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Easy Ways to Win

Everything on this page is designed to be short, simple pointers that are hopefully easier to keep in mind when you're out on the field playing. Give us some feedback and let us know what you'd like to see on this (or any other) page. Drop us an e-mail at mike@mikescombatgames.com

Table of Contents


Basic Exercises and Drills to Win With

If you read nothing else and do nothing else suggested by this page, learn and practice the pole dancing exercise. Nothing will teach you more faster that you'll use more often. With that said, everything below is helpful and nothing is too terribly difficult. Some games that are particularly good exercises as well include 2-man Free-For-All, Sniper and Zombie. One other quick note: although Battlefield Live will help improve your performance in FPS video games by improving your strategies and ability to communicate on the fly, the reverse is not as true. Because physical capabilities (or physics themselves!) are exaggerated in video games players often find themselves "nerfed" by comparison, negating many strategies.

     Pole Dancing

You need: A partner, a tree and a pair of guns. Ideally your tree will be two to three feet wide. More is fine, but much less may make things difficult. Set the guns to bolt action mode with 3 hit points. Commandos and scorpions are probably some of the better guns for this exercise and both people should have the same gun.

Directions:Stand on the opposite side of the tree from your partner. You are not allowed to move within a yard of the tree. Count to three and on three start shooting. Your goal is to kill your partner. When one person dies, reset the guns and do it again.

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     Sneaky Race

You need: Two partners (one will be a referee), a section of brush or ground with lots of plants, sticks, etc., (alternately, a stretch of gravel works, too) and a pair of guns. Set the guns to semi-auto with 3 hit points. We recommend that at least the referee carries a Spitfire, but the two racers can use whatever they want.

Directions:The two racers line up about 30 feet away from the referee. The referee closes their eyes. On a signal from the referee both racers start moving towards the referee. If the referee hears any sounds they fire one shot at the location they believe the player to be. The racers want to touch the referee. Win conditions can vary, but we recommend that the winner is the racer with the most life left after they tag the referee.

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     Physical Conditioning

You need: Weights or heavy objects, hills and a really high level of dedication to your Battlefield Live game. (Or your airsoft, paintball or traditional lasertag game.)

Directions:When you get tired on the field your chances of dying skyrocket. Incorporate resistance or weight training into things you already do. Do you jog? Carry about as much weight with you as your favorite gaming gun. Do you ride a bike? Throw extra weight in your pack to work your back and core muscles. Even if you only work in an office you can wear wrist or ankle weights. Choose to take paths that have steep hills. Put extra effort into running faster on those hills. Time yourself on staircases and push to reduce your time. Basically, find a way to push yourself harder than you are now when you're away from the field so that you can perform better on the field.

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Ambush! How to Survive One and How to Spring One

     You're going to be jumped by someone almost every time you play. Our goal is to help you survive and fight back. First off, find cover. Get behind anything that's close by, although taller is better (because it allows you to stand up behind cover, which lets you move easier) and wider is safer. The wider the cover is the harder it becomes to flank you. Next, take a full step back from your cover. Yes, you heard me. Don't hug that tree you're hiding behind; pretend that it's got the stinkiest armpits ever. Why you're moving away from the cover you're hiding behind is a little complicated for a quick snippet of help like you're getting here, but the answer is in the essay on how to use cover, if you're interested later. Alternately, try the pole dancing exercise above to get a good intuition for why you're stepping away from the cover.

     Third, be aware of where your teammates are. Can any of them flank the ambushers? Are you likely to fire at anyone on accident? Are you far enough away from any of them that you can work together to get a wide angle of fire on any ambushers? This last suggestion is essentially a Pin & Flank without moving. Finally, if you have no support then move decisively: put enough fire on your opponents that they keep their heads down (this is called suppressive fire) and then run! Stay under cover as much as you can and don't be afraid to stop and give yourself more suppressive fire as you go, but only fire from behind cover.

Want to turn the tables on your opponents? There are a few tricks to pulling off a good ambush:

  • Don't open fire until the entire group you want to ambush can be fired upon. Don't give them the opportunity to split and flank you.
  • Remember that in Battlefield Live you can only be hit once per second. Sweep your fire across the group. If you're a lone ambusher and you're only taking on one or two other people try firing in 3 or 4 shot bursts.
  • Divide and conquer: when you're ambushing with multiple people, distribute the work in advance so that each person is only firing at some of the group.
  • Don't have ambushers on both sides of the target. It's ok to have teammates firing at a 90 degree angle to you, but the moment you start firing across from each other you'll have people firing at each other.
  • After the ambush make sure to pull back! Don't let your ambush party get snuck up on and flanked! Since the enemy team already knows where you are, make sure you aren't still there when they come back.

     Last but not least, the slower and more silently you move the less likely you'll be ambushed. Your eyes are attracted to movement. Also, sound tends to travel more than you expect it to. Just because your opponents are on the other side of a hill does NOT mean they can't hear you! If you have to move within your opponent's vision move straight towards them.

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The Pin & Flank Maneuver

     The pin & flank is not just a simple but effective technique, it's also the basic tactic for fighting effectively as a team. Put simply, when someone is hiding behind cover you can't shoot them. If you walk straight up you'll be diced to pieces unless you've got more moves than a ninja master. You can try to move from cover to cover to get around them but they'll be doing the same thing if they're smart, which will get you nowhere.

     Here's how to take out a pesky camper: have one person provide suppressive fire so the target keeps their head down. Send another person out to the side and forward so that they can get a better angle on the target and take them out. You can divide up the task amongst a group, too. The one thing (besides opposing teammates) that you have to look out for is that the target isn't able to pin the flanker and prevent them from finishing the maneuver. If this does happen the pin and flanker can switch roles and the flanker can work to provide covering fire while the pin moves around to eliminate the target. Remember: no cover can provide protection from every angle unless it prevents the target from firing, too, in which case they shouldn't trouble you at all.

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