- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
But first…
DISCLAMER!!!
While this an official Bungie.net site, this is a player written post and so the sole view of the person who wrote it. It is in no way official. I don’t speak for Bungie, Gearbox, Microsoft or Gamespy. Nor are they endorsing the views or tactics of this thread by allowing it to be posted. I just thought you new players might like a little help. It stays on this post at their mercy.
Okay kiddies; let’s get started. There’s a lot of stuff running around the forums about tactics, but no clear description of how to fight and survive in the bloodbath that is Halo PC multiplayer. For the uninitiated, I thought a guide might help you start taking names and kicking butt. Primarily, this post is to help you with specific tactics on specific maps, but I’ll have to talk a about the weps and vehicles to wet your taste buds.
And yeah; when you scroll down, those first ones are all me. But not to worry; you don’t have to try to read this in one lump sum. Just scroll down to the map you’re interested in owning and read away.
Now I’d like to talk about those weapons…
First up, a personal favorite
The Pistol: Typically two shots to take out the shields and a third in the head. You’re done, and so is your opponent. The pistol is by far the most balanced weapon in the game when it comes to accuracy, ammo, and range. If you can learn to become proficient with this little monster, you can hold your own against just about anything. When firing any weapon its best to tap the trigger button on your mouse instead of holding it down. This improves the accuracy of your shots. As with all human weapons, the pistols are best used on unshielded opposition.
It doesn’t matter what game type I’m playing, I always try to get my hands on the pistol.
The Shotgun: Your first impulse on picking up a shotgun is “YES! So many little balls of hot lead streaking out the other end, there’s no WAY I can miss!”
WRONG!
In some ways, the shotgun is even more of a precision weapon than the pistol. Used effectively, it’s a one hit kill. Aim (or lead and aim; more on leading later) for the head at close range, preferably right in their face. They go down, they stay down. Ultimately, the better you center your target with any weapon, the more damage you inflict on your opponent. At medium range, the shotgun is still a mean little mother, but less effective than the pistols. A trick you’ll often see shotgun pros use is “the finisher”. Charging their target at close range they fire and melee, which all but guaranties a kill.
The MA5B: Trusty machine gun; what would we do without you? The most rounds of any weapon, most people today shun the MA5B as outmoded to the pace of Halo PC multiplayer. But she does have her uses. The trick is to fire in short bursts to preserve accuracy. Don’t hold down the trigger unless you’re fighting point blank, otherwise three bullets in four will probably miss your target. Best at close range, good at medium range.
The Sniper Rifle: Longest range and most accuracy of any weapon in the game; one shot kill with a headshot. What’s not to love? Well, you have to aim the dang thing for starters. If you’re reading this guide, then this weapon is probably the last one you pick up and the first one you drool to use. Fear not, Minus has the secrets to making you kick butt, even with this beast:
A side note: Leading Your Shots: Leading your shots is what it sounds like: point your weapon at a point in the “air” ahead of the target you want to hit. If they are running to your right, respectively, you want to aim a little far right of the target to hit them.
Unlike Halo PC campaign, there is no assist in leading/aiming your shots. In fact, the distance between you and the target has an effect on just how much you should lead your shot. The further away, the longer a “lead” you have to give for your bullet to hit the mark.
Not all servers are created equal though. Bad ping for you or your opponent can really mess up your aim. Ping is where most of the “WTH? I hit you!” complaints come from in the chat text. Leading is something of an art among the more advanced players. If both players are of equal skill, it usually comes down to a question of who gets the drop on who, luck or ping when determining the whiner…and the winner too.
That’s why you keep missing your target buddy. Just because the target reticule reads red when you pull the trigger, it doesn’t follow that the guy on the other end will fall down go boom (unless he does the courtesy of standing still for you). Ok, enough about that. back to the goodies:
A lot of people use the sniper to spawn kill. I’m personally against that (waste of ammo). The sniper is best used in a rearguard position, protecting your allies from heavy weps and taking out enemy vehicles from a safe distance. Great suppression weapon for bottlenecks (i.e. tunnels and teles).
The Rocket Launcher: Boom. BIG boom. Pros? See previous statement. The most powerful handheld weapon in the game per round fired. Cons? Ten shots max with a full load, two shots per clip, slow speed for rounds fired from the tube and a wicked reload time if you’re under fire. Aim for the feet of your opponent (remembering to lead). Best used for vehicle suppression and taking out small clusters of troops. Short to medium range preferred. The rounds will keep going until they hit something, but chances are what you’re aiming at won’t be there if you fire from standoff ranges.
Flamethrower: The ultimate human type room suppression weapon in my opinion. This monster packs a punch that leaves your shields and life falling long after the initial blast. It’s not uncommon to be killed while wielding one of these and have no kills, then reach Killtacular! Status by the time you respawn. Con; they are the only human weapon to overheat; be careful not to get caught in your own fire.
Plasma Pistol: In campaign, there’s no equal (in my humble opinion) to the plasma pistol. In multiplayer, it lacks some of its polish, but is still a wonderful shield buster. The charged shot can still take out enemy shields with one hit (yes, even overshield). Switch to human pistol and say g’bye. A lot of people call this a “noob” tactic. I call it a “Ha! You just got smacked down by a NOOB tactic!” Tapping the button creates a string of green death few people willingly walk through. Great for suppression fire at medium to short range. As with all plasma weapons, they are best for shielded opposition.
Plasma Rifle: Greater rate of fire than the plasma pistol equals more rounds missing your opponent. As with the MA5B, tap the trigger, releasing short bursts until you’re at close range. Biggest con: it overheats. Fast. Medium to short range preferred.
Another side note: the twitchy Masterchief in your target reticule is no illusion. When hit by one of these two weapons, players “twitch” or slow down, unable to outrun you or turn and fight back with the normal speed of movement. Great if your target has the flag and expected a quick jog back to base…great for you that is…
Needler: With six needles in them, it’s like dropping a weak plasma grenade onto your opponents head. The more needles you hit them with the greater the explosion. They go boom and die. Add to that, it is the only weapon in Halo PC multiplayer whose shots track the target. Great weapon right? It has drawbacks.
1.Slow round speed makes needles easy to dodge.
2.See 1.
3.See 1 and 2.
4.Slowest melee of all the weapons; even the rocket launcher packs a quicker punch. Dirty trick for needlers is to point at an AFK (Away From Keyboard) player in a cluster of the enemy and unload the entire clip. It’s like dropping a plasma right in the center, but only if everyone stays near their AFK friend.
Fuel Rod: A smaller boom than the rocket offset with better reload times, an arcing shot that automatically aims towards the targets feet. If the opposition gets a hold of several of these little beauties and charges your base there is one strategy I find works well: curl up in a corner of your base and start calling them Fuel noobs until they run out of ammo or take pity on you and switch back to their secondary. Just Kidding; but the fuel rod is the second most balanced weapon of the game when it comes to damage to ammo ratios and reload (or in the fuel rods case recharge) speed. Not as effective at stand off ranges as a lot of people seem to think, best used on vehicles and base suppression. A single fuel rod can hold down a base with four people in it for a quite a while. In bottlenecks, its only rival is the rocket launcher. Switch to pistols and take on a fuel rod at long range, or snipe them.
Frag grenades: these little brown beauties can do some serious damage in the right hands, and cause a world of hurt to your team in the wrong ones. It’s hard to tell if the frag has power equal to or slightly less than the rocket, but I digress. The old tunnel bounce trick you learned in campaign to take out grunts still works on other players. If you get the drop on someone, throw one of these their way and finish them off with pistols for a quick kill. Just don’t go crazy with the throwing the things, okay? Most betrayals are grenade related fatalities; don’t let this happen to you or because of you!
Plasma grenade: stick it to your opponent and watch them fly. The plasma nade is weaker than its frag cousin, but guaranties a one hit surprise kill when you get your throw down pat. Gives new meaning to “stick it to the man”.
[Edited on 8/9/2005]