Saur
08-26-2005, 10:50 AM
-:|[ SAFE Shooting v1.1 ]|:-
Contents
1.) Disclaimer
2.) Network Tweaks
---> a.) Resources
3.) SAFE Shooting
---> a.) Sight
---> b.) Acquire
---> c.) Fire
---> d.) Evade
4.) Aiming Theory, Technique, and Training
---> a.) Training Speed and Accuracy
---> b.) The First Shot
---> c.) The Headshot
---> d.) The 180
---> e.) Strafe Shooting
---> f.) Reflex Shooting
---> g.) Recovery
Disclaimer
First off, I want to clarify that I offer this guide as a sincere attempt to help any who read it improve their ability. I don't claim to know all the answers in cs:s, much less on a competitive level, but what I have come to understand, however much or little, works for me on a consistent basis and regardless of the boundaries of my own understanding I'd like to pass on what I know to you, the reader.
And so we begin...
Network Tweaks
First of all, its important to make sure you have properly configured internet settings for your cs:s game. You don't want to stick with the default 56k values.
There are 4 core client-side command variables (cvars) that you should consider adjusting.
The most important one is rate. The second most important ones are cl_cmdrate and cl_updaterate. Finally, interp can be used to further optimize your cs:s game.
I recommend:
rate 25000
cl_cmdrate 100
cl_updaterate 100
cl_interp 0.0298
You'll wanna put the autoexec.cfg into your yournamehere/counter-strikesource/cstrike/cfg dir. If you name it "autoexec.cfg" it'll automatically apply the settings for you when you start CS:S, otherwise you'll have to type them into console manually every time you start CS:S.
Resources
Here are some links to help you understand the mechanics behind cs:s. It'll help you understand how hit registration works (which is fine, btw) how interpolation works, and what soem of the above commands do/mean.
Whisper's "High tickrate and rate SRCDS FAQ"
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=293285&perpage=15&pagenumber=1
Valve's Source Multiplayer Networking Explanation
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Source_Multiplayer_Networking
SAFE Shooting
I was reading one of Marcinko's books when I came upon one of his many one-liners and it stuck with me. As an adaptation for CS:S, it became:
Sight, Acquire, Fire, Evade
Sight
You're not going to be able frag your opponent if you can't see him. That's why it is so critical for you to develop your perception. The military calls this Situational Awareness. This is the most important skill to develop in the SAFE method. Many players have remarked on my ability to find the "last man". They call it hax, but it's really a developed perception and a superior understanding of the mechanics of cs:s.
The military defines SA as: "Situational Awareness refers to the degree of accuracy by which one's perception of his current environment mirrors reality."
Here's a couple of examples:
In game, we've all got an idea of whats going on during the round. "Oh, Saur's HSing people in B Tunnels." "Crap, we lost our Long A team." "Bomb's at B." "Last guy's in Sniper Tower." etc etc etc. But a good SA is so much more than that. A good SA knows that there's 3+ around the next corner, one with a shottie, one with an AK-47, one with a deagle, plus a chance of more players. A good SA knows that the one with the shottie is zilong, the one with the AK is Heat, and more than likely the one with the deagle is Estrella. A good SA knows that it's unlikely a straight up exchange is unlikely to yield victory. So, the player moves into a tactically advantaged position to allow him a chance to take 1 or 2 out while at the same time providing ample cover/escape to recover from recoil or retreat as necessary. A good SA processes all this in a picosecond.
Now, that doesn't carry you through the fight at all. When combat is upon you, when zilong comes around the corner and wants to put a 12-guage round in your chest, it's all up to your technical skill as a player vs. theirs. Let's say it pans out this way.
Zilong does in fact come around the corner, you open fire a bit low and hit'em in the chest. He responds and puts a shell in your chest, but not enough to kill. You plant one in his skull and just as heat comes out the spray from your burst at zilong catches him in the face as well. Suddenly, a nub comes around a corner with a P90 and sprays you too, ya take some damage, but manage to gun him down as well. Now, with low health you move to retreat while keeping your crosshair near the open corner. Estrella comes out, but because you've practiced your strafe shooting, you cut bck the other way, your crosshair aligns on his skull, and ya pop him too, ftw.
That can happen. Or, you could waste'em all. Or ya could die after the first exchange. When the moment of action is comes, your ability to aim swiftly and accurately directly competes against their ability to aim swiftly and accurately.
However... it is a undeniable fact that having a developed SA increases your chances of success exponentially.
Consider this, what if you weren't paying attention. And didn't notice the team mates death icons in the corner of your screen showing zilong shooting someone with a shottie, and estrella capping two folks in the face with a deagle. Those team mates who just happened to head toward B Tunnels from spawn which you failed to notice. Also, despite previous rounds, ya fail to notice that Heat's been going that way pretty often and is more 'n likely gonna be there again.
So you're runnin' around, turn a corner, and oh feces! A shottie, an ak, a deagle, and a P90 are pointing at your wide open nubly body.
Chances for survival? Slim.
Those are some simple examples, the latter a bit extreme. We all have a some degree of SA and use it to a point, but to cultivate and refine it as a skill will make you a powerful jedi indeed.
Acquire
Now that you can find your enemy, you can destroy him.
The last thing you want to do is have a toe-to-toe gunfight with your opponent. You want to come at him from his flanks, his back, or surprise him when coming at his front. In order to place him and yourself in a desireable position, you'll have to develop your strategic thinking and come up with your own style of tactics.
In order to do this, you must understand timing. A basic knowledge of timing involves an understanding of getting to position A from spawn point B and if you can or can't beat your opponent while he sets up a firing position.
A good example of this is on Office. When as a T, you spawn between the front double doors, you can easily rush to the office area before the CTs and set up your ambush there. Another one is prodigy. Again as a T, you have to understand that smokes and flashes are your friend when going bunker because the CT has a superior timing in setting up superior firing positions.
That's simple stuff. The kind of timing I'm talking about takes it to the level of manipulation. You have to understand your own timing before anything. You have to know how long it'll take you to get here, how dangerous it'll be to switch from rifle to pistol to run faster, the risks of moving to this position or that, falling back or advancing forward. All this has to be instantaneous.
Then you have to understand your opponents timing. You have to know where he's going to move. You've got to know when he's trying to bait you, lure you, or set you up for an ambush and then ambush the ambush. You've got to manipulate his timing by luring him yourself, expecting him to counter the lure with a tricky move himself, and then destroy him while he moves into position.
With the more skilled players, for me, it turns into a deadly impromptu dance of death as my opponent and I move from this hall to the next trying to set each other up for a better firing angle, searching each other out to destroy one another.
Most of all, don't allow your opponent to disrupt your own timing. Harmonize. When he comes at you high, go low, when he comes at you low, go high. Have confidence in your abilities and know that whether or not you can beat them doesn't depend on their skill, but your own.
Fire
The best way to keep you and your team alive is to frag the opposing team. It's simple. It's direct. It's fun. ;D
I'll go over my firing techniques at the training section. For now, I want to say that you must learn to use all the weapons in cs:s. Pistols, Shotguns, SMGs, Rifles, the Para, grenades, flashes, and smokes.
Each function easy enough, but each have subtle differences that could be the difference between life 'n death in an exchange with the enemy. For instance, the MP5 is great if your HS skill is high because it's so inc#0e32a9ibly accurate. Spam them in the face and you win. However, it can take up to 6-8 shots to kill if you hit their body, which isn't good at all. The P90 is a good weapon because of his massive ammo clip, but is better for rushing and close quarters combat. Though a smart burst from the gun can be devestating at medium 'n longer ranges.
I like the USP because it's a 2 shot killer if you can tag'em in the face, and has enough ammo to carry ya through the exchange in the event you miss. Again though, no HS = a lot of body hits to kill.
I could go on and on about the different weapon types and their respective use, but these are things you're probably already familiar with. However, I do stress that you begin to investigate each individual weapon seriously to determine exactly for yourself what it's capable of and what it's not capable of.
Evade
Evasion is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of tactical FPS gaming. There is a method to this madness. When you retreat, you don't want to do so in a desperate attempt to escape incoming fire to simply nestle in a momentarily safe 'n cozy spot behind a wall or door or crate. You want to retreat in a way that will give you a definite advantage over your enemies.
It's a way of evading your opponents that's almost like reverse assault. But knowing what to do and when to do it is important. Even more important is to know when to not do anything at all. Just a small anecdote, but I remember chillin' in T spawn with another player on Aztec. Our team just got annihilated and we were going to have multiple opponents moving in on our position soon. I stressed patience would win the day and so we just sat there and waited. Sure enough, before long they came to us and after an intense exchange, we won the round.
Always move in a way that'll force your opponents to come at you one at a time. Corridors, doorways, or other choke points are excellent places to get yourself into. Also, rooms with a lot of stuff to jump over and hide behind (like office in cs_office).
Don't forget to Acquire your targets while Evading. Lure your opponents to their doom by actually revealing your general location, but shooting from a unique (sometimes open) spot and moving on. Attack them with the unexpected as hard as you can and you will survive. Evading isn't hiding. It's repositioning yourself to gain tactical advantage and then taking the initiative.
Finally, that concludes SAFE shooting. I hope it wasn't too much of a disappointment, some of the principles may seem barren or obvious, but really they're overlooked and underappreciated.
Aiming Theory, Technique, & Training
Now that you're familiarized with the concepts behind the SAFE shooting method, I'd like to offer you some practical shooting techniques to sharpen your aiming ability. But first, more theory...
Your aim is determined by these 3 factors:
1.) Speed
2.) Accuracy
3.) Recoil
Training Speed & Accuracy
From my experience, threat-response training (TRT) will develop your speed and accuracy. You must train your hand-eye coordination to do what you want it to do. To aim 'n fire when you want it to. Now, your body won't want to do it. So you have to shock it into action. You do this by putting it under stress. High intensity threat-response training is what you're looking for.
There are two good arena's that offer that kind of environment. That instagib source game, and the new CS:S Deathmatch servers that are springing up.
Unfortunately, instagib has some bugs that makes creating servers a hassle so it's not too popular. But, CS:S DM is growing in popularity. You can pick any weapon you want, both primary and secondary, and respawn around your team right after you die. It puts you in the action and keeps you there. This is also a superior method because it also lets you get quite accustomed the recoil of the weapons in cs:s (unlike instagib).
Normal CS:S isn't usually the proper kind of environment because when you die, you have to spectate, which allows your body too long of a break after too short of a training duration.
In CS:S DM, FOCUS the entire map. TRY to win. Play as HARD as you can, and then after the map, take a 5 minute break or so and REFLECT on how you just played. In fact, the BEST thing you could do is record yourself playing, then when the map is over, review that demo and look over what you could have done or should have done. F2 I believe gives you playback controls like fast forward 'n rewind. Do that 3-4 times a week, and and after about 4 or 5 weeks, you'll see HUGE performance gains.
Now then, for some actual firing techniques for you to work on while you train 'n play:
My 5 Shooting Techniques
1.) The First Shot
2.) The 160
3.) The Headshot
4.) Reflex Shooting
5.) Strafe Shooting
The First Shot
Use the deagle to improve your first shot. In essence, the deagle (since it's a pistol) is a first shot every shot. Force yourself to put the crosshair over the enemy players body FIRST, and THEN fire. Don't just spam the deagle in the general direction of the player. Put the crosshair on him, keep it on him, and fire.
The deagle's a good option because it's powerful enough to carry you through the round and has the range you'd come to expect from rifles. Also, it's short clip urges you to hit accurately because you can't afford to miss. You should strive to frag 3 players per round.
Of course, sometimes practicing with a deagle isn't practical. You definitely don't want to over-train with it. Otherwise, you're body will automatically operate on a deagle-basis even when you use a rifle. So practice smart with the deagle. Don't over do it. So after using a deagle, be sure to use your rifle, or a sniper rifle. Keep your training varied so that it doesn't grow stagnant. Again, work on acquiring your target first, THEN firing. Because, as Marcinko says, the Fire, Aim, Ready method is bullfeces... and, as I say, its FAR from accurate.
The Headshot
This is where ASMS comes into play, from the Patriot, Aim Small, Miss Small. Aim for their head, and don't miss. If you have a deagle or famas, there's little room for error. A mistake will cost you your round. But in practice, you shouldn't let this get you frustrated. Instead, when your time comes and you must spectate the rest of the round out, reflect on what you did and what happened.
For headshots, select the FAMAS and set it to 3 round burst. This is a natural skull buster if I ever saw. Don't let it's short ammo clip get you killed, it's an 8 shooter.
Actively try to aim for the head. Force yourself to move the cursor onto your opponents face and THEN fire. At first, you'll be as slow as molasses in december. But gradually, you'll get faster and faster. It'll be hard at first, but everything's hard at first. However, if you force yourself into shooting heads, you WILL get better.
The 180
This shot is one of my prized techniques in that I've trained myself to (on the fly) spin and cap a sneaky player right in the face when he comes at me from behind. This technique is something of a reflex response in that as soon as I know I'm taking damage from behind, I'm already facing the general player, then I plant one right in his face.
This may seem pretty obvious, but being a sneaky ninja myself, I often come up behind other players and blast'em from behind easily. And the ones that do try to turn and fire come up short. They spray 35-55 firing angles to the right or left of me in their attempt to spin shot me.
This could be due to a number of reasons, namely -- sensitivity. But I think it's mainly because most people don't actually practice their ability to turn quickly and shoot. The cs pro's generally play with LOW sensitivities such as 1.35 or 2.15, stuff liek that. It takes some of them 30 inches of mouse movement to do a 160. But they can execute it in a SPLIT second. That's why I think it's determined by training.
So work on it.
When you're getting attacked from behind, say calm. Whip around, aim, and kill the enemy. Practice finding out how fast and how far you have to move to do a 160 when you spawn. What I'd do is turn around while everyone runs off and spin, putting my crosshair on a friendly player. Same with hallways. I'll just be running through such 'n such tunnels, then bust a 160 to run the other way.
Strafe Shooting
I'm quite happy to announce that I've learned a new shooting technique. It's a little different from conventional strafe shooting, but I picked it up from playing on aim_ maps. Anyway it works like this.
Grab yourself a rifle (m4, ak, aug, sig) and when you're fighting, practice this simple, but powerful technique.
Strafe to the right, and strafe to the left.
As SOON as you hit your key to strafe to the left and let go of the Right Strafe key, fire your weapon at the enemy. It'll be as accurate as if you were crouching for the first 2 shots or so.
Then strafe from left to right.
Again, as soon as you switch keys, open fire. No matter how fast you're moving, it'll be as accurate as if you're standing still. You can do it -fast- too. You don't have to strafe very far, just enough to get up to a full run, 2 or 3 feet. Headshots with the m4 have never been easier.
Again, practice it as I said it. Don't fire while strafing. Only fire when you're changing directions. You'll be hard hitting, fast shooting monster. This may seem old, but I always strafe shot by strafing, stopping, then firing, and then strafing again. This eliminates two entire steps. It's now just strafe 'n shoot. Keep in mind it's more of a medium/long range solution. You can drop snipers easy :D
Reflex Shooting
Here's a quote from Bruce Lee, "The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be."
Reflex shooting should come out of you naturally. Just as naturally as you inhale and exhale, as naturally as you put your left foot in front of right foot when you walk, as naturally as blinking. Unfortunately, we weren't born with cs:s in our genes. So, we've got to internalize it. In order to get to this point though, it will take some effort. Here's how it works:
You have to practice all these techniques (including your own) until they become second nature. You do this by first concsiously executing them over and over and over again, each time just as intense as the first time. Never simply "go through the motions" -- you turn off your bodies learning ability doing that.
Instead, execute them just as hard as you would in a CAL-i Final match. Eventually, the technique will become second nature to you.
Next, as you begin to use the technique in different combat situations, (THROUGH USING IT) "it" will literally "tell" you how and when "it" can be best employed. What I mean here is that you can be like "Oh, I'ma strafe shoot everyone I see" and then strafe shoot the first three guys easy, then come up to the forth and try to do it but somehow instinctively know that it's not going to work so you have to stop, crouch, and shoot to finish him off because you felt your positioning was wrong or blablabla.
So, when you've come to realize the intents and purposes of the technique, and after you've come to understand it's concepts, "it" can find you, and you can find "it." This is because you'll become unbiased. You'll detach yourself from how you believe the shots should work, and simply let it be. What I'm saying is that after you've practiced it, after you've trained yourself using it, and after it's become second nature, and after its revealed itself to you, you can find expression through it and it through you -- which is what you want. Expression. It'll become just as powerful as Monet's brush on canvas, and hell's fire will rain from the heavens upon the hapless fools who come against you.
That's reflex shooting.
Because now it's more than action and reaction, it's interaction. It has moved from simply practicing the chords on a guitar, from learning a song note by note, and has turned into music... art.
Recovery
Training for better shooting is just like training anything else. You need to give yourself a break from time to time. Most of you can do this easily enough because you have your lives to attend too. When training you'll have to do it rigorously to shock your nervous system into action, but you MUST stop before fatigue. And yes, you can get fatigued playing CS. You can tell when you are getting fatigued when you're not doing nearly as well. When you're getting caught off-guard, having no "luck" or just plain sucking. You'd do more benefit in developing skill by stopping and taking a break than by continuing gameplay.
In fact, every so often, put CS or any of your games off for a week. Yes, a whole week. That'll give your CNS plenty of time to develop the neural networks it needs to produce the results you desire. It's not psycho mumbo jumbo. It's physical fact. When you get back, you'll actually be better.
<3 Saur
Contents
1.) Disclaimer
2.) Network Tweaks
---> a.) Resources
3.) SAFE Shooting
---> a.) Sight
---> b.) Acquire
---> c.) Fire
---> d.) Evade
4.) Aiming Theory, Technique, and Training
---> a.) Training Speed and Accuracy
---> b.) The First Shot
---> c.) The Headshot
---> d.) The 180
---> e.) Strafe Shooting
---> f.) Reflex Shooting
---> g.) Recovery
Disclaimer
First off, I want to clarify that I offer this guide as a sincere attempt to help any who read it improve their ability. I don't claim to know all the answers in cs:s, much less on a competitive level, but what I have come to understand, however much or little, works for me on a consistent basis and regardless of the boundaries of my own understanding I'd like to pass on what I know to you, the reader.
And so we begin...
Network Tweaks
First of all, its important to make sure you have properly configured internet settings for your cs:s game. You don't want to stick with the default 56k values.
There are 4 core client-side command variables (cvars) that you should consider adjusting.
The most important one is rate. The second most important ones are cl_cmdrate and cl_updaterate. Finally, interp can be used to further optimize your cs:s game.
I recommend:
rate 25000
cl_cmdrate 100
cl_updaterate 100
cl_interp 0.0298
You'll wanna put the autoexec.cfg into your yournamehere/counter-strikesource/cstrike/cfg dir. If you name it "autoexec.cfg" it'll automatically apply the settings for you when you start CS:S, otherwise you'll have to type them into console manually every time you start CS:S.
Resources
Here are some links to help you understand the mechanics behind cs:s. It'll help you understand how hit registration works (which is fine, btw) how interpolation works, and what soem of the above commands do/mean.
Whisper's "High tickrate and rate SRCDS FAQ"
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=293285&perpage=15&pagenumber=1
Valve's Source Multiplayer Networking Explanation
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Source_Multiplayer_Networking
SAFE Shooting
I was reading one of Marcinko's books when I came upon one of his many one-liners and it stuck with me. As an adaptation for CS:S, it became:
Sight, Acquire, Fire, Evade
Sight
You're not going to be able frag your opponent if you can't see him. That's why it is so critical for you to develop your perception. The military calls this Situational Awareness. This is the most important skill to develop in the SAFE method. Many players have remarked on my ability to find the "last man". They call it hax, but it's really a developed perception and a superior understanding of the mechanics of cs:s.
The military defines SA as: "Situational Awareness refers to the degree of accuracy by which one's perception of his current environment mirrors reality."
Here's a couple of examples:
In game, we've all got an idea of whats going on during the round. "Oh, Saur's HSing people in B Tunnels." "Crap, we lost our Long A team." "Bomb's at B." "Last guy's in Sniper Tower." etc etc etc. But a good SA is so much more than that. A good SA knows that there's 3+ around the next corner, one with a shottie, one with an AK-47, one with a deagle, plus a chance of more players. A good SA knows that the one with the shottie is zilong, the one with the AK is Heat, and more than likely the one with the deagle is Estrella. A good SA knows that it's unlikely a straight up exchange is unlikely to yield victory. So, the player moves into a tactically advantaged position to allow him a chance to take 1 or 2 out while at the same time providing ample cover/escape to recover from recoil or retreat as necessary. A good SA processes all this in a picosecond.
Now, that doesn't carry you through the fight at all. When combat is upon you, when zilong comes around the corner and wants to put a 12-guage round in your chest, it's all up to your technical skill as a player vs. theirs. Let's say it pans out this way.
Zilong does in fact come around the corner, you open fire a bit low and hit'em in the chest. He responds and puts a shell in your chest, but not enough to kill. You plant one in his skull and just as heat comes out the spray from your burst at zilong catches him in the face as well. Suddenly, a nub comes around a corner with a P90 and sprays you too, ya take some damage, but manage to gun him down as well. Now, with low health you move to retreat while keeping your crosshair near the open corner. Estrella comes out, but because you've practiced your strafe shooting, you cut bck the other way, your crosshair aligns on his skull, and ya pop him too, ftw.
That can happen. Or, you could waste'em all. Or ya could die after the first exchange. When the moment of action is comes, your ability to aim swiftly and accurately directly competes against their ability to aim swiftly and accurately.
However... it is a undeniable fact that having a developed SA increases your chances of success exponentially.
Consider this, what if you weren't paying attention. And didn't notice the team mates death icons in the corner of your screen showing zilong shooting someone with a shottie, and estrella capping two folks in the face with a deagle. Those team mates who just happened to head toward B Tunnels from spawn which you failed to notice. Also, despite previous rounds, ya fail to notice that Heat's been going that way pretty often and is more 'n likely gonna be there again.
So you're runnin' around, turn a corner, and oh feces! A shottie, an ak, a deagle, and a P90 are pointing at your wide open nubly body.
Chances for survival? Slim.
Those are some simple examples, the latter a bit extreme. We all have a some degree of SA and use it to a point, but to cultivate and refine it as a skill will make you a powerful jedi indeed.
Acquire
Now that you can find your enemy, you can destroy him.
The last thing you want to do is have a toe-to-toe gunfight with your opponent. You want to come at him from his flanks, his back, or surprise him when coming at his front. In order to place him and yourself in a desireable position, you'll have to develop your strategic thinking and come up with your own style of tactics.
In order to do this, you must understand timing. A basic knowledge of timing involves an understanding of getting to position A from spawn point B and if you can or can't beat your opponent while he sets up a firing position.
A good example of this is on Office. When as a T, you spawn between the front double doors, you can easily rush to the office area before the CTs and set up your ambush there. Another one is prodigy. Again as a T, you have to understand that smokes and flashes are your friend when going bunker because the CT has a superior timing in setting up superior firing positions.
That's simple stuff. The kind of timing I'm talking about takes it to the level of manipulation. You have to understand your own timing before anything. You have to know how long it'll take you to get here, how dangerous it'll be to switch from rifle to pistol to run faster, the risks of moving to this position or that, falling back or advancing forward. All this has to be instantaneous.
Then you have to understand your opponents timing. You have to know where he's going to move. You've got to know when he's trying to bait you, lure you, or set you up for an ambush and then ambush the ambush. You've got to manipulate his timing by luring him yourself, expecting him to counter the lure with a tricky move himself, and then destroy him while he moves into position.
With the more skilled players, for me, it turns into a deadly impromptu dance of death as my opponent and I move from this hall to the next trying to set each other up for a better firing angle, searching each other out to destroy one another.
Most of all, don't allow your opponent to disrupt your own timing. Harmonize. When he comes at you high, go low, when he comes at you low, go high. Have confidence in your abilities and know that whether or not you can beat them doesn't depend on their skill, but your own.
Fire
The best way to keep you and your team alive is to frag the opposing team. It's simple. It's direct. It's fun. ;D
I'll go over my firing techniques at the training section. For now, I want to say that you must learn to use all the weapons in cs:s. Pistols, Shotguns, SMGs, Rifles, the Para, grenades, flashes, and smokes.
Each function easy enough, but each have subtle differences that could be the difference between life 'n death in an exchange with the enemy. For instance, the MP5 is great if your HS skill is high because it's so inc#0e32a9ibly accurate. Spam them in the face and you win. However, it can take up to 6-8 shots to kill if you hit their body, which isn't good at all. The P90 is a good weapon because of his massive ammo clip, but is better for rushing and close quarters combat. Though a smart burst from the gun can be devestating at medium 'n longer ranges.
I like the USP because it's a 2 shot killer if you can tag'em in the face, and has enough ammo to carry ya through the exchange in the event you miss. Again though, no HS = a lot of body hits to kill.
I could go on and on about the different weapon types and their respective use, but these are things you're probably already familiar with. However, I do stress that you begin to investigate each individual weapon seriously to determine exactly for yourself what it's capable of and what it's not capable of.
Evade
Evasion is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of tactical FPS gaming. There is a method to this madness. When you retreat, you don't want to do so in a desperate attempt to escape incoming fire to simply nestle in a momentarily safe 'n cozy spot behind a wall or door or crate. You want to retreat in a way that will give you a definite advantage over your enemies.
It's a way of evading your opponents that's almost like reverse assault. But knowing what to do and when to do it is important. Even more important is to know when to not do anything at all. Just a small anecdote, but I remember chillin' in T spawn with another player on Aztec. Our team just got annihilated and we were going to have multiple opponents moving in on our position soon. I stressed patience would win the day and so we just sat there and waited. Sure enough, before long they came to us and after an intense exchange, we won the round.
Always move in a way that'll force your opponents to come at you one at a time. Corridors, doorways, or other choke points are excellent places to get yourself into. Also, rooms with a lot of stuff to jump over and hide behind (like office in cs_office).
Don't forget to Acquire your targets while Evading. Lure your opponents to their doom by actually revealing your general location, but shooting from a unique (sometimes open) spot and moving on. Attack them with the unexpected as hard as you can and you will survive. Evading isn't hiding. It's repositioning yourself to gain tactical advantage and then taking the initiative.
Finally, that concludes SAFE shooting. I hope it wasn't too much of a disappointment, some of the principles may seem barren or obvious, but really they're overlooked and underappreciated.
Aiming Theory, Technique, & Training
Now that you're familiarized with the concepts behind the SAFE shooting method, I'd like to offer you some practical shooting techniques to sharpen your aiming ability. But first, more theory...
Your aim is determined by these 3 factors:
1.) Speed
2.) Accuracy
3.) Recoil
Training Speed & Accuracy
From my experience, threat-response training (TRT) will develop your speed and accuracy. You must train your hand-eye coordination to do what you want it to do. To aim 'n fire when you want it to. Now, your body won't want to do it. So you have to shock it into action. You do this by putting it under stress. High intensity threat-response training is what you're looking for.
There are two good arena's that offer that kind of environment. That instagib source game, and the new CS:S Deathmatch servers that are springing up.
Unfortunately, instagib has some bugs that makes creating servers a hassle so it's not too popular. But, CS:S DM is growing in popularity. You can pick any weapon you want, both primary and secondary, and respawn around your team right after you die. It puts you in the action and keeps you there. This is also a superior method because it also lets you get quite accustomed the recoil of the weapons in cs:s (unlike instagib).
Normal CS:S isn't usually the proper kind of environment because when you die, you have to spectate, which allows your body too long of a break after too short of a training duration.
In CS:S DM, FOCUS the entire map. TRY to win. Play as HARD as you can, and then after the map, take a 5 minute break or so and REFLECT on how you just played. In fact, the BEST thing you could do is record yourself playing, then when the map is over, review that demo and look over what you could have done or should have done. F2 I believe gives you playback controls like fast forward 'n rewind. Do that 3-4 times a week, and and after about 4 or 5 weeks, you'll see HUGE performance gains.
Now then, for some actual firing techniques for you to work on while you train 'n play:
My 5 Shooting Techniques
1.) The First Shot
2.) The 160
3.) The Headshot
4.) Reflex Shooting
5.) Strafe Shooting
The First Shot
Use the deagle to improve your first shot. In essence, the deagle (since it's a pistol) is a first shot every shot. Force yourself to put the crosshair over the enemy players body FIRST, and THEN fire. Don't just spam the deagle in the general direction of the player. Put the crosshair on him, keep it on him, and fire.
The deagle's a good option because it's powerful enough to carry you through the round and has the range you'd come to expect from rifles. Also, it's short clip urges you to hit accurately because you can't afford to miss. You should strive to frag 3 players per round.
Of course, sometimes practicing with a deagle isn't practical. You definitely don't want to over-train with it. Otherwise, you're body will automatically operate on a deagle-basis even when you use a rifle. So practice smart with the deagle. Don't over do it. So after using a deagle, be sure to use your rifle, or a sniper rifle. Keep your training varied so that it doesn't grow stagnant. Again, work on acquiring your target first, THEN firing. Because, as Marcinko says, the Fire, Aim, Ready method is bullfeces... and, as I say, its FAR from accurate.
The Headshot
This is where ASMS comes into play, from the Patriot, Aim Small, Miss Small. Aim for their head, and don't miss. If you have a deagle or famas, there's little room for error. A mistake will cost you your round. But in practice, you shouldn't let this get you frustrated. Instead, when your time comes and you must spectate the rest of the round out, reflect on what you did and what happened.
For headshots, select the FAMAS and set it to 3 round burst. This is a natural skull buster if I ever saw. Don't let it's short ammo clip get you killed, it's an 8 shooter.
Actively try to aim for the head. Force yourself to move the cursor onto your opponents face and THEN fire. At first, you'll be as slow as molasses in december. But gradually, you'll get faster and faster. It'll be hard at first, but everything's hard at first. However, if you force yourself into shooting heads, you WILL get better.
The 180
This shot is one of my prized techniques in that I've trained myself to (on the fly) spin and cap a sneaky player right in the face when he comes at me from behind. This technique is something of a reflex response in that as soon as I know I'm taking damage from behind, I'm already facing the general player, then I plant one right in his face.
This may seem pretty obvious, but being a sneaky ninja myself, I often come up behind other players and blast'em from behind easily. And the ones that do try to turn and fire come up short. They spray 35-55 firing angles to the right or left of me in their attempt to spin shot me.
This could be due to a number of reasons, namely -- sensitivity. But I think it's mainly because most people don't actually practice their ability to turn quickly and shoot. The cs pro's generally play with LOW sensitivities such as 1.35 or 2.15, stuff liek that. It takes some of them 30 inches of mouse movement to do a 160. But they can execute it in a SPLIT second. That's why I think it's determined by training.
So work on it.
When you're getting attacked from behind, say calm. Whip around, aim, and kill the enemy. Practice finding out how fast and how far you have to move to do a 160 when you spawn. What I'd do is turn around while everyone runs off and spin, putting my crosshair on a friendly player. Same with hallways. I'll just be running through such 'n such tunnels, then bust a 160 to run the other way.
Strafe Shooting
I'm quite happy to announce that I've learned a new shooting technique. It's a little different from conventional strafe shooting, but I picked it up from playing on aim_ maps. Anyway it works like this.
Grab yourself a rifle (m4, ak, aug, sig) and when you're fighting, practice this simple, but powerful technique.
Strafe to the right, and strafe to the left.
As SOON as you hit your key to strafe to the left and let go of the Right Strafe key, fire your weapon at the enemy. It'll be as accurate as if you were crouching for the first 2 shots or so.
Then strafe from left to right.
Again, as soon as you switch keys, open fire. No matter how fast you're moving, it'll be as accurate as if you're standing still. You can do it -fast- too. You don't have to strafe very far, just enough to get up to a full run, 2 or 3 feet. Headshots with the m4 have never been easier.
Again, practice it as I said it. Don't fire while strafing. Only fire when you're changing directions. You'll be hard hitting, fast shooting monster. This may seem old, but I always strafe shot by strafing, stopping, then firing, and then strafing again. This eliminates two entire steps. It's now just strafe 'n shoot. Keep in mind it's more of a medium/long range solution. You can drop snipers easy :D
Reflex Shooting
Here's a quote from Bruce Lee, "The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be."
Reflex shooting should come out of you naturally. Just as naturally as you inhale and exhale, as naturally as you put your left foot in front of right foot when you walk, as naturally as blinking. Unfortunately, we weren't born with cs:s in our genes. So, we've got to internalize it. In order to get to this point though, it will take some effort. Here's how it works:
You have to practice all these techniques (including your own) until they become second nature. You do this by first concsiously executing them over and over and over again, each time just as intense as the first time. Never simply "go through the motions" -- you turn off your bodies learning ability doing that.
Instead, execute them just as hard as you would in a CAL-i Final match. Eventually, the technique will become second nature to you.
Next, as you begin to use the technique in different combat situations, (THROUGH USING IT) "it" will literally "tell" you how and when "it" can be best employed. What I mean here is that you can be like "Oh, I'ma strafe shoot everyone I see" and then strafe shoot the first three guys easy, then come up to the forth and try to do it but somehow instinctively know that it's not going to work so you have to stop, crouch, and shoot to finish him off because you felt your positioning was wrong or blablabla.
So, when you've come to realize the intents and purposes of the technique, and after you've come to understand it's concepts, "it" can find you, and you can find "it." This is because you'll become unbiased. You'll detach yourself from how you believe the shots should work, and simply let it be. What I'm saying is that after you've practiced it, after you've trained yourself using it, and after it's become second nature, and after its revealed itself to you, you can find expression through it and it through you -- which is what you want. Expression. It'll become just as powerful as Monet's brush on canvas, and hell's fire will rain from the heavens upon the hapless fools who come against you.
That's reflex shooting.
Because now it's more than action and reaction, it's interaction. It has moved from simply practicing the chords on a guitar, from learning a song note by note, and has turned into music... art.
Recovery
Training for better shooting is just like training anything else. You need to give yourself a break from time to time. Most of you can do this easily enough because you have your lives to attend too. When training you'll have to do it rigorously to shock your nervous system into action, but you MUST stop before fatigue. And yes, you can get fatigued playing CS. You can tell when you are getting fatigued when you're not doing nearly as well. When you're getting caught off-guard, having no "luck" or just plain sucking. You'd do more benefit in developing skill by stopping and taking a break than by continuing gameplay.
In fact, every so often, put CS or any of your games off for a week. Yes, a whole week. That'll give your CNS plenty of time to develop the neural networks it needs to produce the results you desire. It's not psycho mumbo jumbo. It's physical fact. When you get back, you'll actually be better.
<3 Saur