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{DRK}Clouds Halo weapon and vehicle hints
Weapons
Assault Rifle
The AR is a great weapon for quick engagements and attacking moving targets that are hard to hit (such as warthog drivers). It has a fairly weak bullet but carries many bullets per clip. When using this weapon, you should always fire in bursts. How many shots per burst is dependent of how close the target is to you. The closer the target the longer you should allow your bursts to be. Remember that if your missing your target then your not doing any harm and you need to re-adjust your aim. Attacking a fresh enemy when he is a good distance off is more of a token assault than anything. So coordinate your attack with a grenade toss if possible, and move in closer so that your fire is a real threat.
Again, this can be a great weapon to attack vehicles with because its rate of fire can keep up with the moving target. I do not recommend attacking a tank with this weapon because it doesn’t do a whole lot of damage and really just says to the driver “shoot me”! Any assault with this weapon on a tank needs to be done with a grenade. Attacking ghosts with the AR is more effective. Make sure you keep moving so that the ghost driver doesn’t lock you with his plasma freeze and just let him have everything in your weapon. You’re still the underdog in this match, but with a little skill and a few good jumps you may be able to take him out fairly quickly. The AR is often the weapon of choice for attacking banshees. When you see a banshee flying at you, run TOWARD it firing. If you run away then he can follow you when you run and ram you, but if you run at him then he will most likely fly over your head. After it passes over you just turn around and let it have another clip. The AR is also a good weapon on hogs. Just fire in bursts at it and hope that the driver is either low on health or stupid enough to stop and type, lol.
Pistol
This is an excellent all around weapon and the weapon of choice for many pros and intermediate players for most situations. Because it isn’t easy to hit targets with it, I don’t recommend beginners use it in actual matches until they get more experience. When attacking foot soldiers, never ever aim for anything but the head unless they are to far away to depict what you are hitting. You can attack with this weapon from a very long ways off. Just hit the zoom button and scroll to the upper body of your enemy, and then let him have all you got. I recommend using semi-automatic fire over automatic because you will end up wasting bullets and having to wait through a painfully long reload process. When in a pistol duel always move side to side. When you move forward do so in a zigzag pattern, if you move directly at your opponent then he will have a good line of fire on you and will likely knock a few into your head (ouch). The pistol is great for attacking gunners on hogs who don’t have a driver… anything that doesn’t move a lot is venerable to the might of the pistol. Tanks move slowly and can be picked off. Just zoom in on the canopy and let him have it, it wont take long to kill him that way.
Sniper Rifle
The sniper rifle can be the biggest killing machine in Halo. Patience is a big virtue in sniping. Your biggest threat is other snipers and tankers (who can pound out your position). You need to be VERY quick when attacking other snipers or they will get the beat on you and you’ll spend the next 15 minutes trying to find another sniper. ALWAYS SHOOT THE HEAD! I cannot stress that enough. It is a guaranteed one-shot kill if you hit your enemy’s head. You need to kill people with as few shots as possible because the sniper doesn’t normally come with a lot of ammunition and you only have 4 shots per clip. So reload as often as possible so that you always have 4 shots in the gun when you need it. If you see an enemy out in the field, zoom in either to 4x or 8x and follow him with your scope. If you have difficulty hitting moving targets that’s ok. Just follow him and wait for him to pause, keep the little circle as close to his head as possible so that when he does pause you can get the easy kill. If you don’t have issues with spawn killing, the sniper is a great weapon for that because most players have a short pause after the spawn and when they start moving. Note people who type a lot, they must pause to type and thus present a very easy target. Hitting people running horizontally across your screen may require a lot of practice, but hitting those running at you is very easy. If you are at the same height at they are just shoot him in the head (lol). If you are above him then shooting at his head will most likely mean the shot flies over him, so aim a little lower on his body to get a better chance at a head shot. I recommend you fire 2 shots in that situation to ensure a kill incase you fail at hitting the head. One thing to note about sniping is that the rifle leaves a smoke trail all the way back to you, so when you fire you give away your position. This is why you need to fire conservatively and not miss! Perhaps the easiest kill with the sniper is against tankers. Just stay out of his sight, zoom in on the canopy and shoot his head. You can figure out where his head is even if you are so far away you cant see the head, its at the top of the canopy. One note to make if you don’t have a sniper but you see an enemy that does: when you shoot him his scope un-zooms. So even if your long-range fire will be ineffective, you might be able to distract or irritate a sniper (maybe with a ghost or Assault Rifle).
Rocket Launcher
The rocket launcher is perhaps the easiest weapon to kill with. It is very good at silencing the engine of a hog or a tank, just shoot the vehicle and watch the driver fly! Keep in mind while calculating your shots that the rocket travels very slowly. Against foot soldiers, never let them get to close to you, this will mean that you will suicide if you try and shoot them. If someone is close to you then jump backward and fire. That should get you far enough away to avoid too much damage. When you attack foot soldiers never aim for the guy himself, aim at his base (feet). If you shoot his feet then you have a much better chance of hitting and killing him and you run the possibility of double kills should their be more than one of them. The hardest vehicle to attack with the RL is the banshee. Unless your lucky the driver will outmaneuver your rocket and you will miss. So if the banshee driver decided to hover for some reason, aim toward the top of the banshee and fire (do this because the banshee is slowly moving back and up if it is aiming at the ground).
Shotgun
Here is very good close range weapon. At medium range you can kill weak units and damage soldiers so that you will have a better shot at killing them when you move in close. Get as close to your enemy as possible, one shot at pointblank range should be enough to kill your enemy. A few feet away will most likely require 2 shots. In a shotgun duel, always run sideways and jump toward your enemy when you feel you are not close enough. The shotgun makes a great secondary weapon for snipers and other long range weapons incase someone runs up on you. Don’t care what other people tell you, the shotgun is NOT a good weapon against most situations with vehicles. The exception to that is a slow moving hog (like when the driver just hops in or is getting out) and when you can run up on a gunner with no driver.
Flamethrower
The flamethrower is the cream of close-up weapons but is worthless at any distance at all. Mind that you don’t rub up against the people you are burning so that you don’t kill yourself. One thing you might try is getting right into the mix of a bunch of opponents, let them have a whole clip and let the after burn do its work. I have got many triple kills in this way. Against foot soldiers just attack with about a half clip burst, if that doesn’t do the work then let him have the other half, that should so the trick. Keep in mind that the flamethrower is not effective against any vehicle for the most part. so don’t pick fights with drivers if that’s all you’ve got in your hand. The exception would be if your right next to a slow moving hog or a ghost that isn’t paying attention to you.
Plasma Rifle
The PR is more effective against aliens than it is Master Chiefs, but it is still a formidable weapon. It has what is called plasma freeze, meaning that it makes it more difficult for your opponent to move and attack you while he is being hit. That aspect doesn’t make a huge difference with this weapon because it is weak compared to the ghost’s freeze and you have to shoot in bursts so that your weapon doesn’t over heat. If it does overheat, using a melee attack will help the weapon to cool off just a tad faster. Always fire in bursts just so that your weapon does not overheat, always keep an eye on that bar. The PR is also not a good choice if your planning a long run, you will run out of shots and will not be able to find more ammo for it unless you run across another PR by a lucky chance. The PR is good against banshees and ghosts but fairly ineffective on hogs & tanks. Just fire in bursts at the vehicles and be very persistent.
Plasma Pistol
This weapon wins the award for most useless weapon in the game as far as I’m concerned. Its shot is very weak, its only good feature is its charge. Hold the fire button to charge the shot then unleash it on an enemy. Fire VERY carefully because if you miss you will have trouble. Attacking vehicles that aren’t moving can be effective. Just note that when you fire a charged shot you will have to wait for your weapon to cool off. Hitting a Master Chief with a charged PP will knock off his shield, so stay close to him while your gun cools off and then attack him semi-auto and try to knock off his now unprotected heath.
Needler
This is another annoying weapon of the game. Just point your weapon in the general direction of the enemy and fire. It may take your entire clip to eliminate a foe, so try not to miss. If you see your enemy is making a sharp corner then stop firing, your flimsy shots will start to make the turn then go haywire. It is very easy to outmaneuver the needles so make sure your going to get a hit before you unleash on someone. You have a HUGE advantage with this weapon if you can catch your opponent off guard, then he won’t know to dodge. In that case, this can be a very good weapon. Just build up a big pink ball on him and watch him explode. If doesn’t take a lot of skill to hit someone, but it doesn’t take a lot of skill to dodge these shots either.
Fuel Rod Gun
This is one of the better anti-vehicle weapons in Halo. The only one its hard to hit is the banshee, but that becomes easy with enough practice. Keep in mind that the FRG’s shots lob a little, so always take a sec to align your weapon before unleashing your ammo. Keep in mind though that when you fire you let EVERYONE know where you are. No hiding with this gun. Against foot soldiers, it will take about 3 shots per enemy. That’s good because you get 5 shots with this weapon until it overheats (unless you leave space in-between shots to make sure it doesn’t overheat). Make sure you fire at a foot soldiers base (or feet), like the rocket launcher, this will ensure a hit.
Fragmentation Grenade
This is the better of the 2 grenades against foot soldiers because it has a larger damage area. Get it as close to the enemy as possible and make sure you don’t bounce if off of him, this will make it go farther away and will help him get away from it. Land it next to his feet. If someone is running at you, put the grenade a little in front of you and back up, so that when he arrives he will have a gift awaiting him. If he is running horizontal of your screen throw in front of him. Its always a good idea to throw grenades just behind your enemy so that its harder for him to see it. If he doesn’t see it then he wont run away from it. These type of grenades or most effective against ghosts and hogs. It will flip either vehicle and injure (if not kill the occupants) badly. It will hurt a tank but is just a little less affective than I would like it. Coordinate grenade attacks with your weapons on tanks.
Plasma Grenade
This is grenade is very effective against all type of vehicle. The least effective would be the ghost because you either have to hit the fast moving ghost directly or it has to blow when the ghost is right next to or over it. The best way to attack a banshee with it is to have it flying right at you. Aim up and lob it a little above the banshee when it gets close. Once it sticks don’t play around, just get away from those guns. It’s really hard to attack warthogs with it until you get good enough to stick it to the vehicle because the driver can see it very easily and will know to swerve out if its way. The best way to get a hogger is when he is just getting in; just stick it on and wave good-bye. If you can stick a PG on a tank, the explosion will take him down almost all the way. A few shots from a bullet weapon should finish him off. This grenade is not as effective against foot soldiers because they can see it easier and its explosion is fairly small. So get it as close to him as possible or try to stick it on him directly. One thing you can use it for is to smoke people out of a hiding place so that you can shoot them and possibly weaken them. If you run into someone at close range, stick the PG on him and get away, he’s dead. If someone sticks a PG on you, the best thing to do (knowing you WILL die) is your get as close to your enemy as possible and throw as many grenades as you can, maybe you can kill him with his own grenade or one of your grenades will kill someone.
Melee
All weapons have a melee attack, but they are not equal. Some of the weapons have more powerful attacks and some have other advantages. If you are carrying something big like the rocket launcher or fuel rod gun then it will take so long on the melee that you cant hit again for a while or be in position to fire. The assault rifle is the best melee weapon in the game. It delivers a powerful punch and takes almost no time to complete. Don’t melee with the needler, flamethrower, rocket launcher, or fuel rod gun, unless you sneak right up behind to an unsuspecting soul, they are weak and take to long to complete. The sniper and shotgun are about equal and are both adequate. Also, some weapons have larger attack areas, the two largest attack area weapons are the assault rifle and plasma rifle. The weakest attack is the plasma pistol, he actually doesn’t even attack with the gun but rather put the gun aside and punches. Its weak but has a shot completion time. When in a close range right, leap at your opponent and hit him as you approach. Never just melee unless it’s a surprise behind attack, you should coordinate it with weapon fire. Also keep this attack in mind if you run out of ammo. If you are playing CTF and have the flag then note that this is your ONLY attack until you can get your hands on a vehicle. The pole is longer than you would think, so attack a bit out. Always remember to jump around in melee fights and know that if you leap down from a short height on to your enemy with a melee, the attack damage is about double. Hitting someone directly in the back is a one hit kill, so hold your fire and be a sneak if possible. Snipers are often unaware of what is going on close to them (because they are looking through their scope for targets) so you may be able to sneak up on them and grenade or melee them. Note that a melee attack does not hurt any vehicle so don’t even try it. You can budge vehicles with your melee attack, so some stunt freaks can do stuff with that, but you’ll have to talk to one of them for about. I’m a fighter not a stunter.
Vehicles
Stationary Gun
This is the most ineffective vehicle in the game. You are just sitting there waiting for a sniper to spot you. The only thing you have an advantage over is a banshee, but his bolt can still flip you. If he is moving horizontally across your screen, fire in front of him (how far away he is determines how far in front you need to fire in order to hit him). Never stop firing while someone is in range because there is no ammo to worry about and no overheating. You can use it to suppress enemy hogs/ghosts/foot soldiers, but I don’t recommend attracting the attention of tanks. Do not stay in the SG for long periods of time or you will have a respawn time to wait through and a long walk back to the gun.
Ghost
When properly used, the ghost can be the best all-around vehicle in Halo. With enough skill you should have a good advantage over any foot soldiers (watch out for fuel rod guns), tanks, and hogs. You have very little chance of shooting down a banshee operator because the ghost does not shoot high enough to hit a smart banshee pilot. If you find that you need to attack a banshee, stay as far away as possible while still being in range. If the banshee gets over you then you cant hit it but it can attack you. Back away from the banshee shooting up at it and scrolling sideways to avoid shots from its bolt. You may be able to take it down, but it wont be easy against a skilled banshee operator. To attack a tank you need to get a little surprise advantage. Your goal should be to get as close to the tank as possible. Move sideways around the tank (staying our of sight if possible) then when you see its gun facing another direction or if he fires his main gun and has to reload, go full speed ahead and get behind the gun. Then let him have it. The plasma freeze will make it difficult for him to turn, so scroll slowly the opposite direction the gun does until the operator dies. Keep an eye on the chassis of the tank as well so that it doesn’t ram and flip you (because of this, it’s a great idea to attack both the back of the chassis and when the gun is facing toward the front of the tank. If you are moving head on at a tank, move from side to side and forward. Again, if he fires you know that he can only use his flimsy machine gun against you so you have a few seconds opportunity to get in close. To attack a hog without a gunner, just pull around behind it and follow him firing until the driver dies, pretty simple. Be careful though that he doesn’t get close enough to flip you over. When the hog has a gunner but no driver you can smile and count on another kill in the box. Try to attack from the side, then blast him letting the plasma freeze do the hard work. Just scroll out of his line of fire as he rolls around and tries to kill you. He should just die, if you shoot him enough. If he decides to jump out of the hog, swoop in and run him over (watch that he doesn’t lay a grenade on his deathbed). If you see a hog with both a gunner and a driver you need to be a little more cautious. Many of your shots will go haywire which means your plasma freeze on the gunner will be weaker. Still, make the gunner your primary target but let your shots bounce around the entire hog. Follow moving sort of diagonally forward while laying down as much fire as you can muster. Remember that if you are moving sideways then it is harder for the gunner to be accurate against you (especially when you have plasma freeze). After you kill the gunner then you can attack the driver like normal. Ghosts duels can be the most challenging fights in Halo. Remember to always move sideways in a circular motion around your opponent and never stop firing. You need to inflict as much damage as quickly as possible. Keep an eye on the terrain because it is hard to see where your going when moving sideways and you don’t want to get flipped by a vacant hog or on a hillside. Your easiest kills will be against foot soldiers. Your most efficient kill is running them over, just fly up to them and if they dodge then start spinning around in circles and then flipping around and scrolling backwards for another attempt (should you miss). Remember that if someone sticks a plasma grenade to you then you don’t have much of a shot at surviving, so try to keep a surprise element to your engagements. Frag grenades are also deadly to you and will flip you over fairly easily. Note that your weapon doesn’t carry a powerful punch against infantry at distance and your shots tend to stray, so attacking infantry that are on a ledge up higher than you probably wont do more than bring grenades hailing down on you. While I’m on the ghost, I will share a little known fact with you. Hitting the space key causes the ghost to fly up for a second. This can help you to get over a hog or something that otherwise would have flipped you. Space is also the break key on the hog.
Banshee
The banshee is the most hated vehicle in Halo by those who aren’t flying it. You have the opportunity for the most kills against foot soldiers by ramming them but you are also the prime target of your enemies. Beware of tanks. They present the greatest threat to you, NEVER FLY RIGHT AT A TANK! If you need to attack a tank, always get as low to the ground as possible and try to use the terrain to shield yourself from its gun. When low to the ground, move toward the tank and lob a bolt at it, after that hits then flip around and do some maneuvers to avoid his gun, don’t take to long or his shield will recharge. After you hear his shot fly by you, swoop down, fire another bolt, and let him have your primary fire until he dies. You can also turn your banshee into a ghost by flying right into the back of the tank and letting him have your plasma shot, but note that you will have a harder time flying sideways. The best way to take out a hog is to get behind and above it, flip it with your bolt and then proceed to ram the hog and its occupants with your vehicle. Job done. If a chain hog gunner attacks you fly toward him but maneuver a little to avoid some damage. Always fire your main weapon as you approach and then blot it to try and flip the hog. A rocket hog presents relatively little threat to you because he cant hit your very easily while you are flying, just avoid fly right at him. Another threat to a banshee pilot is a stationary gun. These guns are most often on ledges which give you one advantage. The gun cannot fire very low, so get under it and pop up in front of him and let him have it. A stationary gun also cannot fire straight up, so get above him, hover by holding back, then have fun watching another kill go on your scoreboard. If you see an enemy ghoster, fly up high and get directly above him, then let yourself fall a little and then attack, he cant hit you as long as your above him, so stay in that position until he dies. A banshee duel is another hard one. It normally ends in a draw or someone interfering and killing one of the pilots. Both occupants tend to fly in circles shooting and missing. If this is happening try this. Slam the back key/axis so that you are hovering. Then fire a bolt at him and fire your weapon. If this doesn’t kill him then persistence will. If you do it right then you will take inflict a lot of damage very quickly and likely take him out.
Tank
The tank (scorpion) can be an awesome killing machine. You can eliminate opponents as fast as your main gun can fire. Your main rivals are other tanks, skilled ghost drivers, and snipers. You can attack tanks all the way across the map on the famed blood gulch, so keep in mind that other tankers can do that as well. When fighting other tanks, always use the terrain to your advantage, put a hill between you and him and then tease the other driver by showing a little of yourself without becoming too venerable, when he fires, pop out at fire back at him while he is reloading. Tank drivers are not for speed, so be a camper. A single tank can hold up an entire team of enemies if he can get himself in a spawn killing position, just pound them as they come. A ghost can be a big threat to you (as noted in the section on the ghost). So kill them as quickly as possible and do not let him get behind you. Fire at the base of the ghost for the kill. When a ghost is approaching, always face him and back away from it while you fire so that it can’t get in too close. A tank is the supreme banshee killer. Just keep your gun up, suppress him with your secondary fire and as soon as you get him so that he isn’t flying horizontally on your screen, kill it. With a little skill it’s a breeze. To kill hogs just point and shoot, nothing to it. Note that the gunners are a threat to you, so kill them quickly. A rocket hog can get you with one or two shots, so keep moving and then him have it. When in a tank, try not to get high up on the map, this makes you a prime target to snipers and other tanks. Note that the tank has a bright light in front of it, so if you are trying to hide and camp with it then keep that part of the chassis hidden behind a rock or whatever is available for cover.
Tank (Passenger)
DON’T RIDE ON THE TANK!
Warthog (driver)
Everyone needs to know how to adequately operate a “hog”. The hog is the most used vehicle and in most clan matches is the only vehicle in the game. If you are driving without a gunner you need to be a lot more aggressive. All of your kills will be run-overs so get in and up close. Every other vehicle has an advantage over you especially if you’re going without a gunner. To attack a ghost you need to ram from the side or head on, your goal is to flip him off so be mobile and be persistent. If you every stop or slow down then the ghoster will be able to rail down fire on you. I do not recommend a hog driver attack a tank. If you have a gunner you might move into a good position for him (take it slower if your in a rocket hog) but make sure you have a little landscape in front of you and the gunner poking above it. A tank CAN be flipped with a hog but its really hard to do and the tanker will most likely make movements and fire that will prevent such an attempt. Ram the tank head on or at the side of the chassis, if you can spin into him so that the front of your vehicle goes under the tank then you have a small chance of flipping him. I do not recommend such an attempt unless you are desperate. A hog driver has no attack capability against a banshee, just keep moving and make yourself a difficult target. If you have a gunner you still need to move and hope your driving a chain gun hog. Hog wars are always fun. Make sure you know the terrain very well to prepare for these. If you can hit the enemy hog directly from behind you have a huge chance of flipping it, otherwise the side is your best bet. Get up to full speed and slam into him. If he flips, spin around and try to attack the unseated driver and other occupants. If the other hog has a gunner and you don’t then you are going to have an uphill fight. Disengage if you can, otherwise you need to do it as quickly as possible and stay very mobile so that you are hard to hit. If you have a gunner in a hog duel then just keep close to the enemy hog so that your gunner can do the work. Don’t ram unless your gunner isn’t doing his job or he makes himself an easy target. When attacking ground soldiers, you need to watch them very carefully to see if they throw a grenade. If they throw it in front of you drive threw it and as far away as you can. If its going to explode as you get to it and right after you pass it, real around and try to get off to the side. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of times you just cant get away. If it flips you then be ready for a one on one duel without a shield (bring grenades). When running people over, thrust yourself at them, if the dodge then start doing wheelies, they will have a hard time getting away from that. NEVER slow down, if you do they can get a grenade at you and make it very hard for you to get going again and escape.
Hog (Passenger)
There is no real strategic advantage to being a passenger. Only use this for transit with the driver and when there is already a gunner. You will have a very hard time aiming (especially with crazy drivers) and will pose a danger to your own hog with any grenades you throw or rockets you fire. If the driver gets out for any reason, you get out. If you stay sitting there you are a prime target for enemy snipers & explosive attacks.
Hog (Gunner – Chain gun)
The chain gun is typically the better of the two types of hogs. You have no worries about reloading or running out of ammo, so give your enemies a generous dose of bullets. One thing gunners do that is stupid is they get on the hog and just sit there waiting for someone to come by. That may be ok on some maps, but on an open map like blood gulch you are asking for a sniper to shoot you. If you are going to gun without a driver, just jump on, do your killing, and jump back off. To attack a banshee pilot, just point and shoot. Never get off the hog until you kill him, if you do then he’ll have you. It is a little harder to shoot if you have a driver so being accurate while moving is a skill acquired only by practice. You can kill anything from this position but you must be quick. Tanks have a huge advantage against a hog with its main gun, so rail on the cockpit. To attack a ghost, start firing as soon as you spot it. Always face the ghost so that it doesn’t attack you from the side and plasma freeze you. To attack other hogs just point and shoot, start attacking the gunner (if there is one) and then the driver. Always hit the gunner first so that he doesn’t shoot you or the other hog occupant(s). Attacking foot soldiers is rather simple, point and shoot. Shoot the people who are closer to you first so that they cant get so close that you cant shoot them. Also, know when its time to bail out (like when someone pulls out a grenade).
Hog (Gunner – Rocket Launcher)
This is the more difficult gunning position. Your weapon delivers a powerful punch but your rockets travel slowly and you only get 3 until you need to reload. It fires a lot like the rocket launcher, so fire at the base of foot soldiers. Remember also that you need to fire in front of what you want to attack so that the missile arrives the same time the enemy does. You should hit enemy tanks and hogs right in the middle. Ghosts should be attacked at the base. A ghost will often survive the first shot but unseat the driver, so be prepared to need a second shot. Many of the rules for gunning a rocket hog are the same for a chain gun hog, so make sure you have read that section as well.
Keep in mind that what you should do depends on the situation. So don’t think that these tips are conclusive or always the best option. Also, any plan can fail at anytime so don’t get discouraged. You should develop your own tactics as you get better, but I hope you can get better in the meantime using some of mine and maybe develop them a little as well.
