Don't Die

I’ve mentioned my “don’t die” strategy many times before but never in detail. Much of this may be a review of my old topics so I’ll skim over some information. Of course, I’m still a work in progress so please comment on any criticisms you may have.

When I spawn, my first priority is weapons. I go for the BR first but a Carbine will do fine. Then I look for sticky and/or spike grenades. Sometimes there’s a lot of action going on at spawn so I may need to just jump into battle with my AR blazing to support a teammate, but I always remember to upgrade as soon as I can. 

Next, I look at my teammates. I always try to be within range of at least one teammate. Bunching up is a bad idea, staying with AR range is best I think. That keeps you far enough apart to avoid being a double kill but close enough to team shoot and gives some room for movement. I keep behind cover as much as possible but never stay in such a small place that I’d be an easy grenade kill. Caves and tight hallways are deathtraps.

When I have an enemy in site, I first throw a grenade and then start shooting. This is where it gets tricky. As soon as you shoot someone your location is broadcast to the other team. My shield is quickly going down. If I know I have the jump and will likely get the kill, I keep shooting. If I’m suddenly double teamed, I take cover (which I’ve made sure is close). It only takes 4 BR shots to kill you. If I’m going to loose the battle I run after two shots. A third shot will be taken as I turn around and I can’t afford the fourth.

When I run, I hopefully already have an escape route in mind. This allows me to look straight down, which hides my head from being hit from behind. I run to my safe zone or just keep running until my shields recover. I usually try to run in the direction of a teammate. It’s likely my pursuer has taken some damage so running to a teammate will lead the enemy into a trap that he can’t win. Even if I die, my team gets a kill and we break even. 

Another tactic for running is grenade placement. When I’m running away, I throw grenades differently. I look for obvious paths for the pursuer and place grenades as blockers. I’m not trying to kill the opponent at this point; I’m trying to stay alive. A grenade landing at a doorway just before the enemy arrives will cause some damage and make him hesitate. If I throw it as runs through the door, it’s likely he’ll jump and avoid death. He may still take damage, but now he’s in the same room and finishing me off. If I can’t block the path of travel, hiding behind a corner with a sticky in hand is a good way to make sure you at least break even. A short range stick is better than a melee anytime.

The next part of not dying is realizing a good opponent is using these same tactics. If I have the advantage and the enemy starts to run, the first instinct is to chase. That’s a bad idea. He’ll be throwing grenades in your path and running towards teammates. Try to use an alternate route to cut him off or just let him go. 

Communication should be happening throughout this entire process. Calling out a pursuing enemy’s location is especially fun. It’s a beautiful thing to see three BR shots land on an enemy that almost kills you.  Calling out an enemy location as soon as you see on will cause your team to react sooner and make your death much less likely.

So that’s the jist of it. Most players don’t run until it’s too late. Realize you’re going to take hits as you run so leave early unless you know you have the advantage (first shot). The next major mistake players make is poor escape routes. Have one planned that ideally leads to your teammates.  These are the kinds of things I've worked on to lower my death count and they're working.  Now, I need to work more on getting my kill count up.  Perhaps I run too much or too early.  Perhaps I need to learn some more offensive strategies.  I don't know, but it sure is fun trying to figure it out..