first, some credentials: ive been playing halo since halo CE. i have a level 50 on my first account in halo 3.
onward!
some things to keep in mind:
1.) in halo reach teamwork is more important than individual skill. in other halo games you could basically just run around the map and be a champion and get kills by out gunning / out playing people. in halo reach, on the other hand, being a better shooter and strategist simply isnt enough. if you want to do well, you need to get a teammate (hopefully a friend, because randoms dont listen for -Yoink-) and stick with him.
try this: when you see someone, shoot him a few times with your DMR or Needle Rifle (which you should always try to find, and memorize where they spawn). when you are 1 shot away from having no shields, simply walk behind cover and have your teammate clean the kill up with relative ease. halo reach plays SUPER SLOW, so this will work almost always.
2.) are you INCREDIBLE at aiming? if not, bump up your sensitivity to 10. thats right, TEN. what this will do is train your thumb muscles to make you a LOT more precise with your movements VERY FAST, and essentially make quick work of fine-tuning your aiming prowess. if you stay at a low sensitivity you will eventually get better at aiming. if you bump it to 10 sensitivity, you will get better A LOT faster. use this sensitivity for 2 months AT LEAST (the more you do this the better you’ll get). if you feel you can control the 10 sensitivity with ease after 2 months, switch your sensitivity to 4 or higher. i would stay away from 3 sensitivity because it makes sniping a lot harder, especially since people can sprint in reach.
3.) learn to use your radar at all times. words cannot possibly express the sheer power that the radar will give a good player.
make sure you are ALWAYS aware of what is going on in your radar. it is INCREDIBLY important that you pay CLOSE attention to your radar at ALL TIMES. if you are 2 shots up in a DMR battle, eventually you’ll be able to glance at your radar while you continue to DMR the other person, then get the kill with the added knowledge of what to do next from glancing at your radar.
learn the maps. if you see someone on your radar often times you can stop moving, then wait for them to walk in their straight line to the choke point or door, etc. then simply bank a grenade off the wall, or off the floor 2 feet in front of you, and have it explode when they come thru the doorway. after the grenade explodes, headshot the person with your DMR / Needle rifle / Pistol. halo reach grenades are like mini nukes that are damn near impossible to dodge. because of this, you can use this -Yoink- tactic to get a lot of kills with relative ease.
if you are running towards an area, and you see a red blip on your radar STOP MOVING, then CROUCH, and continue. hopefully the person you are with will follow your lead, or just give him a heads up to crouch. when you are crouched or not moving, you will NOT show up on radar. this makes it a lot easier to sneak up behind people and either assassinate them, or punish them for not paying better attention to their surroundings.
4.) when you can pick evade, ALWAYS pick it. evade is by far the most powerful armor ability. others might tell you different, but they are wrong (sorry ‘others’ lol). when you learn to master evade, you can get out of damn near any situation, no matter how hairy it gets, and even escape with a few kills under your belt also.
try evading behind someone to their left or to their right, then evading again behind their back. this will make them spin around to face behind them, and you wont be there, you’ll be in a different spot already shooting them. this is especially helpful if you have already shot them a few times. the best way to describe this is a V shape. you start at the point of the V, (they are in the direct center of the V), then evade behind them, then complete the V. they will be so bamboozled you’ll get a kill almost every time this way. heck, if you are good you can even get kills this way when you have no shields lol!
make sure if you see a grenade coming at you, you evade right away. dont try to get another shot in, or throw a grenade first, or any nonsense like that. dodging a grenade always takes priority. if you see a guy with a rocket launcher, evade right away, to make more distance between you and him. you might even have to evade twice to fully escape the rocket launcher guy, and put yourself in a better position to kill him.
5.) avoid melee battles like the PLAGUE. NEVER should you try to get into a melee battle with someone. they are too inconsistent, and dont reward skillful play. if both players melee each other twice, both players are dead. its much better to simply stay away from people.
remember that some of the time, SHOOTING IS NOT VIABLE, when people are sprinting at you. it takes 4 shots with the DMR, or pistol to down someones shields (the pistol fires SUPER FAST, so use it at close range since its incredible there); after you land 4 shots on someone, you’ll see their shields pop, then you can melee them for a kill. if they are super close to you already, then they start sprinting for the ‘double melee’, DONT SHOOT THEM AT ALL. simply wait, then melee them when you can, then jump BACKWARDS (away from them), and shoot them in the face with your pistol / needle rifle / DMR.
But study what happens and try to lock in your head the patterns that lead to some of the moments that are completely awesome or completely failtacular. And then of course either repeat with your own flair or avoid the circumstances that lead to a fail.