Posted: 01-01-07 In: Guides By: Munro2 |


This is the second in the series of basic playing guides. These guides will teach you the basic things you need to know when playing Day of Defeat.

Move and fire

Try never to move on your own unless you are trying to do some infiltration. Always move in at least a pair so one can run and the other is situated to give covering fire. Covering fire isn't random shooting it requires the second man to pick points where he thinks enemy fire is likely to come from and to fire at them if he sees any sign of movement, after checking the target is an enemy if FF is on.

By repeating this with roles reversed you'll be able to move swiftly with constant fire support and you'll be in a good position to assault any enemy positions you encounter. All movement should be done with a lot of input of the strafe keys to thrown off an enemies aim. Also remember using strafe keys you can move in one direction whilst looking in another, this allows you to keep an eye on likely sniper positions yourself so you are ready to take action if you see something untoward.

If you know the maps well enough you should be able to move around most parts, at least for short distances, backwards. This will allow two of you to move as a pair one covering the front and one the back and will help prevent any ambushes or the enemy sneaking in round behind you.

Sprinting

Sprinting must be used wisely in DoD as you can only do it for limited distances. Practice with the different classes so that you know exactly how far each will sprint, because there's nothing worse than running out of stamina in open ground. You should be sprinting from one piece of cover to another to cover longer distances. The ideal time to sprint is the the wake of a grenade or artillery blast. There's a huge smoke cloud to hide you and by the time it disperses, if all goes well, it's too late for the enemy to aim and shoot at you.

If the distance is too great for you to make in one go and there's no cover my advice is to start off running normally until the distance is shortened enough to complete it as a sprint. This is because it always takes the enemy a short while to react, then they have to aim and in that time you should be able to suddenly accelerate out of vision.

Also if you do misjudge and run out of stamina on a sprint I think you're generally best crouching for a moment and finishing the sprint. If you try to run it you end up hobbling along slowly and make an easy target that the enemy can pick off with ease. It only takes a second to gain enough stamina to sprint the rest of the way so ends up getting you there faster. Sprinting is also often your only defence if you're bandaging yourself. You are unable to fight so try to avoid getting killed until you can retaliate.

Cover

Make use of cover in DoD it is not merely there to make the map look complete it's there to save your life. Don't fall into the peek-a-boo frame of mind, "I can't see them so they can't see me." The chances are that your legs are sticking out or that they're in a window behind you.

You're best off staying crouched rather than prone as your body is kept compact and won't stick out as much. Only use prone to peak over obstacles or round longer ones that will hide your full length it's also good for sniping from windows etc.

You'll soon learn in maps which obstacles make good cover and which don't by the fact you'll keep getting shot/shooting people in bad cover. Also learn which positions can fire at you whilst behind cover and keep a close eye on them.

Crouching and sneaking

Crouching eliminates almost all sounds made from walking and also when used climbing ladders dramatically lowers the noise made. Crouching will steady your aim for shooting and reduce recoil. Also your stamina level will shoot up again when you crouch so remember to do it quickly to regain any lost stamina.

If you hear footsteps or other nearby sounds crouch and keep listening. Move forwards slowly whilst crouching (sneaking) and keep your ears open. Sneaking is particularly good for sneaking up behind people especially MGs and Snipers and allows you to approach undetected for a knife or spade attack. Crouching is also necessary to pass through small tunnels and many gaps in walls, this can often not be done in the prone position, this is due to a bug in the game.

Team spacing

It's a good idea to stick together but keep some spacing between you and the others around you. A group of huddled soldiers is a juicy grenade or automatic weapon target. In the words of Sgt. Horvath (Saving Private Ryan) "One man is a waste of ammo, five men are a juicy opportunity."

Another reason to keep apart and not to crowd into rooms is that doors are made for one man at a time and if a grenade comes through the window no-one will get out because you'll all get caught up at the door. Also if you're spaced and one member gets shot then you have the chance to work out where the shot came from and not get caught out as well in the same burst.

Jumping

I very rarely if ever just press the space bar. Crouch jumping is the only way to go. This (for those of you who don't already know) is when you crouch then jump. This has to be done quite carefully but with a little practice soon becomes second nature and allows you to jump much further than normal.

Every jump you do drains stamina. On the plus side if you crouch jump and hold crouch whilst in the air it not only makes you a smaller target but you'll regain stamina whilst in the air. I generally Hold Crouch after landing for a tiny bit to so my stamina bar is all the way up again. The crouch jump is also necessary to pass through smaller gaps like windows and with practice you'll be able to jump through windows without touching them, it's purely a matter of timing.

Crouch jumps are a great way to get around corners a well timed crouch jump with good use of the mouse and strafe keys will send you flying sideways around a corner ready to take on any body waiting for you. Remember that when jumping you can still turn around so by using the mouse and strafe keys you should always land facing the direction you want no matter which way you jumped.

Jumping can also be a good way to avoid enemy fire in a small room or even at times resorting to a jump from a window to avoid being shot or blown up is the best bet. Finally on maps like dod_avalanche jumping from the windows doesn't do much harm but can help you take the flags swiftly or back up a team mate on a flag.

Prone

In my opinion this is only really useful for ambushes and sniping. Whilst prone you may be a smaller target to those level with you but anyone above sees your full length. Also you stick out too easily if you move due to Half-Life being unable to deal with it properly. The bonus with being prone though is that almost all recoil is removed except for MGs and automatic weapons still have some spread but you don't have to fight to keep the cross-hair in place any more.

Going prone is also a good way to sneak past enemies when you have a low wall to cover you, dod_anzio is a good example the bridge is best crossed prone or at a sprint. If you're sniping prone is definitely the position of choice and weapons like the Garand and Carbine definitely work better whilst prone.