Whether you are new to Halo multiplayer matches, or a complete veteran, NextGEN Gamers looks at ways you can increase your online skill and even begin to outsmart your opponents.
The first section of this guide is for the beginner. Most of these tips will seem basic and common sense, but people often forget that if you master the basics correctly, implementing more advance tactics later will boost your skill level very quickly indeed.
Section One: The Basics.
Learn to use your radar: Most beginners run around the maps bumping into people and find themselves being gunned down. The trick is to anticipate your opponent. Even if you are not familiar with the maps at first, your radar will give you a clear direction to lob a grenade in before you reach your enemy.
Keep moving and jump around: For those new to Halo 3 multiplayer, this is an essential skill to master, but here’s the trick: never run or jump in a straight line. The key is to move in zigzags or diagonally while advancing towards or retreating from an opponent. Become proficient at shooting and throwing grenades whilst in the air. Halo vets refer to this as “strafing or dancing”. It may seem strange at first, but trust us when we say it is very much part of the game play.
Shooting: The strategy here is simple. The further up the body, the greater the damage. Get use to shooting at the chest and head of your opponents. Shooting your enemy in the head will deplete their shield a lot faster than yours. Remember, both you and your opponent are losing health and it often comes down to whom was more accurate with their aiming. This takes a while to get use to but you will see that more experienced players will win every time simply because they are shooting at your head, not your legs.
Maps: Become familiar with the maps in Halo 3. Each has it’s own unique spots that will give you an advantage over an enemy. Learn to always take the high ground. Shooting down at an opponent is a must. Never run around in the open and stick to walls and structures. If on a map where people are using vehicles, stay indoors and hunt there.
Be a vulture: If you see two opponents going each other in lone wolf, take aim at the weaker one. The chances are that their shield is low and your shots will finish them off. This tactic is great for gaining a good kill count but is to be avoided in team matches.
Make it personal: A direct melee attack to the back of an opponents head is a sure kill. If you see an enemy camping or not paying attention to their surrounds, don’t shoot at them. Move up behind them and swiftly let them know who’s their daddy.
Confront the enemy: So you are suddenly being shot at from behind while you are running for cover or moving towards your next target. Don’t try and keep fleeing, just do the following; look straight at your radar while pressing the jump button. Turn towards your opponent - throw a grenade and fire. You will most likely be defeated anyway so you may as well try and take them out with a kill from the grave. Remember, it’s about your kill count as a beginner, not how many times you were killed.
Tea bagging: Don’t even waste your time. This is by far the quickest way to die. (faster even than spawning into the path of a rocket or grenade). If an experienced player sees you doing this, you will become a target for the rest of the match. Believe us when we tell you its very embarrassing looking at your match stats and seeing that the winner got 24 of their 25 kills off you.
Use lag to your advantage: No one likes to admit it but lag is always a factor in online gaming. But there are ways you can use this to your advantage. For example: if in a particularly “laggy” match, throw a grenade where your opponent will be in a few seconds, not where they are. Employ the same tactic for shooting. Give yourself extra lead time instead of shooting at them. Rule of thumb: avoid close combat fighting in these matches as melee attacks seldom work. You can’t always avoid lag, but you don’t have to lose because of it.
Play with people who are on or near your skill level: There is nothing worse than playing ranked or social matches against people who have a skill level of 200 plus. Choose the “skill setting” in the match making options above good connection and same language games any day. This will give you more confidence and wins in online multiplayer.
Attacking an opponent: So you now have the basics to implement the following attacking style:-
- Throw a grenade at your target. You are doing this to weaken your opponents shield. It’s commonly referred to as slash damage.
- Aim and fire at your opponent’s head and chest as you advance towards them or “dance around” as the case may be.
- If your opponent is still alive when you are up close and personal, you must melee. We recommend you swap your melee button in your controller setup so it is a quick push down with your thumb on your right stick. It’s quicker and already gives you an advantage over your enemy.
- Take cover for a few brief seconds to recharge your shield. Tap your reload button then quickly move on.
Section Two: Tricks the Veterans Use
The following are some handy techniques that you will see the more experienced players use. If you are new to Halo 3 don’t be afraid to ask questions in team matches about how and why players are doing certain things. The gaming community are a friendly bunch if you play by the rules, experienced gamers are only to happy to help improve your gaming experience.
Oddball: As soon as the match starts, run straight for the active camouflage. While you are doing this people are fighting over the skull. Head towards the skull and throw some grenades to finish off any aggressors. Grab the skull and head for high ground. By the time you are visible or are seen you have a massive lead on the other players. Another tip is never stop to pick up a skull or weapon. Learn to press the right shoulder button as you are walking over items. The game is quite apt at picking up objects.
King of the hill: Run towards the hill and throw grenades. The idea here is to spend as much time as possible in the designated areas. The more time you spend inside the grid area the more points you will get. Try hide inside it with active camouflage if possible and let others fight it out. Also be aware that you can control a hill from underneath many of them. Always move as quickly as possible to hills following the grey arrow on screen. You will start to see patterns of where “hills” will spawn next so if there is only 15 seconds of time left before the hill is moved, take a chance and proceed directly to the position you expect the next hill to be.
Gravity Hammer, Energy Sword and Overshield: Run straight for any of these items as soon as a match begins. These are key to getting a large kill count. Wielded correctly, they can cause considerably damage and be extremely hard to defeat. Tips for defeating the hammer and Sword are below.
If you are confronted by an opponent with the hammer or sword it is generally best to jump backwards at an angle (to prevent lock on). While doing this, shoot at the opponents head, followed by a grenade or two and hope for the best. It’s 50/50 whether or not you defeat them and survive. If you die at least they may get killed with your grenade(s). To dodge a sword lunge move quickly to the right (when facing your attacker), towards the hand which does not hold the sword. This is the best way to counter this form of attack.
Rockets: In matches where you are using rockets, continually jump. Jump in different directions and shoot at where your opponent will land not at them. The key is becoming proficient at the “Halo dance”
Vehicles: For fast moving ones like the ghost, jump over it when it comes towards you. This often catches the driver by surprise. Throw grenades and aim your fire at the opponent (not the vehicle).
Energy shields: Use them as much as possible, either for defence or attack. Make sure you jump as you throw for extra distance if it’s for attack.
Sticky grenades: We cannot stress enough the importance of these little beauties. The best use for these is in close quarter combat. Basically you know that you are about to be beaten down so instead of shooting, stick one of these to your opponent. Again the chances are you will die, but so will they.
Environmental gravity lifts: Always throw grenades or power drains into any lifts or jumps before entering. You will be surprised how many kills you can achieve by using this simple yet effective technique.
Choosing the colour and race of your character: Although this may seem somewhat unoriginal, you will notice that most of the top players are Spartan. They also have the colour of their player in greys. Greys don’t stand out and allow you to blend into most levels better than bright red or yellows. The more you stand out the more you will be targeted.
The barrel roll: Well its not dog fighting but this technique is very helpful. If you are being chased by an enemy try jumping backwards forcing your opponent underneath you. This catches many players off guard as suddenly you are now behind them, again melee for best results.
We hope you have found these tips useful. By employing these techniques you will notice a vast improvement in your skill levels within hours.
Best of luck Halo 3 gamers.
Thursday 18th October-2007
Lexx (Head Bunny) NextGEN Gamers
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