How do you fight against an L85 thermal?

[ryan__mc__@hotmail.co.uk 131]

Dunno about now but when I used the gun a few weeks ago ...the accuracy was terrible ...so I suppose run around in zigzags and hope they dont just use it to catch sight on you then switch it for a sniper :P

[Gradan 4]

If you fight vs thermal alone, need to figure out where your target and need to aproach you are dead. Only effective way I see is to stay in cover and be patient. Simple.

[PappaFae 3]

Bumb rush them on a bike, jump off and hack them to pieces with an axe...that's how I became the guy with an L85. :D

In all seriousness, the L85 is highly inaccurate, hits about as hard as a Mackarov and almost useless up close. I only use it for spotting with a partner or at the NW airfield.

[gardea_11b@yahoo.com 10]

You hack DUH! Turn into that creepy guy with the mask and blood and axe and just chase people down playing creepy music like in the YouTube videos

[sxcblood 36]

You hack DUH! Turn into that creepy guy with the mask and blood and axe and just chase people down playing creepy music like in the YouTube videos

best hacker ever, i would't even mind getting killed by him.

[Greg-UK4 31]

I normally cover myself in mud, lie in a ditch and shout "i'm here, kill me, do it! DO IT NOW!"

After all, if it bleeds we can kill it.

[irl-calibre 744]

balls running away from 'em, run straight at them, it's the worlds most uselss cqc gun ever..

[aranbaal 1]

The L85 is allot more accurate than many people give it credit for. I tested the hell out of it when I first got one, to the point where I could 1 shot a rabbit at 600m. Once you know the scope its real easy to get hits. And it does the same dmg as all STANAG guns meaning its not too bad at all. Can take a player down very quickly.

But it is very easy to avoid. The scope is very limited, hit the tree line asap if under attack and zig-zag. The L85 will quickly lose track of you.

The only issue is ATM if the guy has an L85 it most likely has a AS50 too and once hes seen you he will shoot you with that instead. So much duping going on atm. Tents and vehicles respawning all items from the last time it was saved means you dont have to do much as a new guy on the beach to find a tent and bang you have all the best goodies in the game. There are so many tents with this stuff in now its unreal.

Also the amount of AS50 TWS guns in the game is crazy. Hackers jumping on servers and changing everyones guns into these things is causing there to be masses of them around. And not everyone is honest enough to ditch it straight away. Battleye really need to raise there game and get on top of the hacking. Then a nice reset of everything by the team and we have a game again. Full reset is long overdue.

[Patient Zer0 39]

balls running away from 'em, run straight at them, it's the worlds most uselss cqc gun ever..

Especially on vet servers with no crosshairs. 6x zoom when you're 10 feet away from your target is a liability, not an asset - no matter how many colors it can display.

[Greg-UK4 31]

Press L and equip your NVGs, you get a nice shiny laser pointer! :D

[Sapulidi 1]

The L85 is pretty accurate indeed. If you are equipped with a rangefinder and able to check your target's distance you only have to set your zero-ing and aim at the body. Guaranteed hit. The scope does lose targets pretty quick so making a run for it can save your life here. Use trees and buildings to your advantage here aswel!

[VonCede 0]

Sorry for necro but I think I found a counter for thermal image.

TL;DR Smoke can block thermal image

I found myself a SVD Camo and I wanted to familiarize myself to scope, so I loaded up the Shooting range 1.1 to test it. And while I was there messing with the guns, I decided to test my idea of using smoke to block thermal imaging.

What I found out was that if there is enough smoke between target and gun, smoke will block the thermal image. Bad news is, you need at least four smokes to almost completely fade from the view. To test this I set my target soldier moving in 500 meters and used a M32 loaded with white smoke. I aimed to my feet to prevent grenade to bounce off somewhere, and made a line of smokes couple of meters apart. Then looked trough it with L85A2 AWS and AS50 TSW. Target soldier was barely visible through the smoke.

Too bad there was no road flares, so I couldn't test those. And I'm sorry for lack of video, but my system can barely handle ArmA 2, so I can't capture anything.

Now the next question is, does this information have any real use? No, not really. It's just a proof of concept for a questions that I had from this thread. You don't normally go around with 4-5 smoke grenades just to escape from L85A2 AWS, and just 1 is enough to hide you from his buddy with an AS50. And enough to generate "white noise" from all the zombies happily kicking the smoke grenade. But maybe someday smoke particles are thick enough to work in lesser quantities. Not to mention that normally smoke grenades tend to burn a bit hot while working.

[Fector 29]

Dont be foolish enough to think your hidden in grass when your target is 100 feet away, He will see you clear as day with no grass.

Not mentioning the 'foolish' sink-into-the-ground feature of Arma2 that is there to compensate for just that? :)

[Kes 2]

The L85 thermal is totally OP. Most people just use it as a thermal camera and then switch over to something like an AS50 to actually take their shots. Here's how I respond to it;

Thermal has seen me and fired:

If it comes to a shoot out, chances are you’re already doomed. However, try to have a system to handle unexpected engagements from unknown locations. Practise this as you move around in Chernarus so it becomes second nature (just imagine a shot suddenly lands in front of you and respond to it as if it were real).

The system I use in open terrain is to instantly mash ‘D’ and ‘Z’ so I move to the side and go prone. Then I roll in the direction of the nearest available cover (like a tree). If I'm still alive at this point I can start to appraise the situation. Now the bandit has lost the element of surprise and may need to reload. The odds are still in their favour but mine are improving. Now think:

1. Where? Usually you will be in natural defilade on at least one side – chances are that side is safe. So orientate yourself to the most likely field of fire – that way you can see what’s going on AND it presents a much smaller target.
   
2. How many? The number and sound of incoming shots is a clue as to how many players you’re up against.
   
3. What gun? Try to learn the specific gun noises, but if you can’t identify it think more generally – was it an assault rifle, heavy support weapon or scoped rifle?
   

Don’t jump for your scope or binos instantly. Look for puffs of smoke in 1^st/3^rd person and get an idea of your new surroundings. Most people fail at this because they panic and try to sprint away.

Then comes the hard part – try to stay calm and formulate a plan. Use the answers to the above questions to decide whether to return fire, rush, or run away.

Tip: If you’ve been engaged by a sniper, and know roughly where from – quickly return fire in their general vicinity with whatever weapon you have. Snipers HATE rounds landing near them. Many snipers will panic and try to sprint out.

Avoiding L85s

To be honest, the thermal L85 is so OP it is hard to counter it. Rather than wait for one to shoot you, your best strategy is to make it hard for thermal bandits to spot you in the first place.

1. Only move around in dense cover – don’t just hug the tree line – move further back into the woods away from open fields.
   
2. Plan out your routes sensibly using the map – try to avoid the obvious paths to major areas like Stary/Berezino/NWAF.
   
3. Never cross open terrain unless there is no alternative. If you do have to cross an exposed field, stand and sprint in a zig-zag, don’t even bother crawling.
   
4. When you reach a tree line that has to be crossed, get your scoped-rifle or binoculars out and scan for other players.
   
5. If you aren’t moving you are prone in cover. No exceptions.
   
6. Never move along the summit of a hill/ridge – you’ll stick out a mile away (literally). Instead position yourself on one side (ideally the least exposed) and move below the horizon.
   
7. The north of the map is flat and open. The south is wooded and full of small hills and valleys. So you can move more freely in the south as a player even 200-300m away probably won’t see you. This is a good place to catch L85s off guard.