Lucas Riggs’s campaign in Call of Duty: Vanguard is filled with sweet explosions, funny one-liners, and some awesome moments that perfectly capture the chaotic nature of desert warfare.
Among the most interesting pieces in Lukas’s campaign is when Lukas, Des, and Jacobs run into valuable German intelligence and decide to blow up the ammo dump, gas depot, and enemy tanks anyway. However, right after you do this, there’s an epic battle against a Stuka dive bomber.
This time around, unlike the time where you were the one using a plane to bomb the carriers, you’ll be the one on the ground getting shot at from the sky.
With new waves of enemies arriving on the ground and the Stuka making runs above, this part of the mission can be challenging.
Here is how to take down the Stuka in the Lucas Riggs campaign in Call of Duty: Vanguard.
Take Care of Enemies on the Ground
The first thing you need to do is manage things on the ground. Each time you manage to inflict any amount of damage on the Stuka, a new wave of enemies will arrive on a truck. There will be more enemies arriving each time, culminating with two trucks at the end.
You can make things much easier for yourself if you focus on these enemies first and only take shots at the plane once the ground is relatively clear. To clear these enemies out more easily, you can throw grenades at them right before they exit the truck. You’ll see the trucks pulling up and lowering the ramp to let the soldiers out. A big group of soldiers will be confined in a small space, perfect to lob a grenade into.
You also need to move around and make use of cover – similarly to reaching the windmill mission. There is a big ammo box right next to the burning building by the road – use that to replenish your ammo limitlessly.
While all this is happening, the Stuka will be flying around and making runs. The runs will usually be rare, and the plane will start making a specific sound once it starts flying towards you. There’s no need to look up to the sky before you hear this sound – keep the fight on the ground until then.
Shoot the Plane Down with a Rifle
On PlayStation, there is a trophy to be collected if you shoot the Stuka down with a handgun or projectiles. Go for it if you’re all about the trophies.
However, this also tells us that shooting the plane down with your rifle is the easiest thing to do since you don’t get a trophy for it. After a few test runs, I can confirm this is true.
You’ll likely find an RPG laying around – some enemies will drop it after a while. You can use this to take the plane down in one shot, but I found it’s not as easy as it looks. The Stuka moves quickly and the projectile flies slowly so you actually have to aim a little away from the plane.
By far the easiest thing to do is to simply wait for the Stuka to start making its run, aim high, and hold on until it drops a little down. Once it’s within range, you can take it down with some of the most overpowered weapons in CoD: Vanguard, like the STG44 that the Germans will be dropping all over the place.
Keep shooting until the Stuka is above your head. The lower it is, the more damage you can inflict.
You will take the Stuka down in three to five runs if you aim properly and use the right weapon. In my playthrough, I found that four is the magic number.
Final Word
Taking down the Stuka plane in The Rats of Tobruk mission in Call of Duty: Vanguard takes a little practice, but it’s not as hard as it looks.
You actually need to be more concerned about what’s happening on the ground than the plane itself. Focus on clearing out the enemies as quickly as you can, so that you can handle the Stuka once it starts making its run.
When the plane starts flying low, you can take it down with a regular rifle in a few tries. If you’re up for a challenge and an explosive finale, try taking an RPG and getting the job done quickly.
