INTERMEDIATE

Alright, you’ve got the basics down; you are no longer in the bottom three. Well done! But wipe that smile off your face because this is where the real work begins. The following tips will only be of use if you have paid attention to the Beginners section so don’t skip ahead.

1)      Circle strafe. Fancy term for “shoot while you move sideways”. You can always tell a new player by looking at how they move. Basically because they hardly ever move and shoot AT THE SAME TIME. Many gamers would consider this a basic tactic (and it is) but the reason I’ve put this in the intermediate section is because in my experience, circle strafing is much more effective when you have practiced enough with  a weapon to be familiar with its recoil, range etc. Regardless, unless you learn to do this right, there’s no point continuing. Everything hinges on this one tactic. To practice, just start a server on your own, pick an object you can aim at (or a spot on a wall) and try shooting while you move from side to side. Most people are a little surprised when they do this the first time because in most games you will have to move your aiming reticule in the direction OPPOSITE to your movement. So, if you are moving right, you will have to move your mouse to he left in order to actually hit the target. Practice the hell out of this.

2)      Reload frequently. Again, very basic, the thing to remember is not to do this while you are exposed. Find some cover, crouch or go prone, reload, shoot. Rinse repeat. Also, remind yourself that in many games, it’s quicker to switch to your secondary weapon than reload.

3)      Check those corners. Most new shooters have the Q and E keys for “leaning”. Use them. Use them a lot. This will allow you to scope out an area without exposing anything more than your head which is a much smaller and therefore harder target to hit.

4)      Use your grenades. Ask yourself how often you tend to die before you threw any of your grenades. Think about what a waste that is. It’s better to waste your nades without actually hitting anything rather than dying with them. Obviously use your head; killing a team mate with one is unforgivable. By now you should have enough knowledge about the map to decide where to use them anyway.

5)      Decide what your role is going to be. I cannot stress how important this is. You need to decide what exactly it is you are going to do in a map. Are you going to snipe? Are you going to sneak up like a ninja and assault the enemy where they least expect it?  Sometimes this decision may not be up to you, I mean if 4 teammates out of 5 decide they will do nothing but assault, then maybe you have no choice but to provide machine gun/sniper support. But by and large, you need to go with what you are comfortable. If you are naturally aggressive and like rushing, go with that. If you don’t like being in the thick of things, choose a supporting role like sniper or medic etc. Take your natural tendency and refine your methods accordingly.

Coming up next, the ADVANCED section.