Player Tactics

General

Player tactics are methods used by individual players to gain kills, steal intel, or otherwise improve their game-play. There are a variety of different tactics, varying from tunneling snipers to stationary guards. Good use of player tactics can improve the tactics and score of a team overall, as well as optimize the use of the player's skills. Following is a list of common tactics used by players in Ace of Spades.

Charging

Charging is a very basic tactic. Charging players run towards the enemy's intel, base, or bunkers, shooting at any enemies they encounter. If they die (which is likely, as they make good targets for enemy snipers), they re-spawn and repeat the tactic. Individual chargers can be very effective at the beginning of the game, but as the game progresses charges will likely only succeed if most of a team participates in it.

Something to note is that your weapon increases in accuracy while looking down your sights, but using them slows you down.

Another good thing to add would be a small base near the enemy intel. On the roof of the base or nearby you should add a multicoloured flag or something like that so you can find it again if you die. The downside of this is that it can:

• Be destroyed easily
• Make an easy target for snipers
• Provide a small base for the enemy

Sniping

Sniping is another basic tactic, perhaps the most commonly used tactic in the game. Snipers attempt to take out enemy players from long range. Sniping can be a very effective tactic, as the rifles in Ace of Spades are extremely accurate, and a good sniper can be nearly impossible to locate and kill before they've killed their target. Snipers come in a variety of different types, but they all focus on cautious advances and long-range marksmanship. When sniping, it is best to make head-shots whenever possible, to avoid your targets locating you and returning fire. It's also a good idea not to stay in one place, as this will allow your targets to gain knowledge of your location and ambush you.

It is general good advise to be higher than your opponent, since you have a wider field of view while making yourself less visible. However, it is a good idea not to stand directly at the top of a mountain, since this casts a familiar outline - so build a mini-bunker a few blocks down so that you are less visible. If defending commonly traversed paths (players tend to favor going over mountains than through ravines etc.) wait for them to pass you than jumping out in front of them. By firing from behind you eliminate (or at least greatly reduce) the risk of giving away your position thanks to the tracers. In fact, when covering these paths, it's not a bad idea to set them up facing where the enemy is going rather than where they are coming from. Sniping, crouching, waiting 10 seconds and again is good technique, for this helps to conceal your position.

It's also good to note that the blue players are darker than the green, so the Blue Team is more renown for hiding camouflaged in mountains, whereas the Green Team blends better with the lowlands.

Counter Sniping

Counter sniping is a tactic to both deal with enemy snipers camping your teams base or other forward positions and cover builders. The most basic method is to simply watch your teammates getting sniped and see where the tracers (yellow streaks of gun fire) lead. On the off chance the sniper doesn't move around too much you should be able to locate them in a few shots or at least get a rough estimate of where they are. These efforts are aided by having other teammates then go to these nests and mark them with brightly colored blocks. This discourages the reuse of lost nests and makes it easier to pinpoint those who do go back to them. For soldiers on the ground who wish to deal with snipers in the enemy base or defending common paths over the ground it's worth employing the age old tactic of the buddy system. By traveling in groups of two or more, lightly spread out, at least one should be able to trace a sniper's position should they come under fire or even discourage snipers from opening fire for fear of giving away their position.

Tunneling

Tunnelers can be very serious threats to the other teams. Blue tunnelers can create small, hard-to-locate sniping positions in the hills and pick off green players, and green tunnelers can tunnel directly to the blue intel, as well as provide themselves with a fast and reasonably safe escape route. Tunnelers are extremely vulnerable when found, as they usually have their shovel or pick in their hand, but can be hard to locate. The easiest way to counter tunnelers is to listen for the sound of a pick or shovel digging, and checking the map to determine whether or not the noise could be generated by a teammate. Grenades are useful tools for exposing tunnels, as they can clear away 3x3x3 chunks of the landscape, exposing any tunnels that pass within two blocks of the grenade. Another good counter is to listen for where the sound is loudest, and then move in a straight line from there towards enemy territory. You may be able to locate the entrance to the tunnel, allowing you to enter the tunnel unheard and sneak up behind the busy tunneler.

Camping

Campers choose a single hiding place and pick off enemy players from their concealed location. Unlike snipers, however, campers don't move from place to place, instead staying hidden in their hidey-hole. Campers are vulnerable to observant enemies, as their targets can eventually deduce their location and approach from an unexpected direction, neutralizing them. A notable form of camper is the spawn camper, a player that lurks in the enemy's spawn territory and shoots fresh spawns before they get their bearings. This form of player can be very annoying, but like other campers, they're vulnerable to attack after several kills. Additionally, being in enemy territory is inherently dangerous, and sometimes players may spawn near the camper in a direction they aren't watching, allowing them to eliminate the camper without warning.

Engineering

Engineering is a unique tactic that uses blocks and almost only blocks. Engineers usually erect towers to defend their team's intel, build bunkers, trenches, bridges, and other structures to help their team. This tactic can be very helpful to your team and should be used early in the game to keep the enemy team from stealing your intel. See Buildings for information on useful constructions and Intel Tactics for information on constructions specific to guarding the intel.

Infantry Support Sniping

Infantry support sniping, unlike the normal sniping in which you have a mini-bunker and try to kill the enemy as they are coming, with this type, you follow an advancing infantry line and kill the enemy while they are already preoccupied with your front line infantrymen.

Here are some tips for ISS'ing;

• Be careful as you are open to counter sniping when you are out in the open.
• Make sure that you stay behind your advancing line or you may be shot an killed easily.
• YOU MUST be able to kill the enemy as soon as they come out of the distance fog, otherwise since you are out in the open, you will be shot and killed.
• If your main line is dead, dig in and either wait, or start foxhole sniping.
• This strategy is for advanced players, or you must be playing against a team that all started that day in which they don't know which button causes the gun to shoot.

Render camping

• note: Render camping is for advance snipers only. If you are not extremely good at sniping, DO NOT TRY THIS!

Render camping involves digging in and staying impeccably still. With this, your outline is harder to see at the very edge of the render distance. Use this advantage, and snipe opponents as soon as their outlines are visible. However, this requires a familiarity with your surroundings, concentration, and a long attention span. Because this requires concentration on the enemy front, this can be countered by identifying the general area of the camper, taking the long way around, and getting behind the camper, and surprising them from behind. This attack can be delayed, however, because a good render camper will find a spot where even his back is disguised (either by making a foxhole in front of a natural mound, or making a fake mound). If you make a fake mound around it, disguised pillboxes can be great for render camping.

Tips and Hints

• Use your map to scan the terrain.
• Keep an eye out for key structures such as bridges and fortifications.
• When crossing water you attract noise as you move through the water. tap A and D while moving forward or backwards. It's very quiet and it moves faster than crouching.
• Stay out of open terrain if you can, especially water.
• When crossing open ground, move in a zig-zag pattern to deter snipers from scoring headshots.
• Avoid popping your head out in the same place more than once, this may give your position away and make easy targets for snipers.
• Know your role. When carrying the SMG, stay for close to medium range combat. The rifle is usually used to go for long-ranged, precise shooting.
• Take advantage of instant crouch animations and use it to make you harder to hit.