Wednesday, March 30, 2011

From the vault: Tools of a professional killer

This is an article I wrote for OzBoxLive ages ago but seeing as though they have decided to no longer credit me for the work I'm going to post it here.


If you are finding that no matter what you do you just can’t rack up a decent amount of kills it might be your weapons letting you down. Custom classes allow you to go into a battle with any weapon you want (provided you have unlocked it) and save it for the next battle if you like it. Skill goes along way but if you have a shotgun in a sniper map you are not going to get far. Remember “you don’t bring a pistol to a machine gun fight!”

When creating a custom class ask yourself these questions:
  1. Will it be appropriate for the maps I want to play on?
  2. Will it be appropriate for the game type I want to play?
  3. What attachments have I got and what do I need to unlock to make this loadout better?
  4. What perks have I got and will they be appropriate for the weapons I have chosen?

Lets look at each question individually. Question one asks us what maps we want to play on. Think about the maps in MW2, are they all designed for the one type of fighting (sniper fights, CQB etc…) or are they all different? Some maps fall under more than one category. For example Highrise is a good sniper map but with the underground tunnels it is also good if you like to get up close and personal.

Question two ties in well here. If you are playing free for all sniping is no good because with out backup you can’t hunker down anywhere for a decent length of time. So in this instance using a Sub-machine gun would be better because it gives you mobility and a high rate of fire in short to medium range battles which are common for free for all matches. However in Team Deathmatch or domination sniping is a viable method of attack.

In MW2 weapons can be upgraded with attachments. However attachments need to be earned so if you are new to MW2 you will need to play a little more to unlock then but you can do it faster by playing one game type with the same weapon. Free for all is the best for all weapons except the sniper rifle where unless you can quick scope having some backup will be needed. Back to topic, if you’re playing on maps that combine close quarters with more long range fighting then you will want a red dot/holographic sight or if you like the iron sight then perhaps the grenade launcher would be better. Hang on a grenade launcher at close range? Yes, if you shoot the grenade at close range straight into your opponent it will kill then instantly. Think of it as a solid-shot shotgun. Otherwise firing it at a nearby wall will do the job too. For maps that focus on long range but require you to move about (e.g. wasteland on free for all) then the ACOG scope on any assault rifle will do. While increasing the accuracy of the weapon over a distance it will not increase the range of the gun so don’t bother putting it on a MP5 or something like that unless you are trying to unlock a challenge. Also the ACOG makes weapons difficult to fire accurately at close range. If you are trying for stealth the heartbeat sensor is great for seeing through walls and around corners and the silencer means that when you fire your weapon you don’t show up on the radar as a red dot making infiltration easy.

Perks are add-ons to a player’s performance. From running longer to adding more than one attachment to a weapon. Again many of these need to be unlocked but the best for new players are marathon, stopping power and steady aim. Bling allows you to have two attachments on your primary weapon. One attachment is all you need unless you are trying to unlock the bullet penetration challenge where having a heartbeat sensor with FMJ makes finding targets easier. For close quarters commando increases the range at which you can knife people. Good for if you have multiple enemies and little ammo in a small space. For Game types like domination, marathon gives you unlimited sprint so you can defend objectives with ease. For those who like to quick scope then invest your time in unlocking slight of hand pro, This makes aiming down the sight faster.

Finally name your classes appropriately. Don’t leave them custom class one, custom class two etc… It just takes longer to find the loadout you want. I name them the primary and secondary weapon in that slot (e.g. AK-47 / USP-45) or you can name them by game type or by fighting method (e.g. CQB).

And of course practice makes perfect. Find what weapons and attachments suit you and use those. The more comfortable you are with a weapon the better you’ll be. There is no perfect gun in MW2 just the right loadout for the right job.

1 comment:

  1. Good read! While the average casual gamer will no doubt just jump-in’n’gun, its always interesting to see what goes through the mind of a hardened FPS’er.

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