Controlling the Level

If you wish to fully dominate another player, you must learn how to control the level. Controlling the level basically means that, at almost any given time, your opponent will be either weaponless or armor-less, because you are able to keep the items away from him. In the instance that he does have both good weapons and armor, you usually have something better. Controlling the level also means that you keep control of the vital items, such as the quad damage and invulnerability. Once you gain control of a level, use that opportunity to rack up your frag count.

Playing Keep Away

No matter how good of a player you are, there is only so much you can do without a decent weapon. If you can prevent your opponent from getting a good weapon, you greatly increase your chances of defeating him. Immediately after killing your opponent, don’t waste your time gathering more ammo. Instead, put pressure on him by hunting him down while he’s looking for a weapon. Let him get a decent weapon (such as a shotgun or machine gun) if it means you can prevent him from getting a good weapon (such as the super shotgun, rocket launcher, or BFG). There are players who may be exceptional at running and evading when they are weaponless. To catch those players, lure them by using a good weapon as bait. Allow them to think they have a good chance at reaching the weapon by purposely leaving the weapon alone. Hide near enough to be able to steal it from him a second before he can. When he comes out to pick it up, ambush him.

Now, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to keep a good weapon away from him the entire game. When he does manage to get a good weapon, you must weigh your options. Part of the skill in this game is knowing when to play the odds. Knowing when you have an advantage or disadvantage before going into a fight will save you in innumerable occasions. After weighing your options, you can then decide whether you still wish to engage in combat or fall back to regroup. Here is a list of questions you might want to ask yourself before you choose to engage in a fight:

-Who has more health and armor? If both of you have good weapons, the advantage obviously goes to whoever has more health and armor. If you’re sure you are more beefed up than he is, go in for the attack. Otherwise, you can choose to run away or ask yourself the next question.

-Do you have a better fighting position? Fighting from higher ground gives you a better attack angle at your opponent, and is even more effective if you’re using rockets.

Example: In the outdoor area of Base1 near the rocket launcher and the water, there are slopes leading down into the water. The person fighting from the top will have an advantage over the person fighting from the bottom.

-Do you have the element of surprise? The element of surprise goes a long way in this game. Even if you have less armor and health than your opponent, you can tip the scales severely in your favor if you’re able to surprise him. In a surprise attack, you have the advantage of getting the first shot off, and may likely get a second shot off before he even realizes he’s being shot at. With your first shot, you will likely hurt him enough to at least bring his health and armor to equal that of yours. With your second shot, you can finish him off.

Tip: The element of surprise does not necessarily mean you are hiding in a dark corner and waiting for him to walk by. If you can sneak up behind your opponent, that will work just as well.

How much ammo does he have? If he just picked up the good weapon, think about how much ammo he might have. If he didn’t pick up ammo prior to getting the weapon, it might be a good idea to go after him. Most of the weapons in the game start off with very little ammo.

-Are you a better shot? This one is pretty obvious. If you think you can outshoot your opponent, then by all means, go out and pump him full of lead.

Know these questions by heart to the point where you can answer them in a split second without thinking. Throughout the entire duration of the match, you should be continually asking yourself and answering these questions. In the event you do find yourself in such a predicament, you’ll already know beforehand what choice you should make.

Controlling the Important Artifacts

Although players usually play without the quad damage in one-on-one matches, there are still a handful of players who like to play with it. The focus of your strategy should revolve around the quad when it is in the game. A good way to time the quad without using the marking tactic is, after the quad runs out, count to 20 seconds then start heading towards it. Be warned, do not arrive at the quad right before it respawns. If your opponent is waiting at the quad, he will be picking up the quad damage as you’re walking into the room…and you may get a quad rocket in the face.

The invulnerability is an equally important artifact you must control. It is a lot harder, almost impossible, to approximate when it is going to respawn, since it takes a good five minutes to respawn. I recommend either using quad as a timer (meaning if you get the first four quads, you know the invulnerability will be coming back at around the fifth quad), or by simply using a stopwatch.

The other artifacts, such as the silencer and power shield are useful, but maintaining their control does not come close to rivaling the importance of keeping the quad damage and the invulnerability under your control.