How to Use Drop Shield Effectively

Drop shield is intended as a defensive and healing ability. When used effectively a player can time it very well to protect an objective or to save himself or his team from immediate danger. Like the video above shows: the user throws down a quick drop shield just before the red attacker fires a rocket. The rocket splash kills the red player whilst the blue player remains alive.
Of course if you find yourself low on health and not under attack, it is a good idea to throw a drop shield down to obtain full health once more.
Remember that drop shield only heals the health, not the shielding, of any player(s) within its bubble.

How to Use Hologram Effectively

The first time the player uses hologram he sends it across the bridge. The second time after a lapse in fighting he aims the hologram to the floor next to where he is standing. The players then runs across the bridge in a straight line pretending to be the hologram. After the enemy dismisses him as a hologram he opens up fire and kills the other team.

Genius.

This next video uses the hologram to confuse the enemy and claim a nice double kill. Good work.

How To Use Camouflage Effectively

In the first video, the players uses camo along with a sniper rifle to insta- kill his victim. A great tactic for all camo users is to grab a power weapon like this or the rockets for a quick easy point.

In the second video an elite player hides and waits, lying in ambush on two opponent. One of which he successfully assassinates. (also it shows that people don't look at their radar enough)

Hope you enjoy the videos. And thanks to the guys who posted them nice work.

How To Use Jet Pack Effectively

This video shows just how powerful JetPack can be if used correctly. Near the beginning he flew into the air and used the range of his pistol to get the kill. Stole the rockets. Flying up over the building is a shortcut to where he was able to view the whole map. Although he missed with the rocket launcher, you can see how effective it can be when shot from the air to the ground.

How To Use Sprint Effectively

Here is an awesome video from machinima.com thanks for dong this one. It nicely explains a couple of uses for sprint and how to use this armour ability effectively without wasting or running (pun) down the meter needlessly.

How To Use Armour Lock Effectively

In this short 30 second clip you will see just how to use armour lock effectively. The player uses armour lock to destroy a ghost who charges directly at him. The ghost explodes and he gets the kill. Then a warthog tries to run him how, the warthog gets flipped and stunned.

Can you see how simple but effective armour lock can be when used correctly for defending, but then how that defence can be turned around into an offensive power/ability. One that can tip the battle in your favour.

Try doing this yourself, just to see how easy it is to kill a charging vehicle.

Armour Abilities: How They Work - Part 3

As everybody knows by now, when Halo Reach hit the shelves back in Sept 2010, and having sampled the beta myself in May 2010, the newly included armour abilities were introduced into the game.

The idea behind armour abilities is to give a player a certain advantage in battle. And to fit in with the story of Halo Reach, the planet Reach was primarily a military fortress world where new technology was being developed. Hence we get these armour abilities. From the next game in the series point of view the armour abilities are a more refined version of the deployable, and 1-time use, equipment from Halo 3.

Now, there are several armour abilities you get to choose from when you begin a match in Halo Reach. These armour abilities are preset by the gametype and match you are playing.

The armour abilities include:

• Sprint
• Evade (elites)
• Armour Lock
• Jet Pack
• Medic (drop shield)
• Camouflage
• Hologram

We'll take each armour ability at a time, describing how it works dynamically, and then a brief note on how to use it to full effect.

Note: all armour abilities have a cool down time once used, which replenishes automatically, some take longer than others. And you get the choice to switch which ability you want to use each time you respawn. So you can keep changing them each time if you want.

Copy and paste over. In part three of this article we will look at the last two of the Armour Abilities. We'll talk about Camouflage and Hologram.


CAMOUFLAGE


Camouflage is an armour ability that renders your character somewhat invisible to the eye. When activated two things happen, you become invisible and the radar gets jammed. The reason for this is for balance so even though you may not be seen, an enemy will know you are nearby.

Things to know about Camouflage. When pressed the ability meter will begin to drain. The rate of drain depends on how fast or slow your character is moving. Camo is more effective when moving slowly and drains the meter much slower. You can fire when camouflaged but the more you do the more visible you will become.

Using camouflage can work well with melee weapons like the sword or hammer, or even the rocket launcher or sniper rifle. You can sneak into position, or stay in a really open place where no one usually travels and still be safe. Camo can be used to distract a whole team when attacking or defending. One player pops their camouflage and the other team will lose their radar to the jamming effect, thus disrupting their flow and co-ordination.


HOLOGRAM


Hologram projects an image of your character when activated. The hologram moves across the terrain to wherever you have pointed your reticle. Holograms serve to confuse your enemy into wasting shots, or distracting them while running away or towards them.


Things to know about hologram. Only one hologram can be activated at a time. The ability recharges quite quickly. If a hologram has not disappeared before a new one is deployed, then the old one will vanish when the new one is activated.

Hologram is mostly used in team sniper games. Hologram is the bane of snipers because not only does a shot become wasted, but your position is revealed as well. A trick that many use when closing in on someone is to send a hologram right at them, this can confuse their aim if done correctly, as both the hologram and the players tend to merge in and out of each other.

So that's all for now on armour abilities. I hope you have a good idea of how they work now and how you can use them to good effect in your online matchups.

Armour Abilities: How They Work - Part 2

As everybody knows by now, when Halo Reach hit the shelves back in Sept 2010, and having sampled the beta myself in May 2010, the newly included armour abilities were introduced into the game.

The idea behind armour abilities is to give a player a certain advantage in battle. And to fit in with the story of Halo Reach, the planet Reach was primarily a military fortress world where new technology was being developed. Hence we get these armour abilities. From the next game in the series point of view the armour abilities are a more refined version of the deployable, and 1-time use, equipment from Halo 3.

Now, there are several armour abilities you get to choose from when you begin a match in Halo Reach. These armour abilities are preset by the gametype and match you are playing.

The armour abilities include:

• Sprint
• Evade (elites)
• Armour Lock
• Jet Pack
• Medic (drop shield)
• Camouflage
• Hologram

We'll take each armour ability at a time, describing how it works dynamically, and then a brief note on how to use it to full effect.

Note: all armour abilities have a cool down time once used, which replenishes automatically, some take longer than others. And you get the choice to switch which ability you want to use each time you respawn. So you can keep changing them each time if you want.

Copy and paste over. In part two of this article we will look at another two of the Armour Abilities. We'll talk abut Jet Pack and Drop Shield.

JET PACK


As you would expect jet pack allows you the ability to fly around for short periods of time. When activated the JetPack will send you upwards a certain height as long as the button is pressed. To cover a gap or distance over the ground you can pulse the trigger for short burst to cover a long distance.


Things to know about JetPack. You can fire your weapon whilst flying. If you fall from the air you will still take fall damage. When falling if you activate a short burst of your JetPack you will soften the fall and can avoid sustaining heavy amounts of fall damage. JetPack recharges fairly quickly when not in use. JetPack can be used to hop up several levels in a short space of time than if you were manually running on foot.

JetPack works very effectively if you have a rocket launcher. The added height advantage affords you air to ground shots, with a much reduced chance of blow back on your character. Caution is required for JetPack-ers as flying around all the time with no cover makes you an easy target. Also a neat trick is to jump before activating your JetPack for a better climb in the air.




DROP SHIELD


When deployed the drop shield creates a bubble, sphere, of protection from damage. It also heals the health, not shields, of any player inside it. This bubble can only sustain so much damage before expiring.

Things to know about Drop Shield. When activated your ability meter will drain entirely, giving you only 1 bubble shield per shot. However if you press the button accidentally and the character does not compete the animation, you will not drop a shield and the meter will remain full.

Drop shield is great for blocking in door ways, and then protect them with melee weapons. Or just for a quick heal. Also the protection offered in objective based games proves a very powerful armour ability to have.


In part three the last two armour abilities will be discussed.

Armour Abilities: How They Work - Part 1

As everybody knows by now, when Halo Reach hit the shelves back in Sept 2010, and having sampled the beta myself in May 2010, the newly included armour abilities were introduced into the game.

The idea behind armour abilities is to give a player a certain advantage in battle. And to fit in with the story of Halo Reach, the planet Reach was primarily a military fortress world where new technology was being developed. Hence we get these armour abilities. From the next game in the series point of view the armour abilities are a more refined version of the deployable, and 1-time use, equipment from Halo 3.

Now, there are several armour abilities you get to choose from when you begin a match in Halo Reach. These armour abilities are preset by the gametype and match you are playing.

The armour abilities include:

• Sprint
• Evade (elites)
• Armour Lock
• Jet Pack
• Medic (drop shield)
• Camouflage
• Hologram

We'll take each armour ability at a time, describing how it works dynamically, and then a brief note on how to use it to full effect.

Note: all armour abilities have a cool down time once used, which replenishes automatically, some take longer than others. And you get the choice to switch which ability you want to use each time you respawn. So you can keep changing them each time if you want.

SPRINT

Sprint is well sprinting. This is much faster than the ordinary run speed. You can not fire when you sprint, but can fire very quickly after you stop.

Things to note about sprint. If you jump when sprinting you will leap much further than normal. This is handy for jumping big gaps, evading an enemy or fleeing a vehicle. A deadly combination of sprinting is using a melee weapon like the sword or gravity hammer. You sprint up to an opponent and kill them in on hit with the sword or hammer.

Tip: Press the sprint button again to stop the sprinting before the meter runs out. The recharge time is fractionally less than if you were to let the meter run down entirely.

EVADE

Evade is commonly used by elites. It is an ability that allows the player to perform a rolling manoeuvre in whichever direction the character is running. A player can evade 2 times in quick succession before the meter runs out. After which the ability recharges.

Things to note about evade. Whilst evading you can not fire. A good way to use evade is to use one evade to move around and attack, and then use another evade to take cover again. Also, try rolling behind an enemy so they can't shoot you. You can also use two evades to close in on an opponent quickly if they are far away, then melee them with the sword. 

Tip: If you jump immediately after evading, the jump will be slightly more pronounced in distance leapt than a regular jump. However this was toned down slightly from the beta.

ARMOUR LOCK

Armour lock is a protective ability which makes you immune to damage. Yes you become invincible. The ability remains on only as longs as you hold down the trigger. Your character goes into a crouch position, unable to move. However you can still revolve the camera around to see any enemies. And once you release the trigger the ability releases a small emp shock that reduces nearby enemy shields. 

The intended use for armour lock is versus a vehicle. Say a ghost or warthog that wants to splatter (crush) you. Armour lock can destroy a vehicle that hits you directly when activated. 

Things to know about armour lock. Armour lock can be activated twice in succession, or continually for several seconds. 

Tip: If you are nearby an enemy armour lock and release, then beat them down with a melee. The emp effect reduces their shields and you get a free kill. If an enemy armour locks, run up to him and use your armour lock. Simply wait and release after he comes out. Other tactics include locking, thus avoiding damage, releasing and throwing a grenade, then armour locking again to stay alive.

The other four armour abilities will be discussed in part 2.