General advice/tips: Push Gameplay

[Pop]

I’m not one to usually share opinions/suggestions, however after putting quite a few hours into Sandstorm and having consistent success, I thought I’d share some advice on gameplay.

Now I’m by no means an expert and play Push almost exclusively. This information is geared towards Push gameplay but is likely applicable to other modes as well.

The focus of the post is not on specific gear, attachments, spots to camp etc. Nor is it comprehensive in scope. More a general spread of gameplay advice that I find attribute to success in Push mode for both factions.

Attack

The goal is to get onto the objective and clear out anyone defending within the boundaries of the point. This is rarely successful on the first try and often requires getting killed throughout several attempts, my advice to increase your chance of success is;

Use smoke –
almost every aggressive build should have it, it’s crucial and really messes with a defence trying to cover all angles. Don’t forget 40mm rounds for quick and accurate delivery.

Go fast –
Use lighter builds and get into CQC, once you’re on the point try dump grenades into every room (scavenge) and hold a corner or tight angle. If secured use momentum and go straight for the next cap, you may well beat the respawning defender wave. Also don’t be afraid to go ‘up-the-guts’ and use a direct line of approach if there is good smoke cover. If someone has a KD of 6/8 but 2 objective caps (plus maybe a top score) they may well have died 6 times for 0 kills but succeeded twice in clearing half the obj. As long as you get the cap that’s mostly all that matters. This leads into the next point of;

Attack to defend –
Once you’re on a point, the other team will likely try to counter-attack, effectively flipping the attack/defend scenario. This is particularly relevant given MOST teams don’t stack objectives, camp way too far from it or are too slow to return once it’s under attack. Once you’re set, you can pick them off as they return. However, this needs to be monitored as opposed to;

Clearing the WHOLE point –
Sometimes a good defender will literally hide in a random corner out of LOS. Someone(s) will need to bite the bullet and actively seek out the remaining defenders. This can suck, you may just get picked off and lose the cap bonus points but it’ll highly likely help your team kill those defenders. Remember once it’s capped, it’s yours, even if your whole waves die to the oncoming counterattack.

Marksmen –
Unless you are bagging a heap of kills and eliminating enemy snipers and mg’s this role is often a waste. Smoke doesn’t help you and your team need it to advance as well as kills are often harder to get given the defenders hold all the tight angles and advantage points. If 2 players are marksmen and not contributing, it’s like playing 2 players down given the goal is to get ONTO THE OBJECTIVE. Like LMG’s, they are used BEST in defence.

Defence

The goal is always to maintain at least ONE body within the boundaries of the point. This is best achieved by keeping the other team from even reaching the objective, but further advice includes;

Don’t use smoke –
Should be obvious but a lot of newer players throw smoke in defence. It helps the enemy not you. The rare exception to this is if an angle is covered during a spawn camp.

Defend the objective –
There is nothing more frustrating than being denied a cap by someone hiding out of reach or LOS. Your end goal in a panic is to be THAT person. Look to move back to the objective and use your map to assess how many of your team are on it. Just being on the objective is fine if you’re alive. Be patient and don’t risk exposing yourself which leads onto the next point

Pick your shots –
If you have a cheeky camping spot or angle, shoot to kill with controlled volleys. Your advantage is your secrecy and it’s often better to let an obscured target go to not sacrifice your position. Don’t spray at every person in the distance, someone will see it or remember for next wave.

Dictate their approach –
Use molotovs and incendiary grenades to block an entrance when a wave is getting close. Then redirect your focus on the next obvious choke.

Don’t stack one spot –
One grenade, rocket etc will end several people in a small area. Now granted this does contradict with getting bodies on the objective and that’s ultimately what makes defending difficult against good teams. However, be smart about your camping spots. If you are near several people being cautious and spray wildly (see Pick your shots), someone will just RPG etc that area for a bad time.

Know when to retreat –
If an objective has no one from your team on it and you are pretty confident the enemy is all over it, consider sacrificing it for a better position on the next cap. This is especially relevant when most of the defending team respawn of your objective has been cleared. If the attacking team are clever (see Attack to defend) it’ll be a nightmare trying to get back on. Use this time to reset and find another spot to camp for the next objective. If you attempt to re-contest and die, you may have a long wait until you respawn, which will be further behind the next objective and give extra time for the attackers to get onto your new cap and thus repeating the scenario. From a military perspective this the job of the rearguard.

General Advice

There are hundreds of little tips and tricks one could list; these are some of the ones I think are particularly important for Push;

Commanders –
Probably worth a whole discussion in itself but essentially these roles need to be active. Use smoke whenever you can’t use another call-in. Security on offense is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ good if you gain momentum (see Go fast) and have one/both support helicopters in the air. Often objective A is the hardest to take given the starting spawns, so if you can get a fast first cap don’t be afraid to call the choppers ASAP and cause havoc on the retreating/spawning Insurgence. But be mindful they are less effective if the objective is primarily indoors. A10 strafes come down perpendicular to where you are standing so keep that in mind. They have great penetration and can sometimes clear half a point but are often unpredictable.

Insurgence are less potent in attack; Chemical Mortars are somewhat of a second source of smoke but require your opponents to not be using masks which is very unreliable. Keep the call-ins constant and dump bombs, drones and arty on soft targets or open-topped objectives. The explosive drone is intended to ‘seek’ enemy players and can sometimes work well on tight objectives (i.e Refinery) but is also pretty unpredictable and very noisy.

Note: if two CO’s are using the one OBS, you will need to wait for the first order to be confirmed before issuing a second. Otherwise the OBS will process whatever the last order was. E.g it’ll start asking for a strafe but end with a smoke call-in if interrupted by a second request.

Observers –
Probably the most thankless role, you basically need to hug your CO and wait for their calls. The key is obvious; don’t die mid call and don’t stray too far from your CO. You can’t be expected to act as a bodyguard, and it is acceptable to stay in more strategic locations i.e capping/defending an objective or pinned down in a bad spot. Be mindful most CO’s will call smoke in asap after round start spawn and Security will likely opt for helicopter support on an objective once spawns get low. The one positive is you and the CO get all the kills gained by whatever call-in you use.

Masks –
Not wearing a mask gives your position away and it is SUPER obvious. You want to know why you died in smoke (besides the consistency issues). You probably coughed your guts out and someone just sprayed into the area or lobbed a grenade. Nothing breaks the surprise like someone coughing right on approach to an objectives choke point. Just take a mask and equip on spawn they are free for Insurgents and hardly restrict visibility.

Spawn camping –
Some people love it, some hate it. A good spawn camp is not always easy to pull off and is likely only for that one particular spawn. Once you get used to where they sit, often you can get the jump on whoever is there and respond in time. It’s annoying but rarely dominates any round or one spawn.

Caches –
These take damage from incendiaries and explosives giving a much more effect alternative to blowing them up through the animation. One molotov or incendiary on the cache will take it out in a few seconds. Likewise, so will an IED or C4. Often if the cache is near a thin wall/window, a few rockets against the intervening wall plus a well-timed grenade will take it out. CO support call-ins are also super effective, particularly the Security strafe. Combine the tools and you should rarely need to get close to the cache.

[Golden Markiplier]

Nice tips! I wish I could carry grenades as well as 3 smokes haha.

[-ExiLe`]

As someone who played mostly push (lvl 450) I have to say this is actually very good advice!

As attacker the 'direct line of approach' like you explained works surprisingly well. Well placed smokes and dodging firefights (untill you're on the obj) are really key and is my main strategy. It puts me up the scoreboard quite regularly.

I feel getting on the obj alone (even if it's just camping a corner) is an effective way to disrupt the defensive lines because it swaps the attacker/defender roles. It can really create momentum for the team if you hold a nice angle and can pick them off. Basically the reverse situation of what you said.

So my advice if you're not the best in room clearing, if you're the first to arrive on the obj, finding a nice spot and holding it will be of great help for the team, you don't always need to be a hero. Until reinforcements arrive that is, at one point it needs to be cleared ofcourse.

[Uncle64]

Play mostly PvP and dont fully agree on the part about gunners dont work in attack.
Must say that it works just fine when you know how to handle the weapon.

[Bazingarrey]

Good post, but this should be on Guides instead

[CAPT_haddock]

I know it's a bit out of context but what would happen if it would take twice the time to cap? What I mean is a lot of the time when you defend and the enemy is capping you have to rush to the point without checking your corners and plan something. Because of that you often get sniped by campers who knew you just spawned. At least you could take more time to get there. I understand it would be harder for the attackers to cap but maybe give them 10 waves to start instead of 5?

[hobbicon]

You can use smoke as a defender, just smoke the usual routes in front if you. Either you hear them coughing or they will run half blinded into your position.

[GunsAhoy]

Publicado originalmente por Bazingarrey:

Good post, but this should be on Guides instead

of course it should , but oh well

[Pop]

Publicado originalmente por DustinM:

Publicado originalmente por Bazingarrey:

Good post, but this should be on Guides instead

of course it should , but oh well

Added the content to guides as suggested.