[Guide] Player controlled Mortars for PR

[Anderson29]

UPDATE:
A LOT OF SERVERS ARE ENFORCING A "NO USING MORTARS IN YOUR TEAMS DOME OF DEATH" RULE, SO IN ORDER TO HELP EVERYONE KNOW WHERE THESE INVISIBLE LINES ARE, SEE PAGE 4 OF THIS THREAD AND BOOKMARK IT.

Player controlled Mortars for PR.

FACTS and CAPABILITIES

Max Range: 1,500m
Max Rate of Fire: 1 rd every 6 sec. 10rds a minute per tube
Time of Flight: 15-20 seconds from shot to splash
Max load out: 12 HE/AB rds, 6 smoke rds
Rearming rds: 1 ammo bag is = to approximately 4 HE/AB or 2 smoke rds

You can set a maximum of 2 mortars a map within 200m of a built fob and the 2 mortars can be no further apart than 50m

they can be destroyed and rebuilt in a different location at any time

It takes 5 seconds after a fire mission is requested to activate the mortars.

A fire mission will stay active for 3 minutes.

It is not required to call in 2 fire missions to activate both mortars. 1 fire mission request will activate both.
BE SURE TO SET DISTANCE IN ORDER FOR IT TO WORK!

Tips

To the observers not in the mortar squad (can be anyone) and/or, SL's with officer kit or sniper kit. It is not necessary to call in a fire mission using the commo rose through the binoc's/gltd. You can simply give a grid to the commander or to the mortar SL through team chat but, in case you want to call in a fire mission via binoc's and commo rose, here are 4 steps in order to do it accurately.
Mortar SL, you do not need to place the fire mission marker accurately as long as your move/observe/attack map marker is in the desired location of fires

Step 1: Place a move, observe or attack marker on the desired location of the fire mission using the sqd screen (default key caps locks or home) and right click on the map grid and place the marker or if you have eyes on, place it via commo rose on the specific enemy location. remember the distance given at the bottom of the screen or in your GLTD to make it faster later,when you get the hang of things.

step 2: Move a bit in the direction of the move, observe or attack map marker you just placed, for best accuracy.

step 3: Pull out your binoc's and right click and use the "main radio" commo rose to set the distance (you will find the distance in the squad screen below the map and only the SL can see the distance, unless you are manning one of the mortars...explained below.), at this time you do not have to have a visual of the target...just be pointed in the direction of the desired location of fires.

step 4: Immediately after setting the distance, request the type of mission you want (right above the "set distance" in the commo rose) HE/AB or smoke. once this is done the fire mission map marker will be placed on the map for all to see.


Observers not in mortar sqd, When calling in a fire mission you are in control of those rounds. Give adjustments and BDA(Battle Damage Assessments ie. causalities) if possible. Coordinate with the commander through voip or the Mortar SL through team chat.

Corrections should be made like this.... Left___meters, Right___meters, Add___meters, Drop___meters. also, when giving corrections, make sure you know where the mortar team is firing from and give the corrections as if you were looking from their point of view or direction.
i know that this is not the real army's way to adjust fire by using the mortars direction to the target...its just easier in game when not everyone is tactically proficient at their current job in game.

To the mortar SL. you are free to roam the map and observe all fires. It is not necessary for you to stay with the mortars as they can see the distance to your move/observe/attack markers. You should have no less than 3 people in your sqd to be effective. Kit selection should be as follows for max rate of fire, SL with officer kit (primary observer for whole team), 2 mortar men with reg.rifleman kit, 2 ammo bearers with reg. rifleman kit. 1 loading the mortar pits and the other driving back and forth from main rearming the supply truck. Place the mortars between 20-40meters apart for maximum effect.
If you feel its necessary, build AA or AT positions in AAS scenarios as needed. try to be concealed.
Also, consider disabling the Fire base built in order to build the mortar positions, to keep people from spawning there and stealing your ammo truck, mainly on insurgency maps. On AAS maps dont disable unless ur team is advancing and once flags become out of your range, consider relocating your team to a forward position to give your team the best available support.
Also, if you are not using the SL kit you runs the risk of your range being off by 150meters, found this out on some local testing between my 2 computers. Count grid squares at times to confirm.

To the mortar men manning the mortars, you can also see distance using the squad screen just like the SL, the trick is that there has to be an active fire mission, the persons manning the mortars have to be in the ballistic calculator/weapon slot 4, once the calculator is up, press the squad screen button, (default caps lock or home) and you will see the distance at the bottom of the map to the SL's move/observe/attack marker.

A good mortar team can get accurate rds on target in less than 1 minute after a fire mission is called.
When receiving corrections keep in mind that the minimum deviation on the mortars is 25-50meters at 1,000 meters and left or right 5 degrees is between 75-100meters at that distance and decreases at shorter ranges and increases at greater ranges, so be careful when adjusting. If you have to go more than 10 degrees left or right of the target direction given...request for a new grid and/or fire mission.

Any questions or misunderstandings...feel free to post and i will update this thread as needed. Also if anyone else has tips or good tactics post them below in order to have a 1 stop shop for all tips and tactics relating to mortars in pr. Hope this helps some of yall be more effective in the PR battlefield.

[Jaymz]

Good guide, Anderson.

Just a few more random notes,

Insurgent mortars have little over twice the deviation of conventional ones.

When Air Burst is requested, ensure you know the approximate elevation difference and adjust accordingly. If you don't, the rounds may end up being extremely ineffective.

[Ambush]

As Mortar SL, how do I set up the fire mission without using the laze? I've been searching for instructions for how to do so for a couple days, and I should be blowing up somthing by now! LOL HELP!

[Ambush]

OK... This is what I have learned! In order to call a FIRE MISSION as the Mortar SL you must first....

Mark the target with an attack marker.

(make note of your range)

take GTLD/Binocs and dial in your range.

Then with the GTLD/Binocs out use the commo rose and select MORTOR STRIKE.
(you do not have to point in any preticular direction with the GTLD)

That should do it!

So lets go over it again:

Mark the target.
Dial in your range in your GTLD
select Mortar strike in commo rose (in any direction)
Kill the enemy. LOL

[Anderson29]

yes, follow steps 1 through 4 in my main post. i dont know how to make it any simpler

[Lowjoe]

i have one question. when do the airburst rounds explode? and what does the 'height' have to do with this?

[Anderson29]

they are proximity rounds supposedly...so they should just explode 10-20m above the ground. i dont think height has anything to do with what elevation the round explodes. i believe height on the calculator is to be more precise in target location in maps with various elevations but when u have no way of knowing ur own elevation...it really does no one any good unless a person knows both the mortar's elevation and the target's elevation and the person firing the mortars will need to guestimate the height if he so chooses...which i think is just a waste of time. so long story short.......dont bother with the height in the calculator imo.

[Stockypotty]

I have been testing this with some friends recently. Am I right in saying:

If we are set up in A1, and another squad says there is enemy activity in D10 (but they don't give out a firing mission)... am I right in saying that I could aim at the ground to call a firing mission myself... then put a marker on D10, call out the range to the mortars and let them line up.... will the mortars hit D10?

[Anderson29]

yes. u kinda understand it.

edit: (for more detailed instructions since all these question are arising.....are u guys reading the whole guide? and what are yall not understanding?)

the best way to do it....or the way i do it when i do the mortar squadleader is,
lets say mortars are set up in A1. a squad or really anybody calls out "enemy in j5k3", well what i do is i put an observe marker on that grid. i remember the distance to that grid. i face the direction of the marker i just placed, i take a couple of steps in that direction, pull out binos, use the como rose to set the distance to that marker i just placed and request a fire mission and thus the call for fire icon appears on the map in the spot requested in order to let the entire team know that mortars are firing on that specific location.

you, as the mortar squad leader do not need to be with the mortar team, u should be out observing because you provide the best feedback to the mortar team via the voip. thus u can make small adjustments for best accuracy. the mortar team can get the range on their own by pressing caps locks or home to bring up the squad map and the distance will be at the bottom just like as if they were the squadleader and that only works if they are in the mortar calculator (weapon slot 4 for conventional forces and weapon slot 2 non conventional forces).

hope this answers any and all questions or misunderstandings related to the mortars.

[StatusRed]

Good guide! Thanks!

[Sniperdog]

The airburst rounds IRL (the kind that are depicted in game) have a sensor on the front that causes detonation when it detects the ground ahead of it.

Accordingly no calculation is required to set the airburst round, it works automatically.


Nice guide by the way.

[Mellanbror]

Proximity (airburst) is excellent in citys when nme is on balconys or standing in windows and such, or hiding in foxholes.

Personal preference for mortarsquadnr is 3. An SL and 2 riflemen. The SL will run ammo himself. If needed he can just stop truck and lay marker. The low nr is to have more men on the battlefield capping flags/hunting caches.

When dropping ammo, do it in bunches. Faster reload for ammobags = faster reloads for mortar.

Good guide =)

[Vanya]

Great guide.

Mortar SL, you do not need to place the fire mission marker accurately as long as your move/observe/attack map marker is in the desired location of fires

That is true but I wouldn't recommend it. There is nothing worse than being hit by mortars then checking the map and seeing that the "mortar mark" is about 25M from mortar team.

One should try to get the Fire Mission Marker as close to actual target as possible. That little bit of extra time is worth it.


I like running a mortar squad with no less then 4. Two on mortars, one on defense and SL out spotting targets.

Some times its good to have a second guys with the SL; That or have SL stick with an other squad.

[Predator.v2]

Hey, indeed nice beginners guide to mortaring.

But i have one important question to a r-dev. What is the exact difference between he and ab ingame (not reality)?

In reality you would get an higher area effect and can deny cover from f.e. trenches. Although ingame it does seem you cant effectively kill infantry in cover with them.
I made some test with a mate and he was hiding behind an 1m "wall". We had several ab rounds exploding right over his head but just half an meter on the other side of the wall and it didn't even damage my mate. I suppose the bf2 cant simulate airburst rounds probably and the hits counts as ground hits?
On the other side I am able to destroy hardware with the same amount of he or ab hits, so the damage to one point seems to be the same too. You can even destroy assets in large bunkers with both ammunition.

So maybe some Dev can give me some "numbers", like the links you are posting in a thread about deviation from time to time.

[Sniperdog]

I was not able to make the airburst rounds to actually "airburst" using code that worked on a dedicated server (and believe me I spent many countless hours trying) , so to be able to include them ingame I modified the effect to appear like an airburst and gave airburst rounds a wider spread but less potency damage-wise.

Hope that answers your question.

[Ambush]

Anderson29- Thank you- you are responsible for many mortars kills via MORTARS guide- Can we blow up Muttrah togather some time lol!

[Ambush]

So I have been quite succesful in calling in my own Mortars strikes, the only thing I was wondering now, is if their is a way to put the laze marker that my whole team sees right on my attach marker- without being in veiw.

I tried to line myself up with my compas arrow and it worked pretty good a couple times, but ussually even if I'm lined up, my laze mark ends up out in Muttrah harbor.

The rounds hit on my mark perfectly(when they are dialed in perfectly). I was just curious to know if their is a trick to placing the laze mark on the attack mark perfect every time.

(If not thats cool, I can allways alert command or type in text where the rounds are coming down)- My team should know anyways since they should be calling in the grids themselves. (even though my guessing on where to fire has been more succesful then my teams grid references.)

[ytman]

The limits of the battlefield engine require you to have your 'body' (ergo your feet) facing in the direction of where you want your mark to go. Therefore when placing any mark down, by radio or GLTD/phone or binocs you have to move forward or even backwards while facing the direction the mark is in.

Edit: I do want to pose the question of how people veiw the effectiveness of mortars on bridge structures. On bridge heavy maps (fools road, Al Basrah, Jabal, Qwai) mortars make short work of really big and key structures and have a huge impact on ground based logistics.

I've won rounds of qwai and jabal by exploiting this tactic quite easily.

[Anderson29]

thx for the compliments guys....and if anyone wants, they can feel free to add me to xfire and join me anytime. i usually play insurgency at cia and sometimes i play tg, Hardcore, and some british servers.
@ambush - if u see me in game, let me know
@ytman - thats a good tactic and i dont see why it would be an exploit.

[ytman]

The reason I question its validity is that it might not be realistic. I don't know though. But when a tank shell doesn't destroy a bridge why would a 60mm?

The below is taken from GlobalSecurity

Light mortar
The 60-mm mortar, M224, provides air assault, airborne, ranger, and light infantry rifle companies with an effective, efficient, and flexible weapon. The inherent limitations of a light mortar (short-range and small-explosive charge) can be minimized by careful planning and a thorough knowledge of its capabilities. The M224 can be employed in several different configurations. The lightest weighs about 18 pounds; the heaviest weighs about 45 pounds. Each round weighs about 4 pounds.

The 60-mm mortar round cannot penetrate most rooftops, even with a delay setting. Small explosive rounds are effective, however, in suppressing snipers on rooftops and preventing roofs from being used by enemy observers. The 60-mm WP round is not normally a good screening round due to its small area of coverage. In urban combat, however, the tendency of smoke to linger and the small areas to be screened make it more effective. During the battle for Hue in South Vietnam, 60-mm WP rounds were used to create small, short-term, smoke screens to conceal movement across open areas such as parks, plazas, and bridges. Fragments from 60-mm HE rounds landing as close as 10 feet away cannot penetrate a single sandbag layer or a single-layer brick wall. The effect of a 60-mm mortar HE round that achieves a direct hit on a bunker or fighting position is equivalent to 1 or 2 pounds of TNT. Normally, the blast will not collapse a properly constructed bunker but can cause structural damage. The 60-mm mortar will not normally crater a hard-surfaced road.

Medium mortars
The 81-mm mortars, M29A1 and M252, are the current US medium mortars. The M252 is replacing the M29A1, but both will remain in the Army inventory for several years. Medium mortars offer a compromise between the light and heavy mortars. Their range and explosive power is greater than the M224, yet they are still light enough to be man-packed over long distances. The M29A1 weighs about 98 pounds. The M252 is slightly lighter, about 93 pounds. Both can be broken down into several smaller loads for easier carrying. Rounds for these mortars weigh about 15 pounds each.

The 81-mm mortar has much the same effect against urban targets as the 60-mm mortar. It has a slightly greater lethal area and its smoke rounds (WP and RP) are more effective. A direct hit is equivalent to about 2 pounds of TNT. The 81-mm round cannot significantly crater a hard-surfaced road. With a delay setting, the 81-mm round can penetrate the roofs of light buildings.