[TheDoubleA]

Imo, there are 2 (maybe 3) things that you need to do to become better at FPS multiplayer games: Communication and Situational Awareness. The third one is skill, but that is a maybe.

Communication:

For the most part, you will only be as good as your team. Sure, some guy might be killing everything is his path, but if he is on a horrible team, he will also be dying a lot. This will get you to the top of your leaderboard, but you will never win games. Talk with your teammates, call out contact, where you died, how many there were. If you had a heads up on what the other team was doing, you would be able to counter that much easier. [censored], sometimes the counter is to run!

This doesn’t happen as much in random on-line games, but if you really seek this kind of stuff, join a clan.

Situational Awareness:

I think that this topic is the most important. There are so many things that you can do to live a bit longer, or kill one extra person, or maybe even stop you team from sucking.

Fulfill a role. If you see 5 people sniping, don’t be a sniper. On the flip side, if nobody is sniping, snipe, ONLY IF YOU THINK IT WILL HELP. If everybody is charging forward, it might help if you hand back and cover the rear, or get an accurate single shot rifle to stay back from grenade range and pick people off. If everybody is being timid, grab that assault rifle and aggressively move at the opposing team.

Don’t find yourself alone. It is much easier to stay alive when the enemy has 2 or 3 targets, and not just one. It is also much easier to kill someone when 3 people are shooting it.

Plan ahead. If you are going to run across a huge open space, have a good idea what you are going to do in different situations. If 3 guys pop out as you are running, maybe you should just keep running and try to make it to cover. If two guys pop out, strafe and try and take one down on the way to cover. If one pops out, shoot him in the head.

Know the maps. If you see on your radar that a bunch of guys are coming around from the left, think about how they are going to approach your position, and think about how the terrain behind you will help counter this push. If they are coming down a hall or corridor, can you plant a claymore, find cover, and lob grenades? If you take a stand, can they come from two different directions? If so, run.

Understand people’s tendencies. Do not get killed in the same spot twice by the same person. In smaller maps in CoD4, sniping isn’t very effective because if you kill someone, they know where you are. If they have half a brain, they will figure a way to counter this. Grenades, counter-sniping, or the most under used counter: not going down the same damn street!

Skill:

Practice. You will get better. Also realize though, that you will never be the best. There are some freakish folks out there that will probably own you no matter what, but if you pay attention and pick up on what they are doing, you might not die as much.

Random thoughts:

-Have fun.
-Game selection ([censored], poker reference) For real though, if you find that you are playing on a scrub team against 8 people from a clan, leave, that game will not be fun.
-Find something you are good with, and stick with it for a while. I mean, branch out, but get good with a gun, so it feels comfortable. If you are getting kills tossing grenades at a spawn, keep doing it. If you [censored] own with a shotgun running around like a madman, keep it up.
-Weapons are different, so use them correctly. Don’t try and head shot a guy with a MP5 from across the map, this is retarded, wastes your ammo, gives your position away, and makes you look stupid. Plus you will be shot in the face by a sniper, and you will be dead.

Words for the OP:

Keep it up, you will get better as you learn the maps and get a bit more skill. Make sure you stay at the center of your pack of teammates, and keep yourself out of the open spaces. Don’t run alone. The main thing you should focus on is your Kill to Death ratio. Honestly try some rounds where you just practice not dying. If the leaders go off with 50 kills and 40 deaths, and you only have 5 kills and 1 death, I would call that a success. Stick with that M4 for a bit. A high percentage of competitive gamers are using that right now for all the reasons you stated above. Don’t spray and pray, you should never empty a whole clip in one burst unless there are 10 people vs you in a hallway.

Also, like some have said before me, never play a game on an easy setting right when you get it. If you are not great at these games, play it one level away from the hardest, and as you get better, play each game you get on its hardest level. Sure, it can get frustrating, but when you can beat it, you will be GOOD at the game. At least in regards to the mechanics of the weapons and game play.


Wow I am bored at work, and after the holiday I really don’t feel like doing [censored]. Hope this helps.