First of all - 56kers BEWARE! There are a LOT of images in this guide.

I would say that as of the latest revision, this guide is officially complete as far as I can tell. I cannot see anything else that I can add to make this map easier to learn or any new tactics that can be employed by either team.

7th July 2007

• *NEW* Video for getting the choppers inside the ship has been added (Section 7.13)
  

4th March 2007

• Guide moved onto BF2s Wiki
  
• Essex Gun info pretty much finalised (Section 6.2)
  
• Link to BFSecrets added for SF Choppering (Section 5.8)
  

6th February 2007

• *NEW* How to activate the ramp without hitting the console (Section 7.9) (thanks to SplinterStrike BF2s Forum Link )
  
• Grammar change (Section 6.7) (thanks to SilentAndy BF2s Forum Link )
  

5th February 2007

• *NEW* Subsections are now indexed and coloured for easier reading
  
• *NEW* Commander spots added (Section 7.7)
  
• *NEW* Sniper spot added (Section 7.6)
  
• *NEW* Essex Gun info added (Section 6.2)
  
• *NEW* Picture added in C4 section (Section 6.1)
  
• *NEW* Ideas and tactics added to the “floor level fighting” (Section 5.1, Section 5.2 & Section 5.3)
  
• *NEW* Possible awards to be earnt (Section 1.2)
  
• *NEW* Flag screenshots for reference (Section 3)
  
• *NEW* How to parachute onto the ramp (without suiciding!) (Section 7.9)
  
• *NEW* Server Setting Suggestions (Section 7.12)
  
• Note added about grenade launchers not being available for assault added (Section 1.1) (thanks to SilentAndy)
  
• Note added about graphics settings (Section 6.7) (thanks to SilentAndy)
  
• MEC LMG totals corrected (Section 1.1)
  
• Mounted LMG info amended to suit above change (Section 7.5)
  
• MI-17 landing in boat bay confirmation added (Section 4)
  
• Info added with limiting the Apaches movement with the Tunguska and countering it (Section 5.5 and Section 5.9)
  
• Some miscellaneous text changes
  

5th December 2006

• *NEW* Topic title logo created and added
  
• *NEW* 16size map info added (Section 7.3)
  
• *NEW* Essex Gun notes added and expanded (Section 6.2)
  
• *NEW* Use of AT mines added (Section 6.1)
  
• *NEW* MEC AT Rockets Vs Essex Gun (Section 5.6)
  
• *NEW* More info and tips added regarding Barrels, Sniping, Mounted LMG’s & Teleporting (Section 7)
  
• Heli repair zones updated (Section 5.10)
  
• Server IP’s updated (Section 8)
  
• Slight changes to layout and some text added/changed in places
  

30th November 2006

• Comment of NV being available removed (thanks to ShadowFoX for pointing out my deliberate mistake )
  

27th November 2006

• *NEW* Section “Bits n Pieces” added, including ideas and tactics from myself and both -TL- and Delphy
  
• *NEW* Additional server IP added
  
• *NEW* Additional link to another Gator Guide added (thanks to Bratwurstschnecke)
  

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The Iron Gator. One of three maps in which the Navy Seals fight it out with the MEC Special Forces. Being the only day map of these 3 maps, and with this particular map being one of the less popular maps in SF, means that a lot of people dont have/wont even get the ribbons and medals associated with these armies. However, it is also a map with several 24/7 servers and a set of players who play the map all the time and are regulars amongst each other. They know every trick to the map, ways to win, ways to whore - everything there is to know about the map, no matter how obscure or plain simple those things are. I, myself, am now part of this growing group of players, and am now passing on this experience to everyone else.

One of the major issues about the map is getting lost and the shear amount of running involved inside the ship. We’ve all been there and dont like getting lost. You experience it with every map, the only difference is that Gator takes that little longer to grasp since it is a vast map all crammed into one “small” space. Thus, to prevent nade spamming and claywhoring - the best servers limit the map to a maximum of 32players. Otherwise it just becomes karkand but confined into a small space. And we dont want that. Ever.

So, this not-so-small guide will hopefully not only show players the way around the map but also a lot of common tactics, hints and ways to win - and hopefully, get more people playing this very underestimated map.

This is by no means a definitive guide - it is purely based on my own experience on the map, totalling over 180hours so far.
Any comments/criticism is welcome. Yes, that will probably be directed at my brilliant skills in Paint Im not worried, so long as the message is clear.

First things first, lets establish the map itself. Seeing as this is a “guide for dummies”, I will state the absolute obvious here.
Its the MEC Special Forces vs the US Navy SEALs.

SEALs have control of the Iron Gator whilst the MECSF are on a local island and are about to launch a raid to capture the pride of the US Fleet (why she wouldn’t have any escorts or Navy Crew is beyond me, but there you go).

The SEALs have a good defensive capability, but they have numerous entrances to guard if they are to hold off the MEC from capping their ship.
So, to aid in this, a list of vehicles available is listed below:

Vehicles (assuming 64 size map):
SEALS
1x AH-64D Apache Longbow
1x Essex Gun
6x RIBS - around the ship, 3 on each side
2x M249 LMG
1x Satellite Dish
1x UAV Trailer

MECSF
1x MI-35 HIND
1x MI-17 "Hip H" Transport Chopper
1x Tunguska M1 AA
1x BTR-90 APC
2x ATV
3x RIBS
4x Jetskis
2x IGLA Sites
2x RPK-74 LMG
1x Satellite Dish
1x UAV Trailer

Note that the SEALs get only 1 Essex Gun...whereas there are 2 Essex Guns on the Carriers in Vanilla (Oman/Dalian/Zatar/DV/Wake).
There is also no artillery on the map and the SF goodies, Ziplines and Grapple Hooks, are not available for use on this map. Nor is Night Vision.

Also, the assault class DO NOT get grenade launchers (the Scar-H doesn’t anyway, and the AK-101 is replaced with the medic version for MECSF).
(thanks to SilentAndy for this useful comment BF2s Forum Link )

Although, Flashbangs, Teargas and the Gas Mask are still useable.

The map itself is very simple: Island, Water, Ship, Water.

Lots of air space for heli battles and maneauvres and angles to attack from for the MEC. Everything that you need really.

With SF come the new awards and medals. Some of the ones you can get whilst playing this map are:

U.S. Navy Seals Service Ribbon

50hours in the SEALs theatre
1second on The Iron Gator
1second on Devils Perch
1second on Leviathan

MECSF Service Ribbon

50hours in the MECSF theatre
1second on The Iron Gator
1second on Devils Perch
1second on Leviathan

U.S. Navy Seals Special Service Medal

100 best round score as a SEAL
50hours played as a SEAL
50 wins made as a SEAL

MECSF Special Service Medal

100 best round score as MECSF
50hours played as MECSF
50 wins made as MECSF

Helicopter Specialist Ribbon

All IAR:
15minutes in a helicopter
22 kills in a helicopter

Crew Specialist Ribbon

All IAR:
1 Driver Special Ability Point
20 Driver Kill Assists
10 Kills

Note that you *should* earn the MECSF and SEAL ribbons at exactly the same time. However, this isn’t so. There have been a lot of topics on these forums where people either cant get them, or get them at different times.

The map itself supports 16, 32 & 64 size maps. Most people wont have even seen the 16 size version of it, and despite it being great fun - it is VERY rare to see it. However, applying the principles of this guide will allow you to learn it very quickly since it is essentially both teams starting on the ship - hence its Infantry only. Just a few flags have moved and theres less of them.
The 16 player version is covered, in less detail, later on in this guide.

The 32 & 64 size maps hardly vary at all and the effect is negligible. The only notable difference (other than ticket counts) is that there is 1 less jetski and the MEC RIBS at their dock are moved slightly, as seen in the following pictures:

32 Player map

64 Player map

Notice the moving of the RIB from the left to the right? (check out the radar if you still cant see it)
That is it. There is no other notable difference in the map sizes. All flags, entrances and vehicles are the same. But most servers play the 64 player version of the map for the increased tickets - for obvious reasons of giving a longer and better game, and also more chance for the MEC to board the ship and give the SEALs a good game.

So, the good news so far, is that you can learn to play 1 version of the map and you can play all 3 without any problems.
The bad news, is the map layout.
Now, we all know that the map is based on the Carrier and spread out across different levels inside the ship. But what isnt obvious is their ordering, layout and the access to each flag.
Being an office worker in the construction industry, I come across drawings of buildings daily in my work. There is nothing better than plans and elevations of a proposed building - they are industry standard and are a requirement. (although, a 3D view is also nice ). So, I have done a plan and elevation of Gator to help spell out the way around this daunting map.

Yes, it is very crudely done (and not to scale), but it does spell it out both simply and clearly.
A 3D view with a cutaway of the front of the ship would have done it even better, but I have no idea on whether thats even possible, so this will have to do.

One common misconception to new players of the map, is that the flags that are bunched together, such as the Hangar Bay Aft and 1st Floor Engine Room - are right next to each other.
Oh no. They are almost directly above one another, but to get from one to the other requires either using the moving ramp and jumping onto the side railings or running all the way back up to the Hangar Bay Fore, down the stairs to Mess Hall and then all the way along the First Floor to the Engine Room. In other words: A lot of running.

The best way to remember the map is to realise that the ship has 3 different levels, each containing 2 flags, and can be identified as follows:
1) Deck
2) Hangar Bay
3) First Floor

This is the actual order from top to bottom, and notice that “First Floor” is actually the lowest floor of the lot. This doesnt help the common confusion of getting lost.
The flag names give away which level they are located on, so take note of who controls what flag and act accordingly.
Example: The MEC have the Engine Room. This is located on the First Floor, so make your way to the lowest part of the ship and make your way towards it, both to reclaim it and get some kills.

Right then, now that you *hopefully* have an understanding of the layout of the map, the different levels and whats involved - we can move onto getting around the ship.
As explained earlier, knowing how to get from one flag to another is vital. The beauty of the map, is that there are several different ways around - some less popular than others, thus allowing some stealthy moves to be made to reclaiming those flags.

Basically, the map is on 3 different levels. How do you go up/down? Stairs.

I have drawn up a simple plan of where the stairways are located in the map as indicated below:

(yes, again, pretty shoddy)

I have indicated stair locations and where they run from and to. More importantly, is that the number of flights is correct.
The “red” staircase, as you can see, is the most important staircase of them all. Running from the lower Deck, it emerges into Hangar Bay catwalks (no1), the raised floor of the Hangar Bay Fore (no2), the floor of the Hangar Bay (no3) and then finally emerges into the Mess Hall (no4). The numbers refer to the elevation picture.

The “green” stairs are shown and are exact copies on each side of the ship. All 3 of them run from the Hangay Bay Floor to the First Floor Mess Hall.

The “yellow” stairs are for access to the Flight Deck. They run from the inside up two flights to the first floor of the control tower and another two flights to emerge on the top, by the satellite dish.
The more eagle eyed of you will have noticed that Ive added another yellow set of stairs onto the elevation. This is because it crowds up the plan and so it shows up better on the elevation. These stairs run from the first floor of the control tower to the Satellite Dish, but from the other side of the main stairs. This gives two ways to the top from stairs alone (there are a few sets of ladders too). Upon playing the map, you will soon realise that the second set of “yellow” stairs are used a lot less and can be very useful for emerging behind enemies for easy kills.

And finally, the “cyan” stairs. This shows up way better on the elevation, but the plan does show that they can be scaled from both sides of the ship, so a crossfire can be achieved on any enemies blocking your teams path.
These run from the outer catwalks that go along the side of the ship and emerge in the boat bay, for which you are on the same level as the First Floor - and the Engine Room flag is right in front of you. They are exactly the same as the route down to the boat dock on the Vanilla Carriers, so you should be familiar with the layout and also forsee the kind of infantry action that happens in this area.

Now that we have covered stairs, we can look at some other ways to get around the ship. The moving ramp is invaluable and without it, it really cuts off the Hangar Bay Aft from the rest of the flags. To use the ramp, there is a control switch against the wall (and also one on the Deck on the little panel) which activates it. This will take you between Hangar Level and the Deck. It will not provide direct access to the First Floor, however, you can go up the lift and jump onto the side catwalk, and then follow the “cyan” staircase down to the first floor.
Just beware of choppers whilst doing this, since this is a favourite area for MEC to sit and shoot inside at people spawning here.

RIBS. Those 6 RIBS around the sides of the ship arent just for display. Use em!
Example: You are on the Flight Deck and the enemy have just capped the Engine Room. Dont wana run the distance? Ok, jump off the side of the ship to the RIB below and steer it into the boat bay to surprise your enemy! Excellent for “sneak attacks” and packing an M249 on the front, you can take out the odd enemy who may be preventing you from climbing the ladders. Once again, just beware of the enemy chopper/choppers.

And finally, if you are still having problems getting around the ship and getting lost with the stairs, DICE, in 1 bit of wisdom, have provided some helpful signs around the ship, indicating where stairs and corridoors actually go to, as shown below:

In the above example, I have shown 2 different signs - both from the main “red” staircase. As you can see, the areas are indicated as is the direction.
In the case of the the example on the left, this is on the Hangar Bay Floor (#3 on the elevation) and clearly indicated the Mess Hall flag is below and the Control Tower is above.

These signs can be found on all stairway entrances and also some corridoor entrances on the first floor in both the Engine Room and Mess Hall.

Finally in this section, I have taken screenshots of each of the flags on the ship, so that you can get a rough idea of what they look like and some tips of capturing them (on low graphics, im sorry!)

The Viewing Deck:

Note that that “radar dish” can be got into by jumping off of the platform above it, and you can actually cap the flag from in it. You are also covered from that Essex Gun whilst in here as well.

The Flight Deck:

Open area. You can jump onto the barrels and then onto the stacks of missiles to capture the flag, which will make a lot of enemies who spawn around you completely miss you.

The Hangar Bay, Fore:

The raised platform is great for sniping and capturing the flag. A good trick is to leave C4 on the stairway and detonate it as soon as an enemy walks up it.
Also, use those portholes to spot enemies and kill em whilst being virtually concealed from view.

The Hangar Bay, Aft:

Big, open area. The flag can be capped from the floor or the raised catwalk. Spawnpoints are on the catwalks on either side of the ship, the floor and the stairwell on the right.

The Mess Hall:

Just go prone by the counter and keep your eye out for enemies who spawn. You can also lie prone on top of one of the counters to get a useful advantage (i.e. being head-height whilst prone).
Watch out for shooters in the portholes, and also listen out for nade bounces. A common tactic is for enemies to throw nades/flashbangs through these holes, so watch out.

The Engine Room:

Can be capped from the raised walkway or below it. Use the crate stack to shoot at people on the raised area (always handy). Spawnpoints are either side of the flag on both the upper and lower area as well as just outside in the boat bay.

Right then. We know the layout. We know the way around. We know the flag names and how to get to those important flags.
But before all of that can come into use, the MEC need to actually get to the ship.

There have been many rounds where the MEC have not even capped a single flag for their teams inability to either get to the ship, know how to get there or simply being overwhelmed by an awesome Apache crew. Stacked teams can also play a role in this. Try to get onto well admined servers to prevent this.

You have several ways of getting to the ship, each of which I will cover individually:
1) Swim
2) Boats - RIBS and Jetskis
3) Attack Chopper
4) APC
5) Transport Chopper

Swimming.
Not recommended. It takes a very long time and you will be picked off easily since you will be defenceless. The SEAL commander will spot you and a sniper/AT/Apache will get you in no time.
This really should never be used to get to the Gator. Ever.

Boats - RIBS and jetskis.
Again, not recommended. RIBS, despite being able to carry 6 people (very useful)...are sitting ducks with very light armour. If the Essex Gun doesnt get you, and the Apache misses too - you will have to contend with AT rockets from the Flight Deck - which most likely wont miss.
Even if they do miss, you then need to get into the Boat Bay, avoid the AT rockets from troops defending in there, climb up the ladders - hope there is no C4 or claymores at the top, avoid the explodable barrels, kill any enemy guards....and then you are away!
You have 1 way into the ship, and if you ever make it, it will be 1 in a 100 chance.
The only way that this can possibly succeed is late in the game when SEALs are probably pushed further back into the ship - and so makes the whole point of a boat raid completely redundant since you can spawn on the ship.

Jetskis, however, can be useful. You are fast enough to *just* get to the Gator bay before any enemies arrive and are fast enough to avoid AT rockets. The Apache will most likely get you, and if it doesnt - then you are only 1man strong to get into the ship itself.
This does succeed on occasions, but very rarely. It has got a low success rate, but it is safer than taking a RIB.

Overall, going by any form of boat is as good as suicide. If you feel as if you need to take a boat, use a jetski. Ignore the RIBS at all costs.

Attack Chopper.
Right then. 2man crew - yes, you could make it aboard the ship I suppose, but you’d be wasting a HIND and then making the entire of your team exposed to the enemy Apache. Not good.
I would highly discourage any player from doing this. Then again, any player to use an attack heli as a means of transport from A to B is a tool.

APC.
I suppose this can be useful for getting to the ship, but it should play a better role for your team - i.e. knocking out and keeping the Essex Gun down for the game.
This allows your own HIND to focus on the Apache and not have to worry about having a Gattling Cannon ruin its day.
Yes, the APC can carry 5 people to the ship, but just like the RIBS, it is exposed to AT fire from the Flight Deck. With no means of repairing, you have little defense - and then theres the Apache too. And once again, you have to dock in the boat bay, so its like being in an armoured RIB and it isn’t worth the hassle (or cost on tickets).
APC tactics are covered later on, but for now, it generally should not be used for transporting troops to the ship.

Transport Chopper.
The only real way to get onto the ship is this baby. You have various options open to you as the pilot of where to land or what tactic to employ. Even if you aren’t piloting, knowing what is going on is just as vital.
Common landing spots are shown in the following pictures:

First one, is on the actual deck of the carrier. Some people like to land on the Flight Deck (off to the right of the picture) whereas others like to land directly in front of this picture.

Next, is to land directly onto the ramp or inside the Hangar Bay if the ramp is up.

Finally, just fly straight into the Boat Bay and land!

After a few PM’s querying this, I confirm that it is possible (I have done it before). The following picture clearly shows the MI-17 in the boat bay:

It doesnt blow up since the water isnt deep enough.

That covers the most common and practical methods of use of the MI-17 Transport. However, another method is also done on the odd occasion. Which is getting 1-2 SL’s in the heli and hovering about 300-500metres above the Flight Deck. Get the squad members to jump out, performing a HALO jump (High Altitude, Low Opening) to land directly on the deck. 2 SL’s of 6man squads = 10 troops on deck who, when/if they die, can respawn and try again.
This has been seen to happen on a fair few occasions, so if its happening, make sure you realise!

This is definitly the safest method since you are away from the Apache, AT rockets and the Essex Gun, so you have no worries. However, it also takes the longest compared to say landing directly into the Hangar Bay and capping the flag.

Now, another part to this is the route to actually take in getting to the ship. You have a heli with 5 other players in it, so their lives are in your hands.

You have to remember that there is an Apache in the air every round without fail, and in most rounds the Essex Gun is active too (though not always). You also have to contend with AT rockets when coming in to land, assuming you are not doing the HALO jump option.

These are the most commonly used and seen routes taken by both attack and transport chopper pilots:

As a result of the placing of the weapons, 95% of players will opt for route 2 since you avoid the Essex and have a big, open landing area. This is fine if you want to land on the Flight Deck, outside the Control Tower or not. But it is very common and predictable. The Apache is often waiting just off the back of the bow of the ship, waiting for those 6 free kills from a defenceless transport chopper.
Despite this, going this way often succeeds.

Route 1 is used about 4% of the time by some of the more experienced players and ONLY by transport choppers. Very rarely does the HIND do this.
Notice that you turn around and hog the top of the map, following the road and then over the cliffs. The simple reasoning behind this, is that it is out of AA range, and with the HIND going the usual way of Route 2, the Essex Gun wont focus on this side of the map. Get down low and fly close to the water to keep out of its vision, go around the fore of the ship and go to the Hangar Bay lift entrance, keeping below the line of the Deck to avoid the Essex Guns field of vision.

Route 3 is used the remaining 1% of the time by low ranks and new players to the map who dont have a clue. The problem is that you dont have a lot of areas to land, so everyone has to jump out - and risk getting shot to pieces on parachutes by the Essex (which is very fun if you are in it ).
However, it can prove to be a decent route for the HIND - and this is explained later on.

As you may have guessed, the main fighting on the map is choppers and Infantry, with a tad of AA and APC thrown in for good measure.
Im going to cover each one of them.
The way to win the map is take lots of flags and consistently fight for them. Each team will take flags and lose flags all round. You get lots of action, lots of points and lots of 1v1 infantry battles, and overall, a very good game.

Fighting on the Deck level involves long distances, choppers and open “ground”. Generally, Infantry battles here evolve around nades being thrown from the Control Tower down to the Flight Deck, with return fire from Infantry weapons and Snipers too. AT also plays a vital role in keeping the Helis at bay, although it wont affect some of the better pilots/gunners who circle the deck. If you’ve got an active enemy chopper whilst fighting around the Deck area, try to get below decks and recapture a flag rather than try and slug it out. Use the RIBs if you have to.
Although poor pilots (usually low ranks, although not always) are worth shooting down for both the points and humour, but the better pilots will easily evade you or pull off fast, circle strafing runs or circles of death in the HIND. I can think of one pilot in particular whos a Gator player and is superb at this. Shooting him down with SRAW’s is rare and very very hard to do.

Hangar Bay fighting is probably the most intense and varied fighting in the map, since you have floor level and catwalks. A whole host of exploding barrels, 2 mounted LMG’s and also Helis hoping to get kills by firing in through the Ramp entrance. That is, if they aren’t inside anyway.
Snipers and Support are very good in this kind of fighting since the catwalks are long, narrow, coverless lengths. Although the one side does provide some crates for cover, the other side has none at all. Lay down some fire with an RPK or PKM and you can get lots of easy kills. Assault and Medics are also very useful here, for their rifles - especially the L85A1 with its scope. Avoid being Engineer, AT and Spec Ops in this sort of combat. Although, a DAO or MK3A1 can be very useful when actually taking the flag, but you will still find a rifle such as the AK a lot more useful.

You will also get battles between the Mess Hall and Hangar Bay Fore. In this kind of situation, you want fast firing weapons that deal a lot of damage. Shotguns, assault rifles, carbines and SMG’s are the weapons to use here. LMG’s aren’t so useful because of the stairs, but make up for it when in the flag area.
Beware of C4 here as well, it is very useful in defending the Hangar Bay flag from enemies running up the stairs.

First Floor fighting is all on one level, no high and low level shooters. The only variance is in the Engine Room, but it isnt much. It is mostly fighting in a mass of corridoors, so short, straight lines with close quarters fights thrown in as well. Assault Rifles, Shotguns, SMG’s and Carbines really rule this area. Watch out for claymores, grenades and flashbangs too, as they are often used in this area too. As is C4.
Learn the way around the corridoors between the Mess Hall and Engine Room and you can avoid enemies and get easy kills from behind. There are 3 entrances into the Engine Room yet only 2 into the Mess Hall. This gives a wealth of opportunity for evasion and sneaking behind the enemy to another part of the ship. Learn it and use it wisely.

If you decide not to go on foot and want the APC, you have a few options available to you.
Common tactics for it, involve taking out the Essex Gun, camping the Boat Bay entrance - killing any SEAL who spawns in there and moving to the far side of the ship and shooting into the Hangar Bay and keeping the Apache on the Deck.
To get to the ship unscathed, you pretty much have to do the same sort of routes as used by the transport chopper. Remember that you cannot repair once out in the water, so make the most of it.
The Essex Gun has a good range on it, however, it cannot shoot at targets that get too close to it. So if you can get inside this limiting range, you can shoot at it without taking anything back from it. 1 missile and a few cannon rounds will take it out without a problem. Just watch for supply crates or engineers repairing it for easy kills.
From here, you can proceed around the Fore of the ship to the back of it and keep an eye on the Apache spawning - taking it out as need be. You can also sit and shoot inside the Hangar Bay through the Ramp entrance. This is a common tactic if the SEALs only have that flag left.
As before, watch out for AT rockets since they really will ruin your day. 2 hits and thats the APC flaming away.

Same with the APC, you can use it to pummel the Essex Gun. Unfortunatly, it will give away your position and the Essex can easily work out your position and shoot back at you. And it will probably win since it can repair from crates. But, you will distract it from your teams choppers giving them a better chance of getting aboard. Beware of Apache TV missiles since a good crew will hunt you down.
The best spots for the AA is along the shorelines to get the best possible range out of it, but, it is also predictable - and any self aware Apache Gunner will easily take you out.
Sitting on the shoreline means that the Apache has no choice but to stay behind the ship, preventing it from moving out and dominating the entire ocean (whilst also limiting it to only 1 of 4 repair zones. More on that later). Unless the SEALs have a really stupid pilot, this works and keeps that Apache back out of the way.

These things are damn useful against the helis. But they can also be used against the Essex Gun - from the safety of the MEC shoreline.
Take a look at this picture:

Note my location on the radar. You have to be on the outcrop to properly see the Essex shadow to allow you to guide the rocket directly onto it.
The Essex gunner wont get any warning of the missile from a lock tone - just a “thud” and its armour being reduced down to 4 bars (in the red) from 1 AT rocket.
Very useful in aiding the APC and AA in taking out the Essex gun.
However, if they aren’t shooting at it, any smart Essex gunner will know exactly where the rocket came from. They can see a white trail on the shoreline from where it was released, so expect a volley of return fire in your direction - HIDE!
Due to the amount of damage this causes, it is a very viable option in aiding your team to land on the ship.

RIBs. Even though I said not to use them, they have a surprisingly little known role that can be very useful - and is very rarely done.
If you can get inside the Essex’s limiting range (as described with the APC), you can actually take it out with the M249 with relative ease.

Take a look at the following pictures.

Here, I sat with the M249 and just held the trigger until the gun overheated.

This was the result...red life on the Essex Gun. Without jamming the RIB’s gun, or a few APC rounds, even an AT rocket from the RIB, would easily finish this off.

You will often see the Tunguska sat on the shore shooting like crazy at the Essex Gun, the same with the APC. You can help out with the M249 on the RIB, whether from the above position or even from where they spawn on the shoreline. If you got 3 RIBS doing this...the Essex will stand no chance.
I only found this out by having an enemy RIB getting within my limited range and seeing it tear apart my beast!

This is the only real use for the MEC RIBS, and its rarely seen. So annoy the SEALs by doing it

And finally, we come to the cream of the crop. The fun part of the map. Thats right. The Choppers.
They are the key to success as both teams, more so the MEC than the SEALs. As a result, they require a good crew of both pilot and gunner.

Both teams have different tactics for how to survive in chopper combat, with the MECSF getting a much bigger advantage in that if they lose their chopper, they wont be pinned down in their spawn. Whereas the SEALs will get pummeled on the deck and most likely see their Apache get stolen.
So, heres how we go about doing the damage - as both teams. Starting with the MEC.

The biggest thing to remember, is the TV missile view on the SF choppers. Both the Apache and HIND have their views BELOW the gunner view, unlike their vanilla counterparts where the TV view is above it.

This is an example of lining up the UAV station for a missile shot:

For a full explanation of SF choppers and accurate screenshots of their TV missile views in the pilots HUD, look no further than this excellent page:
Secrets of Battlefield - SF Choppers

When taking off in the HIND, you should order your priorities as follows:
1) Essex Gun
2) Apache
3) Essex Gun
4) Infantry

So, with this in mind, whenever taking off from the Island, always do something similar to the following:

The gunner can guide the TV right smack into the Essex Gun. Most of the time, you will get a Driver Point for this, although some of the smarter players will hop out of the gun at the sight of the missile. Remember to flare up when it gets a lock tone and, if you got a decent gunner, you can then proceed to the ship safely.

Next up is the Apache. Due to the AA in the map, it generally hovers off behind the Control Tower and lets of TV’s to the shoreline, so get up high and hunt it out. Keep an eye on the radar and UAV for where it is and maneauvre around to take it out from above. If he spots you, he needs to tilt right back to let off a TV - a dead give away, so you can get out of the way.

Once the Apache is down, check out the Essex Gun again and rape the Viewing Deck. The downed Apache Pilots will want to be respawning to reclaim their chopper - so make em pay for it. Mostly, they will spawn as AT to try and take you out - so watch for those rockets.
With the Apache and Essex Gun taken out, your own transport chopper can safely land on the Essex wherever it feels fit.
Keep mowing down the Infantry on both the Flight and Viewing Decks. A common tactic is for the gunner to hop out and steal the Apache (or a HIND spawns if MEC control the Flight Deck). With 2 choppers, you will control the Deck of the Gator giving your team a huge advantage.

Once your team controls the Viewing and Flight Decks, the fighting moves inside the ship. A common spot to hover is the Ramp Entrance, shooting at anything in the Hangar Bay Aft flag. Should you control that, the Boat Bay is also a common spot for hovering and picking off Infantry.
If you control all of these, you have a few options available.
A common tactic is to TV missile the SEALs UAV and Sat Dishes for extra points and disadvantage the enemy commander. He will attempt to repair them with supplies, so take them out again and again for points and to help out your own team.
Another option, is to fly into the Hangar Bay and guard it.
Now, this is both risky and requires practise and skill. Most people stay at this end, just firing rockets at the other end of the Hangar and killing enemies on the catwalks. Some, however, can fly a little further into the ship:

Now that certainly was something special! Very amusing, for us on MEC of course! This requires great skill, luck and practise too. I would recommend against it due to AT rockets, flashbangs and M95 snipers.
Also, some servers and players frown upon using the chopper inside the ship - so be sure to check the server rules or ask an admin. Especially if he is on the opposing team!

How to get the helis inside the ship like this, can be found later on in this guide (Section 7.13)

Right, now for the SEALs and their Apache.

First off, Ghost Town players - drop EVERY Apache tactic you use on that map, and instead: use the gunner. You simply cannot defend the ship, stay alive, keep the HIND down and stop the MECSF from taking over the ship by employing your rocket runs.
If you do this on Gator, you will get your ass handed to you along with a shiny new Purple Heart. You have to use vanilla chopper tactics.

Right. The best tactics for the SEALS, is to be on the lookout at all times. Some pilots like to fly to the island and take out lots of enemies. Personally, I dont do this. Not because im against UCB raping - but because you are supposed to be defending the ship, and it gives a really poor game for the rest of your team.
Not only that, but if you get taken out (very likely), then the HIND will move over and dominate the entire Deck of the ship leaving you getting spawnraped whilst trying to get back into that Apache. From then on, the SEALs will be on a downward spiral.
The Apache is the single most important aspect the SEALs have in holding the ship. So DO NOT waste it.

With the Apache, stay behind the Control Tower and loose off TV’s towards the shore. If the server allows UCB raping, take out the HIND whenever it respawns, for easy kills and to really damage the MECSF’s entire strategy. Get up high and out of AA range. The HIND mostly comes from the right of the ship, attacking the Flight Deck (even if it took out the Essex at the start). So, use this by getting up high and within view of the Flight Deck. Being up higher, just loose of TV’s at it. Same with the transport chopper which comes this direction. Lots of kills or driver points should arise from this depending on whether you are flying or gunning.
Note: If you are on the MEC in the HIND, remember this and adjust your route accordingly to surprise the Apache and catch it off guard.

The Tunguska is usually on the shoreline, which really limits your ability to operate effectively. When it gets a lock, flare up and watch where the fire comes from (AA missiles and also cannon fire). Then, the gunner should easily be able to locate it and guide a TV right smack into it just by firing directly at where the enemy fire came from. Once it’s taken out, you can continue to pick off RIBS, APC’s and Jetskis attempting to enter the Boat Bay with the safety of not getting shot out the sky.
Just beware of the enemy IGLA sites, since they do get used and will cripple you if both missiles hit. Keep an eye on the radar to see whether it is actually an IGLA or mobile AA locking onto you.

The Radar, Spotting and UAV are absolutly vital in lining up your Apache in the right directions for your gunner to take out the enemy. ALWAYS keep an eye on it so that you dont get caught unawares.
Also, never venture out beyond the ship towards the island. Like mentioned above, you cannot afford to get shot down whether it be by AA, HIND or even the APC (its been done!!). Always line up your gunner and save the pilot rockets for defending the rear side of the ship and vs the HIND in chopper to chopper combat.

And finally on choppers - rearming. Unlike the Vanilla Carriers where the entire length of the Deck is one, long helipad for rearming - the Gator is not.
There are 4 spots on the Deck where you can rearm, which are shown below:

Just note that the above picture is a rough indication of their locations, it is up to you to find the exact spots.
As SEALs, always aim to be repairing where the Apache spawns, i.e. outside the Control Tower. The other spots are exposed to the enemy AA and you will probably lose as much armour as you gain. That is, if it is active.
However, as MEC, when fighting around the Deck, use any and all of these spots for rearming. NEVER fly back to the island to repair. Provided you have one of the Deck flags, neutral or captured, at least one of these repair pads will be available to you.

(credit to iPoon.be for bringing this up BF2s Forum Link )
Finally, on repair zones, note that you can only use certain zones to repair depending upon what flags your team currently have (or if a flag is neutral, a repair zone will work for both teams).
If your team has control of the Flight Deck, then you will be able to use repair zone #1 (references to the picture above).
The remaining repair zones are available if you control the Viewing Deck.
Bear this in mind when you are on the SEALs and your team have lost both of the Deck flags - since you will no longer have anywhere to rearm or repair. You will have to rely on supply crates, and they take longer to repair a choppers’ armour.

Some examples of Choppers doing what they do best on the map:

2 HINDS and the MI-17 taking the Viewing Deck.

A HIND guarding the Boat Bay entrance.

2 HINDS keeping a check on the Hangar Bay.

An Apache hiding in (and guarding!) the Boat Bay entrance.

Note that this is not a bad tactic at all - it is by far the best place to hide from the HIND. However, you are also not protecting the ships deck while you are here, so dont do it all the time. Use it sparingly to really surprise the enemy HIND.

Yes, they are very fun to use! But one great idea as a SEAL, is to plant it all along the entrance to the the Hangar bay via the ramp. If that transport chopper attempts to come in, blow it up! 6 kills...kthxbye. It is very devastating, effective and hilarious too. Ive seen it done and everyone on our team just laughed like crazy in the chat.
If you play in 24/7 Gator servers a lot, you will soon realise which pilots like to fly in this route, and so if you are on the opposite team - leave him a nice little present.

(credit to SplinterStrike for this addition BF2s Forum Link )
Also, note that this can also be done with AT mines as well!
Just lob your AT mines onto the Ramp, preferably onto the middle of it, spread out - and also some just on the entrance to the Hangar Bay (in case the ramp has moved). Then, you will get the same effect as with C4...as shown below:

Even though I was on MEC and watched my transport chopper blow up right in front of me, it was a very funny moment!
Also...very deadly. So try it

This is such a vital part to the SEALs defence of the ship, that this is quite an indepth part.
8 missiles, most of which miss even without the choppers flaring up. Solution? Get the commander to drop a supply crate next to the missile packs of the weapon (otherwise the crate gets blown up). Not only will it repair you but it will rearm you. Providing you fire one missile at a time, at approx 1 every half second...you will NEVER run out of ammo, and you can hurl missile after missile at the choppers without ever having to reload! It is such a good tactic, and very useful when you see that HIND closing in on you.
Also note that when a chopper is moving sideways, 95% of your missiles will miss it. However, when it is hovering still, moving upwards or towards you, 95% of your missiles will hit it. Bear this in mind when firing your missiles, since with a bit of experience in the gun, you can often predict when you will take out a chopper and when you wont even make a hit.
Another thing to note, is that if you are after your repair points for that Meritorious Medal, then be an engineer and repair it whenever possible. A good MEC Heli team will take it out often, along with RIBS, APC and AA too.
I have found that the best combination for this, is to have you (as engineer) manning the gun, an engineer constantly repairing it and with a crate or two by you. When you start taking a lot of damage, hop out and help to repair. The longer you can keep the gun active, the longer you can help to keep the MEC out and prevent the HIND from taking over the top deck. Keep your eyes open, if you have lock onto a chopper that has just flared, watch out for that incoming TV missile. Hop out, stay alive, and repair it.
Note that you will ALWAYS exit the Essex gun next to the missile packs. And this is where you should ALWAYS repair it from. When the gun gets destroyed, it obviously makes a big explosion. If you are at the base of the gun - you will be killed outright, everytime. However, if you are standing at the base of the missile packs - you will take absolutly no damage what-so-ever.

Also, dont forget that you can hit the F10/F11/F12 views to look around you:

Very useful if you see a red dot on the radar right next to you...hit F12, if you see a Spec Ops by your rocket pods - hop out and fill him full of lead. Something Ive done on many occasions, only to get branded a hacker for it (because I can apparantly somehow see directly below my gun with a wallhack...interesting).
Also note that you can see into the top of the “radar thing” on the Viewing Deck? That is a common spot for MEC to use to sit in and cap the flag, whilst being protected from the Essex and also out of view. Check it out if you see the flag being lowered but cant see anyone.

The final part about the Essex, is what ShadowFox described as “An Enigma”. If you have ever used it extensively, you will often see the gun destroyed, only to see it instantly repair itself - and you can no longer use it. With the MEC’s takeover of the ship, the Essex Gun appears to swap hands, i.e. the MEC can use the gun but the SEALs cant. This often catches out chopper pilots and gunners who destroy it to be safe, only to find that they get a load of team vehicle damage warnings.
Sometimes, it appears as if the SEALs need to control both the Flight and Viewing Decks to keep it active. Other times, if the MEC have more flags than the SEALs, then it can no longer be used by the SEALs. You may also hop out of the gun to repair it and then not be able to get back in again since its been taken over, as a pose to it being blown up and then assigned to the other team.

Here, I was MEC commander in a round and the Essex Gun was posing problems for our HIND crew (who were useless). I fired some AT rockets and destroyed the Essex Gun. However, our transport heli had landed and our team had capped the Flight Deck just after I destroyed it. So, when it healed itself - I shot it again and got the team vehicle damage message as shown:

(and then got TKed by some faggot as I was taking the screenie. I gave him a bit of cartillery afterwards )
The more I have used it, the more I have realised that the Flight Deck seems to be the key. If MEC have that single flag and the Essex Gun has been destroyed, then it will respawn for use by the MEC, not the SEALs. Although, it has also been unuseable with other flag variations. With all the goings on in the game, gives a lot of variables to take into consideration. Hence, it’s very hard to find out.
Now, I think I have cracked it.

After looking in the “gameplayobjects.con” file for Iron Gator, it is actually spawned with, and hence linked to the Flight Deck CP. Therefore, whoever controls that flag gets exclusive access to use the Essex Gun. I now believe that the reason why it can still be used by the opposite team of who controls that flag is down to the fact that it hasn’t “respawned” i.e. it hasn’t been destroyed since the enemy capped the Flight Deck flag. This is the reason why it is described as an “Enigma” and often confusing. Therefore you will most likely continue to get Team Vehicle Damage messages since there is no way of knowing whether it has “respawned” for your team or not.

If you are commander of the SEALs, be a sniper and sit at the Hangar Bay Fore with your claymores set out around it. This is usually the first CP to fall to the MEC once they board the ship (if they land on the Deck). Just 1 or 2 soldiers through the door under the Viewing Deck, and this is 90% of the time their first target, so at least you can provide some defense. Seeing as the rest of the team will spawn on the decks, you have no worries about any FF from mines.

The unsung heroes of the game really make their presence felt here on this map. They not only annoy enemy choppers, they take them out. SF choppers are fairly bulky and slow moving - the HIND more so than the Apache. Dont be afraid to launch missiles at them, ever. If you hit it and someone else takes it out - thats 2 kill assists for you. Always aim for the cockpit if you can, since you can often kill the pilot or gunner if you hit it correctly. Also, a group of AT’ers on both the Flight Deck and in the Dock will prevent any MEC jetski, APC or RIB from getting to the ship. They are just cannon fodder. Learn to lead the target and guide the missile home. Easy.

Learn where to defend and what not to defend. The vital CP’s are Hangar Bay Aft and the Engine Room. They are the entrances to the ship. You can win without the Flight and Viewing Deck - provided you can hold the rest. A defensive team at the Engine Room, Hangar Aft and on the main stairs up the ship should prevent the MEC from taking the inner flags and give you the win. Always be aware of this if the MEC (or SEALs in vice versa) control the Flight Deck....since from there, they can launch attacks on the Engine Room and Hangar Bay Aft. Claymores, C4, Teargas and Flashbangs can easily hold off the enemy team in the tight corridoors.

If you really want to win as SEALs, then do NOT destroy the transport chopper which often lands on the ship at one of various locations. If you keep it, the MEC will have no chance of getting onto the ship since they will be left with RIBS and thats it. It causes for a boring and long round...but pretty much guarantees the win.
You will often hear, as an MEC player, team chat telling the HIND to take out the transport so that they can get onto the ship. If, as a SEAL, you keep it below decks (Hangar Bay or Boat Bay), then that will certainly thwart the MEC’s chances of boarding.

You can also use it to spot unsuspecting enemies:

F10 view. Isn’t it a joy!

With the spec of my PC, I play the game with all lowest settings. However, for this guide, I have put them all on Medium and taken screenshots.
Having lower graphics actually gives you an advantage. The ship is just grey. I didnt even know the inside was dark, lit only with a few lights!

Compare the two following screenshots, from a similar position

A massive difference! Having low graphics actually makes it easier to spot enemies, especially as a chopper gunner.

And again:

Unfair advantage or not, it’s a legal part of the game. Try it and you may find it easier to spot enemies. Unless you like the realism of the highest graphics, make it easier both for yourself and your eyes.

(thanks to SilentAndy for this BF2s Forum Link )
Also, you can just set your lighting to low and dynamic lights and shadows to none. This looks better than all settings on low and allows you to spot the enemy just as easy as on low settings.
This is only for those who can handle higher graphics. With my current system specs - I cant even do this

As a foot soldier, you want to avoid those choppers at all costs. With their ability to dominate the Decks and also are able to rape most of the inner flags too, you need to learn to avoid them - and take them out as necessary.
The M95 can be very useful if a chopper is stupid enough to get inside the Hangar Bay. AT rockets are as well, but just beware of return fire due to the crowded areas, meaning splash damage from the rockets pose a real problem.

A good example of evading a choppers view is at the Hangar Bay Aft flag. As a SEAL, you often have to reclaim this, even with choppers outside. If you can get to the flag, go prone behind the boxes on the catwalk (not on the actual floor). These boxes prevent any kind of fire from choppers from reaching you, and so you can cap it whilst having rockets and cannon fire exploding all around you.
After capping it, wait for a stop in the shooting (i.e. when they reload) and then jump and run to the left side of the ship. Once against the wall, you will be invulnerable to any chopper fire since they cannot see this side of the ship. They can only see the catwalk on the “right” of the ship, so if you run along it - expect a barrage of missiles and cannon fire.

One thing you can do, if you are good with the TV’s, is to get your pilot to line you up from the outside, giving you as best a look into the length of the Hangar Bay as possible. Loose off a TV and guide it to the far end of the Hangar Bay, towards the stairs or the catwalks. You can often get kills on enemies that you wouldnt normally get and is an underused tactic.

The 16 player size version of this map is relatively easy and straight forward. It is essentially the same map, but only on the ship - so theres no choppers, no APC, no AA, etc. It is purely infantry based, with the 6 RIBS around the ship left in.

This is the basic overview of the map:

The main thing to note here, is that 3 of the flags are on the First Floor and only one is in the Hangar Bay.
The entire length of the ship is open to play, so you can form some pretty good sneak attacks. As MEC, 99% of the team will head towards First Floor Storage. This means, that as a SEAL, you can hop up the stairs from the Hangar Bay, along the deck and down behind the Engine Room to cap it - effectively reversing the map.
The other use about going up on the Deck, is that both teams UAV and Sat trailers are on it!!

As shown below, you can see the MEC UAV station is above their flag, whilst in the distance is the SEALs UAV station.

Im not quite sure how this fits in with the background of the map, but thats the way it is.

The main thing to remember here is that the map resembles the larger versions in every way in terms of the layout and placement of cover, ladders, stairways and RIBS. The only change is the flag locations.
Whereas there is still a Mess Hall flag, it is located at the back of the Mess Hall room, not actually around the “serving benches”. The First Floor Storage flag, is located amongst the corridoors that lead between Engine Room and Mess Hall, as shown below:

As you can see (and should already know by now), that this area has lots of doors that allow lots of movement, meaning that this flag has lots of entrances to it to defend. You can almost guarantee nades, claymores and C4 to be used a lot in this area, especially on larger servers.

In the The Hangar Bay area, you will most likely have noticed by now loads and loads of explosive barrels. Whereas in most maps there are only a few (and I am one of the ones who enjoy blowing them up ), do NOT do that on this map!
Because there are so many of them, use them to make kills!
e.g. You are in a firefight with an enemy and he hides behind that wooden crate. But theres an explosive barrel by it. Shoot it. BOOM. Kill. This makes them very useful and, if your aiming isnt up to scratch, you can just aim at them and kill nearby enemies, often killing more than 1 at a time. Same amount of bullets, double the kills. Perfect.

The two pictures below show what you can do:

The first one shows it better since you can still see the exploded barrel. They are very useful, so dont underestimate them.

There are only 4 of these on the map, 2 being on the ship and 2 on the MEC island.
From my experience, the two that are on the MEC island are utterly useless since you rarely get SEALs going there.
Theres one at the helipads on the boxes by the building where everyone spawns. It literally faces the helipads, making it completely useless. It may be used by an invading SEAL in a one off, but that would be very rare. This one might as well not even be in the game as shown:

The other island LMG is situated in a bunker overlooking the boat docks. Whereas you could potentially spray the Flight Deck with unlimited ammunition, the chances of hitting somebody is remote. It also serves little defensive purpose since when any SEALs land on the mainland, they land on another side of the island out of your view.

The 2 inner LMG’s are both mounted in the Hangar Bay - one at either end. There is one at the Hangar Bay Fore, up on a raised catwalk looking down the ship and one on the boxes at the Hangar Bay Aft flag, down on the floor of the Hangar.
The higher one gives you a superb view, covering both catwalks all the way to the Hangar Bay Aft flag at an equal level, and also the hangar floor below you. However, this also makes it more exposed to enemy fire since it is a lot more open. Since most of the weapons used in this area are assault and sniper rifles - your head will be for the picking from these accurate weapons.
As a result, from my own experience, I have found the one on the floor at the Aft flag a lot more useful. You can keep an eye on both the left and right catwalks and also directly in front of you (which includes explosive barrels ) and it is also covered from sniper fire, apart from the catwalks (which you will be spraying anyway...). Since it is level with the floor, you have aircraft, crates, boxes and steps that block your LOS very quickly. This makes it a mounted gun with a huge ROF, with great accuracy for close range firefights.

Yes, very useful
Just beware of the fact that your back will be to the Ramp entrance to the Hangar Bay - so you will have no idea about a chopper or enemies coming down on the ramp to reclaim a flag.

Although im not a big sniper player, and with the majority of the map being internal, CQC battles, you wont often find snipers laying down and picking off people (most of them like to claywhore). Although, a good Gator server will have FF for mines ON to prevent this.
However, for those decent snipers who like to actually “snipe”, then the Hangar Bay is obviously your area. With SVD’s, M24 and the M95 for your choices, take your pick. Lying on the catwalks, on the main stairs looking down the upper catwalk (towards the Hangar Bay Aft) and the raised platform of the Hangar Bay Fore flag to name a few.
However, you also have the big, open deck area.

Due to the layout of the map, the Deck of the Fore of the ship is there for display only. It isnt even used, even for its chopper repair pad. So, its a great place for snipers!

This is a pretty decent spot since the Essex will have a very hard time picking you out amongst the 3 aircraft that are parked on the deck giving you cover. Whats more, the Apache will rarely stray this far, so just hide under the plane when it comes.
You can obviously pick off engineers on the Essex Gun, pilots for the Apache (the M95 works wonders for when its taking off) and even when the SEALs only have the Flight Deck flag left.

Also note, that you have the external catwalk to the left that runs along the entire length of the ship. Hop down the ladder and run along it to get away safely. There is a ladder at third points along the ship on either side. One at this far end, one in the middle and one at the Flight Deck end too. It may even pay to be a SL and stay here - spawning your troops onto the ship who can run along this side of the Deck into the lower Control Tower.
Quite useful if you want to get to and from this spot for a bit of sniping whilst being out of view of the Essex (and for your squad if you are a SL). Although, these external catwalks are exposed to chopper fire, so be careful.

Another useful spot, is this one here:

This is at the Flight Deck flag and basically means only your upper torso and head is shown, whilst giving you a good view on the control tower. If you’ve got Infantry combat between the two Deck flags, this could prove to be useful in picking off those nade spammers and snipers who lie along the front of the ship shooting down at you.

Note that this idea can also be used to go down the Ramp to the Hangar Bay. It also has this little side support which you can go prone on, hiding you from any enemies who may be waiting.

The commander plays just as vital a role in this map as any other. Although Ive already touched on it above, not every commander likes to be a “fighting commander” and aid in the defense of vital flags or taking out the Essex Gun with an ERYX.
For those who like to hide out of view of all opposition, consider some of those spots:

1) As the MEC commander, you could go prone under the small pier shown here:

Pretty useful since it is right out of view, and even if your team is appauling and the SEALs are raping the island, you are pretty well concealed from view. Even the Apache will have a hard time finding you. This is my favourite spot when commanding as MEC.
You could also use the buildings just off to the right of this picture to hide behind, but you do get some SEALs who go around this area to try to steal the HIND. So just keep alert if you do use them.

2) As the MEC commander, you could hide behind one of these buildings along the shoreline:

The best thing is that this is right out the way of the main base, and if any SEALs come to the island, they mostly land along here. Being a good commander, you will pick up on this with the Satellite Scans. Just pop out and kill them.

3) As the SEAL commander, go in the water at the front of the ship, as shown below:

Note the position of me on the radar. The advantage of this, is that you will appear on any UAV and sat scan as being inside the ship at the Hangar Bay flag. MEC Will go about here looking for you, and when they dont find you, they will assume you to be on a higher/lower level. Even the choppers will ignore you since they will be elsewhere and just about every jetski and RIB that comes along here will just go right by!
Although, to be safe, you could hide behind the RIB just behind you.

4) And finally, you can just swim or get a boat to one of the map edges and sit there in the water. This works for both teams.

Just a quick note on this. There have been numerous people who have claimed to have teleported from the Hangar Bay catwalks directly up next to the Apache at its spawn point. I myself have had this happen a few times as well, and confirm it to be true. Why it happens, nobody knows. Dont expect to do it regularly - its just one of those rare and glorious DICE moments.

Another strange thing, is that you sometimes see things like this:

....A supply crate INSIDE the ship. How?! Only DICE can answer to that. Yet another stupid glitch in such a great game.

This is a problem that quite a few people encounter. I used to get it a lot too, but have now overcome it. Although you will always see people falling down and getting stupid suicides.
With the ramp, if you jump off the Deck and try to open the chute, it often wont open and you fall to your death (even on jumps that would normally only hurt you, not kill you). This is simply because the parachute is trying to open too close to the ship and it wont work.
If you want to open your chute every time, without fail, always jump AWAY from the deck. Try to jump to the middle area of the ramp to ensure it opens.
This is more of a problem when you are jumping from the side catwalks (the entrance to the “cyan stairs” from earlier on). To get around this, just jump outwards, not in a straight line.

And if you still dont get it, then this should help explain what I mean

Also, note that you can activate the ramp from the side catwalks as well as the hangar bay and deck consoles. Just press E on the edge of it and watch the ramp start to move!
This can save having to parachute down onto it (and risk suiciding), and can even be used to barge a spawn camping heli into Davy Jones’ locker
Remember this when coming from the Engine Room and wanting to get to the Hangar Bay.

(credit to -TL- for bringing this up: BF2s Forum Link )

One thing that happens in the MEC’s takeover of the ship is their dominance of the Deck level. With a HIND vs ground troops, you will have no chance. So instead of spawning on the Decks and attempting to fight it off, drop below decks to the other flags (preferably to one thats got a lot of action or in danger of being over-run) and help out your team.
Remember, as a SEAL, you can win the game by holding the lower 4 flags, i.e. without the Deck flags. Provided you defend the Main Stairs, Hangar Bay Aft and Engine Room, you should win fairly easily.

Although, if you are on a completely useless SEAL team, and are left with one of the Deck Flags (and 2 choppers spawnraping you over and over and over...), then dont bother even spawning unless you are really fond of those Purple Hearts. This applies more to the Viewing Deck than the Flight Deck, since you have a slight chance of getting below to the Engine Room.

(Credit to Delphy for this: BF2s Forum Link and a few additions by myself)

When defending the deck or Engine Room bay, you want to go AT as stated and SRAW the chopper and boats. The DAO is also decent for the corridors and the Submachine Guns (MP5 and PP19) can also prove to be efficient (in the correct hands) and gives you a better chance outside of CQC.

When inside the ship, you want a fast weapon, infantry combat on this map is all about speed as there’s nowhere to hide really; it’s all about who gets the drop. Ak-47, Ak-101, G3 and G36C are all great for this, when you come across an enemy, prone and fire.
Also, dont underestimate the SEALs Scar-H...it is accurate, reliable and powerful. A really good weapon. Not so hot on the longer range battles (Hangar Bay a good example), but its like the AK-47 - learn it for the longer range and its very deadly.
The support guns are slower, in a head-on with a decent player with one of the aforementioned weapons - you will generally lose. However, they are useful for camping a spot; prone on a staircase where you know enemies will come from, you can often suprise them, or prone in the corner of a corridor facing away from a door where enemies will be running through. Often they will run past you and you can fill their back with lead!

RPK-74 is the best, if you don’t have access to that then the PKM is also good.

I’ve also had success with the Pimp Cane (aka M11-87). Due to the CQC nature of the lower decks, you can do well with it, simply point and shoot. If you’re not close enough or you don’t kill in one, be annoying and bunnyhop and get closer to the target.
The rapid firing shotguns are also very useful when the fighting is around the First Floor and going between the Mess Hall and Hangar Bay Fore flags - lots of CQC where the DAO, MK3A1 and even the S12K really dominate, especially on the stairs.

Also, when raping the decks with the HIND, don’t do a straight-on missile run since the thing’s too fat and the missiles are like 20 feet apart. You need to strafe in a curve, or circle if you can keep it going. The missiles will come out kind of diagonally, to either the right or left depending on which way you’re strafing. It takes a bit of practice, but once you get it down it’s more accurate.
Not so much of a problem with the Apache since the rockets are more accurate and more centred - and you have more speed to avoid rockets.

For those people who are looking at setting up Gator servers, consider some of the following server rules/cvars:

• Limit the server to a maximum of 32players. Less grenade spamming, more chance of capping flags. MEC also arent left with about 20 players who have to use RIB’s (SEAL AT teams have a field day) or end up just sitting on the island doing nothing. This also drastically increases FPS on lower end systems, so you can counter for anyone joining the game.
  

• Friendly Fire for mines should be ON. This prevents clayspamming, especially of the main stairwell. This just hinders gameplay, and really causes for a boring, claywhoring, frustrating and standstill of a game. This will also result make more people leave your server, so set FF for mines to ON.
  

• Spawnraping should be allowed (including on uncaps). If the MEC have successfully taken over the ship, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to punish the SEALs for their incompetence. Seeing as when you take flags you are looking to stay alive, you are often having to kill enemies who spawn there. Whilst this isnt “raping”, some people do view it that way. So allow it to eradicate those petty arguements.
  

• Chopper flag glitch capping should be disallowed, and anyone found doing it should be promptly kicked, or banned after so many times. This is the most unfair part about the map and really screws over the SEAL team.
  

• Choppers should be allowed to fly inside the ship and do as they please. Lets face it, even if they do - they are a sitting target for M95’s and AT’s.
  

• Turn on the PTK system, especially on larger servers to save for faggots tking for choppers or whatever. Although this is rare in SF, it can and does happen.
  

• IO (Infantry Only) mode should NEVER be turned on on this map. Ever. It leaves the MECSF in the situation where they have to swim to the ship, or use the RIBS. Both are suicidal, and it will kill off the server. The 16player size map can have IO enabled, but it will make no difference to it what-so-ever.
  

After 180hours on the map, I would consider a good 24/7 Gator server to include all of those above rules and cvars.

Yep, we’ve seen pictures of it in this guide. Well, with a new PC comes the ability to actually (finally) record the game with fraps! And so, now, more than 6months on from when I first published this guide, I can put the final part of this guide in place.

The video below shows me taking both the Apache and HIND into the ship itself:

Now that you’ve (hopefully/probably) watched it, you will notice that I didn’t spend a long time on the HIND. It is possible to get it right in to the far end like I did with the Apache, however, in doing so you will most likely lose 3/4 of your armour. And when doing it under fire from M95’s, AT rockets and even C4 (!!) you will not live long enough. If you take the HIND into the ship I would recommend keeping it behind the first catwalk, i.e. by the entrance. This area is big enough to keep the HIND in, and when you take damage, you can still get out easily enough.
The problem with the HIND is a little fin on its back. If you watch the video closely you will see it get caught on the catwalk as it goes through. Even though the Apache has a huge radar dome on top of its rotors, it doesn’t get blocked so it fits through. Perfectly.
This can also be done with the Mi-17 HIP H, however, it is not worth the effort for a few reasons:

• If you are taking it inside, then you will be hopping out at the Hangar Bay, Aft flag - why take it right inside the ship?
• It has the same problems as the HIND in getting past the catwalks. Not due to a fin, but because of its size!!

With practise, getting the Apache inside the ship will become second nature and you will be able to do it without hitting the ceiling of the Hangar Bay or any obstacles.
Just remember that you are obviously a BIG target in here.

Overall, a seemingly complex map is actually a very intense map, providing superb infantry battles, 1v1 and 1 vs many and combining choppers to spice it up. Whereas the choppers do dominate the Deck level, Infantry dominate the rest of the map. Even if a chopper gets inside, a few AT rockets soon sort it out.

Having a server limited to 32 players with FF for mines ON stops any kind of claywhoring and also nade spamming is also limited since its only 16v16 - which ends up mostly with rifle to rifle action.
All classes can be used effectively on this map, some more than others. Assault with a G3 is quite a popular choice on this map.

The map is also very friendly towards getting those 1000repairs for the Meritorious Service Medal - being a SEAL engineer and repairing the Essex over and over.
If you are MEC, Driver Points come in by the bucket load if you have a good gunner, and the SEALs are left with only one flag. More so if thats a Deck flag than inside.

Anyway, a pretty long guide that will hopefully get some more people playing this very good map. Lots of points to be earnt, the best infantry battles in the game and great chopper action combines for an overall superb game.


Be sure to check out ShadowFoxs great guide to the Gator as well, located here:
BF2s Forum Link

General Breetai’s guide to the Gator also provides some good information, especially on limiting the Apache as MEC:
BF2s Forum Link
(thanks to Bratwurstschnecke for this additional link BF2s Forum Link )

Some 24/7 Gator servers are as follows:

_WH_ Workaholics[GER] GameServers.net (Based in Holland - 32man) IP: 82.192.78.142:19567
MAD-Pack.de
Iron Gator (Based in Holland - 32man) IP: 82.192.78.45:18567
24/7 Iron Gator - EA RANKED (Based in USA - 64man) IP: 72.232.193.70:16567
|rM| Gauntlet - 24/7 Gator (Based in USA - 32man) IP: 64.182.159.83:16567
Zulu 24/7 Iron Gator FF OFF (Based in USA - 32man) IP: 8.6.9.88:16567

Other servers running Gator fairly often:

i3d.nl - NOD clan, 24/7 All SF Maps, FF is off (Based in Holland) 84.244.131.54:29900
Losers-Server.com - Special Forces (Based in UK) 85.236.101.71:17665
EA DE Weedkings (Based in Holland) 82.192.78.152:16567 (thanks to Delphy)

See all servers running Iron Gator right now! Gamemonitor.com


Many thanks to the following people for help/additions/tips:
* Delphy
* iPoon.be
* SplinterStrike
* -TL-
* ShadowFox
* Bratwurstschnecke
* YXAndyYX aka SilentAndy
Good luck, and have fun


==== Contacting the Author ====
This guide has been written based on my knowledge and experience in the map. Should you have any comments/criticisms/new info to add, then feel free to contact me.
BF2s forum member