Laying Down the LAW – Battlefield 4 Rocket Launcher

MBT - LAW rocket launcher after destroying a tank on Caspian Border – BF4

Probably my favorite rocket launcher on wide open maps like Golmud Railways and Silk Road in Battlefield 4 is the MBT LAW (.  While it is the least popular, because it can only do 21 damage, it has three features that make it stand out.

1)      Smart lock-on function.  After you fire the dumb rockets at ground vehicle or watercraft the rocket that’s it.  If your aim was true, and took into account the drop in the projectile’s trajectory, your rocket will hit the target.  However, if it moves in an unexpected way you will have wasted your precious supply of ammo.  The LAW is different.  As it travels on the path you have chosen it will detect when it is in close proximity to a suitable enemy target, fly up, and then down on to the target.  The rocket doesn’t deviate a lot from its flight path, but it is enough to make the difference between a hit and a miss in a lot of cases.  Attacking tanks from the ground will only a rocket launcher is a risky business that often ends in death.  The LAW lets you take quick shots, and dodge behind cover, you don’t have to worry about your aim being a little off, or maintaining a lock like a Javelin the rocket will do the rest. 

2)      The LAW is a long-range sniper.  The LAW has the longest range of any of the rocket and since it doesn’t have any drop you can really laser this weapon to take out annoying snipers and other infantry as well destroy the cover they may be taking.  For some reason the sight of the LAW rocket launcher has a graduated level, which lead you to think the rocket will change trajectory on its long flight, but ignore that, it will fly straight as a laser.

3)      Another nice feature of the LAW over the RPG, and the SMAW is the magnification of the sight.  This helps you acquire you target easier, and can even be used as a really low power telescope. 

4)      Fast Reload – the LAW can reload and fire quickly, faster than any of the other launcher.

5)      The LAW will lock on to laser painted targets, but unless you’re working closely with a teammate this doesn’t help much. 

The rocket of a MBT LAW flies towards it target in BF4.
Ignore the lines for range as the rockets have no drop.

Unfortunately, the MBT LAW doesn’t lock on to air vehicles and when you do you use it against helicopters as a dumb fire missile it won’t take them down in one shot like the SMAW and RPG.  This can be very frustrating, because it is a tough shot to hit a moving aircraft, and to do it twice in a row is very unlikely. 

Draw backs of the LAW

1)      Least powerful

2)      Can be foiled by IR Smoke

3)      Warns tanks of incoming strike

4)      People think you’re a loser (get over it)

In maps with lots of cover and where most encounters with armor will be at short ranges I prefer the SMAW, or the RPG.  The SMAW is a little easier to use because it has less drop than the more powerful RPG. 

I think this weapon has some stigma attached to it.  It is available to everyone at the start of their BF4 career and so it sometimes gets used in a sort of noob fashion, but even experienced players will use rocket launches against infantry when necessary.  There are more powerful rocket launchers in Battlefield 4, but the LAW has it place in the arsenal of even the most experienced of the engineer class.