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 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 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.

Next Mini Series - Advanced Tips For Online Multiplayer

So I hope you enjoyed the first mini-series of basic tips. And in the next few days I will release the next series of more advanced tips to keep you up to speed with the more skilled online halo gamers out there.

Part 1 of the advanced tips will be about two aspects of your halo experience. Crouching and hiding. And vehicle and weapon spawning.

It is my aim in the advanced section to improve the way you look at the game while your playing it, so as to get a clearer view of the whole scope of functions and actions that you can utilize to improve your game. Plus it's also from my perspective:  someone who has played perhaps a little too much halo over the years.

So I hope you find this next mini series informative and exciting as you learn some neat tips. Ones that I've learned and have been using, that gives you a nice edge in online matchmaking.. Part 1 is coming soon!

Part 3 - Basics to Online Multiplayer, Getting the Best Out of You

Part 3 - Avoiding Mistakes and Focusing.

 Here are some mistakes you want to avoid, these include:

• Mis-throwing a grenade that backfires on you, hurts/kills a team mate or flips a friendly vehicle.
• Rushing into battle constantly with only an assault rifle and grenades. (seen it thousands and thousands of times) Unless you're very experienced and have deduced that the enemy is not good enough to beat you. 
• Rocket killing your own team mates. Which is even easier that grenade killing them.
• Carrying 2 power weapons at a time. Rockets and Shotgun. Sniper and Rockets. Are bad combos for one player, it's generally much better to assign a team mate the other power weapon and have a DMR or Pistol in reserve.
• Rushing into battles, and giving away your position. (again see I this thousands of times)
• Running out in the open with short range power weapons.
• Staying indoors with long range power weapons like the sniper rifle.

That point about rushing into battles ties in with being focused, because most times it's your attitude that makes you rush in and dying ( which just feeds the enemy kills until they get a free win.) You just get frustrated and try the same thing over and over again. Use your map knowledge, learn where the right weapons are that you need.

Being Focused.

This is something you need to get in the habit of doing. And it's best described as being in the zone. Sounds a little cliched, but it's almost like you have to be sensitive to everything going on in the game. The movement of your team and the opposing team, the power weapons, who controls them, what the current score is, who the good and bad players are.

The more you stay focused on these things and especially on achieving your short term and overall game goals, the better you will do. This means having as few out of game distractions, like eating, drinking, talking etc... this of course is different for everybody, but do what's best for you.

Another thing is to try and stay loose. An overly tense player can't fully focus on playing as they are too tense. And this can change throughout the course of a game. Try to relax and focus on playing your game.

Part 2 - Basics to Online Multiplayer, Getting the Best Out of You

Watching Your Team Mates and Observing The Opposition.

3) Watching where your team mates are going is another crucial aspect to consider. As there is little point in 3 or more team members running for the same power weapon or vehicle that ultimately only one player can utilize. But having 2 of you secure a power weapon is always a good solid tactic, and the preferred method.

The N00b tube, or Spankr as some call it.

Also it's a good idea to look out for team members who tend to play alone, help them out where possible without sacrificing your position or game plan. Or if you team member is sniping, give them cover, maybe with a shotgun, so they are able to focus on their task.

So deadly in close quarters.

4) Observing the minimap, and viewing (catching sight of) the enemy from afar is another key aspect that begins at your basic level. Try to judge which way the enemy are headed, and why. Are they securing a power weapon? are they controlling the higher ground, or a certain vehicle?  or holding up in a certain room or area?

Once an enemy spot appears on your radar you should have a very good idea of where he is. You should also be able to deduce from his movement, or lack of, things like: has he noticed you on the radar too, what is his objective (is he running for a power weapon or just hovering around a room or stopped there waiting to ambush you or your team.)

If you are out numbered, there is always the choice to retreat, don't always jump straight in, it rarely ever works. Unless, of course, you are confident in using a weapon like the Rocket Launcher to soften the enemy up.

The radar can only show you players that are close by. For larger maps, you will need to develop a keen eye so that when you spot an enemy you can gather an idea of his weapons, location and movement in a split second. Even from across the map on say team sniper matches. The moment you start not paying attention is where the match slips away.

Can you see how paying attention to your team and the enemy is key to a playing the right sort of game. At all times you should have a rough idea of where everyone is. What weapons are in control, and who is controlling them. Where an objective is (if doing objective based games).

Try to be aware of as much as possible at all times.

Part 1 - Basics to Online Multiplayer, Getting the Best Out of You

This blog is primarily about Halo:Reach, but can be translated to Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary multiplayer as well. The basics of playing human opponents, revolves around a few key things from the outset of a match. So let's get straight to it.

 Key points are as follows:

• Choosing the right weapon and armour ability.
• Choosing a strategy like for example, go for weapon X  to achieve an objective Y.
• Watching where your team mates are going and what they are doing.
• Observing the opposition to determine their plans.
• Reducing/Avoiding doing silly mistakes.
• Having the right frame of mind to play: being focused.

Choosing the right weapons and armour ability. Choosing a strategy.

1) Choosing the right weapon varies slightly with each match up based. But 9 time out of 10 when the game starts, your best choice is to pick up a rifle.

The DMR, Designated Marksman Rifle (above picture) fits the bill perfectly. In fact, it is your best friend, as it can quickly strip an opponent of shields and take them out with a head shot once they are unshielded. Favour getting the DMR first, where possible.

Once you have a rifle, next you will want to head for a power weapon. This is because most games can be won based on who controls the power weapons. Power weapons are one hit kill weapons like the shotgun, sniper rifle, sword, fuel rod gun and rocket launcher. Which one you choose depends on the map and your style.

Personally I go for the Rocket Launcher. As with all weapons, practice, practice, practice! Try to become comfortable with your weaponry. The DMR is a clinical tool. Hammer away at the trigger for close range targets, whilst pacing your shots more on medium range.

1.5) Choosing the "right" armour ability can be very circumstantial. It is also a matter of choice. Choose Sprint to get to the power weapons quickly. The other armour abilities, for the moment, can be considered after the game changes, ie: once you respawn and need something like armour lock to block the rockets the enemy now has.

Team tactics using abilities like armour lock to draw fire and camouflage to blind enemy radars will be discussed some other time.

2) This is the part where your weapon choice now affects the game play. With a DMR you can put pressure across short, medium and long distances. DMR beats the assault rifle, especially while still in the opening 10-20 seconds of the match. And with that DMR you should be heading to your first power weapon. Possibly the sniper or rocket, as these usually have to be fought over to obtain.

In some cases you may favour getting a better position (possibly higher or further away) instead of going for the power weapon(s). A good example is the rockets on Powerhouse in the spillway, as Red Team spawns on top.

You goal in most games should revolve around keeping possession of power weapons, and keeping them in the best area where they can be utilized to the full.
It's no good having a Shotgun roaming around outside a base against a team of DMR and Snipers. And it's no good keeping a Spartan Laser in doors.

Coming Up In Part 2: Watching Your Team Mates and Observing The Opposition.