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FFA (Free For All) Tactics
This one was hard to write up. You see, unlike 1 vs 1, FFA adds many more variables to consider and I mean... MANY MORE! The most complex (and fun) game is a FFA with POWER UPS. This, in my opinion offers the greatest variety of game play. Now playing with 7 other
newbies.... well, that's not what i mean. I'm refering to 4 or 5 elite players (now thats fun). Keeping a serious guard up for multiple targets is what excites me. Not saying 1v1 is boring but with ffa you need to keep track of more than one target and share resources with many instead of one.
Like in any game setup you need to set your priorities and FOLLOW THEM. It's easy to get sidetracked and go off trying to gain 1 frag with some opponent that pissed you off :) The free for all game
(FFA) setup is simply put.... A RACE. You need to get usually 30 frags to win and you need to get them before anyone else does. Sitting around and waiting and camping will not win the game for you (Although the "camping" tactic is nessessary at times). You need to be a sprinter and a hog.... Yes, you need to be able to cover the map fast fast fast and be greedy and take take take! This is the key to winning the
FFA. Let's use the non-powerup game as an example. Now let's start.
Priorities
First off.. getting back to priorities. When you first spawn with 100 health and no gun, you are a DUCK! You may be sitting or standing or running but you are still a duck. Ducks are great for me since i love easy
frags.... SO DON'T BE A DUCK! You need to protect yourself first off. ARMOR does this for you. Steal it, win it, sneak it, camp it.... do whatever you have to do to get the armor since this is your biggest padding of protection from any assault (not including the ion cannon which the armor does absolutly nothing for protection).
There are 2 types of armor... 200 and 100. ALWAYS HAVE 200 ARMOR!!!! At a minimum you need 100 Armor. This will ensure that even if you run into a player you have a chance to evade and hide even if you take a hit. If you only have a gun with no armor, you are still a DUCK!!! (the gun wont protect you from a blast but will keep enemies off) You'd be a duck with a gun but nevertheless still a DUCK:) Get your protection first, if a gun is on the way to the armor... great but the gun is 2nd priority. After the armor grab any gun you see but the goal is the get a hold of that ever so powerful rocket launcher ASAP. Keep yourself hidden as much as possible and move as fast as you can using
"straf jumps" with every move you make (you can beat opponents to the resource if you are faster). Speed is the key here. NEVER RUN OUTSIDE WITH NO ARMOR.... very common newbie style :) or... very seasoned player
challange.
Next after armor and a gun you want health.... ya, health is good :) if it's a 150/200 game then the soulheart of 150 health is your max, but still get it and don't let anyone else get it, this gives you the advantage.. control. (we'll talk about that later) Having 150/200 at all times in a FFA will give you the best chance of beating an opponent which most likely will have less.... especially if you take all the 200 Armors and 150
Soulhearts. The max the other players would have then is 100/100 compared to your 150/200.
In a power up game where 525/200 is possible you want that vitality power up big time and you need to do anything to get it. I'll talk a bit about power up control later on as well.
Keep Moving
Remember that this FFA game is a race. You can't afford to sit around and play with yourself unless your camping for that all important resource. Keep your alert level on HIGH!!! You need to respond immediatly to an attacker. If you see an enemy and you think..... your dead. THE BIGGEST NEWBIE FAULT IS STANDING STILL!
Resource Management
Here is where the meat of the matter starts. You need to keep yourself at an advantage over the other players at all times. This will give you the biggest edge for winning. For now I will refer to the 150/200 game with no power ups. We know that armor is most important in the game so get it fast and then a gun (preferable the rocket launcher). Once you have attained the 150/200 level you are in a position to hunt but you need to head back to any other 150 soulhearts and 200 armors there are on the map and steal them too. If you have 200 armor and you come across another 200 armor, splash a rocket against a wall and take some pain. Then you can steal the 200 again and keep the control going. The goal is to keep running back and forth taking the 150 Soulheart and 200 Armor and not letting the other player touch them and fragging anyone in your path.
Resource Timing
The 100 armor is timed at 30 seconds so it will take 30 seconds from the time you take it, to the time it
respawns. The 200 armor is timed at 60 seconds as is the 150 soul heart and all power ups. Timing your resources mentally will ensure you get to take all the goodies on the map. Here is an example...
Lets say you start off in vitality building at bottom floor... straf, run up stairs (or straf up them if your elite :)..... Grab Cycler-6 shotgun (it's on the way to armor).... Straf again and spin in air to see if anyone is comming down those stairs.... Back up to door and turn quick to open keeping your body covered around the corner (not standing in the doorway) and keeping an eye for anyone comming up or down the stairs to you (be ready for a quick shot and then hide in the rocket room)..... Run in the little rocket rooms and grab your 1st goodie, the 200 armor (you now have 60seconds to come back for it when it
respawns)..... Keep your back to the wall inside where the door is in case someone opens the door, they wont see you.... Now open next door and run backwards to same spot with back to wall (be alert of anyone opening the 1st door - running to the 2nd door and standing there waiting for it to open is a bad move leaving your back open to anyone opening the 1st door)... Once the second door is open and you don't notice the 1st door opening again (an enemy comming in), run though the 2nd door to grab the rocket launcher... again back fast to the wall where the 2nd door is in the second room and also on the left side where window is in case someone shoots a rocket though the window (note - you can still get hit with a splash from a rocket hitting the ceiling). Now you have 100health / 200armor and the rocket launcher, good start. Next you want to grab the 150 health.... Once you feel the coast is clear, jump out of window and quickly rocket jump to vitality building roof and quickly grab the 25 health (always take the med packs, they may seem small but could save your life when your running from battle with 10health:) and rocket ammo too and check across to the attack tower 3rd level to see if the 150 soulheart is there.... if not, head for the dojo.... you know that the other player took the 150 at the attack tower and it should be reapearing soon... run to the dojo and grab 150 if available.... once you grab the dojo 150, you have 60 seconds to come back to grab it again....... from the dojo, now run to the street taking the stairs down past the C4 room and straf out and rocket jump far and high (curving around the power tower) all the way to 3rd level of attack tower (I know, you need to be good to do nice rocket jumps like that).... if the soul is still not there, camp indoors across from 3rd level so you have sight of it and also sight of the entrance on the other side in case someone
apears..... remember the 1st 200 armor you grabbed is comming back soon.... and the 150 in dojo to follow shortly thereafter so if the soulheart don't appear shortly, you need to get out and check for 200 armor in the storage room in the power tower.... if nothing you can either camp for it or head back to start again. Once you can get the resources timed in between each other, your in full control. You get 150/200 and run back for other 150/200 and run back for other 150/200 and keep making your routes and fragging anything in your path. Keeping the resources is almost more important than fragging a player since they will always present themselves to you.
There are so many variables on the way for you to encounter (like death :) that this is only a brief example to give you an idea of how a map could be controlled and the mentality needed to do it. With pratice you can time these resources so that when the 200 armor is just
respawning, you are there to grab it and then when the 150 soulheart is
respawning, you are just getting there to grab it too and then get the others.... timing them in between each other.
Power Ups
Exactly the same way you control the 150/200 is the same way you do it with power ups. Each power up has a 60second timed respawn so you need to make up a path so that you can collect them and limit anyone from taking them. Grabbing VITALITY 525 then hiking fast over to POWER and back to vitality to guard it... then grab 525 again... then back to power with timing them in between each other will completely control the map. If you notice a player doing this, you can mine the areas of his path and slow or stop him.... then you can take over the control of the
power/vitailty which we at CLaN DJ call the "VPR" vitality/power/run. Elite players can add the attack, acro and speed in there as well. A fast player can grab all 5 power ups at the same time if he knows the quickest route to each one and knows how to straf jump fast. When running around all over the map this fast and grabbing everything, there is no need to hunt for players. The players will no doubt just present themselves as targets of opportunity and while you have all this power, it will be an easy frag for you. So aiming and dodging is not the key here in the Power Up
FFA, it's who has the biggest gun with the most power :)
Mining
To many a nescience.... to many an art. Mining IS part of Daikatana and must be addressed. It's best not to complain of mines since to it's like complaining about the laser or cycler-6. Learn to
evade mines, disable them..... or drop them :)
Best Protection From Mines
Shooting in front of you wherever you are uncertain what is around the corner and making sure you have the distance to survive a "Nuke" is one of the best protections from mines. Keep your rockets armed to 50 and keep shooting and listen for the beeping of course too :) By shooting into doorways, windows, around corners before you run there is the trick. Essentially you are carving a path in front of you. You don't always have to do this since it's noisey and gives your position away, but when you hear those little bastards going down (you know that sound), it's the best protection besides not going in doors at all.
4 Charge Clusters
Always plant 4 charges as a minimum cluster size. Someone with 200/150 should go bye bye depending on how bad they hit the blast. Having less charges per cluster will be a waste of time for the most part. Many targets will survive the blast and regain health and armor making your efforts bruteless fruitless and making you a great target for nothing.
Mine Blast Radius
The more charges you lay in any given spot will determine the blast radius of the mines. Placing 16 charges in one spot is classified as a "Nuke". This cluster will eat though walls and kill players in the next room. Some miners get crazy and lay 30 or more mines... this is classified as a "Nova" and will take out all players within that area of the map including the miner usually :)
Placing many mines is a great way to cause LAG. For every mine placed, co-ordinates need to be trasmitted to the DK server and to all the players. Placing too many mines will end a game due to all the players lagging out and getting into the famous "lag jig" all the seasoned players know about where you can't move and can only dance in one spot with a sycadellic view. (fuck i hate that)
Mining for Newbies?
WRONG. You will hear this phrase from anyone who simply can't mine. When mining your leaving your back open for attack since the process takes so damn long. So mining with elite players and living to laugh IS skill since most would just kill off a newbie mining too much (the noise is obvious). In a 1vs1, it is easy for the opponent to zero in on your location if you start mining since the mining sounds are loud. YES, it is true that newbies mine cluelessly but that is NOT what i'm refering too when i talk about mining skill. Mining is an art and is just as valid as a rocket attack. THERE IS ONLY ONE CASE WHERE MINING IS WRONG....... NO ARMOR GAMES. (this way you can die from a 2 mine cluster and that makes for 4 clusters per reload and that my friends will fill up any map fast with mines and easy kills.
Mining With Skillz
The #1 key here is protecting your back from attack. Although there are many tactics here I will only explain the basics. Let's say you enter a building with the mine gun. You need to frist know all the exits/entrances to the area since you need to seal them ALL off cept for one, your exit. Let's use the ACRO building where the mine gun is as an example...
You enter the Acro building and get the gun.... place 2 mines at street level entrance frame (no on can see them comming in), then switch to rocket in case you meet up with an opponent.... run up the 2 flights of stairs and mine the entrance to the bridge to the Vitality building with 2 more and now listen for any little explosions with the UGGGHH sound when someone gets hurt.... this will tell you someone has breached your area so you can prepare your rocket for battle or the such... if no mines where triggered the next step is
"fortifing the fort"..... Go back to street level entrance and mine another 2 making a total of a 4 charge cluster..... again switch back to rocket.... go back to bridge entrance and re-enforce it with another 2.... Now you have 4 at both main entrances... but how bout the window..... this will be your exit since not many players come in through there.... but your not done, oh no, not by long shot :)...... go back and get another 8 C4 and reload..... now start making "stages" or "layers" of clusters so that the target has to go though 3 or 4 stages of mines to get to the middle of the room --the
"ACRO" power up area. You see, once you have 1 or 2 stages set up, you have good protection and don't have to worry much about watching your back. You can hear the mines go off, so you know when to prepare for battle. If you have 3 or 4 stages, you can chill and mine the shit out of every corner, stair, dojo, armor, etc. then before you go, mine the corner close to window and your out to next area. ALWAYS REMEMBER----make your clusters far enough so that they don't set each other off (common newbie style), a 4 mine cluster has a pretty good radius so pratice the limits. If you learn patterns to "sealing" off areas you will rack the frags up LARGE.
Mining as a Defensive Measure
If you are low on health and someone is chasing you for the kill. You can use your mine gun to place single charges in your trail while running backwards to
saftey. This will slow or possible frag the chaser giving you time to hide and regroup. Always keep an eye and/or sense of what could be behind you as your running backwards. Elite players will take millisecond glances so they have the best idea or thier surroundings.
Mining as a Target Locator
Mining in certain areas can help you hear out where players are. The mines give off a beeping signal. When a player is close to them, you'll hear the beeps if your close by and it gets louder the closer they get to the cluster. By placing mines in certain areas (not for the purpose of killing) you can hear players go though certain areas. (btw, thanx DJ FEAR III for that one :)
I will write more on mining tactics after the full version is released since there will be altercations. Good luck and
dammit.... PRACTICE!
PEACE!
Author: DJ CROWZNEST (AKA. DJ KAMAKAZI and DJ BLADERUNNER)
Founder of CLaN DJ
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