Any tips on aiming rifles?

[rwlarson]

This is my first time posting here, and before I get flamed to death, I did actually search through the forums and look through posts, but did not find exactly what I was looking for.

I've just started playing BF2, though I pubbed it briefly when it first came out with friends of mine who asked me to try it, and am trying to adjust from being a CSer. Just from having played CS 1.6 at a fairly high level, (for those who know what CAL is, I've won CAL-Premier once, and should have won it twice, and have several lan wins) I know that while experience is the most important factor, it's also important to practice good habits - from personal experience I've found that even some people in the highest leagues had incredibly flawed gun control, but compensated by having incredible raw aim - had they trained properly they likely would have been dominant players.

That said, I was wondering how some of the better players here actually aim when using an assault rifle. I've noticed the guns are relatively similar, though some have some distinct advantages over the others. Since I'm still learning the quirks of this game, I've been using the g36e a lot lately, which I admit seems a bit overpowered, but I guess I still feel "random." I guess some questions I have are:

1. How long should I wait between bursts when I'm a reasonable distance away? (Obviously, I'd be jamming left click if I'm too close.)

2. Is there any sort of recoil compensation I should be doing when in burst fire mode? I.e., should I pull down slightly as the bullets come out?

3. About what range can I reasonably expect to hit people standing up, and how much of a penalty is there for shooting while moving?

Any other little tricks to improve my gun skill would be appreciated.

[imported_Neptune]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

This is my first time posting here, and before I get flamed to death, I did actually search through the forums and look through posts, but did not find exactly what I was looking for.

I've just started playing BF2, though I pubbed it briefly when it first came out with friends of mine who asked me to try it, and am trying to adjust from being a CSer. Just from having played CS 1.6 at a fairly high level, (for those who know what CAL is, I've won CAL-Premier once, and should have won it twice, and have several lan wins) I know that while experience is the most important factor, it's also important to practice good habits - from personal experience I've found that even some people in the highest leagues had incredibly flawed gun control, but compensated by having incredible raw aim - had they trained properly they likely would have been dominant players.

That said, I was wondering how some of the better players here actually aim when using an assault rifle. I've noticed the guns are relatively similar, though some have some distinct advantages over the others. Since I'm still learning the quirks of this game, I've been using the g36e a lot lately, which I admit seems a bit overpowered, but I guess I still feel "random." I guess some questions I have are:

1. How long should I wait between bursts when I'm a reasonable distance away? (Obviously, I'd be jamming left click if I'm too close.)

2. Is there any sort of recoil compensation I should be doing when in burst fire mode? I.e., should I pull down slightly as the bullets come out?

3. About what range can I reasonably expect to hit people standing up, and how much of a penalty is there for shooting while moving?

Any other little tricks to improve my gun skill would be appreciated.

1. what i do, with the g36e and most guns, is try to wrap the crosshairs as closely as possible to your target (not zooming). basically your trying to click as many times without making the crosshairs spread out over the target. Keep the crosshairs tight, which means you wont deviate much.

2.i only find pulling down slightly effective with support guns. other guns you have to simply readjust after every burst.

3. Avoid shooting while moving. only do this if you are close range, and they are prone. They will have to shoot a moving target, while your shooting a stationary target. Even though the deviation is increased significantly, it makes it much harder for them to hit you.

welcome to the forums!

[Nicfurious29]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

Well you are using the best gun in the game. Any other gun you will encounter will be by far inferior to the g36e.

My best advice for you is to remember that this game wasnt created with competetive and skillful players in mind. Shots are random and bullets rarely go where there supposed to (excluding g36e).

Learn to rely on your surroundings if you truely want to be good at this game.

[mills7777]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

go tap,tap tap tap, then let off a burst of auto at the target

[ACE_FIN1972]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

There are plenty of good threads written about this. Use search button

[AmericanDad]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

I think there's not much skill to aiming in bf2, the hit detection isn't that good anyway and bullets will miss at random (like in real life I guess). Generally the bullet will go where your crosshair goes but different weapons need different tactics: the spec ops g36 works best in full auto but the sa80 is better in semi auto for instance. With the m16 the 3 round burst is more effective when not zoomed, but semi auto shots when zoomed are pretty lethal. You just have to play the game loads and you'll find out the best way to use the different weapons on offer...

[Chris_Redfield]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

What I suggest you to do is check out some BF2 ownage videos as they show how people play. Ive found them to be of great assistance to myself.

Just take out that video.google.com, www.youtube.com and a bowl of popcorn and familiarize yourself with the shooting style of the more experienced players.

Good luck.

[Moke]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

In general with range shooting... Aim for the left side of the neck (unless theyre running from side to side, then compensate)

The guns pul slightly up and to the right... And theres a deviation built in which increases the more bullets you fire..

Someone made a overview of all the guns back in the days (summer 2005).. try bf2s for details :

http://wiki.bf2s.com/weapons/unlocks/

[vesuvan]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

What I suggest you to do is check out some BF2 ownage videos as they show how people play. Ive found them to be of great assistance to myself.

Yes indeed. I've learned a lot just by watching REAL pros. I've started mastering the AK-101 and M16 (Standard Assault Rifles) using single-shot mode only. Load up a single-player expert bot server and practice. Yes bot tactics are stupid, but their accuracy and awareness of your position can be ungodly. Being that you are an experienced CS player, there's no need to cover combat tactics. It's more a matter of re-training your use of guns in BF2 vs CS. I used to play a lot of CS:S about a year ago, and kind of understand your frustration with the weapons/hit detection of BF2.

Also, the exact aim on every gun is not perfectly set on the center of the crosshair. Check this out http://www.secretsofbattlefield.com/...pic.php?t=1442

[markan dorka]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

Hi, welcome to BF2 :) .. since you've played a lot of CS, I'll try to give some advice on those terms.

Thing with BF2 is, that pretty much all the guns are rather inaccurate (first shot), they spread with longer bursts, but in my opinion, not as much as CS. This somewhat means that the longer the range between you and your opponent is, in head-on situation, outcome is pretty much coin toss. Both of you can miss perfectly aimed shots, and score BS headshots. In a way, assault rifle behavior in BF2 is closer to SMGs in CS, than ARs. You probably like G36E most because playing with it reminds of CS the most.

Also, maps in BF2 are open (duh :P), which changes the dynamics entirely. In CS, you pretty much have a good hunch where your opponent will come from at all times, and people have limited responses to situations due to map layout. In BF2, you have option to initiate combat from WAY more angles than in CS (and have way more escape routes), which, in a way, makes the inaccurate guns a good thing - it keeps the game flowing.

I personally think, that the most efficent way to kill people is to not to engage them in long range (and trust on a coin toss) unless you get like 10 free shots at him because you flanked him or something like that. The closer you get, more accurate your guns are, your reactions have more impact on outcome, and less chances you give him to break combat, heal, and re-engage. Also, close combat is where flags are taken and kept .. and long range kills are easier to revive anyway. This is mostly why snipers are so useless in gameplay sense.

This, in my opinion, leads to that instead of raw aim, your most important skill is the ability to maneuver around / over / between the enemy - force close combat, and in your terms. If you get half a second jump on somebody on long range, it's pretty much irrelevant - in close combat, it's winner. You'll also benefit more from quick and accurate aim + good reactions up close.

About burst firing, your goal is to put fatal amount of bullets in your opponent in shortest amount time - there probably IS a correct delay between each shot, that gives you highest chance of survival.. Also, less health you have, usually means your best option is to fire longer bursts and luck out - you don't have luxury of prolonged combat, where just one hit would kill you. You learn the correct firerate by experience, it varies from range to range (and stance to stance), and your best bet is just to kill a lot and trust on your intuition.

This turned out to be a rant, but to answer your particular questions ;

1. There's no such thing as too close .. but, let's say, in game terms 30-40 metres, about 2 2-3 round bursts per second (maybe a bit slower) when prone, zoomed, gives you pretty secure kills, depending on a gun.

2. There's no spread patterns as in CS, deviation, as far as I know, is completely random. Recoil just moves your sight after shots, so obviously the recoil compensation = repositioning your aim at the target :)

3. Depends on a gun a lot (and what you consider resonable), but I'd say, standing up, about 30 metres without zooming, 40 zoomed should give you a hit more often than not. Moving pretty much doubles or triples your inaccuracy (depending on a gun).

Remember that BF2 runs on a rather low tickrate (and netcode isn't exactly the best), so when your target is moving across your screen, you probably want to lead a bit, aiming *directly* at target won't give you a hit.

This all is pretty subjective anyway

[Nicfurious29]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

This turned out to be a rant, but to answer your particular questions ;

1. There's no such thing as too close .. but, let's say, in game terms 30-40 metres, about 2 2-3 round bursts per second (maybe a bit slower) when prone, zoomed, gives you pretty secure kills, depending on a gun.

2. There's no spread patterns as in CS, deviation, as far as I know, is completely random. Recoil just moves your sight after shots, so obviously the recoil compensation = repositioning your aim at the target :)

3. Depends on a gun a lot (and what you consider resonable), but I'd say, standing up, about 30 metres without zooming, 40 zoomed should give you a hit more often than not. Moving pretty much doubles or triples your inaccuracy (depending on a gun).

Remember that BF2 runs on a rather low tickrate (and netcode isn't exactly the best), so when your target is moving across your screen, you probably want to lead a bit, aiming *directly* at target won't give you a hit.

This all is pretty subjective anyway

All of this would be great advice if all guns reacted the same.....but since they do not this is pretty much irrelevant. The PKM cant hit anything within 2 inches if you stand or crouch.

[camper.]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

RPM? You mean RPK? I can friggin snipe with that thing standing up, it's deadly accurate. I use it as an assault rifle with a large clip.

I don't understand why you're over-analysing this. This isn't CS where certain patterns result in 100% accuracy. This game is point, shoot in bursts and pray packet loss doesn't occur.

[Nicfurious29]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

Actually i meant the PKM. I edited my post. And yes RPK rocks!!

[davelisowski]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

Yeah, I spam this thread all over, but it really helps with aiming. It's good to know which guns are off in regards to the sights, and where the sights actually are.

Although most people prone spam for shots, I find that crouching can be just as effective, and sometimes more effective.

The less you shoot, the better - meaning there will be less recoil. Don't use guns on Automatic, and if you do, only shoot 3-4 bullets at a time.

[DesertFalcon]

Re: Any tips on aiming rifles?

point and click make sure the ironsight is on the target and its easy.