Chapter 7 - Multiplayer
Tactics
General Deathmatch
Tactics
Many of the tactics used in
traditional deathmatch carry over to Aliens vs. Predator. No matter which
of the many multiplayer game types you elect to play, there a few basic
tips you should employ to set yourself apart from the masses.
Strafe
If you're not in the habit of incorporating the strafe move into your
online repertoire then chances are good at you consistently rank last
on the kill board. Strafing is the simple maneuver of side-stepping left
or right, used in conjunction with moving forward or backward. Through
this process you can master the circle strafe, a powerful move that finds
you always pointed toward your enemy, but never remaining still; literally
running circles around the opposition and blowing them to kingdom come.
You'll find that many expert
players employ circle strafing, so don't be surprised if you find yourself
in a round of circle-strafing combat. The winner of these little competitions
is usually the one who can mix up the right and left transitions on the
fly, always keeping the enemy on their toes. Practice the strafe until
it becomes second nature and you'll soon find yourself ruling the roost
of deathmatch.
Patience is a Virtue
How many times have you walked into a large room, only to find several
combatants waging war; then you just run right in and join the fray, only
to find yourself acting the part of a corpse a few seconds later. The
temptation to charge right into the thick of combat is sometimes overwhelming,
but the patient player is one that stands in that doorway and blasts the
opposition from afar, wracking up several kills in the process.
Stalk Your Prey
Let's say you spot the enemy. His back is turned and he's heading away
from you. You could risk a long-range shot and hope for luck, but the
chances are good you'll miss, in turn alerting your prey to your existence.
At this point, it's any one's battle. What you should do is stalk your
prey until you are absolutely sure you're going to connect with a shot.
Again, the temptation is to fire the second you see someone, but the patient
player is one who finds the proper time to exterminate a victim and move
on to the next. The major drawback of simply firing wildly is that you're
alerting all the other combatants on the level that a major firefight
is going down. They'll point themselves toward the fray and soon you'll
have more problems to deal with.
Know Your Map
Victory is assured the warrior that knows the map like the back of his
or her hand. Before you even consider hopping online to duke it out with
your fellow humans, you should take the time to host your own private
multiplayer game and run around the map, mentally logging the location
of every weapon and power-up. Additionally, you want to be on the look
out for excellent sniping positions and dark corners where you can lurk
and launch surprise attacks. The well-versed player will know what corners
and areas to duck into when being chased, only to turn the table at the
last second and launch a counterattack. The more you can get the layout
of the level firmly imprinted into your mind, the better you'll be at
making intuitive judgements in the thick of battle. He who thinks the
fastest is usually the winner of any combat situation.
Next:
Alien multiplayer strategies
| 
