You’ve all seen them. A rectangular plastic barrier bearing down on you, while you try to get to their sides to shoot them, or roll a frag grenade beneath them, or stick a semtex to that big ole target they’re carrying around.
Yes, I’m talking about the RIOT shield. This thing is beautiful, and for several reasons. One, it deflects just about ANYTHING in the game if you’re aiming it right including Air Support. Acting as a target for the enemy harrier will frustrate them to no end, if they know what is happening. Two, it usually surprises enemies if they come blitzing around the corner and see you there. And third, if you’re playing right, it will take several of them to take you down.
But there are some drawbacks too. Unless you’re running lightweight and marathon, you’re PAINFULLY slow, and even with those perks it’ll take you awhile to get to the fight. Enemies can also just hit you in the side if you’re not using terrain properly, and can also sneak some bullets to your feet if they’re smart. Lag will also let some of the more aggressive opponents “Slide-stab” you, where they run to your side and hit melee, which will auto-target you and you’ll be unable to defend due to unavoidable internet latency. Sometimes they seem to just be able to shoot through your shield. Some people roll with semtex on all of their builds, and will try and stick you. Some people get their grenade launchers/AT4/RPG out and shoot behind you negating your defensive bonus.
These drawbacks aside, nothing brings me more pleasure than hearing a lobby full of opponents complaining about how big of a noob you are for using a short-range blunt object to kill them. Also, its a different way to play than the standard “Shoot enemies” way of playing, and it isn’t like the Stabbing epidemic that seems to be running around right now. Here are some general Do’s and Don’ts, and I’ll get into specific tricks of the trade in the next section.
Do’s
Do: Crouch when you encounter an enemy from ANY distance.
Do: Face your enemy and have him in the center of your screen at all times.
Do: Be patient when engaging multiple foes.
Do: Avoid sprinting when in enemy territory.
Don’ts
Don’t: Get too aggressive and lower your shield with an enemy in your direct line of sight with a gun pointed at you
Don’t: Stay in one spot for too long
Don’t: Stand in the open. Use terrain to your advantage.
Don’t: Use smoke or Flash grenades. These take too long to use and your shield will be down during this time.
Very simple to follow! This will allow you to survive for a little longer than an unshielded opponent. Now I’ll get into some tricks that will actually allow you to go positive in K/D while Rioting.
The throwing knife is a very quick weapon, allowing you a ranged attack that will minimize the down-time of your shield, and not to mention pretty humiliating when you nail someone from a decent range with it! Also handy for hitting people that aren’t moving but you can’t get to them without exposing yourself too much. The trick is to absorb some of their fire until they get confused as to what to do about it, all the while you’re lining up your throwing knife with the center of the screen from behind your shield. When they stop to throw a semtex, or aim at your feet, you chuck the knife, then go pick it up off their body and repeat the cycle.
Semtex: Slower than the throwing knife, but more likely to net you a kill with good placement. The tradeoff is shield downtime, which is why I prefer the shield.
Stun grenades are quick. Slightly longer down-time than the knife, but the benefits are awesome. One, the enemy is slowed to a crawl, two their aim is dropped, three they can be blinded temporarily with a direct hit. A well placed stun grenade beneath the feet of a charging opponent will make them bait for anything you may want to do to them. My personal favorite is shield bashing, as they can’t get away, and they can’t lag-slide you with their knife. Flashbangs and smoke are useless as the idea is for them to see you coming, and they take too long to use anyway. Plus flashbangs will hit you through your shield, while stuns do not.
C4: I haven’t personally messed with this, but planting it on the wall and using your shield to get them to rush you and blowing it could work. Problem is having the controller out for it means no shield. An ALLIES C4 would work wonders though, they can have it planted and you could pull them into the explosion. Or you can sit on the C4 pack and just back up a bit when its time to blow it up.
Claymores: These are trickier to use alone. To pull them in and set it off, you almost have to put it where they can see it at an odd angle. This requires a stationary position, and would work better defending objectives. Make sure you are somewhat facing your claymore to protect you from as much of the explosion as possible. Pulling an enemy into a teammates claymore is better as you’re not going to take damage, and you get extra points if they shot you before they ’sploded.
Now, onto perks and builds. I’ll list my favorites then some alternatives. First is Scavenger. With the Riot, once you’re in the combat zone you’re not gonna be moving alot, so Marathon isn’t necessary unless you’re impatient and want to be in the fight quicker. Scavenger gives you full ammo for your secondary weapon (non launcher) and allows replacement of lost throwing knives, used semtex and stun grenades, and the like. VERY handy and ups your killing power quite a bit.
For the Red perks, I prefer Cold Blooded and Lightweight, depending on the map. Lightweight with Marathon for the biggest maps to get into position, and Scavenger and Cold blooded for maps where you’re in the action quickly. You can use other perks to enhance your secondary weapon if you wish, they’re not my preference however. Having the shield on your back is very unreliable.
Yellow perks, there is only one you need: Commando. As slow as you are, if you’re gonna bash them to death you need range, and commando provides. The Pro level also has the handy ability of being immune to fall damage, so you get some great shortcuts opened to you. Nothing else really compares to the benefits you see for the shield.
Section 3: Its not all about you.
Ever notice how you get “Good distraction” points when the enemy shoots your shield, then is killed by an ally? The shield was put in to help support the “Team game” concept.
Get in front, your ally does the work while you act as a bullet/grenade/everything they have magnet. Playing as a team player helps cement your victory over your opponents. When acting as a bullet sponge, make sure to keep the enemy attention, and to let your ally know to hang back a bit and watch for flankers that would hit you in the side. Have them wait behind you, and when an enemy shows up and puts lead to your shield, they should pop up and blast them while the enemy is figuring out what to do about you. This is the simplest way to deal with enemies. Getting your shot in with the melee is good too, as dealing with multiple opponents is often too much for people to deal with, much less the complication of dealing with one wielding a riot shield. This will weaken the enemy, and make their demise that much easier for your ally. Beware of stray explosives, this is what people will try to throw before they die when confronted with multiple opponents.
Defending objectives is made easier with your riot shield in hand. When the enemy is trying to rush an objective point, such as in domination, they’re planning on swinging in, grabbing it, then running off before your team can react. You not only prevent an easy capture, you delay them until you can ultimately kill them, or an ally can more efficiently put them down. Make sure you’re crouched in a common path to the objective point, avoid easily flanked locations, and wait. Your enemies will be along shortly. Then its just applying above skills to the encounter.
I hope you enjoyed this short guide to RIOT shielding for fun and profit. Good luck, and have fun pissing off your enemies!
