Tips for a multiplayer newbie?

[ELiTExSNiPER]

Originally Posted by Extreme Content

I have no idea why I took the time to write this up. I'll chalk it up to being bored at work and having little else to do that's mildly entertaining. Plus I'd like to have had this advice myself when I started, so... hopefully it'll be helpful to you guys.

1. Learn the maps. Playing Annex is a good way to get to know the maps and weapon locations. Alternatively, you could load up a private player match with your second controller as guest and run around exploring. Most important thing to know is weapon locations.

2. Shadow another player. This helps you learn the maps as well (since most players go straight for a power weapon in the beginning), but most importantly it gives you a greater chance of having power in numbers when confronting the enemy.

3. Communicate. This is a big one. If you don't have a mic, get one. Call out enemies as you see them and call out their weapons if you know them. Encourage your teammates to do the same.

4. Use active reloads. An active reloaded bullet is worth about 1.5 times as much damage as a regular bullet. An active reload only lasts for 5 seconds though, so make sure to reload just before getting into a fight if you want to make effective use of it.

5. Keep your Lancer out. A lot of people may disagree with this advice but it's usually best to keep the Lancer as your primary weapon until you're faced with an enemy at close range or you're about to enter an area with lots of ambush points. The Lancer is very effective at medium range, especially with active reload, and it's even better with two or more team mates focusing on one enemy.

6. Learn to shotgun battle. Shotgun battling, at least until Gears 2 comes out, is probably going to account for about half of your kills. Effective shotgun battling means:

- Keep moving. Half of winning a shotgun battle is staying alive yourself. Move side to side, wall bounce, or roll to the side a lot. Make it tough for them to hit you.

- Blind fire. Do NOT aim your shotgun. It will get you killed. Learn where the center of your screen is and try to put your enemy there. While you DO seem to get more damage if you aim your shotgun, it will keep you from moving around and you'll be dead very quickly.

- Aim for the legs. Arm, torso and stomach can take more damage than the legs. Getting a headshot with your shotty is more about luck than skill, so aiming high can backfire. Keep your gun low and you should be able to put the other guy down pretty quickly.

- Don't panic, take the right shot. Most newbie shotgun battlers (and even some veteran ones) will panic and just constantly fire, taking shots that have no hope of hitting. Don't waste your time or your ammo. Keep moving around and wait to shoot until you've got a shot you know will hit him.

7. Learn when and how to use the power weapons. Here's a tip or two for each:

- Longshot. Don't even pick it up unless you know what you're doing. Practice in campaign mode or in player matches. This is a very tough weapon to learn to use effectively. As a new player, your best bet is to get active reloads and hope you can hit someone far away. You can down them in one shot with active reload, but be prepared to endure an endless stream of verbal attacks on your mother and your sexual preference if you make a habit of doing that.

- Torque Bow. Learn the right amount of charge time. Most newbies make the mistake of waiting too long to let it charge. It only needs about 1.5 seconds of charge time before it will stick into any enemy. Not much else to know with this one.

- Boomshot. Very effective and easy to use weapon, but it's ALWAYS in an ambush spot. Be very, very careful whenever you go to pick it up because you're probably about to get pwned. If you do get your hands on it, aim it at the ground in front of the enemy, NOT at the enemy. You'll rarely hit them and the area blast is usually enough to down/kill them anyway. Also take care not to fire it at an enemy too close by as the blast damage will kill or down you as well.

- Frags. Most effective when thrown into an area with a lot of enemies standing around. You can try to tag but it can take some time to learn how to effectively get away without dying yourself (plus your mother and sexual preference will again be the focus of insults if you do).

- Hammer of Dawn. Best to just leave it alone until you get better. It's a very buggy and frustrating weapon to use as it rarely engages when you need it to. Pressing B to melee with it right before you aim it tends to increase your chances of getting it to drop at the right time, but even then you're not guaranteed the weapon will work properly. You should also be aware that the melee with this weapon takes 3 hits instead of the standard 2, so it's THE worst close range weapon.

- Boltok Pistol & Hammerburst. Upgrades to the Lancer and Snub Pistol. The Hammerburst is very slightly more effective than the Lancer, but usually only with active reload. The Boltok Pistol is a very good upgrade to the Snub Pistol (and I even like it as a primary weapon since it's almost as powerful as a shotgun and more accurate with a longer melee range).

8. Don't just stand there! Even when in cover, keep moving. Look around (there's always somebody behind you) and, if you're not moving, your head is an easy target for even the worst sniper.

9. Know when to retreat. Are you about to die? Are you outnumbered? Do they have a more powerful weapon? Then get the hell out of there. Give yourself time to heal and/or even the playing field. Retreating is a very good tactic to use when you're the last one on your team vs. superior numbers. The other team will almost always split up, allowing you to hide and pick them off one by one.

10. Find someone who knows how to play and learn more. This list is just the beginning of what you'll need to know to be effective at Gears. There are hundreds more little details that you'll only learn through getting your ass handed to you repeatedly on a regular basis, but you can learn those things faster if you roll with people who know how to play and try to learn from them. I'm not greatest, but I'm pretty good, so if you want hir me up on XBL and I'll play w/you.

Good luck.

if you wrote all this up i absolutely envy you lol .
Extreme pretty much said everything you need to know .

[Jamesus]

Extreme Content, I repped you for those tips. I had no idea that active reload only lasted for five seconds, I thought it lasted longer. Those tips should be put in a thread titled "Gears of War n00b tips" then stickied, great guide.

Its so much easier with communication, but I noticed most guys online don't like to use it in battle because their worried about getting all the kills and trying to dominate . Recently me and some friends have started going to ranked matches together and playing, the communication is great. We tell each other whats happening, when to look out and all that stuff. I like playing with my friends I know because they'll actually revive you and do stuff to help you out those other guys don't.

I also I noticed at Gridlock, everyone rushes for the sniper rifle and I have no clue why. But when you're heading up there tell the other guys to lancer them and distract them, so you can go get the boomshot and can come back and take out most of them. Eventually they'll catch on, but its a great strategy while its effective.

[MrBigShot_23]

Originally Posted by Extreme Content

I have no idea why I took the time to write this up. I'll chalk it up to being bored at work and having little else to do that's mildly entertaining. Plus I'd like to have had this advice myself when I started, so... hopefully it'll be helpful to you guys.

1. Learn the maps. Playing Annex is a good way to get to know the maps and weapon locations. Alternatively, you could load up a private player match with your second controller as guest and run around exploring. Most important thing to know is weapon locations.

2. Shadow another player. This helps you learn the maps as well (since most players go straight for a power weapon in the beginning), but most importantly it gives you a greater chance of having power in numbers when confronting the enemy.

3. Communicate. This is a big one. If you don't have a mic, get one. Call out enemies as you see them and call out their weapons if you know them. Encourage your teammates to do the same.

4. Use active reloads. An active reloaded bullet is worth about 1.5 times as much damage as a regular bullet. An active reload only lasts for 5 seconds though, so make sure to reload just before getting into a fight if you want to make effective use of it.

5. Keep your Lancer out. A lot of people may disagree with this advice but it's usually best to keep the Lancer as your primary weapon until you're faced with an enemy at close range or you're about to enter an area with lots of ambush points. The Lancer is very effective at medium range, especially with active reload, and it's even better with two or more team mates focusing on one enemy.

6. Learn to shotgun battle. Shotgun battling, at least until Gears 2 comes out, is probably going to account for about half of your kills. Effective shotgun battling means:

- Keep moving. Half of winning a shotgun battle is staying alive yourself. Move side to side, wall bounce, or roll to the side a lot. Make it tough for them to hit you.

- Blind fire. Do NOT aim your shotgun. It will get you killed. Learn where the center of your screen is and try to put your enemy there. While you DO seem to get more damage if you aim your shotgun, it will keep you from moving around and you'll be dead very quickly.

- Aim for the legs. Arm, torso and stomach can take more damage than the legs. Getting a headshot with your shotty is more about luck than skill, so aiming high can backfire. Keep your gun low and you should be able to put the other guy down pretty quickly.

- Don't panic, take the right shot. Most newbie shotgun battlers (and even some veteran ones) will panic and just constantly fire, taking shots that have no hope of hitting. Don't waste your time or your ammo. Keep moving around and wait to shoot until you've got a shot you know will hit him.

7. Learn when and how to use the power weapons. Here's a tip or two for each:

- Longshot. Don't even pick it up unless you know what you're doing. Practice in campaign mode or in player matches. This is a very tough weapon to learn to use effectively. As a new player, your best bet is to get active reloads and hope you can hit someone far away. You can down them in one shot with active reload, but be prepared to endure an endless stream of verbal attacks on your mother and your sexual preference if you make a habit of doing that.

- Torque Bow. Learn the right amount of charge time. Most newbies make the mistake of waiting too long to let it charge. It only needs about 1.5 seconds of charge time before it will stick into any enemy. Not much else to know with this one.

- Boomshot. Very effective and easy to use weapon, but it's ALWAYS in an ambush spot. Be very, very careful whenever you go to pick it up because you're probably about to get pwned. If you do get your hands on it, aim it at the ground in front of the enemy, NOT at the enemy. You'll rarely hit them and the area blast is usually enough to down/kill them anyway. Also take care not to fire it at an enemy too close by as the blast damage will kill or down you as well.

- Frags. Most effective when thrown into an area with a lot of enemies standing around. You can try to tag but it can take some time to learn how to effectively get away without dying yourself (plus your mother and sexual preference will again be the focus of insults if you do).

- Hammer of Dawn. Best to just leave it alone until you get better. It's a very buggy and frustrating weapon to use as it rarely engages when you need it to. Pressing B to melee with it right before you aim it tends to increase your chances of getting it to drop at the right time, but even then you're not guaranteed the weapon will work properly. You should also be aware that the melee with this weapon takes 3 hits instead of the standard 2, so it's THE worst close range weapon.

- Boltok Pistol & Hammerburst. Upgrades to the Lancer and Snub Pistol. The Hammerburst is very slightly more effective than the Lancer, but usually only with active reload. The Boltok Pistol is a very good upgrade to the Snub Pistol (and I even like it as a primary weapon since it's almost as powerful as a shotgun and more accurate with a longer melee range).

8. Don't just stand there! Even when in cover, keep moving. Look around (there's always somebody behind you) and, if you're not moving, your head is an easy target for even the worst sniper.

9. Know when to retreat. Are you about to die? Are you outnumbered? Do they have a more powerful weapon? Then get the hell out of there. Give yourself time to heal and/or even the playing field. Retreating is a very good tactic to use when you're the last one on your team vs. superior numbers. The other team will almost always split up, allowing you to hide and pick them off one by one.

10. Find someone who knows how to play and learn more. This list is just the beginning of what you'll need to know to be effective at Gears. There are hundreds more little details that you'll only learn through getting your ass handed to you repeatedly on a regular basis, but you can learn those things faster if you roll with people who know how to play and try to learn from them. I'm not greatest, but I'm pretty good, so if you want hir me up on XBL and I'll play w/you.

Good luck.

Wow thanks alot bro. Those tips defiently help a ton and I will use them for sure. I might send you a friend request so I can play with you some time.

[WRHSFootball63]

If at first you dont succeed try and try again

[Extreme Content]

Glad it helped. Hit me up on Live, I'll be happy to play w/ you guys.

Originally Posted by Jamesus

Its so much easier with communication, but I noticed most guys online don't like to use it in battle because their worried about getting all the kills and trying to dominate . Recently me and some friends have started going to ranked matches together and playing, the communication is great. We tell each other whats happening, when to look out and all that stuff. I like playing with my friends I know because they'll actually revive you and do stuff to help you out those other guys don't.

I play ranked almost exclusively with clan members now. I've noticed my overall win % in both matches and rounds is just over 2-1 now, but we get a LOT more quitters on the other team, especially on certain maps (Fuel Depot is bad).

People hate to lose anyway, but they really hate to lose when they know everybody on the other team plays together (and has host) while they're playing with 3 guys who don't talk and one of them won't share the coveted sniper rifle, lol.

Originally Posted by Jamesus

I also I noticed at Gridlock, everyone rushes for the sniper rifle and I have no clue why. But when you're heading up there tell the other guys to lancer them and distract them, so you can go get the boomshot and can come back and take out most of them. Eventually they'll catch on, but its a great strategy while its effective.

Personally, I go for Boom almost every time. Stategically speaking though, if you know what you're doing, Longshot is probably the better option. Assuming one team gets Boom and the other gets Longshot at the same time, the team with Longshot is in a stronger position. Boom is really poor long range weapon and, in order to get in close enough to use it effectively, you'll have to rush across the map out in the open without getting hit by an active sniper bullet (more likely than a headshot).

As far as team strategy, I like to send 3 to Longshot and 1 to Boom. Let the 1 at Boom camp on the car and wait. The 3 at Longshot will engage the Lancer fight. If the team is communicating effectively, they'll know early on how many are in each spot. "All 4 at snipe!" means the Boom guy can run in and pick it up. "Just 2 at snipe!" means the guy at Boom should watch his flank and try to delay the other team getting Boom for as long as possible. "Nobody at snipe!" means the Boom guy better get the hell out of there and meet back at the sniper tower before he gets his ass blown up.

[Jamesus]

Originally Posted by Extreme Content

Glad it helped. Hit me up on Live, I'll be happy to play w/ you guys.



I play ranked almost exclusively with clan members now. I've noticed my overall win % in both matches and rounds is just over 2-1 now, but we get a LOT more quitters on the other team, especially on certain maps (Fuel Depot is bad).

People hate to lose anyway, but they really hate to lose when they know everybody on the other team plays together (and has host) while they're playing with 3 guys who don't talk and one of them won't share the coveted sniper rifle, lol.



Personally, I go for Boom almost every time. Stategically speaking though, if you know what you're doing, Longshot is probably the better option. Assuming one team gets Boom and the other gets Longshot at the same time, the team with Longshot is in a stronger position. Boom is really poor long range weapon and, in order to get in close enough to use it effectively, you'll have to rush across the map out in the open without getting hit by an active sniper bullet (more likely than a headshot).

As far as team strategy, I like to send 3 to Longshot and 1 to Boom. Let the 1 at Boom camp on the car and wait. The 3 at Longshot will engage the Lancer fight. If the team is communicating effectively, they'll know early on how many are in each spot. "All 4 at snipe!" means the Boom guy can run in and pick it up. "Just 2 at snipe!" means the guy at Boom should watch his flank and try to delay the other team getting Boom for as long as possible. "Nobody at snipe!" means the Boom guy better get the hell out of there and meet back at the sniper tower before he gets his ass blown up.

Send me an add this morning and we'll play, xJamesusx.