============================================================================ MULTIPLAYER COMBAT MANUAL v0.7 BETA By Blade (BladeY2J@hotmail.com) 26th February 2003 Halo: Combat Evolved -- Xbox ============================================================================ ============================================================================ ••¤•• INDEX ••¤•• ============================================================================ • Introduction • Why? • Weapons & Vehicles • Offensive Tactics • Defensive Tactics • Situational Awareness • Tips and Tricks • Version History • Credits • Copyright Information ============================================================================ ••¤•• INTRODUCTION ••¤•• ============================================================================ - This FAQ is coming in a bit late. Most veteran players have moved on to other games by now but Halo sales haven't slowed down much since it's launch more than a year ago. We now have a gap between the elite, many of whom no longer play the game as much and the newbies, who are discoving the greatness of Halo's multiplayer. I intend to fill that gap with this FAQ. Alot of the skill you develop in this game is innate. You can't exactly describe or specify all the tactics you may use. But I will try to keep adding to the FAQ as appropriately as possible. ============================================================================ ••¤•• WHY? ••¤•• ============================================================================ - Most people will take a while to figure out the finer points of Halo multiplayer on their own. This FAQ will provide basic and more advanced tactics as well as assistance on weapon choice and effectiveness. Besides, I really want a Halo FAQ on my GameFaqs Contributor list. :) ============================================================================ ••¤•• WEAPONS ••¤•• ============================================================================ In Halo, unlike other FPS games, you can realisticly only carry two weapons. On top of that all the weapons in the game are balanced to give certain advantages and disadvantages pending the situation. This means that you must make choices, the right choices, when you decide to change weapons. However, as with all weapons, you need to know how to use it to be effective. --------------------------- • UNSC Weapons & Vehicles • --------------------------- It's only logical that a civilisation will build it's weapons based on the damage it can do to it's own people. Hence the simple fact that ballistic weaponery is most effective in multiplayer. ______________________ - MA5B Assault Rifle - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Firing Rate : Excellent, Automatic Fire Accuracy : Average to Poor Magazine : 60 rounds Max Reserves: 600 rounds Probably the least favourite UNSC weapon in it's arsenal. While it dishes out rounds at an incredible rate, it's low damage and inaccurate. On top of that the magazine only holds 60 rounds which finish all too quickly. But it's not useless. Firing in short bursts will greatly increase accuracy. It's best used in mid-range combat situations. Head shots do deal more damage but being as inaccurate as it is, it's best to aim at the body. _________________ - M90 Shotgun - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Firing Rate : Slow Accuracy : Poor Loads : 10 rounds Max Reserves: 50 rounds Most players replace their Assault Rifle with the Shotgun. Both weapons do the same damage at mid-range but that's where their similiarities end. The Assault Rifle is more viable over longer distances while the Shotgun is quite useless. However the Shotgun shows it's power in tight spaces. One shot with the Shotgun can be fatal. To make up for it's slow firing rate, it releases 15 slugs per round. The trick is to make most of that 15 hit your target. Body shots are far more effective with this weapon, specifically below the neck and above the waist. _______________ - M6D Pistol - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Firing Rate : Good, Semi-Automatic Fire Accuracy : Good Magazine : 12 rounds Max Reserves: 120 rounds By far the most effective multiplayer weapon available. It's semi-explosive rounds can kill with three rounds. Two to drop your opponnent's shields and a third at the head to kill instantly. With it's semi-automatic fire (hold down trigger) the gun fires quite fast and it stores more than enough ammo in reserves. Casual players won't notice it but gravity does affect bullets so when aiming it's best to use the bottom curve of the targeting recticle for head shots. ___________________________ - M19 SSM Rocket Launcher - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Firing Rate : Poor Accuracy : Good Loads : 2 rockets Max Reserves: 8 rockets In two words the Rocket Launcher can be described as brute force. Some consider it to be the 'cheapest' weapon in Halo's arsenal but that is far from the truth. Low ammo reserves, a slow firing rate and slow rocket speed balances off the sheer power of this monster. When aiming you should target the ground beneath your target or a close solid object. Remember that the splash damage is what matters so never aim at the body, the rocket travels slow enough to be dodged. The Rocket Launcher's targeting recticle leaves much to be desired over distance, if you have the Sniper Rifle handy you can aim with that to enhance your accuracy. When it's used at mid-range you should jump and shoot in the air to ensure that the explosion will be close enough to your opponent to kill them. You won't get a second chance and you shouldn't need one. ______________________ - S2 AM Sniper Rifle - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Firing Rate : Good, Semi-Automatic Fire Accuracy : Excellent Magazine : 4 rounds Max Reserves: 50 rounds Now this is a weapon that reqires some mastery to be used the right way. It's a piece of cake to hit a still target but it takes true skill to hit a moving one. You should find some higher ground preferably in the shadows or some cover before looking for victims. When looking around 2x zoom should be used since obviously you can see more. Once your target is found zoom in to 10x. If it's moving you should aim a little in front of the head and let your victim move into the targeting recticle. If done correctly you'll get an instant kill. __________________________________ - M9 HE DP Fragmentation Grenade - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Damage : Excellent Max Reserves: 4 Grenades Fuse : Short Fragmentation Grenades is the better of the two available grenades in Halo. It's hard so it can be bounced, rolled and thrown in hard to reach areas. This is an art in the game since there is no targeting system for throwing grenades. It detonates once it has come to a complete stop leaving less time to escape the explosion. Once thrown properly it make not always kill but it will certainly drop your opponent's shields leaving very vulnerable. _____________________ - M12 LRV Warthog - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Speed : Good Handling : Good Capacity : Three (One driver, one side passenger and one gunner) Armor : Average Weapon : M41 LAAG Mini Gun Accuracy : Average to Poor Firing Rate : Excellent Max Reserves: Unlimited The Warthog is the fastest of the UNSC vehicles in multiplayer but hopping in leaves you extremely vulnerable since the driver has no control over the LAAG. The LAAG is a powerful weapon, however much like the Assault Rifle it needs to be fired in short burts to be accurate. Even so you can make a kill before pausing due to it's amazing firing rate. Mounting the LAAG leaves you makes you an easy target so if you do decide to get up there it had better be a short term decision. So, why is a player driving Warthog a threat? Because he can turn you into roadkill. One hit with any vehicle is an instant kill. Some will try to dodge but it's easy to tail swing the Warthog by turning in the opposite direction. ___________________________ - M8O8B Scorpion MBT Tank - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Speed : Slow Handling : Average Capacity : Five (One driver, four side passengers) Armor : Excellent Weapon A : Cannon Accuracy : Average Firing Rate : Poor (Four second reload per shot) Max Reserves: Unlimited Weapon B : Mini Gun (Similar to the M41 LAAG) Accuracy : Average to Poor Firing Rate : Excellent Max Reserves: Unlimited Just like WrestleMania, the Scorpion Tank is the "Grandaddy of 'em all". This beast is powerful. The main Cannon does the damage of the Rocket Launcher but with the speed of the Sniper Rifle. While you're waiting for the reload, the secondary Mini Gun can be used to suppress your opponnents and often times kill them off. Even though the Scorpion Tank is heavily armored you can be sniped from the front of the tank quite easily. This is one of the easier ways to kill someone inside a Scorpion Tank. A counter measure to this is to reverse into position, then turn around the Cannon to aim. The only thing that can really kill you then is explosive weaponery. ie. Grenades, Rockets ect. Another weakness of the Scorpion Tank is it's "dead zone" around the tank which cannot be aimed at. One an oponnent is close enough he can attack you virtually unchallenged. ------------------------------- • Covenant Weapons & Vehicles • ------------------------------- Most Covenant equipment go unused in multiplayer battles but that doesn't mean that they're useless or sometimes better than the UNSC equivalent. ______________________ - Plasma Rifle - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Firing Rate : Excellent Accuracy : Good Battery : 100/100 (420-600 rounds) Features : Stuns target momentarily Fully automatic fire that will stun your target to almost a complete stop. Not much else to this weapon. With plasma based weaponery it's critical to pause ocassionally to avoid over heating the gun. ______________________ - Plasma Pistol - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Firing Rate : Good to Excellent Accuracy : Good Battery : 100/100 Features : Overcharge with a slight homing ability The Plasma Pistol may not be fully automatic like the Plasma Rifle but it's possible to attain a similar rate of fire with a quick trigger finger. The Overcharge feature is powerful enough to completely disable an opponnents shield, even with an Over Shield on. With plasma based weaponery it's critical to pause ocassionally to avoid over heating the gun. ___________ - Needler - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Firing Rate : Excellent Accuracy : Good Rounds : 20 Max Reserves: 80 Features : Homing ability and potentially explosive rounds Probably the coolest weapon on the Halo roster but definitely not one of the best. It fires slow moving homing projectiles and is only viable at mid-range and closer. To compensate for this getting seven or more rounds on an opponent means a wicked pink explosion and almost certain death. When this happens you should get out of the way fast since there is considerable splash damage especially if you hit the target with more than seven rounds. A full clip creates three explosions. The best way to use the Needler is to circle-strafe your opponent so the rounds will come from too many directions to dodge. It can also be used to temporarily blind a sniper, provided you know where he is, allowing you to quickly escape. __________________ - Plasma Grenade - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Damage : Excellent Max Reserves: 4 Grenades Fuse : Long Features : It sticks Taking a lengthy three seconds to explode the Plasma Grenade isn't the best but as with all things it does have it's uses. It sticks to players and vehicles which most often results in an instant kill. Due to it's glow it can possibly even give away your position if you're hidden. _________ - Ghost - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Speed : Excellent Handling : Excellent Capacity : One Armor : Average Weapon : Dual Plasma Cannons (Stuns) Accuracy : Average to Poor Firing Rate : Good Max Reserves: Unlimited We all love the Warthog but no experienced player will deny that the Ghost is the most versitile of all the multiplayer vehicles. It has incredible speed and the best manuverability since it hovers off the ground. It's Plasma Cannons have the stun ability of the Plasma Rifle. You can sneak behind an opponent in a Scorpion Tank and kill him before he can ever turn around. Your main weakness is that the Ghost offers little protection to it's driver * Note: I was disapointed that Banshees were left out of Multiplayer and now I can't wait until Halo 2 for the Banshee vs. Banshee air fights. Who knows maybe there'll be a UNSC fighter of sorts. ============================================================================ ••¤•• OFFENSIVE TACTICS ••¤•• ============================================================================ ____________________ - Weapon Selection - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ The decisions you make in weapon selection can and will make or break you. Unlike other FPS (First Person Shooter) games you can only choose two weapons. Now there is no perfect combination since all maps and your current situation will make for hard choices. Generally speaking the Pistol is the most versitile weapon you can have. In Halo there are three general sizes of maps. The huge levels namely Sidewinder and Blood Gulch. The medium sized levels i.e. Hang em' High and Damnation. And the smaller ones like Rat Race, Derelict and Prisoner. Now that's not the only thing that differentiates these maps. Some maps were made with certain weapons in mind. On large maps it's better, a one would logically realize, to stick to one long range weapon preferably the Sniper Rifle and one variable weapon pending your location. Medium sized maps are a good place to use the Pistol and the Rocket Launcher. No other two weapons are as dominant in medium sized maps. Small maps are quite different. They range from the four level high Prisoner to the tight Rat Race and the openess of Battle Creek. In the small maps with more open space you'll want the Pistol handy as well as the Rocket Launcher if it's available. In the tighter maps you'll definitely need the Shotgun handy. I can't tell you explicitly what to use in each situation which is why I did the Weapons & Vehicles section so that you will be able to do figure it out for yourself. Only wih experience can you learn the finer details. ___________________ - Shield Bursting - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ However you decide to kill, your chances are greatly increased when your opponent's shield is down. That in itself is one of the major offensive goals. Why do I call it 'shield bursting'? Because you can actualy see when a player's shield falls. A hit glows longer than when a shield is goes down. The easiest way to do this is with a grenade. Now that doesn't mean you should go throwing grenades wildly because you only have four of each. Plasma Grenades glow, they take long to explode and are good for not much else than inflicting fear. Fragmentation Grenades however have much more potential. The best way to use Fragmentation Grenades is to toss them close to your opponent BEFORE opening fire. This will in the worst case scenario cause them to turn and throw one back. By that time your grenade will have exploded and you'll only have to fire a few rounds to make the kill. It shouldn't be hard to dodge his grenade because you saw where he threw it. Other notably easy ways to burst shields include the overcharge on the Plasma Pistol which will drop an even a full Over Shield. Then there's the Pistol which will take shields down in two body shots leaving you to make a final head shot to get the kill. Proficiency with the Pistol is something that you gain over time but once you achieve it you're very dangerous. _________________ - Circle Strafe - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Strafing is a nice tactic but a Circle Strafe is even better. Now this takes some practice before its used instinctively. Properly executed it allows you to fully circle an opponent without letting him out of your targeting recticle. ____________________ - General Strategy - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ You need to keep your eyes open all the time. Remember that not much of the maps have moving objects. Tall trees may sway at the top and there's the odd river or waterfall but they don't move that much. I can spot someone out of the corner of my eye, you need to be sharp always. Grab powerups whenever possible and advantageous. Most of the time it's to your advantage but sometimes it's not worth the effort. For example the Over Shield in Damnation means making yourself an easy target. If you're lucky you'll make it back out alive. On Hang em'High it's easy to get the Over Shield, the Rocket Launcher and Invisibility within seconds. ============================================================================ ••¤•• DEFENSIVE TACTICS ••¤•• ============================================================================ ______________ - On the run - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Many times you will find yourself on the run be it from a sniper or someone right on your heels. If it's a sniper you need to be fast, stooping and zig zags will help and hopefully you'll survive. However if you're being chased the worst thing you can do is turn your back. Run backwards and keep firing until you're safely around a corner, then you can toss a grenade as he rounds the bend. _____________ - Reloading - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Yeah. You're probably thinking WTF? Why does this guy have Reloading as a Defensive Tactic? It all comes down to this... if you have no rounds in your weapon you're an easy kill. If you don't monitor your ammunition you will have to reload in the middle of a confrontation which will result in your certain death. There is no magic number to reload at, you should reload whenever you're not under attack. With that said don't reload in the open. Position yourself under cover when you're reloading, this is especially important when you're under fire. There are some weapons that you should not always reload. Rocket Launcher ammo is hard to come by and the delay between shots isn't much shorter than the time it takes to reload. ________________ - Mobile Cover - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Vehicles are great as a form of mobile cover. The Warthog is the best vehicle for this use. Park it in position, crouch and aim through the middle of it's interior. Not only are you unlikely to be seen but the only major threat is explosives ie. Grenades or the Rocket Launcher. As you would likely guess the Ghost is the worst to do this with and the Scorpion Tank is hard to position, offers the most cover but leaves no room for aiming. ___________ - Shadows - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Stick to the darkness. It is much harder to be noticed in the shadowed areas of the various maps. The extra few second it takes for your opponent to locate you is enough for you to gain a significant advantage or even complete the kill. ============================================================================ ••¤•• SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ••¤•• ============================================================================ __________________ - Know Your Maps - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ You could be the best Halo player in the world and still lose if you have little to no knowledge of the maps. This is what I recommend. - If possible walk through every map. - Find out where the Over Shield and Invisibility is hidden. - Find out where every weapon is placed. - Use all the teleports and remember where they take you. - Look for sniper spots and hidden caves. - Note where vehicles are when the game starts. Yes, it sounds like alot and it is but you'll thank your lucky stars when you can run circles around weaker opposition. This is your best chance of hanging in there with stronger opposition. ____________ - Settings - ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ One of the best things about Halo is that you can adjust your player profile to suit you. For left handers there's the 'Southpaw' control scheme and a variety of others for your convience. Most players will choose between a Normal or Inverted vertical axis for starters. The most important of them all is your Look Sensitivity. This determines how fast you look and turn. The default setting is 3 but you should at least set that to 5 to begin with. It will take some time to get used to this and as you become more confortable with it you should go up a digit. The true uber elite players have their's at 10. The highest I've ever set mine is 8. You need to play very regularly to be able to effectively use it at 10. The higher you go, the easier the short-mid battles are but sniping becomes much harder. ============================================================================ ••¤•• TIPS & TRICKS ••¤•• ============================================================================ This section currently under development. ============================================================================ ••¤•• VERSION HISTORY ••¤•• ============================================================================ - v0.1 BETA: Just began working on the FAQ. - v0.3 BETA: Weapons & Vehicles section finished. - v0.4 BETA: Offensive Tactics started. - v0.5 BETA: Defensive Tactics started. - v0.6 BETA: Situational Awareness started. - v0.7 BETA: First submitted version. ============================================================================ ••¤•• CREDITS ••¤•• ============================================================================ - God most importantly. - GameFaqs.com for it's great collection of FAQ's - Bungie for making a five ¤¤¤¤¤ star game. - The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences for naming Halo as the 2001 Overall Game of the Year. -- www.interactive.org - The new players who desperately need this information to be better at their game. - If you like WRESTLING be sure to check out my message board at... +--------------------------+ ¦ ¦ ¦ ROF.GXblock.com ¦ ¦ ¦ +--------------------------+ ============================================================================ ••¤•• COPYRIGHT INFORMATION ••¤•• ============================================================================ - You may use and alter this FAQ with your notes for your own personal use. - You cannot re-distribute this FAQ in any way or form other than in it's original format. - You may print this FAQ for your personal use. - You cannot profit from this FAQ. Not even 1 cent for the cost of paper or $1 for the cost of the CD you copied it to. - If you disagree with these conditions please remove/delete this FAQ from your storage archives. - I have done Business Law, in addition to which I have a very experienced lawyer in my immediate family so there WILL be a law suit if you violate the copyright of this document. - The only sites that have permission to use this FAQ are • GameFaqs.com If you wish to use this FAQ e-mail me for permission first. ••¤•• 2001© COPYRIGHT Blade ••¤••