I’ll tell you what I learned about myself over the years. Growing up, I was always a PvE player, dreaded the very thought of going up against other people because I figured it would always end with me getting frustrated because I’d always get stomped.
My first time playing PvP was Halo 3 and as you can imagine, I was cheeks at the concept of facing real people. Over time though, I got better and better, the best advice I can give you is this.
- Learn which weapons are your strongest and which are your weakest.
Knowing which weapons you do best with can give you a general idea of what kind of playstyle you have. This will help you generalize where you should focus your combat with. So if you’re great with a shotgun, you’re likely to be a close to mid range kind of player. So it’s best to pick weapons that you can fight in close quarters with.
- Pick your battles wisely
The worst thing you can do is run in guns a blazing to a fight that’s out of your favor. Going back to the strength and weakness of weapons again, the one thing you want to avoid is running out into the open if you’re a close range kind of player while the enemy has the high ground. Or if you’re a precision kind of player, getting into close quarters may spell doom for you.
Just as well, the weapons you choose will dictate what kinds of fights you can pick. If you have a shotgun and a pistol, you might want to avoid instigating that Sniper who’s been taking everyone’s head off. That is unless you can get the jump on him from behind.
- Maybe favor a buddy system
If you find that the enemy is outnumbering you for easier kills or that you just can’t seem to win 1v1’s, try tailing a team mate. If they get killed, you might have a shot at killing their opponent. If they get into a fight, you can lend a hand.
- Always warm up before jumping in
Even if it’s just to jump into BOTS training or running the weapon drills, always get some warm ups in before jumping into PvP. Going straight into PvP without warming up is like waking up in the morning and jumping right into an ice cold pool. You’re not ready for it and your brain is certainly going to question your decisions lol.
- Utilize the environment for cover and advantage
There are going to be times where you’ve taken a lot of damage coming out of one fight and another opponent appears like a wild Pokemon encounter. By using the environment for cover, you might score another kill.
Just as well, taking the high ground can win you more fights than fighting on an even playing field. Even having the lower ground can be beneficial if you have the element of surprise.
- Be unpredictable
The one thing players love to do when someone leaves their line of sight, is to lob grenades where they think their opponent is going to go next or where they are sitting. So if you duck behind a pole, don’t just sit there and don’t run out the other side. If possible, find a further vantage point to hide that is a bit further from your opponent.
- Listen for enemy weapons usage
A lot is going on in a game, but if you can muster the ability to listen to what kinds of weapons the enemy is using, it’ll help you pick your battles more easily. For instance you hear 4 different types of arms fire; a rocket launcher, a sniper rifle, a pulse carbine, and a commando.
The rocket shots were relatively far away, the sniper was also considerably distant, the commando is right around the corner, and the pulse carbine has stopped shooting. Your obvious target for now is the commando user since the PC user is likely dead or looking for ammo/targets and has wandered off, and the heavy weapons users are out of range.
- Learn the weapons on each map and the ammo count
Straight to the point. Knowing which weapons spawn where and how much ammo they typically start with will help you engage against potentially stronger opponents. Especially power weapon ammo. So also paying attention to when the power weapons drop will help too.
It all seems like a lot to take in, but you’d be surprised that once you learn how to do it all, it just becomes second nature when you’re playing. Remember to understand though that everyone has their skill floor and skill ceiling, you can potentially be the best player, but don’t put yourself down if you only become average at best. After all, it’s about having fun, so if you can have some fun with what you can do, then you’ll find that’s often more than enough.