Develop Basic Skills

• When using the mouse, you should be able to look 180 degrees simply by twisting your hand at the wrist.
• Avoid moving your entire arm since it's hard to get the entire arm moving, hard to get it stopped, and you'll tire quickly.
• Use the fingers to pull the mouse into your wrist or push it out to look up and down.
• When you shoot with MOUSE1, especially at long distances with a sniping weapon, don't stab down at the button, gently apply pressure until you shoot. If you hit it too hard, you're most likely pushing your mouse back towards you and throwing off your aim.

• Once you've perfected your mouse flick, try running forward, jumping, mouse-flicking to execute a 180, then simultaneously shifting to running backwards.
• You can use this technique when you run into alcoves to pick up items so that you never present your back to your opponent.
• This is also useful when you are being chased. Often times your opponent is so intent on chasing you that he becomes an easy target.

• With practice, you should be able to execute a perfect 90 or 180-degree turn every time.
• Practice in a map with plenty of running space and try a 180-degree mouse-flick then fire when you land (or when you complete the 180).
• Adjust the sensitivity of your mouse to the point where you can control your crosshair easily but still have the range of motion to execute a 180.
• Next, try running backwards then use a mouse-flick to turn around while you simultaneously change to running forwards.

• Find an object to shoot at in a map/room with plenty of space to move around.
• Strafe left or right while using your mouse, to move your crosshair in the opposite direction. The effect will be that your crosshair stays on target while you circle around him. Keep firing while you do this.
• Try strafing in the opposite direction. Now try to alternate between strafing left and right while keeping your crosshair on the target. If you're doing this correctly you should be pumping a steady stream of fire into your target while staying constantly on the move.
• Another technique is to move closer or further away from your target while your circle strafing. This is especially effective against rocket launchers aimed at your feet since it's harder to predict shots in 2 dimensions than 1.
• However, make sure you don't develop a pattern in this as well. Try to randomly go inwards and outwards of the circle, it will be harder for your opponent to predict where you will be next.

• Have one person stand still and try to circle-strafe around him. Do this again but shoot at him while he moves. Can you hit him? Now switch places.
• Learn how to do the basic functions for each class. Start off on Beach and practice blowing the breaches. If you're working with a buddy, practice having one person plant the dynamite, while the other person guards. Practice, whipping out the syringe and reviving a buddy. You can do this by having one person binding a key to "kill", which will make him wounded and give you the chance to practice revivals.
• On the same map, stand by various points in the map, have your friend run around and listen for the audio cues. Can you guess where he is based on the audio cues? Have him try to surprise you. Can you surprise him?

1. MP-40 - 5 seconds
2. Thompson - 6 seconds
3. Sten - 8-9 seconds. I've been told that if you measure the fire rate for 10 rounds, the Sten is actually faster, but have not measure this for myself.

Accuracy was tested by looking at impact groupings from a continous burst as well as a series of 3-round, 5-round, and 10 round bursts. All weapons were fired from the white line labeled "Firing Line" into the target area. I then used the binoculars to zoom in on the target area and take a screenshot of the impact marks.

Weapons were fired from a standing position approximately 3 tile lengths from the wall.

In the following screenshots, I've compared the impact patterns from the Thompson (column 1), MP-40 (column 2), and the Sten (colum 3). The rows show the type of bursts used: continuous (row 1), 5-round bursts (row 3), 3-round bursts (row 2), and finally 10-round bursts (row 4). Note:The same picture is used for all 4 Sten patterns.

 

Weapons Accuracy Screenshots

Thompson - single continuous burst	MP40 - single continuous burst	Sten - fired as fast as possible
Thompson - 3 round bursts	MP40 - 3 round bursts	Sten - fired as fast as possible
Thompson - 5 round bursts	MP40 - 5 round bursts	Sten - fired as fast as possible
Thompson - 10 round bursts	MP40 - 10 round bursts	Sten - fired as fast as possible

Other observations:

• Distance doesn't affect damage
• It appears there are only two damage zones, the head and the rest of the body.
• It doesn't matter if your helmet is on

Panzerfausts

Panzerfaust Blast Radius Diagram Explained:

Starting from the left...we got the poor dumb sap just standing there. Poor guy... The colored bars show the point of impact of the panzerfaust round.

The Gib Zone represent the total area between "Poor Dumb Bastard" and the "Gibbed Point". If a panzerfaust hits within the red area, our "Poor Dumb Bastard" would be gibbed with no way for a medic to revive him.

The "Grey Area" (grey) is a big question mark for medics. This means if "Poor Dumb Bastard" is a medic with full health and the panzerfaust lands within the grey area ... a random amount of damage is assessed that MAY OR MAY NOT kill him. If he's not a medic however, don't worry about the distinction because he'll will still be gibbed.

If the panzerfuast lands within the yellow area, the blast will kill "Poor Dumb Bastard" if he is any class other than a medic. However, he can still be revived by a medic.

If the panzerfaust lands within the Damage Zone (green), "Poor Dumb Bastard" will take damage according to the numbers on top of the bar.

This analysis assumes that "Poor Dumb Bastard" starts with 100 health.

1. Destroy fixed defenses. This is pretty much a no-brainer. This is how I typically see artillery employed, to fire on groups of defenders who may be fixed in place because they're defending an objective like the comm tower.
2. Deny access or passage. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see this application used much. Since artillery gives visibible signals that it's coming in, and lasts for a period of time (4 rounds) people avoid the blast area. You can use this to prevent movement through certain areas or channel enemy movement areas into more advantageous engagement areas. (e.g., bottle up in spawn site, deny reinforcing movement). For example, an arty strike at the foot of the ladder leading to the comm tower, can choke off the flow of reinforcements from the allied spawn site to the defenders around the comm tower.

1. Air strikes are best utilized to clear an area that friendly forces have just vacated thereby giving some cover and breathing room, or to clear an area that friendly forces will move into to clear enemies and provide cover. This has to be pretty carefully synchronized and people have to be careful not to run into the smoke until after the airstrike.
2. However, when used in the assault, an airstrike marker will typically make all the enemies run away and then, if all the attacking forces begin a sprint move immediately after the last blast, the resulting cloud of smoke provides good concealment (not cover) to move onto an objective. This not only helps you move across open kill zones, but if you move fast enough, you can move into far side cover, out of sight of the enemy and cause them to lose track of you - disrupting their defense.

Directing Airstrikes

Did you know that you can control where your airstrikes will impact after you toss the airstrike cannister (aka smoke grenade)? Typically, if you throw the airstrike cannister and stand still, the airstrike will impact a rectangular area centered on the smoke grenade and running nearly perpendicular to you (doesn't seem to always be perfectly perpendicular). However, you can adjust the impact area in two ways.

First, you can make the airstrike land further away from the airstrike cannister by backing up once the cannister is thrown. The airstrike should move away from the cannister the same distance you backed off. Just be careful that you don't move so far that the point of impact ends up in a place the pilot can't see or the airstrike may be aborted.

 

I stood on the corner light, tossed smoke, and then stood still. Notice that the airstrike's impact doesn't always fall at a 90 degree angle to my point of view	Next, I threw smoke from the corner light, but ran directly backwards for 2 seconds. The airstrike impacted a little further away than on my first toss.

The second method is to move and rotate your point of view. Try throwing the airstrike marker, strafing right a comfortable distance, and then making a 45% left turn. The airstrike will still land on top of the smoke grenade, but now, it will impact diagonally from where you tossed the cannister

 

The first illustration shows the strike pattern after standing at #1, tossing the smoke, and then not moving. For all subsequent airtrikes, I threw the smoke grenade from location #1 and maintained a consistant direction and distance of throw	Here, I threw the smoke from #1, strafed to #2, and then looked towards the halftrack. You'll noticed that spots #2 - 4 form a semicircle around the spot the smoke cannister lands. You can see how the impact marks have rotated about 60 degrees
Again, I threw the smoke cannister from #1, ran all the way over to point #3 and looked towards the halftrack. Here I get just a little more rotation than from point #2	Next, I repeated the same steps but from the other side. I ran over the left hand corner light and the looked at the rightmost edge of the crates
Lastly, I tossed smoke from #1, ran all the way over to point #5 and looked parallel along the airstrip markings. I get nearly a full 90 degree rotation from my point #1 results

You want to control the game by getting your strategy going or by preventing the other player from getting into his rhythm. This can be done by controlling key objectives, chokepoints, or spawn points, thereby forcing your opponent to constantly react to your moves.

• The important thing to remember is what ends the game. Sometimes, it's a set time limit. For other game type, the game doesn't end until the final objective has been taken. When you're playing for specific objectives, then the number that counts is what your team has at then end.
• Think rationally about why you got tagged so quickly so many times. It might have been luck, or you might have been caught in a chokepoint a few times in a row. You might be showing some hesitation because it's an unfamiliar map.
• Adjust your playing style as necessary to compensate. On new maps, I adjust to play more defensively and watch what other people do.
• Avoid getting angry when playing. You may think this will help fuel your fragging, but it will make you more jittery. You need to stay calm so that you can maintain your aim and keep thinking straight.
• Continue to kick ass.

• Are they playing aggressively or defensively?
• If they are defensive players or tend to stay in one area, you have a lot more freedom to plan how you want to take the fight to them.
• If they are on offense, then you constantly have to be on guard lest they surprise you. This may mean that any rest or listening breaks are done seldom and finished quickly.
• The best way to learn any game is to play against people who are better than you. Play against them as often as possible and watch their technique. If they're really cool, they might even share some of their tips with you.

• Don't always run in straight lines. Zigzagging as you run, even when you think you're alone is permitted.
• Don't circulate the map or portions of a map in the same pattern. I still find myself doing this and it's easy to get stuck on a set route you use to navigate a map. A smart opponent will pick up on this and be able to anticipate where you will go and therefore wait for you on his terms.
• Don't circle-strafe in the same direction all the time. The point of circle strafing is to dodge fire. But if you're going to keep moving in the same direction, it's easy really easy to lead you. Change it up every now and then.

• Run away when you no longer have the advantage in a firefight (e.g., when you are outnumbered and nearly out of life).
• Sometimes you will want to run away even when you have ammo or health:

   

  • Run away and immediately double back. If your opponent is chasing you, thinking that you've run out of ammo, you may surprise him and gain the upper hand.
  • If your opponent has guessed that you are trying to get behind him, he may have doubled back, trying to cut you off. He may have turned his back to you, giving you the chance to catch him unaware.
  • This is also a part of not being predictable. If you run away even when you have ammo, especially after pulling some really good ambushes, your opponent is more likely to not immediately try to chase you down when you run. This gives you valuable breathing space when you REALLY DO NEED to run away because of low ammo, you're hurt, or he has the upper hand.

     

• When running away, try to run backwards, but ensure you still check your back often. This allows you to run away while preserving your ability to return fire. Keep in mind that you sacrifice speed for security.

• Look behind you every now and then. I can't count all the times that I've followed someone around the map and they never noticed I was there.
• When you cross corridors, take a quick look left and right.
• Listen for audio cues to discern where the other player is and where he is going.
• Keep tabs on when key objectives have been taken, especially true when a new spawn point has been taken
• Don't get so focused on chasing down one person that you lose track of other people who may be gunning for you.

• Does he move predictably? For example, do he always strafe-left or circulate the map in a clockwise direction? Picking up on these patterns will enable you to anticipate where your buddy will be and therefore get yourself in the best position to frag them.

   

• Are audio cues followed by predictable actions? On certain maps, when you hear and audio cue such an an elevator, do you just know exactly where your enemy is and where he's heading?
• Does your opponent always chase you, only pulling back if he is out of ammunition?

• There is nothing worse than getting killed for health pack or an ammo pack that you simply did not need.
• Don't make a habit of picking everything up unless you need it. Remember, you have to share with the rest of your team. If I'm a medic and have picked up at least one ammo pack, I'll leave the rest for other people.

• Doors are natural choke points because they're narrow and restrict your ability to move and dodge. From the shooter's perspective, it's easy to concentrate fire into a doorway, especially with splash-damage weapons like panzerfausts and gain easy frags.

The following screenshots were taken from the Elite Forces map 'Boarding Party'. I may or may not adapt this for RTCW.

 

Simply stepping through a door leaves you exposed to fire from both sides of the corridor.		Starting from the oblique enables you control how much of cooridor the room you want to expose yourself to at any given point.

The audio (door opening) and visual (door opening) cues are a dead give-away that someone is at the door, and gives your opponent that split second advantage. There are a couple of counter measures that can be used individually or in combination:

• Get a buddy to open the door and then have him step out of the way. If you open the door with your body, you'll be forced to hesitate for a moment while it opens for you, exposing you for a few moments.
• Sprint through doorways. People are going to be gunning for you and you want to get though this constricting passages as fast as you can.
• Get close enough to the door and open it, but take a step back or to the side. Often time, someone will shoot at a door as soon as it opens, expecting a body to come charging through. Stepping back makes them waste that first shot and alerts you to the presence of an opponent.
• Approach the door from the oblique. This means that you're standing off to the side and looking through the doorway at a 45-degree angle. This gives you a view into about 1/3 of the room while hiding your from the other 2/3. This has most of the advantages of taking a step back, but gives you a better field of fire into the room. You can take in the remainder of the room by circle-strafing left or right, attack by going straight on or button-hook around to the opposite side.

 

In this example, I'm getting ready to enter No Man's Land on the Wizernes map. I suspect that enemy soldiers might be hiding along the walls, so I begin my by quickly checking the wall opposite of the one I plan to move down. If there is an enemy soldier, I'll either withdraw or shoot it out with him.		I see there isn't anyone there, so I execute a quick button hook, clear the near side wall, and make a quick scan of No Man's Land.
Once I'm convinced there are no enemy along the near side wall, I circle-strafe right, keeping my eyes on the center of No Man's Land and my back to the wall.		Now I'm up along the right hand wall and ready to move down to the far tunnel. At no time do my eyes leave No Man's Land and the activity along the right wall.
As I move down the right wall, I move at the oblique so that my gun stays trained into the center of No Man's Land. I do this so that my gun is ready and so that I can take in as much of the action as possible. I can also see the destroyable Allied side entrance so if something develops up there, I can quickly run up the stairs to assist		I finish near the far tunnel, ready to move into a blocking position or stage for the next push to the Allied far side spawn point

• Standing directly in front of or in doors and windows silhouettes you perfectly for anyone who wants to return fire.
• Door and window frames make you vulnerable to splash damage.
• Instead, take a step or two back from the door. It's still as easy for you to shoot into a room and actually reduces the area inside the room from which people can see you. Plus you retain your peripheral vision to see people coming down the hall.
• Stepping back will most likely put you into more shadows.
• It also gives you a little more room to maneuver to incoming fire or if you get surprised.

• If I think someone might be coming around the same corner, you can surprise him or her with an area effect weapon. Since they have no idea that you are around the corner, they probably won't have the opportunity to dodge out of the way.
• If someone is waiting to ambush you, the suppressive fire can cause him or her to break ambush early, thereby saving your skin. If the person simply happens to be coming down the same corridor, it could cause them to hold up and try to figure out where you are shooting from which buys a couple of moments to gain the advantage.
• Naturally, the benefits of this should be weighed against the disadvantage of potentially giving your position away.

• Always keep your crosshairs centered on the corridor, door, or path that you intent to use.
• As you approach the opening, circle-strafe left or right so that your crosshairs stay on target, but your model is swinging around in alignment with the door.
• Once you're lined up the way you want and you're convinced the coast is clear, make your entry.
• This ensures that you are always ready to shoot if someone pops out of the entry.

No Man's Land in the Wizernes map is a good example. It has a large open area that must be crossed, but there is no reason to run down the middle road and be the target for every enemy soldier or get caught in the cross fire from team mates. Stay out of the shaded kill zone and work you way around the edges instead.

 

• This is especially true in certain maps were all the action is funneled into arenas (like Wizernes) where you might have 8-12 people exchanging fire back and forth across No Man's Land. Why would you want to be in the middle of that? Stay on the periphery of these areas and shoot into and across the kill zone.
• By staying on the edges and keeping your back to the wall, you only have to keep track of your left, right, and front. If you're in the middle, you have to keep track of all 360 degrees.
• You become less of an easy target. People will typically shoot at the easiest kill. You just don't want 8 people to see you as the easiest kill.
• By staying back, you can also keep better track of what's going on thereby letting you play smarter with your ammunition and shots. Watch who is getting hurt and go for the easy kill. Gang up on the same target as a teammate for faster kills.

• Are you playing on new maps
  • How well do you know the maps?
  • Are you spending more time thinking about navigating the maps than you used to?
  • Are you playing on maps that you simply don't play well on? Personally, I do very poorly on certain maps.

   

• Have new players been introduced
  • Has the total number of players increased? In servers with large numbers of players, especially on small maps, this may put a lot of additional pressure on people who are used to having that extra moment to line up their shots.
  • How good are the new players? How can you adjust your game style to compensate? What techniques do you need to work on?

   

• Are you playing on a new server?
  • The server may be running a mod that changes tge game in a different than you are used to.
  • Is there new weapons or equipment being used?
  • How does the ping and lag compare with your regular server? Have you compensated yet?

   

• What else has changed?

References

• Official Quake II Strategies & Secrets
• Prima Guide to Quake III
• Planetquake Quake III Game Guide
• FM 90-10-1, An Infantryman's Guide to Urban Combat
• FM 21-75, Combat Skills of the Soldier

Contributors

• Ifurita (editor)
• Sam The Small