My Halo 3

Learn the Maps, and the strategies used on them: Part of defeating your opponent is being able to anticipate their actions before they make them. This is of course something you learn over time, but you can quickly learn what another player’s options are if they’re caught in a particular circumstance. Will they go left or right, up or down? What weapon are they using, and what strategy should you use to counter that weapon? Being able to deduce, quickly, the answers to these problems will keep you one step ahead of your opponent.

Run Away: Or retreat when you are grossly outnumbered or outgunned. You may be able to kill one or two, but most of time, 90% of the time, you’ll just die outright. Being able to retreat appropriately to safer, more defensible location, puts even greater enemy odds at a disadvantage. Think about choke points. Even if two or three opponents are chasing you, they still have to cram themselves through a doorway or waste time finding another entrance. If being pursued, don’t stay put, fight on the run. Even a defensible choke point can still be flanked. While you might kill one or two guys at the door, the third may be running around behind you, so be ready to deal with someone who flanks.

Avoid Fighting in the Open: I know it gets all crazy in the center of the map sometimes as all battles seem to reach their climax at the zenith of some hill or the bowels of some ditch. The careful player will use the sidelines as a place to execute hit and run tactics from. Unlike other games, there are no different classes in Halo 3, and thusly no “tanking,” you can wade off no more damage than your opponent. With this in mind, attack from locations that maximize the amount of damage you can do over the amount of damage your opponent can do. Make sure you have an exit strategy every time you attack. How will you be able to kill your target and escape to safety before one of his friends kills you? I would urge players not to attack down a one way street. Attack when you know that you definitely have the upperhand. Defend when your opponents have numerical and/or firepower superiority. Those are just some basic rules of war.”

“If you don’t always have the best weapon, and you are getting shot at. Try to dodge and find cover untill you find a weapon that you know will totally pummle them into the ground. If someone is sniping you or just plan shooting you from far distance, try pushing down the left thumbstick while jumping. It helps alot and makes it much more difficult to aim at you.” -megz (added October 8, 2007)

“Do you know how players can dodge your vehicle when you’re trying to run them over just by jumping? When using the ghost, you can trick people and run them over. First boost at the person like you are going to run them over. When you get a few feet in front of them and they start to jump, STOP, then as they are coming down, use boost and fly straight at them. You should ram them as they are coming down.”

Tags: Halo 3 Tips, strafeing tips, tricks

• Halo 3 Tips
• Comments(0)

Grenade, Melee and Dual Wielding - What is probably the most significant pair of changes may seem minor. Both grenades and melee attacks have gotten a boost in damage and effectiveness that permeates every aspect of multiplayer battles. Since both grenades and melee attacks are now stronger, and since you can only use them with a single weapon, dual wielding in Halo 3 is much less effective than it was in Halo 2. This is an important fact to remember when choosing your weapons.

More on Melee Damage - Here’s something to consider: In Halo 3, two melee strikes with any weapon will kill an opponent with full shields (provided the opponent does not have an overshield). Generally, most weapons deal the same amount of melee damage, though some, like the Brute Shot, deal more damage but still require two hits to kill an opponent outright. A fully charged Plasma Pistol shot followed by any melee attack will now kill an opponent (not the case in previous Halo games) and a single melee attack from a stolen flag will also drop an opponent dead. A number of weapons, including the Battle Rifle and the Magnum pistol, can kill an opponent with one headshot after landing a melee attack.

Sniping Nerfed - Halo 3’s Sniper Rifle is not as good as Halo 2’s. That’s a good thing in our opinion, but nevermind our view because it directly affects your play no matter how you feel about it. Halo 2’s Sniper Rifle had some serious auto-correction that made headshots relatively easy to get with a technique dubbed “sweep sniping.” This is not the case in Halo 3, and consequently getting head shots with the Sniper Rifle is more difficult. Talented shooters can still get instant kills, but keep in mind that most people you play are not that talented. Against these less talented folks (like, uh, us) you can usually be pretty aggressive with a non-sniping weapon and overwhelm a would-be sniper.

Vehicle Balancing - We think the vehicles in Halo 2 were a bit too strong, and it looks like Bungie agrees. There are some balancing changes with the vehicles that generally make them less effective against on-foot soldiers. One major balancing tweak now lets a charged Plasma Pistol shot temporarily stall a vehicle’s engine. Peg a Warthog, Banshee, or even a Scorpion tank with a charged shot and the vehicle’s engine will stop working for about five seconds (a successful hijack will instantly kill the drivers of most vehicles following a Plasma Pistol-induced stall). Otherwise, vehicles seem generally more resilient, as it takes way more to actually destroy a vehicle. Ghosts no longer have a weak spot on their side. Gunfire is almost useless against most vehicles. The balance here is that it seems as though drivers and passengers of vehicles get no protection against guns like they did in Halo 2, as long as you’re shooting exposed bits. Moral of the story: When fighting vehicles, shoot for the drivers and passengers, not the vehicle. The only case in which you’re better off attacking the vehicle directly is if you’ve got a Rocket Launcher, Missile Pod, or grenades (sticky grenades destroy most vehicles instantly).

Rocket Launcher Lost its Balls - If by balls you mean lock-on, and in this case that’s what we mean. Halo 2’s Rocket Launcher had a lock-on feature that made taking out vehicles a brainless task—just point, pull trigger, and the rocket would tenaciously track a moving vehicle target. Halo 3’s Rocket Launcher does not have this lock-on feature, so you’ll have to show a bit of skill if you want to bring down a vehicle with the Rocket Launcher. Again, we think this is a positive change to the multiplayer balancing, but again our opinion doesn’t matter because even if you don’t like the change, it’s real and you’ll have to man up…

…Unless You Have the Missile Pod - Our swooning over the weakened Rocket Launcher is a bit short lived, though, because Halo 3’s Missile Pod has tracking abilities versus vehicles. The Missile Pod’s shots aren’t as powerful as the Rocket Launcher, but it can fire off shots in quick succession and bring down vehicles pretty quickly (it locks on instantly, too, which is better than even Halo 2’s rocket launcher). Thankfully, a carrier of the Missile Pod is burdened with the weight of the weapon and moves slowly.

Shotgun Range - The Shotgun in Halo 2 was always a bit finnicky in our experience, with uneven damage that varied by shot and a really short range that made one-hit kills a bit of a rarity. But this is another example of “no longer the case,” as Halo 3’s Shotgun packs a serious punch. In fact, the Shotgun is now one of our absolute most favorite weapons, especially if you can stick to corners and tight areas for fighting.

Tags: halo 3 balance, Halo 3 Tips, shotgun, tricks

• Game Type Tactics , Halo 3 Tips
• Comments(0)

Communicate
This goes beyond the obvious in-game communication. Let your teammates know when you have real life obligations, or anything that may conflict with practice. Having a flexible schedule is almost necessary to obtain Pro / Semi-Pro status.

Use the same callouts
Not similar callouts, the SAME ones. This increases teamshooting and puts your team on the same page. Get specific, but don’t add too many at once.

Get 3-4 days of solid practice each week
Be prepared to put the time in if you’re serious. Always have the latest MLG gametypes. Start a custom by yourself when your team isn’t on and look for ways to improve your strategies and individual skill. I would highly suggest using some practice time to review gameplays. Avoid over-practicing! It usually causes heavy frustration and arguments between teammates.

Use the Theatre
This is huge for competitive gaming! Each teammate should analyze and takes notes on the chosen gameplay by themselves. Watching from different perspectives is a crucial part of this process. Pay attention to where teams spawn according to your strategy, look at their setups, etc. Join up after and collaborate ideas. Download gameplays from top players / teams when available. A coach would be very helpful in this area for organizing and managing films.

Scrim better and better teams
Losing is a good thing ocassionally - it brings focus to the weak area(s) of your strategies. List your team in a scrim thread somewhere on the forums. Remove and update your Friends List with other GT’s on a team.

Have a positive attitude
One bad attitude can make a team play poor and bring down the morale. Random BS happens, you can’t control it. Keep a good attitude if you are part of a new team. Optimism can help your team win down the stretch. Take a break for at least a few hours if your team is in a slump, maybe even 1-2 days (Assuming the team has been getting solid practice).

Trust your teammates
I cannot stress how important this is. Part of it stems from the responsibility of being online when necessary. Trust is the core of great teams, but usually requires playing together for months.

Experience
It’s also good to have an experienced teammate who knows how to handle intense games. Just make sure the team has someone to keep everyone calm and reiterate strategy in tight situations. Participate in LANs, local tournaments, and MLG Online / Season events as much as possible.

Consider parting ways with your team if you meet ALL of the criteria below:

-Not satisfied with your team
-Consistently lose scrims
-Talked to your teammates and could not come up with a solution
-Exhausted all possible options (Tried using the suggested tips)

Conclusion:

It doesn’t matter if everyone on the team has ridiculous individual talent. A team is like a relationship: You can’t force it to work, there has to be some natural chemistry. Just don’t give up on it too soon.

Always try to leave a team with respect. Nothing is worse than a teammate who anonymously disbands, or doesn’t give an explanation why. There is no sense getting on someone’s bad side because the team didn’t work well together. Networking with good players is key, so don’t talk trash - you never know who the person may be friends with.

Tags: clan, halo 3 multiplayer, practice, team, tips, tricks, tutorial

• Halo 3 Tips
• Comments(0)

General Halo 3 Strategy - When you’re in a bubble shield and your sheilds are down, you are only safe to an extent! Someone will come in and kill you. If you are lucky enough to have any type of sticky grenade stick it to them and jump out. BOOM! Most of the time, they’re dead and you’re not.

Grenades Pro Tip - Focus on grenade placement. Learn level geometry to be better with brute grenades.

Grenades - This isn’t an ordered “Top Ten” list, but Grenades would be #1 if it were. Simply, the man who uses grenades will defeat the man without in an overwhelming majority of scenarios, and it’s surprising how many players treat them as their last line of defense. As long as you’re not fighting on a narrow ledge, you should be throwing Frag and Plasma grenades before you shoot (and during shooting, of course). And you throw grenades at an enemy’s feet, not their head. If they’re backing towards a wall, throw it past them. The goal is to explode it near them, not on them (unless you’re trying to stick them with a Plasma or Spike grenade). The more you throw, the more accustomed you’ll get to leading them — throwing it where they’re going to be rather than where they are — but for now just focus on making grenades an immediate go-to part of your arsenal, and make sure you have a couple on you at all times (more important than, say, going out of your way for the rocket launcher).

Grenade Jumping - This is a skill that is going to take some time to master. The goal is to throw a frag grenade ahead of you so that you can be at the apex of your jump as it blows underneath you, launching you even higher into the air. A skilled player will be able to use this technique to get to places that would otherwise require a Grav Lift.

Tags: halo 3, halo 3 strategy, Halo 3 Tips, tricks

• Halo 3 Tips
• Comments(0)

Practice driving the vehicles on custom games. For the warthog, pay careful attention to how you can use the emergency brake to tighten your turn radius.

• When driving the warthog in combat situation, NEVER STOP.
• Think about driving from one area of cover to another area of cover, letting your gunner mow down whatever he can during the time you’re exposed between the two areas of cover.
• Once you get to the 2nd area of cover, pause by circling around for a bit to let shields recharge, then go back.
• Don’t go through the same path enough times that your opponent will get wise to you & lay down a mine or be ready to stick you.
• Think defensive. Spend more time worried about keeping yourself alive than killing other stuff. The killing will take care of itself.
• Beware the overcharged plasma pistol / power drainer.
• If you hear the missile lock-on noise, it’s time to get something between you and the missiles immediately. Don’t try to sweat it out, it won’t work.
• If you are punishing a simi-fixed target do figure 8’s or a tight dog track back and forth to keep the gunner at a good angle. The gun can pan just as fast as the hog can fishtail so keep the turning radius really tight by using the rear brake and never letting off the gas. If someone throws something in your path (grenade, trip mine, small child) it’s really easy to just abandon that leg of the figure 8 and drive away.

Vehicles Tip: When facing incoming Fuel Rod Gun missiles while driving vehicles, the obvious reaction is to move in reverse. Unless this enables you to move straight behind cover, or over the brow of a hill, it’s actually the worst thing you can do. The most efficient way to evade these deadly projectiles is to accelerate at full speed, veering to the left or right (whichever is appropriate) at an angle that their limited homing function can’t fully track.

Gravity Hammer Tip: If an enemy thinks they are safe behind the glass where the Gravity Hammer spawns on Guardian, teach them otherwise – if you swing the hammer in their direction, its effects will pass through such barriers with ease.

Tags: gravity hammer, halo 3 strategy, Halo 3 Tips, strategy, tricks, vehicles tip, warthog, warthog tips

• Halo 3 Tips
• Comments(0)