Introduction
I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find an AssaultCube strategy guide. So I decided to write one. Besides, everyone knows I need one of these. And there just isn't an adequate guide for new players. If only they visited the forums once in a while....
This guide is optimized for AC 1.1. Basic concepts still apply to 1.0.4. When 1.1.1 comes out, the SMG section will need an overhaul.
When you're done reading my post, read the rest of the thread. All the tips are very useful for your repertoire.
Disclaimer: I'm just an idiot on the forums trying to help. If you have a strategy that works well, don't break your back trying to use mine. Do what you are comfortable with.
Movement
Everyone knows that you use the ASWD (some pronounce this "asswad") to move around, mouse to aim, spacebar to jump and shift to crouch. You newbies better get to know these well; fumble and you'll easily get killed by a gibcannon or grenade. Notice how the layout fits nicely to your left hand. Unfortunately, although most newbies know how to move around, they never do. The slower you move, the faster you die. So just keep moving! Strafing (A and D keys) is the simplest way to dodge bullets. If you decide to stay still, camping is effective once per location, per player (usually).
Knowing the maps
It helps immensely if you learn the maps. Have an idea of where all the pickups are, including ammo. There's almost always a health pack around the corner, if you know where to look. Knowing the map well will let you shoot at your opponent while running backwards through twisting corridors. Also, keep in mind the most travelled paths, as you want to avoid these in CTF. There are usually multiple paths leading to a base, and most are linked, so use this to your advantage. Chose your path in accordance to your weapon. Avoid stepping into the open with a shotgun, or getting shotgunned in the face around a corner when you only have an SMG. A good knowledge of maps will also help you in pinpointing your enemies, which I will talk about in the sound section.
Advanced movement
Time to mix things up a bit. There's still jumping, crouching, straferunning, and rifle-jumping/sprinting. Those are in order of difficulty. See http://assault.cubers.net/wiki/Special_movement
Jumping
Jumping is easy. Just press spacebar. Try not to jump to much, or else you'll become predictable. Learning how to jump over an enemy is valuable knowledge, as it is one of the "safest" ways to frag someone. Jumping, by itself, won't help you dodge many bullets but jumping from platform to platform will.
Crouching
I consider crouching an advanced skill because it is easily misused by newbies. Perhaps it is a reflex from CoD, but many new players charge headfirst into battle while crouched. Do not do this, as this only makes you slower, and someone who normally shoots the sniper at the midsection will get an easy headshot. Instead, go in with your back straight, then crouch every once in a while, for no more than a second. This should help you dodge some bullets, but remember to release that shift key! Rely on your reflexes and crouch when you bump into a shotgunner in a tight space. If timed correctly and if he was not aiming low, you should be able to dodge at least half of the shotgunner's pellets. Finally, crouching reduces recoil. If you can find a small window to shoot from, have fun.
Crouch jumping
Crouch jumping is new to AssaultCube 1.1. It can give you extra airtime on a jump, though not much extra height. If timed correctly you can crouch jump from pillar to platform to pillar on ac_douze. Master the crouch jump and you'll save yourself lots of time. Also, crouch jumping seems to reduce recoil just like normal crouching. It won't be incredibly useful for dodging bullets but if you add it to your movement repertoire it will come in handy at some point. Certain camp spots are only reachable with crouch jump (because they are not tall enough to jump into normally).
Straferunning
Straferunning is the act of running forward while strafing. Just hold down forward or back with either strafe left or strafe right. You'll move diagonally, but faster. Use this technique to run circles around your enemy. If movement speed = 1, straferunning speed ~= 1.4 (square root of two). Straferunning at point blank range will make your movements appear much more drastic. Your opponent will have to adjust his vertical and horizontal aim if you are straferunning away from him.
Rifle jumping
Rifle jumping is when you use the recoil of a weapon (only the AR actually does this well) to propel you higher. Use it to jump over an enemy or to get a head start on climbing ladders. You can actually jump over the ladder leading up to RVSF base on ac_shine. The SMG works, but not as well.
Rifle sprinting
Rifle sprinting is similar, only you propel yourself backwards with the recoil. Spam the spacebar, hold down S and keep shooting. Face opposite to the direction you want to go. You will move much faster, especially with the AR. The SMG isn't too bad for this. Use this to sprint across ac_shine in less than a second (flag runs, perhaps?).
Grenade jumping
This jump is very hard to master. Throw a grenade, and just before it explodes (around 3 seconds), jump. The grenade should propel you extremely high. It also takes away a good amount of your health (usually over 50). Throw it off-center to your body to gain some momentum. This jump is rarely ever used and there are few spots you could nade jump to. There is that one spot on ac_power, but it would most likely get you kicked. When you feel that you are ready, try a nade jump with a rifle jump.
The overhauled AR has made nade jumps even more obsolete. Just don't bother with it. Once in a while, when someone throws an uncooked nade at your feet, time your jump so that you will be propelled away from them.
Edge jumping
Propels you through the air at a greater height and speed. Strafe-run or strafe, then jump onto an edge and jump again. Find places where this is useful, like this one in ac_depot (thanks Robtics!).![[Image: edgejump.png]](http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/228/edgejump.png)
Remember, you have to strafe-run or strafe for it to work. Use it all day, every day.
Weapons
There are 8 weapons: AR, SMG, Shotgun, Sniper Rifle, Carbine pistol, grenade and your knife. Your team should have weapon diversity. A team full of shotgunners will not last in the long run against a normal, balanced team. Finally, RELOAD! If you've finished one battle and have reasonable cover, don't be afraid to press R. One extra bullet can save lives. Note: the below weapon statistics are for AssaultCube 1.1.
Use the accuracy stats by typing /accuracy 1. You'll see how you are doing with the each weapon, except for the grenades. Good SMG players can hit over 40% accuracy and good AR players can get over 50%. The accuracy statistics won't be accurate (c wut I did thar) if you rifle sprint.
Assault Rifle
Aim carefully. It kills just as fast but the recoil is slightly different and can be controlled easily. If you miss 2/3 shots in a row, stop and adjust your aim; move to a different position where you can aim better. Chances are, if you can't hit your enemy, he can't hit you that well either. It still pushes you back quite a bit, so you won't move forward very fast if you're firing this, and because of the increased ROF you can riflesprint and riflejump like never before!
Submachine gun
Probably the most common weapon. Easy to use, a bit harder to master. Keep moving your mouse down so you can control the recoil. This is a killing machine if used correctly. If you round a corner and face a sniper, crouch immediately to avoid his first shot, jump back while firing, then straferun forward. This should make you very hard to hit, as the sniper will have to adjust his horizontal and vertical aim. Try to aim below the belt so the by the time the recoil pushes your aim up to their neck, they're dead. Or, fire in short bursts of 4-5 rounds (tap the mouse button). One more tactic is to aim, then rifle sprint away from the enemy. This way, you will always be moving while shooting, and you should be moving off to a better place (health armour ammo, HAA). Kills an unarmoured enemy in seven shots, which means you can afford to spray.
Shotgun
This is not a "noob" weapon. As long as you keep backing up, you can kill a shotgunner. Thus, try not to take routes where you will be in wide open spaces with a shotgun. Take the close quarters combat route if you can, but always watch out for grenades (throw some yourself too). If you're fast enough, switch to the pistol and fire a few shots. If the other person doesn't notice you, try to get as close as you can before you fire. Damage depends on range.
Sniper Rifle
Due to the slow fire rate (1500ms) of this weapon it would be wise to use it with support or as a support weapon. A submachine gunner and sniper duo is quite efficient. In FFA gamemodes you wouldn't do bad if your aim is good with the sniper-pistol combo, but make your life easier; kill steal. I figure it is a fair tactic because no one yells "KILLSTEAL!11!1" after I mop up two people fragging.
Carbine
Keep your distance and kill quickly. This is one of the slowest weapons to kill, and this weapon would be useless if everyone had 100% accuracy but you stand a chance because no one ever does. If you have 100 armour and health you stand a much greater chance against SMG user, because it will take 800ms to kill you at 100% accuracy. It's also easy to killsteal with this, as it is easy to aim and it has high damage per shot. Hit and run works well.
Pistol
Knife
Grenade
It is very easy to kill enemies and teammates with these, so be very careful. Throw them through doorways and windows you expect your enemy to come from. If you are being pursued, jump, turn around, throw a grenade, turn back. You should be able to do this without losing speed. Alternatively, you can throw a grenade at your feet and let it explode when your opponent catches up. Grenades work well against campers too. Hold it too long and you'll be missing an arm, and a frag. It is very easy to gib teammates with grenades. Damage depends on the distance from grenade. There's splash damage too. Do remember possible to survive a grenade explosion that's directly beneath you if you time your jump correctly. Also, if you jump when a grenade explodes you will get propelled fairly far (most likely into the bullets of your enemy grenadier).
Pickups
People complained about armour after the release of 1.1. They claimed it was too powerful, but the best counter response was "get armour yourself". This is true to an extent (three shots to kill with the sniper is ridiculous). Armour respawns in 20 seconds, which is fairly quick! Beef yourself up every opportunity you get, and remember to control the armour. You can do this by running around the map in a fashion that allows you to grab all the pickups just as they respawn, or you can stay in one area and guard it. The latter is not recommended because it will yield other parts of the map to your opponent, and map control is about the entire map.
Armour and health should have priority. Unless you are very low on ammo, pass up on the ammoboxes when you are looking for your prey, because the pickup sound is very loud; pistol clips can be shunned as well. Grenades are only effective if you can use them correctly. Remember how quickly you can kill someone — usually in less time it takes to aim, cook and throw a grenade. Nades are also spread out fairly well. Akimbo has a distinct pickup sound, which is to be expected with a powerup. Treat it like the quad damage: you will probably die if your opponent gets it, but you are not invincible if you do take it.
Sounds
I cannot express the importance of sounds in this game. They are so important that I forgot to add them in this guide. If you can get a good pair of headphones and turn up the number of maximum sounds (I use ~50), no one will be able to sneak around standing again. Listen for the sound of jumping, listen for the sound of falling. There are usually only few places where you can hear this sound on a map. Likewise, ammoboxes and pistol clips aren't abundant in a map, meaning you should listen for these as well. Listen to when your opponent is (done) reloading; listen to the distinct shot patterns of the shotgun and sniper rifle. In Quake, a recognizable noise plays when you spawn. Lacking this in AssaultCube, you can quickly tab to the scoreboard to see when people spawn.
Game modes
Game mode numbers and abbreviations are listed next to their names. The mode numbers are only used in maprotations and the /mode command.
Deathmatch (DM, mode 2)
The simplest, most straightforward game mode. Kill or be killed, everyone is your enemy. It is very easy to kill steal here and no one cares. If two opponents are fragging it out, don't be afraid to finish them both off. Camping is discouraged here, as deathmatch is so fast most will simply ignore the hidey holes, instead going to the hot spots. A general rule here is, if you kill one opponent there will surely be another just around the corner. If you are sure of an enemy's position around a corner, start shooting before you round it. It should give you a good head start on the bullet hosing.
Team Deathmatch (TDM, mode 0)
Now you have teammates to back you up! This game mode is probably a lot easier than DM, except for the teamkills. Most of the game, you will be concentrating on going in one direction; flank your opponent occasionally for a surprise. No special strategy is needed here, just know your controls and weapons well. Over-reliance on your team will get you all wiped out.
Capture the Flag (CTF, mode 5)
A very popular mode. Here, frags don't matter; only flags do. Do remember that, but do not let it stop you from defending your flag. Most of the time, it's better to avoid enemies. Or, if your team is good enough, tell them to frag the defenders while you run in through the chaos and grab the flag. It's easier if you focus on one task at a time. When both teams have stolen flags, do not stand still in your base. Running around with a group is safer. Rifle-sprints are extremely useful here. Just remember to watch where you shoot. Camping hardly works because they will just gib you with a grenade. If you do camp, hide somewhere that's out of reach of a grenade. The sniper rifle is a good weapon for defenders, because the opponent grabbing the flag will most likely have less than 80 hp (damage from one sniper round, unarmoured). Another tactic is to hide in your opponent's base, wait for them to respawn and run out, then grab the flag and shoot them in the back. When grenading their base, do not throw them blindly. Instead, have two in your inventory and throw them at the inevitable enemies in your pursuit. You can cook a grenade, twitch backwards, throw it and turn back around all in one single jump without losing speed. Practice that.
Short etiquette lesson: If your teammate takes the flag from your dead body, it's better to just let score. Don't ask for a drop, but do thank him if he gives you one.
Hunt the Flag (HTF, mode 13)
Also know as VIP: kill the enemy flag bearer and touch the flag to score. Your own flag must be picked up in order to score. Again, camping is not recommended as you will just get gibbed by a grenade. For the flag bearer, always stick around teammates, not in front of their guns. Rifle sprinting can still be used as a quick getaway. A few grenades work well for killing the flag bearer; if not available, flank them.
Keep the Flag (KTF, mode 15)
If you feel confident no one is going to nadespam, feel free to hide. I don't consider this camping because this mode is just like Hide and Seek anyways. Like any flag mode, you can use rifle sprints to quickly put some distance between you and your opponents. Do not worry though, if you cannot find the flag. Simply press and hold left ALT to bring up a larger map. The flag bearer will be displayed as a flashing yellow flag; an ungrabbed flag will be static. Most CTF tactics work here.
Team Keep the Flag (TKTF, mode 14)
Very similar to KTF, only with a team. Use CTF tactics here again: stay in a group, but not so that one grenade will give five of you. Still, grenades are the best way to kill flag bearers. The minimap trick works too.
One Shot, One Kill (OSOK, mode 10)
This mode is very diffucult for newbies, because they love to stand still. The tips on movement are even more important here, and a few occasional crouches will save you lives. When aiming the sniper, keep the bottom left corner in your peripheral vision. When you mouse over anyone, their name appears there. Use this to your advantage and shoot when a name and an opposite coloured shirt appears. When rounding a corner into a tight space, pull out your knife. If you bump into someone, you will be able to gib him instead of fragging him, giving you an extra kill. Everything in osok is amplified: if you screw up, even a tiny bit, you're dead. If you do it right (ex. the knifing a reloading and cornered enemy), you'll get great rewards. Hug the edges of the map so you can't be sneaked up on.
Team One Shot, One Kill (TOSOK, mode 11)
Everything in the osok section still applies, but it's best to go in a group. You can afford to be slightly more reckless, because hardly any team will have a perfect formation, instead most are spread out. Be warned, if your opponents catch your entire team at a bottleneck, they can easily make waste of you all. Just don't click to spawn in TOSOK, or else you'll probably kill a teammate.
Alternatively, wait two or three seconds for the other team to spread out before going into a firefight, so you can pick them off one by one. Much safer than charging head on into their base.
Last Swiss Standing (LSS, mode 9)
More of a fun mode than anything else. This emode lets you practice your grenadier skills. Remember where the grenades are located; pistol clips will spawn as grenades in LSS. The knife isn't very useful if your opponent has grenades, but if you've got him cornered, slice away. Try to stay in open areas so it's easier to dodge grenades.
Pistol Frenzy (PF, mode 6)
It's very sad how almost no one plays this mode. If the map is tight, try knifing them. Always run for the akimbo when it spawns, always stock up on armor and always grab grenades. If you have all of these, you are pretty much all set to own. If you are a skilled grenadier, you could probably gib your way through the entire round. It's not that easy to dodge pistol shots, but because it shoots so slowly you should have time to run for a grenade or some health.
Survivor (SURV, mode 3)
Be sneaky, cause you can't afford to be as reckless here. Take advantage of the lack of health packs. DM tips can apply here, you can also camp if you want. Or run around with a shotgun and finish off people. If you hear two people fighting, don't turn it into a threesome, be the janitor. The command for this mode is /lms.
Team Survivor (TSURV, mode 4)
Much easier with your team mates, just don't shoot them! Because there are no grenades, it would not be unwise to stay in a group, but take the tips from TDM as well. Mop up and shut up. Just watch your ammo. Note that the command for this gamemode is ts instead of tsurv.
Miscellaneous tips
Credits
Of course I gotta thank people. Their posts may be gone but their spirit lives on.
See also this excellent post by uniJ00$, and
this one from an old man who doesn't know how to play AC. :>
I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find an AssaultCube strategy guide. So I decided to write one. Besides, everyone knows I need one of these. And there just isn't an adequate guide for new players. If only they visited the forums once in a while....
This guide is optimized for AC 1.1. Basic concepts still apply to 1.0.4. When 1.1.1 comes out, the SMG section will need an overhaul.
When you're done reading my post, read the rest of the thread. All the tips are very useful for your repertoire.
Disclaimer: I'm just an idiot on the forums trying to help. If you have a strategy that works well, don't break your back trying to use mine. Do what you are comfortable with.
Movement
Everyone knows that you use the ASWD (some pronounce this "asswad") to move around, mouse to aim, spacebar to jump and shift to crouch. You newbies better get to know these well; fumble and you'll easily get killed by a gibcannon or grenade. Notice how the layout fits nicely to your left hand. Unfortunately, although most newbies know how to move around, they never do. The slower you move, the faster you die. So just keep moving! Strafing (A and D keys) is the simplest way to dodge bullets. If you decide to stay still, camping is effective once per location, per player (usually).
Knowing the maps
It helps immensely if you learn the maps. Have an idea of where all the pickups are, including ammo. There's almost always a health pack around the corner, if you know where to look. Knowing the map well will let you shoot at your opponent while running backwards through twisting corridors. Also, keep in mind the most travelled paths, as you want to avoid these in CTF. There are usually multiple paths leading to a base, and most are linked, so use this to your advantage. Chose your path in accordance to your weapon. Avoid stepping into the open with a shotgun, or getting shotgunned in the face around a corner when you only have an SMG. A good knowledge of maps will also help you in pinpointing your enemies, which I will talk about in the sound section.
Advanced movement
Time to mix things up a bit. There's still jumping, crouching, straferunning, and rifle-jumping/sprinting. Those are in order of difficulty. See http://assault.cubers.net/wiki/Special_movement
Jumping
Jumping is easy. Just press spacebar. Try not to jump to much, or else you'll become predictable. Learning how to jump over an enemy is valuable knowledge, as it is one of the "safest" ways to frag someone. Jumping, by itself, won't help you dodge many bullets but jumping from platform to platform will.
Crouching
I consider crouching an advanced skill because it is easily misused by newbies. Perhaps it is a reflex from CoD, but many new players charge headfirst into battle while crouched. Do not do this, as this only makes you slower, and someone who normally shoots the sniper at the midsection will get an easy headshot. Instead, go in with your back straight, then crouch every once in a while, for no more than a second. This should help you dodge some bullets, but remember to release that shift key! Rely on your reflexes and crouch when you bump into a shotgunner in a tight space. If timed correctly and if he was not aiming low, you should be able to dodge at least half of the shotgunner's pellets. Finally, crouching reduces recoil. If you can find a small window to shoot from, have fun.
Crouch jumping
Crouch jumping is new to AssaultCube 1.1. It can give you extra airtime on a jump, though not much extra height. If timed correctly you can crouch jump from pillar to platform to pillar on ac_douze. Master the crouch jump and you'll save yourself lots of time. Also, crouch jumping seems to reduce recoil just like normal crouching. It won't be incredibly useful for dodging bullets but if you add it to your movement repertoire it will come in handy at some point. Certain camp spots are only reachable with crouch jump (because they are not tall enough to jump into normally).
Straferunning
Straferunning is the act of running forward while strafing. Just hold down forward or back with either strafe left or strafe right. You'll move diagonally, but faster. Use this technique to run circles around your enemy. If movement speed = 1, straferunning speed ~= 1.4 (square root of two). Straferunning at point blank range will make your movements appear much more drastic. Your opponent will have to adjust his vertical and horizontal aim if you are straferunning away from him.
Rifle jumping
Rifle jumping is when you use the recoil of a weapon (only the AR actually does this well) to propel you higher. Use it to jump over an enemy or to get a head start on climbing ladders. You can actually jump over the ladder leading up to RVSF base on ac_shine. The SMG works, but not as well.
Rifle sprinting
Rifle sprinting is similar, only you propel yourself backwards with the recoil. Spam the spacebar, hold down S and keep shooting. Face opposite to the direction you want to go. You will move much faster, especially with the AR. The SMG isn't too bad for this. Use this to sprint across ac_shine in less than a second (flag runs, perhaps?).
Grenade jumping
This jump is very hard to master. Throw a grenade, and just before it explodes (around 3 seconds), jump. The grenade should propel you extremely high. It also takes away a good amount of your health (usually over 50). Throw it off-center to your body to gain some momentum. This jump is rarely ever used and there are few spots you could nade jump to. There is that one spot on ac_power, but it would most likely get you kicked. When you feel that you are ready, try a nade jump with a rifle jump.
The overhauled AR has made nade jumps even more obsolete. Just don't bother with it. Once in a while, when someone throws an uncooked nade at your feet, time your jump so that you will be propelled away from them.
Edge jumping
Propels you through the air at a greater height and speed. Strafe-run or strafe, then jump onto an edge and jump again. Find places where this is useful, like this one in ac_depot (thanks Robtics!).
Remember, you have to strafe-run or strafe for it to work. Use it all day, every day.
Weapons
There are 8 weapons: AR, SMG, Shotgun, Sniper Rifle, Carbine pistol, grenade and your knife. Your team should have weapon diversity. A team full of shotgunners will not last in the long run against a normal, balanced team. Finally, RELOAD! If you've finished one battle and have reasonable cover, don't be afraid to press R. One extra bullet can save lives. Note: the below weapon statistics are for AssaultCube 1.1.
Use the accuracy stats by typing /accuracy 1. You'll see how you are doing with the each weapon, except for the grenades. Good SMG players can hit over 40% accuracy and good AR players can get over 50%. The accuracy statistics won't be accurate (c wut I did thar) if you rifle sprint.
Assault Rifle
- Reload time: 2000ms
- Time between shots: 120ms
- Damage: 24
- Shots to kill: 5
- Ammo: 20/60
- Time to kill: At least 480ms
- Frags gained: 1
Aim carefully. It kills just as fast but the recoil is slightly different and can be controlled easily. If you miss 2/3 shots in a row, stop and adjust your aim; move to a different position where you can aim better. Chances are, if you can't hit your enemy, he can't hit you that well either. It still pushes you back quite a bit, so you won't move forward very fast if you're firing this, and because of the increased ROF you can riflesprint and riflejump like never before!
Submachine gun
- Reload time: 1650ms
- Time between shots: 80ms
- Damage: 15
- Shots to kill: 7
- Ammo: 30/90
- Time to kill: At least 480ms
- Frags gained: 1
- Notes: Although the SMG has 33% less recoil than the AR it increases progressively so it becomes harder to control the longer the mouse button is held down.
Probably the most common weapon. Easy to use, a bit harder to master. Keep moving your mouse down so you can control the recoil. This is a killing machine if used correctly. If you round a corner and face a sniper, crouch immediately to avoid his first shot, jump back while firing, then straferun forward. This should make you very hard to hit, as the sniper will have to adjust his horizontal and vertical aim. Try to aim below the belt so the by the time the recoil pushes your aim up to their neck, they're dead. Or, fire in short bursts of 4-5 rounds (tap the mouse button). One more tactic is to aim, then rifle sprint away from the enemy. This way, you will always be moving while shooting, and you should be moving off to a better place (health armour ammo, HAA). Kills an unarmoured enemy in seven shots, which means you can afford to spray.
Shotgun
- Reload time: 2400ms
- Time between shots: 1000ms
- Damage: 5-105 (depends on range)
- Shots to kill: Varies
- Ammo: 7/21
- Time to kill: At least instant.
- Frags gained: 1 (even with gib)
- Notes: Shotgun does a gib if 105 damage is done, which is usually at point blank range. A nice visual effect.
This is not a "noob" weapon. As long as you keep backing up, you can kill a shotgunner. Thus, try not to take routes where you will be in wide open spaces with a shotgun. Take the close quarters combat route if you can, but always watch out for grenades (throw some yourself too). If you're fast enough, switch to the pistol and fire a few shots. If the other person doesn't notice you, try to get as close as you can before you fire. Damage depends on range.
Sniper Rifle
- Reload time: 1950ms
- Time between shots: 1500ms
- Damage: 80
- Shots to kill: 2
- Ammo: 5/15
- Time to kill: At least 1500ms (without combo or headshot)
- Frags gained: 1
- Notes: A headshot is a gib that gives the shooter two frags and kills the shootee instantly. Also, if a combo is used with the pistol the time to kill is reduced to at least 720ms.
Due to the slow fire rate (1500ms) of this weapon it would be wise to use it with support or as a support weapon. A submachine gunner and sniper duo is quite efficient. In FFA gamemodes you wouldn't do bad if your aim is good with the sniper-pistol combo, but make your life easier; kill steal. I figure it is a fair tactic because no one yells "KILLSTEAL!11!1" after I mop up two people fragging.
Carbine
- Reload time: 1800ms
- Time between shots: 720ms
- Damage: 60
- Shots to kill: 2
- Ammo: 10/20
- Time to kill: At least 720ms
- Frags gained: 1
Keep your distance and kill quickly. This is one of the slowest weapons to kill, and this weapon would be useless if everyone had 100% accuracy but you stand a chance because no one ever does. If you have 100 armour and health you stand a much greater chance against SMG user, because it will take 800ms to kill you at 100% accuracy. It's also easy to killsteal with this, as it is easy to aim and it has high damage per shot. Hit and run works well.
Pistol
- Reload time: 1400
- Time between shots: 160ms
- Damage: 18
- Shots to kill: 6
- Ammo: 8/72
- Time to kill: At least 800ms
- Frags gained: 1
- Notes: The pistol is commonly used in conjunction with other weapons to create combos that kill faster.
Knife
- Reload time: 0
- Time between shots: 500ms
- Damage: 50
- Shots to kill: 2
- Ammo: Infinite
- Time to kill: At least 500ms
- Frags gained: 2
Grenade
- Reload time: 1000ms
- Time between shots: 650ms
- Damage: Up to 200
- Shots to kill: Varies
- Ammo: 3
- Time to kill: Varies
- Notes: The grenade has a blast damage radius of about 3 players, anyone within that range is damaged. The closer you are the more damage you receive. One grenade cannot kill a fully armoured and healthy player.
It is very easy to kill enemies and teammates with these, so be very careful. Throw them through doorways and windows you expect your enemy to come from. If you are being pursued, jump, turn around, throw a grenade, turn back. You should be able to do this without losing speed. Alternatively, you can throw a grenade at your feet and let it explode when your opponent catches up. Grenades work well against campers too. Hold it too long and you'll be missing an arm, and a frag. It is very easy to gib teammates with grenades. Damage depends on the distance from grenade. There's splash damage too. Do remember possible to survive a grenade explosion that's directly beneath you if you time your jump correctly. Also, if you jump when a grenade explodes you will get propelled fairly far (most likely into the bullets of your enemy grenadier).
Pickups
People complained about armour after the release of 1.1. They claimed it was too powerful, but the best counter response was "get armour yourself". This is true to an extent (three shots to kill with the sniper is ridiculous). Armour respawns in 20 seconds, which is fairly quick! Beef yourself up every opportunity you get, and remember to control the armour. You can do this by running around the map in a fashion that allows you to grab all the pickups just as they respawn, or you can stay in one area and guard it. The latter is not recommended because it will yield other parts of the map to your opponent, and map control is about the entire map.
Armour and health should have priority. Unless you are very low on ammo, pass up on the ammoboxes when you are looking for your prey, because the pickup sound is very loud; pistol clips can be shunned as well. Grenades are only effective if you can use them correctly. Remember how quickly you can kill someone — usually in less time it takes to aim, cook and throw a grenade. Nades are also spread out fairly well. Akimbo has a distinct pickup sound, which is to be expected with a powerup. Treat it like the quad damage: you will probably die if your opponent gets it, but you are not invincible if you do take it.
Sounds
I cannot express the importance of sounds in this game. They are so important that I forgot to add them in this guide. If you can get a good pair of headphones and turn up the number of maximum sounds (I use ~50), no one will be able to sneak around standing again. Listen for the sound of jumping, listen for the sound of falling. There are usually only few places where you can hear this sound on a map. Likewise, ammoboxes and pistol clips aren't abundant in a map, meaning you should listen for these as well. Listen to when your opponent is (done) reloading; listen to the distinct shot patterns of the shotgun and sniper rifle. In Quake, a recognizable noise plays when you spawn. Lacking this in AssaultCube, you can quickly tab to the scoreboard to see when people spawn.
Game modes
Game mode numbers and abbreviations are listed next to their names. The mode numbers are only used in maprotations and the /mode command.
Deathmatch (DM, mode 2)
The simplest, most straightforward game mode. Kill or be killed, everyone is your enemy. It is very easy to kill steal here and no one cares. If two opponents are fragging it out, don't be afraid to finish them both off. Camping is discouraged here, as deathmatch is so fast most will simply ignore the hidey holes, instead going to the hot spots. A general rule here is, if you kill one opponent there will surely be another just around the corner. If you are sure of an enemy's position around a corner, start shooting before you round it. It should give you a good head start on the bullet hosing.
Team Deathmatch (TDM, mode 0)
Now you have teammates to back you up! This game mode is probably a lot easier than DM, except for the teamkills. Most of the game, you will be concentrating on going in one direction; flank your opponent occasionally for a surprise. No special strategy is needed here, just know your controls and weapons well. Over-reliance on your team will get you all wiped out.
Capture the Flag (CTF, mode 5)
A very popular mode. Here, frags don't matter; only flags do. Do remember that, but do not let it stop you from defending your flag. Most of the time, it's better to avoid enemies. Or, if your team is good enough, tell them to frag the defenders while you run in through the chaos and grab the flag. It's easier if you focus on one task at a time. When both teams have stolen flags, do not stand still in your base. Running around with a group is safer. Rifle-sprints are extremely useful here. Just remember to watch where you shoot. Camping hardly works because they will just gib you with a grenade. If you do camp, hide somewhere that's out of reach of a grenade. The sniper rifle is a good weapon for defenders, because the opponent grabbing the flag will most likely have less than 80 hp (damage from one sniper round, unarmoured). Another tactic is to hide in your opponent's base, wait for them to respawn and run out, then grab the flag and shoot them in the back. When grenading their base, do not throw them blindly. Instead, have two in your inventory and throw them at the inevitable enemies in your pursuit. You can cook a grenade, twitch backwards, throw it and turn back around all in one single jump without losing speed. Practice that.
Short etiquette lesson: If your teammate takes the flag from your dead body, it's better to just let score. Don't ask for a drop, but do thank him if he gives you one.
Hunt the Flag (HTF, mode 13)
Also know as VIP: kill the enemy flag bearer and touch the flag to score. Your own flag must be picked up in order to score. Again, camping is not recommended as you will just get gibbed by a grenade. For the flag bearer, always stick around teammates, not in front of their guns. Rifle sprinting can still be used as a quick getaway. A few grenades work well for killing the flag bearer; if not available, flank them.
Keep the Flag (KTF, mode 15)
If you feel confident no one is going to nadespam, feel free to hide. I don't consider this camping because this mode is just like Hide and Seek anyways. Like any flag mode, you can use rifle sprints to quickly put some distance between you and your opponents. Do not worry though, if you cannot find the flag. Simply press and hold left ALT to bring up a larger map. The flag bearer will be displayed as a flashing yellow flag; an ungrabbed flag will be static. Most CTF tactics work here.
Team Keep the Flag (TKTF, mode 14)
Very similar to KTF, only with a team. Use CTF tactics here again: stay in a group, but not so that one grenade will give five of you. Still, grenades are the best way to kill flag bearers. The minimap trick works too.
One Shot, One Kill (OSOK, mode 10)
This mode is very diffucult for newbies, because they love to stand still. The tips on movement are even more important here, and a few occasional crouches will save you lives. When aiming the sniper, keep the bottom left corner in your peripheral vision. When you mouse over anyone, their name appears there. Use this to your advantage and shoot when a name and an opposite coloured shirt appears. When rounding a corner into a tight space, pull out your knife. If you bump into someone, you will be able to gib him instead of fragging him, giving you an extra kill. Everything in osok is amplified: if you screw up, even a tiny bit, you're dead. If you do it right (ex. the knifing a reloading and cornered enemy), you'll get great rewards. Hug the edges of the map so you can't be sneaked up on.
Team One Shot, One Kill (TOSOK, mode 11)
Everything in the osok section still applies, but it's best to go in a group. You can afford to be slightly more reckless, because hardly any team will have a perfect formation, instead most are spread out. Be warned, if your opponents catch your entire team at a bottleneck, they can easily make waste of you all. Just don't click to spawn in TOSOK, or else you'll probably kill a teammate.
Alternatively, wait two or three seconds for the other team to spread out before going into a firefight, so you can pick them off one by one. Much safer than charging head on into their base.
Last Swiss Standing (LSS, mode 9)
More of a fun mode than anything else. This emode lets you practice your grenadier skills. Remember where the grenades are located; pistol clips will spawn as grenades in LSS. The knife isn't very useful if your opponent has grenades, but if you've got him cornered, slice away. Try to stay in open areas so it's easier to dodge grenades.
Pistol Frenzy (PF, mode 6)
It's very sad how almost no one plays this mode. If the map is tight, try knifing them. Always run for the akimbo when it spawns, always stock up on armor and always grab grenades. If you have all of these, you are pretty much all set to own. If you are a skilled grenadier, you could probably gib your way through the entire round. It's not that easy to dodge pistol shots, but because it shoots so slowly you should have time to run for a grenade or some health.
Survivor (SURV, mode 3)
Be sneaky, cause you can't afford to be as reckless here. Take advantage of the lack of health packs. DM tips can apply here, you can also camp if you want. Or run around with a shotgun and finish off people. If you hear two people fighting, don't turn it into a threesome, be the janitor. The command for this mode is /lms.
Team Survivor (TSURV, mode 4)
Much easier with your team mates, just don't shoot them! Because there are no grenades, it would not be unwise to stay in a group, but take the tips from TDM as well. Mop up and shut up. Just watch your ammo. Note that the command for this gamemode is ts instead of tsurv.
Miscellaneous tips
- See Gibstick and some other non-newbie players in action! In AssaultCube 1.1.0.4, go to the help menu (accessible from the main menu) and fire up the tutorial. At the end you will be able to see a combat demonstration.
- Another new feature with 1.1.0.4 is the asscube:// assaultcube:// protocol for Windows. Use:
assaultcube://192.168.1.1?port=3044&password=match
- For those of you with motion sickness, try lowering your FOV with the /fov command. /fov 120 is the maximum.
- Turn up your sound quality so you can hear opponents from far away. This is especially true with the akimbo: there is usually only one on the map and the sound it gives away is unique.
- Don't chase your opponent. Instead, lrn2intercept
- Try lowering some graphics settings to get a better framerate. I feel that I play much better on higher framerates (at least 100fps). Look through the visuals section AssaultCube reference, and see which values you can lower or turn off to increase performance. http://assault.cubers.net/docs/reference...n_Visualss
- The fog command basically just toggles the viewing distance. If you don't care, try /fog 64 for thick fog. This will increase performance. Trying to snipe across ac_shine, or have a good computer? Try /fog 1024
- The gibnum command is a fun one. It sets how many "gore bits" come out when you gib someone. Try turning it up to /gibnum 1000 and see what happens. Be warned, this will decrease performance. If you really want your gibs, /gibttl will set how long the gibs will stay. Set a lower number if your computer can't handle that many Gibs. /gibnum 0...1000
- maxroll controls how much the screen tilts or "rolls" when you strafe. Not recommended for people with motion sickness, though some (like me) proclaim that it's easier to aim in osok/tosok with maxroll on. Don't use it anything other than osok/tosok because your screen will shake violently when you get hit. /maxroll 0...20
- Camping is a legitimate tactic, except for maybe hiding in a well in tosok, but because it is so hard to pull off it is not recommended. Whining about camping won't make them stop, so just gib them.
- Some people play better on a smaller screen. Try playing in a smaller window if it helps you.
- Always play nice. :)
- Don't be embarrassed to practice on bots.
- If you throw a grenade on your head you won't die.
- The gibnum, gibspeed and gibttl (gib time to live) commands, when turned up, can warn you if there is an enemy around a corner. If you see gibs fly out, use caution.
- Don't be afraid to customize your binds. You can always reset them.
- Voicecoms can be more useful than chatting (press T) or teamchat (press Y), if you can memorize their numbers. Just don't forget to communicate.
- Don't blame me if you start sucking more.
- On the well played maps such as ac_depot, don't run through doorways expecting to come out alive. Take the tunnels or do something unpredictable, as many snipers will be able to get an easy headshot as you walk through the narrow doorway. Rushing works sometimes, stealth works better.
- This guide may not be as tutorialized as some of the readmes, but I did not think it would need to be for most who browse the forums.
Credits
Of course I gotta thank people. Their posts may be gone but their spirit lives on.
- GeneralDisarray because he has 7.3 #*$*(#@
- a_slow_old_man for all his tips.
- elcol for his tactics.
- V-Man for correcting my neutrality, and his other tips.
- Foo for his CTF strategy and shotgun tactics.
- Matasar for his SMG tips.
- EJ for his AR tips.
- -DrauL- for his movement tips.
- Lightning, for his TOSOK tip.
- Ruthless for his sound tips.
- Robtics for the edge jump image.
- yata for his graphics suggestions.
- LoneWolf, for his sniper rifle tip.
- sunnyd
- tempest, for the anti-tosok newb tip.
- Stupefy for his advanced movement and CTF strategies.
- Thorite for his scoreboard tip and visual cue tips.
- Vermi for his sound tip.
- Jamz for correcting the tone of the guide.
- Drakas for posting my guide on hi-skill.us
- Vi, the original author of the script.
- Finally, MusicMan10 and spamma for keeping my ego in check.
See also this excellent post by uniJ00$, and
this one from an old man who doesn't know how to play AC. :>