Anti-Tank Rifleman

An Anti-Tank Rifleman (AT Rifleman) is a Rifleman carrying a Light Anti-Tank Launcher - a weapon designed to reliably destroy any vehicle up to and including APCs, and has a good chance of killing IFVs and occasionally Tanks. It can also be used (in emergencies) to kill clustered Infantry, damage buildings, or destroy a mission objective - though these uses are rare.

Anti-Tank Riflemen are members of an Infantry Fireteam. There are usually two such players in each Fireteam at the start of the mission, each belonging to a different Color Team. That number decreases as LAT launchers are fired and discarded. Additional launchers recovered from enemy corpses, or taken from Resupply Crates, may increase the number of AT Riflemen in a unit.

Other than the launcher they are carrying, an AT Rifleman is equipped the same as any other Rifleman. In fact, once the LAT launcher is used and discarded, the AT Rifleman instantly becomes a regular Rifleman. Note that a player who picks up a LAT launcher does not become an "AT Rifleman" if they already have a different role (e.g. Medic, Automatic Rifleman, etc.). The term "AT Rifleman" is specifically used for Riflemen carrying AT, not just anyone carrying an AT - and their behavior is similarly different.

AT Riflemen behave as normal Riflemen, for the most part - but change their behavior whenever an enemy armored vehicle is known to be nearby. In such a circumstance, AT Riflemen are expected to get their AT launcher ready immediately, seek line-of-sight to the enemy vehicle, and destroy it. In some cases, the AT Rifleman is not only allowed to but expected to move away from the rest of their unit in order to acquire that line-of-sight. Once the AT Rifleman has fired their weapon (assuming it is not reusable), their behavior reverts to that of a normal Rifleman.

If an AT Rifleman is killed, someone else in the Fireteam may attempt to recover their LAT launcher, if it is still usable. If an enemy armored threat is nearby, the AT may even be taken from the body of an unconscious player, since taking and using it immediately can very often save lives.

Equipment
The load-out of an Anti-Tank Rifleman is identical to that of a Rifleman, apart from the addition of a Light Anti-Tank Launcher. This makes the AT Rifleman slightly slower (or rather, quicker to Fatigue), but not by much. This effect is more noticeable for AT Riflemen carrying a borderline-Medium Anti-Tank Launcher such as the RPG-7, as they may be required to carry multiple heavier rockets as well.

Role
The two AT Riflemen in a Fireteam are normally the unit's only method of defending itself against APCs and heavier vehicles - up to and including Tanks. Though Armored Cars can be defeated by Grenade Launchers, it is usually preferable to fire an Anti-Tank rocket at such threats as well.

The role of an AT Riflemen changes drastically depending on whether such threats are present within proximity of the Fireteam. If there is no such threat, the AT Rifleman's role is identical to that of any other Rifleman, as described on that article. However when a vehicle threat appears, the AT Rifleman is expected to switch their behavior radically in order to defeat that vehicle before it can do any damage to the unit.

Rifleman Duty


For the vast majority of the mission, the AT Rifleman is expected to behave exactly the same as any other Rifleman. This role is explained in detail in the article on Riflemen, and will not be repeated here.

Anti-Tank Duty
An AT Rifleman must be alert to any calls reporting an armored threat within the vicinity of their Fireteam or Squad, or any vehicle further away that might threaten the unit or is approaching it.

As soon as such a vehicle is reported, the AT Rifleman is expected to draw their Anti-Tank Launcher in preparation to use it. The call "AT up!" may be used by a Fireteam Leader or Squad Leader to encourage this. With their AT in hand, AT Riflemen are only a second or two away from firing their launcher. There is no shortage of examples of situations where that is all the time they get to do so.

Once an AT Rifleman has drawn their launcher, they immediately enter a "seek and destroy" mode, in which they must locate the threatening vehicle and fire their weapon at it. This is done in several stages:


 * 1) Understanding the threat: The AT Rifleman must try to understand what vehicle they are looking for, and where it is reported to be located. They do this by listening intently to their Squad Net, to Voice calls from other nearby players, and to nearby engine sounds. This can also help them avoid firing at dead or disabled vehicles.
 * 2) Locating the threat: The AT Rifleman actively seeks line-of-sight to the target vehicle. This may occasionally require them to move a good distance away from their unit, and they are typically expected to do so. They also must be careful to choose a safe firing position where they will not cause Backblast damage to themselves or others. If the vehicle is engaging friendlies, the AT Rifleman may seek a position at another angle away from friendlies, in order to reduce the chance of themselves being shot by the vehicle while aiming the AT launcher at it.
 * 3) Establish range to target: The AT Rifleman must assess the range from their firing position to the target. They may consult nearby players about their opinion, or estimate the range themselves. If someone else has already fired at the same target, and has called out the range they used, the AT Rifleman may adjust accordingly. If the target is very close, this step can be skipped altogether.
 * 4) Issue a warning: The AT Rifleman will call out "Clear backblast" shortly before firing, to ensure that other players will avoid standing behind him as he fires the weapon. The call "Rocket!" is then issued immediately before firing, to indicate to nearby players that the AT Rifleman is taking their shot and thus avoid multiple rockets being fired on the same target. This reduces the chance of multiple rockets being wasted on a target that would be killed by the first rocket.
 * 5) Firing the rocket: The AT Rifleman presses the trigger and observes the rocket flying towards its target. He then reports the result of the attack - whether the rocket missed, hit, destroyed the target, disabled it, or caused its crew to abandon the vehicle. If the distance to the target is significant (~100 meters or more), and the target was not destroyed or disabled, the AT Rifleman will report the range they used so that others may adjust accordingly.

Following the shot, if the launcher is single-use, the AT Rifleman can (and should) dispose of it immediately. This reduces their weight, and thus has less impact on Stamina. The launcher cannot be restored to usable condition anyway.

AT Riflemen carrying a multi-use launcher are expected to reload their weapon immediately after firing. This keeps the weapon ready in case another shot must be taken, or another target suddenly appears. They are also expected to seek more rockets to replenish their original count, whether by taking them from other players, from dead EI, or from Resupply Crates.

Finally, the AT Rifleman is encouraged to remind their Fireteam Leader when they have expended a rocket, and/or how many rockets they have left, so that the Fireteam Leader remains aware of how many rockets in total their Fireteam has left. This helps the FTL -- and by extension the Squad Leader -- understand their unit's capability to engage future armored threats, and helps decide when to call for Resupply.

Map Markers
An AT Rifleman's position is not tracked on the main map. However he has a special icon that tracks his position on the STHUD. This icon will be visible to himself and every other member of his Fireteam.

Communications
AT Riflemen communicate the same as basic Riflemen. However whenever an armored threat appears, certain terminology applies that is specific to that situation.

Callsigns and Terminology
The term "AT Rifleman" is a short-hand for "Anti-Tank Rifleman", and will be used much more often than the full term. The term "AT" in this case refers specifically to Light Anti-Tank Launchers ("LAT").

The following is a list of terms related specifically to the application of AT Riflemen in combat, and no longer apply to them after they have expended their AT rockets and become regular Riflemen.