There’s more to movement than simply navigating around a map. Being in the right place at the right time can give you a distinct advantage, regardless of game mode. Halo 5: Guardians’ new Spartan abilities add a new lineup of offensive and defensive moves you can perform to gain an advantage. For instance, when engaging in a 1v1 battle, in addition to strafing, crouching, and jumping, you can now thrust, perform a Spartan Charge, or initiate a Ground Pound to keep an opponent on their toes. Defensively, sprint while jumping and clambering to get away from a threat. With so many moves in your arsenal, change it up to keep your opponents guessing. If you rely on the same moves repeatedly, opponents may adapt and attempt to counter. This section takes a closer look at movement, offering some helpful insight.
Run and Gun!
If you want to compete with top-tier players, you need to learn how to shoot while moving. Instead of just using the right thumbstick to aim, use your movements, with the left thumbstick, to help keep your target centered. During engagements, try to match the lateral movement of your opponent to keep your shot lined up horizontally. This allows you to fine-tune your aim with the right thumbstick, making minor vertical adjustments—this is critical for scoring headshots during close-quarter duels. Moving and shooting is the key to connecting with as many shots as possible, so practice this technique in every match.
Aiming: Body Shots vs. Headshots
The shield system used by Spartans protects their entire body, including their head. So unless using a one-shot kill weapon, like the Sniper Rifle, don’t bother aiming for an opponent’s head at the outset of a firefight. Instead, land body shots to begin with in an attempt to pop their shields. By aiming for center mass you’re more likely to land shots and inflict damage to the target’s shields. But once an opponent’s shield is down, go for headshots. Many weapons, like the Magnum, can drop a Spartan with a single shot to the head. And you don’t necessarily need pinpoint precision to score a headshot: An invisible hit box around each Spartan’s helmet registers headshots, but this box extends a bit above the helmet, giving you slightly a bigger target to hit. Explore the boundaries of this hit box by firing grazing shots along the left, right, and top of an opponent’s helmet. Once you have a better grasp of the hit box’s size, you’ll have an easier time scoring headshots.
The Sniper Rifle is as deadly as ever—aim for an opponent’s head to take them down with a single shot.
Lateral Evasion: Strafing
Strafing is arguably the most fundamental skill to master during firefights. This allows you to slip laterally, making you a harder target to hit. But always keep your reticle centered on your opponent while strafing so you can return fire. To make yourself even tougher to hit, occasionally jump and crouch while strafing. This requires your opponent to make vertical adjustments to their aim while continually tracking your horizontal movements. To increase your lateral speed, activate your Thruster Pack. Mix up your movements to stay unpredictable. But remember, the more you move, the more you’ll need to adjust your aim. Strafing is easiest when firing an automatic weapon like the Assault Rifle or SMG, spraying bullets over a wide area. But you’ll need greater precision when firing a semi-automatic or burst weapon like the Magnum, Battle Rifle, or DMR. So until you’re used to it, consider limiting your strafing maneuvers when equipped with these slower-firing weapons.
Strafe and thrust laterally to evade incoming fire during close-quarter engagements.
Leap of Faith: Jumping and Clambering
With the new clamber ability, it’s easier than ever to pull off jumps that would have been extremely difficult in past installments. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to get familiar with what jumps you can make before competing. Start a custom game and load a map you want to get familiar with—this allows you to explore without coming under constant attack. Every map has a few key jumps you should master, often giving you quick access to power positions or sneaky routes. Embrace the parkour nature of the game by racing around the map without stopping—sprint, jump, clamber, thrust, and slide to overcome or bypass anything in your path. But don’t just run in circles around the map’s perimeter. Familiarize yourself with interior routes as well, going low and high. The faster you can navigate a map without stopping, the greater your survivability during matches, presenting opponents with a hard-to-hit target.
Get Low: Crouching and Sliding
While speed is always beneficial, don’t overlook crouch-walking—this makes you a smaller target and keeps you off the Motion Trackers of opponents. Players who rely on their Motion Tracker to find enemies are often caught off-guard when encountering a sneaky Spartan crouch-walking. Well-timed crouches can also help you evade incoming fire. If being targeted by a sniper, crouch behind low cover to evade a lethal headshot. Likewise, make a habit of crouching while strafing during firefights, bobbing up and down to throw off an opponent’s aim. Finally, don’t forget to crouch while sprinting to perform a slide. When sprinting at an opponent, a well-timed slide can quickly push you to melee range—fire shots at your opponent while sliding, then finish with a melee strike.
Crouching opponents don’t appear on your Motion Tracker—don’t let them sneak up behind you.
In Moderation: Sprinting
All Spartans now benefit from unlimited sprint—there is no longer a time limit restricting this ability. Sprinting is an excellent way to evade fire, extend jump distances, and escape pursuers. You must also be sprinting to perform a Spartan Charge or slide. However, you’re not invincible while sprinting. If you take a hit, you’ll slow down, requiring you to reactivate sprint to resume your high-speed movement. Furthermore, your weapon is lowered while you’re sprinting, preventing you from firing—this can put you at a severe disadvantage when encountering opponents at close range. Even more troubling, your shields are incapable of recharging while sprinting. Given these drawbacks, don’t become over-reliant on sprinting. Casual players tend to sprint everywhere, often running to their deaths. Given the close quarters of most Arena maps, you’re better off keeping your weapon raised and ready to fire.
Movement Enhancers: Armor Mods
While armor mods are off-limits in Arena matches, they’re a good way to give yourself an edge during Warzone battles. In particular, focus on the armor mods that enhance your movement. The Enhanced Speed armor mod increases your acceleration and speed, boosting jump height and distance covered while sliding. The Reflex Enhancers mod mostly increases the speed of weapon handling, but it also boosts clamber speed while decreasing the amount of time it takes to exit a sprint, allowing for quicker weapon deployment—it also gives you the ability to reload while sprinting. The Upgraded Thrusters mod increases the speed (and distance covered) while thrusting. It also increases acceleration and top speed while sprinting. While you can only activate one armor mod at a time, any of these options can help give you an edge during the chaotic firefights of Warzone.