Welcome back to another installment of our Rust coverage.
Previously, we have walked you through how to get the most out of Monuments like the Power Plant, Launch Site, Military Tunnels, and Train Yard.
If you feel like you haven’t been maximizing your time with these locations, take a look at our guides so you can make sure you leave no stone unturned and are well-prepared for whatever you might face.
For this guide, we aren’t going to cover things like loot and puzzles.
We have a much more important topic today, one that you might need if you hope to survive one of the Monuments we previously covered.
Bradley is a real pain.
He patrols the Launch Site, packs a nearly unmanageable amount of firepower, and can take a ton of damage before he's out of commission.
Now, Bradley isn’t some human character you’ll run into in Rust.
No, Bradley is a mobile tank unit, or an APC (Armored Personnel Carrier).
The Bradley APC is unfortunately only controlled by NPCs, and players aren’t able to operate them at this point in the game’s development, though that could change in the future.
For now, whenever you want to take advantage of the incredible amount of loot at the Launch Site, you’re probably going to be facing a Bradley.
That means you need to know how to destroy it, and how to survive while doing so.
This is easier said than done, as the Bradley has both a high-fire-rate machine gun AND explosive rockets to use against opponents.
If you’ve been playing Rust for a while, you’ve probably encountered an Attack Helicopter.
The Bradley APC is the Attack Helicopter’s land-based counterpart, but it has more than a few important differences you should note.
First, while the Attack Helicopter will only attack armed or aggressive players, the Bradley will shoot to kill at EVERYTHING, even players who don’t have any weapons.
So even if you quickly drop your weapons when you see it, you’re pretty much a goner if you don’t get away in time, whereas this would probably work for the Attack Helicopter.
Next, the Attack Helicopter can see targets at all times, even at night.
The Bradley has a few blind spots that can be used to players’ advantage, but you have to be quite close, which is not ideal or even possible in many cases.
So, while it is possible to avoid the Bradley’s sight, you’re better off hiding behind cover or avoiding it completely rather than trying to make use of the blind spots.
And finally, the Attack Helicopter will take damage from just about anything, even small-arms fire.
The Bradley, on the other hand, is impervious to everything except explosive damage.
If you try shooting at it with regular guns, all you’re doing is wasting your valuable ammo.
Instead, if you intend to actually destroy a Bradley, you’re going to bring some heavy artillery.
We’re talking C4, Rockets, and even Explosive Rounds for a rifle if you’re really in a pinch.
Using C4 is the most effective method as it does the most damage, but it’s only for the brave, highly skilled, or those without any sense of self-preservation.
In order for the C4 to be effective, you need to get really close to the APC, place the explosives down, and get to a safe distance before you detonate it.
You would only need three C4s to completely destroy a Bradley, but you’re more likely to be killed by it or blow yourself up before you manage to do it this way.
As for the Rockets, this is probably going to be the primary method of dispatch for the Bradley for most players.
You can get some distance, take cover, and still take out the APC.
In fact, if you lead your shots and learn how to predict the Bradley’s movements, you can even take them out when you’re well out of range of their weaponry.
If you decide to use Rockets to bring down a Bradley, you can do it with 6-7 shots if your aim is solid.
Definitely use HV Rockets, these are the best against the bradley.
It would be a good idea to post up on a rooftop with this method.
From that vantage point, you’ll be able to avoid the Bradley’s attacks easily, and you can take aim, fire off a rocket, and just back up from the ledge to get out of sight.
Easy pickings.
Finally, the Explosive Rounds are going to be kind of a last resort for all Rust players.
They do work, but each bullet does up two points of damage to the Bradley.
That means you would need hundreds of Explosive Rounds (571) to take down a Bradley at full health.
And that’s assuming you land every single shot, which is unlikely.
It might be a good idea to bring some Explosive Rounds as a backup plan, but it should really never be your first option.
However you decide to destroy the Bradley, make sure you do it all in one shot.
If you run out of appropriate ammo and need to restock, the APC will start regenerating its health after 5 minutes.
So, if you spend more than 5 minutes getting your gear together after the Bradley has been engaged, you’re actually going backward a little bit.
It’s also worth noting that a Bradley will respawn in the same area after about an hour (can be less on modded servers).
We talked a lot about how to take a Bradley out, but why would you go through the trouble?
There is, of course, the benefit of being able to explore the Launch Site completely unbothered, but there is another reason you might want to reduce a Bradley to a smoking pile of rubble: the loot.
Destroying a Bradley gives you access to the same kind of loot you would get if you destroyed an Attack Helicopter.
That means many different types of weapon attachments, ammo, and even advanced weapons like the M249 if you’re lucky.
Also, you can use tools to harvest HQM and fragments from the Bradley’s husk.
Would you like to have your Rust server and create a great community around it or play with your friends?
Try our Rust server hosting - high performance, DDoS, top-notch hardware, and incredible prices; check it out now!
If you need help, submit a ticket here, we are here to help!
