Striker
Contents
Description
The FV102 Striker is a Rank VI British tank destroyer
with a battle rating of 8.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.71 "New E.R.A."
The Striker is a direct upgrade to the Swingfire and is better than its predecessor in almost every way, even though it has its own problems. Just as the Swingfire, the Striker's purpose is to blast enemy out of cover by firing at them indirectly with easily controllable missiles, but it has some trouble at attacking long range, as BAe Swingfire missiles are slower than normal ones.
Striker has a much better fire rate and bigger room for error compared to its predecessor, due to having five launchers at once, better cameras and being more mobile, so its push-preventing powers are godlike, however, it's camera placement is far from ideal - it creates problems with firing downwards in front of the tank and use of long-range scope requires exposing the vehicle to return fire, unlike with the Swingfire. Due to this, it takes a bit more of dedication from it's user, to use vehicle well.
General info
Survivability and armour
Much like the Swingfire, Striker is a box with sloped front, however, it has a smaller profile than the Swingfire and has more armour on front. It still has little amount of armour on other sides and there are fewer points where the Striker can get shot without consequences. Still, the sloped frontal armour makes it difficult to be destroyed with machine guns and even stock 30 mm autocannons, so the Striker should face the enemy's push direction, not just to make aiming easier, but to reduce the chances of being instantly destroyed, especially by light tanks. If the Striker is in a good enough cover, it's not important. Having high ground might help to negate even upgraded autocannons due to ricochets and transmission protecting the bottom of the vehicle to some extent.
The first thing to notice about the Striker is a giant missile panel on its back. It has 5 slots, which have missiles loaded in them, and so if launcher got penetrated and damaged slot had missile loaded in it, it explodes the entire rack and lights the vehicle on fire, the missile area is to light up like a firework, and will be unable to fire back. As such, try not to get hit in the missile launch area. In case the Striker gets shot at an empty tube, there is a chance the entire rack won't break in one hit and the vehicle will still be able to fire while having the option to repair it back to 100%. In case all of the ammo is spent, the launcher and rear are actually the safest place to be hit as only ammo and fuel is stored there and will otherwise be open space. Missile launcher itself can even completely absorb artillery shots, helicopter ATGM or fire from the BMP-1 cannon, protecting the Striker hull. The missile rack also covers the reserve ammo rack from planes strafing from the sky, so as long as they can't fire inside of the vehicle, the Striker should be fine. Also, since the launcher is now closer to the front of the hull, the Striker cannot fire in 10 m dead zone in front, so try to destroy the opponents before the missiles go out of control.
On its mid-left, there is a commander cupola which has a machine gun and supports secondary ATGM camera on it. Cupola has less armour than the hull and it's possible to lose both gunner and commander by being hit there, destroying the vehicle in RB. Despite that, most players tend to aim for much more imposing weapons or supposedly weak hull instead. If you can see enemy tank in your sniper scope, this means they can see your commander cupola and attack it.
The Striker is susceptible to the hull-break mechanics if hit directly to the hull by artillery, chemical shell of calibre 105 mm (basically, any NATO medium tank with HEAT-FS or HESH) or kinetic shell of 120 mm (basically any Soviet tank and heavy tanks in general). Trasmission can prevent hull-break, but chances of enemy firing at the bottom of the Striker are low. As such, it is risky to stand in artillery rains, engage tanks directly, and be hit in the cupola. In fact, engaging 9.0+ tanks around destructible cover is now even more risky, as for example on the American Desert map, APDSFS rounds can penetrate houses and still hull-break the tank. As such, try to memorize all tanks that use the dangerous rounds and use solid, unpenetrable cover against them.
However, the missile launcher does not enact hull break, instead the launcher is rendered completely broken. It is also worth noting that in Arcade Battles, the launcher sometimes does not "auto-repair" after such hit and so it must be manually repaired to be brought back to action. The issue is worsened by the fact, that malfunctioning launcher does not stop reload sequence and you can get set on fire on follow-up shot. This can be very confusing in Realistic Battles, and increase the chances of enemy destroying your ammo rack. So if your missile launcher constantly "misfires" and your interface replenishes your missiles back instead of firing for more than 13 seconds, and you do not see field repair timer on your screen, you would need to do manual repair.
It is also worth noting, that players sometimes treat this vehicle as a car, and, as long as vehicle doesn't use camouflage which make it look dangerous (like Sicilian) and use tame ones instead (like basic desert), the enemy often fire coaxial weapons at first, doing no damage. It's recommended to avoid using wrong camouflage palette in Realistic Battle mode , and to avoid enemy snipers like Leopards in general, as they generally won't even bother firing coaxial weapon at anyone, and they treat Striker as a high-priority target, often trying to snipe it even from across the map.
Avoid letting enemy vehicles to get into ramming range, as it can render Striker useless, due to low weight and inability to fire missiles on move. If it's going to happen anyway, at least ram enemy back with your front and resist their attempts to move you, so your allies have more time to rescue you, at least until enemy tank reloads.
Armour type:
- Aluminium Alloy AA7017
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 25 mm (69°) | 12.7 mm | 12.7 mm | 12.7 mm |
| Missile launcher | 50 mm (55°) | 50 mm | 50 mm (55°) | 0-10 mm |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 25 mm | 12.7 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick
- Belly and hull undersides over the tracks are 12.7mm thick
- Outdoor ammo rack is 50 mm thick everywhere, except hinges that are 10 mm thick.
- The strafing plane can fire inside of the launcher, but at such attack angle, it's easier to just fire at ammo racks and crew inside of Striker instead. It is also technically possible to fire HE inside of the launcher tubes, setting missile inside of it and Striker on fire, but the weapon will not break.
Mobility
The mobility of the Striker is better than of the Swingfire's, so it can actually get to capture points along with the team's push, so the Striker can assist in intercepting and destroy enemy team while rearming at the point. If travelling by asphalt roads with all the upgrades, the Striker can temporarily reach a maximum speed of 87/80 km/h (AB/RB). Striker can drive as fast in any direction, so the only issue is turning around. This is possible because Striker is much lighter than the Swingfire. Unfortunately, the lighter hull is easier for the enemy to push around, temporarily disabling the weapon and potentially ramming the Striker into a wall.
It is important to have high level of "driving" in crew skills. Non-aced driver will get confused if you'll try to drive forward or backwards and turn at the same time, especially at gear 1. Until your crew is fully trained, use neutral steering first, only then start moving, or get to gear 4-5 and then turn around. It's also worth noting, that even if your driver is maxed out, at ~50 km/h you can only turn a little bit before you start losing your speed, so try to keep moving in certain direction, if you try to reach maximum speed. It is important for the Strikers to take mobility upgrades as soon as possible, because:
Brakes are very important in towns, as stopping one moment too late can push the Striker out of cover and now the vehicle is exposed at the mercy of medium tanks, who would most likely really hate missile launchers, or are just more than happy for an easy target. Better brakes also help in hill battles, especially when the Striker gets flanked and need to do something about it. Also, since the "Supersonic" update, the Striker can no longer fire on the move, so better brakes = less time is taken before the Striker can actually fire.
Maximum inclination and suspension upgrades allow the Striker to climb hills and mountain rocks better, and also stay on them. The Striker may have issues with controlling missiles when not staying on flat terrain, but getting a good sight on choke point is still a major benefit, as attacking position when it's raining missiles is scary, even if they don't really destroy anyone. And if accurate enough at angling missiles despite this problem, they are all doomed regardless of their numbers.
The Striker is slower than light tanks, so unless the scouts are willing to take a hit for the Striker, there's no expectation to take cap points solo, or get there first, so that's out of the question. But getting better acceleration from modifications and keeping map situation in mind still can make a difference, because, despite the "Supersonic" update removing the ability to fire on move, the Striker can still fire a missile and follow it, as it guides the missile onto the enemy. That way, the missiles can be fired and make the enemy think otherwise while the Striker moves to the next cover. Even if that is not enough to deter them, more missiles can just be fired at the next stop.
| Mobility characteristic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weight (tons) | Add-on Armour weight (tons) |
Max speed (km/h) |
| 8.3 | N/A | 87 (AB) |
| 80 (RB/SB) | ||
| Engine power (horsepower) | ||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded |
| Arcade | 270 | 332 |
| Realistic/Simulator | 168 | 190 |
| Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | ||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded |
| Arcade | 32.53 | 40.00 |
| Realistic/Simulator | 20.24 | 22.89 |
Armaments
Main armament
Slightly to the right of commander cupola, there is a main ATGM camera, the optics. Because of how it's placed, the Striker cannot fire down well, the inclination of +20° to the enemy ground increases the difficulty of firing down, as well as the major problem firing at people that is on the other side of the same hill. The Striker also cannot fire at long range without exposing itself or risking a complete miss. All of this is a downgrade from Swingfire. Accuracy problem can be somewhat compensated by extreme mouse manipulations in Third person view, as long as leading shots can be scored.
On other hand, Stiker is better at controlling missiles, as long as it stand on a semi-flat surface or have direct sight of the enemy. It's also better at aiming shots behind itself and at correcting missed shots, since secondary ATGM camera, placed on commander's cupola, assists automatic missile leading in any direction, not just infront of vehicle.
Take the missile characteristics into consideration. The missiles start out to be slow and start increasing their speed with each second, becoming less controllable and taking crazy turns when trying to guide on target, so if there's something weird that needs to be done, it's better to do in close range from the third person view or in open fields. They still drop down on launch and take super sharp turns on new targets, so keep attention at where the missile is going, or it will hit the ground or overshoot. If there is nothing around the target, the missiles will hit whatever the reticle points at, even from one km away if still intact. In fact, missiles are usually so accurate, they can even drop below train carriages, if someone uses them as cover. Only the missile the Striker launched last can be controlled though.
Since missiles are launched up, the semi-automatic guidance system expects targets to be at least 100 m away, so if the enemy is closer than that, it is suggested to aim at the ground near to them, not at the vehicles themselves, or the missiles will overshoot. Generally, when launched into dead zone, missiles fly two times further, than you wanted. This system, however, allows firing above covers very precisely.
Examples of "cover busting" and dead zone duels (point cursor at image to get an explanation):
One of your general duties as Striker is removing hull-down opponents out of their cover. Easy vertical shots like this should be the main aim of your practice at the beginning. Simply drive up to them and destroy them. The better you get at this, the less opponents will dare to stand near to you. Later on, you will learn to do that at long range as well.
After a while you will meet opponents who simply do not fear you, or attack you directly out of desperation. It's much better to destroy your opponents indirectly, however, you should be ready to immideately counterattack in any situation. As seen in this picture, Striker managed to immideately counterattack XM-1, and even destroyed Warrior, while at it. The key at close range duels is aiming in between yourself and opponent, then correcting the shot.
After a while, you will have to learn, how to attack enemy indirectly, by launching missile in one direction and dragging them into another. This is necessary to attack people, who think they can hide from Striker. Play it like any vehicle in RB - look around using camera, spot enemy, launch missile forward and drag it at their location. With a bit of practice, you will be able to hit enemy behind rocks and walls. Then, you will learn to attack even through small gaps in between bridge beams, holes in house's rooftops, ETC.
It may look like Striker is supposed to reload 5 missiles at once after it shot them all, but it's actually reloading them one by one at a certain rate, depending on crew skill. The ammo pool is shared.
This can lead to an advantage in Arcade battles, as the ammo can be portrayed as limitless since tubes generally reload while guiding the missiles to the target. However, full ammo rearm outside of capture point after spending all missiles in AB takes about 50 seconds, and missiles cannot be used too recklessly as it still takes at least 8 to 10.4 seconds to reload one launcher. While rearming, launchers still "reload", which means you can fire at will after rearm sequence is finished.
Rearming inside of capture points in AB can also grant you more than 1 missile if you start rearm before using last missile. This rearms entire ammo pool immediately, but it will not reload your launchers instantly, so it won't help you if your aim is bad. It is also generally unsafe to do, as capture points rarely provide any cover by themselves, so retreating away or imposing "threatening presence" next to capture point is generally a much more viable tactic, than risking tank's health for more ammunition.
In Realistic battles, this advantage is less important since the Striker only has 10 shots, and if hit by a missile in the rack, it will explode all of the ammo in the launcher, leaving the Striker with even less. It also rearms only one missile per cycle on capture points in RB.
In short: Practice the Striker's aim in AB and abstain from RB until able to control the missiles properly, having a wasteful attitude to missiles and missing shots will force a constant rearming period at a control point.
| 170 mm BAe Swingfire ATGM | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Fire rate (shots/second) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance |
Stabilizer | |
| 10 | 0.6 | N/A | N/A | Two-plane | |
| Turret rotation speed (°/s) | |||||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. |
| Arcade | 18.6 | N/A | 22.6 | 25.04 | 26.64 |
| Realistic | 12.6 | N/A | 15.3 | 16.92 | 18.00 |
| Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||
| Stock | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. | ||
| 10.4 | 9.2 | 8.48 | 8.0 | ||
Notes:
- Turret, in the case of Striker, is represented by cameras (optics). The faster they move, the more responsive missiles become.
- Launcher has a dead zone of 10 m in front of the vehicle. If Striker is not standing on flat terrain, then the dead-zone is extended further below vehicle (generally up to 50 m).
- Automatic guidance system has a soft dead-zone of about 100 m, which results in an inability to hit the enemy if the reticle is simply pointed at them. Point reticle into the ground near an enemy to hit or use indirect attack technique.
- Reloading only happens for one tube at a time. If the weapon is broken, then reloading is stopped to prevent potential ignition on follow-up shots. If out of ammo, the reload will still happen so when fully rearmed, all racks are ready to fire again.
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration in mm @ 90° | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| BAe Swingfire | ATGM | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity on launch in m/s | Maximum Velocity in m/s |
Projectile Mass in kg |
Range (m) | Fuse delay
in m: |
Fuse sensitivity
in mm: |
Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent): |
Normalization At 30° from horizontal: |
Ricochet: | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| BAe Swingfire | ATGM | ~89 | 250 | 37 | 4,000 | 0.0 | 0.01 | 3470 | +0° | 80° | 82° | 90° |
- Model of the missiles, that are used on Striker, is different from ones used on Swingfire, despite having the same name. It has better maximum velocity being 250 m/s. It also has better turn rate, though it still has some drag, when forced to take sharp turns at high speed.
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | XX (+XX) | XX (+XX) | XX (+XX) | No |
Machine guns
Not much to be said about machine gun, as at 8.3 it barely does anything, so use the machine gun to remove fences, since hitting anything with the Striker slows it down considerably. Fighting planes with this machine gun is redundant, it's easier to just fire ATGM at them and hope they care enough to disengage, but it can be done in RB just to do minor damage.
| 7.62 mm L37A1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pintle mount | ||||||
| Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
| 2,500 (100) | 650 | -5°/+25° | ±45° | |||
Usage in the battles
Moving around: Find building, teammate, hill, or rock that is as tall as the hull of Striker, then find the enemy and destroy them using the ATGM. Use the machine gun only for destroying fences and against planes. In other words "Be sneaky and shoot at the range".
Driving out in the open will not end well for the Striker unless the enemy has someone else to shoot. The Striker can drive around in enemy sight, but make sure that they are afraid and in cover, or at least can't fire at the Striker first before the Striker sends a missile their way. Use smokes to cover the Striker from enemy snipers while opening fire on someone else. The Striker can use the opposite side of the cover that the enemy is using, as long as the missiles can fire at them from above and the Striker isn't opened for flank shots. At that point, it doesn't matter if they know where the Striker is.
In extreme situations, the Striker can be sacrificed by driving straight to cover inside of enemy territory (preferably at the start of the match), hoping that nobody expects missile launcher of all things to drive right into "their" part of the map and ruin their plans. There are several examples of this tactic:
As the right-side team on the "Vietnam" map, the Striker cannot hope to take hold of C capture point, as the left-side team has an absurd advantage over that capture point. Even the idea of it is so unthinkable, that nobody even checks the river near to town (and even if they do, using both smoke launchers can give enough breathing space to get past them), so the Striker can dash to the river entrance of C cap point, which is exactly the size of Striker and is heavily fortified from every direction, and attempt to destroy entire enemy team right there, as it tries to leave C. Not only the chance of success is quite high, as heavily insulted enemy team will probably come straight at the Striker's position, but even if this fail, teammates can snipe remaining opponents with little to no effort as they converge onto the Striker's position here.
As the south-side team in "American Desert", A point only variant, it is possible to use the road to reach max speed and then fall off the cliff straight into the cover below, then immediately proceed to fire at completely confused enemy team. There is a high chance of being shot mid-air or breaking the tracks due to fall damage, however, sometimes this idea is just crazy enough to work, and if they fail to stop the Striker in time, the entire enemy team is at the Striker's missile's mercy. At this point, the Striker should take out as many of them as possible, preferably pushing them back to their spawn point or even destroying them all.
Note that this rush tactic is not feasible without spaded vehicle, as it's significantly harder to hit a Striker when it is driving at 50-87 km/h, compared to 30-60, weaker suspension may stop the Striker from moving altogether after hitting any bumps on a road, weaker tracks tend to break easier, and so on. You should also remember, that you don't have to always go that far to make an effective ambush. Use your imagination and teamwork to do more damage.
Combat and teamwork: Striker excels at holding choke points and indirect horizontal missile fighting, so just give the enemy something to think about by firing 1-2 missiles at the corner of their cover, then use their confusion and fear to get closer and adjust missile aim, then actually blow them up. If they try something as stupid as rushing without smokes, show no mercy and fire all launchers, until they are crippled or destroyed.
Having scout vehicle working with the team to actually mark enemy through walls and smokes is best. Having someone to draw attention from the Striker, like a Chieftain tank, is even better, as nobody normally prioritizes the innocuous Striker, especially if next to a bunch of scarier, tanky teammates. Avoid using them as a shield at 9.3 and especially 10.0, as APDSFS, which can go through multiple tanks while doing damage, is used there very often, if not always.
In case the situation is such that the Striker must hurriedly capture the point or protect allies immediately, the Striker can dash in and use any suitable combat cover as brakes by crashing into it, then immediately fire on the enemy. Make sure to not crash with just one track, since it will break it, especially if driving above 40km/h.
In case the opponent is not in visual range, either because of how far they are, or there are simply too many of them for precise targeting, in arcade mode the Striker still can select/target the specific opponent and hold the right mouse button, or simply hold right mouse button (by default controls) as the mouse aiming is dragged near them, to activate automatic aim. This allows the Striker to semi-precisely fire missiles on the faraway enemy without manual aiming nor the gunner's scope to make a quick hull shot. This does not really help against foes that are in the automatic guidance dead zone (100 m or out of camera sight) or have cover against the missile path. It also does not help against foes which move, unless the sniper scope is manually aimed at them. You don't have such option in realistic and simulator battle, however in RB it's much safer to use sniper scope anyway, since opponents do not automatically spot you across the map there.
When choosing choke point, aim for certain criteria to be flexible if trying to make a difference:
- Can this help at holding control point from here? Can the Striker destroy the enemy before they can run away?
- Is it fortified to a point it's impossible to take out the Striker without heavy losses or air support?
- Can the Striker control more than one direction from here? If not, is this the only really important capture point on the map?
- (In RB) Can the Striker rearm fast there?
Gallery of examples:
A Mozdok choke point. Note that the Striker can control entire front-line and can decimate anyone on B point. There is nothing enemy team can do about it, but attempt to flank the Striker through the directions also in the Striker's firing lines. The Striker can also pop smoke and escape to B, in case if they flanked the position, called air support, or the Striker simply need to rearm.
If without modifications or prefer something more fortified, choose unorthodox covers like the C choke point on Tunisia. It's hard to see it coming, the Striker can fire upon anyone trying to drive around C point, Artillery almost never fires on rocks, there are covers from planes with the mountains nearby, and there are only 2 entrances to this hideout, which are hard to even get to. However, like with all good positions for Striker, the team has to protect the right flank, as the Striker can get shot if the enemy team controls the B area or use river entrance to flank.
Alternatively, the Striker can attack capture point itself and use buildings as a shield (like this bridge). Use the missile's mobility to attack everywhere and push the enemy back. This kind of attack is very risky and reaction based and tables can quickly turn. Immediately seek a hiding place as the enemy can pinpoint artillery onto the Striker's location.
If you know that some capture point is important, but you can't possibly get there first, you can use your speed to rush and intercept enemy from best firing angle you know. Most likely this spot will have horrible cover for your weapon, so watch out for snipers. Simply crash into nearest cover and proceed to fire onto the enemy. Anything, that restricts enemy mobility, should be noted when choosing a position.
Because BMP checked out the castle's surroundings with it's improved optics, Striker could safely drive into capture point and score the first strike. Standing straight on capture point is generally unsafe, but there are exceptions. In this case, even if the position is somehow compromised, Striker still has full ammo and can break out to its iconic hiding spot on top of the castle, where it's almost invincible.
Never forget, that War Thunder is a team based game, and even if you fortify yourself in best possible sniper position in entire game, that only you can use, there is always a possibility of being attacked and destroyed by light and medium tank combo, if nobody watches your back. Do not lower your guard, when you are alone.
For those, who trust their teammates, even slight ground elevation and random tank hull can be used to stop the enemy assault. The enemy can fire at the commander's cupola, but due to elevation and basic cover it's very hard to do, and proper display of Striker's overwhelming firepower will stall the enemy team. Use manual repair and curve missiles everywhere, so the enemy has no chance of capturing the point directly.
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Surviving counterattack: The Striker's actions will draw attention, so expect to be bombarded by artillery almost constantly. Standing under artillery fire is a bad idea, but at some point it will be required to tough it out, hoping the blasts or shrapnel won't end the Striker. If possible, you should to get to the edge of bombardment area and then focus at stopping whatever called the artillery, as enemy tanks probably will come after the bombarded area soon enough. If just focused on the artillery, keep in mind that it has fewer chances of hitting the Striker on mountain rocks and other unorthodox types of cover, especially if close to several covers at once. However, it's harder to be protected against vehicles on unstable steep surfaces and without direct sight.
If someone is rushing towards the Striker's position, keep calm and turn as much attention as possible to the direction of assault. First disable everyone's gunner, turning your front towards them, while guiding missiles. Weak machine guns have problems with disabling the Striker's weapon system from the front, and your priority are tanks with 120 mm guns, so medium french, Soviet, Japanese and any heavy tanks are a priority. Once everyone is pacified, destroy them. Don't attempt an escape, unless, in need of some convenient temporary cover, there is no way the Striker will outrun a bunch of tanks with cannons without fighting them back first.
In case the enemy breaks the Striker's weapon, remember that Neutral steering turn on flat terrain (at 0km/h) does not prevent field repair of weapons, so simply keep turning towards enemy and hope for the best. In case you got high ground, you may resist even BMP2's and similar autocannon fire, regardless of the rate of fire, and they rely on it too much sometimes, giving you or your teammates just enough time to destroy them before they decided to launch ATGM at you. In case if you are pinned down in your cover by multiple tanks, while your cover only protects your hull, but not weapons, you can simply keep turning your hull around to make them miss you, or turn your back towards them to not let them hit your commander cupola or to use HE, in case if they actually decide to try and hull break you.
In case only the hull can be hidden, the enemies got the weapon constantly in field repair mode, and there is no other way out, force it into manual repairs, allowing the Striker to fire back in a desperate situation. Unlike field repair, manual repair is not prevented by continuous attacks on the launcher, sometimes restoring the launcher to 100% right after the enemy hit. Granted, not every enemy will just stand and fire at the launcher for 14-34 seconds, and manual repair prevents you from turning around, however, that knowledge can help in expediting the enemy's destruction. Manual repair can be prevented by hitting the missiles in the rack and setting the vehicle on fire, which is likely to happen since finishing repairs causes reloading to resume, and by pushing your vehicle around, so start firing immediately.
Even when enemy destroyed Striker, you still have indirect control over missile for a few seconds. Keep guiding it into them, or don't move the mouse, if you are sure it's onto them.
Last stand failure: Operator failed to destroy even one of the enemy tanks with 6 shots because he panicked. After that, he tried to run to cover, exposing vehicle's side to one of the opponents and is ultimately destroyed by a third opponent, because striker cannot fire ATGM while moving, only guide them. Moral: If caught in open - fight till the bitter end.
Last stand success: Despite being severely damaged, striker managed to hide all vital points in between damaged cistern and wooden logs, minimizing chances of being obliterated by massive artillery barrage, being shot to the hull, or rammed to smithereens, and proceeded to fire at incoming enemy in cold blood, despite being alone in literal hell. Moral: even if entire enemy team fires onto the position, as long as the player remains calm, the Striker can survive or destroy most of them before perishing.
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Since Striker is unable to fire in sniper mode without exposing itself, most enemies will have to be attacked indirectly regardless of range. This may seem extremely harsh at longer ranges, however, when the turret loses direct sight on the missile and the target at the same time, the missiles are then controlled by movements of the turret (therefore, directly guided by the mouse, not by the targeting reticle.). Since BAe Swingfire missiles are very slow and mobile, they can be directed wherever necessary, negating sniper aim disadvantage by some extent. Regaining control over missile will send it into a crazy spiral and/or towards the targeting reticle, so try to avoid it, unless the Striker's position is suddenly compromised. Mostly this kind of attack is done in third person view, as sniper mode restricts the vision way too much, and missiles are way too sensitive for it, even at 800 m range.
There is also weird glitch: When you have maxed out targeting AND aced crew, you start to see where your machine gun is pointed, by blinking crosshair. It's extremely annoying, but for some reason, it shows the true direction your missiles are going to, as long as the target is not in your dead zone. This immensely helps at close ranges and indirect duels at close range.
All of this allows the Striker to attack the enemy from extremely advantageous angles. First, position in such a way that the Striker can launch missiles using semi-auto mode in general direction of enemy outside of the line of control (behind terrain, high ground, or building). When choosing the place, make sure that the Striker is also stable, as even moving it a bit will make missiles take unexpected turns. When the missile goes out of the turret's sight, direct it into enemy's weak spots by moving the mouse. That way, the Striker can hold off entire army's of tanks and attack fortified positions without ever being critically hit, or even seen while being in the middle of the enemy ground.
This way of firing adds another problem - there are still dead zones (because of launcher's placement and turret's camera's inability to look down) and also blind spots, because it is hard to see what the missiles are heading towards (due to how camera works and the angle of missile's launch), and "directing" missile still moves the camera, usually into the ground, obscuring direct vision. To overcome this and become even stronger, activate "relative camera control" in the "control-tank-view in battle - Ground (y/x axis)". For specific settings and control explanations relate to the screenshot to the right.
Basically, this will temporarily detach the camera from the reticle by a certain degree. Be extremely careful when using this option because it makes the Striker specifically designed for close or ultra long range combat or battles at certain altitudes, and the camera must have a reset and apply button on hand, in case anything unexpected happens. In case everything goes wrong, the Striker still can use sniper mode, as it's unaffected by camera modifiers and will still guide missiles straight into the crosshairs.
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Specific enemies worth noting
Other ATGM launchers: Don't fight them directly at close range, it will be foolish. Instead, bait enemy closer to cover, then just destroy them by firing over it. Another way is to just set them on fire and let them burn, there is nothing they can possibly do about it themselves.
Light tanks and SPAA: As fun as it may be to trigger them by firing all over their cover, they still can destroy the Striker easily and have enough speed and mobility to actually do that. Let them ignore the Striker and do their business, though keep an eye on them. If they try something sneaky - destroy them. If it's possible to hit them within first two shots to trigger hull break - do it.
Soviet tanks: Aim for the hull, as it usually destroys or immobilizes them. Aiming for right (their left) side is better for self-defence. They are also more dangerous than German ones, so prioritize them over others.
MBTs with autocannon coaxial (mainly French): They can penetrate your commander cupola and sides with their coaxial weapon from any angle at 100 m, so try to not expose them, without exposing the front of the hull, so they have something to fire at and don't get any better ideas. Spending your ammo fast makes side shots less lethal, since coaxial autocannons seem to not have explosive filler, and if they don't hit your crew or ammo directly, the damage is minimal.
Helicopters: In case the Striker provokes half of the enemy team and didn't succumb to artillery, they will probably send one of these flying birds directly at the Striker's location. If they have ATGM, immediately run behind some tall cover and fire back with a missile. If they are too far away, there is not much the Striker can do. Rockets can destroy the Striker as well if the pilot manages to carpet-bomb the position, so helicopters should be prioritized as a target and a threat.
Attack planes: While bombers generally approach their targets directly, can be shot down with ATGM, and their bombs generally make enough noise to notice them and dodge, attackers at 8.3+ are extremely fast, maneuverable and can suddenly carpet-bomb your vehicle with rockets more than once. Do not show them the sides of the Striker, and try to not let them fire rockets precisely from top, by hiding in smokes.
9.7-10.0 tanks: If you took the Striker to endgame battle, make sure you never get hit. One hit, even by default ammo, can break the missile launcher almost 100% of the times. Avoid being sniped at all costs, as even a glancing hit to commander cupola might explode entire vehicle. Also avoid driving next to your teammates, since almost everyone use APDSFS at that point, and those shells can penetrate straight through teammates and hit you. Take notes on which tanks have ERA and NERA armour. For example: M1 Abrams and IPM1 have so much NERA that attacking them with missiles from front is extremely hard and time consuming (Though their hull sides are still weak), and the Challenger Mk.3 has enough ERA to survive 2 critical hits. But in Realistic battles, these two classes of tanks are your allies, and rest of nations generally have NERA only in turret, while some factions have not even nearly enough to stop direct hit, so even limited ammo is not that much of an issue. Because of that, you can often indirectly attack enemy hull to destroy most opponents 1-2 hits, you still can break one track and finish them off with quick follow-up side shot, as they topple over, you can even try to hit their turret or engines from top to set them on fire. It's also worth noting, that many players try to skip 8.0-9.0 really fast and either don't know what to do with you, or just don't understand what NERA does, so they may be extremely startled or scared and avoid attacking you directly after you destroyed or heavily damaged their party.
Counter-tactics
Don't attack the enemy's position without artillery support and smoke screens. If Striker is using a single fortified position and can't move, an option is to fire smoke shells at it to not only protect oneself but blind it all together. (just make sure they don't have friendly scout vehicles around, otherwise, there is a chance they will be able to guide missiles towards a covered position.)
If it only exposes its missile racks, fire at it, preferably with explosives, APDSFS, or 30 mm autocannons with at least 80 mm of penetration. Usually the tubes on your right (their left) fire first and are already empty, so initially aim for the left (their right) to set them on fire. After breaking weapons, destroy the hull. The front of Striker may be surprisingly resistant to machine gun fire, however, if in possession of high calibre machine guns, move around Striker and penetrate its back or sides with them. If you have autocannons as a coaxial weapon (which are ~23 mm and insufficient to damage launchers), attempt to damage commander's cupola, which has much worse protection. 7.62 calibre does nothing to it even point-blank, so don't use those on it.
If attacks didn't set Striker on fire, it will be about 9 seconds before the Striker repaired the launcher back. Firing at launcher again will reset the "field repair" timer, so take some time after a successive hit. Try firing at different tubes, if need be, it may set the vehicle on fire if actual ammo is hit. Pushing vehicle around also resets the repair timer.
It has problems firing at the opposite side of the same hill if it's too steep. It will not help destroy a Striker, but at least the location is somewhat safe.
In case if you absolutely have to attack it directly, you can at least try to shoot it's ATGM down with MG supressive fire, but a good enough bullet screen will take at least 4 7.62 mm MG at once, there are no guarantees it will work, and, if it has high ground, it still can launch them at such angle, that you will be unable to do anything.
It's best to attack from many directions at the same time, preferably from behind. Even better if the operator didn't see it coming. Sniping and terrain based flank are working better in arcade battle, since there they only have vision in front of their driver and in direction they point camera at, but at great range, while sneak attacks from any direction are more reliable in realistic battle, though they themselves are much harder to notice in time.
Don't forget that it can fire from any sort of cover. Aside from already mentioned steep hills, its firing potential is only limited by operator's skill, as Striker is better at leading missiles behind it.
Destroy its weapons if unable to hit it's commander cupola reliably before it fires the missiles. A cornered enemy is the most dangerous one. However, remember, that it does not have hull-break on missile launcher. The only real way to destroy it is to attack the hull or set it on fire.
The SPAA's with absurdly high fire rate, like Vulcan and Shilka can fire at Striker's transmission and destroy vehicle without even aiming. Problem is, it's unlikely that Striker will just let them drive up to itself, and these SPAA cannot defend themselves against other tanks at all, so chances of this ever happening are very slim.
Since "Supersonic" update it must stop before firing, so if surprising one - destroy it before it hit the brakes, make them panic and try to push vehicle around, ultimately dragging them into a wall. If the vehicle profile is low enough, a blind spot could be created and force the Striker to attempt a miracle shot, which is inaccurate and will not work, unless there is enough room for a missile to turn around. This provides an opportunity to take a free direct shot at crew compartment. One can even use disabled Striker as a shield against their own teammates.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Can drive in any direction fast, even on stock modules
- Five ATGMs in rack means five fast shots without reloading, with aced crew easily pulling off 6
- Smokescreen is not a liability for this vehicle and is unlocked earlier
- Infinite ammo in AB
- Can fire in covers like artillery, but more precise
- No hull break on missile launcher
- Enemy often underestimate its frontal armour and neutral steering
Cons:
- Side armour is lacking and can be easily penetrated by heavy machine guns of 12.7 mm calibre and any weapon larger than a 12.7 mm machine gun
- It is a large target and it's not easy to find cover that protects the weapon well
- Practically impossible to fire at long range without exposing the vehicle or using third person view
- Low ammo capacity with 10 ATGMs in RB
- Using it too well draws attention and may cause massive attacks of all kinds on the Striker's position, including endless artillery barrages, which can one-shot it on a good hit
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.
Media
Read also
Sources
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Britain tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Infantry tank derivatives | Archer · Gun Carrier (3-in) |
| Light tank derivatives | Alecto I |
| M10 Achilles | Achilles · Achilles (65 Rg.) |
| Centurion derivatives | FV4005 · Conway |
| ATGM | Swingfire · Striker |
| Other | Tortoise · ▄M109A1 |
| Canada | QF 3.7 Ram |
| South Africa | G6 · ZT3A2 |
