by admin on June 17, 2008
The following is covered in Level 5 on www.halo3basics.com, and I have supplemented these topics with my own thoughts.
Level 5: Defensive fundamentals
1. Stay away from power weapons
- Know the distance you want to keep. Don’t get close to shotguns, swords, or hammers. Just walk backwards and fill them full of lead as they eagerly move closer to you hoping to see their cross hair turn red. Bull True! Get in close to a sniper, chances are that they are in scope and can’t see you on radar. Use cover against laser and rockets, make them waste valuable ammo.
2. Take a break
- Letting your shields recharge, waiting for fallen teammates to spawn, or picking up some plasma grenades before engaging an opponent can make all the difference in a firefight. What good is making 3 people weak without having a plasma grenade or teammate there to finish the job.
3. Don’t be lured by an opponent
- I love luring opponents. Players get so eager to get the kill that they will walk into grenades almost every time. This also plays into not overexposing yourself. Being close to cover allows you the opportunity to lure an opponent. They may get the jump on you and have you nearly dead but when they hear the ‘tink, tink’ of a frag grenade as they round the corner you ducked around, they know nothing good will come of it.
- When luring an opponent:
- Be sure to keep moving after rounding the corner. If they see you stop after rounding the corner they may not fall for the trap.
- Jump when you think they will round the corner so that your head is not in the spot they are aiming for.
- Throw the nade to where they cannot see it. Seeing the nade they may get hurt but they may not round the corner. Hearing it is a lot more difficult especially if the player is in split screen.
- When chasing an opponent
- Be sure to jump around the corner. This way you will be less effected by a nade and your head will not be in the place your opponent will expect it to be.
- Let someone else on your team know where and who is weak, since they may be able to finish them off for you.
- You don’t have to chase, use a wall nade to try to get the finish. A bouncing frag does major damage and can get to places without exposing yourself. It also makes for great bragging material when it works.
4. Keep your cool
- This one is difficult for me, I had a horrible habit of taking the previous match’s frustration into the next match. Often I would find myself yelling at teammates who are not performing or constantly pursuing an opponent who is better than me giving them kill after kill. I started taking five after matches that got me aggravated, this practice gives me time to not only cool down, but to get something else done as well. Do the dishes, take out the trash, start a load of laundry, or get a snack. This has made playing more enjoyable for me and made me more enjoyable for others.
- The way to keep your cool when an opponent tries to get under your skin by doing retarded things like tea bagging is to focus on team tactics like attacking with numbers, making them come to you, or becoming invisible on radar. If the opposing team is much better than your team and the game is already lost, then change gears mentally and view the rest of the game as training. Try to stick everyone you see, try to make hard to reach jumps, practice shooting the explosive fusion coils while on the move.
5. It’s ok to run
- I love running away. Mainly because of the opportunity it gives me to lure an opponent. Try to run towards teammates if you can and be sure to let them know the situation. “2 following, rockets and BR, neither weak”
Be sure to read up on the guide at www.halo3basics.com, and review my additions on the different levels.
by admin on June 16, 2008
The following is covered in Level 4 on www.halo3basics.com, and I have supplemented these topics with my own thoughts.
1. Wear down shields
- Each player has a energy shield that has the ability to regenerate if unharmed for an extended period of time. Once a players shield are down they are vulnerable, especially to projectile weapons. Try to wear shields down as fast as possible before before making your presence known.
- You easily lower a player’s shields by using splash damage from a rocket, grenade, or fusion coil (explosive canister) or by using a sniper rifle or a charged plasma pistol.
- Ensure that your cross hairs are red when firing the plasma pistol greatly increase the chances of the shot hitting you target.
- Remember that if you die to let your teammates know if the opponent is weak, tell them the 1) players name, 2) location, 3) weapon (if important, usually is)
- “One Shot, dvs poet, rocket hallway, Sniper & BR”
2. Pick on weakened opponents
- “Clean up” sometimes will lead to frustration on the team. It is good to express whenever teammate “Cleans up” one of your kills to thank them for the “clean up”. If you steal kills from a teammate, then let them know that you got their “clean up.”
- The battle rifle is my favorite finishing weapon. A headshot with the battle rifle is an instant kill when someone’s shields are gone. Just aim for the head of the weak player and shoot.
- If death is imminent, then throw a grenade and pray.
3. Aim at the head
- Aiming for the head most effective when a player’s shields are weakened.
- When using the BR do not stress about immediately aiming for the head (shots 1-3), but try to have your reticule on their head by the time their shields are down (usually shot 4).
- Even though a sniper rifle can kill a player with one head shot, a hit anywhere on the player will bring down there shields (so that you can finish with BR) or kill a player whose shields are already down.
4. Don’t attack until you’re ready
- Attacking too early can give away your position and the new spawn location for your team
- Always having a secondary weapon that is reloaded give you an advantage over a player with only one weapon. Once you have finished a clip you can switch weapon faster that your opponent can reload.
- Don’t attack while weak. After killing an opponent you want to let your shields regenerate. Use the time make sure you reload all weapons, get a feel for what the rest of your team is doing, and perhaps wait for teammates to spawn before going back into battle.
- Be sure not to hover over your kill to long since the players teammates will see a red “x” where they died and the player will spawn soon with you on their mind.
5. Control the power weapons
- Power weapons can re-spawn while someone is holding it if the one they are holding is empty and, in some cases if enough time has gone by.
- Be sure to count the rockets and laser shots your enemies fire to be able to gauge how dangerous they are and when you should attack.
- Power weapons usually respawn on a relatively predictable schedule. If you are not aware of this you will be playing at a distinct disadvantage.
- Also if the game lags or a player quits can sometimes cause all weapons to spawn allowing 2 of all power weapons.
- There is usually a rush for power weapons at the start of a game. Be sure to have your team launch grenades to these locations to see if you can get lucky.
6. Camping
- Staying off radar waiting to pick off unsuspecting opponents around a corner or at the top of a lift is a legitimate strategy.
- While camping be sure not to reload, change weapons, walk, shoot, or do anything else that makes sound to avoid giving away your position.
- It is important to move to a new location after getting the easy kill, since there will be a red x, which appears over a fallen teammates body, right where you are standing. The opposing team will definitely know you are there if you get the kill by a beat down or assignation.
- You must also be aware of time.
- If there is only 2 minutes left in the game and you are only down by one after making an impressive comeback, then the opposing team may attempt to camp out the rest of the game rather than risking a loss by engaging you.
- I suggest staying in groups of twos when hunting a camping, or hiding, team.
Be sure to read up on the guide at www.halo3basics.com, and review my additions on the different levels.
