Post by novanleon on Dec 19, 2011 14:59:01 GMT -5
I see so many Recon players out there who don't seem to know how to play the game to their strengths. To help, I thought I would put together a short guide to give players some guidelines and tips to follow and hopefully improve their game or perhaps try something new.
Below are the three primary play styles/roles for the Recon class (as I see them), together with their associated strategies:
Long Range Recon/Sniper
I generally find this play style the least beneficial way to play the Recon class for most objective game types. The primary reason is the lack of on the ground combat assistance for completing objectives. You are almost always positioned too far away from the objective to serve as a useful spawn point for your squad members, and your distance from the objectives usually prevents you from having any significant effect on attacking or defending objectives. Your primary benefits are your reconnisance via the MAV and your counter-sniping to make sure enemy snipers don't interfere with the rest of your team. Unfortunately, this can often turn into a sniper-war where the snipers from both teams end up fighting one another and ultimately have little effect on the outcome of the game. It's also quite common for players to forget about the reconnisance aspect completely and ultimately just spend their time trying to score long range headshots while providing little benefit to the rest of their team. In the Team Deathmatch game types there are no objectives except to keep a positive K:D ratio, so this play style becomes much less of a problem as long as you're a capable sniper. The SOFLAM may also be very useful alternative to the MAV for maps with a large vehicle presence and some friendly engineers or tank drivers who can take full advantage of the laser designation capability.
The bread and butter of the long range recon/sniper is the bolt action rifle, with the ability to score one-shot-kill headshots at any range. A ballistic 12x scope is also highly recommended. Whether you choose the straight bolt or bipod is a matter of preference, but the bipod will help a lot for those extremely long range shots. A silencer is highly discouraged due to the increased bullet drop and minor situational benefit.
Overwatch
The general purpose of this play style is to support your team by providing active reconnisance and accurate fire for your attacking team, and strong objective coverage when your team is on defense. This playstyle bring to bear all the tools that the Recon has to offer, and requires a fair amount of skill and map knowledge to execute effectively.
On attack, the key goal is to provide accurate cover fire for your attacking teammates, particularly against those near the objective, and serve as a reliable spawn point for squad mates in order to keep up the attacking pressure. Also important is the use of the T-UGS, or especially the MAV, to scout out the opposing forces and keep them spotted on the minimap via the motion sensor functionality. A good tactic is to fly the MAV up and spot as many enemies as possible before landing it in an inconspicious location near the objective, usually near the attacker's side, to give your teammates the advantage when attacking or when advancing.
On defense, the key goal is to provide accurate coverage of the objective area in order to eliminate threats and defend the objective before it can be captured or defused. In this situation, location is everything. You need a location where you have the ability to see as much of the objective area as possible. In Rush this means a spot where you can reliably eliminate an enemy even if they try to plant from a prone position on the far side of the M-COM station. You want to be able to eliminate anyone who tries to plant the bomb regardless of which direction they decide to plant it from. In Conquest, this means you need to find a location where you can view 80%+ of the capture area, and/or switch locations quickly to give you full view of the entire capture area.
Keep in mind that you may need to quickly switch from attack to defense once your team captures the flag or plants the bomb, so have a good idea where you need to be when this happens so you can successfully provide coverage when necessary.
Which weapon to use in this role is a matter of preference. Any of the sniper rifles can be effective in this role as long as the player's proficiency with them is adequate. A semi-automatic sniper rifle will be the most forgiving for new players or situations where making an accurate shot is difficult, and it will give you a little more flexibility at closer ranges. A semi-automatic sniper will also work well with a medium range scope such as an ACOG or PSO-1, which can give you further close potential, as long as it doesn't affect your ability to cover the objective effectively. A bolt-action rifle can also be quite effective for this play style, but it will require a little more skill to consistently get kills and cover your targets effectively. One very important drill that can improve bolt-action sniper skills is to get used to making shots without breathing or using a bipod. Once you can learn to make accurate shots without the need to breath or use a bipod, your time-to-kill will increase drasticly and your effectiveness at medium range and against moving targets will make a marked improvement. You will also want to get good with your sidearm for those inevitable CQC situations.
Designated Marksman
This role is a very active, aggressive and relatively close range reconnisance and accurate fire support role. Good communication is key in this role since you will be actively working with a squad and support them via spotting and motion sensor reconnisance. The combat advantage that you bring to the squad is maximized when engaging medium-to-long range or hard-to-hit targets. The accuracy advantage that sniper rifles have at these distances, together with the hefty stopping power, will greatly increase your team's survivability. Also, your ability to counter-snipe will free your squad mates from potentially lethal incoming fire when capturing objectives.
Semi-automatic rifles are by far the best weapon for this role. Only bolt-action users up for a significant challenge will want to try their hand at this, and even then their effectiveness will leave much to be desired in most cases. A mid-range 3.4x or 4x sight is also highly recommended, improving your peripheral vision and giving you increased potential at closer ranges. To effectively use the semi-automatic rifles in this context, use a mid-range sight and aim at the head/neck area. In many cases you will drop an enemy in two shots as long as you hit on or near the head. At best you may finish him off in a single headshot. At worst you will need to follow up with a third shot to finish the job. Even if you fail to kill the enemy, the damage dealt will be significant enough to score an easy assist with the help of your teammates, or at the very least keep him out of battle until his health regenerates. Being proficient with your sidearm will also come in very handy in this role.
Below are the three primary play styles/roles for the Recon class (as I see them), together with their associated strategies:
Long Range Recon/Sniper
- Find a vantage point away from the heat of battle and pick off infantry targets at very long ranges.
- Spot as many vehicles and infantry as possible to give your assaulting team the advantage in CQC confrontations.
- Fly your MAV to spot targets and land it in combat "hot spots", usually on a roof near an objective or another inconspicious location, to provide on-the-ground motion sensor reconnisance.
- Alternatively, use your SOFLAM to laser designate targets at long range when possible. With the latest patch the SOFLAM should have increased range, making it much more viable for this play style.
I generally find this play style the least beneficial way to play the Recon class for most objective game types. The primary reason is the lack of on the ground combat assistance for completing objectives. You are almost always positioned too far away from the objective to serve as a useful spawn point for your squad members, and your distance from the objectives usually prevents you from having any significant effect on attacking or defending objectives. Your primary benefits are your reconnisance via the MAV and your counter-sniping to make sure enemy snipers don't interfere with the rest of your team. Unfortunately, this can often turn into a sniper-war where the snipers from both teams end up fighting one another and ultimately have little effect on the outcome of the game. It's also quite common for players to forget about the reconnisance aspect completely and ultimately just spend their time trying to score long range headshots while providing little benefit to the rest of their team. In the Team Deathmatch game types there are no objectives except to keep a positive K:D ratio, so this play style becomes much less of a problem as long as you're a capable sniper. The SOFLAM may also be very useful alternative to the MAV for maps with a large vehicle presence and some friendly engineers or tank drivers who can take full advantage of the laser designation capability.
The bread and butter of the long range recon/sniper is the bolt action rifle, with the ability to score one-shot-kill headshots at any range. A ballistic 12x scope is also highly recommended. Whether you choose the straight bolt or bipod is a matter of preference, but the bipod will help a lot for those extremely long range shots. A silencer is highly discouraged due to the increased bullet drop and minor situational benefit.
Overwatch
- Find a vantage point that gives you an good view of the objective and lets you pick off targets at medium-long range as your team attacks or defends.
- On defense, find a location that also gives you easy access to the objective in case a defuse or recapture is necessary.
- On attack, try to find a location where you can cover the objective from multiple angles if necessary. If possible, find a location behind or to the side of the enemy front line of attack to give yourself and your squadmates an additional advantage.
- Spot all opposing forces in the objective zone and use your MAV or T-UGS to provide motion sensor reconnisance to the area.
- Place your radio beacon in a safe location nearby (not too far away from the objective) in order to give your squadmates a good deployment position and give yourself a way to respawn if necessary.
- During lulls in combat, use your MAV to fly up and look around for a short time before landing it in a good location near the enemy position. This will let your team anticipate incoming attacks and give them the advantage on the front lines.
- Alternatively, use your SOFLAM to provide anti-vehicle support for your attacking or defending teammates.
The general purpose of this play style is to support your team by providing active reconnisance and accurate fire for your attacking team, and strong objective coverage when your team is on defense. This playstyle bring to bear all the tools that the Recon has to offer, and requires a fair amount of skill and map knowledge to execute effectively.
On attack, the key goal is to provide accurate cover fire for your attacking teammates, particularly against those near the objective, and serve as a reliable spawn point for squad mates in order to keep up the attacking pressure. Also important is the use of the T-UGS, or especially the MAV, to scout out the opposing forces and keep them spotted on the minimap via the motion sensor functionality. A good tactic is to fly the MAV up and spot as many enemies as possible before landing it in an inconspicious location near the objective, usually near the attacker's side, to give your teammates the advantage when attacking or when advancing.
On defense, the key goal is to provide accurate coverage of the objective area in order to eliminate threats and defend the objective before it can be captured or defused. In this situation, location is everything. You need a location where you have the ability to see as much of the objective area as possible. In Rush this means a spot where you can reliably eliminate an enemy even if they try to plant from a prone position on the far side of the M-COM station. You want to be able to eliminate anyone who tries to plant the bomb regardless of which direction they decide to plant it from. In Conquest, this means you need to find a location where you can view 80%+ of the capture area, and/or switch locations quickly to give you full view of the entire capture area.
Keep in mind that you may need to quickly switch from attack to defense once your team captures the flag or plants the bomb, so have a good idea where you need to be when this happens so you can successfully provide coverage when necessary.
Which weapon to use in this role is a matter of preference. Any of the sniper rifles can be effective in this role as long as the player's proficiency with them is adequate. A semi-automatic sniper rifle will be the most forgiving for new players or situations where making an accurate shot is difficult, and it will give you a little more flexibility at closer ranges. A semi-automatic sniper will also work well with a medium range scope such as an ACOG or PSO-1, which can give you further close potential, as long as it doesn't affect your ability to cover the objective effectively. A bolt-action rifle can also be quite effective for this play style, but it will require a little more skill to consistently get kills and cover your targets effectively. One very important drill that can improve bolt-action sniper skills is to get used to making shots without breathing or using a bipod. Once you can learn to make accurate shots without the need to breath or use a bipod, your time-to-kill will increase drasticly and your effectiveness at medium range and against moving targets will make a marked improvement. You will also want to get good with your sidearm for those inevitable CQC situations.
Designated Marksman
- Travel with your squad and provide on-the-ground mid-long range accurate fire for your squadmates.
- Give particular attention to taking out hard-to-hit targets that your squad may struggle with.
- Utilize your MAV to provide short-flight, fast recon for your advancing squad.
- Utilize the motion sensor capability of the MAV to provide cover for attacking and defending against or inside an entrentched position.
- Use your radio beacon to keep pressure during a prolonged attack, or when setting up a base for flanking.
This role is a very active, aggressive and relatively close range reconnisance and accurate fire support role. Good communication is key in this role since you will be actively working with a squad and support them via spotting and motion sensor reconnisance. The combat advantage that you bring to the squad is maximized when engaging medium-to-long range or hard-to-hit targets. The accuracy advantage that sniper rifles have at these distances, together with the hefty stopping power, will greatly increase your team's survivability. Also, your ability to counter-snipe will free your squad mates from potentially lethal incoming fire when capturing objectives.
Semi-automatic rifles are by far the best weapon for this role. Only bolt-action users up for a significant challenge will want to try their hand at this, and even then their effectiveness will leave much to be desired in most cases. A mid-range 3.4x or 4x sight is also highly recommended, improving your peripheral vision and giving you increased potential at closer ranges. To effectively use the semi-automatic rifles in this context, use a mid-range sight and aim at the head/neck area. In many cases you will drop an enemy in two shots as long as you hit on or near the head. At best you may finish him off in a single headshot. At worst you will need to follow up with a third shot to finish the job. Even if you fail to kill the enemy, the damage dealt will be significant enough to score an easy assist with the help of your teammates, or at the very least keep him out of battle until his health regenerates. Being proficient with your sidearm will also come in very handy in this role.
