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At A
Glance
Use these tips and tricks to make life easier and achieve
success with the Halo 3 beta.
Veterans of Halo® 2 and even Halo®: Combat Evolved
will feel immediately comfortable with the Halo® 3 beta,
but once the new weaponry and gadgets are understood, the
gameplay flow and the required tactics for success will undergo
radical change. Halo 3—even in beta form—is at
once sweetly familiar and undeniably unique, but we've provided
a few already proven techniques to ease you into the new multiplayer
beta. Consider the following:
Aim
well.
Shielded
Territory
The most talked about addition to Halo gadgetry has been the
new bubble-shield, and its remarkable ability to keep any
bullet, laser, needle, or rocket at bay. Of its myriad uses
though, its tactical placement during Territory matches may
be the most strategically impressive.
For example,
snag the bubble-shield near the spawn point at the outset
of a Territory match on Higher Ground and rush Territory 1
as a team. With two players camped on top of the Territory
with a bubble-shield, and the other two roaming to pick off
sneaky defenders, success is imminent.
Rip the
Turret
Turrets have always played an important part in the Halo series,
but now that you can rip them free from their housing and
turn these Gatling gun powerhouses into mobile weaponry, their
use increases tenfold. They are particularly effective when
playing defense on One-Bomb, One-Flag CTF, or Territory, as
you settle yourself into a defensive position and riddle attackers
with a hail of unrelenting gunfire.
Mined
Objectives
The new trip-mine allows you to net kills from a distance,
and while their intended purpose is to protect objectives
(such as the bomb site in One-Bomb matches), you'll find they
are very useful in chokepoints, rather than directly on the
objective. Players are actively scanning objective locations
for mines, but they're still sprinting blindly through hallways
on the way to the objective.
Roll
on through.
Rocket
Deliberation
Halo 2 players must swiftly come to terms with the more deliberate
pace of the rocket launcher. Yes, it is slower, but that doesn't
mean you should abandon its use. Unlike the brute-shot, the
splash damage on the rocket-launcher is most impressive, and
with a change in timing, it's just as effective as before.
Blanket
Explosions
Speaking of the brute-shot, make sure you play to its strengths.
Don't treat it as a one-shot kill device but instead as a
blanket of carnage. When you leap down on a flag capture point
in CTF and lay down six rapid fire grenade strikes, you'll
begin to understand its use.
Weapon
Placement
Though it isn't specific to the Halo 3 beta, you would be
wise to locate and memorize the position of each weapon and
upgrade. With hardcore Halo 2 players already in full swing
on the beta, your only chance at survival is equality of weaponry.
Don't let them beat you to all the massive-damage weapons
(Spartan laser, turret, rocket launcher) or you're in for
a long match.
Video
Reflection
Thanks to Halo 3's save-replay system, learning from your
mistakes has never been so easy. Simply tap X when viewing
the after-match statistics to save your replay, but do yourself
a favor, and instead of filling your profile with a "greatest
hits" collection of victories, try saving an equal number
of humiliating defeats. There are few better tools to improving
as a Halo player than objectively assessing a match and uncovering
your mistakes and weaknesses as a team.
So
many paths, so many options.
Stick
It
Killer grenade tosses around corners have always been a staple
of the Halo multiplayer experience, but with the spiked grenade,
you can utilize the same tactic with superior precision. Instead
of tossing a frag grenade that bounces at unpredictable angles,
slam a spiked grenade into the wall over a doorway as you
watch your enemy's red dot close in. Boom.
Grav
Tactics
The grav-lift shoots you up into the air to gain access to
normally out-of-reach places, but its placement is crucial.
Typically, you should drop the grav-lift near a high-up weapon
placement more easily accessible to the enemy's spawn location.
For example, the Spartan laser on Higher Ground can be reached
easily by the group that spawns behind the wall, but with
the grav-lift, the group down below can make a run for it
just as quickly.
Drain
the Hill
The power-drainer rips off the enemy's energy shields and
is devastating when properly used. There may be no better
application for this worthy addition to the Halo arsenal than
in Team Crazy King matches. Drop a power-drainer on a tightly-clustered
enemy crew huddling inside the hill, and you'll transfer ownership
in a hurry.
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Article
by Ryan Treit
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