GRAW 2 Multiplayer Tactics

If you thought the required tactics in the single-player mode of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™ 2 were demanding, wait until you try multiplayer mode on Xbox Live®. Even besting the revolutionary A.I. is a simple task when compared to challenging human opponents. To even the odds, here are a few key tips to help you along the way.

Clear the way before you patch up your teammates.

Communicate!
Even if you ignore all of the following tips, you will find yourself a much better combatant if you follow one simple rule: Communicate! Keep a constant chatter going with your teammates.

• Enemy Placement: Call out the location of every enemy you see. Even if a teammate has just highlighted the same opponent, confirmation never hurts. What does hurt is getting shot in the back by an enemy you thought your teammate noticed.
• Immediate Goals: Even if you're not coordinating your attacks, which you should be, by the way, explain what you're doing to your teammates. Let people know if you're flanking an enemy, or climbing to a sniper's nest. Understanding the positions of your allies is almost as important as spotting your enemies.
• Compass Bearings: When communicating with your teammates, never communicate directions via left, right, etc. Use compass bearings like west and north so your team is always on the same page, thanks to the compass in your HUD.

Raise the Center
The quickest way to a kill is with a head shot, but unless you have a sniper rifle and an immobile target, it's tough to do. What's more, automatic rifles have a wicked recoil, so if your first bullet is off target, all of them will be.

To combat these problems, keep your aiming reticule just a shade above normal by tapping up gently on the right stick when you spawn. If you run into a firefight, this will make sure your bullets strike the upper chest and walk up into the head, earning you a quicker kill than your opponent, provided they're not as clever as you.

Single-Shot
Action-movie aficionados may love fully automatic weaponry, but at long distances they're not terribly effective. When playing on wide open maps like Shoreline, change your rate of fire to single-shot for greater accuracy by holding down the A button.

The Lean
Though you can't "take cover" behind objects as you do in the single-player campaign, you can certainly use objects for cover by settling in behind them. To continue using cover while still tracking targets, tap the left bumper and use the left stick to lean out.

Learn to lean from cover.

Kill and Split
Not only is "camping" (staying in one spot) generally reviled by the gaming public, in GRAW 2 it's just not smart strategy. After you score a kill or two, high tail it for new ground to keep from being hunted down. This is especially important when the Kill Camera is enabled, as it is by default, since every enemy will know where you fired from as you soon as you get a kill.

Elimination Studies
Before embarking on Ranked team matches, you may want to invest some time in solo elimination matches. This is the best and easiest way to get familiar with the maps. More importantly, it will save you a lot of grief from frustrated teammates wondering where you're wandering off to on unfamiliar maps.

Designated Leader
Agreeing to be the leader for your team will require you to check your ego, but it's worth it. Here are a few of the key responsibilities that you need to be familiar with before assuming this role:

• Strategy First: Accepting the role of leader requires you to consider the welfare of your teammates and your team's strategy before everything else. Often, this means you end up with less kills, flag captures, or seized territories, so, if that rubs you the wrong way, consider passing on the leadership role.
• Drone Ownership: It's your responsibility to maneuver the drone and keep it in strategically important areas. Essentially, don't leave it floating where it's not doing any good, and if possible, always keep it away from danger.
• General Tactics: Though your teammates should have equal say, it's up to you to put an end to bickering and give your team a single, focused objective. If teammates are arguing about who stays close to the base and who heads out on the attack, it's up to you to make the decision.
• Match Set Up: It's the leader's lone responsibility to set up or join a clan match. This way, all members can look for the one match the leader has created or joined without having to worry about different members accidentally splitting off and joining different lobbies.

Stay behind cover and plan your attack.

Restriction Awareness
Too many players join in matches only to find themselves frustrated that the host has disabled drones, turned off the kill camera, allowed explosives, or tweaked any other host-controlled items. You can avoid this by making a quick study of the summary at the bottom of the screen, which will tell you the map, game-type, score limit, and other important settings. For more particulars, such as weapons, you can tap the Advanced Settings option in the game lobby for more information.

Article by Ryan Treit