This guide will serve as a general guideline for players in 4on4. The goal is to have it contiously updated with new ideas as they are revealed from this very forum. Enjoy the read!
Basically, a decent 4on4 team relies on a few factors:
- individual skill (on a tactical level, this can decide the outcome of a specific situation, though it will not win a game)
- knowledge of the maps (basically, how you get from point A to point B quickly, and so on. more on this below)
- an understanding of the complex workings of firepower distribution (eg dm3, being the only guy on the map with an RL, you should get RA and try to pass a few armors on to your mates aswell, etc)
- understanding of the basic teamsays (need, coming, get quad and so on)
- desire to win (if you've played a map for 4 minutes and still haven't got a single frag, DO NOT GIVE UP. keep tryin and you WILL start fragging. giving up means losing!)
- realizing one's limits. If you have 0/100 and SG, maybe your teammate with 200/200 RLG should take the quad instead?
- correct usage of reporting, and reading other people's reports
- timing items and powerups. Knowing how to do this is crucial; more on this later.
Now, about those maps...
DM3
When the game starts, press back+strafeleft. This way, if you spawn at either YA or lifts, you will have a decent shot at getting the pent (which is of course the most powerful powerup there is). If you get the pent, you have two options - if you spawned YA, go directly to the RL and stand on the spawnpoint there, hopingly you will get one or two frags that way while you're waiting for the RL to spawn. If you didn't get the YA, go for it first and then take the tele and jump from it around the corner and then to the RL. (If you can't do this jump or don't want to risk it, just use the catwalk. MAKE SURE you get there a few seconds before the next RL spawn or you risk losing it to the enemy! A third option comes to mind when you spawn ya and get the pent, and the enemy spawns rl. There is a chance he'll head for the next ya spawn, in which case you should stand on the tele exit by window, and then have your mates flood ya. Hopingly, he will then retreat through tele and end up being deflected by Satan's power! And with any luck, now we will have 150Y, RL and pent! \o/
He who spawns at RL should go for the YA if the pent guy got it (you'll know, because the mate who got the pent will report this and then he'll also report his armor status). If the pent guy didn't get it (there's a 50/50 chance) you better get away from there, so move on towards the RA and try to snatch it from whoever's holding it. In the RA room there's also 5 rockets (with another 5 right outside, next to ring) so you should be able to hold it until your mates arrive. Then STAY there and make sure at least one mate gets the RA and is able to defend it. Having RA and a simple shotgun is NOT sufficient firepower for that job!
If you spawn at SNG-Tele, quickly go through the teleporter and grab the ring, and then the quad. If you spawn at SNG-tele with a teammate, make sure one of you does not grab both the ring and the quad - this is a complete waste of the ring! It's much better that you grab the ring and try to secure the first RA - this is often quite easy, either just make a run for it and grab it as quickly as possibly, or sneak up to the top. If there's an enemy ahead of you, shoot the living shit out of him while you're moving upwards. Hopingly this will distract him enough to make him fall, in which case you should just run for it.
YA can be quite easily defended by standing halfway up the stairs. From here you can shoot along the catwalk towards the quad area, and you can also be on the watch for people coming around the corner from water. Be mindful of the spawn that is right next to the YA - safeguard it every 20 seconds (when the armor spawns) by standing inside the little box. Do not shoot at the spawn point unless you are positive no teammates just died! From YA attempts can be launched att the quad - but be mindful that the enemy might be standing at window, waiting for this to happen. You can also split up, two people can go through tele and two follow the catwalk towards the quad. This way you'll catch any eventual quad defenders in a crossfire.
When the time comes to grab the pent, you'll want to make a sweep of the entire outdoor area. An enemy could be hiding behind the wall between the water and mega. Also, people can easily hide in the lifts, popping out two seconds before the pent spawns. The optimal solution is having one or two guys standing by the window, and one waiting by the lifts. Don't linger more than absolutely necessary by the pent - you are a sitting duck caught in the open. Attempts at the pent can be made from the water - it is possible to sit just beneath the surface and then jump out seconds before the pent spawns. Protect yourself against this by shooting one or two rockets on the wall next to the steps in the water some 5 seconds before the pent spawns.
If the quad is delayed in such a way that the pent spawns some 25 seconds before the quad, it is possible to just guard the pent until a few seconds remain to the quad spawn. This way, you will have a great shot at getting maybe 20-25 seconds with both quad and pent! This is only advisable in a situation where you can ascertain the security of the pent - do NOT dwell next to it if enemies are coming and you can't fend them off!
The quad guy should strive to get control of the RA room if it's not completely bogged down with RL/RA enemies. If this is the case, all efforts should be made to seize control by flooding the room from multiple entrances. Make sure the guy who has quad isn't the first to enter the room, as the point man is likely to catch a shitload of rockets the moment he enters. A player with mega, YA, quad and LG can clear out the RA room in just a few seconds unless he dies entering it. There's plenty of manoeuvering space down on the floor and people on the catwalks are very exposed to fire.
Getting the quad is basically a matter of being there at the right time and with the right equipment. An effort should be made to get the player with the most armor and at least one decent weapon (RL or LG) to be quadrunner. If this is impossible, it's better to have an armored player with a less powerful weapon than having an unarmored guy run around with a quadded RL. Make sure you tell the quadrunner where he needs to be - stuff like "two weak enemies at YA" can mean the difference between loss and victory if the quadrunner can properly execute an attack in a timely fashion. Spending 30 seconds of quadded time running around in circles looking for someone to shoot is EXTREMELY bad. If you just don't know what to do, going to the RA is more often so than not a good idea.
There are some moves that everyone should be able to execute. Perhaps the most important of all is the rocketjump from pent to window. This can be done in a number of ways; either, take the lifts up to the first level and then do a simple rocketjump up to the window. Alternatively, shoot a grenade straight up right beneath the window, and make a rocketjump straight up when the grenade explodes. (You can easily get the timing right by jumping when the grenade touches the ground for the second time). It is an absolute necessity that everyone knows how to make this jump in one way or another, since it is important to use the precious 30 seconds of invulnerability in the best way possible.
Another fundamental jump of dm3 is the curling jump around corners above hill, from ring to quad and vice versa. I won't go into details on strafejumping and curling here, if you are unfamiliar with the different aspects of speedjumping I suggest you check out the demos that are included with the ezquake package.
More jumps that are possible and quite practical:
- from one side of the RA room to another, from one catwalk to the other - this decreases the time it takes to reach RA-top
- from SNG-ledge to SNG (jump out to the left right when you reach the top of the stairs, and aim for the little ledge protruding from the boxes) - this way you can beat an enemy to the SNG, or possibly even kill him coming from an unexpected angle
- from bridge-high to rl-window (a quick way to get the RL) - if you need an extra boost, jump down the stairs from window, jump at the bottom of the stairs and curl around the corner
- from the water beneath rl-window up to the rl-window. this one takes practice; what you need to do is the following:
be right beneath the window, submerged a bit
aim straight down, turned away from the window. this way you'll stick close to the wall
press +back and +jump so you start ascending quickly
EXACTLY when you break the surface, turn around 180 degrees, and fire a rocket into the wall right beneath you!
When properly executed, this will land you on the ledge of the rl-window, and you will have a decent shot at anyone camping there. Or you'll just end up with a grenade up your ass, but hey, that's life...
Some other tricks:
- It is possible to actually float around in the water and shoot LG without getting discharged. If you keep +jump pressed in and move about without ever looking down, you'll be safe (but there is still a risk that someone will shoot you, which might send you back and down, which will burn your ass)
- Discharging the enemy quad is always fun.
- When you're waiting for the quad, send a couple of grenades around the corner towards window. This will protect you from any nasty surprises. Also, consider shooting rockets at RA-entry, since any enemies coming from there are likely to be stacked.
- Generally when fighting above hill (quad and ring areas), deter enemies by jumping across to the other side and then spray the route you just took with nails. If he tries to follow you, he'll get hit by nails which will slow him enough to make him fall down.
- Stand beneath the hole in the ceiling at sng-ledge. Here you can get the occasional spawnkill. Just make sure you're not shooting at your friend. Also, you can clear out most of the lifts by lobbing grenades up here in the right angle.
- Stand "behind" the tele at window and wait for someone to pop out of it. When they do, they will be facing the water and you can get a free shot with the lg, sng or ssg. If you have quad, for the love of God do NOT shoot some kind of explosives here!
- When defending RA, shoot grenades randomly into the different entrances to the room. By standing on the ledge right beneath the RA platform, you can place grenades very close to the tele exit.
- It's possible to reach the topmost level of the RA catwalks with a rocketjump from the ledge at ra-entry. With proper training it's not even hard to fit in the space between the catwalk and the wall. With some more training, you can make the jump all the way up to RA by shooting a second rocket into the wall on your way up.
- Play hide-and-seek in the RA room if you have the ring. I've seen three armored enemies taken out by one player with ring and GL, just by jumping around randomly and shooting along the catwalks!
DM2
This map is probably the most hated - and the most loved - of the classical "Big Three" maps. It's rather small with a number of narrow passages, which opens up for interesting rl and gl tactics. The key to dm2 lies in successful control of the quad-ng-tele area. When the tele is defended, enemies will have to rely on the other two paths to quad; either they will have to go from low via path, where they will run into a hailstorm of rockets launched from ng, or they will have to wade through an ocean of grenades coming from big to quad-low.
Quadruns are often aimed at low and ra-mega since the enemy tends to camp out here when they are not in control. A successful quadrunner can clear out low, give rl to a teammate, grab ra and mega, and return to grab the next quad. It is often possible to repeat this several times. Also, having one person run several quads in a row is good since he can more easily manage the timing of rl and ra, while the mates cover water, tele and big.
Controlling dm2 basically revolves around repeating this kind of quadruns and denying the enemy at least one of the ras, and hopingly both rls. But of course the enemy will try to gain control. If this happens, the best thing is often to try and flood tele. This way it is often possible to get one or two guys through to high. The best possible scenario is one guy who has ra and rl who goes to tele together with two weaker mates. The weaker mates go in first and distract the enemy (they will be defending the tele, be sure of it) while the guy with armor and rl can move in for the kill. If he can successfully hold tele it's possible for the team to rapidly move through to tele-high and from there, onward to the quad.
If we have a severe advantage over the enemies (the optimum being four guys with ra and rl), it's possible to obtain a complete maplock by having one guy defend tele, one who keeps water, one guy who camps low, and one quadrunner who goes from quad via water to low and then comes around to clear out ra-mega. This way we can quickly rack up on frags without risking too much. If the tele is compromised somehow (e g an enemy spawns and slips through), the player defending it follows the enemy through tele and kills him somewhere around tele-high or high-rl. Meanwhile, the player defending water moves in to make sure no more enemies get through tele.
The player defending tele (and sometimes water) must NEVER leave his post. If you need armor, make sure you are relieved by a mate before leaving the tele. Leaving the tele undefended for just 5-6 seconds can be enough for two enemies to spawn and slip through, which is of course really bad. Also, if things get messy, don't hesitate to help out by the tele. It's an absolute point of priority since losing it means giving the enemy more ways of getting to quad.
If the team is losing and the enemy seems to be in control of quad and the surrounding areas, it's often wise to try to gather at low and try to stack up on ra and at least two rls. When the enemy quad approaches, it's possible to spread out in the rooms at low in such a way that the quad is slowed down a lot and quite possibly killed. Since quad can only approach low from two different ways, the first line of defense would obviously be shooting nails and rockets along platforms and path. With any luck, the enemy will get hit by one or two of these rockets, taking him down from a possible 200/200 to something more along the lines of 80/120. Thereafter, retreat back into the ra-mega room (the person shooting along path could go via ssg and the person shooting platforms would jump up through the trapdoor at button). From here, keep someone standing next to the ssg in the way mentioned above, ready to make an attack on approaching enemies from there. Quite possibly this is a kamikaze position, but when played correctly it can mean that the quad ends up taking a nap in the lava, or simply blowing himself up. Also, keep someone standing at the ledge next to the tele, ready to shoot rockets at anyone who tries to go to button and shoot from there. Meanwhile, the other two players can tele through, and hopingly catch the enemies unaware, seize control of water and tele, and then the tables are turned! (With any luck, that is...)
Handy moves on dm2:
- Stand on the topmost step of the stairs beneath quad. A teammate can jump up on you and onward to get quad. Knowing this move is imperative in the beginning of the game - suppose you spawn at ng and a mate spawns at quad-low, you can have the quad within 5 seconds of game start! Be sure to get out of there quickly though, unless you know that another mate spawned at tele. Having quad is nice but you do not want to mess with an enemy carrying ya and rl when all you have is 100 hp and boomstick...
- Jump from big-stairs to tele-high. Stand on the 2nd step from the top and make a curling rocketjump up. Make sure you time the jump properly, otherwise you might end up banging into the moving platform. This is a move seldom seen in lowdiv games, but properly executed it can be an excellent way of grabbing the quad from an unexpected angle if the enemy defends tele.
- A number of jumps in and around the stairs leading down to tele;
jump from the ledge at the top and all the way down (although this leaves you vulnerable to rockets from below)
jump from the 2nd step from the top, out over the lava, and then onto the ledge at the top (useful for distracting enemies that are chasing you, or when you're under fire and want to dodge)
- Rocketjump from tele-high to big-top (it's actually possible to walk across on the beams that run in the roof). Also, standing up here *can* be an excellent spot for camping the tele exit, although it leaves you open for attacks from big-floor if and when anyone sees you standing up there.
- Strafejump across the lava at ra-mega to get the goodies without extending the bridge.
- Curl around the corner at ssg. You should be able to perform this jump in both directions.
- Although it can be very hard, it's possible to make a curling jump from rl-high to quad without rocketjumping. Don't try it in a game unless you're sure you can pull it off.
- When you're standing at quad, you can lob grenades towards the tele and actually bounce them off the pillar. When done correctly this will land the grenades right by the spawn point next to the button!
- When you're waiting for the quad, switch positions between standing right next to the quad spawn point, a bit closer to the ledge, and across the gap. This will make you a hard target for rockets coming from tele.
- It's possible to stand in the tele stairs and shoot rockets at quad. Just watch out for teammates going for the quad; the rockets take quite some time to reach quad from the stairs.
- Defend the ra-mega by standing next to the ssg spawn. Make sure you stand close to the lava, otherwise you will take splash damage from rockets fired from button. When an enemy tries to jump around the corner, either shoot him with ssg so he falls down, or just be in his way so he ditches in the lava. Of course you need to look out for teammates trying to get around here as well.
- When you're going for the ra-secret, there are a few tricks. First, you can open the trapdoor from low by shooting a rocket at the wall next to the button. This way the door will be open when you get to it, which saves precious milliseconds. Secondly, when you're leaving the room, it's possible to make a jump from the ledge over the water, all the way to the solid floor. Doing this will confuse the enemy, since landing in water makes a very unique sound, revealing your position to everyone who's close by. Also, when you're waiting for the ra, make sure you don't stand right beneath the trapdoor.
- It's possible to jump from the spawn point at water (the "hole in the wall" right beneath path) onto the ledge by the ra-secret exit. When you're standing here you have a good chance of catching people coming out of ra-secret, although you better be stacked since they will likely be packing a punch. :p
- Stand in one of the ya-boxes in big and keep a lookout for enemies coming from quad-low. If you time this correctly, you can telefrag them! Killing the quad this way is excellent.
E1M2
The key to e1m2 lies in a combination of defending the area spanning from ya to quad, and saving packs and ammo for your mates. There are even fewer weapons on this map than on dm3 (a single rl, gl, two sng and one ssg), and there is no ra. The lack of armors make this a very lethal map, and because there are so few weapons it's imperative that you save packs. The rl room is also very vulnerable to attacks which makes it a dangerous place to linger, so it's important to keep an eye on the gameclock. Being a map with a lot of narrow passages, such as gl-stairs, quad-stairs and spikes, it's not uncommon to suddenly find 5-6 players killed within a few seconds of an attack. A single player with ya and rl can fend off multiple attackers coming through these passages without breaking a sweat. This leads to fierce sg battles, often in the gl and/or quad rooms. If things are going bad it can be a good idea to assign two players to simply roam the map together and try to spot and kill rl enemies. When constantly outnumbered, they will wear down quickly, and they are also more likely to make mistakes. Meanwhile, make sure the other two teammates are attempting to gain control of ya and quad and manage to keep stacked.
The ya room is the most essential part of e1m2. It's easy to defend - enemies coming from spikes will make lots of noise, anyone coming via gl-stairs is easily spammed to death with rl. A bigger threat then is people coming from under the catwalk from spikes - they can be hard to see and can sometimes get sneak shots at you, and also people dropping down to sng can surprise you from beneath. Most often it's good to stand top of the ya, but far out close to the ledge. This way you won't automatically pick up the ya when it spawns, but you will be able to pick it up quickly if an enemy approaches. Passing armors on to your mates is essential - within 60 seconds (one quad cycle) the whole team can be stacked with ya if one guy already has it and defends ya properly.
The quadrunner must strive to have ya when he takes quad. If he doesn't, he should backtrack to ya and clear out gl on the way, and then move back towards cross and try to clear it out. If he has ya and rl, and teammates are holding ya, he should clear out cross and mega (can be tricky if the enemy camps mega-above with rl and/or gl) and then move through bridge room and finally go to ya and pick it up. If the team is not in control of ya this is the highest priority, and an attempt should be made to flood it from several directions if possible. It's likely that one enemy will stand on top of ya and wait for people to come from spikes and/or gl-stairs - if one of your mates run via spikes, you can quickly jump down gl-stairs and shoot a quad rocket at the guy standing at ya, effectively ripping him a new one. Alternatively, spam grenades down the gl-stairs and have a mate go via sng and try to attack from beneath.
Getting the RL can be tricky. While the room is small and accessible from three different ways (it's actually possible to come up from cross-water, either by jumping on a mate or by rocket-/grenadejumping), it also has a spawn point between the two water entrances. In addition to this, it's quite easy to shoot into the room from different angles. Most often, it's not worth hanging around in the rl room. Instead, try to time it and go there a few seconds before the next spawn (coming early means you'll have time to assess the situation and take out the poor enemy who just spawned there and is waiting in vain for that rl). Be mindful that the enemy will be thinking the same thing; *sometimes* it can be a good idea to camp out here for awhile (but only if you are not needed elsewhere, like at ya!) and smash any enemies trying to get the rl. If you do this for awhile the enemies are sure to send an rl guy your way (if they have one), in which case you will be focusing their attention away from ya and quad. But again, this is not very common - more often so than not you will find yourself standing into the wall for 25 seconds, while your team gets killed because you're not there, and they will spawn next to you (or telefrag you if you're careless).
When you're going for the rl, try to stack up on other stuff like armor (at least make sure you grab the ga), sng or ssg, and some rockets. This way you'll have a greater chance of survival in case there are enemies at rl. Also, if you don't get there right on time, you can afford to wait and can hold your ground somewhat against enemies.
Should the game turn out to be very even and the time is nearing the end, and your team has a slight lead, it's possible to withdraw into a defensive position, either at start or mega. Defending start is quite easy since there are a lot of places one can stand and have an advantage at anyone coming from either bridge (try standing among the boxes in the far side of the room, or on the arch over the door) or from rl (stand on the arch or in the window; reach it by jumping on the angled part of the pillar). The mega also has its advantages; it's possible to stand on mega-above and spam grenades and rockets towards cross. Also, it's possible to rocketjump up to even higher levels in this room, although it's almost never used in games because it often does more damage than good. If and when the entrance to mega is breached, the team can retreat to mega-exit and try to defend it (although this means you will be left with only an sng, a few shells and 30 health; try to avoid this unless there's 20 seconds left of the game).
Handy moves on e1m2:
- Kill enemies leaving rl by standing in the quad room, in the arch that is closest to quad-stairs, and shoot grenades at the far wall of the stairs in such an angle that they bounce down into cross-water. If you can't make the shot, stand on the top of quad-stairs and shoot directly, however this will expose you to fire from cross.
- Make sneak attacks on ya from beneath. Walk silently in the water from water-spikes (don't bunnyjump). Either try to kill off any enemy attempting to get the ya, or simply rocketjump up and snatch it directly.
- Stand behind the tele exit by the ga. You will not get telefragged, and you get a free shot at anyone going through the tele beneath ya.
- If you fall down into the water at gl-sng and miss picking up the sng, you can run from ya-water and jump right when you go through the arch. There's a small ramp in the floor that will make you jump just high enough to reach the sng ledge.
- Predictive shots: When you're chasing an enemy into the mega room and he goes for one of the teleports, shoot a rocket at the mega. He'll probably try to go there and the rocket has a good chance of hitting him. If you're feeling brave, shoot closer to the teleport exit (there is one on each side; the tele on the left side of the room leads to the exit at the right, and vice versa) and you might get a direct hit.
- Float around in the cross-water right under the ledge of the rl room and fill it up with grenades.
- When you have quad, roam the ya-gl-quad-cross area (if you're not needed on a specific place); this way you'll cover a lot of spawn points and will most likely rack up on frags.
- When you are alone at quad and the enemies are closing in, consider hiding in the quad-box. It's a place frequently overlooked, and with a bit of luck you'll be able to snatch quad and the enemies will cry.
ITEM TIMINGS
Pent: spawns at game start. Spawns 5 minutes after the last time it was picked up, or 4:30 after it runs out.
Ring: spawns at game start. Spawns 5 minutes after pickup.
Quad: spawns at game start. Thereafter it spawns ONE MINUTE after being picked up. Killing the Quad half a second after it's picked up does not shorten the time until the next spawn.
Armors: 20 seconds after last pickup. The red armor offers much better protection than the others; 150 RA is worth more than 150 YA, and 100 RA is worh a LOT more than 100 GA.
Mega: 20 seconds after running out. The person who picks it up boosts his health by 100; if his health was 100 when he picked it up, it will become 200. After 5 seconds the mega will start to decrease at a rate of 1 hp/sec. If the player has picked up multiple megas, he can boost his health to a maximum of 250 although the decrease rate will increase with 1 hp/sec for each mega picked up. After the player has reverted to 100 hp or less, the mega will respawn after 20 seconds. (Naturally, this means that several megas will spawn simultaneously if one player has picked up several of them before).
Ammo: 30 seconds.
Health: 20 seconds.
TEAMSAYS
Crucial teamsays include the following:
SWITCH [location] - this basically means that the person needs someone to come and take over whatever he's doing atm, be it defending tele on dm2 or maybe safekeeping ra on dm3. The reasons may vary; a report in conjunction can indicate low ammo level or perhaps low health.
HELP [location] - holy moley this place is being overrun. Help! Don't use this in situations where it doesn't really matter whether or not you die (e g when you run headlong into ra-mega with 200/100 and no weapon and face three rl enemies), since this will just clutter the mm2 and make things harder for everyone else. DO use it if you're defending something important, like tele on dm2, and you are holding enemies off but just barely.
GET [PENT/QUAD/RING] - well, what do you think? Use in conjunction with a "QUAD ON [time]" command if you have one, so your mates know when to go for it.
ENEMY @ [location] - can be used to report enemies at a specific point of interest, like "ENEMY @ big". This can mean a difference to the quadrunner or maybe someone defending a spot which the enemy will soon reach.
NEED [AMMO/ARMOR/RL/HEALTH] - well doh. Don't misuse this; don't take everything you come across on the map just because you happen to be there.
COMING [location] - this might be a good idea to say when you're running somewhere your mates might be expecting the wrong kind of company. Or simply a way of saying "I want that thing" about something that was just pointed out by a mate.
POINT @ [location] - this will show up like "RA @ RA-TOP", "RL @ LOW" and so on depending on what you point out. Use it to tell your mates that there is something available that you don't need or you think they need better than you. If noone replies with a COMING, make sure you pick it up yourself if there is a risk of the enemy getting it instead.
SAFE [location] - this essentially tells your mates that this particular area is cool, and that they can divert their attention elsewhere.
LOST [location] E:X - DO NOT USE THIS EXCESSIVELY. Basically this tells the team that an area is hot and that you just died there. The E:X shows up as E:2 to the team if there are 2 enemies close by where you died, and so on. If it's very important, like losing tele on dm2, use this in conjunction with the next command:
ATTACK [location] E:X - tells your mates to attack a specific location. Like the LOST command, don't overuse it.
REPORT - shows up like "UI 200R/100 RLG @ RA-TOP" or something like that. Don't report excessively, but do it if you suspect a teammate might shoot you or something like that. Also, it can be a quick way to sort out arguments regarding who should get the next spawn of something, like an RL. You should be able to read and understand a report message in much less than a second.
Thanks to ui who originally wrote this guide, it can be seen in its original state in Rookie's corner
Basically, a decent 4on4 team relies on a few factors:
- individual skill (on a tactical level, this can decide the outcome of a specific situation, though it will not win a game)
- knowledge of the maps (basically, how you get from point A to point B quickly, and so on. more on this below)
- an understanding of the complex workings of firepower distribution (eg dm3, being the only guy on the map with an RL, you should get RA and try to pass a few armors on to your mates aswell, etc)
- understanding of the basic teamsays (need, coming, get quad and so on)
- desire to win (if you've played a map for 4 minutes and still haven't got a single frag, DO NOT GIVE UP. keep tryin and you WILL start fragging. giving up means losing!)
- realizing one's limits. If you have 0/100 and SG, maybe your teammate with 200/200 RLG should take the quad instead?
- correct usage of reporting, and reading other people's reports
- timing items and powerups. Knowing how to do this is crucial; more on this later.
Now, about those maps...
DM3
When the game starts, press back+strafeleft. This way, if you spawn at either YA or lifts, you will have a decent shot at getting the pent (which is of course the most powerful powerup there is). If you get the pent, you have two options - if you spawned YA, go directly to the RL and stand on the spawnpoint there, hopingly you will get one or two frags that way while you're waiting for the RL to spawn. If you didn't get the YA, go for it first and then take the tele and jump from it around the corner and then to the RL. (If you can't do this jump or don't want to risk it, just use the catwalk. MAKE SURE you get there a few seconds before the next RL spawn or you risk losing it to the enemy! A third option comes to mind when you spawn ya and get the pent, and the enemy spawns rl. There is a chance he'll head for the next ya spawn, in which case you should stand on the tele exit by window, and then have your mates flood ya. Hopingly, he will then retreat through tele and end up being deflected by Satan's power! And with any luck, now we will have 150Y, RL and pent! \o/
He who spawns at RL should go for the YA if the pent guy got it (you'll know, because the mate who got the pent will report this and then he'll also report his armor status). If the pent guy didn't get it (there's a 50/50 chance) you better get away from there, so move on towards the RA and try to snatch it from whoever's holding it. In the RA room there's also 5 rockets (with another 5 right outside, next to ring) so you should be able to hold it until your mates arrive. Then STAY there and make sure at least one mate gets the RA and is able to defend it. Having RA and a simple shotgun is NOT sufficient firepower for that job!
If you spawn at SNG-Tele, quickly go through the teleporter and grab the ring, and then the quad. If you spawn at SNG-tele with a teammate, make sure one of you does not grab both the ring and the quad - this is a complete waste of the ring! It's much better that you grab the ring and try to secure the first RA - this is often quite easy, either just make a run for it and grab it as quickly as possibly, or sneak up to the top. If there's an enemy ahead of you, shoot the living shit out of him while you're moving upwards. Hopingly this will distract him enough to make him fall, in which case you should just run for it.
YA can be quite easily defended by standing halfway up the stairs. From here you can shoot along the catwalk towards the quad area, and you can also be on the watch for people coming around the corner from water. Be mindful of the spawn that is right next to the YA - safeguard it every 20 seconds (when the armor spawns) by standing inside the little box. Do not shoot at the spawn point unless you are positive no teammates just died! From YA attempts can be launched att the quad - but be mindful that the enemy might be standing at window, waiting for this to happen. You can also split up, two people can go through tele and two follow the catwalk towards the quad. This way you'll catch any eventual quad defenders in a crossfire.
When the time comes to grab the pent, you'll want to make a sweep of the entire outdoor area. An enemy could be hiding behind the wall between the water and mega. Also, people can easily hide in the lifts, popping out two seconds before the pent spawns. The optimal solution is having one or two guys standing by the window, and one waiting by the lifts. Don't linger more than absolutely necessary by the pent - you are a sitting duck caught in the open. Attempts at the pent can be made from the water - it is possible to sit just beneath the surface and then jump out seconds before the pent spawns. Protect yourself against this by shooting one or two rockets on the wall next to the steps in the water some 5 seconds before the pent spawns.
If the quad is delayed in such a way that the pent spawns some 25 seconds before the quad, it is possible to just guard the pent until a few seconds remain to the quad spawn. This way, you will have a great shot at getting maybe 20-25 seconds with both quad and pent! This is only advisable in a situation where you can ascertain the security of the pent - do NOT dwell next to it if enemies are coming and you can't fend them off!
The quad guy should strive to get control of the RA room if it's not completely bogged down with RL/RA enemies. If this is the case, all efforts should be made to seize control by flooding the room from multiple entrances. Make sure the guy who has quad isn't the first to enter the room, as the point man is likely to catch a shitload of rockets the moment he enters. A player with mega, YA, quad and LG can clear out the RA room in just a few seconds unless he dies entering it. There's plenty of manoeuvering space down on the floor and people on the catwalks are very exposed to fire.
Getting the quad is basically a matter of being there at the right time and with the right equipment. An effort should be made to get the player with the most armor and at least one decent weapon (RL or LG) to be quadrunner. If this is impossible, it's better to have an armored player with a less powerful weapon than having an unarmored guy run around with a quadded RL. Make sure you tell the quadrunner where he needs to be - stuff like "two weak enemies at YA" can mean the difference between loss and victory if the quadrunner can properly execute an attack in a timely fashion. Spending 30 seconds of quadded time running around in circles looking for someone to shoot is EXTREMELY bad. If you just don't know what to do, going to the RA is more often so than not a good idea.
There are some moves that everyone should be able to execute. Perhaps the most important of all is the rocketjump from pent to window. This can be done in a number of ways; either, take the lifts up to the first level and then do a simple rocketjump up to the window. Alternatively, shoot a grenade straight up right beneath the window, and make a rocketjump straight up when the grenade explodes. (You can easily get the timing right by jumping when the grenade touches the ground for the second time). It is an absolute necessity that everyone knows how to make this jump in one way or another, since it is important to use the precious 30 seconds of invulnerability in the best way possible.
Another fundamental jump of dm3 is the curling jump around corners above hill, from ring to quad and vice versa. I won't go into details on strafejumping and curling here, if you are unfamiliar with the different aspects of speedjumping I suggest you check out the demos that are included with the ezquake package.
More jumps that are possible and quite practical:
- from one side of the RA room to another, from one catwalk to the other - this decreases the time it takes to reach RA-top
- from SNG-ledge to SNG (jump out to the left right when you reach the top of the stairs, and aim for the little ledge protruding from the boxes) - this way you can beat an enemy to the SNG, or possibly even kill him coming from an unexpected angle
- from bridge-high to rl-window (a quick way to get the RL) - if you need an extra boost, jump down the stairs from window, jump at the bottom of the stairs and curl around the corner
- from the water beneath rl-window up to the rl-window. this one takes practice; what you need to do is the following:
be right beneath the window, submerged a bit
aim straight down, turned away from the window. this way you'll stick close to the wall
press +back and +jump so you start ascending quickly
EXACTLY when you break the surface, turn around 180 degrees, and fire a rocket into the wall right beneath you!
When properly executed, this will land you on the ledge of the rl-window, and you will have a decent shot at anyone camping there. Or you'll just end up with a grenade up your ass, but hey, that's life...
Some other tricks:
- It is possible to actually float around in the water and shoot LG without getting discharged. If you keep +jump pressed in and move about without ever looking down, you'll be safe (but there is still a risk that someone will shoot you, which might send you back and down, which will burn your ass)
- Discharging the enemy quad is always fun.
- When you're waiting for the quad, send a couple of grenades around the corner towards window. This will protect you from any nasty surprises. Also, consider shooting rockets at RA-entry, since any enemies coming from there are likely to be stacked.
- Generally when fighting above hill (quad and ring areas), deter enemies by jumping across to the other side and then spray the route you just took with nails. If he tries to follow you, he'll get hit by nails which will slow him enough to make him fall down.
- Stand beneath the hole in the ceiling at sng-ledge. Here you can get the occasional spawnkill. Just make sure you're not shooting at your friend. Also, you can clear out most of the lifts by lobbing grenades up here in the right angle.
- Stand "behind" the tele at window and wait for someone to pop out of it. When they do, they will be facing the water and you can get a free shot with the lg, sng or ssg. If you have quad, for the love of God do NOT shoot some kind of explosives here!
- When defending RA, shoot grenades randomly into the different entrances to the room. By standing on the ledge right beneath the RA platform, you can place grenades very close to the tele exit.
- It's possible to reach the topmost level of the RA catwalks with a rocketjump from the ledge at ra-entry. With proper training it's not even hard to fit in the space between the catwalk and the wall. With some more training, you can make the jump all the way up to RA by shooting a second rocket into the wall on your way up.
- Play hide-and-seek in the RA room if you have the ring. I've seen three armored enemies taken out by one player with ring and GL, just by jumping around randomly and shooting along the catwalks!
DM2
This map is probably the most hated - and the most loved - of the classical "Big Three" maps. It's rather small with a number of narrow passages, which opens up for interesting rl and gl tactics. The key to dm2 lies in successful control of the quad-ng-tele area. When the tele is defended, enemies will have to rely on the other two paths to quad; either they will have to go from low via path, where they will run into a hailstorm of rockets launched from ng, or they will have to wade through an ocean of grenades coming from big to quad-low.
Quadruns are often aimed at low and ra-mega since the enemy tends to camp out here when they are not in control. A successful quadrunner can clear out low, give rl to a teammate, grab ra and mega, and return to grab the next quad. It is often possible to repeat this several times. Also, having one person run several quads in a row is good since he can more easily manage the timing of rl and ra, while the mates cover water, tele and big.
Controlling dm2 basically revolves around repeating this kind of quadruns and denying the enemy at least one of the ras, and hopingly both rls. But of course the enemy will try to gain control. If this happens, the best thing is often to try and flood tele. This way it is often possible to get one or two guys through to high. The best possible scenario is one guy who has ra and rl who goes to tele together with two weaker mates. The weaker mates go in first and distract the enemy (they will be defending the tele, be sure of it) while the guy with armor and rl can move in for the kill. If he can successfully hold tele it's possible for the team to rapidly move through to tele-high and from there, onward to the quad.
If we have a severe advantage over the enemies (the optimum being four guys with ra and rl), it's possible to obtain a complete maplock by having one guy defend tele, one who keeps water, one guy who camps low, and one quadrunner who goes from quad via water to low and then comes around to clear out ra-mega. This way we can quickly rack up on frags without risking too much. If the tele is compromised somehow (e g an enemy spawns and slips through), the player defending it follows the enemy through tele and kills him somewhere around tele-high or high-rl. Meanwhile, the player defending water moves in to make sure no more enemies get through tele.
The player defending tele (and sometimes water) must NEVER leave his post. If you need armor, make sure you are relieved by a mate before leaving the tele. Leaving the tele undefended for just 5-6 seconds can be enough for two enemies to spawn and slip through, which is of course really bad. Also, if things get messy, don't hesitate to help out by the tele. It's an absolute point of priority since losing it means giving the enemy more ways of getting to quad.
If the team is losing and the enemy seems to be in control of quad and the surrounding areas, it's often wise to try to gather at low and try to stack up on ra and at least two rls. When the enemy quad approaches, it's possible to spread out in the rooms at low in such a way that the quad is slowed down a lot and quite possibly killed. Since quad can only approach low from two different ways, the first line of defense would obviously be shooting nails and rockets along platforms and path. With any luck, the enemy will get hit by one or two of these rockets, taking him down from a possible 200/200 to something more along the lines of 80/120. Thereafter, retreat back into the ra-mega room (the person shooting along path could go via ssg and the person shooting platforms would jump up through the trapdoor at button). From here, keep someone standing next to the ssg in the way mentioned above, ready to make an attack on approaching enemies from there. Quite possibly this is a kamikaze position, but when played correctly it can mean that the quad ends up taking a nap in the lava, or simply blowing himself up. Also, keep someone standing at the ledge next to the tele, ready to shoot rockets at anyone who tries to go to button and shoot from there. Meanwhile, the other two players can tele through, and hopingly catch the enemies unaware, seize control of water and tele, and then the tables are turned! (With any luck, that is...)
Handy moves on dm2:
- Stand on the topmost step of the stairs beneath quad. A teammate can jump up on you and onward to get quad. Knowing this move is imperative in the beginning of the game - suppose you spawn at ng and a mate spawns at quad-low, you can have the quad within 5 seconds of game start! Be sure to get out of there quickly though, unless you know that another mate spawned at tele. Having quad is nice but you do not want to mess with an enemy carrying ya and rl when all you have is 100 hp and boomstick...
- Jump from big-stairs to tele-high. Stand on the 2nd step from the top and make a curling rocketjump up. Make sure you time the jump properly, otherwise you might end up banging into the moving platform. This is a move seldom seen in lowdiv games, but properly executed it can be an excellent way of grabbing the quad from an unexpected angle if the enemy defends tele.
- A number of jumps in and around the stairs leading down to tele;
jump from the ledge at the top and all the way down (although this leaves you vulnerable to rockets from below)
jump from the 2nd step from the top, out over the lava, and then onto the ledge at the top (useful for distracting enemies that are chasing you, or when you're under fire and want to dodge)
- Rocketjump from tele-high to big-top (it's actually possible to walk across on the beams that run in the roof). Also, standing up here *can* be an excellent spot for camping the tele exit, although it leaves you open for attacks from big-floor if and when anyone sees you standing up there.
- Strafejump across the lava at ra-mega to get the goodies without extending the bridge.
- Curl around the corner at ssg. You should be able to perform this jump in both directions.
- Although it can be very hard, it's possible to make a curling jump from rl-high to quad without rocketjumping. Don't try it in a game unless you're sure you can pull it off.
- When you're standing at quad, you can lob grenades towards the tele and actually bounce them off the pillar. When done correctly this will land the grenades right by the spawn point next to the button!
- When you're waiting for the quad, switch positions between standing right next to the quad spawn point, a bit closer to the ledge, and across the gap. This will make you a hard target for rockets coming from tele.
- It's possible to stand in the tele stairs and shoot rockets at quad. Just watch out for teammates going for the quad; the rockets take quite some time to reach quad from the stairs.
- Defend the ra-mega by standing next to the ssg spawn. Make sure you stand close to the lava, otherwise you will take splash damage from rockets fired from button. When an enemy tries to jump around the corner, either shoot him with ssg so he falls down, or just be in his way so he ditches in the lava. Of course you need to look out for teammates trying to get around here as well.
- When you're going for the ra-secret, there are a few tricks. First, you can open the trapdoor from low by shooting a rocket at the wall next to the button. This way the door will be open when you get to it, which saves precious milliseconds. Secondly, when you're leaving the room, it's possible to make a jump from the ledge over the water, all the way to the solid floor. Doing this will confuse the enemy, since landing in water makes a very unique sound, revealing your position to everyone who's close by. Also, when you're waiting for the ra, make sure you don't stand right beneath the trapdoor.
- It's possible to jump from the spawn point at water (the "hole in the wall" right beneath path) onto the ledge by the ra-secret exit. When you're standing here you have a good chance of catching people coming out of ra-secret, although you better be stacked since they will likely be packing a punch. :p
- Stand in one of the ya-boxes in big and keep a lookout for enemies coming from quad-low. If you time this correctly, you can telefrag them! Killing the quad this way is excellent.
E1M2
The key to e1m2 lies in a combination of defending the area spanning from ya to quad, and saving packs and ammo for your mates. There are even fewer weapons on this map than on dm3 (a single rl, gl, two sng and one ssg), and there is no ra. The lack of armors make this a very lethal map, and because there are so few weapons it's imperative that you save packs. The rl room is also very vulnerable to attacks which makes it a dangerous place to linger, so it's important to keep an eye on the gameclock. Being a map with a lot of narrow passages, such as gl-stairs, quad-stairs and spikes, it's not uncommon to suddenly find 5-6 players killed within a few seconds of an attack. A single player with ya and rl can fend off multiple attackers coming through these passages without breaking a sweat. This leads to fierce sg battles, often in the gl and/or quad rooms. If things are going bad it can be a good idea to assign two players to simply roam the map together and try to spot and kill rl enemies. When constantly outnumbered, they will wear down quickly, and they are also more likely to make mistakes. Meanwhile, make sure the other two teammates are attempting to gain control of ya and quad and manage to keep stacked.
The ya room is the most essential part of e1m2. It's easy to defend - enemies coming from spikes will make lots of noise, anyone coming via gl-stairs is easily spammed to death with rl. A bigger threat then is people coming from under the catwalk from spikes - they can be hard to see and can sometimes get sneak shots at you, and also people dropping down to sng can surprise you from beneath. Most often it's good to stand top of the ya, but far out close to the ledge. This way you won't automatically pick up the ya when it spawns, but you will be able to pick it up quickly if an enemy approaches. Passing armors on to your mates is essential - within 60 seconds (one quad cycle) the whole team can be stacked with ya if one guy already has it and defends ya properly.
The quadrunner must strive to have ya when he takes quad. If he doesn't, he should backtrack to ya and clear out gl on the way, and then move back towards cross and try to clear it out. If he has ya and rl, and teammates are holding ya, he should clear out cross and mega (can be tricky if the enemy camps mega-above with rl and/or gl) and then move through bridge room and finally go to ya and pick it up. If the team is not in control of ya this is the highest priority, and an attempt should be made to flood it from several directions if possible. It's likely that one enemy will stand on top of ya and wait for people to come from spikes and/or gl-stairs - if one of your mates run via spikes, you can quickly jump down gl-stairs and shoot a quad rocket at the guy standing at ya, effectively ripping him a new one. Alternatively, spam grenades down the gl-stairs and have a mate go via sng and try to attack from beneath.
Getting the RL can be tricky. While the room is small and accessible from three different ways (it's actually possible to come up from cross-water, either by jumping on a mate or by rocket-/grenadejumping), it also has a spawn point between the two water entrances. In addition to this, it's quite easy to shoot into the room from different angles. Most often, it's not worth hanging around in the rl room. Instead, try to time it and go there a few seconds before the next spawn (coming early means you'll have time to assess the situation and take out the poor enemy who just spawned there and is waiting in vain for that rl). Be mindful that the enemy will be thinking the same thing; *sometimes* it can be a good idea to camp out here for awhile (but only if you are not needed elsewhere, like at ya!) and smash any enemies trying to get the rl. If you do this for awhile the enemies are sure to send an rl guy your way (if they have one), in which case you will be focusing their attention away from ya and quad. But again, this is not very common - more often so than not you will find yourself standing into the wall for 25 seconds, while your team gets killed because you're not there, and they will spawn next to you (or telefrag you if you're careless).
When you're going for the rl, try to stack up on other stuff like armor (at least make sure you grab the ga), sng or ssg, and some rockets. This way you'll have a greater chance of survival in case there are enemies at rl. Also, if you don't get there right on time, you can afford to wait and can hold your ground somewhat against enemies.
Should the game turn out to be very even and the time is nearing the end, and your team has a slight lead, it's possible to withdraw into a defensive position, either at start or mega. Defending start is quite easy since there are a lot of places one can stand and have an advantage at anyone coming from either bridge (try standing among the boxes in the far side of the room, or on the arch over the door) or from rl (stand on the arch or in the window; reach it by jumping on the angled part of the pillar). The mega also has its advantages; it's possible to stand on mega-above and spam grenades and rockets towards cross. Also, it's possible to rocketjump up to even higher levels in this room, although it's almost never used in games because it often does more damage than good. If and when the entrance to mega is breached, the team can retreat to mega-exit and try to defend it (although this means you will be left with only an sng, a few shells and 30 health; try to avoid this unless there's 20 seconds left of the game).
Handy moves on e1m2:
- Kill enemies leaving rl by standing in the quad room, in the arch that is closest to quad-stairs, and shoot grenades at the far wall of the stairs in such an angle that they bounce down into cross-water. If you can't make the shot, stand on the top of quad-stairs and shoot directly, however this will expose you to fire from cross.
- Make sneak attacks on ya from beneath. Walk silently in the water from water-spikes (don't bunnyjump). Either try to kill off any enemy attempting to get the ya, or simply rocketjump up and snatch it directly.
- Stand behind the tele exit by the ga. You will not get telefragged, and you get a free shot at anyone going through the tele beneath ya.
- If you fall down into the water at gl-sng and miss picking up the sng, you can run from ya-water and jump right when you go through the arch. There's a small ramp in the floor that will make you jump just high enough to reach the sng ledge.
- Predictive shots: When you're chasing an enemy into the mega room and he goes for one of the teleports, shoot a rocket at the mega. He'll probably try to go there and the rocket has a good chance of hitting him. If you're feeling brave, shoot closer to the teleport exit (there is one on each side; the tele on the left side of the room leads to the exit at the right, and vice versa) and you might get a direct hit.
- Float around in the cross-water right under the ledge of the rl room and fill it up with grenades.
- When you have quad, roam the ya-gl-quad-cross area (if you're not needed on a specific place); this way you'll cover a lot of spawn points and will most likely rack up on frags.
- When you are alone at quad and the enemies are closing in, consider hiding in the quad-box. It's a place frequently overlooked, and with a bit of luck you'll be able to snatch quad and the enemies will cry.
ITEM TIMINGS
Pent: spawns at game start. Spawns 5 minutes after the last time it was picked up, or 4:30 after it runs out.
Ring: spawns at game start. Spawns 5 minutes after pickup.
Quad: spawns at game start. Thereafter it spawns ONE MINUTE after being picked up. Killing the Quad half a second after it's picked up does not shorten the time until the next spawn.
Armors: 20 seconds after last pickup. The red armor offers much better protection than the others; 150 RA is worth more than 150 YA, and 100 RA is worh a LOT more than 100 GA.
Mega: 20 seconds after running out. The person who picks it up boosts his health by 100; if his health was 100 when he picked it up, it will become 200. After 5 seconds the mega will start to decrease at a rate of 1 hp/sec. If the player has picked up multiple megas, he can boost his health to a maximum of 250 although the decrease rate will increase with 1 hp/sec for each mega picked up. After the player has reverted to 100 hp or less, the mega will respawn after 20 seconds. (Naturally, this means that several megas will spawn simultaneously if one player has picked up several of them before).
Ammo: 30 seconds.
Health: 20 seconds.
TEAMSAYS
Crucial teamsays include the following:
SWITCH [location] - this basically means that the person needs someone to come and take over whatever he's doing atm, be it defending tele on dm2 or maybe safekeeping ra on dm3. The reasons may vary; a report in conjunction can indicate low ammo level or perhaps low health.
HELP [location] - holy moley this place is being overrun. Help! Don't use this in situations where it doesn't really matter whether or not you die (e g when you run headlong into ra-mega with 200/100 and no weapon and face three rl enemies), since this will just clutter the mm2 and make things harder for everyone else. DO use it if you're defending something important, like tele on dm2, and you are holding enemies off but just barely.
GET [PENT/QUAD/RING] - well, what do you think? Use in conjunction with a "QUAD ON [time]" command if you have one, so your mates know when to go for it.
ENEMY @ [location] - can be used to report enemies at a specific point of interest, like "ENEMY @ big". This can mean a difference to the quadrunner or maybe someone defending a spot which the enemy will soon reach.
NEED [AMMO/ARMOR/RL/HEALTH] - well doh. Don't misuse this; don't take everything you come across on the map just because you happen to be there.
COMING [location] - this might be a good idea to say when you're running somewhere your mates might be expecting the wrong kind of company. Or simply a way of saying "I want that thing" about something that was just pointed out by a mate.
POINT @ [location] - this will show up like "RA @ RA-TOP", "RL @ LOW" and so on depending on what you point out. Use it to tell your mates that there is something available that you don't need or you think they need better than you. If noone replies with a COMING, make sure you pick it up yourself if there is a risk of the enemy getting it instead.
SAFE [location] - this essentially tells your mates that this particular area is cool, and that they can divert their attention elsewhere.
LOST [location] E:X - DO NOT USE THIS EXCESSIVELY. Basically this tells the team that an area is hot and that you just died there. The E:X shows up as E:2 to the team if there are 2 enemies close by where you died, and so on. If it's very important, like losing tele on dm2, use this in conjunction with the next command:
ATTACK [location] E:X - tells your mates to attack a specific location. Like the LOST command, don't overuse it.
REPORT - shows up like "UI 200R/100 RLG @ RA-TOP" or something like that. Don't report excessively, but do it if you suspect a teammate might shoot you or something like that. Also, it can be a quick way to sort out arguments regarding who should get the next spawn of something, like an RL. You should be able to read and understand a report message in much less than a second.
Thanks to ui who originally wrote this guide, it can be seen in its original state in Rookie's corner
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perhaps your frags wont be ze omg, but if you have at least 1 good player on your team he will notice that you play for the team and not for yourself, in the end of the day, who cares what the rookies think that might see your score and say like "lol he only got 20 frags -.- noob i can get more" when in fact you did a hell of a job for the team!
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