(oh by the way thank you all for your kind answers to my questions!)
So…I feel like I am underutilizing my equipment / the environment in combat.
I carry 2 explosive tanks with me at all times in case I encounter more than one Relay Beacons on long travel / explore sessions, and I carry 1 or 2 of every other item just in case?
I wasted a field radio once by placing one down when a player randomly entered my game once, but he just left shortly after. Disappointing.
I have tried to set up traps with explosive tanks set strategically and then luring enemies to them with a boombox or radio and then blowing up the tank, but it seems like enemy bullets destroy the tanks way before the enemies get close enough to get killed by me shooting the tank.
Do fireworks / flares make enemies blind to you?
I’ve successfully lured enemies away from spots I wanted to explore using boomboxes / radios.
I recently killed a Hunter by exploding a few cars it was standing beside, which earned me the trophy for killing a Hunter with one shot.
You can find field radios in loot boxes and each relay beacon also has one in it, after you blow it up.
Tank is way too strong to be blown up by few placed explosives. You’d need a lot of placed explosives to blow up a tank that way. However, it can be done but lures and setting traps work best against runners and hunters.
For setting traps and if you’d like a guide, you can watch my tutorial videos as part of the Guide: "Music Soothes the Soul" challenge topic. Note: consoles don’t have that challenge in the game as of yet, but my videos are still good source to see how effective trap setting can be done.
Flares lure machines (smilar to radio) and fireworks confuse machines. But these don’t work on all machines.
They distract enemy for short while, but if you shoot them. Priority is back to you.
Use explosives tanks inside house where you see yellow / red scanning beams trough wall or you know there is machines other side of the wall. Place explosive canister (small ones dont work) close to wall as you can. Get distance, shoot it.
Explosion will go trough walls, so use it against machines.
Grenades work this manner also, but explosive power is lower.
IHMO, get as much as possible explosion resistance to clothing. I feel this have saved my butt multiple times.
Large EMP cell or car battery EMP. You can use these inside house also, near walls or windows. Place, shoot, and get ready to blast machines. Repeat multiple time if needed.
Will help to freeze enemies for easier take down. warning - be careful machines which away from these house.
These small tactics or tricks have helped me to survice when pinned down in house more than 8+ enemies outside, even harvesters or tank.
Depends on the environment or equipment, say you were low on ammo low health and need to get into a house with a tick in that could kill you, well by shooting the box at the back of the house you just killed the tick and can enter the house no health lost. Environmental damage is really useful as it allows you to have traps premade, for example i threw a boombox near a gas station and the just shot the station when the machines came.
One piece of equipment I like to use for environmental tactics are land mines. I like placing them out between me and a group of machines (minimum Hunters) and then either shooting them and running away to lure them into the land mines, or just placing a boombox to lure them into the trap. Placing enough landmines in the same spot can deal a fair amount of damage; 6 or so landmines took the health of an Apocalypse Tank down from full health to about 78%. Placing explosive tanks next to the land mines would make it more effective, but be careful; the player can set off land mines as well if you get too close.
I lay some Landmines on the Ground before i attract a Hunter. A Shoot with the pistol is enough, is only to catch his attention. A Hunter will come to your position. I run than away and normal the Hunter runs in the Mines. After he hits the mines you can give him the rest.
What also works is lurking the Hunter to an enbanckment what is steep enoug, that the Hunter can’t follow. You can shoot at him when you are standig in the slope, because of the steep the Hunter could foolow you he has problems to keep his own balance.
When a Hunter makes a jump attack than run towards him. He will miss you and jump over you.
The last time i shot his crown jewels it has worked. He explodet
Usually, I just fight Hunters in open combat without placing any mines beforehand. All you really have to do is be very mobile and constantly run around the battlefield to dodge most enemy attacks. Only come to a stop in between enemy attacks to shoot back at them, and then start running again as soon as you start reloading. And exactly how I fight depends on what Hunter type I am fighting. I actually consider Military-class Hunters to be somewhat more dangerous than FNIX-class Hunters solely due to their machine gun, since it tracks you as you move and can reliably deal damage to you at most ranges. Then again, you can just shoot the machine gun off fairly quickly. And they have poison gas.
As for FNIX-class Hunters, I actually consider them to be relatively harmless, because their mine shotgun attack is only deadly if you stand still. When they start using it, they have to aim at you for a second or two before firing, but they don’t track you with the shotgun as you move and will still fire at the spot you were when they started aiming at you, even if you’re not there anymore.
Apocalypse-class Hunters are the deadliest up close with their flamethrower, but again, you just have to keep moving and stay out of range of it and shoot it off.
Yeah you where right Alicia,
moving is the best tactic in a open combat to fight the hunters.
The Apo Class Hunters are very hard nuts with their flametrowers. You can only fight them from a distance and when you run around them.
All Hunters need a little time to aime at you. So keep running. While they where running they can’t shoot, they have to stand still. But be aware. The game learns from your behavior.
So change sometimes your tactic. Since I’m at the level cap (Level31) I like to play my game with the bots. Sometimes i shot their MG away and then i get in a close fight with the Colt 44 or with the Klaucke.
And it’s a breathtaking fight when you go in a close Combat with a Hunter that have only his sword. and you only a pistol. At a certain range he starts his jump attack and then you must be aware and then it’s only You ore I.
The Klaucke is a very usefull weapon with the extendet Magazine. I met a pack of runner and i fought them all with the Klaucke i run around them and as i passed them i fired at the Tank. on their back with FMJ Bullets
But lay out some Mines are a fast solution when you need it. So I did at the IGA Gas Fabric. A Hunter and two runners where lurking behind the big green Steelt door. I saw it with the xray scope throug the door. I opened the door. And as it starts to move I throw some Mines and run aside and used the door as a cover. There was a big bang and one of the Runners came out sparkling like a sparkler I finished him out of my ambush. Sounds a little bit unfair but as if you are a guerilla you make asymetric warfare.
I remember the times where it took only 1x land mine or 1x gas tank to blow up full HP proto/mil tank or any harv. To blow up FNIX tank, you needed to place 2x land mines or 2x gas tanks. These were the days with OP explosive weaponry.
As far as hunters go, i avoided those early on until i found the “hunter killer” weapon (.50 cal). With .50 cal, hunters aren’t that big of a threat but i still don’t engage them unless i have to, especially FNIX and apo hunters.
it has worked. He explodet 
