Depending on how a match is going, and how classes are balanced among teams, I spend a fairly equal amount of time switching between Recon, Medic, and Engineer. Every time I try to play Assault, though, I end up doing terribly and feeling like nothing I have access to is at all useful. To those who do enjoy/are good with Assault, what is the draw for you, and what sort of loadouts do you prefer?

Assault turns this game into Call of Battlefield: 40mm Clusterfuck 2

As a start, ALWAYS remember to give ammo boxes to your teammates.  A lot of players out there forget that playing the assault class does not just mean you run around killing infantry, you also need to give out ammo to your teammates especially engineers since they are usually the ones running out of rockets and rifle ammo (due to high fire rate of their guns).  One way or another, your teammates (not just your squadmates) will always need ammo, so be highly generous with those ammo boxes.
 
And with the guns, always fire in bursts.  Unless you're already using the AN94 Abakan or the M16A2 since they already fire in bursts hehe!
 
Lastly, applicable with any class, stick with your squad or at least stay close to your teammates.  Don't be a lone wolf. :)

Be patient and aim in bursts. It might seem ridiculous to stop firing when you're in a shootout with someone, but you have to trust your gun. Be patient, hit the bursts, aim for the chest if you aren't confident, or aim for the head if you think you got a clean shot.
 
Or you can just camp on top of an ammo box and spam 40mm grenades... -_-

See, again, I already fire all guns in bursts as a habit in games. I actually counter-snipe with ironsight SMGs if the need arises, but whereas with medic I can both toss out medkits AND revive people, I've yet to find a way that the grenades enhance teamplay, so I spend a lot of time running around aimlessly looking to resupply people. Perhaps I just need to get a bit more serious and put on the headset?

My friends tell me the 3 round burst guns are where it's at. Those are the last and 3rd to last guns you get. 
 
I find assault pointless for the most part, other than resupplying engineers and maybe providing smoke cover, but it never seems effective. 
 
I don't think you have to play it if you don't like it, the 40mm shotgun is fun tho.

I don't get into matches with a lot of 40mm grenade spamming.  There is a cooling time when reloading the grenade launcher anyway, so even if you just stand stationary on top of an ammo box and spam 40mm grenades, you still won't get that many kills and points compared to actually tactically positioning yourself shooting enemies and giving ammo boxes to teammates.  You'll get more points that anyway hehe!
 
But if you're concerned too much with your k/d percentage, then spam those grenades and be bored standing on one place hehe!

^What they said. But keep in mind that, as an assault, it is your soul job to be the most proficient class at killing infantry. As such, work on your reflexes. Shoot in bursts. When you run out of ammo, be quick to switch to a pistol or your grenade launcher to finish the job. Your job is to be aggressive and kill the shit out of things. Do so.
 
I generally only use assault on defense. If I need to get someone off of the bomb pronto, I'm best at killing them quickly with that class. Currently using the XM-8, but I wager I'll stick with the AN94 once I get that. Grenade launcher or smoke, depending on what you're trying to do. Magnum bullets and extra grenades. In other words, try to stack the most killing power you can.

Drop ammo, it gets you a ton of points and can really help out the team.

Your grenade launcher isn't just ment for taking down bad guys. With the 40MMSMK you can put up cover so no one will be able to socialize spot you and won't even be able to see you. With the 40MMGL you can take down enemy cover and even sometimes topple down an entire building.

About half of my deaths are from 40mm grenades, there's your purpose right there. 

Thanks for the tips, everyone. They're much appreciated, and I think i do understand what I was doing wrong before, now, so with luck I'll be more successful with all the classes, going forward. Can't promise I'll practice immediately, though, since I'm still sort of in Borderlands Binge Mode, but I tend to burn out on Borderlands and then binge on BFBC2, then repeat in reverse.

Use the grenade launcher and the AN-94. M416 is alright too but AN-94 wins for long range too.

The assault class is the spearhead of the squad.  They are meant for leading the charge, so they are at the frontline.  I have the most fun with the assault class, and I can do so by rarely using the 40mm grenades.  With the assault class I can move quickly around the battlefield and I have a powerful gun as well.  

" @lilbigsupermario:Nah, I don't care at all about my K/D. It's just about how well I contribute to the team. I try to tag vehicles with any class when needed, call in effective mortars and strategically place motion mines with recon, heal and revive with medic, and repair and destroy vehicles with engineer, but it feels like I can only resupply as assault, with no secondary purpose. Maybe I should try to unlock smoke grenades? Are those even helpful? I'm not sure I've ever seen one used in a match. "

The assult class is the only one I havent fully unlocked yet, and im still using my XM8 Prototype. For me its just not as fun as the other classes, but I do feel useful with the ammo packs and having the extra firepower with 40mm. Giving ammo is alot more useful than alot of people realise, I dont know how many times as a engie or a recon I have been out of ammo...despite calling for it to multiple assults they never seem to have a clue. But its growing on me as I work on unlocking the guns, picking up the M16 before Im really looking forward to getting it.

1. Charge 
2. Kill 
3. Teabag 
4. Hate speech 
5. Repeat

I use smoke grenades and body armor recently. The tactical value of cleverly placed smokescreen is invaluable.

" Assault turns this game into Call of Battlefield: 40mm Clusterfuck 2 "

If you see me throwing motion mines and you resupply, I will follow and protect you.

Assault class is the most straight forward to play as, the AN-94 with acog is the easiest gun to use in the game (for me). I tend to use the other classes though, there more interesting.

The Assault is a general infantryman. This can be a great thing and it can also be a downfall to the Assault soldier. Assault soldiers are not really specialized, and all your kit revolves around killing others, so that is what you have to do with Assault. Here is a list of tips I personally follow when I'm playing as an Assault: 
 
Take it slow. Just because you're a general soldier, you still have to take it slow in Bad Company 2. Don't go rushing on in front of the rest of your team. It'll only get you killed.  
 
Know where a Medic is. This is also pretty damned important. If you're Assault you're more prone to being seriously injured than anyone else because you really do have to get stuck into the fight. So, if you kill someone and they seriously injured you, get to a Medic.    
Drop ammo boxes. Many Assault players refuse to do this, for some reason. If you're low on ammo, or one of your team is low on ammo, drop them ammo. You'll get a decent reward of points for it, and not only that, you'll get ammo as well, because you can use your own box as well.  
 
Fire in bursts. Your assault rifle is going to be more accurate if you do this. So keep it to around four shot bursts, though if the other guy is trying to run you might need to get a little trigger happy. The only two guns you don't need to burst fire are the AN-94 Akaban, which fires two shot bursts, and the M16A2, which fires three shot bursts. 
 
Use the Grenade Launcher when it will be beneficial. Someone is running into a building. You've spotted them, and you know they're hiding behind a wall. What do you do? Use the grenade launcher, and you'll kill them if you hit the wall with it. Plus, if you arc the launcher properly you can get some seriously nice kills too. 
 
So there are some of my own personal tips. Hopefully they'll be of use to you as well.

Assault is a mini-engineer-ammo man. 
 
Either go with C4 for taking out tanks and buildings 
Or be a frontman that uses his grenade launcher to create new tactics, like blowing holes in buildings for your team to slip through or just destroying cover. 
 
oh and spam ammo boxes. If using 40mms you can throw an ammo box up into the air infront of you and you will refill 1 40mm just if you keep running.

Nice. Never thought to try aerial resupply.

@xMP44x:

Very helpful tips, thanks. A lot of it was what I was already thinking, but because of a lack of practice, I wasn't sure I was doing it correctly. It's good to settle that.

spam smoke grenades in rush, it pisses off the snipers

One thing to remember is that your grenade launcher can do noticable damage to tanks, and knock off their armor.. If you're in an urban area, try some hit and run with your grenade launcher to keep the tank busy while someone else lines up rockets/mortars/C4/repair drill/another tank. Assault is particuarly good for this because you can shoot, run behind a building, refill grenades, shoot, run, and keep that going as long as you have to.
 
Oh, and if your going to try and sneak into a base and murder people, assault is the way to go. Any other class will proably run out of ammo before doing much good.

" As a start, ALWAYS remember to give ammo boxes to your teammates.  A lot of players out there forget that playing the assault class does not just mean you run around killing infantry, you also need to give out ammo to your teammates especially engineers since they are usually the ones running out of rockets and rifle ammo (due to high fire rate of their guns). 

Alot of Assault players forget how important the ammo is to other classes. Especially Medics ( who tend to stay alive longer ) and defending Engineers ( whom run out of rockets ).
You should act as a ammo runner, and 40mm'ing buildings etc so the enemy has less spots to hide.

" Be patient and aim in bursts. It might seem ridiculous to stop firing when you're in a shootout with someone, but you have to trust your gun. Be patient, hit the bursts, aim for the chest if you aren't confident, or aim for the head if you think you got a clean shot.  Or you can just camp on top of an ammo box and spam 40mm grenades... -_- "

Assault class is actually my favorite overall. Not sure why prbably cause it's got the coolest looking uniform among all classes. lol  
Anyway normally I just equip the following in assault class: 
M416 or AN94 Abakan - tracer gun - 40mm Grenade Launcher -  ACOG Scope - Magnum Ammo - Vehicle Warhead Upgrade  
you can change  the M416 for a G3 or M14 so you can replace the GL with C4 if ever. :D 

" Depending on how a match is going, and how classes are balanced among teams, I spend a fairly equal amount of time switching between Recon, Medic, and Engineer. Every time I try to play Assault, though, I end up doing terribly and feeling like nothing I have access to is at all useful. To those who do enjoy/are good with Assault, what is the draw for you, and what sort of loadouts do you prefer? "

" Use the grenade launcher and the AN-94. M416 is alright too but AN-94 wins for long range too. "

Ah, thanks. Very helpful tips. I do like to stay mobile, but not really to charge. I guess I just need to suffer though the early levels to get some unlocks, in any case.

Goddamn, guys. You're TOO helpful. Now I'm having trouble using anything EXCEPT Assault, and I've only unlocked the XM8 and smoke grenades. That with the lightweight kit makes for some pretty crazy flanking action.

Try   AN-94, X4 Scope, Magnum Rounds. I get a kill with two burst of two rounds with great accuracy!

I've tried using the Assault class more recently, and I recommend it. So, I guess I can give some more tips as well: 
 
Use all the guns you unlock. This is probably the easiest way to find the ones that suit you the most. I know the XM8 Prototype is one of the best guns in the game, but I cannot make it work for me. So I stopped using it to try out some other guns. I find the STG. 77 AUG is a very good automatic weapon that you unlock around mid-way through the class progression tree. But if you don't mind working on a little longer, the AN-94 Akaban is a great gun. I've been using it a lot since I unlocked it and it's extremely addictive. It fires two round bursts but you can fire it so fast that it's basically fully automatic. It's a good gun with Magnum Ammo. But if you prefer high rate of fire to high power, then you might want to try the F2000. That thing fires stupidly fast. 
 
Try non-conventional attachments. No really, try it. Just because you never see a gun with a certain attachment does not mean that it is a bad attachment. For example: have you ever seen an AEK-971 Vintovka with the 4x ACOG Scope? You should try things like that. For all you know, you could find a hidden gem of a gun that works really well for you.  
 
Try iron sights as well. Whenever I get a gun unlocked, I always try it without either sight on it. For all you know the iron sight is amazing, and if it turns out to be that way for you,  it will free up Specialization One for something else. Sights are good and all, but the irons on some guns mean you really don't need a Red Dot. I still use Red Dots and stuff as well, but it's worth trying without and seeing if it works. I made a quick little table for you. Maybe it'll be useful, and maybe it won't. One way to find out.
 

Don't be scared to shoot the 40mm, that should be considered your primary weapon.

" Don't be scared to shoot the 40mm, that should be considered your primary weapon. "

" @Mikemcn said:

" Don't be scared to shoot the 40mm, that should be considered your primary weapon. "

What? How on earth is the Grenade Launcher the primary weapon for the assault class? It's not amazing in this game. It's really only for blowing walls and stuff up IMO. But I'm assuming you're good with the Grenade Launcher, so whatever works for you, works for you. I might try and get better with the GL as well. "

" @xMP44x said: 
Im just saying that the rifles themselves all shoot like firehoses, at least when you pull the trigger with the 40mm you know where its going to hit, its a million times more efficient for kills. "  

Assault class is pointless IMO. Grenade Launcher is nothing compared to the RPG the engineer has, and ammo isn't as good a utility as being able to revive people, use motion mines, or even repair vehicles. Especially since there's usually assaults anyway (though some of them are stupid and won't give you ammo) 
 
But the guns just suck. They take so many bullets to kill people. The damn Engineer SMGs are better (even at long distance) and I never use magnum with engineer and always with assault, and the SMGs are still just way better. The same applies to the Medic (at least with the m60 and up guns). 
 
Also, recon is better for assault too. Take the VSS or M95 with Red Dot and charge areas with motion mines, you'll wipe out assaults who have to fire 45 bullets to your face to get anything. 
 
Just from my experience though

" Alot of Assault players forget how important the ammo is to other classes. Especially Medics ( who tend to stay alive longer ) and defending Engineers ( whom run out of rockets ). You should act as a ammo runner, and 40mm'ing buildings etc so the enemy has less spots to hide. "

1. Find a gun you like (M416 for me, being saying the AN-94 are terrorists).
2. Find a dude who is low on ammo.
3. Throw ammo.
4. Shoot dudes.
5. Blow shit up.
6. Repeat.