Episode 16: Coag and Combo’s

October 17th 2005

Duration: 39 minutes 25 seconds

• Decidus fills is for Foo Mo

General Tips

• From Shardy – Try to throw a grenade at someone with a BR. They might shoot it and cause it to explode in their face.

• From Zang (sp?) – It takes 2 (non-headshot) hits from a sniper rifle to kill you even with half your shields down

Combo Tips

• From Danl – Just say no to the noob combo. Only noobs use it (Spelcheck disagrees). SMG/Plasma Rifle is a great combo. Also, grenades and BR.but for combos, SMG and Plasma Rifle is ALWAYS amazing, even at medium range (10-25 feet….ish). Also, Nades (frags preferably) and BR can really clean up, throw a nade close to the person to a) make a smoke screen b) take out their shield you can then headshot with the BR and BAM….dead.

• From Casey – Whoever says only noobs use the noob combo is dead wrong and you have obviously never played against the top level spectrum of players(35-45ish). They use it all over. Because it works.

• From Imasamurai – The best combo that I have found is the plasma pistol/magnum. One burst from the plasma pistol then one headshot from the magnum is all it takes to take down a foe.

• From Plasmorphage – I suggest grenades and BR on smaller maps, because a grenade will usually catch the person off guard, and when you start having a shoot-off with the BR, you will win, because the grenade would have crippled their shields.

• From Osiris_2552 – A combo that works well for me is the Sniper+BR combo. If you can’t get the headshots and hit the body instead, just whip out the BR and they’re dead anyway. I’m NOT encouraging people to not go for the head it’s just that, if you miss, then you have something to back you up.

• From Feeble Mongoose (aka Gemini Ace) – Dual needlers are really fun, but not as effective as all the plasma pistol combos mentioned. I enjoy emptying two needlers into someone and then dying, but then seeing them die from all the needles in their head a second or so later. Dual needlers may not be a very popular combo, but that’s one reason I like it. I’ll pick up two needlers over two SMG’s any day.

• From Xenomorph52 – PP/Sniper kicks [buttocks] like you wouldn’t believe. Try it like this, charge up the Plasma Pistol, fire, switch to Sniper, and no-scope! It’s just that simple! There’s nothing more humiliating than being killed by someone who’s noobin’ with the Sniper. Speaking of being killed with a retarded combo, try using the Needler and Magnum together. It sucks! But if you do kill someone it’ll be the funniest thing.

• From Nick of time:

• A small tip for people using the normal plama rifle. If you pull the trigger fast like you’re using a magnum, it shoots the plasma faster. This can help your SMG + Plasma Rifle combo be better then everyone else’s.
• Ok, as to whoever said that using the noob combo is only for noobs, is completely out of his mind, Just because something in the game is labelled to be cheap, limiting yourself to not using it would be stupid.
• BR + Shotgun/Sword: Great combo for mid. sized maps or maps with small spaces, and a camper’s staple set up, works real great on those maps with small hallways, such as ivory tower, and open maps with great camping spots, such as Ascention.
• Sniper Rifle + Shotgun: This is great strat for people who like to snipe solo on mid. sized maps, but make sure that you have either a long or short distance on your enemy, if he/she is mid range then hide untill he/she gets close, then blast em’ with the shotty. Works great on Acention (sorry if that was spelled wrong) if you go to the little tower, snipe people but check your radar for any blips, it’s great because it lures them in to your position with the sniper, so as long as your cheak your radar, yo can predict that thier team will swarm you, then you can just wait for them to come around the corner, and blast em’ with the shotty. I’m sure this works on other maps too.
• Sniper Rifle+ BR: Not much to say here, it’s just perfect for any situation on bigger maps, snipe, and if its only a body shot and they are mid-long range, shoot them in the head with your BR. The BR works as great cover for close range attackers.

• From Marddin – Again like many people have said, if you saying don’t use the noob combo, it’s for noobs only, then you’re dead wrong. The Plasma Pistol Battle Rifle combo is, to me, the best in the game. The PP/BR combo can be good long range and short range. Knowing how far the PP can lock on can really help in deciding whether to shoot it or not. Also using the combo inside the base such as in the Coag base is really useful, like shooting the PP charge and beating the opponent down. Another really good combo to me is the PP and Magnum. Playing rumble pistols will be very good to practice. It’s perfect because the PP takes the shield off and a well placed magnum shot to the head is very useful.

• From Shodan1028:

• If you have the sniper rifle, you’re not helpless when you get up close. Sure, you could no-scope somebody, but lets face it – no scoping isn’t skill; it’s just half dumb luck, and half dumping as much ammo as you can at them. So what do you do when say, a guy with some SMGs comes up to you? Get as close as you can. I know, you’re going, dude, that’s stupid, but its true. Get as close as you can, and pull the trigger. If you hit them, then IMMEDIATELY melee them, which is an instant kill.
• Also, the newb combo also works with a Carbine if a BR isn’t handy, but is a bit slower. Of course, as a trade off, you can shoot much more accurately, since its a single shot weapon, and one shot does the same damage as two bullets from the BR. So through black magic and voodoo (common sense and basic math) the Carbine is actualy better in that regard, but like I said, it comes out slower, reloads slower, and ammo is harder to find.

• From ExpandedFlame – PP and SMG.

• From Helsing – People love power weapons. If they see you with a power weapon they will try to kill you before they focus on someone with an SMG. So I love to use an SMG/magnum combo, you usually start with an SMG, and Magnums are usually passed up for better weapons. Therefore they are usually easy to find. Use both weapons to the head of your enemy and you will get a kill in two or three seconds, just focus on the head. A BR as secondary is also ideal. Easy strategy, easy weapons to get.

Map of the Week: Coagulation Tips

• From Test Drug – You can block the portal with Ghost, but blocking it with the Banshee is better.

• From Danl:

• SNIPERS SNIPERS SNIPERS…I say it everytime I post ANYTHING! Snipers can always pwn on a map and really clean up…SO if you’re good with a sniper rifle then…well…use it to its fullest.
• The rockets are, okay, but I’d actually say if you can wield a BR and a shotgun at once then you can clean up more than with the rockets.
• Use tanks if you got ‘em.
• Use the Ghost rather than Warthog. To make the Ghost effective, you need only one person. With the warthog you need two. Warthog are a chance for a double kill.

• From Plasmorphage:

• If you are playing Team Skirmish and you find yourself at a standstill in the middle of a match, use the player launch near the shotty spawn. How this works:
1. Have a player go to the shotgun spawn at red base. There will be three rocks. One of the faces the wall of the map (the side where the sun lights it up).
2. Have a player walk backwards in one place against the rock (preferrebly near the middle of the rock).
3. Have a person in a warthog put themselves on severe handicap, and then ram the person walking against the rock with full speed
4. Don’t get shot out of the air with a Sniper Rifle when you get launched.

• ALWAYS rush the rockets, if you are a second too late at getting them, the whole game might be over. Rockets control the map. Snipers are good, but few people can snipe someone out of a moving Warthog or Banshee. So, grab the rockets, then take out the banshee that will inevitably come to kill you.
• When you are sure that the other team doesn’t have rockets, grab the banshee, fly over to their base, and drop down to get the flag. Usually, the other team won’t be expecting that (probably thinking that no one is stupid enough to try it)and thus you can grab the flag, and get it far enough away from the base so that it can be easy to pick it up with a warthog.

• From Spelchek: Banshee Riding: You can have someone ride on the Banshee across the level. Don’t boost or you will fall off. (MasonC2K adds that you can boost if the rider pushes forward toward to front of the Banshee.)

• From Osiris_2552 – Plasma grenades are a must on this map. If your’e confronted against a Ghost or a Banshee then 1 well placed grenade will do the trick! Because of the lack of plasma grenades on this map they are a total must have to get out of those sticky situations or should i say to get the enemies into a sticky situation.

• From Matt_6_66: o At the very start of a game of CTF or Assault the guy closest to the ghost should get in and boost straight to the rockets and grab them and go staight back to the base, unless the other team got there first in which case they will most likely rocket you and you die. o In CTF or Assault the rockets are the things that will win you the game because you can destroy any vehicle that you don’t like pretty easily because it is so open, and they can hold the base by themselves if they have to.

• From Gemini Ace – The main thing your team needs to do is:

1. Protect the Warthog and Ghost. Don’t just let them get blown up on the rush and then spend the rest of your time on foot being sniped.
2. Take the ‘Hog into the rear of the enemy base where the Banshee spawns. Three guys going up the lift can take out any defenders and then get back down to the ‘Hog. If you’re alone and holding the enemy flag down there, call for backup. That’s where the Ghost comes in handy to get a driver to you.

• From Nick of Time:

• The cliff to the left of each base are home to the only plasma grenades on this map, try to pick them up every once and a while, then can really help with your vehicle situation if your team does not have the rockets
• I often find games of Human Slayer on Coag. While playing thses games, the Covenent Brute Shots on the cliffs become Human Rocket Launchers, which really shuts down vehicle useage in these games, try to hold all three launchers, not only for the Launcher’s power, but so you can use vehicles at your demand without being blown up.
• Don’t forget to pick up the sniper ammo in the rocks where the shotgun is if you’re sniping, if you do this properly you will never run out of ammo for this crucial weapon here.
• On the subject of ammo, also pick up the ammo for the rockets. They are in a set of rocks outside the blue teleporter, and behind the tree outside the red teleporter.
• If you pick up the Active Camo on the red side you have a small advantage to picking it up on the other side because on the other side, the sun created a big reflection off of it, this can be a great help if your the red team sniper.

• From X Gamma X:

• Coagulation is a pretty good map. It is the equivalent of the Halo 1 : Blood Gulch. In my opinion this map would be recommended for 10-16 players.
• There is plenty of open space for sniping. Make sure you get a dark corner or snipe from the cliff near red base. You can also use the banshee/ghost to get up to great sniper places behind and on the right side of the blue base.
• Always remember to go inside that cave. It will have the Overshield or Camoflauge. Camo is very helpful on this map especially if you are sniping and you are good at it. Because if you miss well then people know where you are.
• For Objective type games work together and try to use the Warthog whenever you can. Three people can go in the Warthog and one person on your team can get the Rockets if its 4 on 4. If you are going in to a base make sure you have a dual-wield (SMG and Plasma Rifle is good for all maps). If not make sure you have grenades or atleast a battle rifle.
• Most people don’t like the noob combo. Cause well uhh.. people will call you a noob and say HAHA YOUR GAY YOU STUPID NOOB. Noob Combo actually needs some skill to get that one headshot off the BR once the enemy’s shield is down.
• Also, blocking the teleporter can also be good in CTF games. I would suggest having atleast one person guarding the blocked teleport incase someone tries to unblock it :P. If you are on the blue team you would block your on base so the enemy cant get your flag and go through the portal. The blue base portal brings you to the overshield so it would be best for the person on your team blocking the portal to get the overshield!
• Don’t forget the shotgun! It is also a very good weapon on this map even though it is very big. Especially for assualt it is very helpful so you can kill everyone while your teammate is arming the bomb.

• From Marddin – I truly love this map for Objective games such as Bomb or Flag. I have one good strategy for Multi or Single flag. When the game starts get one guy to drive the warthog one in the side seat and one in the turret and the last one grabs the sniper and goes through the teleporter to snipe anybody trying to get the rockets oranybody around him. The group in the warthog go straight to the opposing base, if your getting shot at by anything keep going, DO NOT STOP. When the warthog gets close to the opening on the left side (the one that is attached to the floor, not the one with the little bridge you have to walk across) slow down a bit so its easier to get out. Timing this is crucial but the side seat and the turret man should get out of the warthog so they land right next to the opening. Hoping there’s no one on top of the base the side seat man jumps down into the base and immediatly and as quickly as possible picks up the flag, jumps, and throws it up. As this is happening the turret man should be preparing for the grab on top of the base. The turret man grabs the flag from the throw and runs straight to the teleporter. Meanwhile immediately after the drop off of the side seat and the turret man the warthog driver should drive as quick as possible to the exit teleporter of the opposing base. The flag carries jumps into the warthog and the warthog should drive as fast as possible to the base. Take it in either the bottom or the sides, I prefer the back. While the warthog is racing back to the base the sniper (if still alive) needs to snipe anybody coming towards the base. If this works out it’s a perfect strategy for offence and if done with perfect precision it can also be a very quick capture. Sorry for the lengthy strategy but it’s very useful and I wanted to hit everypoint.

• Still From Marddin:

• A very useful jump is in the back of the base. Running up the ramp on the right side run all the way up till you get close to the wall and jump as you hit the wall and crouch at the climax of your jump and if timed correctly you can get from the back of the base to the top very simply. Its a very easy to jump to perfect and very useful.
• Communication on this map is so0o0o0o crucial. I cannot stress it enough. Identifing who has what weapon such as the Rockets or Sniper or if the opposing team currently wields any of the powerful weapons. Of course the extra ammo for the sniper is in between the two rocks in front of each base. In a team slayer match the sniper is the most powerful weapon in my eyes. If you dont not have at least one sniper you may just call it quits because if you have a very good or even decent sniper you can just rack up on so0o many kills. Most teams are focusing on “GO GET THE ROCKETS BEFORE THEY DO!” THe rockets while still a very powerful and strong weapon to me is a 2nd or 3rd priority in a team slayer match of course. In a objective game on defense you MUST get the rockets. Always have the person on your team closest to the ghost rush the rockets in the ghost as quick as possible.
• Timing the over is also veyr smart to do. I unfortunatly(sp?) do not know the spawn time for the overshield but a quick custom game can figure out the spawn times.

• From Cod35tar – Great Tactic for CTF and Assault: The snipers on Coagulation are the top priority weapon on this map. The tactic is to take the enemies sniper away from them, because its a super weapon it doesnt respawn until its dropped. Just try to find the enemy sniper and take him out and pick it up or get someone else to (it wont work if the guy getting the enemy sniper already HAS your sniper because he will just get the ammo out of it). Now your team have both snipers and you can mount a VERY effective defence or offence, but just stay up high so you can see most of the map and look out for enemy ghosts or banshee’s coming for you because they are VERY ANNOYING!

• From The2Cheat – Ghost Bumping: Ram a teammate with the Banshee and send him across the map. He said lots of other things too. Check the podcast.