Posted: 01-06-05 In: Guides By: Munro2 |


This is my attempt at writing a guide for beginners of HL2DM (Half-Life 2 Death Match). I am by no means the number one expert, although I’ve been playing First-Person Shooters for several years, and have managed to hold the number one position on a server or two that uses a ranking system like Mani Admin.

There are some very basic pointers in this guide, as well as a few more advanced tips. My goal with this guide is basically to help players get better. I don’t enjoy overwhelmingly beating someone any more than I enjoy getting my butt whooped. What I enjoy the most is a good, close match with competitive, friendly players, and with that said, let's begin!

Etiquette

First things first; the main reason we play is because it’s fun. Sore losers make the game less fun for everyone. If someone is dominating you, then use your head to try to figure out their tactics and outsmart them. You won’t ever win respect by whining or accusing people of cheating. The moment you start bad-mouthing someone, you are (in my opinion) lowering yourself. Just take your beating. Hell, I have taken many beatings, trying over and over again to kill someone who had managed to get into a good spot, only to be repeatedly killed by them. Sometimes it hurts the ego (believe me I know) but it’s better to just sign off than to lower yourself to bad-mouthing.

Secondly, don’t be quick to accuse someone of cheating. Many instances where bizarre things happen may look at first as if someone is cheating, but really it's simply a result of lag. Keep your mouth closed and you won’t ever be sorry.

Lastly, the game has a specific goal: Kill everything that moves. It is very unrealistic to expect people to not spawn kill. When I’m running around a map, I kill everything I see, and if it spawns in front of me, I kill it. Now, I don’t camp at spawn areas for the purpose of spawn killing, but if it happens it happens. Additionally, if someone gets to a sweet spot of the map and repeatedly kills you with an RPG, don’t complain, just get even! I don’t consider it bad sportsmanship to finally kill someone who has killed you several times and rub their nose in it with a friendly jibe. The goal of some maps (Overwatch, for example) is to get to a “sweet spot” (usually a higher spot with a lethal view in many directions, also with a weapon like a crossbow or RPG available) and wreak havoc. Don’t fault people for doing this: it’s the objective of the map and ultimately, the game.

All that said, don't camp spawn areas and kill spawners over and over. It’s just a unfair way to win a game, and you probably won’t win anyway. (Except on some bad maps like fools_day where there is only one spawn point!).

The Basics

The first rule is don't panic. Keep a cool head at all times during the game. Think about what’s going on, and react intelligently.

Get to Know Yourself...

Find out what you’re good at and not good at. Some people are better at sniping. Some are better at using the Manipulator gun. Then find your own style and see if it works. But be flexible. In the end you’ll need to be fairly good at everything if you want to consistently win.

Also, learn where your weaknesses are. I’m particularly weak against someone who is good with a Manipulator gun (aren’t we all?). So I avoid areas where such players like to lurk. (i.e. the bottom floor of the central building in “Overwatch.”) I also suck with the Magnum, so I only use it under certain circumstances.

Also, it’s important to configure your controls in such a way that it’s easy for you to move about and shoot. I do not use the default controls! Figure out a way to get all your primary and urgent controls within close proximity of your left hand. Then get used to them so you don’t ever have to think about it.

Maps

One of the first things you have to do to get better at Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, or any FPS, is to learn your maps. Learn where your favourite weapons spawn. Learn where your favourite ammo spawns. Learn paths that are safe, and won’t result in you getting shot in the back. Once you have learned a map that way you’ll approach each game entirely different. After you learn the map, you don’t have to think about where to go, you just go there, and on the way there you will typically know where to look for your enemy. Before you learn a map, you will wander aimlessly, get shot in the back, and die a lot more. Don’t get frustrated while you’re learning a map - it’s part of the learning curve.

Movement

How you move is more important than anything else in DM. Some people think it has to do with being a good shot. I totally disagree. FPS games are about outsmarting your opponents. How you do that is mostly by how you move. The first thing you have to learn is: move. Don’t stand still, not even for half a second! If you do, you will suddenly find yourself in darkness with no bright light at the end of the tunnel. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve killed who were standing perfectly still. Sure, they might be shooting me, but if I’m moving and you’re not, you’re dying and I’m not. Simple as that. If I have a crossbow, you won’t even know what hit you. Also, don’t think of movement as “forward.” Backward and sideways also work and so do up and down. So does a crazy zig-zag, jumping ghoulie dance. Do it all and as long as you do you will find it easier to overcome your opponents.

Don't turn. Strafe!

If you’re actually using the keyboard to turn, you’re probably not winning much, unless I’m sadly mistaken. You probably use your mouse to turn, but you should be using your keyboard to strafe. This is a primary skill of the game, and without mastering it, you won’t win very often.

Strafing involves moving left or right while facing straight ahead. You should be constantly doing this while in a battle - whether your enemy is close by or far away. Your mouse should be focused on aiming at them, while your feet are doing the crazy dance. If someone is far away and naive enough to be running in a straight line, you can actually use strafe to move along with them and keep a constant stream of bullets perforating their spleen. It’s rather humorous, and quite effective!

Avoid straight lines

This is the second thing people need to learn. Don’t move in a straight line because you are telling everyone exactly where they should shoot. If I’m up high with a crossbow (and I probably am) I will usually be able to kill you. However, if you zigzag, speed up and slow down, and frequently change direction, you will be more likely to survive. This holds true at all times. Even in a close-quarters battle with your SMG, if you make erratic, unpredictable movements, your enemy will hit you less often. Learn to move erratically without even thinking about it. It should become second nature to you.

Sprinting

I actually played HL2DM for quite awhile before learning this critical feature. Sprinting is a bit of an art, but if you use it properly it will save your life frequently. Place your sprint key somewhere that it is easily accessible! (I use 7 on the keypad, and ComradeBadger uses left shift). You can’t sprint forever, and you’ll quickly figure this out. You run out of energy, and have to replenish before you can sprint again. The key is to use sprint often (to move faster about the map and be able to find people to kill) without using it too much, and not having any sprinting energy when you need it. There are critical times when sprinting will come in handy, namely if you’re running low along an area while you are being sniped. Don’t stop and try to find or kill your sniper, just sprint out of there. You are, of course, harder to hit while you’re sprinting.

Find your cycle

Part of a good players “routine” is to have a cycle that you follow on some maps. This will depend on your personal style. For example, I happened to be fond of the alt-fire from the SMG (the grenade launcher). So on some maps I have a particular loop I travel, basically picking up grenades (and everything else) along the way. If you get in a cycle that is timed just right, you get all the good ammo and anyone else who is scavenging behind you will turn up empty. On maps where I get “in the groove,” I can hoard all the good ammo, and win most battle since I’m the only one with the good ammo! It’s also amazing to me that people pass by the power-ups without picking them up. Even a clip of pistol ammo is better in your hands than in your enemy’s. If you pass up an SMG grenade, then you’re just begging for me to kill you with it!

X, Y and Z axis

It’s important in any FPS game to stop thinking on a flat plane. Instead, be thinking up, down, left, right, forward and back. If you’re being shot and you can’t figure out where it’s coming from then look up!

Higher is Better

As in real-life military situations, having the higher ground in a battle give you an advantage—especially if there is no ceiling above you. The key here is splash damage. Many of my kills were not the result of a direct hit, but of splash damage. Check out the weapons section for more on this, but shooting down on your enemy is easier for you. Forcing your enemy to shoot up at you makes it harder for them.

Grav Jumping

This is a unique feature of HL2. You can jump higher by standing on an object that employs physics (radiators, tin sheets, and even cars work). Point your grav gun down at the object, jump and fire at the same time. Wheeee! It takes some practice, though.

I hardly ever use this feature, as it will rarely offer you an advantage. More likely, you will get killed by taking the time to set up all the components. However in some circumstances it will pay off.

Aggression

This guide is intended to teach you how to win. However, some people have the most fun by hiding in a dark hallway waiting for someone to enter, then puncturing them with a crossbow bolt, then staring at their hanging corpse for five minutes. If that’s your style, go for it! But if you want to win, this is not the style you should adapt. By “Winning” in this case, I mean to have the highest kill/death ratio. This means that if you have 30 points (kills) but only died 10 times, you have a 3/1 kill/death ratio. 3/1 is very good. 1/1 is good on some maps.

So what do I mean by “Aggression”? Why is it under the “movement” section? Simply put, in order to win, you must be constantly seeking out people to kill. If you see another player and injure him/her, chase them down in such a way as to kill them, but keep yourself alive. The only time you should run (or let them run away) is if you have very little life left, or you don’t have the ammo needed to out-gun them. Otherwise, be the tiger and chase!

Run Backward

Anyone who has played Capture the Flag has probably learned how to run backward. It’s a skill that is used less in DM, but the ones who use it are usually the ones who win. If you can do it, you will give yourself an advantage over the rest. It is useful because if you know where there is some health nearby, you can run backwards toward the kits, and shoot your enemy en route. If you run with your back toward your enemy, you may not make it all the way to your goal.

It’s also extremely handy if you find yourself inches away from an enemy with a crowbar. Run away from them, backward, and SPRINT backward, and shoot them and their close-combat weapon with your SMG. Otherwise, you can risk taking them on with your crowbar, but you’re probably already injured so that’s a bad idea.

Outflank

This is a subtle but important thing to keep in mind with how you move through a DM map. This is both an offensive and defensive tactic.

Basically, the concept of “outflanking” is to never get caught in crossfire. At the same time, by doing so, you catch *others* in a crossfire (namely yours and someone else’s).

When you’re moving through a map, move along a wall or structure to decrease the number of directions from which you can be shot. Don’t run through the middle of a plaza, for example. If you do, you can be shot from 360 degress, as well as from up above. If you run along the edges of a plaza, however, and you get shot, you’ll have a better chance of knowing where it comes from.

But Outflanking is most useful as an offensive tool. By continually moving around the edges of a map (or the edges of a smaller area within a map), and always facing the areas from which you can be shot, you will quite possibly see your enemy before they see you.

Furthermore, if you hear a battle, find where the two combatants are. One unfortunate thing about HL2DM is that it’s not easy to determine where the battle is. The sounds may be far away and still sound close. But use your head—people usually congregate in a few areas in each map. Go there and find them. By heading to the battle, you will possibly find yourself in the scenario all DM players love: you walk into an area where two combatants are fighting each other. They are both seriously low on health, and YOU kill them BOTH. They do most of the work, and you get all the credit. Cha-ching! Your choice of weapons is important in this scenario, but the important thing is that you stay at the edges. This way the two combatants will almost certainly continue focusing on each other, while you can shoot them both with abandon. (Focus on only one first.)

Lastly, if you’re in a 1-on-1 battle and hear some unusual extra noise, pay attention. You might have just been outflanked by a 3rd player and now be caught in a crossfire. You can turn the tables on either of your opponents by a short retreat. Get beyond one of them and put THEM in the mush pot. Then continue firing. Rinse. Repeat.

Turn the tables

This is another movement trick. I often let people chase me knowing that a confined area is coming up. I play the rabbit, and let the tiger chase me. Then, once inside the room I’ve entered (or even after turning a corner) I turn, crouch, pick a nice high-damage weapon, and wait. They will sprint around the corner unsuspecting and BOOM.

Avoid Predictability

This is another very important skill. It’s basically an extension of the “don’t run in a straight line” rule. Don’t be predictable. For example: when I’m chasing a good player, and he runs into a hallway, I assume he is going to do the “turn the tables” trick on me. So I will pause for a moment. Just as he is crouched and expecting me to approach, I don’t; then, as he is starting to get confused, I lob a grenade around the corner (or do something else that he doesn’t expect.)

Let’s take a map like Bella’s room for example. Let’s say you climb the little castle on the floor to get the grenades that are up there. Someone on the ground spots you and is chasing you up the ladder. So, at the top of the castle you jump to the ground. Your assailant expects you to run to one of a few spots. The thing he expects you to do the least is to go back into the castle. The ammo is gone, right? So that’s what you should do. Then as he is wandering about looking for where you went, you catch him.

If you’re in a map where there is an obvious succession of items to pick up, and you are being chased, don’t do the obvious by going to the next good item or health pack. Do something he doesn’t expect.

You’re in a sweet spot high up on a map, and you’ve damaged your enemy. He ducks behind a wall thinking you won’t jump down because you will lose possession of your sweet spot. Jump down and kill him. Teach him what your priorities are.

The only predictable thing you should ever do with your enemy watching is kill him.

Sounds

Do not underestimate the importance of sounds! You make sound when your run, and I will hear you coming. If you crouch, you will not make sound!

By the way, if you crouch while on a ladder, you will also be silent but you will not go any slower. I could charge people good money for that tip, but I give it to you freely because that’s the kind of guy I am.

Use stereo sound. Even better—use headphones. Headphones will keep you focused and allow you to hear every little clue that is going on around you.

Equipment

Naturally better equipment will improve your game, but it will not make a bad player into a good one. One of the best FPS players I’ve ever known is Cyberwife from the {DK} clan on UT, who is severely handicapped by using 56K dialup! (She’s getting high speed in a few months. That’s why I retired to HL2.) She is proof that you don’t need the best performance to kick bootie.