Duper wrote:yeah, avoid VV. It's one of the drawbacks of playing that level. You are subject to constant railing.
Excuse me, your solution is, "Avoid V.V."?!
Give me a break. Avoidance is no solution whatsoever.
Messenjah is clearly enjoying the challenge of successfully capturing a flag, but is asking for some tactical advice on how to do so. I was in the same situation not too many months ago, myself. I absolutely
love running the flag (I never could stand playing defense for any length of time), but was getting killed every time I tried to escape with it.
Despite my frustration, I kept playing in Veins, even though I was constantly outmatched. Eventually, after much practice, and lots of tips from people I was playing with (I think I even posted a thread like this one at one point), I started learning.
I'm no expert, and a number of the regular Veins players still have a skill/experience edge on me, but I've earned a little respect as a flag-runner, so here are a few quick tips off the top of my head:
1. Orientation - Especially in a level like Veins, you need to get very familiar with the layout. After a while, you'll get to the point where you almost instinctively know which direction to take, and where you're most likely to encounter opposing pilots.
2. Fight/Flight Balance - whether you're getting to the flag or running with it, you will constantly be faced with the decision, "Do I pause to fight, or run?" There are
lots of factors to consider, including whether the opponent sees/hears you, how skilled they are, what ship they're flying, how far away they are, and whether they are behind or in front of you. After playing a while, you'll start to get a feel for which pilots you can blaze past, and which ones you need to fight off (generally the staunch defenders, who won't easily let you by).
3. Movement - in an MD-heavy level like Veins, one tip is to
never move in a straight line, especially when running the flag. When I first started, I tried to just tri-chord/pulse as fast as I could along the shortest route, but that just made me an easy target.
4. Misdirection - good pilots will be watching for it, but you can often shake a couple of the lesser-experienced pilots by starting a flag-escape in one direction for a moment, and then when they close in, suddenly cut back the other direction. It's most effective if you can stop just above or just below the defenders, and get them wheeling around trying to find you.
5. Timing - this one is extremely important, and I'm still learning it. If possible, time your runs for when the defense is distracted. When you first manage to grab the flag, your instinct is to run... but sometimes it's better to hold your ground for a few moments, catching the defenders with secondaries, before making your run. The added benefit to this is that it gives a little extra time for your teammates to come up behind the defenders and cover your exit. Of course, don't wait
too long, or your cover will die off, and the defenders have had a chance to re-spawn/re-arm.
6. (and the most important) Teamwork - pay attention to who is playing what role, and where your teammates are... you'll find that the most veteran players are very willing to help. Playing the "Lone Ranger" doesn't work well, trust me.
Oh, and one final point: Do everything you can on both offense
and defense. Even if you're a flag-runner by nature (like me),
your role changes when your team's flag is taken, so you have to be ready to do whatever your team needs.
) -- clients will get a lot "reliable buffer overrun". I prefer to disable MW allowing all ships.
