This is just a sort of compilation of tips I've picked up while playing, things people I know taught me, etc. Some of the tips are really basic and won't be of much help to an experienced player, some of them are a bit more advanced. Anyway, hope these help someone. lol
Different weapons have different firing patterns due to different rates of fire and recoil. For example, the AK-47 vs the M4A1. If you're standing up, and spray the rifle, you would want to aim your M4 at a player's neck, and the recoil will raise the rifle (and your crosshairs) into the target's head. With the AK, you could effectively aim at a target's groin, and the high recoil of the AK would raise your crosshair into and past the target's head area very quickly while spraying. Obviously using this tactic isn't the best idea, as a skilled player will just aim for the head right off the bat and fire controlled bursts.
Along the lines of spraying, which contrary to popular belief can be quite effective (when mastered), once you become comfortable with the weapon's recoil and shot pattern, you need to get comfortable with countering that muzzle-rise. In other words, as you're spraying a rifle, you need to drag your mouse downward slowly, so as to counter the muzzle -rise and keep your crosshair on your target (or in the spot where your bullets will land... more on this later).
I see a lot of new players running around, turning corners, with their weapon crosshair pointed in poor directions. Far above where a player might be, far below a player, etc. When you turn a corner, come up over a ladder, cross a threshold on a roof to find a player below, or open a door, move (or stand) with your crosshair pointed where you expect the enemy to be standing. You don't want to see a player, then have to move your crosshair to him, then perfect your aim, then fire. It can all be done in a matter of a second or two, but when you're playing against skilled players, even a split second can be the difference between a kill or a death.
When you're shooting at a player, you're not shooting at the player. You're shooting at his hitbox. A hitbox is simply an invisible area on a player where a shot will register as a hit on the Source engine. CS:S is imperfect, like everything else, and when you see a player, know that his hitbox isn't always exactly where you visually see the player. CS:S hitboxes trail very slightly when a player is moving. Picture a slinky ...slinky-ing down a flight of stairs. (=P) As the slinky descends the stairs, it expands and contracts. In it's starting position, the slinky is still, coiled tightly. This would be a player standing still, or crouching down, not moving. You would want to aim at the bulk of slinky, or the mass of the player, as you shoot. His hitbox is centered within the graphic of the player you see. As the slinky moves downward, it expands, and it's no longer coiled tightly. This would be a player running across a walkway in front of you or jumping down off a small building. In this situation, you wouldn't want to point your rifle directly on the graphic of the player. While you may have aimed perfect on the player's head, and placed a shot or two exactly where the graphic for his head is, you'll have missed your shot, because his hitbox is actually slightly behind the graphic of his character. Picturing the slinky, you'll want to aim slightly on the tail-end when the slinky is expanded. In other words, you'll want to aim slightly behind the player when he's moving, rather than directly on him. I know this sounds crazy, but with some practice, you'll see that this is true. =)
Earlier I mentioned pointing your crosshair so your bullets will land where you want them to, rather than where your crosshair actually is. Like I said, every weapon has unique firing patterns. I honestly don't have an accurate description of how each weapon works, but I do know how the deagle works. If you're spraying with a deagle, you only have 7 shots, so you want to make sure they hit. At the same time, you only need one headshot to kill a player, even if he has a helmet. When spraying with the deagle, you want to hold your crosshair slightly down and to the left of the spot you want to hit. So if you're spraying a deagle at a guy standing still and you want to hit him in the head, try aiming at his right shoulder, or even his right bicep area, at medium range. Practice the shot patterns with different weapons on walls. Find a small crack, or use a custom spray on a wall, then back up to medium range, and fire away. It's a great way to learn how each weapon fires.
A lot of players seem baffled when they're killed through walls, and jump at the chance to call "wallhacks" on a person. Other than the obvious spots on maps where spraying will usually score a kill or two (outside boxes to office ramp on assault), there are things people do to give themselves away.
Flashlights. For the love of God, don't stand by a wall and beam your flashlight on it. It's the easiest target from the outside that just screams, "Hey, I'm right here. Standing nice and still for you. Kill me please..."
Rifles with muzzle-flash (all of them except the M4 with the silencer equipped). Same thing as a flashlight. The muzzle-flash is very obvious on the other side of the wall, and lets people know you're standing right there.
Familiar with the term "clipping?" Clipping is present in CSS. Essentially, clipping is when a part of a player, usually an arm or weapon, can "pierce" a wall and appear on the other side. I'm using examples from cs_assault, because that's the primary map I play, but there are spots on most maps where clipping is present. In assault, your weapon and arm can clip through every single outer wall of the warehouse. If you're standing flush against a wall and looking right at the wall itself, yep, your weapon is visible on the other side - again, a big target for players on the other side to shoot at.
No flashlight, no muzzle flash, no clipping, walled anyway? Let's make some noise.
Sound is an incredibly important part of CS:S. The sound of footsteps on a catwalk, a player jumping onto a cardboard box, a player jumping from a roof down into a vent, the general spray of weapons, the realization that some weapons are only available to one team or the other, they can all give you away. Learn to recognize a weapon by the sound of it being fired, and react based on whether that weapon is probably being fired by a T or CT. Valve made this easier by incorporating the radar in CSS. Use it, for your team's sake, as well as your own. Learn to recognize common sounds like footsteps, and don't be afraid to shoot at a wall when you do hear an enemy on the other side of it (unless a server has a rule against this... which is ridiculously common). Eventually you'll be able to pinpoint an enemy on other sides of walls, and through that, you'll be able to kill an opponent without exposing yourself to enemy fire - the ideal situation.
Learn how to use angles when throwing nades or flashbangs, learn their blast radius, learn how long an enemy is disoriented for before the flashbang effect wears off. Use flashbangs and smoke to your advantage, but know that at certain times, they'll be more detrimental than helpful. Recognize the pros and cons of each and when they're best used.
This last point is probably the biggest mistake I see people make. Let there be no doubt in your mind that a player with 1 HP is still very deadly, whereas a dead player won't be shooting at you.
Don't make the mistake of shooting at an enemy before you can kill him. If you turn a corner and a door is open, do NOT shoot the door, unless you're completely certain he's there, and you have the means to score a headshot (IE, if the player is clipping the door). Even if you hit the player, odds are you won't kill him unless he's almost dead, because every weapon in CSS takes a huge damage loss when penetrating walls. Instead of shooting through the door or wall when you know an enemy is there, it might be more better if you take some cover and wait. More often than not, if a player opens a door, he plans to enter or exit through that door. Be mindful that he may throw a flashbang, so be ready to avoid the disorienting effect (this is as simple as turning away, or placing something between you and the flashbang), and be ready with your crosshair pointed where he'll be. In this way, you can kill the player, taking him out of the match, rather than injuring him, and allowing him another opportunity to kill you or your teammates at a later time.
The most important thing is to always learn from your mistakes, and to never make the same mistake twice. Watch your team, as well as your opponents, and learn from their mistakes, so you don't make the same one later. Good luck. =)
Comments »
robobar @ 2007-11-21 09:32:07
Great post. Lots of tips I already knew but a solid refresher nonetheless. I didn't know about the deagle spray -- I'll need to try that out one time. Thanks.
You might wanna mention pre-firing. Very useful and will often get you accused of hacking, but as you're approaching an area where enemy's will typically be -- just line up your gun first and shoot as you move into the line-of-sight. That way you've got the first shot off. Obviously if you're trying to be stealthy this is a bad idea, but if you're a CT defending bombsite B in dust2, why not prefire into the tunnel while hiding behind the boxes when you first arrive? That way you might take one of them out quickly -- helping to deter the rush.
Again, useful post for everyone!!
Bullet @ 2007-11-23 17:31:19
nice job. still waiting on writing samples ;)
