This website has a philosophy I can get behind. Classic games with no DRM, updated to run on Vista or XP machines, and low prices. They have a very nice selection of games arranged by category and I expect more to be added in the future. Happy nostalgic gaming!
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!
So, you may have heard about this new game coming out from Bioware. If you haven’t, watch the trailer below, and then understand why you likely won’t see me playing anything else for a good while after next Tuesday…
This is the application of the 50/50TACDOC to Highrise. The first thing to do is identify the Key Avenues of Approach (KAA). As per the doctrine the KAA will be marked in black while the Secondary Avenues of Approach (SAA) will be marked in Teal. The OPFOR spawn on this map is not marked correctly so I have drawn in my own marking.
Now that the KAA have been identified it is time to designate three Areas of Responsibility (ARs).
The three ARs have been designated AR Elevator, AR Middle, and AR Helipad. Because all three AR are long and narrow on this map it makes sense that the AR owners should be snipers or other long range builds. Long range builds are recommended for each AR but there are enough nooks and crannies that a camping shorter range build could do the job. Remember, I don’t care how each man takes care of his AR so long as it is taken care of.
The major vulnerability that is not addressed by the three ARs is the Red Pit tunnel.
This is marked as a SAA but anyone who takes that route could get behind all of the AR owners if they are sniping from the building. This weakness can be mitigated by using claymores or having the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) or the Mobile Forces (MFs) covering the tunnel. The QRF is not a very reliable defense because the QRF will probably be called out to help one of the AR owners. As we all know, claymores are a decent defense but they can be circumvented. This means that it falls to everyone to keep a loose eye on that area and if the MFs want to cover that area then more power to them.
Provision to the 50/50TACDOC for Highrise or any other map:
If any AR owner is getting taken out regularly they can request that someone take their area from them. The AR owner must watch their area until someone relieves them and then the AR owner must assume the duties of the person replacing them. The same goes for anyone that wants to change their duty position for any reason. If a MF wants to take an AR position he must have an AR owner agree and then go relieve the AR owner. Changing positions is a two way street. If the QRF wants to switch role he must wait for the person to relieve him as well. This way is someone is having a bad game in any role they can change roles.
The 50/50 Tactical Doctrine (50/50TACDOC) is an application of the United States Army’s doctrine of fire and maneuver. The 50/50TACDOC assigns half of the available forces to defend key locations while the other half of our forces outmaneuver and destroy the Opposing Forces (OPFOR). The 50/50TACDOC is intended to be a flexible doctrine that provides a process for an effective tactical deployment to be built upon. As a flexible process the 50/50TACDOC will not attempt to address every possibly and contingency of a game of Modern Warfare 2 (MW2). The 50/50TACDOC will only outline a tactical process in which key locations are identified and denied to the OPFOR while the OPFOR is outmaneuvered. Any key location or key area that I identify later in the 50/50TACDOC is open to consideration and refinement. This doctrine is intended to outline a process which can be used to create effective MW2 stratagems.
Applying the 50/50TACDOC to any MW2 map is a four step process.
1. Key Avenues of Approach (KAA) must be identified.
2. Areas of Responsibility (ARs) must be assigned along KAAs to deny OPFOR the use of KAAs to outmaneuver our forces.
3. A Quick Reaction Force (QRF) will be created to assist any AR that is under attack
4. Maneuver Forces (MFs) will be assigned to harass OPFOR and destroy any massed OPFOR attacks.
Now the 50/50TACDOC will be applied to the Estate Map to give you an idea of the KAAs. Once KAAs are identified three ARs will be identified to control OPFOR movement on Estate. After the ARs are identified the duties and responsibilities of the QRF and MF will be more fully explained as they apply to the 50/50TACDOC.
The KAAs are marked by black lines. Teal lines mark the Secondary Avenues of Approach (SAA). The KAAs and SAAs are not intended to mark all possible avenues of approach; only the most important or frequently used avenues of approach are marked. Also, the KAAs and SAAs are only my opinion at the moment and are open to debate and refinement. Here is the map with KAAs and SAAs marked.
The KAAs have been identified now the ARs need to be identified. Before the ARs are identified the role of the ARs and how they apply to the 50/50TACDOC need to be explained further. The AR is simply and important piece of real estate that one person is assigned to control. The person assigned to the ARs can defend it in any way that they see fit so long as they effectively deny the area to the OPFOR. The person assigned to the AR owns the AR and it is their baby. If the person assigned to the AR want to sit behind the AR in an over watch position that is all good. If the person assigned to the AR wants to camp in some nook of the AR it is all good. The idea of assigning AR instead of a specific position is that each person plays differently and with different weapons. As long as they can keep the OPFOR from using the AR as a maneuver route then the person controlling the AR is doing their job.
Of course, each AR is not set in stone. Those are the ARs that I think are most important. The particulars of each map are open to debate and refinement. Each AR is not defensible against a massed OPFOR assault. The person responsible for each AR is only expected to deal with one or two OPFOR at a time by himself. The main job of the AR owner is to keep the OPFOR from getting one or two men behind the lines and into a position to flank everyone else. It is inevitable that the OPFOR will eventually mass four or more guys to push through an AR. If the owner of an AR gets attacked by more than he can handle he puts out a call to the QRF. There will be one guy assigned to the QRF and it is his main job to quickly help any AR owner that needs help. Ideally, the QRF will be enough help to take care of the OPFOR but if the OPFOR show up with their whole team two guys will not be able to hold an area. This is where the Mobile Forces (MFs) come into play.
Ideally, the MFs will be operating in the OPFOR area and keep the OPFOR from massing to attack any one AR, but if the OPFOR can get enough of their guys together then it is the MFs job to be the cavalry and come to the rescue. The MFs should try to attack any AR that the OPFOR have taken from the flanks or the rear because the AR owner and the QRF will be fighting to take the AR back. The way the spawns will probably work means that the AR owner and the QRF will probably be approaching the OPFOR from the front. This will allow the AR owner and the QRF to delay the OPFOR until the MFs can flank and catch the OPFOR in a cross fire. Also, the AR owner and the QRF should press the attack on a lost AR so the OPFOR cannot consolidate and control the lost AR. The one caveat to this plan is that the MFs are given carte blanche to do as they please.
The only job that the MFs have is to defeat the OPFOR in the most effective way they can. This means that the MFs are never required to help an AR owner. If a MF is effectively taking the OPFOR out on the other part of the map then they are free to keep doing what they are doing. However, if all or most of the OPFOR is identified as being on one part of the map then it is expected that the MFs will head over there and kick a little ass. The MFs are not tied to any particular part of the map and are free to camp, sneak, and outmaneuver as they see fit. As long as the MFs are racking up the kills then they are doing their job. Of course, the MFs are encouraged to be team players and not a bunch of mother fuckers.
That is the 50/50TACDOC in a nutshell. Of course, there are a lot of individual Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) that we already like to use and those can be codified and added to the 50/50TACDOC. The idea is that the 50/50TACDOC can be used to effectively unify our efforts and keep us from being flanked while allowing each of us to apply the TTPs that each individual favors. As always, this tactical doctrine is intended to be refined over time.