Grand Bazaar

Battlefield 3 Grand Bazaar map is set in Tehran, and is a relatively small map that’s focused heavily on infantry combat. Grand Bazaar is light on vehicles and has a dense, urban location with a lot of alleys and streets, perfect for flanking towards the objectives, whether they are capture points or M-COM stations.

Grand Bazaar layout

Grand Bazaar is set in a tight, urban environment, where fast movement and good infantry skills are key. The map retains its urban and dense setting regardless of what mode is played, whether its Conquest or Rush, Team Deathmatch or Squad Deathmatch.

There are 5 capture points in Grand Bazaar, 4 of them are centered around the main flag called “Alley”, which is the focal point of many tense battles.

Grand Bazaar is an urban environment supplemented with vehicles. THe map is largely based on one city block and the building fronts along the perimeter streets. The teams spawn on opposite corners of the map. Each spawn has one flag closest to their spawn (flags "A" and "C") and a central one within an alleyway (Flag "B"). Both teams start with one light vehicle and an IFV.

A strategy planning session has multiple different ways of devising a plan, but there is always a few things everyone should do before that happens:

1) Survey the Terrain.
Before you charge forward like an idiot, take a look at the battleground first. Find the advantages, then the disadvantages. In Grand Bazaar, its an urban environment full of ambush possibilities. The streets are open for vehicles, but vehicle support is minimal at best in the interior. This map is best fought with the majority of infantry able to function by themselves.

2) Take inventory.
That means, what assets does your team have and what vehicles are available? On this map, both teams have fast vehicles and IFV's. Fast vehicles are great for rapid transport for troops, scouting and providing fire support in the way of mounted MG's. IFV's can also transport troops more safely, but at a loss for speed. Their shining asset is the heavy guns and are more adept at providing fire support for the team. Personal equipment is fielders choice.

3) Strategize.
Using the layout and equipment available, as well as the number of troops, devise a plan to maximize your advantages and minimize the disadvantages.


Final Strategy

Grand Bazaar has 3 flags and bleeding starts with just 2 flags taken. The Alpha and Charlie flags are near each spawn point and are easily taken by both teams. The real pain is Bravo since it is in a small alley with a limited axis of approach. Whichever team controls this flag can easily defend it with one soldier prone on the ground firing down the alley. SInce it is in the middle of the map, novice players naturally think that objective is vital. It is not and here a few reasons why:

1) Its position isn't strategically vital. It spawns no vehicles, watches over nothing except the alley itself and has so many entrances into it that to properly defend against flanking forces means stretching the teams lines really thin to prevent enemy penetration.

2) Vehicles can't support the soldiers in the middle at all except down the alley. Smart opponents will attack from the flanks, effectively neutralizing the vehicles and its occupants. It would be unwise to foolishly think that your opponents are dumb enough to charge down the alley. Military Maxim: Never underestimate your opponent.

3) To capture this Flag means getting bloody and losing LOTS of tickets, valuable tickets. Those tickets are better spent attacking and defending the spawn area flags, not hopelessly attacking a meaningless objective.

So what do you do? The following is an overall team strategy and needs to be coordinated as such. Inform the team of the plan and hope they swallow their ego enough to follow it.

Before spawning, divide the team into two separate forces: one ground force and one vehicle force.Once the game starts, the ground forces objective is to grab and hold the spawn area's flag. Spread the soldiers out to cover the alley entrance, the street, and the side entrances, but close enough to support one another in case the situation goes sideways. Once the flag has been taken, set up a defensive perimeter and hold that objective to the last man.

The vehicle force has a different objective. Split this force into two elements: one in the fast vehicle and one in the IFV. The fast vehicle is the scouting force and should drive cautiously around the perimeter, keeping an eye out for flanking enemy soldiers. The IFV should travel behind the scout back far enough to not be seen first, but close enough to assist the light armored vehicle in case of trouble. The main objective is the enemies spawn flag. Timing is everything, so the vehicles should wait for the enemy to capture the Bravo flag first before attempting to capture the enemy spawn flag.

Once the enemy has captured Bravo, execute the attack. The ground force should feint an attack on the Bravo flag in mass. This will trick the enemy into thinking you team is going for capture, and will bring up reinforcements, emptying thier spawn flag. At the same time the vehicles, who should have been staged just around the corner from the enemy spawn flag out of sight, should move forward and capture the flag in mass as well.

With both flags captured, the enemy trapped in the alleyway defending a worthless Bravo flag and your teams vehicles parked in their spawn flag, the enemy has been effectively split in two. With the vehicles just around the corner from the enemy vehicles spawn, they should be easy prey when they come around the corner. Do not engage the enemy in the urban interior: that is their tactical advantage now and never fight on the enemies terms. Once both flags are held, the operation goes from offensive to defensive so hold the line. Leave Bravo alone and quarantine that flag.

The main goal is to capture the perimeter flags and ignore the Bravo flag. Let the enemy bleed the tickets defending a worthless objective. You will lose the flags over the course of the round, but the priority is Alpha and Charlie. Keep the vehicles alive and your team will collect a win sooner or later.