Halo 3: Improvement Techniques 1.) RADAR

Since I've gotten my copy of Halo 3 I've noticed many of the people I have played with, and against, have been having a hard time competing, and as a result, haven't been having much fun. I'm going to try and help alleveiate that problem by doing a series of blogs addressing various ways of improving your game. This blog is intended for people who never really played Halo's 1 or 2, or true beginners if you will.

First of all, don't be discouraged if you play a game and end up going 1 and 13 (1kill/13deaths). While Halo 3 has only been out a week, people have been playing this game online religiously for the past 3 years. Because of the similarity between Halo's 2 and 3, you must take into account the fact you are already a few years behind the learning curve. Don't despair, you can catch up easily. It will just take some time, and in some cases, a new way of looking at FPS's.

Don't come into Halo 3 thinking just because you held your own in games like Gears of War and Shadowrun, that you are going to be able to hold your own in Halo 3 on skill alone. It helps if you were good at those games, but it isn't neccessary either. Halo 3 is a game of movement and collection of information. In no other game is the pace as frenzied as it is in Halo. You must learn how to play in an always changing environment. This blog will help you do just that by attempting to simplify keys to winning in terms which every older gamer can identify.

Your first order of business is to learn how to use your HUD display. This is the information on your screen like your shields, your ammo, your weapon(s) and your radar. Out of all of these, your radar is probably the most important for the begining player. Many people have a hard time using it, or paying attention to it. It may seem like a lot of extra information, and can sometimes be overwhelming. I am almost positive some people feel it is unmanageable because once they look at it, they end up being killed by something else. We can fix that. Most all of us drive vehicles, and looking at the information on your screen is analagous to driving your car. You, in Halo 3, become your car. Your radar is your car's rearview and side mirrors. Just glancing at your radar, like you would at your mirrors while driving, is all that is required to be done. After some time has passed, you'll find yourself using your periphial vision to notice when there is a red blip on your radar, and knowing when danger is imminent will become second nature.

Remember, your radar is not 2 dimensional. It also picks up movement above you and below you. Using a 25 meter radial sphere it tracks the movement of your enemies. Recognizing this is easy if you find yourself on a ground or top floor of a map. If you turn to look at where the red dot should be infront of you, and no one is there, via process of elimination you must know your enemy is on a level above you. Now all that is left up to you is to answer the question, "Should I attack, or ignore this red dot?"

You should attack if believe you can get to him and get the first shot off, but if there is no real quick option to ascend levels, you would probably be better served looking around you level for another target, or trying to find an easier way to gain position on the rest of the field. Of course, recognizing how to and when to attack, and even making educated guesses on the position of your enemy becomes even easier if you know the map layout like a 3 dimensional model in your head. So learning the maps is very important.

Take this into account and try using it tonight in any games you play. This isn't going to be some miracle cure for your halo woes, but I want you guys who haven't played halo in the past 3 years to take it one step at a time. Tomorrow I'll give you another slice of information to work on, and hopefully in a couple of weeks when this beginner tutorial is over, your game will improve dramatically.