Multiplayer Tactics

General Tips

Let’s start with two fundamentals. Although you may be keen to dive back into the fray after each fight, it pays to stay in cover while your shields recharge, or until you have reloaded your weapons. On the subject of reloading, our stance in multiplayer is exactly the same as Campaign mode: reload or die. We really can’t overstate how important it is to enter battles with a full clip and a full shield bar.

Watch the Motion Tracker for enemy contacts in your immediate vicinity, but remember that it isn’t a standard radar: it only detects opponents that are moving at speed or firing. On maps with multiple floor levels, it will also pick up enemies that are moving above and below your position, which can either cause undue alarm or inspire complacency.

There is no such thing as “kill stealing” in free-for-all games, despite the protestations of certain opponents – it’s every man, woman and Sangheili warrior for themselves. In team and objective-oriented matches, the good of the team comes first. Essentially, when you get the chance to put an opponent down, just do it.

Don’t always hurry to charge into battle. Smart players often profit by surveying the scene and judging the correct moment to strike.

If you crouch as you walk, you will be invisible to enemy Motion Trackers. Naturally, this is only of use in Game Types and Variants that don’t reveal your position with a waypoint marker. Crouching while airborne will enable you to slightly extend the duration of a leap, and even reach heights or distances that are not possible with a standard jump.

Melee attacks are a crucial ingredient of fights in multiplayer. The best players have an instinctive appreciation of the ideal moment to step forward during close-range duels and finish off their opponent with a bone-breaking blow. There’s no hard and fast strategy, but we strongly recommend that you pay careful attention to how your rivals use them during your first weeks of play. Don’t forget that a strike to the back of an opponent is in general instantly lethal.

Learn to recognize and quickly react to audio cues. From the fizzing of a Plasma Grenade to the “whoosh!” of a Rocket Launcher, the insistent alarm that accompanies a Missile Pod lock-on to the distinctive hum of a charged Plasma Pistol, sound effects alert you to dangers before you can see them. Play with the volume too low, and you’ll miss these critical prompts.

Wandering more or less aimlessly in free-for‑all games tends to be rather ineffective. Until you familiarize yourself well with all maps and their subtleties, you can start by traveling on simple routes or loops that are easy to memorize. This way, you will feel less naked and know better what to expect and how to react accordingly. If you notice that your opponents get used to your patterns, though, be prepared to adapt immediately, or you’ll become laughably predictable.

Anything that you throw into a Man Cannon or Gravity Lift will be propelled with a momentum based on that object’s mass and trajectory at the point of entry. We suggest various useful applications for this feature in the map-specific tips provided later in this chapter, but there’s plenty of scope for experimentation.

Saved Films offer more than the opportunity to behold past glories, or create clips of amusing and impressive events. The Theater is actually a repository for all the potential training reels a player keen to improve their all-round game could ever hope for. While watching a film, switch to one of the leading players, or an individual who excelled in a particular area, and study their behavior. It’s often the case that a great performance will be largely due to that person’s inherent skill, timing and experience, but there are other occasions when you’ll notice a specific technique or trick that you can learn from – and, of course, incorporate into your own repertoire.

Unlike in Halo 2, players in Halo 3 have their reserve weapons clearly visible on their player model. Forewarned being forearmed, having the chance to recognize these can help you to avoid nasty surprises. For example, if you see the distinctive handle of a Gravity Hammer sticking out above an opponent’s head, that’s a clear indication that sprinting forward to make a melee attack is a bad, bad idea.

Get into the habit of using explosive devices in the environment to your advantage. If your quarry is foolish enough to move next to an object with the potential to detonate, you are practically obligated to shoot it in order to start or end a fight with a bang. Similarly, if you espy distant rivals fighting in close proximity to a Power Core, try to cause an explosion that might claim them both.

Memorize the positions where you respawn during your first few weeks of play, especially during free-for-all matches. Knowing where enemies are likely to appear from can help you to avoid unexpected attacks.

Even though first-time players might understandably assume otherwise, objects such as the Oddball, flags in CTF games and the bomb in Assault matches are actually all lethal melee weapons – one hit is generally all it takes to beat an enemy to the ground.

Though you lose the ability to perform ranged attacks, you can still use equipment while carrying objects such as flags and bombs.

Team Tips

In team games, don’t rush to take vital weapons, equipment or vehicles if you’re less than skilled at using them. Here’s a hypothetical situation for you. A poor marksman with limited multiplayer experience grabs a Sniper Rifle in a CTF game, and proceeds to fire shots at a distant Banshee before being assassinated by an opponent who steals the weapon. How will the teammates of this individual react? Let’s just say that it’s safe to assume that they won’t suggest that everyone has cake and a bit of a sing-song to celebrate. Seriously: team game etiquette really matters. No one worth playing with will resent you for making mistakes, but if you habitually waste key weapons and make life difficult for your allies through selfish or inconsiderate behavior in team games, you’ll rapidly find yourself becoming a permanent fixture on numerous “Avoided Players” lists.

Communication is absolutely essential in objective-based games, and helps in all team-oriented matches. It’s important to be clear and concise, so use simple descriptive terms to identify areas and specific positions. If you don’t know the name of an area, a good suggestion is to refer to it by the name of the nearest weapon spawn point. On Valhalla, for example, “The flag is by the Spartan Laser spawn” tells your team exactly what they need to know, while “The flag is in the middle” does not.

Try to use the things that you find for the good of the team. For example, if you’re playing an Assault game and pick up a Bubble Shield, join the attack and deploy it at the bomb arming spot to cover your teammates. When you have a Warthog with a free seat, slow down to offer nearby allies a ride. Above all else, don’t waste resources. In objective-based games, everything you do should be for the benefit of the team. If you don’t feel comfortable with this concept, you might want to stick to free-for-all Game Types.

If your team doesn’t intend to use certain vehicles, it can sometimes be prudent to destroy them to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Naturally, this is a tactical decision that needs to be approved by everyone – you really won’t be popular if you blow up a Warthog that your allies have marked for a specific task or strategy.

Camping enemy spawn points can cause confusion and irritation that will hamper their efforts to plan and execute a cohesive strategy. If you realize you are being targeted in this way, communicate the danger to your teammates and cooperate to neutralize the threat immediately. If you don’t, the results can be disastrous. One Territories game on Sandtrap we experienced leaps to mind, where a player racked up over twenty consecutive kills by loitering with a Chopper by the main enemy spawn point, also destroying vehicles as they appeared. We shouldn’t need to tell you which team triumphed in that round…

Placing an unneeded vehicle on top of a bomb arming spot or flag spawn can be a real irritant for your opponents; you can also park them in front of control panels (such as those found on High Ground and Last Resort). Sometimes, enemies will accidentally climb inside the vehicle rather than grabbing the flag, or may decide to quickly move the obstruction aside. Anything that slows them down gives your team the opportunity to launch a more concerted defensive strike. Of course, if there’s no one around to take advantage of this inconvenience, you may simply be handing your rivals the gift of a rapid escape…

In Team Slayer games, don’t forget that your wellbeing is of paramount importance, and aim to have a positive kill to death ratio. Every single demise you suffer is a point for the opposing team, so it’s extremely unwise to throw your life away in skirmishes that you have little chance of winning.

If you get the impression that you’re a late addition to a well-organized group, don’t just give up and go fight on your own – you’ll be wasting your time. Instead, follow and observe your teammates, and try to identify the tasks that you could accomplish to make a contribution to their overall strategy.

Equipment Tips

Unlike standard equipment, the Overshield (red) and Active Camo (blue) are activated instantly once you come into contact with either sphere.

• The Overshield, as its name suggests, provides the gift of an additional layer of shielding, but also offers a very brief period of invulnerability when collected. The extra shield energy will then gradually dissipate, so it’s advisable to exploit the advantage it grants by aggressively seeking opponents before its effect ends.

• Active Camo offers the benefit of temporary transparency, though eagle-eyed opponents will still be able to detect your presence by spotting the distinctive (though, admittedly, difficult to track) “distorted air” as you move. Firing weapons will increase your visibility, so it’s often more profitable to aim for subtle one-hit melee attacks or grenade tags instead.

All equipment types that appear in multiplayer matches are functionally identical to their counterparts in Campaign mode.

You can safely crouch-walk over deployed Trip Mines, though this is a dangerous trick to use – you’re effectively doomed if an opponent spots you while you are creeping past one.

An evil trick to play on your opponents in free-for-all matches is to pick up and plant a Trip Mine in the exact position in which it spawns. Anyone paying attention will notice that the device is armed (there are, after all, distinct audio and visual cues), but it’s surprising how often players will suffer a lapse in concentration and simply attempt to collect it. You can also plant Trip Mines around or even on top of vehicles, with amusingly lethal consequences for anyone who incautiously jumps inside after failing to heed the warning signs.

Remember that the Power Drain has an area of effect that passes through many walls and other barriers. It’s not enough to hide – distance is the key if you want to keep your shield intact.

The Grav Lift device isn’t merely a tool for vaulting walls – it has applications in combat, too. You can drop one to send an opponent who is running forward to make a melee attack flying over your head, and it’s an effective (and really funny) way to deal with onrushing vehicles, too.

The Power Drain device will roll through a Bubble Shield when thrown, but its effect is blocked by the energy walls. Consequently, if a Power Drain is inside a Bubble Shield, everyone outside will be safe from its effect, and vice versa.

Vehicle Tips

As in Campaign mode, vehicles generally offer a degree of protection that corresponds with their physical appearance. Therefore, while a pristine Warthog will absorb a high degree of damage from incoming small arms fire, another with a smashed windscreen and broken hood will practically wave the bullets through.

Frag Grenades and Plasma Grenades are excellent tools when you face light vehicles, as a well-timed throw into their path can cause them to roll and crash, spilling the driver and any passengers from their seats. The Mongoose is particularly susceptible to the effects of nearby explosions.

Be aware of the potential hazards in a level before you jump into a vehicle, especially during team games on large maps such as Valhalla and Sandtrap. If there’s a chance you could run into an adversary wielding a Spartan Laser or a Missile Pod, it might be advisable to wait for your teammates to deal with the threat before you set out on an ill-fated journey in a valuable Banshee, Warthog or Wraith.

The EMP effect of a charged Plasma Pistol shot is something that all drivers should learn to fear. However, note that the Plasma Pistol only disables the engine, and has no effect on weapons systems. If you halt a Warthog’s progress, for instance, bear in mind that there is nothing to stop its turret operator from cutting you to shreds once he or she spots you.

In the hands of an expert pilot, the Banshee can quite easily evade rockets fired by the Missile Pod – with instinctive use of the speed boost function and sideways roll, they become no more than a time-consuming inconvenience. However, the Spartan Laser is utterly devastating. On maps such as Valhalla and Sandtrap, teams that control the Spartan Laser can reasonably expect to control the skies.

Due to its raw speed, mobility and extremely fast respawn rate on most maps, the Mongoose is an excellent choice for journeys in and out of enemy territory.

The easiest way to destroy an enemy Wraith is to board it from behind and plant a grenade. In team games where they appear, wasting a Wraith is a cardinal sin. You should always have a second player operate the turret to deal with infantry, and move forward very cautiously.

If your team is enduring frequent low-level strafing runs by an enemy Banshee (especially the really annoying type where the pilot is essentially running players over), break out a Plasma Pistol or, better still, a Power Drain to knock out their engines.

Weapon Tips

As soon as you spawn, grab the first weapon you encounter as backup to your Assault Rifle. Even if you set off with the express intention of collecting a particular firearm, it always pays to have a second gun in reserve. Rather than reloading the Assault Rifle when its clip is exhausted in a skirmish, you can switch to your other weapon to finish your adversary off.

Look out for the red dot that appears in the center of the reticle with certain weapons (such as the Battle Rifle). This indicates a guaranteed headshot, which is deadly if your target’s shield is down.

There are three techniques involving weapons that you can employ to increase the height of a jump, which may enable you to get on top of ledges and platforms that are otherwise out of reach. The “Brute Shot jump” involves firing the weapon at the ground as you leap to make the force of the detonation propel you skywards; for maximum height (but with added risk), fire twice. The “grenade jump” is a classic technique that all players should be aware of by now – just plant a Frag Grenade or Plasma Grenade in the appropriate position, then leap over it as it explodes to attain great heights. Finally, the “Gravity Hammer jump” is also a good trick. To perform one, look down at the ground, then swing the weapon and jump simultaneously. This can also be used to evade or confuse opponents during combat.

Throwing grenades to soften up opponents before you launch an attack is a highly profitable tactic. The shield damage and momentary disorientation can enable you to seize the advantage against adversaries armed with far superior weapons.

Grenades can also be employed to deter assailants from giving chase, especially when you run through doors, which can provide time for your shield to recharge. Spike Grenades are remarkably efficient in enclosed spaces. Not only will the spikes rebound from nearby surfaces, you can plant them on walls and ceilings to give a pursuing player a nasty shock.

When death is certain, throw a grenade as a valedictory gesture of defiance. If your opponent is weakened by the battle or, even better, you manage to tag them, the pain of your demise will be alleviated by the good cheer inspired by a “Beyond the Grave” kill. Note that the Spike Grenade tends to be marginally easier to aim than the Plasma Grenade.

If you press and hold the zoom button, you will return to the previous zoom level immediately when you remove your thumb. This is an interesting feature when you wield scoped weapons, particularly the Sniper Rifle and Beam Rifle. It’s almost certainly too awkward for snipers to line up a shot with the thumbstick depressed, but it’s handy if you need to briefly take a closer look at something.

To quickly leave the intermediate zoom level while using a Sniper Rifle or Beam Rifle, simply perform a melee attack to instantly return to the default view.

Shots from the Sniper Rifle can ricochet from certain surfaces. With practice, you can take advantage of this feature to hit enemies that you can’t actually see.

If you are confronted by an enemy sniper, concentrate on keeping your adversary “descoped” – that is, shoot them in measured bursts to prevent them from zooming in and making a precision shot.

Feel free to practice “no-scope” kills with the Sniper Rifle and Beam Rifle. It’s an art that only an elite few will ever come close to perfecting, but even a basic proficiency can be valuable in matches that involve sniper weapons only.

If you are fighting on smaller maps or inside building interiors, the “plasma punch” can be a devastating technique. Run towards an opponent with a charged shot, then release it and follow up with melee attacks.

Turrets may be powerful, but they make their users extremely slow – and, therefore, ripe targets for grenade sticks and melee attacks.

If you hit an opponent at close range with a Shotgun and they somehow survive the blast, follow up with a melee strike to finish them off. This is quick, saves ammo, and reduces the need to reload.

When you dual wield, try to pick one-handed weapons that complement each other. Usually, this will be a plasma/ballistic combination – such as a Plasma Pistol and a Magnum, or a Spiker and a Plasma Rifle – where one gun is efficient against shields, while the other works well against armor, flesh and bone.

The Needler can be less effective at very close range, as its projectiles don’t have time to begin tracking a target.

Always aim for an opponent’s feet with the Rocket Launcher. If you miss them, you will still have a good chance of causing death or serious injury with the blast radius, whereas a rocket fired at a target’s torso would simply fly past them.

With the new “sword parry” feature, using an Energy Sword against an opponent armed with the same weapon is much more tactical. In a sword versus sword fight, you can now stop a lunging duelist in their tracks and block by pressing the melee button. If your timing is precise, the parry will stun your opponent briefly, offering a window of opportunity for you to run them through with your own lunge.