Introduction to Competetive Soldat Multiplayer [Matchmaking]

Read this guide and become a good Soldat player quickly!

This tutorial is directed towards all Soldat players who would like to improve their Multiplayer gameplay and skill in short time and join Soldat's Multiplayer Community. The content of this guide is focused on the most popular gamemode: Capture the Flag (CTF).

• 📌 Multiplayer Community & Matchmaking on Discord
  
• 📌 CTF Rules
  
• 📌 Movement in Soldat
  
• 📌 Weapons in Soldat
  
• 📌 Common Mistakes in CTF
  
• 📌 Misc. Hints & Tricks

1. Introduction

This tutorial is directed towards all Soldat players who would like to improve their Multiplayer gameplay and skill in short time and join Soldat's Multiplayer Community. The content of this guide is focused on the most popular gamemode: Capture the Flag (CTF).

Soldat is despite the thoughts of some people not a 'little web game', which might entertain you for a few hours only. As proven by thousands of players, Soldat is a very competetive game which will keep you hooked for years or even decades because of its fun, fast paced and unique game style!


With the help of this guide you will soon be ready to compete in Soldat Mulitplayer as well in our matchmaking service along with other players from around the globe.

Read this guide with awareness and you will learn all the basics to compete in Soldat Multiplayer and meet veteran players and possibly new friends :-)

2. Multiplayer Community & Matchmaking on Discord

20 years later, after Soldat's initial release in 2002, the Game is still being played Online actively!

There are various Public servers[rr.soldat.pl] as well as an Official Matchmaking service on Discord.

#Soldat Gather[gather.soldat.pl] is the home of the competitive Soldat community. Play organized Soldat mutliplayer matches in several gamemodes on soldat servers located all across the world.

Join the Soldat Matchmaking Community:
Discord[gather.soldat.pl]
Web[gather.soldat.pl] (Commands, Help and Rules)

gather.soldat.pl/discord ✅ Official Server
- Community Chat
- Matchmaking & Events

3. CTF Rules & Server Settings

Capture the Flag

This game-mode consists of two teams: Alpha (Red) & Bravo (Blue). The goal is for each team to steal the enemy's flag and bring it back to their own flag. The team with more captures (caps) in the round (each map is a round) are the winners.

Server Settings used in Matchmaking

Default Format	3v3 ( best of 3 )
Time Limit	10 minutes ( per map )
Capture Limit	10
Respawn Time	3-5 seconds
Weapons	All
Max. Grenades	3
Bonuses	Disabled

Games in Soldat CTF are solely decided by cap difference. That means capturing the flag, or preventing your opponent from doing the same, should be the driving motivation for everything you do during a game.

Some general rules of thumb include:

• ❕ More often than not, preventing a cap (defending or returning your flag) is better than capturing the enemy flag.
  
  
• ❕ When your flag gets captured and you are close to a path the EFC (Enemy Flag Carrier) might use to escape, abandon any engagement you're in and prioritise to kill the flag carrier and return the flag!
  
  
• ❕ On the contrary, when your teammate captures the enemy flag, make sure he reaches his destination safely. Defend the Friendly Flag Carrier (FFC) while he's running back to your base to score! Do not leave the vicinity of your base to go for another attack unless you are absolutely certain that your teammate will score without your help.
  
  
• ❕ Even just slowing the EFC down can give your team enough time to move in and return the flag.

3a. Common Mistakes in CTF

❗️Leaking❗️
Leaking can mean you completely missed an enemy due to not scanning the areas whilst on the go towards enemy base. It can also mean that you've failed a 1vs1 situation and failed to communicate it out to your team.

A good way to avoid leaks is to try to keep peripheral vision and active awareness of your surroundings. If you're sure an enemy is not approaching, drag your crosshair around the corners of the map to see those blind spots and make sure you haven't missed an enemy (even if your teammates did not acknowledge you in team-chat). Also in every 1vs1 situation that you fail, use the respective taunt to inform your teammates which path to cover.


❗️Bad Team Communication❗️
Team chat, Taunts and Radio Menu are important features for a successful team-communication. It's extremely important to keep communicating with the team during the match. Never forget that CTF is a team mode!

Soldat has key-bindings (taunts) to send team-chat messages in a fast way. This allows you to give your team the needed information such as where the “EFC” (Enemy Flag Carrier) or the “FFC” (Friendly Flag Carrier) are located. You can assign those 'taunts' ingame or simply use the Radio Menu by pressing 'V'.

Make sure to read and work with the information that your team provides in order to enhance team-play. Also make sure to deliver the correct info to your team. If you mistakenly send two different locations of enemy flag carrier, it might cause misunderstandings and at times even harm the team's performance.


❗️No focus on base❗️
In many situations it is highly important to clear the base first. Make sure to defend the base and the flag unless you're in a position that forces you to rush out of there, or you see that your teammates are defusing the situation. If you're not sure that your teammates can handle it alone, stick around closely until the situation is clear.


❗️Kill greediness❗️
It’s a common misconception in CTF to think that you can make up for your lack of performance at flag capturing, with a good kills and death (K/D) ratio. However, remember that, at the end of the map, the team's capturing score is the one that matters. Be mindful of your surroundings, cover your teammates in a way tha wi’ll contribute to the match and not only your personal stats.


❗️Use your weapons and grenades!❗️
Use your secondary weapon as well as your grenades! Each player is equipped with a secondary weapons (USSOCOM, Combat Knife, Chainsaw & M72 LAW). Each weapon is unique and can be used for different scenarios. You can switch to your secondary weapon by pressing 'Q'.
Grenades are also strong and very helpful for killing but much more important for . . .

3b. Competetive CTF Gameplay Footage

Find a few inspiring videos below that show competetive Soldat gameplay. Watching these final streams usually helps new players to understand and learn a lot about how competetive CTF is played.

SCTFL (Soldat Capture the Flag League) Season 28 Finals:
https://youtu.be/IAy0WNH7Ls4?t=1436
Skip to beginning:
23:56 (ctf_Blade) +commentary in english


Most recent CTF Cup:
https://youtu.be/8iJdLsh2vmQ
Skip to round:
05:20 (ctf_Rotten)
17:30 (ctf_IceBeam)
30:03 (ctf_Triumph)
43:35 (ctf_Cobra)
58:00 (ctf_Guardian)

4. Movement Techniques

Soldat has evolved in the past years and movement became a very important factor and the key to succeed in many situations. You will gain a lot of advantages if you learn and master movement techniques. They allow you to move very fast and precise. You can also dodge bullets and grenades.

Similar to games like Quake you can find players doing a lot of movement-related tricks in Soldat (bunnyhopping, boosting & more).

There are even custom community gamemodes that are solely designed for movement such as Climbing.

Not all techniques are useful or required for Capture the Flag (CTF) but you should learn the following moves to begin with:

1. Bunnyhopping
   
2. Superman
   
3. Canonball
   
4. Rolling

[1] Bunnyhopping is a very basic movement technique that helps you to accelerate speed while running.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1957537352

• 1️⃣ Press a movement key Left / Right and keep it pressed
  
• 2️⃣ Tap Jump
  
• 3️⃣ As soon as you land on the ground, press Jump again
  
• 4️⃣ Repeat this in a loop

Be careful to not jump too high. The duration you hold down the Jump key defines the height of your Jump. You can also release the movement keys in-air to adjust your side-jumps.
Another example below:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1957736839

[2] The Superman is another basic movement technique that helps you to accelerate speed in-air and inbetween other moves.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1957533408

• 1️⃣ Press Prone key
  
• 2️⃣ Press RMB (jetpack) and keep it pressed
  
• 3️⃣ Fly like a Superman as a result

[3] The Cannonball is the best single jump that will get you moving fast, especially over flat areas.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1957350156&fileuploadsuccess=1

• 1️⃣ Press a movement button (Left / Right) and place your cursor in the opposite direction
  
• 2️⃣ Tap Jump
  
• 3️⃣ Straight after tapping jump, you tap RMB (jetpack)
  
• 4️⃣ Repeat this in a loop to chain multiple canonballs together

Be careful to not overlap the tapping of jump and the jet.


See a combination of the Canonball with Spas-12 Boosting below:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1957530758


[4] Rolling

• 1️⃣ Press a movement button (Left / Right)
  
• 2️⃣ Press Crouch

Want to learn more advanced movement techniques?

Learn more: Advanced Movement Tutorial on Soldat Wiki[wiki.soldat.pl]

5. Weapons

Soldat doesn't have classes or a buy system to determine which weapon you can choose from. You can select from all available weapons without limitation whenever you respawn. (Press 'TAB' to enable or disable the weapons selection menu)

That does also mean that weapons in Soldat are fairly balanced.
However, it is recommended to adjust your weapon choice depending on the map you play on and the given situation.

Playing the Barret Sniper on fast-paced and small maps may often not be considered as a good choice because the weapon has a long fireinterval. In the same way, you shouldn't try using the Spas-12 or HK MP5 for long range combat.

Weapons Selection Menu:
There is a variety of primary & secondary weapons that you can choose from in Soldat. You can switch to your secondary weapon by pressing 'Q'.


Tip #1: You can select weapons from the menu quickly by pressing e.g '3' to choose the AK-47 (see corresponding numbers in the image).

To pick your secondary weapon quickly simply use e.g 'CTRL' + '4' to select the M72 LAW.

Tip #2: Enable/Disable the weapons menu by pressing 'TAB'.

Tip #3: You can also equip two primary weapons in the game (e.g AK74 & Barret Sniper).
Simply drop your secondary weapon by pressing 'Drop Weapon' and pick up another weapon from the ground.

5a. Primary Weapons

[1] The Desert Eagles is a semi-automatic weapon, which may often be interpreted as the "coolest" weapon in the game. It deals much damage but is rather slow at its firerate.
Desert Eagles are a great choice for anyone with a good and precise aim.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
7	1.82s	383ms	TBA	3-4

[2] The HK MP5 is a close combat weapon, which shoots really fast and causes high damage per second. It's a very efficient weapon for close quarter combat (CQC) because of its fast fireinterval and short time to kill.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
30	1.85s	100ms	TBA	9

[3] The AK 47 is recommended for use as a supportive/defensive weapon. The AK-47 deals high damage per bullet but is rather slow at its firerate compared to other automatic rifles. It's the only gun in Soldat which has 'selfbink' mechanics. Selfbink causes inaccuracy if you keep shooting without pauses (like in CS). AK74 accuracy also gets lower whenever you move and shoot. Don't spray a lot! It's most effective and accurate when standing still and tap firing or bursting. The accuracy is very high in crouch- or prone position.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
35	2.75s	167ms	TBA	7

[4] The Steyr AUG is a viable automatic rifle, which is good for both, close combat and larger distances. It's accuracy is pretty reliable but decreases slightly when you move while shooting.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
30	2.62s	117ms	TBA	10

[5] The Spas 12 is a shotgun, which is good for close combat and for boosting purposes. It deals a large portion of damage in close quarters combat (CQC) and is also popular due to it's boosting abilities to accelerate speed on your movement, boost flags, boost your teammates or push opponents away.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
7	3.45s	533ms	TBA	2-3

[6] The Ruger 77 is a rifle, which is good for range combat and as a supportive weapon. It usually kills in 2 or max. 3 bullets. Your shots will become more inaccurate while moving.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
4	2.35s	850ms	TBA	2

[7] The M79 is a grenade launcher, which is good for close-mid combat. It kills in one shot and is also good for boosting yourself, teammates or pushing opponents away. The M79 does also deal splash damage if you hit the ground nearby your enemy!

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
1	3.07s	3.07s	TBA	1

[8] The Barret is a sniper rifle, which is good for mid-far range combat. It kills in one shot and might even kill two or more enemies with a single shot if they line up. You can enable zoom by going into Prone or Crouch position and aiming at the end of your screen.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
6	7.67s	3.82s	TBA	1

[9] The FN-Minimi is a machinegun, with a large amount of ammo. It's accuracy is pretty reliable but decreases slightly when you move while shooting. It's also very effective for boosting teammates or flags.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
50	4.15s	150ms	TBA	8

[10] The Minigun is a heavy machinegun, with a large amount of ammo. It's accuracy becomes pretty low when you move while shooting but is very accurate, as you stand still or are in prone/crouch position. It's also very effective for boosting yourself, boosting teammates, boosting flags or pushing enemies away.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
80	6.77s	100ms	TBA	11

*TBA = to be announced

5b. Secondary Weapons

The USSOCOM pistol is usually equipped with one-shot weapons (M79, Barrett).

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
14	1.38s	183ms	TBA	7

The Combat Knife can be thrown, very useful for spawn killing or instant-knife-kill upon re-spawn to prevent enemies from capturing the flag.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
1	-	-	TBA	1

The M72 LAW is very good for defensive scenarios, lurking and spawn killing. You can aim to common spots and "blind shot" or use known ricochet shots as well.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
1	5.1s	5.32s	TBA	1

The Chainsaw is perhaps the hardest secondary to use. You will need a good concept of movement to use it to your advantage.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
50	3.03s	33ms	TBA	1

The Frag grenade is a pickup object. Respawn grants 1 grenade. Grenade kits grant a maximum of 3 grenades in total. Using grenades whilst shooting the enemy can provide a very quick kill with a minimal usage of bullets. It is a very effective and commonly used method. You can also kill enemies with a single grenade throw! Another thing you can use grenades for is boosting on colliders to gain movement speed.

Ammo	Full Reloadtime	Fireinterval	avg. Damage	avg. Bullets per Kill
1-3	-	TBA	TBA	1-2

5c. Weapon Mechanics

How exactly do weapons in Soldat work?

◻️HitboxModifier◻️
Shots to the Head, Torso or Legs deal different amount of Damage.
For the automatic rifles (HK-MP5, AK-47, Steyr AUG, FN-Minimi and Minigun) the modifiers were designed as follows:

• Head: 100%
  
• Torso: 85%
  
• Legs: 80%

◻️BulletSpeed◻️
The speed is the initial base speed of a bullet.
A fired bullet inherits speed by the velocity of the player (YourSpeed).
A fired bullet loses its speed over time.

◻️Fireinterval◻️
Fireinterval is the frequency at which a weapon can fire or launch its projectiles.

◻️Ammo◻️
Defines the size of a full clip.

◻️Reloadtime◻️
Defines the time it takes to reload your weapon.

◻️MovementAcc◻️
Defines how much the aim is getting affected by the players movement. The higher the value, the more you have to be still to aim properly. Using the jetpack results in the aim to be affected the most. Prone position resets MovementAcc to 0.

◻️BulletSpread◻️
Defines how tight or loose the bullets will group. Moving fast forward decreases the spread effect due to higher bullet speed.

◻️BulletPush◻️
Defines the weight of a bullet, factors together with its velocity to push away the receiving player (enemies and teammates) and objects (flags).

◻️InheritedVelocity◻️
In percent how much velocity the bullet inherits from the player.

◻️Bink◻️
If the player is hit by a bullet, his aim is not accurate for this amount of time. The mouse cursor in-game will then enlarge as an indicator. This mechanic is currently enabled only for the Barret Sniper.

◻️Self-Bink◻️
Negative Bink values mean Self-Bink. The lower the number, the more inaccurate the weapon will get after firing. Find the proper timing as you tap-fire or burst to ensure accuracy when Self-Bink is enabled. It is currently enabled only for the AK-47.

◻️StartUpTime◻️
Defines the time you have to keep the fire button pressed to trigger a shot. It is currently being used at the LAW and the Barret Sniper.

◻️Recoil◻️
Defines the amount that the cursor will fling up when fired. It is currently enabled only for the Minigun.


Damage Calculation:
The formula for calculating the final damage dealt by a bullet is the result of:

[Damage] * [CurrentSpeed] * [HitboxModifier]
([CurrentSpeed] = [Speed] + [PlayerSpeed] * [InheritedVelocity])

This means that damage is not static and the amount of bullets needed per kill may differ depending on many factors, especially as you inherit speed to the bullet when you move. It is therefore recommended to accelerate speed as you attack.

6. Misc. Hints & Tricks

You can change various settings in Soldat that will instantly help you to perform much better. This starts from setting the [1]controls to changing the [2]game config to your needs over to [3]applying mods.

[1]Don't use Soldat's default control settings!
Soldat's default controls are far away from an ergonomic experience. That results in players struggling to execute certain actions simultaneously and slows down their movement and time to react.

You should make sure that the following actions can be accessed easily:

Action	Recommended Key
Move Left	A (default)
Move Right	D (default)
Jump	W (default)
Crouch	S (default)
Prone	C
Throw grenade	SPACE
Throw flag	CTRL
Drop weapon / throw knife	SHIFT

Choosing from the control keys above will certainly improve your time to react and execute actions once you got used to it.


Some useful Ingame Commands:

Action	Key	Combination
Increase sound volume	SHIFT	+
Decrease sound volume	SHIFT	-
Show FPS & more	ALT	F3
Select a Secondary Weapon quickly	CTRL	1-4
Take a Screenshot	F4
Record a Demo	F8
Activate/Deactivate Weapons Menu	TAB

[2]Setting up Soldat properly!

No content has been added yet. Come back later...


[3]Applying Mods!

No content has been added yet. Come back later...

7. TL;DR - Important Links

Important Links

Soldat Manual[soldat.github.io]

Official Website[soldat.pl]
Official Discord Server[gather.soldat.pl]
Official Forums[forums.soldat.pl]
Official Matchmaking[gather.soldat.pl]

Soldat Wiki[wiki.soldat.pl]
Comprehensive Movement Tutorial[wiki.soldat.pl]
Comprehensive Competetive CTF Tutorial[wiki.soldat.pl]
Soldat Version History[wiki.soldat.pl]

Rent Soldatservers[gshost.us]

Soldat 2 Early Access:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/474220/Soldat_2/

8. Credits

darDar, also known as the Saviour of Soldat

[⦅⦿⦆ darDar]

@Marcus: https://gather.soldat.pl/discord

[Marcus]

Discord link work?

[donglemailbags]

you forgot /piss to pee

[Auber]

amazing guide m8

[mage1413]

nice. i prefer however, space bar for prone. try it out.

[Rot]

Awesome x)

[Selfishbanshee]

thank you for the guide!

[Lanik]

Nice guide

[Marlfox]

Nice