Halo 3: Improvement Techniques 5.) Grenade Jumping and Strafing

Today's subjects flummox a lot of people. They just don't understand exactly what strafing is, or how to do it properly. We're going to eliminate any confusion about that in this article while also further explaining the boundaries of maps and how you can expand them by grenade jumping. While doing this we'll explain what grenade jumping is, its drawbacks and its usefulness. Following this article I will go ahead and write Saturday's, so be aware another is coming today.

Grenade Jumping has been in the Halo series since the first one, and was more prevalent in Halo CE than in Halo 2. In Halo 2, one could only grenade jump if he was the host. That is no longer the case. Now anyone can grenade jump. Grenade jumping is the process of throwing a grenade in your path of travel and timing your jump above the grenade to coincide with its explosion. If done properly you'll end up riding the shockwave of the grenade's explosion for some extra height on your jump allowing you to jump farther and reach what used to be unreachable. Plasma grenades work best for this, but frags can be used as well. Just do not use the sticky grenades (the ones that look like potato mashers).

To be able to pull off a grenade jump it is helpful to know the timing of its explosion. For frag grenades the timer does not start until you hear the ping of the grenade hitting a surface. When you hear that count to four by using the one-one thousand method and as soon as you say four, the grenade should explode. Plasma's are much the same, but easier to use because you can throw them directly at the spot you want to jump from and they will stay. Sticky grenades have a much shorter fuse (as soon as you say one one thousand they explode) and as such are not worthwhile jumping utensils.

The cons to grenade jumping should be readily apparant the minute you try to do one. They are dangerous. You risk killing yourself everytime you do one. Not only that, but even if done successfully, your shields will be severely damaged, often getting rid of them entirely and leaving you extremely vulnerable to attack. The pros are you can increase your movement speed across a map dramatically by avoiding obstacles in your path, and they can help you get into positions no enemy could get to unless he or she grenade jumps as well.

In certain circumstances I would limit my use of 'nade jumps. The fact my shields disappear so quickly when using them is a severe drawback. What they do give me that I feel are worth it are options. I have options to travel the map. I can be suddenly appear in places the enemy would never expect me to appear and attack their defenses from the weakest points. Doing these jumps constantly is probably not a requirement for success in Halo 3, but knowing about them most definitely is.

Strafing is the act of moving side to side in an unpredictable manner to help make your enemies miss and improving your chances at survival. Strafing is probably the easiest method to learn, but tends to be weakly executed by many players. This is because the secret to perfect strafing is the unpredictability of your movements. It is not enough that you just move side to side in a constant left, then right, then left, then right motion. It may work once, but it is extremely predictable and any enemy with half a brain can guess that you are set in your ways and anticipate your movement.

Allow me to explain when strafing is best used first. At medium to long distance, against an enemy with a scoped weapon, strafing is essential. Without this skill, you will undoubtedly live a very short life. Up close, strafing is important as well, but doesn't have to be as exagerrated as it is from a distance. Up close other things, like crouching at the right time or jumping when your shields are totally drained, are helpful tricks that will make it much more difficult for your opponent to kill you. From a reasonable distance, these extra tricks don't work. The reason they work up close is because of your proximity. It takes longer for them to adjust their aim when you are up close. Not only that, but when you jump at a close distance to shoot someone, you make a head shot on you more difficult and a head shot on them much easier. Think about it. If you are looking down at someone, the most prominant feature on their body is their head. If you're looking up at someone the most prominant feature are their legs, especially if they are crouching while jumping.

When strafing, remember, unpredicability is key. Think of moving in one step and stop increments. This is to say, think to yourself LEFT/STOP/RIGHT/STOP/RIGHT/JUMP LEFT/STOP. No step should take longer than the time it takes to fire one BR shot, and they should be timed to be executed right before said shot is fired at you. If you have a hard time strafing unpredictably, try practicing 3 general strafing routines. Memorize them and then implement them by mixing up their order as you play.

When going up against strafers, it is useful to have scoped weapons. If you don't have one and are up against one, you should seriously think about running away to cover (but cover that allows you to escape easily should you need to...remember previous blogs!!!).

So now you are versed on the 'nade jump and strafing techniques. Your assignment tonight is to practice these nade jumps until you have the timing right. It would probably be helpful if you have someone on your friend's list who has performed these in the past to walk you through them. After you have gotten comfortable with these, you are to go into matchmaking or social games and attack enemies while strafing and inching closer to them. You might die a lot. Don't get discouraged. It will take some practice for these techniques to start working for you.

Tomorrow's blog will be posted later this afternoon because i'm lazy and don't want to write anything on a Saturday. The topic will be good game attitude with a few extra tidbits about weapon pulsing to fill it out.