Halo 3 Resource

Ok, so now I'm going to split Halo 3 Multiplayer Strategy into individual ability item and weapon categories. This covers both traditional grenades, snipes, rifles, pistols, pray and spray weapons, and melee weapons, as well as equipment and melee attack.

Starting Point: Rifles

The best thing to do when you're faced with an enemy at mid range or close range is to battle rifle them to hell, right? Mostly. Basically 4 or 5 bursts to the head will do any enemy in so it's a very efficient way of taking them down in mid-close quarters. Battle rifles work better for easier shooting and swat, since only 1 headshot is required in that. Carbines are more effective in accurate hands in slayer games, as they can do the lethal damage just a bit faster. It's also important to get a feel for when they have low shields or none at all, because if you're in close range with a rifle, it's better to melee most of the time. If you run into someone at very close range and are surprised, melee first and then back up while shooting. All types of mid range rifles work well with trap grenades (more on that later). Obviously rifles are ideal for backpedalling and firing at people who have destructive close range weapons.

Pistols:

If in standard slayer games you drop the pistol for a battle rifle, think again, you may have underestimated the excellent headshot ability of the pistol. If you're in close range with this sucker and can nail an opponent just four times, a melee attack will finish them off every time. Very handy against assault riflers, but you have to have a steady aim and some confidence. Definitely make use of these in sniper games. Plasma pistols are godly weapons in the right hands. No longer does using one make you a noob, and it's a completely legitimate strategy. They're much more inaccurate this time around but they sure take care of overshielders like nobody's business, and are quite handy if you have no shields or are facing multiple opponents at the same time. Remember also that using a charged up shot on an enemy and immediately following it up with a melee attack also ensures victory. It's pretty useful all around to be fighting enemies with no shields, no matter what.

Close Quarters Combat Rifles:

The assault rifle can many times outdo the battle rifle in the right hands, and they make perfect partners to well placed grenades. An important skill to acquire is the ability to unload part of a clip into an opponent close up and then know exactly when to melee for the kill. It doesn't matter too much where you shoot someone with these but you always want to be aiming for the head anyways. Plasma rifles, on the other hand, are infinitely more useful than assault rifles. Four shots and a melee attack is foolproof, and they also work well when combined with an accurate grenade throw. Don't underestimate this weapon and remember that it works very efficiently when combined with an SMG, but dual wielding these is impractical due to your loss of a grenade arm. They work well on shields but do little to nothing against health, or flesh. This weapon is also not very effective past the close range, so drop it for a battle rifle if the chance presents itself in mid range combat.

Sub Machine Guns:

Surprisingly, an SMG by itself will overpower an assault rifle, if used tactically. When combined for a dual wield, this weapon becomes incredibly powerful, but with a limited range. Melee attacking while dual wielding is particularly important, because you can get them to very low shields or none at all, and then finish them in one move, instead of drawing it out. Pitted against battle rifles, however, these fail, so be careful where you use them. Spikers are a perhaps a very overlooked and forgotten weapon, at least by me, and tend to be kind of rare, but they can be useful on their own terms. They're pretty powerful when dual wielded at close range, and, as always, kill quickly when used as bludgeoning devices. I would not recommend using only one, as that's never seemed to work out for me, due to the weapon's limited range. Opt for any SMG over an assault rifle, but be wary of other close quarter's combatants wielding the ever more powerful shotgun.

Shotguns:

The average human shotgun is a difficult weapon to find success with. It always seems to be too short range when you're chasing someone, and getting cocky with it in close quarters can get you killed quickly. It's an excellent ambush weapon, however, as long as you don't mind pissing your opponents off. Also, be wary of battle riflers backpedalling from you throwing grenades, because you will get wiped out many times from this tactic if you don't duck in cover or respond with your own rifle. Shotgun versus shotgun is about jumping, grenading, and being the first to fire, as well as having a quick melee finger. Maulers are not so different but when single wielded are slightly weaker, but when double wielded they can defeat most opponents, granted they aren't aware of your plan and reacting accordingly, like running away. These aren't popular weapons to combine with grenades but melee attacks are almost always a part of the plan. Be careful of sly Spartans trying to stick you when you rush them with the shotgun.

Futuristic Melee Weapons:

Swords are pretty crazy. You can go on a spree with them when you get a team of clueless nincompoops in a room with you, but then again you can just as easily get stuck when rushing someone, just like with shotguns. Try to avoid using it as your only weapon and instead whipping it out only when outnumbered or low on shields, or as a surprise attack or ambush. If faced with another sword wielder, always remember the magic rule: B R. Just press the B button to melee first and then the right trigger to get the kill. If this fails try to back out from a sword duel and restart. Also, try never to go into combat with less than full shields and never forget the advantage that grenades give you. Hammers are another story altogether. It's a real challenge to get the range of them pinned down in your brain, but also a huge help when playing Grifball or Hammerzeit. Just remember that you will automatically lose hammer versus hammer battles if you have lower shields. Melee attacking can be a particularly surprising way of killing someone, but not that effective, due to the weapon's range. Pushing an enemy off a level is always easier than fighting them to a standstill. In hammer matches you can't beat the usefulness of grenades. Don't be surprised if you get killed a few times by tactful shotgunners.

Long Range Rifles:

This is where the ever famous sniper rifle comes in. Four shield rending sabot equipped fifty caliber bullets allow you unlimited ability when you master the art of instantaneous scope and non scoped headshots. That's the absolute most important thing to be able to do with the sniper. Make sure to combine this weapon with a battle rifle or comparable item as often as possible, to make up for the range disabilities. When in close quarters, shooting and whacking people in the face is the easiest way to kill them, but you'll win more often if you find ways to use grenades to your advantage and constantly score noscope headshots. Don't forget to reload as often as possible and to aim ahead just a little bit most of the time. Lead your opponent with your shots and don't forget how useful strafing and sidestepping is as well as manual aim adjustment. Beam rifles, although considerably rarer, are probably better weapons, due to their nigh infinite ammo, lack of reloading, and quick rate of fire. In close range with an assault rifler? No problem, just aim at your opponent and tap the trigger twice, rapidly. Headshots with this weapon sometimes can seem to be a bit harder, but restraining your rate of fire will keep you from ever having to scope out. The quick plasma trail also gives away your position less than the trail of smoke from the sniper rifle.

High Explosive Weapons:

The infamous rocket launcher is always good for a couple free kills, but make sure of your aim before you fire. Try to jump and shoot in front of opponents in close or mid range with you. If fighting someone with one of these, jump, all the time%u2026 ALL THE TIME! Remember the long reload time and try to get some cover when reloading. Remember that everybody rushes these like grunts to food nipples, so the spawn point for these are usually huge combat grounds, and you can get many kills by throwing well placed grenades for multikills. Also be aware that firing one gives away your position to anyone that has even a fair view of your position, or a microphone. These are excellent against vehicles and quite useful as "routing weapons". Or, in other words, shooting them at the ground near entrenched opponents, like ones camping around corners with shotguns. Even if it doesn't kill them, they're likely to have pretty low shields. Spartan Lasers, on the other hand, aren't quite as useful. They have their moments, when they shine, but they take more skill to use, and have a charge time, as well as light you up like a smoker in a nitroglycerin plant. They do have a couple distinct advantages over the rocket launcher, however: they don't have to reload, only cool just a bit, they generally have more ammo, the laser hits instantaneously while the rocket takes time to reach its target. Brute Shots are almost a completely different story. They are not instant kill, one hit weapons like the rocket and Splaser, but they are incredibly effective as disorientation weapons; killing most with 4 or 5 shots and a good ol' melee. They also work wonders on annoying Ghosts. The melee attack on Brute Shots is particularly wicked, and comes in handy a lot during close quarters combat. You should pick these up almost any time you get a chance, since they can get you a couple pretty easy kills. Just don't use them against longer ranged weapons and you should be fine. Try to get people in small, cramped places or rooms. Factor in frequent long reload times.

The Various Remaining Weapons:

Needlers:

These guns have long been either regarded as godly (Halo 1) or crappy and useless (Halo 2) or an interesting combination of both (Halo 3) and now serve as pretty handy devices in a pinch during matchmaking. You can't rely on them all the time because smarter players will usually find ways to avoid getting turned into a fluffy pincushion of death, but when you're being rushed and overwhelmed, they can help you get at least one kill. Their range is sometimes surprising, but definitely doesn't outdo battle rifles at the longer mid ranges. Most of the time they either woefully underperform or kill incredibly quickly. Use sparingly is the best suggestion for needles. If you're trying to avoid getting stabbed twenty times by pink crystals, jump, strafe, hide, duck, and run, but whatever you're going to do, do it quickly.

Rocket Pods, Turrets, Flamethrowers:

First off, all of these weapons give you some sort of significant advantage, but they also come with a significant disadvantage, such as slow speed, more likely to agro, and an incredible lack of versatility. The rocket pods give you a more defined rocket launcher. They don't necessarily dish out so much splash damage, but it only takes one direct hit to kill anybody, and they're the lock on Halo 2 answer to rocket launchers when going after vehicles. Ha, you'd probably forgotten that there even was a lock on feature once for the rocket launcher. Anyways, turrets are useful for spraying an area with fire, but they'll get you killed faster than you can say "Only 200 bullets?" However, they do succeed in pissing your opponents off usually because of their unexpectedly quick kill time. It only takes a quick second of sustained fire to bring down even the best Spartan. Maybe rip off a turret and take it to a good camping spot for surprise backup if you get rushed or overwhelmed? The flamethrower is a pretty close ranged weapon that is great for incinerating your enemies, and often your friends as well. Please, for the sake of Halo 3 players across the world, BE CAREFUL WITH THIS DANG GUN! I can't count the number of times I've been barbequed by a teammate but I know I've gotten few enough kills with it to count on two hands. What else can I say about it? It's good for guarding or camping important spots on maps and for ambushing enemies. It's probably a good idea to drop it after the first couple kills because the enemy team will be expecting you to use it till death, and dropping it will allow you to get the drop once again with changing tactics. The most important thing about using these heavy weapons is that you'll live a lot longer if you can get one of your teammates to cooperate with you and make up for you inabilities while you protect him with your extra firepower. If you find yourself fighting any of these monstrous weapons, just try to stay mobile, stay distant, and stay well shielded. Use grenades on these slow moving enemies, and use your agility to your advantage. DON'T RUSH!

Grenades:

Ah, the fun part. You might be surprised how incredibly useful fragmentation grenades are. They are ranked in 4th place on my Bungie stats, right below Battle Rifles, Assault Rifles, and Melee Attacks. Use them to relinquish an enemy of his burdensome shields as he chases you into a room, use them to follow up a vicious assault that someone is running from, use them to upset vehicles, use them to flush out campers and people with power weapons, use them to generally blow **** up. They about as basic and all around useful as you can get. I'm pretty sure that's why you're never without them. If you master the art of using grenades to your advantages in all these different ways, your opponents will fear you because of your magical ability to make their shields disappear, anytime, anywhere. They work for rushing, they work for defending, they work for dueling, you name it, and someone's killed somebody using it for that purpose. Plasma grenades, now they're a bit of a different story. A bit less useful all around, or perhaps I should say less versatile, the plasma grenade has a couple differences from a frag grenade: it has a longer detonation time, it is more powerful, you can stick it to your poor victims, a quick and efficient way to get rid of anyone chasing or rushing you. They are somewhat slower and less wieldy than frags, so just keep these factors in mind when using them. Other than that, they can pretty much be used for any function you can think of for frags. They don't bounce as much, though, so for ricocheting around corners you might want to stick to your trusty frags. Spikes aren't as common to see, but they are only useful for sticking people with or as landmines that damage anything DIRECTLY in front of them. They don't work too well as splash damage weapons. Incendiaries are never found in standard games, but they're like flamethrowers but don't inhibit your speed and are quick one time use items. When trying to stick someone with a plasma or a spike, aim a little to the left of them. Just trust me, your average success rate of sticking people will go up.

Equipment:

Bubble Shields:

These are pretty simple, use them to protect yourself in a pinch, or when pinned in the open, or use it as a retreat point for your whole team, just realize that one idiot with something powerful who waltzes in can kill you all and the bubble shield only lasts for fifteen seconds. If you're trying to get rid of someone hiding in a bubble shield then try running in just a bit and throwing a plasma, then jumping back out, or doing the same thing but meleeing the person. Your imagination is your best friend here. A couple important things to keep in mind are that vehicles can drive through and run over people hiding in bubble shields, power drainers are awesome for use against bubble campers, and swords and hammers aren't really affected that much. You can lunge through the bubble, and kill the person inside with one swift stroke. Remember that shooting them or damaging them destroys the bubble.

Gravity Lift:

There are only two uses for this item in matchmaking combat. Use them to get to otherwise inaccessible places and use them to screw up opponents chasing you. Well, I suppose there is one last thing. If you're in a small room with a low ceiling and have a sniper rifle it can be useful to use one of these to essentially "glue" yourself to the ceiling so as to make the most epic ambush ever. Remember that shooting them or damaging them destroys the device.

Power Drainer:

Use these any time you want to take out someone's shields, or a groups shields, ideally. It takes almost no time at all to do its dirty work, and it has quite a large radius. They are incredibly useful for routing out campers. Use this to follow grenade barrages at camping spots and combat hot spots. Remember that shooting them or damaging them destroys the drainer.

Regenerator:

Handy if someone's giving you a pummeling. Just keep in mind that they don't make you invincible. Among other things, you are incredibly vulnerable to things like plasma grenades, power drainers, assassinations, needlers, and other devastating devices. If you're bored one day, see what happens when you have a firefight or fistfight with someone inside a bubble shield with a drainer and a regenerator deployed. Unless you've got the firepower, the advantage, or the bloodlust required to kill someone with a regenerator, just leave them alone. They will likely attract the entire opposing team and soon will get overwhelmed, especially as soon as the regenerator goes away!

Trip Mine:

Pretty useless. Drop in doorways or hide in convenient locations to save you butt when people come after you while you're camping, or just drop them in the path of unsuspecting vehicles (with drivers that have to be idiots to drive over something that obvious). Try not to kill yourself with them.

Active (Optical) Camouflage:

It only lasts you a little while so try to get all the assassinations or failed assassinations turned ambushes you can while you're still invisible to the naked eye of all but the most seasoned of Halo veterans. If you think someone invisible is following you, throw grenades, shoot wildly, pour fire into areas he's likely to be or that you thought you saw something in, or see a doctor to check on your mental health.

Overshield:

Makes you invulnerable for anywhere from one to about three seconds and then gives you a 50% or 1.5 minute or so shield boost. Make the most of this sucker when you can pick it up but realize that you're not invulnerable with it, you're not even really that tough, just a little harder to kill. When someone with an OS is chasing you, throw grenades, shoot like hell, or just call all your teammates, but the most effective way of dealing with these people is the same way you deal with people using regenerators. Of specific effectiveness are plasma pistols, plasma grenades, a lot of battle rifle headshots, or anything that makes your whole screen go boom and shreds it to an edible cheese type of item.

A Couple Last Useful Tips That You May Find Particularly Useful:

Use your middle finger to fire the gun you're using and to reload it, but keep your index finger on the B button, so you can melee without moving anything else. This will help you improve your melee combat success somewhat.

Use team communication like crazy! Any time you see an enemy or if an enemy has a specific weapon or item or is doing something or going somewhere of particular notice, let your whole team know! It makes things much easier for them and will result with you winning a greater percentage of the games you play. Learn the positions for callouts on each map or simply make up things that make sense. For example, if you see an enemy at the big tower structure next to the bridge on High Ground, tell your team that there's a bad guy at Spartan Laser spawn. It goes like that pretty much. If you're confused at all, ask your teammates, as sooner or later you're bound to run into someone that knows the various map positions really well and can help you along with it, too.

Keep an eye on the motion sensor as much as possible. It will help you plan your strategies ahead of time and make yourself more of an independent player. Try to get used to estimating where an opponent is based on your location, as well as what height.

Scopes can be useful at times, but the ultimate playing style alternates between scopes and free aiming based on which is more effective at the time. If someone is annoying you by shooting you every second while you're trying to snipe them or scope in with the battle rifle on them, find a different tactic and use it.

Always keep in mind what the enemy will be thinking. Use this to form and enact complex, advanced strategies, like distractions, and tanking or scouting (where someone with a big weapon aggroes the enemy team so you can see where they are). Learn opponents' favored camping spots, weapons, and simple tactics so you can play against them more effectively. In FFA play opposing players off against one another, jumping in to the fray only when you're confident you have at least one easy kill. Remember that if you kill enough people from an obscure location the entire opposing force will eventually reign down on your position in an effort to kill you. Hide more and play less actively when you're not doing so hot and when you're killing everything get your teammates to back you up and go for the rush, but play together, not alone, whether you're got a team or not. Don't be an idiot and try to take everyone on at once%u2026 that doesn't work for anyone but the lucky ones.

Use stealth to your advantage as much as possible. Take the extra time to sneak up on a particularly tough or well entrenched enemy so as to get the jump on him. Alternate between walking slowly and crouch walking. Use whichever you feel more comfortable using and whichever you think is faster.

Don't use the press the crouch option, as this makes crouch jumping a lot harder. Use the hold to crouch option, just like from the old Halos. It just works better.