This class is usually the pinnacle of Battlefield 3. Throughout your campaign, you will undoubtedly be seeing this class a lot (and I mean A LOT). These guys are the medics, so they run around reviving dead teammates, healing them and also healing themselves after firefights. Assault classes are armed with a variety of assault rifles that can dish out a good amount of damage, but pose little to no threat against vehicles. This would be a good class to initially start up as if you want to get used to the game.

These are the main force against ground and air vehicles. They go about it with Ground Vehicle Explosives(RPG, SMAW, Javalins, AT-Mines), Air-to-Air (Stinger, IGLAs). They also have abilities repair as well. They are armed with powerful, mid-ranged carbines to deal with threats up close. Choose this class when you go for vehicles or have a friend with you that is this class, so you can better your chances.

Support matches it's name very well. These guys are a force to be reckoned with because they have light machine guns that can suppress and tear through infantry for days. They have the ability to deploy ammo, technically making them into a turret that can't run out of ammo. Support infantry can also run with C4, so watch out for these guys, because they will sneek up on your tank when you least expect it. Run this class if you want to be a team-player or you just want to wreck ****.

Last but not least, we have the Recon class. Yep, you guessed it, the snipers of the game. These guys are carrying about marksman rifles that can blow the head off of anyone at anytime, and semi-auto snipers that can give out nasty suppression. Their main attribute is to make you regret ever stepping outside for fresh air. Recon can also set spawn points with radio beacons, spot enemys, designate vehicles with SOFLAMS and just make you day a hell of a lot more miserable. Chose this if you like to be stealthy .

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AEK-971
-Superior at close range
-Will drop people at mid-range with controlled bursts
M416
-Very accurate
-Good stopping power at ranges
-Ideal with KOBRA or Holo
-Doesn't need a Forgrip
AN-94
- Good at medium to long range
- One of the best burst fire assault rifles
M16A3
- Gun for all Situations
- Lethal with almost any attachments
SCAR-L
- This gun is made for long ranges.
- Works well with scope

- I recommend Heavy Barrel for all the guns listed above. It increases accuracy and range at the expense of Hip fire accuracy. Flash Suppressor is also good if you want better accuracy and no flash.
- Forgrip is also encouraged, but not recommended at all times. Most guns can stand without it, but that is up to you.
- KOBRA, Reflex and Holographic sights are ideal
for assault rifles. Most iron sights are crappy but are good with the AEK-971 and M16A3
- I only recommend silencers on high rate of fire weapons because it is hell on low rate weapons. But again, it all depends on your play-style. Don't use them unless your trying to be steathy because rushing with silencers is not the best of ideas.
- The only gun I could think of with a laser sight is the AEK. It would make it extremely lethal at close range.

M4A1
- All around good carbine
- Reliable with Flash Suppressor
SG553
- A personal favorite
- Very good with Holo, Forgrip and Heavy Barrel
A-91
- Bull-pup rifle
- Works well with Laser sight or Heavy Barrel.
QBZ-95B
- One of the only Carbines that can use Heavy Barrel and Laser Sight together.
- Highly Recommended
MTAR-21
- Made for close quarters domination
- Good with Flash supp. or Laser Sight
- High Rate of Fire

Carbines seem to do much better with different combinations than assault rifles. Carbines are good to use in situations,but certain assault can beat them out most of the time.

M240B
- One of the best LMGs
- High Rate of Fire
- Bipod is a must
M60E4
- Very strong stopping power
- Low rate of fire
- Works well with bipod and extended mags
PKP Pecheneg
- Very Powerful
- Lowest ROF of all LMG
- Good with Extended Mags
M27 IAR
- More mobile than other LMGs
- Pretty accurate
- Use Silencer or Heavy Barrel
L86A2
- Accurate
- Mobile
- Laser sight, Heavy Barrel, or Ext Mags

All LMGs are good to an extent. A way for the heavy LMGs is to stick back with a bipod and blast away at infantry, but will probably get you killed if your in the wrong location at the wrong time. One of the only heavy LMG to rush with successfully the M249 because of its high RoF and sometimes the M240B because of its stopping power. The more lightweight ones (M27 IAR, L82A2, etc) are better to run around with. Squad Suppression is the best with LMGs.

L96
- My personal favorite
- Low drop off
- Good with laser sight and straight-pull bolt
M417
- Accurate
- High Suppressive Effect
- Laser Sight and Bipod is Suggested
SKS
- One of the best semi-auto snipers
- Low recoil
- Flash suppressor and iron sights make it feel like a assault rifle.
M98B
- One of the best bolt-actions in the class
- High Damage
- Works well with Straight-pull bolt and laser sight

The Bolt-Action snipers are good to lay back with, and should have a Straight-Pull Bolt attached to them unless you are for extreme long range sniping, so in that case, use a bipod to steady your aim. They can one shot an enemy up close if it hits them before they mow you down. I would carry an auto pistol like the G18 or 93R to take care of unwanted house guests. As for semi-auto, they are good to advance with but can easily be beaten by a carbine or an assault rifle.

Now it's time to get into the non-kit based weapons. Shotguns are a great way to get up close and personal with enemies. There are two types of shotguns: pump-action and semi-auto. Pump action is good for blowing away that guy who is too close for comfort and semi-auto being for clearing out multiple enemies or laying suppressive fire. They use 4 types of rounds: Buckshot(close range), Flechette(mid range), Slug(mid-long range), Frag(Explosive/Suppressive) Here are my top choices:
870 MCS
- Pump-action
- A great shotgun for beginners
- Great with Buckshot or Slug Rounds
DAO-12
- Semi-auto
- Good semi-auto to start out with
- Can get with free "Physical Warfare Pack" DLC
- Good with Extended mags and Flechette Ammo
SPAS-12
- Pump-action
- Fast firing
- very reliable
- recommended with slugs and extended mags
Saiga 12K
- Semi-auto
- Personal favorite
- You can clear a room with this

- When using shotguns, you should bring a high powered pistol with you (44. Magnum, M1911,etc .) It will help if you target is at an insufficient range for you shotgun.
- I only recommend sights on shotguns if you are using slug rounds or a semi-auto. Iron sights should be fine on pump-actions without slugs.
- Extended Mags is a MUST. I can't stress how the extra ammo can help you in sticky situations and keep you from reloading too often.
- Slugs rounds are one of the best, but you need to be accurate. They can take down an enemy faster than Buck or Flechette. Just don't miss!

PWDs are non-kit based weapons that offer close range protection with great hip-fire accuracy, and great mobility for running about. Their high rate of fire can mean trouble for that guy trying to get your tags. They are really fun to play with if you are play TDM, Rush or Conquest on certan maps. Here are my top picks:
UMP-45
- Offers great stopping power
- Good for rushing
- Aqquired at a low level
- Low fire rate
- Good with Tactical Light, Flash Suppressor
and any sight
P90
- High fire rate
- High magazine (55 rounds)
- Good with Laser and Flash Suppressor
AS VAL (sorry Kite )
- Good damage
- Made for CQB
MP7
- Good versatility
- High rate of fire
- Good range

Don't always use PDWs in every situation, I believe these guns are good to mix it up every now and then, but always loses to a high-powered assault rifle at range. Use these when you are protecting objectives (M-COMS, Flags) or for that one guy trying to steal that Attack Helicopter you what 5 minutes to spawn

Here are your sidearms of the game. Choosing which pistol can decide the outcome of an encounter. There are a good variety of sidearms in the game to decide on, so let me help ease a load off your brain before your enemies brain you.
93R
- Burst Fire
- High RoF
- Low damage
- Good for Assault Class
44. Magnum
- Most powerful handgun available
- Medium RoF
- Available in Scoped variant
- Recommended for Assault and Support Class
G18
- Fully Auto
- High RoF
- Recommended for Recon class
M1911 S-TAC
- My personal favorite
- One of the best in the game
- High Damage
- Advantage of a Suppressor and Tactical Light
- Recommended all classes
M1911
- High Damage
- Low Clip
- Can drop enemy at mid range
- Basic Variant is preferable
MP443
- High Clip
- Medium Damage
- Tac Light is preferred
- Useful with Engineer class

And that is it for the weapons!!! I hope you found any of the recommendation above useful. I may have missed a few, but try every weapon you can and find the one that clicks with you, because to each is to their own.

Setups:

Anti-Infantry:
If you are aiming to kill as many people as possible, this setup is for you. I recommend this for small maps with MBTs.

Proximity Scan
- Detects enemy infantry near your vehicle. Good for if you don't want people coming near you with C4 or AT Mines or if you want to hunt them down.
Thermal Camo
- Can show thermal heat signatures of enemy infantry or vehicles. Very useful to find units that are hiding, see AT mines, and so you don't mistake a building for tank.
Coaxial LMG
- Basically a machine gun that will mow down infantry units without relying on your main cannon too often.

Pure Anti-Vehicular Combat:
If you are out to cause some destruction and set out to destroy vehicles, then here is a good setup for you:

Autoloader
- This is a nice upgrade if you want to have your main cannon reload faster. This for having an upper hand against other tank foes so you can kill them faster.
Zoom Optics
- I would suggest this if you would like to sit back with your tank or get the drop on an enemy at range.
Guided Shell
- This is technically a shell that can lock-on to enemy vehicles. This weapon packs a punch and to make it more powerful, I would have a teammate designate air vehicles by sitting in the third seat of the tank.

Pure Defense
If you are afraid of getting destroyed, protect an objective from the enemy, then this defense setup is for you. There will be a few upgrades listed here, so combine them together to see what works for you.

Reactive Armor or Proximity Scan
- Reactive armor will add an extra set of armor playing to your MBT, making it withstand more punishment. But beware, once you get hit, your armor will disappear and your tank will be normal again. This is for having a little extra defense on your side. Proximity scan would be for staying back on a flag and not wanted people in your business.
IR Smoke
- Deploying this smoke will protect your tank from incoming missiles that have locked on to you. You should definently use this, because it will save your tank and keep you from the vulnerability of repairing too often.
HMG or Canister Shell
- The HMG is a powerful gun that has good accuracy and that can pick off enemys at range. Canister Shell is a secondary weapon that is basically a big-a** shotgun. This can wipe out an enemy dumb enough to charge you while your cannon reloads.

Anti-Infantry
Since this is mostly an Infantry-based vehicle, this will be the best one if you're out to blow up soldiers to kingdom come.

Reactive Armor or Proximity Scan
- Same as with the MBT, this will allow for quicker reload times. Reactive will offer some extra protection.
IR Smoke or Thermal Optics
- Will protect you against locked-on missiles. Your IFV has maneuverability to dodge RPGs, but this will be needed to protect from those pesky javelins. Thermal Optics will let you see infantry that are close to you
Coaxial LMG
- Great secondary for picking of enemies if you can't use your main gun.

Anti-Vehicle
The IFV isn't as anti-vehicle as an MBT. They can easily lose fights with them in four shots of their main cannon. As you grow more experienced with the IFV, you can counter that and win fights against larger vehicles.

Belt Speed or Reactive Armor
- Can give you an edge in a fight with a quicker reload, combine this with good driving and you can win. Highly recommended against vehicles
- Extra Armor can dampen the amount of damage you take against another vehicle.
Zoom Optics
- Use this to sneak up on a tank to get your first shots in at range.
APFSDS-T Shell or ATGM Launcher
- This can switch from the explosive shells to an armor-piercing shell that can cause more damage directly to tanks.

Mixed Combat
- You you are trying to get the best of both worlds or just wanting to plow through everything ground related, here are your best choices.

Belt Speed. Reactive Armor
Zoom Optics or Thermal Camo
ATGM Launcher Coaxial LMG

Just remember to try the setups and then mixed them up to your liking. That will give you more practice in the IFV.