

Dog Tagging

As highlighted in our dog tagging section, a recon makes an excellent dog-tagger.  Make no mistake about it, dog tagging effectively can demoralize your opponents.  A successful dog tag combined with the appropriate taunt, even as simple as "LOL", can make an opponent so irate they will lose focus for the rest of the round.

Summary

The versatility of the recon class makes the recon suitable for both conquest and titan modes.  Choosing how you want to equip your recon is highly situational.  It will take time for you to perform functions as a recon which benefit your team, but properly played a good recon is a team asset.  

CHEERS!