Halo 3: Improvement Techniques 3.) Self-Preservation

Self Preservation is a skill we all posess, but for some reason, we often ignore in this game. This is due probably to the misconception that the Halo series are just run N' gun games requiring little to no thought, and just the ability to aim and jump around like a jack rabbit. I'm here to prove to you this isn't the case, and it isn't as simple as it looks.

I know what you're thinking; Self-Preservation in Halo 3 is just silly. Why try to stay alive for more than 20 seconds when it is inevitable you're going to die anyway? This is a valid question. Halo is designed so you die multiple times in a game and respawn relatively quickly to return to the action. This is fine if you don't mind losing to Timmy, or don't have a competitive streak in you. I am very competitive, and since you are reading this, I can only assume you'd like to be able to compete as well. Staying alive as long as possible is part of competing.

If you play any slayer game variant, staying alive longer than your opponent accomplishes two immediate goals; Denying the enemy kills via your deaths and giving you more time to shoot. This leads to more kills and assists for your team. If you tend to have more than 12-13 deaths per team slayer game, even if you have more kills than deaths, you are contributing more than your fair share to the enemy's kill count. A game of team slayer is played to 50, and if you lose this game, and have more than 13 deaths, you have contributed more than 25% of your team's deaths to the other team's kill count. This is not a good thing. This means you are the weakest link, and something you have been doing has allowed the other team to garner a majority of their kills off of you.

If your stat line is 25 kills, 2 assist, and 22 deaths, in a team slayer game you may be thinking, "I went positive, I had more kills than deaths. How is that a bad thing?" It is a bad thing because you didn't win, you contributed 40% of the other team's kills, and your assists prove you weren't helping your team mates win. If you consistantly die 15 or more times in every team slayer game you play (I hate to break it you) but you are going to lose games more often than you win.

How do you stop dying so much? By changing your approach to the game. Instead of having the mindset you must get as many kills as possible to win, try having the mindset that you must limit your deaths to single digits to win. In other words, try attempting not to die more than attempting to get more kills. You might be surprised at the results. Stop trying to be a cowboy and run N gun. Eliminate the gun....just run.

There is an art to this running away thing though. I'm by no means the best player, but I have acquired the reputation of a "tough" kill because I make people work to send me to my grave. I know every escape route, when to jump, and where my team mates are at all times. I know when you fake running away, feinting one direction and then going another. It is my greatest pride that this has a tendency to aggravate some players to no end. Nothing makes me happier than to hear Timmy verbally abuse me for not staying and fighting, and then leading the guy chasing me into a group of my team mates for his inevitable death.

Here's how it is done. You should never put yourself into a position where you are cornered with no available cover. Standing in a corner with your flanks protected by walls may seem like a safe place to be, but it really isn't. If you get cornered you have no choice but to fight, and you will probably lose. You have given your opponent the opportunity to take the initiative and attack you as he sees fit. Since you have no cover, you can't hide for a second to make some of his bullets miss. Since you're in a corner, you can't retreat to live long enough to lead him into a trap. You have no real choices but to stay put and die, or charge him and die. The end result, dying, is not a good one.

So when you travel around a map, be aware of where you are and where you can run to should you have to run away. Corridors with only one entrance and exit are bad places to be, so try and avoid these enclosed spaces. If you are on a multi-storied map, try staying near lifts, or drop offs for quick escapes. Essentially, be aware of where you are on the map at all times.

But just don't be aware of your position, be aware of your team mate's position as well. If you have to run, run backwards, while firing at your enemy, and lead him to a team mate. You may die, but your team mate stands a pretty good chance of killing your murderer, making your death a wash.

Here are some easily numbered tips for staying alive:

1.) Know where you are on the map, and know where your team mates are on the map. Use this information in conjunction with the previous two lessons to guess where the enemy is on the map. Don't stray too far away from your teammate's readily available help (this doesn't mean you have to see them at all times, only that one of them shouldn't be more than a 2 second journey away).

2.) If there isn't more than 2 ways to escape a confrontation should you need to, then your position is probably not a good one.

3.) Stay out of enclosed spaces. They tend to be grenade traps.

4.) If you didn't get the first shot off, then it is a good time to run towards a friendly teammate. If your teammates are too far away, then you didn't pay attention to point #1 that well, did you?

5.) Do not...I say again, DO NOT, start jumping like a jack rabbit. Why? Because when you jump, you are committing to the direction of your jump for the duration of your jump. This means the enemy now knows exactly where to shoot. Sure if you jump he may miss, but chances are he won't, and even if he misses your head, he'll still hit your body thus reducing your shields even more and making the head shot even easier when you land. Instead, jump when you hear your shield start beeping. A jump then might throw off his attempt at a head shot and give you the time you need to get a head shot on him.

So tonight your assignment is as follows:

You are to continue looking at your radar like the rearview mirror in your car, you are to always be looking and know where your teammates are via their arrows, and make educated guesses as to the location of the enemy due to the color changes on these arrows, and now, you are to attempt to cut down on your dying by following the rules listed above. Try a few times to lead the enemy to your waiting teammates.

SIDENOTE: In team skirmish games like CTF or Bomb games, deaths aren't counted against your score, so they aren't as important. You'll find if you try and stay alive in these games as long as humanly possible while still trying to complete the objective, you'll have more success in this gametype as well. The only difference is while instead of trying to stay alive at all costs like in a team slayer or lonewolf game, you will now sacrifice your life should it become necessary to complete the objective.

Tomorrow we'll be talking about being a more effective killer through the use of secondary weapons, beatdowns, grenades and power-ups.