Tricks and Traps

[Rich4444]

Isn't that a level name? Well, anyway, this is a tips and tactics post that you can put your favorite strategies for DooM on :) I'll list some of mine to maybe help intensify gameplay out there!!!

1. Know your map ~ In the old days when I started DooM, I had fun exploring maps, but I really don't enjoy P~v~P gaming any more when you don't know a level. It makes the experience just silly, to be running around, lost, not knowing where weapons are, when an opponent just eats you up from experience. If you are both inexperienced at the level, it is more fair, but not more fun, because it is just about who happens to get a good start or find the BFG first *what* . Anyway, if you want to win, know your maps good, including weapons, spawn points, teleporters, health, and even ammo.

2. Know your sounds ~ This is sort of like know your map... only with your ears. There are two ways to play Deathmatch. One is that you can actually HEAR your opponents game. That is very bad! A clever player will start to pick up on sounds (lets say picking up 3 weapons quickly, or falling, or running in water, or triggering a lift).

Now, if you CAN'T hear your opponets screen (such as if both players wear headphones, which I love playing that way)... then you can still hear sounds, but it is much more fun because you can't hear all sounds. Now, you can listen for water (in Legacy), lifts, and try to locate spawn points with 3D sound. Now, you can have an idea where your enemy is, what weapons he probably has (on smaller maps), and how you stand in comparison, but you don't know everything he/she does (more girls should play DooM hehe)

3. Awareness ~ Same as above!! Know where your opponent is. Recently, my DooM skills have taken a HUGE jump for one reason.. I make sure my opponent loses track of me, and I keep track of them. If you don't know where your opponent is, make sure you cover all your bases, and watch your back if the level allows players to double back and circle around easily. Then, once you know your players location and the level, you can start to time suprise rockets, BFG shots, or even plasma streams.

Also, don't jump out of your shorts as soon as your opponent shows his face. Wait for an optimal shot, and then try and finish off an opponent quickly when you have the "Shock & Awe" factor.

4. Weapons ~ Knowing your weapons is important. I'll reply to this thread in an effort to keep this post a little smaller :)

5. Straifing ~ Having the ability to straife left and right is extremely important. Not only does it give you a great advantage on an opponent with lesser skills by letting you get behind that opponent in close encounters, if you run WITH the straife on, you will actually be able to run FASTER than without it. Straife gives you just a little extra speed boost! Also, when it comes to dodging rockets, BFG, Plasma, etc... you can't do without it! Talented players can run backwards around easy levels almost as fast as players can run forwards, and straifing helps that.

I'll post more advanced stuff later... got to go for now :)

[rustyslacker]

Isn't that a level name?

Map09.

Some of these things are also GREAT tactics in sp.

Also important: Knowing you weapons well. a super shotgun is an amazingly kick-ass weapon when you can sneak up behind an opponent in a dark hallway. Also, never engage an enemy who is using the same weapon you are, ESPECIALLY BFGs, shotguns, and chainsaws. Chainguns and rockets are ok, since one is fast and one is powerful. Otherwise, switch weapons. Unless you just spawned in and both players have pistols.

Plasma is good for long range, but the sound really gives away your position. BFGs, the same. Except for when you need a miracle frag and you're low on health, because the splash damage is pretty much usually a one-hit kill.

The normal shotgun and the chaingun are both great weapons to use at any time. Rockets=bad for close combat. Yeah, anybody should know this one, but i got into a rocket battle in the secret room where the rl is in DooM II map01, and killed both players. one was me. Plasma is the same, since at close range the blue flash can blind you.

BFG=great usually. Never get into one of those bfg-battles in a long hallway though. those usually end with everybody gibbed. You can clear a room of people with one or two good hits, but as soon as someone hears that sound, they are ON THE RUN. Therefore, it's a good idea to take a couple of potshots with another weapon until the bfg ball hits.


and you hit some great points also, much appreciated.

[GhostlyDeath]

Map09.

map08

I'd like to add this weapon info...

Fist: Only use fist with beserker, and don't go into open combat with a fist, It's best to sneak up on someone and punch them, since the fist is a silent weapon, and can be lethal if used correctly.
Chainsaw: very noisy, Good against Rocket Luancher users, you can run behind then and chainsaw them, theyll try not to hit you and run away and try killing you with splash without getting hurt.
Pistol: Great for far range shots, bad weapon in combat
Shotgun: Great Powerful all Range weapon, good for killing targets that are trying to run away.
Super Shotgun: Best Close Range weapon, but with a downside: Slow reload rate, before you even finish reloading, a chain gunner would finish you off. It is a good thing to have perfect accuracy with thsi weapon
Chaingun: Close to Medium Range weapon, this can blind an opponent because of the red flashing... Good long range weapon if you know the Chaingun trick.
Rokcet Launcher: Explosive, Dangerous, If your not careful you can blow yourself up, Best way to kill an opponent is fire not at them, but to the sides, not strafe rocket but turning and strafe rocketing, make the rokcetys not only go straight, but in diagonal lines also.
Plasma Rifle: Powerful, but should only be used to trap your oppoenent in plasma, fire ahead of wher hes gonna go, or spray the plasma.
BFG9000: Powerfullest Weapon in teh game, if you get hit with the ball or are really close with no armor and normal life, you die. You can do the silent BFG trick and you can also aim it at a neraby wall while still having your opponent in veiw.

[rustyslacker]

yeah, but the silent bfg trick is kindof hard and it might screw up your aim. and i find that the best way to use the bfg/rockets is to fire at the ground near their feet for max splash damage, even if they are running away they get slightly hurt, but if you shoot right at them and miss there is no damage.

[Rich4444]

My weapon advice is a bit different. I don't use mouselook, and only play straight ahead in my games, so definately shooting the ground is #1 way to get damage off opponents.

Weapon strength is definately dependent on each level. A Berzerk Pack on Dead Simple is almost useless, because it is SO easy to run backwards and fire and hit your opponent with the long hallways. However a Berzerk can be VERY good in a close counters level.

Also, the difficulty setting (I'm to young to die or Nightmare for example) can really change up how weapons work. Armor and health make a big difference as well. With no armor and 100% health, one good double barrel shot will kill an opponent at close to average range. With 200%/200% health and armor, that Doublebarrel is much more work. Also, only a few plasma shots will eat up 100% health alone, but even just a little armor can make a big diference.

Rock / Paper / Scissors
The reason DooM is such a balanced game, is because the weapons pair off differently against each other. Here is how I look at it....

Pistol ~ gimme a break! If you can use the pistol, you better be stuck in a spawn with a buddy, or in really bad shape looking to kill an opponent with only 10-15 health, because otherwise you're just drawing attention to yourself.

Fists ~ Use your pistol haha

Berzerk ~ Suprislingly affective, especially without armor on your opponent. This is best when you can "trap" your opponent in a dead end, or even a small room without retaliation from other players. Duck and Weave!! Also, don't forget about the Berzerks ability to pull you back up to 100% health! On small levels with limited health, this is the hog spot!

Single Barrel ~ If you beat a guy with a Single Barrel against a Double Barrel, he should feel ashamed! Maybe there are some distance advantages, but up close get a double fast!

Double Barrel ~ This is TRULEY the weapon of choice if you want to conserve ammo for the maximum amount of killing power. This can take big chunks off of your opponent if you use it correctly, and can be a great weapon to use against the Rocket Launcher and even BFG because of its quick shot, even thought the reload is slow. It also doesn't have to travel to hit an opponent, but almost immediately draws blood! It has a pretty big dispersement pattern, and against an unarmored opponent, can really do some serious damage quickly, even one shot them!! A players talent can be decided about 50% by their ability to effectivly use a double barrel.

Chaingun ~ Up until recently, I thought there was very little or even NO use for a chaingun in DooM. Well, that was because of two things. The first, is that on regular default levels, there is enough health and armor to go around, that you really dont need a chaingun, because it cant damage quickly enough. Also, it is because my friends and I play violence levels that are easy (like "I'm too young to die"). In those cases, the chaingun has little use.

However, We started removing health and armor, and started playing a little harder levels. At that point, the chaingun can be VERY big. It can be a great "I Need a weapon NOW!" gun that can save you right after you spawn in. Also, it can be a great "annoying" or "nagging" gun that lets you create distance with an opponent, and then slowly chew the opponent up. The problem is that if you have too much health on the level, the opponent can eat up all the health as they run away, and wear you down slowly. The chaingun is VERY BAD against the plasma... unless you can run away very well and outrun plasma bullets (not easy to do while shooting backwards). The Chaingun works best against a Rocket Launcher where you can dodge enemy fire and slowly wear your opponent down.

Rocket Launcher ~ the Rocket Launcher is very good to cause massive amounts of damage. It has the ability to "close off" areas of the map by just laying huge amounts of fire into that area. Also, it can be a great trap if your opponent has some reason (health/weapons/ammo/strategy) to head into a small area where you can trap them with rocket fire. Also, you can try to time your opponents so when they come out from behind a corner, door, etc, that you can have a rocket waiting for their gullet. However, this can be tricky, and hard to aim and time right, where a plasma or double barrel may be more appropriate because of the quick travel time of the shot.

Watch if your transparencies are turned off, because the rocket smoke really affects your vision at that point. If you are in a rocket battle, you'll get some last minute suprises that with transparencies on will give you a huge advantage.

Plasma
The Plasma is one of the most under used weapons in DooM. The Plasma is HUGELY powerful if the opponent is without armor, and can be more deadly than a Rocket to an opponent in a hallway dead end, because of the quick rate of fire. The trick with the plasma is to quickly cover ground against an opponent, and hold it in their face so they cannot escape the number of shots. Sometimes, just spreading a bunch of bullets can be confusing enough to an opponent, that you can then close in and get a finishing stream. Also, trying to time out a long string of plasma shots so the opponent walks into about 20 at once is a good tactic. It can also make an oponnent back off of you.

Do not play Plasma vs. Plasma and chase your opponent, that is a bad idea! Plasma works great as a deterent when your walking backwards, because your opponent needs to move so often and you can be so sloppy with your shooting. Also, I'd be careful about taking Plasma vs. a Rocket Gun unless you really are talented. (like me *rolleyes* )

BFG
The BFG is definately the strongest weapon, but on easy levels, even a direct hit can sometimes fail to give a frag... and sometimes the game seems to have a glitch where you can take a direct hit and not be killed. It isn't very often that happens, but from time to time it does.

The BFG will bounce off of walls, but it is a bit tricky as to how that works. It can depend on wall thickness if I'm correct, and definately on shape. BFG shots seem to bounce well of of pilars from my experience.

The BFG is strongest when you get a direct hit, or when you get your oppenent between yourself and where the shot lands (monkey in the middle). That will typically result in a good amount of damage.

Enjoy!!