Halo 3 Beta Tactics
Published May 23, 2007
At A Glance
- Use these tips and tricks to make life easier and achieve success with the Halo 3 beta.
Veterans of Halo® 2 and even Halo®: Combat Evolved will feel immediately comfortable with the Halo® 3 beta, but once the new weaponry and gadgets are understood, the gameplay flow and the required tactics for success will undergo radical change. Halo 3—even in beta form—is at once sweetly familiar and undeniably unique, but we've provided a few already proven techniques to ease you into the new multiplayer beta. Consider the following:
Aim well.
Shielded Territory
The most talked about addition to Halo gadgetry has been the new bubble-shield, and its remarkable ability to keep any bullet, laser, needle, or rocket at bay. Of its myriad uses though, its tactical placement during Territory matches may be the most strategically impressive.
For example, snag the bubble-shield near the spawn point at the outset of a Territory match on Higher Ground and rush Territory 1 as a team. With two players camped on top of the Territory with a bubble-shield, and the other two roaming to pick off sneaky defenders, success is imminent.
Rip the Turret
Turrets have always played an important part in the Halo series, but now that you can rip them free from their housing and turn these Gatling gun powerhouses into mobile weaponry, their use increases tenfold. They are particularly effective when playing defense on One-Bomb, One-Flag CTF, or Territory, as you settle yourself into a defensive position and riddle attackers with a hail of unrelenting gunfire.
Mined Objectives
The new trip-mine allows you to net kills from a distance, and while their intended purpose is to protect objectives (such as the bomb site in One-Bomb matches), you'll find they are very useful in chokepoints, rather than directly on the objective. Players are actively scanning objective locations for mines, but they're still sprinting blindly through hallways on the way to the objective.
Roll on through.
Rocket Deliberation
Halo 2 players must swiftly come to terms with the more deliberate pace of the rocket launcher. Yes, it is slower, but that doesn't mean you should abandon its use. Unlike the brute-shot, the splash damage on the rocket-launcher is most impressive, and with a change in timing, it's just as effective as before.
Blanket Explosions
Speaking of the brute-shot, make sure you play to its strengths. Don't treat it as a one-shot kill device but instead as a blanket of carnage. When you leap down on a flag capture point in CTF and lay down six rapid fire grenade strikes, you'll begin to understand its use.
Weapon Placement
Though it isn't specific to the Halo 3 beta, you would be wise to locate and memorize the position of each weapon and upgrade. With hardcore Halo 2 players already in full swing on the beta, your only chance at survival is equality of weaponry. Don't let them beat you to all the massive-damage weapons (Spartan laser, turret, rocket launcher) or you're in for a long match.
Video Reflection
Thanks to Halo 3's save-replay system, learning from your mistakes has never been so easy. Simply tap X when viewing the after-match statistics to save your replay, but do yourself a favor, and instead of filling your profile with a "greatest hits" collection of victories, try saving an equal number of humiliating defeats. There are few better tools to improving as a Halo player than objectively assessing a match and uncovering your mistakes and weaknesses as a team.
So many paths, so many options.
Stick It
Killer grenade tosses around corners have always been a staple of the Halo multiplayer experience, but with the spiked grenade, you can utilize the same tactic with superior precision. Instead of tossing a frag grenade that bounces at unpredictable angles, slam a spiked grenade into the wall over a doorway as you watch your enemy's red dot close in. Boom.
Grav Tactics
The grav-lift shoots you up into the air to gain access to normally out-of-reach places, but its placement is crucial. Typically, you should drop the grav-lift near a high-up weapon placement more easily accessible to the enemy's spawn location. For example, the Spartan laser on Higher Ground can be reached easily by the group that spawns behind the wall, but with the grav-lift, the group down below can make a run for it just as quickly.
Drain the Hill
The power-drainer rips off the enemy's energy shields and is devastating when properly used. There may be no better application for this worthy addition to the Halo arsenal than in Team Crazy King matches. Drop a power-drainer on a tightly-clustered enemy crew huddling inside the hill, and you'll transfer ownership in a hurry.
Article by Ryan Treit
