(27-04-2011 10:58 PM)no_super Wrote: How to use shotguns and pistols effectively
If you want to better yourself, learn by watching better players than yourself. Over the last two years, I have been constantly learning the game and finding new ways to improve my own game play. I have tried just about every possible build there is for every class (excluding dual knives and dual LR shotties). I have watched many videos from other users whom I thought I could learn something from without asking them. I have gathered this intel and I would like to share some of it with some of the newer users here at BFH.
I see many people asking about different weapon setups and many others using pistols and shotguns in the wrong way.
Both weapon groups offer high damage output or "bursts" and can be fun and challenging at the same time. Neither of these are considered "OP" (excluding dual LR shotties)
In this guide I will give you a few tips and tricks on how to use these weapons in a fun, effective way.
(note: I will not be advising the use of dual LR shotguns as they are deemed an exploit by many, including myself. You will also find that there are quite a few servers that have banned the use of dual shotguns because of this. Dual shotguns promotes macro abuse, and that is cheating if a macro is used)
Table of contents:
1) Shotguns
1a) mouse sensitivity
1b) Short Ranged Shotguns
1c) Mid Ranged Shotguns (default)
1d) Long Ranged Shotguns
1e) Shotguns and Soldiers
1f) Shotguns and Gunners
2) Pistols
2a) Mouse Sensitivity
2b) Short Ranged Pistols
2c) Mid Ranged Pistols (default)
2d) Long Ranged Pistols
2e) Pistols and Soldiers
2f) Pistols and Commandos
3) Videos
---------------------
1) Shotguns:
Shotguns can be used by both the soldier and the gunner. Each of these two classes start out with the default shotgun. Shotguns come with a risk to reward factor, meaning they can dish out massive damage if your aim is good enough, but if you are just slightly off target, then those damage numbers will drop from the 30's and up all the way down to single digits. Let me explain:
Each time you shoot a shotgun, it releases "x" number of pellets (just like in real life). Each of these pellets are assigned a damage value (from how I understand it), so if only half of those pellets find its target, you will only deal half of its potential damage. The key with shotguns is to make every shot count, if you aimlessly spam them, you will suffer. Since shotguns require more precise aim, its critical that you set your mouse sensitivity up different then what you normally would with automatic weapons.
1a) Mouse Sensitivity:
With automatic weapons like the MG's and the SMG's, I would recommend the lowest possible mouse setting you can get while still being able to perform a 180 in one swoop of the mouse, and this is due to "tracking". With shotguns, you don't track your target like you would an automatic gun. I recommend a slightly higher sensitivity as you will be doing more twitching with SR and MR and sweeping with the LR. I cant give you a set number to work with, that is something you will have to find for yourself since it varies from person to person.
Twitching: (this is my personal definition of it, if its wrong, please give me a different name to call what I am defining) Twitching is resetting your aim after each shot on a moving target. When done with the fast SR shotgun, it can give some people a headache, but do not fear, the twitch does not have to be a big movement. By resetting your aim in between each shot, you allow yourself the freedom of your mouse, meaning if you just try to track a fast moving target the normal way, you may find yourself missing every shot by firing a tad late. By twitching, you purposely go off target after each shot only to very quickly find it again. This is pretty hard for me to explain, and perhaps video would be more suiting.
(keep in mind, that you will not need to twitch vs slow and predictable strafing targets or targets not moving)
Sweeping: (used mostly for LR shotty, can also be utilized with MR shotty in some cases) Sweep your cursor from side to side at a ranged target, and fire when you feel your cursor would lead to a direct hit. If you time your sweeping pattern perfect, it will not effect your rate of fire, and you can become very accurate making nearly all of your shots land at least a pellet or two. 40-50% LR shotgun accuracies are not uncommon to find on skilled LR shotty users.
Both twitching and sweeping rely on the same principle (going off target of purpose). The biggest difference between the two are the rate of speed that you do it.
Twitching is nearly lightning fast, where is sweeping is a more relaxed movement. Both require a great deal of concentration if you want to keep your surrounding environment observed at the same time. Your mouse sensitivity should be set at a setting that allows you to do what you are trying to do. It will be harder to twitch at a super low mouse setting, and vice-versa with the sweeping, it will be harder to sweep with a really high mouse setting. So if you are using both the LR and the SR, you will need to find that perfect middle ground.
1b) SR Shotguns:
risk/reward: medium risk/high reward
These are the second most deadly weapons in the game imo. They can land hits for 50+ damage (crits included) and have a rate of fire that is only matched by the MR Pistol (when speaking of click per click) So good aim is highly rewarded with these weapons. With just three quick lucky shots, you can kill nearly any target, but that is rare. Expect high 20's and 30's with non crit shots at short range. This means a commando should die in 3 well placed shots, soldier in 4, gunner in 5-6. With proper timing on your clicking, you can unload an entire clip very fast. The downside here is the reload times, and this is why its best to do your best in making every shot count. But I don't want you to have a huge delay in between each shot, you need to figure out that balance for yourself. Do not use this shotgun if you are further than a tank or plane from your target, well you can use it, but dont expect serious damage with each shot. Its best to get as close as possible when using this weapon. This weapon makes a great primary gun. I recommend a LR weapon as secondary.
Also, this makes a perfect "checker" when looking for stealthies, out it outside of its range for this and that bad bullet spread can check a large area for you. It also makes a great TT buster, you see a mando's TT, fire your SR shotty a few times at 10-20m out and that TT goes byebye
1c) MR Shotguns: (the default shotty)
risk/reward: medium risk/medium reward
Many players will say this weapon sucks..I beg to differ. While I still prefer the SR shotty over the MR shotty, the MR shotty is still a deadly gun. So if you cant afford the SR shotty, the MR will make a nice replacement. The biggest myth of the MR shotty is that its mid ranged....no. This is still a close ranged weapon, but you can use it for maximum damage at about two tank or plane lengths away, maybe a little more if you are lucky.
The good thing about this weapon is that the fire rate is still fairly fast, maybe a little slower than the LR pistol, maybe not, I'm not 100% sure, but if i had to compare its rate of fire with another weapon off the top of my head, I would say its closely match with the LR pistol. This weapon makes a good "fence hopper" on tight maps like VV and CC. It deals 20's and 30's also within its sweet spot range. While I do call this a good weapon, I don't recommend this as a primary weapon, it should be used as your sidearm, but if you are up to the challenge, use it as your SR weapon and be sure to bring LR backup.
1d) LR Shotguns:
risk/reward: low risk/high reward
These slow firing guns are often discarded as useless, but that is far from the truth. The make excellent sidearms.
Direct hits with these bad boys can lead to 50's and 60's at its sweet spot range. Do not be fooled by its LR tag, it deals its best damage at mid to mid-long ranges, meaning 25-50m out. At far ranges, it does not really do much damage at all since the pellet spread is just too great to land all pellets on targets 50+m. I don't know the exact ranges off the top of my head, but from town to ship on BB or Lookout to Windmill on CC, is about as far as you would want to use this weapon. Anything further would greatly reduce its damage output. LR shotty excels @ volley shots. If you can pop your target in the air with either blasting strike, RPG, Keg, etc, swtich to your LR shotting to finish them off while they fall. LR shotguns are very rewarding once you figure out how to land big hits one after another, and with the delay between shots, you have plenty of time to strategize, duck for cover and plan your next attack. I recommend this as a sidearm or secondary weapon, while it will deal decent damage even at point blank range, its slow rate of fire screams "pull our your SR" in close combat.
1e) Shotguns and Soldiers:
A very tactical Soldier can be very deadly while using shotguns, being able to out damage that cheeser gunner up close when your blasting strike is on cool down means a lot, or fence hopping a target or group of targets that want to remain stationary is also a good strategy. Soldier with SR SMG vs Gunner with SR MG at close ranges usually leads to a soldiers death if his abilities are on cool down. You would need much better aim than the gunner you are facing to be able to pull off the win. With the SR shotgun, you can waste him much faster with that same aim, or give yourself a much better chance and make it easier for your teammates to finish the job. Same goes for knifers, the SR shotty makes quick work of a knifer, you don't even need to blast them away, meaning you can save that BS for a more dangerous target. A soldier using the LR shotting as a sidearm can use the grenade spam and single nade mixed in with the LR shotty rate of fire delay for some serious burst damage. Its hard to escape this combo if you get caught in the open. For soldiers, I really don't recommend carrying both the SR and the LR shotguns, I generally would say use one or the other.
SR shotgun + LR pistol makes for a nice combo, and the LR shotty + the SR SMG also make for a nice combo. If you use both Shotguns at the same time, you limit your ranges to mostly SR and MR.
1f) Shotguns and Gunners:
Gunners never really had a great LR alternative since both of their LR choices are best used at mid range, so we do not need to worry about limited ranges with this class.
Leg-it, Keg, Shield and IEG are the abilities you will want to use when using shotties, Leg-it being the primary skill. But if you do decide to use any shotgun with your gunner, be sure to plan your attacks a little more than if you were using MG's, and this is mainly due to your ammo amount vs reload times. You can't just dip into a 3v1 with the SR shotty. Sure you have enough damage to kill a target or two, but you will die when reloading if you didn't plan ahead for an escape job with RPG. Shotguns require more tactics and aim period, and gunner is no exception here. I think the gunner needs the most tactical usage when dealing with shotguns vs soldier with shotguns, and this is due to its lack of self healing.
Put a Shotgun in the hands of the right player(s) and it is more deadly than its MG counterpart when facing single targets.
2) Pistols:
Pistols make great sidearms and primary weapons, and the LR pistol is the bread and butter of this group. Pistols are the most versatile weapons in the game imo. They don't require godlike aim like shotguns do, but they do require tactics and movement. Pistols provide "burst" damage, meaning you can quickly erase your target with will placed shots. The downside, just like the shotguns is the reload time vs ammo amount. But the strategy is a little different as you don't need to try and make every shot count, its all about rate of fire and suppressing your target.
2a) Mouse Sensitivity:
I prefer a low sensitivity setting here, the same as I would use if I was using automatic weapons. But everyone is different, so pick your poison.
Like shotguns, you do not want to "track" your target. With pistols you have a few options: Leading, Sweeping, Twitching, and spamming. Since I have already covered twitching, I will just tell you about leading and spamming.
Leading your target in my eyes is shooting where you think your target is going, its much like tracking, but you are doing it just off target. Not worrying about landing your shots, but timing your shots to fire as fast as possible. When your clip is empty and your judgment was good, you will notice your target is either dead or severely injured. Leading works best on fast moving targets with a poor strafe at a mid to long distance away from you.
Spamming your target is intentionally firing your pistol as fast as possible around your targets hitbox, but not on it, giving him little room to strafe effectively, you want to use this approach when your target has a very good unpredictable strafing pattern. If you try anything different here, you will most likely land less shots. Trying to "track" a good strafer can lead to landing nothing sometimes.
Twitching requires the most concentration, so if you want to relax it a little bit, just use the spamming approach.
Sweeping Sweeping should be done as you strafe from left to right to left. You dont have to move your cursor here if the target does move a whole lot.
2b) SR Pistol:
risk/reward: high risk/very high reward
Dealing 30+ damage per "click" at close range coupled with its fast fire rate, makes this the most deadly weapon in the game when used correctly. Yes, the most deadly weapon. The downside here is,....if you miss one click, you missed 3 shots. This weapon fires three bullets per click. each bullet does about 10-11 dmg within its range, and then you have a decent chance to add in criticals, and those usually come in numbers from my experience. The SR pistol will make quick work of a knifer, or any other class with its back turned on you. This is best used on a commando with a max level elixir. It makes for a great primary and or secondary weapon. When in the right hands, it shines and nothing else can touch it at close range. Though, unlike the SR automatics, if you miss the bulk of your clip,...you may be screwed if you don't have a backup plan. This is where the strategy comes in. This is far from a mindless spam type of gun. This is the only pistol that requires precise aiming. If you use it, use it wisely.
2c) MR Pistol:
risk/reward: very high risk/low reward
I would only carry one of these if it was the uber/super version, its clip size nearly makes it obsolete with only 6 bullets in its clip when not using uber/super. 6 of these shots will not kill anything but a weakened foe, or get lucky to kill a full healthed mando. I say this because chances are you will not land all 6 shots. This weapon has a poor deviation for reasons I don't understand.
The upside to this weapon is its rate of fire. If you manage to find its sweet spot range, you can empty your clip on your target very fast and deal a lot of damage, but you will still need a little extra something something to get the job done. I would replace my SR pistol with this one from time to time just for a change of pace, but imo the SR is king vs the MR. I don't recommend this weapon unless you want the biggest challenge the game has to offer.
2d) LR Pistol:
risk/reward: no risk/high reward
The bread and butter of the pistols, the most versatile weapon in the game, and one of the most rewarding weapons to use. The only weapon with a better deviation (bullet spread) than the LR pistol is a scoped rifle. It is deadly accurate at nearly any range and lands for good damage. As long as you have a jeeps length between you and your foe, this weapon will do its job. Mixed with its fast rate of fire and its deadly accuracy, you do not need to be super skilled to use this gun. There are a bunch of different approaches to use with this weapon, choose one or two and master it and you will see why more players use this gun than any other weapon in the game. It makes for a superb primary and secondary weapon. Twitching, leading, spamming, fence hopping, sniping are all methods you can use with this pistol. It has a nice sized clip and is big enough to kill most targets at full health. If you are having problems using this weapon, then imo you would have a problem using any weapon, with that said, I'm not really going to go any further.
2e) Pistols and Soldiers:
Soldiers can use either the SR or the MR pistol, but there really is no need since the SR SMG and or the MR shotty can get the job done a little easier as a soldier. SR SMG is very forgiving, while as the SR Pistol is not. Plus you cant use Burning bullets with either the shotty or the pistol. But I do recommend the LR pistol for the soldier. Just not for camping on hills. Soldier was given the gift to be a snipers worst nightmare when he was given the LR pistol. I recommend pushing with your SR SMG and using the LR pistol as your sidearm on a standard build. If you are using the SR shotty instead of the SR SMG, then this is when you can make the LR your primary weapon. Some players will even choose to use dual LR pistols, but I would like you to avoid that build just for the fact of having a solid short ranged option.
2f) Pistols and Commandos:
The class that benefits the most from pistol usage. Elixir and troop traps make perfect tools to use along side of the pistol. The strategy is nearly endless on a high level commando wielding dual pistols (LR and SR). You can just rape at all ranges provided your aim and strat is good enough. You have the ability to pick your fights like no other class can. Unlike knifing, SR pistoling requires aim, but pretty much the same tactics as a knife. The upside to using the SR Pistol over the knife is your range, its a tad bit larger than the knifes range. I think its an even trade off. As a long time SR pistol user, I can confirm that its a much better choice overall if you are up to the challenge it gives compared to the knife. I have been using the SR pistol since July 09 (before the ubers/supers were released) and besides the gunners RPG, its my favorite weapon by far. I just wish it was more useful on a soldier, the reason its not is because the SR pistol works best when the target has no idea you are about to unload its furry. A soldier has a hard time sneaking all the way up to somebody back. The LR pistol makes a fine replacement for the rifle. And the reason isn't its damage output, its the added movement you gain by using a pistol. You can't strafe while scoped, sure you can move every so slightly from side to side, but its such a slow movement, its really not even worth doing.
If you like the long range it up with the LR pistol, you can not only strafe effectively, but you can help that strafe with elixir and make yourself nearly impossible to hit for the average shooter. (just try your best to avoid burning bullets here, that crutch of a skill will bleed your life pretty stupidly). Pop a bandage if your elixir is on cool down to stop the burning. I have no shame in using a bandage vs BB.
3) Videos:
I am seeking quality videos showing some of the above tactics and methods, such as twitching, leading, sweeping, etc etc.
Or just general shotgun/pistol usage videos.
If you wish to submit a video, please either pm the link to me, or post it in this thread and i will get it listed in this section.
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