An AT Infantry Guide to Tank Hunting

Even just one tank can turn the tide of a battle populated by only infantry. Tanks are impervious to small arms fire and can destroy fortifications very quickly. They are seemingly invincible, and can demoralize troops on the frontline if there are no friendly tanks to counter them.

Fear not foot soldier! Knowledge is your greatest weapon, and with experience, you will be able to stop waves of the steel beasts with just sticks and stones.



AT Infantry Weapons Tier Chart

S : Best in Class
A : Always Good
B : Situationally Good
C : Poor
D : Last resort

Throwable AT Weapons

Anti-Tank Sticky Bomb (Warden and Colonial) is the backbone of any AT infantry arsenal. The sticky grenade deals high amount of damage (450), and around 4 or more stickies will disable a light tank. The main downside of the sticky is its short range and unintuitive trajectory. If you aim for the top of a tank, it will fly right over it. Aim for the spot where you want it to land. 

             

White Ash Anti-Tank Flask (Warden) has a lowered damage (300) in exchange for higher range and arc. In addition, a crate of AT flasks contains 15 grenades, rather than the 10 in the crate of sticky bombs, and as a result the AT flask makes an decent newb-friendly economical AT throwable. The flask will sting enemy armor and turn a tank battle to your side's advantage, rather than single handedly destroy enemy tanks like a coordinated sticky rush. While stickies are often carried in bundles of 3-5 by veteran tank hunters, standard infantry can benefit from carrying 1-2 when there is tank presence in the battlefield to provide minimal AT pressure on the enemy armor. The hidden advantage of the AT flask is its excellent use in naval combat. The higher range gives it a much better versatility when used in battle-barges or APC's against enemy ships. Against open-top land vehicles, the flask also offers an opportunity to de-crew the vehicles by landing it on the operators directly and in a pinch, kill enemy infantry that is standing very still (its splash radius is nearly nonexistiant). 

              

Throwable AT Infantry Strategies

To successfully land multiple AT grenades on an enemy tank without getting killed takes a good amount of skill, but a very satisfying one to master. Charging at the enemy tank line with a backpack full of sticky grenades will not work for obvious reasons. Smart tankers always keep an eye out for sticky rushers and either kill them or move away beforehand, and tanks are often protected by infantry. There are several methods to outsmart the armored foe, however, allowing you to close the distance and seriously damage them at the cost of a shirt. Persistence is key. Damaging enemy tanks again and again will force the crew to retreat to repair, buying more time for friendly AT infantry or tanks to get ready for a lethal blow. 

                     

1. Flank wide. We assume enemy tanks are focused on what's going on in front of them. The tried and true tactic to get the drop on the enemy is to flank them. The more time you invest in safely charting a way to the exposed rearside of an enemy tank position, the higher the chance of successfully attaching multiple stickies on them before getting killed. Dedicated sticky teams will travel wide, carrying nothing but stickies (2-4), taking several minutes to get in position before approaching the target from the exposed flank.

2. Dance. When you do succeed in getting close to the enemy tanks from the rear, be careful not to get run over by the enemy tanks, and sprint from side to side in unpredictable directions to dodge their shells. Great way to dodge tank shells is to sprint in the opposite dirrection just when their line of fire locks onto you. This gets easier the closer you are to the tank. (Just be careful not to get run over)

3. Use Binocular/Radio. Such a perilous mission can be made easier by using binoculars to see the opening in the enemy position, and with squadmates, allows you to instruct fellow sticky rushers to follow suit. Even if enemy tanks are covered by infantry, there are always temporary gaps in their guard, and the prior intel gives you a much higher chance to suceed.

4. Suicide Truck. When a frontline has many abandoned trucks, you can have troops carrying only stickies hop in, and charge into the enemy tank position. Trucks can take fire and get disabled, but as long as you're on the road, the momentum will still carry you forward, and close the distance fast enough for your troops to hop out and throw their stickies before the enemy has a chance to react. 

4. Get em while they're down. Tanks often pull back to allow for its crew to hop out to repair. This is the perfect time to strike, since they will be already damaged and slower to respond.

                   

RPGs

Rocket propelled grenade launcher is the strongest (and arguably the coolest) class of infantry AT weapon. However, this doesn't necessarily make them first pick when dealing with tanks. RPGs are expensive and heavy, and unless you know what you're doing with them, you may easily end up lugging the valuable loot all the way across the battlefield just to gift it to the enemy.

When handling RPGs, keep in mind that you can only carry limited number of shells. (3-5, depending on your loadout). Warden specialist uniforms allow you to carry 1 more shell without being encumbered, so take advantage of this if any are available. Unlike sticky rushers, RPG gunners must take into account survivabilty just as much as the desire to peg as many rounds into the enemy armor as possible. RPG launchers cost refined mats and when lost to the enemy, bad things happen. Hence, instead of just stuffing your pockets full of shells, it's advisable to just carry 3-4 and stay lightfooted, so you can quickly dart to advantageous locations and run from danger. Friendly infantry should protect you from hostile infantry and using binos can help you steer clear of danger while poking at enemy weak spots. Keep the RPG unequipped when on the move to gain more speed.

Cutler (Warden) is a versatile weapon that excels at both AT and structural damage (550). Its range is very decent, and travels much further than the official range of 25m, depending on height and terrain. Find cover if possible, and wait for enemy armor to expose themselves before launching your shells. Aim for their tracks for a chance to reduce the enemy tanks' mobility. When there are no armored targets, the cutler can switch to the PVE erole and take out enemy watchtowers and pillboxes. Players should be extra vigilant not to lose their cutler launcher because both factions can make the RPG shell and use it against the other.

                

Venom (Colonial) does the same damage as the cutler launcher (550) but it fires Direct ATRPG shells, which have higher chance of penetration against armored vehicles, with reduced damage against structures. The direct ATRPG shells can only be made by colonials, so there is less risk of losing it to the wardens as its ammo will be finite.

Bonesaw (Warden) fires warden-exclusive indirect ATRPG shells at an arc which deal massive damage (750). Its main downside is very short range (even lower than a pistol), weight, and slow turning speed. Hence, except for niche circumstances such as firing over walls in tight quarters, the handheld bonesaw is a poor anti-tank weapon: trying to approach enemy armor frontally will result in getting blown up by its longer-range cannon, and it's too heavy and risky to flank with. If you do somehow get the drop on the enemy tank with a bonesaw however, you can disable it very quicky, with 2 shots from the rear for a light tank. Ironically, the arc actually makes it a decent anti-infantry "impact grenade launcher" for clearing trenches or enemies hiding behind obstacles rather than its intended anti-tank purpose. The one thing you can do with the bonesaw better than other types of RPGs is firing over obstacles. You can even fire while being crouched inside a trench or foxhole, which keeps you hidden. Element of surprise is a requirement for getting any use out of the bonesaw against enemy armor.

           

Bane (Colonial), a handheld colonial ATRPG launcher with 37m range (550 damage) is the strongest infantry AT weapon in Foxhole. It's expensive and heavy, with a very long range for a handheld infantry AT weapon, which makes it literally the bane of warden armor because its range is almost equivalent to the tanks themselves. This means the bane gunner can face tanks from the front, and push with standard infantry without fear of getting sniped by the 40mm cannon before being able to fire a shot. Its downside is its higher cost and cumbersome to handle. You must be kneeled or prone to fire. Wardens cannot make direct ATRPG shells that the Bane uses, so looted Banes for the warden is only as useful as the shells that come with it.

RPG Strategies

1. Keep up with friendly tanks on the flanks. During tank vs tank combat, enemy tanks will almost always target the more expensive friendly tanks and vice versa, rather than infantry. This gives open opportunity to add to the firepower of our armored group without worrying about retaliation from hostile armor.

2. Use binoculars to look for optimal locations to position yourself. Preferably one without many enemy infantry and an exposed enemy flank.

3. Aim for the fuel tank or tracks when possible. A tank with crippled mobility among AT infantry is a dead tank.

4. Use cover from inside houses, bunkers, higher ground on top of rocks, or trenches to stay safe from enemy tanks while peeking out to blast the enemy.

5. Don't reveal the RPG until the enemy armor is almost in range. They will most likely stay far away if they see your launcher from a distance, or at least make it a priority to target you first. Wield your pistol or binoculars in the meantime.

6. LUV AT Squad. With a squad of 2 or more RPG gunners, the LUV is very effective at flanking and harassing enemy armor. You overcome your lack of speed and also have a means of safe retreat, should you face a bigger threat than you bargained for. 

                    

Expendable AT Weapons

Both factions have an exclusive expendable infantry AT weapon that is both versatile and costs only salvage-type materials (bmats and emats). The ignifist is a single shot rpg that costs bmats and emats, while the AT rifle and its 20mm ammo costs pure bmats, but needs both parts to work. They can and should be supplied en masse across any front when tanks are unlocked, and then you can reliably expect that front's power against tanks to scale with the number of available infantry regardless of skill. (unlike stickies and RPGs, which are highly skill-dependent)

Ignifist (Colonial) is a single-shot ATRPG with decent range (18m) and slightly less damage than a sticky grenade. (400) In effect, it is a rocket-propelled sticky grenade, a "best of both worlds" between the expendablility of throwables and the range of launchable AT weapons. Even with just a few crates, every rifleman can essentially double up as an RPG gunner, as long as they have at least one in their backpack. It equips at 3rd slot, allowing for quick switch from primary antipersonnel arms with a hotkey. A small squad of ignifist-armed infantry can quickly surprise and disable enemy armor. Because ignifists are foolproof and versatile, they can be found on pretty much any front, even in warden bases that have been rebuilt over colonial ones. Never pass upon the opportunity to grab an ignifist or two when enemy tanks are at large in the battlefield. One downside is the lack of automatic re-arming of the ignifist after firing even if you have multiple in your backpack, unlike throwables. Hence, a skilled ignifist wielder should learn to quickly equip the next ignifist manually.

                    

Anti-Tank Rifle (Warden) is incredibly resource-efficient, costing only bmats for both the gun and ammo. Although heavy, slow to aim, and only fires while crouched or prone unless leaning on a ledge, the ATR can pour a high volume of rapid-fire damage onto enemy armor (150-225 per shot) from a good range (40m). A major advantage of the ATR is being able to store an incredible amount of AT damage potential in your backpack because each clip of 20mm has 8 shots and you can carry quite a few without being encumbered. However this potential is spread out in between many shots, so a tank under fire from ATRs will back off before taking too many hits unless you force it into a position of no retreat. It is fairly decent against infantry thanks to its one hit kill capability, although cumbersome at close range. A skilled ATR gunner can use its primary weapon against both infantry and tanks alike. 

AT Rifle Strategies

1. Aim low. The high rate of fire gives it many chances for a successful disabling of tracks. Also, there is lower chance of missing your shots if you aim for the lower part of a tank.

2. Be bold and take ambitious positions. Unleash a continuous rain of fire upon enemy armor from the flanks for max damage. Because of its cheap cost, there is a smaller penalty of losing an ATR compared to RPG's.

3. Bushes are your friend. From stealth, you can wait until enemy armor gets in close before opening fire, and also snipe with any enemy infantry trying clear you out.

4. Volley fire. Multiple ATR gunners can quickly shred enemy armor and also protect each other.

5. Use the high ground. You become more difficult to kill if you're on top of a rock or cliff. 

6. Wear a gas mask.Take 1-2 extra filters. Enemies will most definitely throw gas grenades your way.

7. Go fishing. ATRs are very good for hunting gunboats that have pulled up close to the shore to bombard inland bases, since gunboats have only a 100m range. 6 shots from the ATR kill the boat. 

              

Tripod AT Weapons

Tripod weapons sacrifice mobility for range and expendability. Both tripod and weapon only cost bmats, and can be widely supplied on the front. Operation is cumbersome because they must be both carried on the shoulder a character, and take time to set up.

Mounted Bonesaw (Warden) is the tripod variant of the bonesaw, also using indirect ATRPG shells and firing over an arc. It only costs bmats and has a decent 37m range, while dealing massive damage (750) at a high rate of fire. Even a handful of MB's and ATRPG shells can hold back an armored push at a static defensive position thanks to these advantages. Hold the line for when friendly tanks pull back, and redeploy forward when they advance. The indirect shell velocity is slower than a normal RPG shell, so be sure to track your targets if they are in motion. 

Dauscus ISG (Colonial) is mainly considered a PVE weapon, being able to outrange rifle pillboxes and garrisons. Its slow rate of fire makes it inadequate to be considered a true AT weapon despite the decent 400 damage of its 30mm shell and 40m range, and it is rarely used against armor when other options are available.

Tripod AT Infantry Strategies

1. Deploy on bunker tiles, trenches, and sandbags for extra protection. In the case of the mounted bonesaw, set it up behind them to make full usage of the arc of fire while staying hidden and protected. Deploying on top of an AT garrison will force enemy tanks to aggro the building when they fire at you.

2. Operate in teams of 2, so you can quickly set up the weapon and reposition. One player can fire, while the other guards you from infantry with a primary weapon and scopes ahead using binoculars.

3. Use an LUV, ambulance, or truck for extra mobility and ammo capacity. LUVs and ambulances can move quickly off-road, while trucks can store extra ammo. The warden tracked truck has both good-off road speed and high storage capacity, while the colonial LMG truck can provide cover fire for the tripod gunner.

Note: With the next update, tripod weapons are getting a major overhaul and become less frustrating to use because the "E" command will open its inventory (with its own ammo inventory) instead instead of disassembling by accident. The update will change the dynamic of tripod weapons considerably. One expected change in usage would be that the tripod weapons will become more static feature of the battlefield in the same way that emplacement MGs and AT guns are. They will most likely be deployed in strategic locations with plenty of ammo loaded in, so that infantry can hop on and start firing when it becomes needed, rather than requring a dedicated team of operators with the proper loadout to be effective prior to the update.

Misc AT Weapons

AT Mines are highly underrated in their capacity to counter tanks. They deal 850 damage and track any non-LUV combat vehicle that travels on it. Once a tank has stepped on a mine, it is in serious trouble, easy picking for hostile AT infantry and tanks alike since it will disable in just 1 or 2 more hits and is slow to retreat. Mines are invisible from inside such vehicles unless they're on a road or friendly. Friendly mines will also harm you, but since they're visible to the driver, they're easier to avoid. Mines disappear after 48 hours and can be dismantled by a wrench. If you're going for a measure of "how many minutes can you hold off a large tank assault at a specific position?", mines take the cake in its great efficiency because tanks generally cannot advance at all when there is a field of mines ahead, and they're damn near impossible to clear when there is even a small number of defending infantry to shoot at anyone trying to dismantle the mines.

AT Mine strategies

1. Place in choke points. When you want to deter a large enemy tank assault from a specific direction, there is nothing more effective than mines.  If you know the enemy must traverse a certain pass in order to reach their target, a watertight layer of mines will take great effort to break through even for a huge column of 12 tanks when there are at least some friendly defenders with small arms preventing the removal of the mines.

2. Space apart in a haphazard pattern in the no man's land. Friendly armor can see your mines and avoid them, while enemy tank drivers cannot. They can dismount and scope ahead, but it will be hell to remember exactly where each mine is during heat of battle. This works especially well for mines in bushes, which are impossible to check without actually going inside them on foot, unless they're friendly. Thus, friendly tanks will be able to avoid them better than the enemy tanks can.

                 

3. Place behind the enemy. If you manage to flank around and place mines on roads or expected paths of retreat by enemy armor, they will have a very high chance of stepping on them as they pull back to repair. This is a strategy that takes great patience and foresight, and one that will bring great reward. Just don't be too obvious about it, and stay out of the tanks' line of sight.

4. Place ~40m in front of friendly defensive structures. There is no reason to place mines very close to friendly structures because enemy tanks wont drive up that far before destroying the structures anyways, and all it does is harm friendly tanks. Place them just out of range in front of AT garrisons, AT pillboxes, and trench networks so that enemy tanks are forced to step on them if they want to blow up our defenses.

HE Grenades are very weak against armor, albeit with a much longer range than sticky grenades. However, if they are all that's available, then you can make them count. A single hit to the engine by HE grenade can potentially cause a tank's fuel to leak, and one to the tracks can reduce its mobility. An immobile tank is a dead tank, as it can then be swarmed by more infantry carrying assorted AT weapons, good or bad.

Green Ash gas grenades will bleed out the filters that enemy tank crew carry. Although by themselves gas grenades will not kill enemy armor, it will put pressure on tanks to either pull back to avoid the gas or get more filters from somewhere else, taking them out of the fight for even a short while, and buy you time until heavier equipment arrives. When a tank is tracked or disabled, then it's easy pickings. Gas them out, grab a wrench, and steal the tank for your faction!

Final Words

Tanks are a big part of the Foxhole combat experience. But it's not all of it. Some of the most satisfying plays in the game can be found in taking down the Goliath as a mere foot soldier with the brains and courage to make a difference. Do not fear the ironclad foe. They are probably more afraid of you than you are of them. Even with completely nothing, simply running around like you're up to no good will drive it crazy and cause it to back up, even for a second, and that can be what decides a battle's victory and defeat. Push your limits and keep trying new things. Be inspired and inspire others.

 

Be bold. Be brave. Be brilliant. 

 -Mountedantman