Tips and Tricks | v0.2 | by WhiteMoose

[WhiteMoose]

I've been thinking about writing a tutorial of some sort, just something to help people get better at the game.
There are always stuff we can improve on. I'll start this slow, adding more things as time goes on.
If YOU have some good tips and tricks, please say so :)

Why did I make this post?
Some might wonder why I created this post. Is it because I want to show off what I know about the game? Is it to point out what others do wrong? Is it to show off how good I am?

No. I make this post, because I, personally, want to become better. If I carefully evaluate the things I do well, what I do bad, what I should improve on or what I should change completely, I will become a better player.
When improving myself by making this post, I was hoping to write something that You, the reader, can get some value from aswell.

I strive to become better. Staying the same has no value to me, I want to improve what I'm bad at and become better overall.
I could of course keep this list to myself, but if I do that I won't put as much effort into it. Which means it won't help me as much.

Most important tip I can give:
Focus.
I've noticed that's the most important thing, for me at least. When I'm focused on the game, I do better. If my focus goes somewhere else, like talking a lot on Teamspeak or so. My performace will decrease. Like today, when I was talking to Stanleh about his beautiful accent, I noticed myself having 0-3 and running around like a chicken. That was a more extreme case, where I was completely focused on something else.

Remaining calm and not get frustrated goes into this aswell. When I don't do well and my team is losing, my performace tends to go down. I may say some stupid things on TS, or just to myself. Trying to remain calm and keep my focus up is a tough thing to learn, but an important one if you want to improve at the game.

2St0n3d said something very well on this subject aswell.
"don't get mad, get even.. or get out. - Raging against a person only makes him feel better.. he won't stop doing whatever he is doing just because 'you don't like it' ... besides, taking time to type on the battlefield only makes you more vulnerable.
If you get mad at his tactics, he's won half the battle allready because mad people do mad things.. and he's got a lot of his teammates eager to take you out when you rush by blindly, determined to 'take this guy out!'"


#1: It's always your fault when you die.
Yes, you read it. Every death IS your own fault. There is no excuses. None at all. (With one exception, read in the end)
Dying is what I learn the most from. Most deaths are easy to avoid! You just need to learn from your mistakes.

You got shot from behind. IT'S YOUR FAULT! You should've seen him! Make sure no one is behind you!
You got shot from the side. IT'S YOUR FAULT! You should've seen him! Check your sides!
You got shot from someone infront of you. IT'S YOUR FAULT! You should've seen him!

Remember where the enemies were when they killed you. Eventually there will be a pattern. You will remember! "I got killed by a guy from Position X when trying to get to Point A last time. Better check that position again." This time you make it and get the kill aswell!

The only exception when you have an excuse for dying is when you just spawned. If you spawned in an offensive position and died, then you should've checked before you spawned (you can see where you are about to spawn).

#2: Check your surroundings.
Moving slow and cautious instead of fast and reckless is almost always better. Be aware of your surroundings. Where is the enemy, where are teammates? The faster you can check your surroundings, the faster you can move.

In some circumstances it's of course better to not check everything, like if need to defend a bomb ASAP or similar.

#3: Advancing - Cover to Cover
Too many players advance all wrong. They run in the open, without any cover and become easy targets.
Move from cover to cover. Move along walls. Check where you got cover. Keep the cover between you and the enemy, to minimize the risk of getting shot.

If you got cover, you may limit the positions where enemies can shoot you. Making it easier to check your surroundings!


#4: Take advantage of your weapons!

All weapons are diffrent. Make sure you use your weapon the optimal way.

Recon (Sniper Rifles), great at long range. Use it at long range! Don't move closer then you need! Maintain your range advantage. The closer you are to the enemy, the lower your advantage gets.

Engineer (Cabines + full automatic general weapons (UMP, PP2000, MP7 etc), great at close to medium range. Keep that advantage! Move close to your enemy to get the advantage! Don't try and kill enemies from a distance, move closer. Get personal!

Assault (Assault Weapons), great at medium-long range. Best all-around weapons (I think). Don't get up close and personal. Try and get some distance between you and the enemy. Carbines will destroy you in close-medium range. The further the better (but not too far).

Support (Light Machine Guns), great at medium to long range. Best weapons in static positions. The raw power of a LMG, in a key position (maybe with bipod) is amazing! A LMG can hold down positions on his own (such as the middle corridor on Grand Bazaar, Position B. Moving around is not advantagious when using a LMG. Try and find a good position. (Note, this is not camping...! Seriously!)

Shotguns. This one is very obvious, but I'll briefly mention it anyway. King of close range, get personal with the enemy and you will prevail.

#5: Sprinting
One reason to why I get so many kills is because I know when to Sprint and NOT to Sprint. Most players are very... reckless when it comes to sprinting. They want to get to Point X ASAP! Disregarding everything in between. They sprint around corners, sprint sprint sprint.

Stop Sprinting, Chill, Calm down.

NEVER Sprint around a corner. Never Sprint into a area you haven't check yet!

Why? Sprinting means it will take MORE time to get your weapon up.
Because I don't sprint around corners, I always get the kill if someone is behind it (the only exceptions would be if my aim sucks, or if the guy behind the corner knew I was coming and were setup in a good position (NOTE. Being setup in a good position is NOT camping)).

#6: Assumptions
Primarily in the BETA, when I first joined OG. A lot of you seemed suprised how I always knew where you where. I came behind you and so on. I've not noticed it much since then though.

In most cases, I didn't know you were there. BUT! I assumed you were!
Example: Operation Metro. Rush. Second Part (Tunnels).
I often ran into the left or right main tunnels, if no one was there or if I killed everyone I met and got far enough to get to the next tunnel, I always assumed there would be people in the other tunnels. Why would I assume that? Because they usually are.

Eventually you will see patterns where people usually tend to be. No matter what the map is. Assume someone is there, take a flanking route and take them out!

Other, more easy applicable examples are corners! Always assume someone is around the corner, be ready to shoot! Always assume someone is in the building you are about to enter, be ready to shoot!
Always assume someone is in that annoying position where you can't get him, get cover between you and that spot!

#7: Minimap
Always look at the minimap.
Are you moving into a new area? Check the minimap.
Are you moving into a building? Check the minimap.
Are you running around a corner? Check the minimap.
Are you holding holding/taking a position? Check the minimap.

There are TONS of useful informations that can be had from the minimap. Positions of your teammates, enemies, map layout etc.
Always check it, when you got time!

#8: Spotting
Special thanks to 2St0n3d for pointing this out aswell.

Spotting is very important. It helps your team overall, the enemy gets a red triangle above his head and becomes an easy to see target. You should spot everyone you see.

#9: Callouts
Did you get killed, did you see someone/a tank coming or anything else valuable?
Call it out on teamspeak. Maybe your teammates already are aware of it, but maybe they aren't!
I get saved a lot of times due to callouts. Most recently by mrjak3z (superb player by the way).

It's very hard to do good callouts. Short and specific is the way to go. I have a lot to learn here.

#10: Vehicles
Special thanks to 2St0n3d for pointing this out aswell.

Vehicles are very important. People sometimes forget about them, me included. A vehicle can completely turn a battle in your favor. It's always good to use a tank.

More to come
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______________

These tips and tricks are of course not set in stone. There will always be exceptions where using these tips and tricks would be a disadvantage. You just have to know when to use them.


More to come![u]

[2St0n3d]

obvious stuff, but can't be repeated enough, indeed :)
some things I've found to be usefull as well:

1: if you're in a squad, don't all cover the same direction. many times a group all looking in the same direction will be mercilessly cut down from the sides by one guy. And let people guard the approach that has the best range for them. (example; LMG covering the long wide approach, and the shotgun covering the door)

2: spot often. It's not only a fancy sound effect, it lets the spotted enemy appear on the minimap of your team members.

3: If you are new and want to learn new stuff, like flying, this is best done on an empty server.. you won't get points, but you won't get hate comments and team assassins coming after you with the blessing of your entire side lol

4: laying in one spot the whole game rarely, if ever, contributes something to your team winning the game. The only possible exception being if your team has every control point, and is just working at keeping the opposition in their spawn zone. (this might be camping, plus baseraping, but it is also a very often seen battlefield situation.

5: don't get mad, get even.. or get out. - Raging against a person only makes him feel better.. he won't stop doing whatever he is doing just because 'you don't like it' ... besides, taking time to type on the battlefield only makes you more vulnerable.
If you get mad at his tactics, he's won half the battle allready because mad people do mad things.. and he's got a lot of his teammates eager to take you out when you rush by blindly, determined to 'take this guy out!'

If you suspect him of cheating, just leave the server and enter another.. trying to get a cheater to mend his ways is propably more difficult then getting a banker to part with his money. they have no skill, no honor, and no life, and are proud of it. they will only drag you down to their level and beat you through experience.

6: (BF P4F) closely related to #3, if you have no skillpoints in a vehicle, don't drive it. other people on your team might have skillpoints that enable tankdrivers to use their co-axial guns, or tow missiles, while you'll only have the main gun. ony jump into a vehicle if you're alone at a base and an APC or tank pops up. At least it keeps the heavy metal out of your enemy's hands.

if teamspeak is not possible lke on a pubby, maybe type a short text in TEAM chat, like 'any APC driver wanting one, come to C' ,
if you have confirmation someone wants it, tell him to jump in, and be ready to switch positions. after he gets in, thén you jump out and have him switch. I've seen many times where a sneaky opponent would steal the tank and totally destroy any advantage our team had because someone got out of the tank prematurely.

If your ride was a tank, jump in to gunner position. vulnerable, true, but it also makes the tank much stronger if he knows he's protected from rear attacks. if your driver has skillpoints, he can use the coaxial to defend himself from forward facing enemys, the machine gunner's task is to keep the rear clean. and, most importantly, they are among the best AA. if it flies, it dies should be your motto! :D

when faced with helicopters while in a tank, it all comes down to timing. most chopper pilots will have a studied routing. if you survive the initial barrage, they become predictable. seek to use the terrain to elevate your barrel above the arc it would normally be able to cover. with timing and practice, you can give the chopper pilot one hell of a buttplug when you fire the main gun in his ride's belly!

and lighten up; it is after all just a game :)
You are not a gaming God, there will usually allways be someone out there who's got you figured out before you figure it out :p
Not every time you die is an insult against your masculinity, nor is it proof of diabolical conspiracys.
Don't get mad, get even.. also said before, but this cannot be stressed enough.

p.s. apologies to any real gaming Gods present, you cannot be my age then, cause by then your reflexes would have atrophied considerably :p

Smoking Armor Since 2002

Sergeant 2St0n3d

[WhiteMoose]

Excellent post! You bring up a few points I didn't think about!


obvious stuff, but can't be repeated enough, indeed :)
some things I've found to be usefull as well:


Yes, most stuff are usually obvious. Unfortunatly a lot still don't think about them.

[Gisse]

obvious stuff, but can't be repeated enough, indeed :)

3: If you are new and want to learn new stuff, like flying, this is best done on an empty server.. you won't get points, but you won't get hate comments and team assassins coming after you with the blessing of your entire side lol



Is it possible to play on empty server? I have noticed that you need specific amount of people to start game at all. While there is not enough people you can't move from spot you have bean spawn.

[iNco782]

two excellent posts. ÂÂ*Thanks for taking the time to write them.

I will add my 2 cents when im at home.

However a biggie for me is that people know how to control there weapons. ÂÂ*

Burst fire should be mastered at range and don't be afraid to switch to single shot. ÂÂ*it makes a massive difference from distance reducing recoil substantially.

[2St0n3d]

in P4F, I think not, indeed.
but I think you can chat to ppl also in the queue ?
personally, I would ask if I can try piloting when the server starts.

You'd have my blessing any day since I don't fly, I'm sure there's a lot more groundpounders out there who also don't mind.
So then you can try flying at a slow pace, where the expert use of a jet isn't as vital as in a full 24/24 Oman only 64 player server.
if an enemy gets into his team's fast mover you'll get to learn dogfighting without much AA.
and if no enemys fly you'll be able to learn strafing poor infantry and armor against small concentrations.. kind of like a low difficulty single player game, only don't underestimate these bots lol

Anyway, that's how I would propably handle it if I ever decided I wanted to be a *cough*gay*cough* Â*pilot, myself. (j/k)
I hope this helps?

Glad the posts gets noticed, I'll propably add more later as well, after a couple rounds of BF .. still undecided on P4F or 2142 but wll try and kick ass regardless :)

[SnakeXT]

I got questions..

How would you be "ready to shoot" when you are entering a building that looks like a tank or heli hangar, lots of windows, 2 huge openings, platform that people can see mostly everything below. Avoid that altogether?

Cover from walls, in what sense, outside or inside?

Some players camp close to the the corners of the map and pick people off. How would you counter this as well as looking out for any danger close by?

Do you think having a suppressor helps conceal your position regardless of low damage when equipped?

Use of lasers and flashlights to blind players, no point?

[WhiteMoose]

I got questions..

How would you be "ready to shoot" when you are entering a building that looks like a tank or heli hangar, lots of windows, 2 huge openings, platform that people can see mostly everything below. Avoid that altogether?


There are many ways to enter a big building like that. The specifics are a bit difficult to explain in writing.
Try and look at the most dangerous areas in the building, from where you're entering. There are always some areas people usually tend to be. Etc.
The main point is that you should always be ready to shoot someone.

Maybe I'll try and explain that in greater detail in the future.



Cover from walls, in what sense, outside or inside?


Primarily when you're outside. Maybe I should've been a bit more specific in the way I put it there.
It also works in large buildings aswell, of course.



Some players camp close to the the corners of the map and pick people off. How would you counter this as well as looking out for any danger close by?


If you know where a camper is. Then just keep cover between you and him if you're moving into an area he can shoot you from, if you're unable to kill him of course. Campers are VERY easy to kill, you just move in on him from a position he can't see and kill him.



Do you think having a suppressor helps conceal your position regardless of low damage when equipped?

I'm not too sure about that. I prefer having the Heavy Barrel, Flashlight or Laser Sight over Suppressor at least. It comes down to personal preference. Some like it, some don't.



Use of lasers and flashlights to blind players, no point?


I will get to that eventually.

[2St0n3d]

How would you be "ready to shoot" when you are entering a building that looks like a tank or heli hangar, lots of windows, 2 huge openings, platform that people can see mostly everything below. Avoid that altogether?

my 2 cents are to, if possible, wait for reïnforcements or a diversion. and to learn from deaths your team gets. (direction of shot, killzone, etc. grenades are allways usefull against entrenched positions.


Cover from walls, in what sense, outside or inside?]

cover is cover, take it whenever you can.. even a bedsheat can be excellent cover if you only want concealment. just be sure you know where most of the enemy is concentrated so you'll know which flank to keep in cover. and get to a wall if possible if you want to avoid lead poisoning. Sheets are notorious for their inability to stop .45 caliber rounds...


Some players camp close to the the corners of the map and pick people off. How would you counter this as well as looking out for any danger close by?

grenades.. a tank.. counter sniping in extreme cases, and if all else fails, avoid his killzone and leave him hungry. sooner or later he'll crawl out of the woodwork to be squished like a good little bug.. or he won't and just spend the remainder of the round being useless.


Do you think having a suppressor helps conceal your position regardless of low damage when equipped?

when you shoot at someone, his HUD will light up like a christmas tree, indicating your general direction. All the suppressor aims to do is to keep you off of the enemy's minimap when you let loose the juice. must-have for sneaky infiltrator types like me :)


Use of lasers and flashlights to blind players, no point?

can't really comment, still not able to play BF3 :s

figured I'd toss in my 2 cents too :)

[ExLee]

Good tips ! So listen to the man ! I mean mans... ehm.. people... dudes ? Whatever ÂÂ*:D

[Asfodhell]

Indeed good tips !!
Obvious ? Yeah, but I almost never think about them, most of the time ...

The fact is, in BF3, aiming is not enough

Thank you guys !

[C4b4nossi]

Weapon atteachments:

Heavy Barrel: + Accuracy; - more recoil
Suppressor: - Bulletdamage; + less recoil; + no highlight on minimap; + enemies don't see and hear your "bulletlines"
-> I prefer suppressor on close combat and heavy barrel on long range (with single shot mode).

Bipod: - less mobility; - long get-in-scope time; + better accuracy
-> especialy some LMGs really suck without the bipod on long and short range. My T88 's recoil jumps like a donky on each bullet what makes it really hard to hit my targets. BUT once I spotted a GROUP of enemies, I try to force them into cover with a grenade - get on the ground or duck behind cover - mount the bipod - get in scope - and wait for the enemies lurking outo their cover. With a bipod mounted - my T88 suddenly turns almost into a "machine-sniper-gun".

Flashlight and Laser:
I would use it, if it was not active automaticly everytime. I think, it harms more than it helps. It gives away your position to the enemies and blinds your teammates in closer area. Worst thing is a teammate spawning on you behind enemy lines with a laser or flashlight attracting enemies attention. If it was turned off by default - I would use it more often in close combat while firing from the hip.

[ExLee]

Since when does Heavy Barrel increase damage ? As far as I know it only increases accuracy for aimed fire as well as vertical muzzle climb but not damage... Besides Suppressor only decreases damage over medium/long range so up close the weapon is the same as without it... ÂÂ*:roll:

[C4b4nossi]

oops.... :oops: typo...thx for correcting... edited my post.



Besides Suppressor only decreases damage over medium/long range so up close the weapon is the same as without it...

...


-> I prefer suppressor on close combat and heavy barrel on long range (with single shot mode).

.... I prefer suppressor on close combat for the visibility stuff... not the damage...

[WhiteMoose]

Made some updates. Mainly added some things that 2St0n3d pointed out in his post.

Added:

Why I made the thread
Focus
Spotting
Callouts
Vehicles

Hope some of these things can help you as much as they have helped me!

[2St0n3d]

Popping back in to add something more...

When turning a corner, or moving up through doors, allways try and 'slice the pie'

what this means is, don't run through that door or around that corner oblivious. instead, move up to beside the door, so you can check an area outside and beside the door while still remaining in cover, and strafe, untill you are at the other edge of the door, checking the terrain as well as possible.

special care to be taken to check known camper positions, like rooftops, windows, etc.

offcourse, people can move in to terrain you checked and thought safe after you stop checking it, but around 8 times in 10 you will have an advantage when keeping battlefield awareness.

the only time I can think of this doesn't apply, is while using a shotgun, in confined quarters. In this instance, you don't want to tip off enemys inside that hallway you're there, the shotty has an advantage in that terrain so make the best of it.

And even when on a pubby, with no communication going on, try and be a team player.
covering team mates, repairing, reviving... the list goes on.

And one more thing I've found helpfull is this: if you are defending a position, and you see someone of your team go by, check his name. if you see that name pop up in the killfeed, chances are high you're about to be owned in the back unless you react appropriately.

hope this helps, actually enjoying this thread ÂÂ*8)

[st0mpy]

some good tips here, I use some already in fps especially door slicing and ranging at blind corners (of which there are many in a good map)...rather than just run out it takes barely a second to knee crouch, ADS and peep out, all clear? move on..I cant count the number of people ive saved myself from or set up kills doing this.

also not mentioned yet, i was hoping to get some kind of squad or buddy pair point to point move and cover drilling into the play for free team.. just simple things like how to wait for the others to move while covering all points but that never came to pass..too many other things needed drilling first

(not saying im an expert on terrain domination, id like to learn more and put it into practice but theres only so much you can do on your own there Â*:lol: )

[SnakeXT]

Sounds good and easy to implement in a pub or private match stompy. It would probably work on TDM and Rush, definately on Conquest, maybe even SQDM if you're into that.

[Saitoshi]

I love and hate the supressor. In medium range, it's so valuable. When in someone's flank, or coming up behind multiple enemies, you almost always get the kill(s) with it. Most groups ( I noticed this even during the training a few times ) will get taken down before they even know the fire came from behind them. If you use a heavy barrel, there's a good chance one of them will sprint into cover before you can get a good shot off on them ( due to shooting the others first ) and then having the upper hand on you because you are forced to reload or switch to secondary.

But when you're mostly getting into straightforward face-to-face gunfights, it's a liability. Aside from the lesser recoil, the bullet spread seems to increase ( for me at least ) when I use it, and I lose out on a lot of accuracy. You don't want that to happen in a "fair" gunfight.

[WhiteMoose]

Question about suppressor:

Does the hit notification show up on the ones you shoot at? I mean, when you get hit you get red stuff flashing from where they are shooting you (left side, right side etc).

[Saitoshi]

I noticed that, last night when you were sniping me ( last map I played, where I couldn't hit you ) I wasn't getting those hit markers at all. So I thought you were using a suppressor on your sniper at the time. I could be wrong though. Might just have been the distance between us.

[WhiteMoose]

I noticed that, last night when you were sniping me ( last map I played, where I couldn't hit you ) I wasn't getting those hit markers at all. So I thought you were using a suppressor on your sniper at the time. I could be wrong though. Might just have been the distance between us.

No. I didn't try the supressor. I think it's the distance, as you said.
I'm gonna try the supressor on my beloved G36C.

[Saitoshi]

Oh, and I know you think the Night vision scopes are "noob", but they are still very useful and I think you should recommend them for recon players to use in smaller maps.

You won't likely be needing the massive zoom in, it's a lot easier to locate and spot people, there's barely any sway because it gives reduced zoom ( x1 ) so you can take quick shots without having to hold breath or anything.

In a map like Seine Crossing it can be really useful.

[Saitoshi]

Also, changing your FOV in the options can be very helpful. The game has a faster paced feel to it at 80 or 90 FOV instead of the default 70.