- TurnedSculpture
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- Honorable Member
And so God called Moses to come forth but he came fifth and was therefore disqualified.
Posted by: A Dumb Door
*DISCLAIMER* I in no way claim to be a psychologist, or anything of the like. These are based off of my observations of the game after playing a few matches in Matchmaking. Treat this thread accordingly.
Today, I decided to play some Halo: Reach. It is the first time I've played in quite a while, and so I'm prepared to be the worst player. However, that's fine with me. I've always been a casual gamer, and I'm not into hardcore gaming.
To my surprise, I get a +19 K/D and win the match with 25 kills... What happened? Well, to be honest, in a one on one, open field fight with anyone, I lost. The only advantage I had: My holograms. That's right. The unspoken armor ability that I very rarely see.
However, surely this is just a fluke? Maybe it was just the map, or the people I was playing with? So I would believe, but a few matches later, I got a +12 K/D on a different map with different people. Once again, my only real advantage was my holograms. Once again, I ask you: what happened? I didn't use any power weapons. Heck, I only really used the default weapons except in cases where I stumbled across the needle rifle, or DMR and just happened to pick them up.
Now, normally, I'm really bad at Halo. I usually tend to get the lowest score. In fact, you can normally judge how well my team is doing by where I am in the rankings. If I'm at the top, we're sure to lose.
Well, I have my explanations, and I hope that this information can help you in the future with your games if you choose to heed what I say. I will begin by going over the main issues that people I faced had.
1. PRIDE. Now, this is probably the biggest one, and it lead to the majority of the kills I got that could have EASILY been avoided. Instead of dropping the fight, and ducking behind cover, many people would choose to instead continue the charge despite having lower shields. Many would rather die than simply run away. Also, many would continue to try and get the person they initially were trying to kill even at the cost of their own life. They figured that they owned the kill that they started to get.
My recommendations:
If you aren't going to win the fight, find a way out of the fight. Better to lose one kill and live than simply die.
2. FIXATION. I'm almost reluctant to admit why this one was the case because this got me so many kills, and it ties into pride a little bit, but here it is anyway. When I placed a hologram, some people would see the hologram, and me shortly behind it. They happened to shoot the hologram first, and thus went after the hologram despite its blatantly counterfeit nature while I, the real one, was shooting at them. Why? I have a few theories, but they generally tend to be that the person now figured they either had to finish what they started, or they didn't want to give up the kill that was theirs, tying into pride again.
My recommendations:
Pay close attention to what the enemy is doing. If they are walking straight into a wall, just standing there, or running in a straight line, it's too good to be true. Also, if you figure out it's a hologram, then find the source. Don't keep shooting at the hologram. Also, holograms don't produce a red reticule. Take note.
3. ROUTINE. As I've said, I'm not a pro player. I may not know the best strategies, the best camping spots, etc. However, if YOU know the best spots, and you keep going to those spots, then you can bet I know where you are. Some people would always patrol the same areas, would always camp the same areas, and would always go after the same weapons. This made them predictable. I am a child of the Quake/Unreal games, so maybe I'm just more accustomed to this, but just play the cards you're dealt.
My recommendations:
If you CAN get a good weapon, great, but don't rely on having that weapon. If you HAPPEN to end up in your camping spot, great, use it, but don't continuously go to that same spot. Heck, even the default weapons, when used right, would outdo people who had predictable patterns with power weapons and camping.
4. IGNORANCE. I got many kills by merely trying to duck out of a fight, only to find someone back right into me, or just stand there as I walked by, giving me an easy assassination. People do not seem to be checking their motion trackers very often. Heck, one that stands out in my mind was someone who had a jetpack, and was on top of a building. I was walking by the building, noticed him on my motion tracker, and just sort of stood there a minute figuring out how to get out of a potentially lethal scenario. Suddenly, he just sort of fell right in front of me, and I got an easy assassination.
My recommendations:
Be aware of your surroundings. Check your motion tracker, try to keep tabs on the people around you, and try to figure out the possible threats BEFORE entering a combat scenario.
5. LACK OF STRATEGY. Some people may think that this just comes with skill, but even the veterans that I saw tended to run guns blazing into the battlefield, ignoring the easy kill right next to them, or the weapon that would help them win the fight, or a simple change of approach. Many people I fought would be beaten by me just hiding behind pillars and using guerrilla tactics on them. Try to be unpredictable, rather than doing the same things over and over, or running a straight line.
My recommendations:
Be unpredictable. Strategize. Walk in other patterns than just a straight line. Use your environment to your advantage, plan your attack, and gauge your opponents first before entering combat with them. If the cards are not in your favor, simply fold this round and take them on at a different time when you are better suited for winning.
After playing some rumble pit, I moved on to invasion. I remembered some of these problems, and even today still faced them. The problems I already listed were definitely present, but with more issues, since it was team based.
1. DO NOT FOCUS ON KILLS. The goal of invasion is to either deter the enemy for X amount of time, or to get an objective within X amount of time. Simply pinning down the enemy delays time, and simply keeping opponents away works just as well as killing them when trying to get the objective. The biggest example of this: On Boneyard, I was able to single-handedly take the first objective because the Spartans were too focused on getting kills on the elites approaching, rather than protecting the objective. Not kidding, a good three of them had their backs to me while I took the objective, and they didn't even bother turning around to get me. I ended up sticking them and killing them in various ways, but it could have been avoided by worrying about the objective for a minute.
2. SET UP FOR VICTORY. At the last few seconds of the Boneyard game, the core was dropped right in the circle of victory, and we would have won if ANYONE picked it up. However, we didn't, because everyone was focusing on getting the core rather than killing the Scorpion tank that kept killing everyone on their way to the core. Die once and get victory than die three times trying to attain victory and losing. This also ties into pride because everyone wanted to be the one who won the match.
3. RELY ON YOUR TEAM. Far too often did I see everyone cluster together to get an elite at one side of the room, and let one in to get to the core. Instead of being the one to get the kill yourself, let your team take on the single elite, and stay watch over the core. You'll find that sneaky elite and save the day from the sidelines. This, once again, ties into pride. Everyone wanted to be the one to save the day and get the kill, and neglected their flanks.
Well, there is my essay on the matter. I hope that this information can help everyone here improve their playing. See if you end up practicing any of the follies I mentioned above, and try to fix your playstyle. You might just find your abilities improving.
You take this really, really seriously, don't you?