Strategy

[recoil]

Some pro tips for newcomers:

Play a few Situations and watch the tutorials for easy Renown (the in game currency) and unlock an attacker and defender operator. You're now ready for some multiplayer fun.

Use your compass to call out positions on the map. To the right of the compass are simple call out names for where you currently are.

Press 'Z' to set way points or to point things out in game.

Hold 'X' to mark enemies while viewing camera feeds.

[icycalm]

Hit 'Esc' after you die (and after the replay of your death has been played) to view the rest of the round from teammates' viewpoints (though we really ought to start using the cameras properly and reporting to the remaining players. It's just that watching is so much more fun).

[recoil]

I emphasize the basics because we'll need it if we want to start doing complex and coordinated tactics like breaching a room at the same time from multiple angles, flashing it, and then clearing it. Basically, all the cool shit you see in the trailers. So if you have any crazy action movie plans, share them here and let's try to make them happen.

[icycalm]

A good starting point to that would be to pick our main, and perhaps secondary dudes (and we'll need secondary ones too because we won't be the exact same players in every game).

I want Montagne as my main attacker and Rook as my main defender.

Not sure about secondary attacker, but Tachanka as secondary defender.

I will focus on learning these dudes inside and out and getting all upgrades for them.

It's okay for two people to have the same main (or secondary) attacker or defender, but not three. At least not until we have 10+ players or something.

[recoil]

Attacker
Main: Sledge
Secondary: Glaz

Defender
Main: Castle
Secondary: Rook

[infernovia]

Attacker
Main: Thermite
Secondary: Blitz

Defender
Haven't got a good one

Secondary: Doc

[Robomoo]

Attacker
Main: Sledge
Secondary: Blitz

Defender
Main: Smoke
Secondary: Mute

infern, or anyone else, for a good defender you might want to try out Pulse who has the really powerful heartbeat monitor.

[icycalm]

I think Montagne the huge shield guy and Rook the armor-giving guy are the two most basic and essential operators/abilities to have in every round. When you are attacking, you need a guy with a huge shield to go first through that door you just blew up, and when you are defending you need a guy to carry and distribute vests to everyone. And that's why I chose those two as my main peeps. And when I am not playing, you should divide these operators among whoever is playing. Correct me if I am wrong, because I am not familiar with most operators, but from what I have seen so far these two seem to me the most essential ones.

Of course this goes for full teams; if you are playing with randoms there are too many variables to take into account (chief among them how many Cult members there are in the team), so in those cases you just do the best you can under the circumstances. And I think all of our tactics will be developed with a full team in mind, because nothing else seems practical to me. I would even propose that, once we unlock Ranked mode, we only play it with a full team. It will give us one extra incentive to pursue playing with a full team, and make those sessions especially exciting and memorable. Can't wait until we unlock it! (So if you are a newb, play as much as you can, even solo, to catch up! Remember: it's unlocked at level 20, and recoil is already almost three quarters of the way there!)

I am interested to hear which other operators, beyond Montagne/Rook, you think are essential to have in every round, and why. It would be useful to develop a little tier list, assign the top tier guys to at least a couple of people to fully figure out, and then let the more adventurous players experiment with the specialized tier operators who are only useful under certain circumstances.

At the same time, people should also feel free to pick operators outside of their main picks from time to time, for a change, or to experiment, etc.

[Saf]

Attacker
Main: Fuze
Secondary: Twitch

Defender
Main: Mute
Secondary: not sure yet

[infernovia]

I think Pulse will be really good in defense, especially in a smaller compound like the Aircraft, or when we go out hunting for the attackers. We just need to be much better with learning location names so the Pulse user can properly convey the enemy movements to everyone else. I already have the following defenders:

Kaplan
Doc
Smoke
Castle

Of these, I think the ones with the most potential is Castle and Smoke.

I have mixed feelings about the Thermite (countered by signal jammer, shots, and the electric current on the wall), but opening up new flanks on enemies just seems too good to pass up. I can't see how he is bad. The only other downside is that this means I won't be rappelling down like a ninja.

Shields are good, so we should have a Blitz/Montagne. I am not sure what Montagne has over Blitz.

[infernovia]

The best attacker I have seen in our matches is Fuze with the Cluster Gernade. I will go for that next.

[infernovia]

IMO, Saf's mains are really good.

The worst defender I have seen is Doc, with Kapkan being the second. Tachanka seems bad in this game as well, because you can't go prone and walls are so easily destroyed. But maybe their guns pull them back in the game...

Quick ranking from what I have seen (can change obviously):

Attackers:
Really good: Fuze/Blitz/Thermite
Good: Sledge/Montaigne
???: Ash.

Defenders:
Really good: Rook
Good: Mute/Castle
???: Pulse/Smoke
Bad: Doc/Kapkan/Tachanka

Perhaps Matt can tell me if he feels he can do more with Kapkan... but every time a round ends, I see potential in Thermite but less so with Kapkan.

=============================================================
So I guess mains:

Attacker
Main: Thermite
Secondary: Fuze/Blitz

Defender
Main: Castle
Secondary: Smoke/Mute
No options: Doc

[recoil]

Doc can overcharge other players' health to 140 according to Ubi's Year 2 patch notes. Add in armor from Rook and we can have someone act as a tank. I don't know how effective it would be. We'll have to try it out sometime.

[infernovia]

I didn't know that. Definitely doing that the next time I play Doc.

[icycalm]

We all know who the tank's going to be, at least.

[infernovia]

Quick summary so far.

Defenders:
Rook (icy), Castle (recoil), Smoke (Robo), Doc (infern), Mute (Saf)

Attackers:
Montagne (icy), Sledge (recoil), Blitz (Robo), Thermite (infern), Fuze (Saf)

lol, every single one of my potential defenders has been picked by others. I still haven't found a defender I like yet (although I am excited to try out Doc again after that new information). No big deal, I guess I will keep unlocking defenders until I find something I like. I really like Thermite as an attacker, so I will stick with him.

[icycalm]

Actually, there is no reason to have "someone" act as a tank: everyone should be tanked up, in both offense and defense rounds. That's how Doc will be exploited to the full. We just have to get very efficient with distributing vests during defense, and the Doc boosting everyone in both phases.

[recoil]

Doc is only a defender and can only heal 3 times, so we would have to figure out who could put it to the best use each defending round and if saving shots for mid round healing would be useful.

[icycalm]

Shields are good, so we should have a Blitz/Montagne. I am not sure what Montagne has over Blitz.

Isn't his shield bigger?

[Robomoo]

Montagne's special ability is to deploy his shield so that you're fully impervious to fire from the front. If you stand in a corner you can't be killed with anything short of C-4. The only disadvantage is that you can't shoot like this, so Montagne makes sense as a combo with someone else trying to shoot out from behind him.

Blitz is less powerful as a combo since his shield doesn't fully cover him, but he's great for rushing people, flashing them and killing them. It's really easy to do this even against a good player 1v1.

It just occured to me also that it might be possible for Montagne in uber-mode to be shot in the legs from the front if an enemy is lying on a staircase below him looking up. We'll have to test this. In general it's bad to do a shield breach down stairs, since it's much easier for them to shoot you in the legs.

[recoil]

Glaz seems to be the best attacker and works in nearly all situations. His weapon and scope can see enemies through smoke, has the highest sight magnification, and does the most damage. Any teammate with smoke grenades can also create moments of opportunity for Glaz.