Well after 1,200 games played and 9,000+ kills (+1,600 kill assists)....I finally had a bad game.
Our side wasn't doing as well this round, and I was aggresively trying to cap some flags for our side by myself. The other side had a large group of clan members working great together. Although two of ther Klan members were on our side, they had about a half dozen + on the other side. There wasn't too many players on this server. So, the small number of Klan members on the other team, made a pretty big impact. We actually did fairly well the other rounds, winning more than losing. Actually we won the round that I got the PH.
Armor, Arty and a good enemy Helo pilot kept killing me as soon as one of their flags turned nuetral. Time and time again they killed me, before I could raise the flag 100%. The enemy Helo pilot was quick to assault & retake the flag and also the enemy Commander was quick with the Arty.
What I didn't understand about the PH... that as soon as you reached your 20th deaths, and before you reach 6 kills... you get the Purple Heart. I thought it was calculated at the end of the round. NOPE! I finished the round with over 5 kills and thought I was safe. Nope I still got the PH. I was under 5 kills (I only had 4 kills), by the time I was killed for the 20th time. What really sucks, was that I think at least three of my deaths were the result of team kills.
The only thing that will save you, is if you disconnect from the server, before getting killed for the 20th time. That is IF you haven't reached 6 kills, before the 20th kill.
Purple Heart = 5 or less kills, by the time you are killed the 20th time in the same round..
So, if you have LESS than 6 kills and you've already been killed 19 times... I would make sure you get at LEAST a 6th kill, before you get yoursel killed for the 20th time in the same round or leave the server if you don't want a Purple Heart.
My primary mission in BF2 is to cap enemy flags & protect our flags, that's what I get the most satisaction from. High enemy kills is nice, but it is only 2nd on my priority list and my stats reflect that. I'd rather quickly fight my way through the enemy swarms or go around them to cap their flags. Rather than duke it out at the frontlines for the whole round for high enemy kills and not cap flags.
Flag Captures = 3059
Flag Capture Assists =1553
Flag Defends = 791