I. Introduction
II. Controls
III. Terrain
IV. Exchanging attacks
V. Dodging
VI. Using your items
VII. Additional Tips
I. INTRODUCTION
Hello, Grahf here. In this guide I will be discussing everything there is to know and learn concerning all aspects of WWII (World War II). I will go in depth over how to exchange fire, properly use items, and manipulating terrain to your advantage. I will also supply tidbits of miscellaneous advice not coinciding under any of the other tutorial categories. This guide, for the sake of simplicity, will apply to Recon (SH) ver1.0, however, this guide can encompass any other WWII map as well.
SHOOTING - Click on desired enemy or ctrl + click on ground.
POTSHOT - Click enemy unit and quickly click away onto ground after the first shot.
STAB - Click an enemy unit, quickly hit u (taunt key) and click enemy unit again. This may take practice.
GRENADE - When you have a grenade, hold T and select desired enemy or click anywhere on the ground.
INCENDIARY GRENADE - When you have a incendiary grenade, hold T and click on desired enemy or ground to throw.
FAST INCEDIARY GRENADE - When you have a incendiary grenade, hold T and click your own unit. Your incendiary grenade will be thrown very fast in the direction you're facing.
RPG - When you have an rpg, hold T and click mid distance between you and your desired target and let loose. (See using your items for in depth analysis).
FAST RPG - When you have an rpg, hold T and click your own unit. Your rpg will fire very fast in the direction you're facing.
MEDKIT - When you have a medkit, click on the desired unit you wish to heal. You can also throw away a medkit by clicking anywhere close to you on the ground. You can't pick the medkit back up once it's thrown.
Terrain is the best weapon in WWII. If you use it well, it will give back in return. Misuse it and you could find yourself staring down an oncoming rpg aimed at your face. Terrain plays a vital role in where your RPG's land, how your grenades will bounce on the ground, and how you exchange fire.
There are four kinds of terrain in WWII: flat land, swamps, obstructing objects (ie. boxes, trees, flags), and hills. All these objects play a crucial factor in how you should perform on the field.
---FLAT LAND-------------------------------------------------------------
Land is the basic element of Recon, encompassing 75% of the map. It allows for easy exchange of fire and operation of RPG's. Avoid using grenades on it as they have very little bounce and your enemies can dodge them easiely.
---SWAMPS----------------------------------------------------------------
Avoid swamps at all costs! Swamps decrease your movement speed by 50%, making it very difficult to dodge bullets, RPG's, and grenades. Only incendiary grenades are rendered useless and will promptly be put out when they make contact on the swamp's surface. If you find yourself starting Recon in the swamps then use the small islands of land for mobility. Smart players will sometimes throw a grenade at you to push you into the swamps, exposing you to easy bullet fire. Use best judgement and avoid the grenade any which way besides entering the swamps.
---OBSTRUCTING OBJECTS--------------------------------------------
Trees, boxes, flags, and any other impassable doodads render bulletfire obsolete. Use these objects to return fire, then to quickly hide behind for cover. Trees and flags tend to bounce grenades away from their desired targets, making them great to hide behind for you or your opponent to use a medpack in safety..
---HILLS---------------------------------------------------------------------
Try to find a position on a high hill when fighting. Usually, the higher you are than your enemy, the better off you are. Exceptions to this is hiding behind a hill. Hill's make great bullet blockers if you and your opponent are on opposite ends. On high ground, you can use a self clicked fast RPG on your opponent, but he or she won't be able to on you due to your height superiority. Charging up a hill to rush is suicide. You can't fire uphill but a player can certainly fire downhill, meaning by the time the hill is scaled you could have only half your health left, leaving you in a bad positiion to fight it out with the guy already on the hill.
Attacking.... it's the basis of WWII and therefore should be what you excel at. A lucky RPG could always win it for another player, but overall the person who fires and moves well is the dominant.
There are actually a variety of attacking methods you can employ on your opponents:
---NORMAL THREE SHOT-------------------------------------------------
This is your basic attack. Click on a unit and he will shoot out three bullets before having to stop to reload. Despite it being quite basic and easy to do, it's one of the most effective shooting methods. Don't overuse this technique in a partner match. Three shots will keep you in a stalled position, completely acceptable to enemy fire and getting shot up. Smart players can also easiely dodge this three shot combo from afar as the bullet trajectories are very predictable, however, when you have a partner firing with you or when you're up close to the enemy, you can't get better than this. Avoid using this shot at extreme distances. Chances are you'll hit nothing but air.
---POT SHOT----------------------------------------------------------------
This is the best technique from far distances and is my preferred method of offense. It's performed by firing a shot and then quickly afterwards, moving your soldier. If successful you will have fired only one shot, then be moving. It's versatile and a nice fail safe technique. At first, you will be failing this technique by accidentally firing two shots. Avoid this at any costs. A soldier reloads after two and three shots so you will be unable to fire if you accidentally fire off two shots. Pot shots are also the safest technique, as it doesn't leave you prone as long as the normal three shot. Pot shots are also harder to dodge, but not as punishing as a three shot technique even if you hit. Pot shots are unpredictable, quick, and don't force players into reloading. With practice, you'll be hurling one bullet shots effortlessly. Eventually you will be able to string pot shots together, effectively forcing the opponent to constantly stop, dodge, and unable to return fire in fear of getting hit. Used properly, you will be a force to be reckoned with.
---CONTROL CLICK SHOTS-----------------------------------------------
These shots are the hardest to perform and even with practice, the less likely to be successful in hitting your opponents. They do offer 100% unpredictaibility and freedom of choice of where to fire. Only use this technique at far distances where normal or pot shots are likely to never hit. Be wary that ctrl shots don't "magically roll across hills." Thus control shots are only effective on flat land or when you're on high ground. Most players don't even bother with control click shots. Only start to practice/master this once you are comfortable with all other aspects of WWII'ing. With practice, you will be surprised at how many times you actually hit your enemy.
---STABBING-----------------------------------------------------------------
I see so many games end in victory or defeat with lucky or unlucky stabs. Stabs are effective as a last resort when you are losing a firefight. There really is not much to say about it. The only skill to stabbing is initiating it (clicking on enemy unit, hitting taunt key, then clicking on enemy unit again) and once initiated it's just sitting back and crossing your fingers in hopes of winning. Two stabs usually kill, although three stabs aren't uncommon. So the more health you come into a stab war with, the better your chances of winning. Be careful of defeated enemies dropping unused RPG's and incendiary grenades!
If you aren't dodging and moving, your gonna get bullets up your ass (or a facial, whatever you prefer). Learning to dodge bullets is key to survival. Remember this, if you stand still when an enemy fires, you can almost guarantee the bullet will hit you unless you move. Soldiers aren't archers, meaning they won't miss. As long as conditions are ideal (ie no hills or obstructing objects) they will hit 100% of the time. This is actually good, as it makes dodging bullets all the more predictable and easy.
To properly dodge you should understand Myth 2 bullet trajectories. A bullet is always going to go straight in the direction it's fired. Factor in soldiers 100% accuracy rating and you can make sensible decisions of how to dodge. One thing to consider is the closer you are to the enemy, the harder it is to dodge. When you're in your opponents face, it's nearly impossible to dodge.
There are generally two methods of dodging. The first method is sidestepping perpendicular to the trajectory of the bullet. When sidestepping, don't just keep moving. When the enemy fires, stop your guy. This will trick the bullet and have it fly harmlessly past you in the front. Resume sidestepping again to trick any more bullets and repeat until necessary until the enemy has fired off two to three shots or when you deem it safe to stop and return fire yourself. Another method of dodging bullets is a bit riskier but is a lot more full proof and safer in dodging at far distances. While sidestepping, simply run around in a circle in a controlled manner. Make sure you don't do 180 degree turns while performing your circle dodge! If you do then your guy will stop and rotate, making you a bull's eye for enemy bullets.
A seemingly heat seeking grenade, a fast direct rpg, an incendiary grenade up the ass, all of these can mean the difference between winning and losing. But how do you achieve one of these daunting tasks? The first and utmost key is simply practice, but it won't help you if you don't know how to maximize the benefits of these items in the first place, let alone to begin properly practicing.
HOW TO USE: When you have a grenade, hold T and select desired enemy or click anywhere on the ground.
STRATEGIES: Grenades should be used sparingly! Even if you have six grenades, that doesn't mean you should be throwing like mad. A grenade counts as firing three shots from your gun, meaning you must wait a few seconds after throwing a grenade. Throwing a grenade also leaves you prone for a second, leaving you open to bulletfire. I've seen many a player toss a grenade only to be slapped in the face with three bullets while doing so, not a good trade. Don't use grenades on flat land either. They have little to no bounce and are easy to dodge. Your time is better spent shooting off your gun. Only toss grenades when you deem it safe to do so. It's highly encouraged to throw grenades where your bulletfire can't reach such as behind hills, trees, etc.
HOW TO USE: When you have a incendiary grenade, hold T and click on desired enemy or ground to throw. To throw it fast (RPG style) hold T and click your own unit. Your incendiary grenade will be thrown very fast in the direction you're facing.
STRATEGIES: Incendiary grenades, unlike grenades, can be thrown very fast. This makes them effective "mini RPGs." A direct hit incendiary can take out 3/4 of a soldier's health! Not bad at all. Incendiary grenades, like RPG's, also blow up on the ground when you die. Thus, if you are holding an incendiary, plan on getting into a stabbing war. If you die you will still drop your incendiary, dealing massive damage to your opponent (hopefully killing him). Beware when picking up incendiaries. An RPG can easiely pop an incendiary at your feet and deal incredible damage to you. When picking incendiaries up off the ground, at a certain angle, they look like normal grenades so you might want to rotate the camera to decipher whats what.
HOW TO USE: When you have a medkit, click on the desired unit you wish to heal. You can also throw away a medkit by clicking anywhere close to you on the ground. You can't pick the medkit back up once it's thrown.
STRATEGIES: The only strategy involved with a medkit is learning how to abuse it. Because medkits heal a unit (including enemies) it's an effective method of freezing the enemy in place for a player or yourself to take advantage of them being prone. This can mean a grenade under their feet, an easy direct RPG, an incendiary, or a nice three shot fire combo. In bodycount matches these can be very deadly. Never use a medkit on yourself in a bodycount match unless you're alone! This will only add more life to you and give opponents a chance to add more damage to their score. Instead, use a medkit against another player. This will give you additional damage to your score. This is especially handy in a ffa match when you are firing it out with a newb. If done, a defeated enemy soldier could give you upwards of 20 bc points or more (each soldier is worth 10 points), usually placing you in 1st or 2nd place for the game. If you aren't in a bodycount match then usually it's not worth healing an enemy. Heal yourself instead. Healing yourself takes two times longer than the normal heal duration freezetime. Keep this in mind and heal behind protection. Your partners will also respect you if you heal them when they are weak because a normal heal freezetime will result, possibly meaning the difference between escaping a life threatening enemy grenade.and not.
HOW TO USE: When you have an rpg, hold T and click mid distance between you and your desired target and let loose. To fire a fast RPG, hold T and click your own unit. Your rpg will fire very fast in the direction you're facing.
STRATEGIES: RPG's are your priority one pickup item. I don't care if you can't shoot it worth crap, pick it up anyways. RPG's can be deadly for you and your opponent when used well. The main point of advice I can give is simply practice. Everything I tell you makes up for shit if you don't practice with the RPG. I guarantee it will take you a thousand games before you master the RPG, but don't give up. I will however instruct you on how to use it well to practice well. First you need to evaluate your terrain, your enemies position, your own position, and where to designate your ground click for approrpriate height and distance of the RPG. An RPG can be fired one of two ways: far away or fast and close. When used faraway, a good rule of thumb is to target halfway between you and the enemy....if you are both on completely flat ground. When you throw terrain into the formula, you have to adjust your "half distance mark" to compensate for the sloping ground which can cleverly add a huge margin of error if you fail to adjust. You will typically want to fire a far RPG only when you are downhill, when you want to blow an RPG pile from a distance, kill a very weak healthed opponent, or when you want to discard the RPG to pick up either another RPG or a medkit. For the most part, you will want to conserve your RPG for an up and close fast RPG. These RPG's are not only more accurate but are harder to predict and dodge as well. Close direct RPG's do have a disadvantage - height. You can not designate the height of a close RPG, period. This is why using a direct RPG from downhill will not only miss, but hit you as well. It will simply take practice to differentiate what will be a "well shot" RPG from a "lousy shot" one. Here are a few screenshots to help you measure distance:
-Never stab rush a guy on a ffa when you are carrying an RPG, it's rude and newb like. It causes an unfair win situation for your opponent to occur because if your opponent wins the stab then you drop the RPG, most likely killing him. If you win the stab then good for you. Instead, be a man and throw the RPG at close distance and don't just hold it with the intentions of dying and dropping it.
-At the beginning of a huge ffa Recon match, consider throwing an RPG to the left or right starting positions if you are very close to your starting RPG. It may not kill the guy near the targeted starting place, but it will likely cause severe damage.
-Don't risk throwing a faraway RPG on a full health enemy who isn't on a RPG pile. Not only will you likely miss, but the enemy may rush you with the intentions of close RPG'ing you to take advantage of you not having an RPG. RPG's are precious, don't waste them foolishly.
-When in a team match, try having your team flank and surround your opponent's team and bunch them up together. This will stir them into confusion and make them easy prey to tossed grenades and RPG's. The team who is surrounded will also have a hard time getting around their partners who may be blocking their bullet trajectory paths.
-If you didn't see your opponent fire an RPG, then don't assume he doesn't have one.
-Never pick up any item off the ground when you are unsure if your opponent has an RPG or not. Popped RPG's and incendiary grenades off the ground can cause major damage to you if you are on or near them.
-Swamps=Bulls eye on your ass; Stay away. Use any other means necessary to travel around swampy area. Your dog will thank you.
-If you are being backstabbed by two opponents then back out and retreat! The only exception to this would be on body count matches. Don't attempt to fight back and strafe dodge away from the two players (just make sure you don't run into the swamps on the way).
-On KOTH games, rush for the flag early. Not only will this state "you aren't a camper" but you will have at least tagged the flag, putting you above players who didn't tag the flag. On average, about 1/4 of a ffa game of WWII players never reach the flag. Tagging it will put you above all those players. Many scenarios, you will be the only one at the flag and will sometimes go unchallenged and hold the flag for as much as 30 seconds!
-There is a known bug called the "hill bug." This bug basically causes soldiers on much lower ground to be unable to shoot uphill against soldiers on higher ground. Whether the maker of WWII made this intentional or not no one knows but whatever the case, you shouldn't rush up a hill and you shouldn't expect your soldier to fire at the enemy when you're downhill. If you are uphill and your enemy is downhill then try not to let your opponent scale the hill so you can pull off free shots.
-Never trade for cannons no matter the gametype or amount of players. A cannon costs 16 points and a soldier costs 4 points in unit trade. This means a cannon would have to kill 4 enemy soldiers just to make up for its point value. A cannon would be lucky to off three soldiers in a game. Trade out the cannon for four more soldiers. You will be glad you did.