Been playing a lot of the multiplayer the past few days since a lot more people have been getting the game. Figured I'd make a topic to focus on the various tips, tricks and tactics involved for new players to help them get adjusted to the game. Dunno if I'll make a whole site out of it like I did with the RE5 Versus guide but, I at least wanted to compile some useful tips for the community. So let's see here.



-MATCHMAKING-

There's some glitches and freeze up issues regarding matchmaking. This heavily involves inviting people to your squad to join a game together. You can get in a squad just fine with invited friends. The problem lies in when you try searching for matches. Often times it will sit on 'searching' forever without ever choosing a match type or putting you or anyone in your squad in a new match like it should normally.

If you try to cancel the search it will give you the "Cancelling search. Please wait...." message and stall there and never get out of it, forcing you to reboot your system.

The best work around for this is simply to search/host a match solo and once you get into one, invite your squad mates then. I haven't had the game freeze up on me since I started doing that. So hopefully this will help others who run into the same problem.


-CHARACTERS-

There are a total of 20 characters in the game. 6 U.S.S. members, 6 SPEC OPS members, 4 Heroes, and 4 Villains. Each has their own set class and abilities. Only one character can be chosen at a time on any given team. This means you cannot have two Vectors, or two Jill's. If another player has already picked a character you want, you'll simply have to choose a different one.

Which team you're on is entirely random in each game. Though, once you enter a match setup, in most cases you'll remain your given team for the remainder of the matches until you or other players leave. If you keep in the same group of players after each match and keep allowing a new match to start, you're likely going to be stuck getting the same team (U.S.S./Villaings or SPEC OPS/Heroes) each time regardless if you play 20 matches in a row or not. So if you want to switch to a different team, either wait for other players to leave or simply leave yourself and try to find a new match to join.



-TEAM ATTACK MODE-

Team Attack is the basic Team Death Match Mode. One team plays as the U.S.S. and the other team as SPEC OPS. The team with the most kills by the time the timer runs out wins. You can also bypass the timer by simply reaching a score of 4000. If your team maxes out their kill score to 4000 before time is up, they instantly win regardless of how much time is left.

However, you also earn points for killing zombies and BOWs as well as other players. Players will net you around 200 points per kill while a typical zombie will net you 10 points, a Licker 45 points, Hunters 75 points and a boss like Mr. X can net you more points than even a player kill.

So the strategy involved in team attack is not just to kill other players, but, to try and take out zombies and enemies in your way at the same time to help keep a lead in your score over the other team. The mode is like a mixture of Survivors and Slayers from RE5 Versus in a way.

-SPECIAL WEAPONS-

On each level there are two large weapon cases scattered about. Each one has two locks on it that must be shot off to open the case. One case contains a Grenade Launcher with 5 rounds and the other contains a FlameThrower. These are the two special weapons on each map. They respawn in the case every minute or two.

-GRENADE LAUNCHER-

The grenade launcher is an instant kill on any normal player enemy unless they have armor abilities equipped that protect against explosions. The explosion regardless will cause knock back on the enemy and send them flying to the ground, giving you time to setup a second shot. However, there are abilities that certain characters can equip that help reduce or prevent knockback from explosioves. You CANNOT 'reload' the grenade launcher from an ammo box. Your only choice to reload it is get a new one when it spawns or take one off an enemies body. Though like all weapons, whatever rounds were left in it when the enemy died is how man you will get when you pick it up. You won't get a fresh stock.

-FLAMETHROWER-

The Flamethrower comes with 50 fuel and obviously deals damage as well as inflicts burn status on an enemy which acts like poison, dealing damage over time as long as the flames remain on them. The duration of 'burn' is usually only a few seconds. The Flamethrower can dwindle an opponents lifebar quite fast, though it's range is very limited and requires you to be right up in their face. The flame spread also can be wild and obscure your vision a bit, making it difficult to keep it accurately on an opponent at times who keeps moving since the flames do not cause any active stun. The flamethrower CAN be reloaded at ammo boxes and refueled back to it's 50 capacity.

-FIRST AID SPRAYS-

First Aid Spray bottles are scattered around each level. There's usually 2-4 bottles on every map in set locations. These will respawn every minute or two. All characters may only carry one first aid spray at a time except for Medics. Once picked up, the aid will be set to the left dpad button. Pressing it will use the first aid and heal you for around 60-70% health. You can heal other players in your direct vicinity with your first aid.

Medics can obtain the ability to carry up to 4 first aids at a time, as well as gain healing % boosts from using green herbs and first aids. First Aids Sprays used by a fully upgraded medic will give 100% health back. Any first aid sprays obtained will be lost by all players, including Medics when killed. However, Medics can learn the ability to always restart a fresh spawn with 1 first aid spray always in their stock.

First Aid Sprays can also be used to help slow down the spread of an infection. However, they do not cure your character of infection. Only give you additional time to find an anti-virus vial. Using a first aid while infected but at first health however is a waste and will do nothing as the infection slowly drains your lifebar. Saving the first aid for when your life is nearly gone is your best bet as it will give you another full lifebar for the infection to drain.

-GREEN HERBS-

Green Herbs are scattered across the levels in set locations and also dropped by enemies, including players, randomly upon death. Green Herbs heal about 30-40% health per use. However, they cannot be stocked or carried. All herbs can only be used on the spot.

Medics can learn the ability to gain a health % boost from herbs which will allow Herbs to heal at the strength of a normal first aid spray, aka around 60-70% health per herb.

Like the first aid spray, Green Herbs can be used to help slow down infection but, not cure it.


-ANTI-VIRUS VIALS-

Like other healing items, Anti-virus vials are scattered in set locations around the levels and are randomly obtained from player or enemy corpses. Anti-Virus Vials can be carried, but, only one at a time. They are set to the down hotkey on your dpad and used by pressing it as such. When you are infected, using the Anti-Virus Vial will cure you of infection and prevent your turn into a zombie. However, anti-virus vials do not heal your player. Whatever life you had left when you used the anti-virus, is how much you will retain after.

Medics can learn the ability to cure infection on their own. They come equipped with a viral gun which allows them to shoot other players with it and cure viral infection without the need for an anti-virus vial. However, like all active abilities, there is a recharge time between shots before it can be used again. The Medic can also instantly use the injection on themselves by holding down Triangle/Y once infected so long as they ability is fully charged.


-GRENADES-

Each character starts with 2 frag grenades which cause explosive damage. Everytime you respawn, you get a new set of 2 grenades to use. They also get 2 flash grenades as well which momentarily blind and disorient players in the vicinity. You can carry a max of 3 of each grenade type at a time and there are 3 grenade types in total that you can carry. The third is the incendinary round which causes a fire wherever it lands. All grenades except the flash grenade have a delay before they explode however. They do not explode on impact.

All grenade types can be found scattered throughout the level in various set locations and randomly taken from dead corpses of players and enemies. Incendinary grenades however are the most rare grenades to find.

Some characters can learn the ability to reduce damage taken from explosions and even reduce or remove the ragdoll effect caused when hit with an explosion.

-ABILITIES-

As mentioned, every char can learn different abilities. Each class has their own set of 5 abilities that can be learned. There are 2 passive abilities which are always active, these include things like body armor or quick reloading. The other 3 abilities are active abilities which are used with the Triangle/Y button. These abilities can be activated once each time and then enter a recharge state and cannot be used again until the recharge is complete. These abilities range from cloaking to igniting ammo, to using sonar and so forth. Most active abilities have a set time frame before they expire, usually starting at 10 seconds.

All abilities can be upgraded to level 3, some rare ones can be upgraded higher than 3. Each level increase, increases the duration of an ability or strength of an armor or heal, or decreases the recharge time or amount of damage taken etc.

You can have both passive abilities active once learned, however, you may only choose on active ability per match even if you have all 3 learned. Abilities and their upgrades all cost XP to purchase and you start with zero abilities available. However, all players who first load up the game start with 1000 xp which is enough to purchase one ability for one class. Once unlocked, that ability can be used by any character who has access to the ability.

-WEAPONS-

Every char starts with either an assault rifle or Machine gun and a basic handgun. While you cannot upgrade the weapons at all, you can purchase better and more powerful ones. There are 4 classes of primary weapons and one class of secondary weapons. You can choose from Assault Rifles, Machine Guns, Shotguns, and Rifles. And for your secondary weapon, you can choose from a range of handguns.

All weapons are purchased again, with XP earned in campaign or multiplayer matches. The cheapest weapons are around 8000XP while the most expensive are 25000XP. So you will not be able to purchase any weapons at the start of a fresh game and will need to save up.

All weapons have varying stats regarding their firepower, range, accuracy, ammo capacity, reload speed etc. There is no 'god mode' weapon in the list and each has it's own varying strengths and weaknesses. There are some guns that are definitely better than others, but, no one gun is a must.


-BIOHAZARD MODE-

Biohazard mode is your typical Capture the Flag Mode. Your base is outfitted with a larger terminal set to house up to 5 G-Virus samples. These samples will randomly spawn in set locations on the map and it's up to your team to retrieve them an bring them back to the Terminal. You do not need to press any buttons once at the terminal to drop it off, simply approach in front of it and you will automatically drop the virus sample off. The first team to successfully retrieve 5 samples will win the match. Alternatively, the team with the most samples when time is up will win.

Unlike many CTF modes, the player with the Virus Sample is not shown on the map. Instead, when a team obtains a sample, a flashing Red Dot appears on the map indicating where their base is that they'll be returning the sample to. The player themselves is indicated by a purple hue emitted from the virus on their belt when running around. So you need to be on the look out for a purple hue on your screen and gun the player down to get the sample from them.

If you can't find the player, you can simply follow the red dot and try to beat them to their own base and ambush them as they approach it to prevent them from securing the sample. If a long time passes after someone picks up a Virus sample without it being secured in a terminal, the virus sample will respawn on the map. This is likely to prevent players from gaining a lead and them simply grabbing a sample and hiding with it to prevent the other team from being able to catch up.


-HEROES MODE-

Heroes Mode allows you to assume the role of some of RE's classic heroes and villains. Each player starts as one hero or villain each and the match is much like Team Attack. The difference here is that you only get one life as each Hero. If your Hero dies, you will respawn as a U.S.S. or SPEC OPS member instead. The goal of Heroes Mode is eliminate all heroes or villains on a team. The first team to eliminate all Heroes or Villains on a team wins.

Heroes and Villains get more health than a typical U.S.S. or SPEC OPS member. As well, they are all hybrid classes. This means that each Hero and Villain has set abilities given to them, but, those abilities are mix-matched from various classes. Carlos for example has abilities from both Demolition class and Assault Class. Claire has abilities from both Field Scientiest and Medic and so forth.

The dynamic of each match becomes much more strategic than normal Death Matches because you need to focus on killing the other team while also protecting your own character from dying at any cost. As well, if you are killed, your goal then becomes to protect your remaining team heroes or villains at any cost rather than mindlessly just trying to wrack up kills.

-MELEES-

Melee's are an important part of the game. A normal melee is executed by pressing Circle/B. You can control the direction the melee comes from by moving the analog stick in that direction when pressing it. Repeatedly pressing the button will result in a chain combo of up to 3-4 melee hits in a row. Pressing Circle/B to stun an opponent, then following it up immediately (once successfully stunned) with X will result in a Brutal Kill. The Brutal kill will instantly kill an opponent, including a player. However, it does not work on larger enemies like Lickers, Hunters or Tyrants.

You can also alternatively press Triangle instead of X to iniate a unique kill which works the same as a brutal kill, only the animation is unique to each character class. However, the unique kill is not recommended because it often activates an unwanted skill if missed or timed wrong. It's best to stick with the Brutal Kill.

You can also use the chain melee's (annoyingly) to stun lock opponents. If you can keep your angle on them, you can consistantly stun an opponent and make them mostly helpless. Chain Combos don't deal a lot of damage and take awhile to effectively kill an opponent, however, the opponent is mostly helpless if successfully locked into one. However, it is possible to get out of a chain combo by aiming away from the opponent and running in that direction. If they're up against a wall or even worse, a corner, it's very unlikely they'll be able to get out of the stun lock however.

It's also possible to simply knock someone over during a chain combo and follow up with gun shots as they're getting up to dwindle their life further. Although this runs the risk of them putting you in a chain combo stun lock of their own if they succeed in getting up while you're firing your gun at them.

You can also 'stomp' on them when they're on the floor by holding down the X button. This will deal a decent amount of damage.

As well, if you see an opponent trying to mash a chain combo, you can 'ram' them with your shoulder by running forward by holding down the Left Stick and pressing Circle. The ram will knock them over onto the ground and give you the edge to gun them down or initate a chain combo on them instead if you so desire.

Keep in mind, you are VULNERABLE while performing Melee's and can be killed by enemies and other players. You do not gain invincibility frames during a melee. Your can still lose life from attacks and are a literal sitting duck while the melee animations complete.

-DODGING-

You can dodge in any direction by holding down the left Stick and pressing X in whichever direction. Your character will proceed to jump in that direction to avoid an attack. This is especially useful when grenades land near you or an enemy tries to use a brutal kill on you.

-SURVIVOR MODE

Survivor Mode is sort of like King of the Hill, but, very different. Like King of the Hill, the objective is to secure a location and hold it. Unlike King of the Hill however, you gain no points for remaining in that position and the game is not won merely by staying in that spot. The whole match is a normal team death match for the most part, although kill count does not matter at all.

When there is about 3 minutes left on the clock, a rescue helicopter will land at a designated area marked by flares. (It is not shown on the mini-map, you simply explore the level itself and find the area with a circle made by flares as a landing zone). There are only 4 slots available on the chopper and your goal is to make sure you're one of them. You board the helicopter by approaching the side with the opened door and hold X when prompted. A bar will go up and if it completes, you'll successfully board the helicopter and survive the round. At this point you will lose all control of your character and simply watch from a pre-set angle as others try and make it onto the chopper. Once the time runs out or 4 people board the chopper, it will close up and take off and leave. All other players will be left for dead and have failed.

While you 'survive' simply by getting on the chopper, the ultimate goal is to try and get all 4 of your own team members on the chopper. It's entirely possible for 2 of your team and 2 of the other team or any mix/match in between to get on the chopper. But, you'll gain more points depending on how many members of your own team actively survived on the chopper.

Getting to the chopper and holding X doesn't guarantee you a spot either. You can be interrupted by enemies and players. Everytime you die, your respawn timer will increase significantly as well. So if you've spent the entire match getting into death matches with other players and have died repeatedly and then go for the chopper and get killed, you'll likely be waiting up to 30+ seconds to respawn and lose your shot at boarding it.

So the goal indeed becomes to 'survive' until the chopper lands and secure the location from other players to ensure you and your team can board it safely. However, once the chopper is in the area and starts to land, the majority of enemies in the area will start to swarm the area and 10+ zombies and at least 2-4 Hunters and even a Tyrant may be surrounding the chopper and helping to make getting on it more difficult.

-INFECTION-

You can randomly be infected by a monster/zombie during any given match. Getting attacked or bitten doesn't guarantee an infection. It is 100% random, but, any tiny swipe or any attack from an enemy in general can run the risk of causing infection. The only way to stay infection free is to avoid getting hit by all zombies/monsters.

Once infected, your screen will start to get a blue swirl around it which will grow and disorient your screen further and further the closer you come to succumbing to the infection. The infection will slowly drain your lifebar down and once your lifebar reaches zero, you will turn into a zombie.

Once you turn into a zombie, you lose complete control of your character and they will run around and attack any player they come across including teammates. However, zombie status only lasts a short few seconds before your character ultimately dies and respawns.

Other players can kill you in your zombie state, as well, once infected, teammates can 'euthanize' you before you turn into a zombie to prevent you from becoming a liability.

You can use healing items to restore your health and thus slow down the infection by giving it a new life bar to drawin. However, the only way to cure the infection is to use an anti-virus vial or have a medic shoot you with their anti-virus syringe gun.

-AMMO BOXES-

Each map has set locations for small ammo boxes which you can restock on ammo from. These ammo boxes contain a near infinite supply of bullets to collect from. Approaching an ammo box and pressing X will instantly refill all of your guns (except grenade launchers) to max capacity as well as automatically reload all guns.

Keep in mind, some weapons like the juggernaught start each player spawn with only 40 ammo yet can be restocked to a max of 60 by using an ammo box. Most weapons start at max capacity but some do not. Stopping by an ammo box after each spawn to max out your ammo if your gun needs it is essential.

-STUNNED STATUS-

Various things in the game will result in a stunned status for your character. Being hit with a melee will momentarily stun your character from reacting. Being hit with an explosive will send your character flying and leave them unable to move until they get up and fully recover. A flash grenade in front of them will blind your screen momentarily making you unable to see or hear for a few seconds. You can still move and run away during the blindness, but, your ability to fire accurately will be greatly reduced.

Brutal Kills are inescapable and will stun your character until the animation is completed and you are dead. Zombies, lickers and Tyrants can grab your character and hold them in place for a time being until the appropriate buttons are pressed to release yourself from their grasp. Enemies can also attack you and knock you down.

You are obviously vulnerable to further attack and damage during any stunned status mentioned above.

-BLEEDING STATUS/BLOOD FRENZY-

Whenever a players body is attacked, they risk a chance of entering 'bleed' status. It is entirely random, but, has the potential to happen at any given time during an attack. Some abilities can help increase the chance of inflicting it.

Bleed status will cause your character to suffer a serious injury and begin to bleed, turning your screen red. During this, all zombies in the area will enter 'Bloody Frenzy' status and be drawn to you. Mobs of zombies will act like Crimson Heads and rush and claw at you and try to knock you over to take a bite out of you.

Bleed status will go away on it's own after a short time. Killing zombies in blood frenzy will gain you additional bonus points and score. When you enter bleed status, your best option is to run away until the bleeding stops, to prevent getting mobbed by zombies who will not only damage you heavily, but, will surround you and make mobility near impossible, making you an easy target for opponents.


-RANK-

You're ranked a letter Grade for each match in every mode. They determine your overall score, how much XP you get, and where you place amongst other players in the match. On the results screen, there are no numbers indicating who was #1. Instead, you can tell based on the order the names are listed on the results screen. The player on the top of the list did the best and the player on the bottom of the list did the worst. Your rank here depends on many factors, not just one. So a player with only 20 kills can be at the top of the list while a player with 50 kills can be near the bottom depending on what scores they obtained.

Rank is determined by Number of Kills (This includes both enemies and players), Number of Deaths, Number of times you healed a teammate, and 2 other factors I can't remember in my sleep deprived state. I'll update this more later. The higher you are in each one (or lower for number of deaths), the higher your overall score will be, the more XP you'll earn and the higher you'll be on the results screen for each match.

-TIPS & ADVICE-

-Kill Zombies and enemies when possible. They'll increase your score and kill count, which go towards your Rank in each match. The more you kill, the higher XP you'll earn which will help towards unlocking better guns and abilities, as well as increasing your standing in the results screen and increasing the overall score for your team.

-Learn the spawn points for special weapons, healing items, ammo boxes, grenades, anti-virus vials etc.

-Try to always carry one First Aid and one Anti-virus with you at all times. Maxing out grenades is also a plus.

-If you're fighting a losing battle, don't be afraid to retreat and heal up and restock ammo before trying again.

-If you need to retreat, do not run away in a straight line. This leaves you easily open to attack even from a great distance. Zig Zagging as well as running in front of objects such as cars or behind walls will help deter your persuers from killing you before you can heal up or restock on ammo.

-Use Melee Brutal Kills when possible for a quick and instant death to an opponent.

-However, do not rush into a player straight on hoping to land a melee. You'll almost certainly be gunned down before you get close enough.

-Use Grenades wisely. Tossing grenades in front of enemies eyes will only hurt new and unskilled players. Use grenades wisely through stealth or to flush enemies out into the open when a proper ambush is prepared for them. Flash Grenades can be used freely on enemies at any time and are a great way to help win a firefight by momentarily disabling an opponents ability to fight back.

-Manage your abilities wisely. Known when to activate them, and understand their recharge time. Do not use them haphazardly.

-If you're playing a Hero or Villain, watch your health. If you lose close to half your health, retreat and heal up. Don't risk a firefight to the death just to try and kill someone. If you're the only Hero/Villain left on your team, don't be foolish and go hunting for other players. Let the rest of your team focus on finding and killing the other teams Heroes or Villains while you focus on keeping yourself alive by stocking up on heals, anti-virus and if need be, hiding.

-If someone's shooting at you and you can't tell which direction it's coming from, look at your reticule. It'll point in the direction the gunfire is coming from.

-Learning how to dive successfully can get you out of a lot of tricky situations. Diving can easily avoid all hunter jump attacks and every single attack from a Tyrant. If you know how and when to dive properly, a Tyrant for example should never be able to hit you.

-If you're in a hurry and something's in your way, shoulder tackle it rather than risk getting grabbed, hit or simply blocked.

-If you keep getting killed by someone using Super Armor ability, stop trying to take them on solo. Go in a pair with another teammate or use or have someone use Painkiller on you to help even the odds.

-If you get locked into a melee combo, use your dive. Hold LS/L3 down and aim it in a direction 'away' from your opponents advances and pressy X to dive out of the melee. Keep in mind your timing has to be precise since you cannot dive while getting hit. So you need to dive at the exact moment the hit stops but before the next hit connects. It's not full proof but I have gotten out of melee's like this three times in a row.

-If you get out of a melee, don't wait around or try to spam melee's on them. Immediately run away to avoid getting re-locked into the melee. Once you're not directly in the path, you can worry about trying to re-engage them in combat, but, not before.

-Headshots will always kill an opponent faster than body shots.

-Body shots will none the less cause bleed and allow zombies to swarm your opponent and distract them or immobilize them temporarily allowing you to set a grenade on them or get free hits, or simply catch up to them if they're running.

-Be Wary of the mini-map. Hiding and/or sniping from a discreet location is not a viable option. Zombies, Hunters etc. will find you. And anyone with a threat scanner will see your location on the map and be able to find you and sneak up on you if you're not paying attention to the map yourself.

-Grenade Launchers are powerful special weapons that can one hit kill most players unless they have blast armor, super armor or painkiller on. However, they only come with 5 grenades. Once you're out, you need to find another grenade launcher or drop the gun and find another, otherwise you'll be stuck with only a handgun.

-Enemies drop their weapons when they die. If someone's been killing you with a juggernaut but you only have a default MG and are having a tough time, you can take there's. If they die, check the area they died for their juggernaut or whatever weapon they were using. You can now return the threat to them. Just make sure to restock it's ammo as it will only have as much ammo as the opponent had in it when they died.

-Watch out for Friendly Fire. Some modes have Friendly Fire on and you can easily kill your own team mates by accident if they get in your way during a fire fight. On the same token, make sure you're not running in front of a team mate in the middle of a fire fight or else you may wind up dead from your own team mate as well.


Well, that's it for now. A lot of this is very basic information. I'm just trying to compile all I can. I know it's very unorganized and badly structured, But, I'm tired and it's almost 4am so I'll get back to adding more in-depth stuff and organizing it later. Hopefully this helps someone at least. The game can be confusing at first if you don't know what's going on.

Niiiiice dude, thanks for all of the info. I am very involved in competition and want to know all the the exploits before the games even start. LOL.

Aye, supreme post, IkariWarrior. Will definitely give it a look over once I get the game tomorrow and complete the campaign. Hopefully ORC ends up being a good enough experience online so that I don't have to end up getting Starhawk or Ghost Recon in May to get my TTPS fix.

This topic should be bumped back to the top. Very useful information.

I need to update it when I get a chance with more info.


Edit: Updated it with about 12 new tips. Will add more later when I can.

Ever considered compiling all your strats into a youtube vid that also shows some gameplay, Ikari? I'd love to watch it. :)

Don't have my capture card here in Cali, it's back in NJ. So can't record videos. But, i have considered making this into a site much like my RE5 Versus site.

That's a shame, I have a capture device and could probably help you capture some footage you need. :)

I know I mentioned it in another thread but an additional tip about the Grenade Launcher is if you have Incendiary Rounds and activate them with the GL the grenades become Flame Grenades doing extra damage.

A Quick Tip For Heroes Mode. If You Die, Be The Medic So You Can Heal Your Teammate Fast Especially If They Are About To Die. If You Have Ability To Start With a Spray. But Anyways Very Good Guide IkariWarriorKH