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2024-10-16 NADML DRAFT SEASON 6 ...
2017-10-06 Summer Of Q2 Cup Finale
2017-09-10 Pepek passed away
2017-08-27 David wins at QuakeCon
2017-07-10 q2scene discord
2016-11-20 All-Stars TDM for Chr ...
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The weapons in quake2 are needless to say, a very important part of the game. You always hear about people knowing the inner secrets on how to aim with any gun. I don't and I'm not a spectacular aimer in any ways, but I'll just give some advice on how to use different weapons to the best effect. Some stuff is really obvious and anyone playing for more than a week knows it, but still, it's worth mentioning if you're new to the game. This is a column for those who just can't hit anything, just felt completely bored and pretty sure noone else would bother typing it :) As always it's written on the fly, so don't expect it to cover every area or be too specific/detailed in every way.
Again, you'll never read yourself to become a good player. You become good with practice, playing the game, but maybe something here is worth reading, so that's why I wrote it.
A general rule though:
leading:
aiming at the spot you think the enemy will be at at the time the projectile(s) will hit (cross the path of the opponent). This goes for any gun online, as ping always will delay the shots. This means always (unless predicting the opponent switching direction of his movement, or if enemy is standing still) aim somewhat in front of the enemy in the direction he moves
- Slow projectile weapons you got to lead more than instant hit weapons.
- The faster the enemy moves, the more you got to lead
- Remember quake2 is played in a 3D environment with a 2D interface, so it's the vertical and horizontal speed of the player on your screen that matters on how much you lead. This means the lead on someone runnig diagonally away from you on the same plane as you is less than the lead you need on someone running sideways compared to you, if their in-game speed is the same.
- With slow projectiles the lead also is influenced by the distance from you and the target, the slower the projectile, the longer the distance, the more you got to lead
- With hitscan weapons (instant hit), the amount of lead decreases with the distance (the same way the size of the enemy on screen is smaller in distance, the lead is smaller)
I: RAILGUN (RG):
damage per hit: 100
rate of fire: 1 per 1.5 sec
Oh my, the aim-gun #1. This gun is a hitscan weapon, meaning the projectiles hit the target instantly, delivering damage when the projectiles hits in between the hitbox of the opposing player. A good railer needs either a good connection or be really good at anticipating the opponent's moves. Good reflexes, high awereness and a steady hand certainly help as well.
Some tips:
- mostly used on medium and long distance, or close vs harmless enemies or as a last attempt to frag/damage opponent
- don't keep your finger on the fire button, but try and aim each shot. A good player can anticipate your next shot easily if you hold in fire, and easily avoid getting hit
- easiest to rail enemies moving in straight lines on the same level (moving horizontally on your screen) as you
- don't neccessarily attempt hitting two rails in a row on opponents, rail them once then use a gun with higher spread and/or rate of fire (supershotgun or chaingun) to do the finishing
- be patient if you're low on ammo or slugs are sparse. If you got the time, wait for the best moment to fire the slug
- keep distance to your opponent when using the rail, and don't stand too much still. It makes you an easy target for other players.
- aim at ITEMS close to a player, and rail him as he goes to pick it up. Weapons left behind by dead players, healthpacks, ammo, megahealth, armors etc, all items that players are likely to pick up on his way around the map
- always let the rail hover over spawnspots/teleporter exits in case enemy appears there, if no enemy is in sight, if you have high ping, you might want to aim a bit infront of it
- in cases where you rely on reflex shots around corners for instance, a good idea is to move your crosshair a bit away from the corner, due ping and reaction time the enemy wont neccessarily be standing on the corner when the shot finally is fired, but standing farther into the room/opening
- find rail angles on maps, places where you can easily hit the enemy but where he can't see you before it's too late. For instance standing by the SSG-window on q2dm1, railing someone jumping up to the box near backpack in megaroom
- the higher ping, the less usable the rail is in close combat
- rail is a good weapon to use to get a "feel" of the ping on the server. But do also use other weapons during warmup !
- avoid facing another player in an direct rail vs rail battle if it can be avoided, unless you're overly stacked on health and ammo and the enemy is low, or if you're desperately trying to overthrow a stacked enemy yourself
Aiming:
There are numerous ways of aiming when railing, and everyone got their own techniques and secrets. One of the best advice when using the rail is to be on level with your opponent, that way you just need to think about the sideways movements and not the movement up and down on your screen. Aiming only horizontally is a lot easier than aiming in all 4 directions at once.
Set-up rails:
The easiest rails (next to hitting a stillstanding target which I pray everyone can do by now) are the ones where your crosshair stands still, and your opponent just moves into it. All you have to do then is hit the fire at the right time, it's all a matter of timing and that's something most people can do quite easy with a bit practice. This way of lining up shots is used by almost everyone during the course of a game.
Pros:
- very reliable and accurate
- easy to execute
- works with higher pings, just time it with the ping
- works well regardless distance
Cons:
asiest when opponent is moving in straight lines, so it requires the opponent not to be aware of you
- takes time lining up the shot as well as well as waiting for the enemy to run into it
- requires you to stand still, makes you an easy target as well
- hard to execute as soon as movement becomes somewhat irregular
- works best in wide open areas, as you need to get the "feel" of the enemy movement and speed so you can predict where his heading, and place the crosshair somewhat infront of him
Strafe-rails:
Using the step left and step right keys to move your crosshair back and forth is smoother and easier to control than moving the crosshair back and forth with the mouse. Besides it makes it easier to finely adjust the rail by a little twitch with the mouse just before firing. A good way to battle someone with rail is to use the strafekeys to get him close to the crosshair and follow his moves by strafing back and forth along with your opponent. Then either time the rail by trying to hold the crosshair still (either compared to the map, or compared to the player) while strafing back and forth and make him strafe into it (different variations of doing these rails), and time the rail. Or just perform a minor "flick" to hit the target if he is close to the crosshair. There are many different ways of aiming using the strafing, but it's often used in mid range vs a player who tries to "dodge" the rail or is firing a rail back at you. The uttermost extreme of strafing, is to strafe in a circle around the enemy, he being the center, while holding the crosshair fixed on him.
Pros:
- works great in direct combat with a player who is aware of you having rail out
- not hard to get decently high accuracies
- makes you harder to hit as well as you don't stand still
Cons:
- harder to hit as the crosshair isn't completely motionless due to you being in movement
- requires some time from you see the opponent till you set up the rail and fire
- don't forget to strafe somewhat irregularily back and forth if facing another railer
Air rails:
Ever wondered why you're railed so easily? If you think jumping a lot will make you a harder target you better think it over again. The amount of aircontrol (ability to change direction while being in the air) in quake2 is very small, so railing someone who jumps or is in mid air is not hard at all, it's actually one of the few times you almost know exactly where your opponent will be in the next tenths of a second. Just aim where he will land and as soon as he lands just time the rail. Usually the best way to hit someone flying through the air in longer distances than a normal up and down jump, is to picture yourself the falling curve and place your crosshair a bit futher down on it than the player (but not too far down, as it's easier to picture yourself the curve in proximity of the enemy), and just wait for him to cross the path of the crosshair and time the railshot.
Pros:
- easy to hit with higher accuracies, often considered a "safe" shot
- one of the easiest shots with higher pings
Cons:
- requires player to be in the air
- if you only go for air rails, players often learn how you aim and will make it harder for you to hit them by not jumping or performing "fake" strafejumps (utilizing the minimal aircontrol there is in q2, to cut their jumps short)
Flick-rails:
Have you seen players pull crazy rails where they just moves the crosshair quickly right at the target, fires and hits almost dead on? The rails where no strafing is involved (it's all in the movement of the mouse) and where the mousemovement and railshot is executed in one quick singular motion are called flick-rails. These rails are maybe one of the hardest to do, as they require a lot of repetitions and practice to get the right "feel", and is hard to rely on and getting high accuracies with.
Pros:
- extremely fast to execute, the time from preparing the shot till actually pressing fire is minimal. Gives you an immediate advantage, as it can be done whilst performing jumps, fighting other players etc
- hard for opponent to anticipate, impossible to "dodge" by moving irregularily etc
- usefull in combat situations while being under for instance rocket fire, as it can be executed while having high speed, doing jumps and dodging rockets etc
Cons:
- very hard to execute at a decently high accuracy
- harder to do with higher pings (need to put the lead needed into the flickshot) and over longer distances (smaller hitbox)
Prediction rails:
In these days players do not only fire rails when they actually have the enemy in sight, they often fire rails where they think the enemy will show up before even seeing them. These shots are not so much about aim, as they are about anticipation of the opponents moves and sounds and really knowing the map well. There are varying degrees in the difficulty of prediction rails, as well as different ways of performing them, but they are best used where there are "standardized movement patterns", meaning you have a very good feeling about how long it will take to get from A to B (how many jumps, what items to be picked up etc). Anyway, place the crosshair right next to a corner or doorway or anywhere an emeny might appear. And fire, if you're lucky the enemy peeks out JUST as you press the key. Can also be used with for instance strafing, meaning you have already placed your crosshair before seeing the enemy, but using the strafe to jump around the corner and frag him immediately.
A good example is on q2dm1, while standing by the megaledge in the arena. As someone goes up lift you'll hear them pick up the healthpack and the armor, then they will in 80% of the cases go down to mega. Most players will anticipate this, and place the crosshair exactly in the corner where the edge of the GL-area and the wall meet (to your left of the GL). They will in many cases never even see the enemy, but make a blind predicion shot that can hit a pixel of the enemy body and deliver 100 points of instant damage.
Pros:
- getting the first hit
- impossible to counter as they can't hit you from behind the wall, or "dodge" it as it's all done by feeling
- no real aim needed, just anticipation and mapknowledge
- works in more cramped, smaller, narrower areas
- works great against peekers
Cons:
- takes a lot of practice to get done at a decent rate, and still then it's quite often a waste of slugs
- if you miss the shot, you're quite volunerable during the reload time, and you also have revealed your location to some degree
Reflex rails:
Instead of firing BEFORE you see the enemy around a corner etc, another solution is to fire AS SOON as you see him peek around the corner. This is done by fixing your crosshair on a point just next to a corner, and be prepared to fire as soon as you see the enemy model. The key is to position yourself in a place where the enemy will not see you before you see him, or a place where he will not anticipate you standing (if you dont, that will make you very volunareble for spam and lower pingers!!) Another thing you need to have in your mind is your reaction time, as well as your ping. Even on lan, you have a slight reaction-time, so you are adviced placing your crosshair a bit to the side of the corner. Remeber listening to sounds, it will help on your reaction time knowing when the enemy is likely to appear.
For instance, when standing by mega on q2dm1 and waiting for someone to appear in the SSG-window moving towards the ssg or health, you don't want to place your crosshair to the uttermost right of the window (closest to the water). Since it's a delay from the time you actually see the enemy, till the shot is fired, you should fix your crosshair on the left side of the window, while still having your eyes fixed on the right side. By the time the shot has been fired, the opponent is more likely to be near that spot than the first.
Can also be combined with a small flickshot to compensate for the distance the enemy has moved. That way you can easily switch from doing plain predictionshots, to making a reflex shot if the enemy appears while you're setting up your shots.
Pros:
- a good way to hit the enemy unprepared, more "safe" than plain prediction
- more effecient usage of ammo, as you at least fire when seeing the enemy (unlike predictionbased shots)
- even if standing still, you're still quite safe from enemy fire (NB: read below)
Cons:
- very much ping dependant
- slower to execute than the predictionshot, meaning if the enemy performs a predictionshot on you, he will make the first contact (that's why you need to be standing in more or less unsuspectable spot)
- if high ping: makes you very volunerable in those tenths of a second between seeing the enemy untill the shot is fired (for instance when playing vs a lpb railer), that's why you need to be standing in more or less unsuspectable spot
- doesn't work very well on peekers, players who very quickly moves in and out of your view
- needs a bit of room between the corner and the place where you aim, limits the use of the shot
How to avoid getting hit:
- if in open area move irregularily, strafe back and forth, move back and forth, crouch swiftly and jump (don't jump full length strafejumps, always try to jump irregularily as well, meaning shorter jumps in weird directions)
- don't fall into a pattern when it comes to movement, railing is not just point and click, but also anticipation of enemy's movement, make yourself as hard to predict as possible
- hug walls in hallways so opponent has to aim at you before firing
- don't move in straight lines even behind walls, it's not always best moving as fast as possible from A to B
- avoid open areas alltogether
- use another weapon to knock his aim off, for instance shotgun on long distances
- hide behind boxes and other obstacles, and time the exit with the reloading of the railgun
- avoid long falls, speedjumping and being in water
- in all instances, avoid being the center of the battle, keep yourself to the edges
II: ROCKET LAUNCHER (RL):
damage: 100-120 (splashdamage)
rate of fire: 5 per 4 secons
NB: max splashdamage from own rockets is 50 health (when not having armor), so be sure to have more than 50 health when performing a rocketjump.
Ok, this is the mother of all quakeweapons, and is most likely the gun you are using the most throughout your quaking career. It's widely known for it's slow projectiles and its devastating splash damage. It does not actually require a direct hit to deliver damage, it's enough it explodes close to the enemy. A good rl'er needs to be able to read opponents moves very well, be able to utilize geometry and layout of the map, as well as having a quick mind and hand.
Tips:
- rocketlauncher (RL) is best used in close to mid range, going for direct hits on long distance is hopeless
- always aim at the feet of the opponent, and a bit infront of him in the direction he moves
- ALWAYS try to keep the high ground, meaning being positioned higher than him. This makes it a lot easier hitting with the rockets, and a lot harder for him to hit you with his rockets
- RL is also a strategical weapon, meaning you can use it to direct the way your opponent plays by forcing him to move where you want him, fire rockets at exits if enemy is retreating, or between him and you if enemy is attacking
- unless the enemy is engaged in combat elsewhere, on long distance use RL only for controlling rockets, as you have no chance hitting an enemy who sees it coming from far away
- fire rockets at ITEMS, players are often too focused about picking up items they forget checking if there is a rocket coming straight at them
- fire at walls, low roofs and any other obstacles (corpses are perfect) if the floor can't be used
- also good used for fake watersounds, fire at the surface of the water to make it sound like you dropped into water.
Aiming:
Opposed to rail, where good and bad aim is so easy to notice, RL aim is somewhat harder to see. You don't neccessarily need a pin point accuracy to be a good RL'er, but you need a really good flickshot to truly use the RL to it's extreme. The RL aim is more based on reading the movement of the enemy and fire "leading" rockets, meaning anticipating where your opponent will be "at impact", not where he is as you fire. The rocket moves quite slowly through the air, and thats why you need to always aim ahead of the enemy's direction of movement, the farther away, the more you got to lead your shots, but that also gives the enemy more time to dodge the rocket. Being able to quickly read the enemy's movement and move your crosshair from point A to point B is essential, and that's why good flick-aim is a good thing to have when it comes to RL. The closer the enemy is, the quicker you got to move your crosshair, and often over the longest distance you need to move it. Another thing you need is a good feel of the speed of the rockets, as well as the speed of the enemy, and finally the feel of distances in quake2. Using rockets combined with high speed is a lot harder than when walking, and when the opponent is moving fast it's only adds to the equation.
Basic rocket battles:
Close to midrange battles versus opponents on a more or less levelled floor are most common. In these battles the thing to do is to make your opponent move where you want, fire leading rockets forcing him close to a wall, box or any obstacle that you can use to maximize the chance of getting splashdamage on the enemy. In the open, all you can do is use the floor to get splashdamage on him. Once you get them close to a wall or corner in any sorts, not only do you have an easier time getting splashdamage on them, their movement choices are limited making it even easier to lead your rockets. Instead of having 4 directions of which to move, now they may have 2 or 3.
Rockets on jumpers:
A jumping target is easy to anticipate, so just fire the rocket at where he will land and you'll do quite a bit of damage. Also fire rockets at objects and walls where the jumper tries to jump to. For instance on q2dm1, fire rockets at walls and roof and the sides of the boxes when someone jumps from box to box. Fire a rocket straight up in the roof between mega and the box by ammopack when someone jumps to mega, that way you'll knock them down. And fire a rocket at where they land, and you have basically killed a stacked opponent with 2 rockets.
Flick rockets:
For instance when being chased, instead of running backwards or slowing down, just do 180 degrees turn as you jump and fire a rocket straight back at the enemy and turn 180 degrees again and move forward. Also when battles happen at high speed, you wont have the time to align each shot, carefully positioning your crosshair with pinpoint accuracy. Instead, use your flickaim to fire rockets at an enemy who changes directions quickly. Also good when you knock the enemy away with the splashdamage of the first rocket, to quickly fire a second one exactly where he will land.
Prediction rockets:
Fire at walls, corners, stairs, doorways, teleporters, spawnpads or anywhere the enemy might appear in any second. This way you get the first hit, or you will force the enemy to retreat or hold his attack. Combine this with good mapknowledge, using sounds and anticipation. Or to hold enemies away from your line of sight, either from chasing you, or from taking an item, or from attacking you from distance etc.
Strategical rockets:
There are many occasions where you fire rockets that aren't really meant to actually hit the enemy, but to force the enemy to move in other directions. If your enemy is low on health, fire behind him. If your enemy is high on health fire in front of him. If you see him make an escape, fire rockets at the exits, not on him, or on any exit you dont want him to use. This way you can litterally force him into a conrer for instance. Also, fire rockets at items you dont want him to pick up. For instance if there is a railgun lying in the arena on q2dm1, and both of you want it bad, fire rockets at it continously while dropping down picking it up yourself.
Air-rockets/direct hit rockets:
Air-rockets are rockets that hit players who are airborne. It's pretty much the same as extreme hpb railing on players who are airborne, just vision yourself the falling curve, and fire a rocket quite a bit further down on it than the current position of your enemy. If you're skilled and/or lucky, the rocket will actually connect. If the enemy is falling close to a wall or any other obstacle, aim at that instead so you wont be needing a direct hit rocket to damage him (allthough that is a lot nicer) Direct hit rockets are rockets that hit the hitbox directly, not through splashdamage. These rockets are harder to hit, but they are often used where it's hard to connect with splashdamage. For instace fighting someone who are on higher ground than you, or battles in big open water areas. The key is of course to aim ahead of the enemy, but instead of the floor or roof or walls etc, aiming for the middle of the hitbox.
Rocketjump attacks:
This is often totally overlooked by many players. Just get as close to your enemy, do a rocketjump on his head or right next to him, and he will suffer the splashdamage and you will not only make a quick escape, but might use it to get other stuff like megaheatlh or armors etc. Very usefull on q2dm1 when having just above 50 health and wanting the megahealth. The enemy does not often anticipate these attacks and you may catch him by suprise. Hit and run in the quake2 world. Another way off rocketjump attack, is to rocketjump almost straight up, and while being at the highest point of the curve, fire rocket straight down on the opponent. This way you'll get the higher ground, without the need of boxes or maplayout. Can be a nice suprise attack. NB: A ROCKETJUMP DOES MAXIMUM 50 HEALTH DAMAGE ON AN UNARMORED PLAYER
Speed and rockets:
By speedjumping, you can actually outrun your rockets. This is quite nice when setting up rocket attacks. The key is to get as high speed into the battle as possible, fire a rocket then run after it and fire the other as soon as you've caught up with the first. This will result in a double-rocket explosion, that will practically annihilate your opponent. For instance when running from SSG towards mega, and attacking someone coming from the chain, you get enougn speed to execute such an attack. Devastating to say the least. Also works with falls, when you drop down from the lift to someone coming out of lower rl you can hit him with a double rocket as well.
How to avoid rockets:
- on long and medium distance, dodge them by strafing or moving back and forth or jumping over them
- on medium and close range by moving irregularily making you hard to predict, and strafejump away from rockets fired right at you
- avoid walls and corners and low roofs, and other things that makes you a target for splashdamage, if the roof is low, crouch
- always stay on the higher ground
- move unpredictable behind walls so you're not an easy target for prediction rockets
- if very low, as a last resort go as close to the opponent as possible, that way chances are big he will get hurt quite a bit by his own splashdamage
- if fighting someone being near a stairway, always stay near the middle of it, away from the walls and the bottom/top, hitting someone standing in the middle of a stairway with the splashdamage is a lot harder than doing so on a levelled floor
- use your ears! you can often hear the rockets coming, even around corners
III: CHAINGUN (CG):
damage: 6
rate of fire:
20 per second in the first second
40 per second after the first second
lowest amount of ammo used per press of the fire button is 9 bullets, it fires 9 bullets after letting go of the fire button. Max damage per second is 240.
Chaingun is perhaps one of the strongest weapons in q2 used correctly. It's drawback is how fast it eats bullets when firing at its highest rate of fire, and the slow delay it takes to reach that rate. Anyway, as a finishing weapon it's unsurpassed and in the hands of a good and smart chainer it can actually be the primary weapon. As a dueller it's one of the guns you just have to master, you don't want to lose any chain vs chain battles where you have the higher health coming into the battle!
Tips:
- used medium to close range, due to the slight spread it's not as effective on long distance but still delivers some damage if you must use it
- used primarily as a finishing weapon, any opponent with 100 health or less without armor should be pretty easy to chain down with 200 bullets.
- be carefull when using it, don't let it run out of bullets before you can either get away with it or the enemy being dead. Being caught close up chaining running out of bullets is quite often gonna turn the table around completely and you'll end up dead yourself
- if enemy hides behind obstacles, don't be afraid of letting go of the fire key to save some bullets, even with the slower rate of fire the 1st second the chaingun is quite deadly for a low health player
- always remember to lead with the chaingun with any ping above lan-ping, how much is of course related to the ping. The higher ping, the more you gotta chain ahead, as well as anticipate the opponents moves.
- work on being able to run fast while chaining, it really helps when chasing someone
- think about how you position yourself when chaining, put yourself in between the enemy and the exit you least want him to escape from, in order to block his escape route. Get good angles on the enemy, so as many bullets as possible connect.
- be on the same level as your opponent, trackaiming in 2 dimensions is way harder than just aiming sideways in the horizontal plane
Aiming:
When using the chaingun you need tracking aim, meaning the ability to keep the crosshair locked on a target for a longer period of time, not just for an instant moment as you do with for instance rail. The fact that anyone can hit a few shots with the chain even with bad aim is probably the main reason some people think it's not required much aim or practice to use the chaingun. This is quite wrong, the difference between a good chainaim and a mediocre one is often the deciding factor in duels. Of course knowing when to use it also means a great deal.
Strafe aiming:
This is the primary way of using the chain, to strafe along with your enemy, using the smooth movement from strafing to easier lock the crosshair on your target. It certainly helps out when using a bit higher sensitivity. Just strafe the way the enemy is moving, place your crosshair just a bit infront of him depending on the ping, and just hold the crosshair fixed at that point ahead of him while strafing. This will deliver a huge amount of damage if done right. Also works very well on close distance!
Track-aiming:
If not being able to strafe along with your enemy, just use the move the crosshair with the mouse only. It's not as smooth, but with some practice you can get quite the decent aim this way too. Again, just remember to lead your shot a bit, as well as tracking the enemy with the same speed as he is moving with. Read where he is moving and try to force him to move in straight lines or into the open.
How to avoid the chaingun:
- get out of sight! use the layout of the map, use corners, boxes, doorways, lifts, duck behind ledges or anything to make you a harder target, let him run out of bullets chaining a crate
- pick up bullets! Always when someone is whoring the chaingun, pick up all the bulltes you can, if your bullet-carrying capacity is full, either drop some bullets somwhere, or have the machinegun out firing while walking over the bullets
- if unable to escape quickly, move irregularily, don't run towards or away from a chaining enemy, but sideways or diagonally in his view
- always know where the enemy is, so he doesn't catch you by suprise in open areas where you have to run in straight lines to be able to get away
IV: HYPERBLASTER (HB):
damage: 15
rate of fire: 10 shots per seconds
note: instant fire, but have a slight run-down time
The dark horse of quake2 in my eyes, as people tend to forget all about this gun. It has a dark past of being the lag-gun #1, but with nowadays' lpb connections those days are mostly gone. The good thing about hyperblaster is the fact that it uses the ammmo much slower than the chaingun, so when chasing someone you wont run out of ammo as fast. Besides, it eats it's way through armor like no other gun. If someone is wearing the Red Armor, just use the hyperblaster on him and take his health away without removing much of the armor. It's quite scary how well it works that way. Another thing is the ability to secure entrances or exits with it, just place the beam of plasma on a doorway for instance, and anyone will think twice before entering, or chasing you.
Tips:
- used to the fullest effect at close range, more a defensive weapon on medium range as opponents can more or less dodge the cells
- works great in corridors or other confined spaces
- always lead quite a bit with the hyper, don't aim straight at the target, but where he will be when the cells pass his line of movement
- don't think of it as single cells, but as you're using a fire hose or anything similar, just try to catch the enemy in the stream of fire, or force him to move into it
- works wonders against enemies with lots of armor, as it eats almost straight through armor (especially red), don't work good vs players having the powershield
- great quad gun
- works good on defense, to secure your escape by firing backwards to avoid the enemy chasing you, also works good to hold a area by firing at entrances. Use the delayed projectiles to your adavantage
- stay on the same level as your enemy, aiming hyper in 2 dimensions is incredibly much harder than just aiming horizontally
Aiming:
I often think of the hyperblaster as chaining with (very) high ping. Except that the bigger the distance is between you and the target, the more you got to lead, I often lead by a quarter of a screen or more on long distances. The closer you get to the target the easier it is to hit as you don't have to lead as much. Remember that the hyper is almost a continously ray of cells coming from your gun, so try to catch the enemy in the ray. The hard thing with hyperblaster on longer distance is that you rarely have the chance to make it up if you lead too much or too little or move the crosshair too slow or fast, as by the time the cells connect the enemy will be gone by the time the cells you're firing now will hit. So mostly you take wild guess and just hope it will work.
Strafe-aim:
Works great on medium and close distance, just strafe with your enemy and fix your crosshair at an imagined "point" ahead of him, and just let the hyperblaster do the talking. Unless the opponent does some sudden moves, you'll have him killed in no time. It works best when being on the same level as your opponent.
Anticipate enemy movement:
Always anticipate the enemy's movemenet. Not only do you need to find the amount of lead at the current point in time, maybe the opponent is standing still, but will be running when being under fire. That way you need to adjust the lead with the speed of the opponent. The hard thing of course is that his current speed and the speed he will have when the cells hit are two different things.
Fixed beams:
When enemy is on longer distances or very low on health, often it's best to just fire at one point between him and any items or exits he have to move towards. That way you're almost sure to hit if he passes that line, and that's at least damaging the enemy some. Besides, with the fixed beam, you can also manoeuver yourself closer to your target and then close the beam onto him and eventually kill him alltogether. Also, works great when enemy is trapped in a corner, as all his escapes will be blocked.
How to avoid hyperblaster:
- keep distance between you and the hyperblaster, the bigger distance the easier it is to dodge
- move irregularily, don't run in straight lines
- use the layout of the map, hide behind crates, corners and any obstacle
- dodge the "beam" on longer distances, it's often possible to jump over it as well
V: SUPER SHOTGUN (SSG):
damage: 20 pellets per shot, each pellets delivers 6 points of damage (max 120 healthpoints damage per shot)
rate of fire: 1 shot per second
The ssg is a gun that is very unpredictable in the damage it delivers, cause its spread is so wide. This makes it hard for both the user as well as the target to keep track of amount of damage delivered as well as how many hits it will take to kill the target. One shot can instantly kill an enemy, or it can take 5-10 hits. The main reason for this is the spread of the pellets. This means that the closer the enemy is, the more damage is it possible to deliver. Unfortunately, this works the other way around as well, the bigger the distance, the fewer pellets will hit and the less damage will be delivered. Since it's a hitscan weapon, it's very ping-dependant (allthough the spread makes up for it somewhat), more so than many other guns in the way that it's often used in close combat. Anyway, the big secret to ssg is of course to use it close up.
Tips:
- again, use the ssg in close combats, the closer the more damage you can deliver, besides, it can deliver as much damage as rl and gl up close, without the risk of taking splashdamge yourself
- the ssg also has a knockback effect on the target, meaning the target will be pushed away from the weapon-user, this small knockback will often mess up the targets movement even completely knocking away its momentum. Use this to slow down fastmoving players in the chase
- utilize the high rate of fire to deliver as much damage as you can while having the enemy in sight, it's not so important to hold your fire as with the railgun
- the spread will decrease its effectiveness on medium and long distance, but it's still usefull to tear away a bit of health and armor, for instance get a couple hits with the ssg on long distance to take away the armor, then finish him off with a rail
- to come as close to enemy as possible, either use speed or use the maplayout, meaning wait with the ssg out around corners, on the other side of teleporters, on top of lifts etc. Oldest trick in the book is to crouch on the chainstairs in megaroom, waiting for someone coming from lift to peek around the corner, and hit them dead on with a 120 damage ssg-shot
- unlike chaingun, the ssg rarely runs out of shells when chasing someone in order to finish them off, so if you are chasing someone through cornered corridors and rough terrain, use the ssg to not run out of ammo, as well as slowing down opponent
- quaddamage + ssg = gg
- avoid ssg vs ssg unless going for a kill on a stacked enemy or having way more health than the opponent, the damage it delivers is quite unpredictable in medium/close combats
Aim:
SSG is a hitscan weapon, meaning delivering instant damage to the target. It's spread, rate of fire and usage in close combats will make it somewhat different in use than the railgun. You rarely line up ssg shots, as you do with the rail. It's cause in the time it takes to line up a perfect ssg shot you could probably have fired 2 or 3 shots. It's a matter of delivering damage fast, but do it consistant.
Flick-shots:
Well, since they aren't really lined up shots, or used with strafing, I'll just call them flickshots. You just move the crosshair quickly near the target, adjust the leading somewhat according to the ping, and fire. It's done as quickly as possible, and is repeated through the chasing sequenze. It's mostly used in high paced chases, or while being under fire yourself. That way you can maintain focus on your own movement, while still delivering a great deal of damage to opponent. Just keep the enemy in the center of your screen when firing.
Strafe-shots:
Often it's better to be more methodical on the approach, if you have the enemy slowed down and he is close to you, just use the strafekeys to set up each shot, as soon as he crosses the path of your crosshair, fire. Circling around the opponent this way keeping him in the center is quite usefull. It's quite effective, even more so with a slight flick to adjust the crosshair if needed.
Stillstanding shots:
Every shot you make where you just wait for the enemy to come into view. The sneaky way of killing someone. Just wait around corners or any place on the map where the enemy will be caught off gaurd. Then just hit fire by reflex or timing when the enemy appears. Be warned though, opponents easily learn your evil tricks, so use this with care.
How to avoid being hit:
- keep your distance! don't get close, you never want to get close to a ssg-user, no matter your health unless you can survive a direct hit or two
- again, use the layout of the map, hide behind boxes and crates and corners
- when being chased, try to time the jumps and turns with the rate of fire. You don't want to be knocked straight ahead into the lava when you really wanted a 90 degree left turn. It's better to slow down before the turn and do it while running, than jumping. Another neat trick is to use the knockback to boost your forward speed in straight corridors or hallways :)
- don't wait for someone to run out of shells, they wont, escape before they come close up on you
VI: SHOTGUN (SG):
damage: 12 pellets, each delivers 4 points of damage (max 48 health points damage)
rate of fire: 1 shot per second
The littlebrother of the SSG, used in similar ways.
- works as a mini-railgun on longer distances though, so it's not a bad idea to switch from ssg to sg when firing at someone on long distance, it's more effective damage wise and less shells used.
- it's spread makes it a safe hitting weapon, allthough the damage is low
- up close it can deliver suprisingly high damage, combined with high rate of fire and a slight knockback it's not a weapon to completely disregard
- good at knocking off someones railaim on long distance, for instance.
- good quadweapon
- good practice for the railaim
VII: MACHINE GUN (MG):
damage: 8 points per bullet
rate of fire: 10 bullets per second
Tracking aim like chaingun, allthough lower rate of fire. Even then it can deliver 80hp damage per second, and with 200 bullets you can fire constantly for 20 seconds, which is quite nice. It's spread makes it a bit hard to hit on longer distances.
Tips:
- use it close/medium distance
- a good alternative to chaingun when having very few bullets in your inventory, and the nearly-dead enemy is playing the hide and peek game behind crates and corners, as it has instant fire and no rundown time, as well as deliver more damage per bullet
- good quadweapon
- use it to pick up bulletpacks when playing someone abusing the chain
IIX: GRENADE LAUNCHER (GL):
damage: 100 (also deliver splashdamage)
rate of fire: 1 shot per second
One of the most hated or loved weapon in the game. It's a very different weapon than the others. First off it's limited in range, meaning you can't fire it across maps, and is limited in height as well. Second off, its projectile doesn't move in a straight line, unaffected by the gravity, meaning you don't neccessarily hit where the crosshairs is pointing, often quite the opposite. Thirdly it's projectile doesn't explode unless it's a direct hit, or if a certain amount of time has passed. All these factors makes the grenadelauncher a different weapon than most of the ones mentioned above. The only weapon it share some similarities with is the rocketlauncher, cause it has the same explosion combined with splashdamage as well as slow moving projectile.
Tips:
- great for defense, fire grenades backwards to cover your retreat, if you move at high speed, you can even fire straight ahead or straight up, to force your enemy to slow down his chase
- use it strategically, set up traps, or spam at entrances where enemy might appear to keep him from entering, fire it at items you don't want him to pick up
- use it to reach areas of the map not reachable by other weapons, use the bouncing of the nades to reach the enemy around corner, on lower levels, or anywhere on the map you can't hit him with a direct shot by other weapons
- use the maplayout to bounce the nades around corners, or places else extremely hard to reach
- can be used for fancy air-nade frags, with a direct hit in the air
- works great for combo attacks, lay down a grenade, switch weapon and deliver a double damage by firing with the second weapon as the nade explodes on him
- in order to make it explode just as it's close to the enemy, make it move forward slower by bouncing it on the floor. Fire at an angle on the floor, the closer to straight down, the slower it will move forward, the closer to straight ahead, the faster it will move.
- fire nades at CORPSES lying on the ground for instant explosion, if an enemy is close to a corpse, don't try to hit the enemy, just fire the nade at the corpse
- also good used for fake watersounds, fire at the surface of the water to make it sound like you dropped into water.
IX: HANDGRENADES (HG):
damage: 125 (also deliver splashdamage)
rate of fire: 1 shot per 2 seconds
Nades takes some time to get used to, but in the hands of a skilled player they are devastating. This is due the timing, it counts down untill exploding while holding in the firebutton. The longer you hold it, you also throw it longer, but it will explode sooner. If you hold it too long, it will explode in your hand.
Hints:
- learn to count down the nades by sound as well as by seconds, this is extremely helpfull both when using them, as well as when being the target for them
- if not having any other weapon, always hold the nade out, this will make your enemy keep distance
- a ticking nade will always scare the opponent away unless he have health enough to survive a hit
- being killed with a ticking nade out will often result in the nade exploding in your hands, if you hold a ticking nade, try to get as close to the opponent as possible so you may kill him with the explosing. As well as he is more likely to suffer splashdamge from his own rockets.
- do not always throw the nades as late as possible, sometimes it's a good idea to break the "rythm" of which you throw the nades on your opponent, this will keep him more alert and keep more distance
- a good tossed nade is close to impossible to dodge, as it explodes by timing, not by the hit
- when being chased, keep dropping nades by hitting the firekey, this will lay down "mines" that can be hard for the enemy to see in the heat of the battle
- if triggering the nade before seeing the enemy, chances are high he wont know exactly when it will explode, and you will have a bit of an advantage. Works great when using nades coming out of or in to water.
- also good used for fake watersounds, fire at the surface of the water to make it sound like you dropped into water.
X: BFG10k (BFG)
rate of fire: 1 per 2 seconds
The big fucking gun. Is not hard to use, but can be used even better if used correctly.
for more indepth knowledge on how it works. To make it simple, it has laserbeams that delivers damaged, it has a direct hit damage, as well as an explosion radius damage. Fire at the floor or at a wall close to the target, be sure to have the enemy in your field of view, and there should be some nice damage delivered. Keep in mind the time it takes to charge the gun! This is crucial when running away from BFG, as well as when attacking with it. To avoid bfg, get the hell out of the sight of the gun-user.
XI: BLASTER:
damage: 15 per shot
rate of fire: 2 shots per second
Get close to the target, lead slightly, and move around frantically to avoid getting hit yourself ;D
Tips:
- Fake defenslessness by having the blaster out when having a stronger weapon in your inventory, often players will chase players red headed when seeing they have only blaster. Just wait around the corner with the rl out.
- Fire the blaster down on the floor in teams to tell your teammate(s) you need a weapon.
- Use the blaster to point at stuff
- Also good used for fake watersounds, fire at the surface of the water to make it sound like you dropped into water.
Finally: Who is the best aimer!!:
Aiming is an integral part of quake2 and any other fps game, everyone aims all the time when using weapons. The difference is of course how well they aim over any given period of time. The question is how to objectively tell that someone aims better than others. There are ways to give indications, the most commonly used method is checking in-game accuracies with each of the weapons. This is done in most competitive mods, such as tdm, ra2, ctf, rails etc, just type "accuracy" in the console when playing. The accuracy is pretty much:
(number of hits / number of fired shots) x 100%
So if you fire 100 slugs during a game, but only hit with 20, you have a 20% accuracy on the railgun.
The biggest "flaw" with the accuracy is of course it doesn't distinguish "hard shots" from "easy shots". So if you're always trying to get in hits around corners, or flickshots, or shots in a high pressure situation, you will probably getting lower accuracy than someone who only goes for the "safe shots", meaning where they have plenty time to line up the shots.
So even though checking accuracies are nice and all, be sure to look behind the stats before passing judgements on players' aim. | |
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) damn good work!!
