Ghosts Multiplayer Pro-Guide

Like many FPS titles, Call of Duty: Ghosts requires players to approach gameplay tactically to achieve victory. This is a brief, no-nonsense guide that explains how to play like a pro on multiplayer.

Sec. 1 - General Gameplay

The following tips address some broader aspects of gameplay in Ghosts Multiplayer:

#1 - PLAY THE OBJECTIVE

There's a difference between Domination and Team Deathmatch. Learn the rules for various types of games and adjust what you do to match the objective. Contrary to popular belief, Call of Duty is about more than just getting a lot of kills. Many matches are decided by more than individual scores. It doesn't matter if you go 50 and 0 if you fail to capture points A/B/C or plant/defuse a bomb and lose as a result. Be mindful of what mode you're in and let your skills focus on the objective for that mode.

#2 - BE A TEAM PLAYER

This should really be tip number one, since matches in Ghosts are almost always determined by the level of coordination between members of a team, regardless of their individual skills. Don't assume that having a 2.5 KDR (Kill to Death Ratio) means that you can single-handedly win it for your group. Alternatively, don't be discouraged if you have a KDR under 1.0 and aren't confident about your ability to contribute. If nothing else, always ASK what you can do for the team and then stick to it. Do not be the one person who does their own thing - to your team's detriment.

If opportunity allows, try to rally your team and give them orders. Even random groups of players can be coordinated with the proper approach. Be courteous, but firm - and help remind everyone that they're in the same boat, win or lose. Players generally like winning. Find the best way to let that work for you to everyone's advantage.

#3 - TRAIN REGULARLY

Improving your skills depends completely on how hard you are willing to work on improving them. Consistently working on skills will allow you to get better with things like accuracy and reaction time. You may also want to try learning to use new weapons or practice new tactics. All of these work together to comprise your skill as a player and it falls to you to work on each area as much as possible.

There are many ways to do this in both multiplayer and singleplayer, as well as in other games aside from just Ghosts. The most important aspect of training is that you challenge yourself - otherwise, you won't improve. Stack the odds against yourself by tackling more difficulty than you're used to. You'll find that in time, it gets easier and that challenges you struggled with before are no longer as hard. This is called improvement - and it requires time and effort to achieve.

#4 - HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE

Learn to accept victory AND defeat. No one likes a sore loser or a cheap winner. Take the result of each battle in stride and display a good attitude no matter what happens. Also learn to be patient, since the road to getting good at games like Ghosts can be long at times. Some of you might wonder what this has to do with your skills - the answer is everything. Your ability to perform depends on your mental state, which relates directly to your emotional state. Ever drive angry? Same principle. Keeping a lid on any temper issues and learning to develop a positive attitude towards others will help you to become more focused and hence, a better soldier. It might even help you become a better person, if you let it. But don't underestimate what can come out of having the proper attitude in-game.

#5 - DON'T GO IN ALONE

Leave all that lone wolf stuff behind. Ghosts Multiplayer is mostly team-based, so aside from knowing how to play and work with a team, it's recommended that you have one of your own that you can rely on. Whether it's made up of close friends or people you know that play the game, let your team serve as your support system and be something that you can use to your advantage in-game. Would you rather have a squad of people you know or completely random players? It's much easier to coordinate with friends - and winning means that much more when you can share it.

Sec. 2 - Game Modes

The following section contains tips and strategies for the more popular modes in Ghosts Multiplayer. Not all modes are included:

#1 - TEAM DEATHMATCH

Objective: Kill the enemy team!

Strategy: Kill more, die less!

Tactical Factors: Map and teammates.

Breakdown: TDM is all about killing, so make sure that you and your team are equipped to do just that. The first team to score 75 kills wins, and the mad rush for kills starts with the round. Don't worry about playing too aggressively, since your opponents might take advantage of your rushing in by camping or using traps to get the drop on you.

Play it loose at the beginning of the match to get a feel for your enemies before deciding how offensively or defensively to proceed. Be sure to have class loadouts set up that allow you to do either one effectively. Also, coordinate with your teammates to take down any hard or entrenched targets or to make the best use of killstreaks to rack up your score.

As a general rule, the team who coordinates better wins. TDM is where this rule can apply most clearly because the objective is so simple. Don't be the group that gets wrecked because you all thought that doing your own thing would get you through the match.

Call-outs make a world of difference. Spot targets you see and especially the ones who kill you. Tell your team where they are and what they're doing. Don't be afraid to call for backup when you need it and never rush in blind.

Your loadout should be determined based primarily on the map. Assault rifles are a decent choice no matter what. SMGs and shotguns make life easier in maps with tight spaces while marksman rifles and snipers can offer an advantage on bigger, more open maps. Use whatever enables you to kill the enemy best and change up your loadout as needed to adjust to your enemy.

Also, Assault Killstreaks are best used in this mode and can tip the scales in your team's favor at any point during a round.

#2 - DOMINATION

Objective: Capture and defend the Flags!

Strategy: Fast on offense, strong on defense!

Tactical Factors: Map, teammates, and communication.

Breakdown: Dom is a step above TDM. On top of just killing the enemy, map control is now your foremost concern. Winning is determined by which team controls each of three flags around the map. These flags award points over time until one team accumulates 200 points. Ideally, your team should be able to control all three, but most games are decided based on who can manage to hang on to two the longest.

Keep your offense fast and your defense strong. Rush B flag at the start of the round with a teammate or two and leave the rest of your guys to spread out defensively and cap the flag near your spawn point. Don't get carried away with pushing in on the enemy's spawn flag, because pushing too close will change their spawn point. Capping all 3 flags will also randomize the enemy spawn points to pop anywhere on the map, which can be bad if you don't like getting ambushed.

Keeping your defense strong means two things: designate point guards and have your teammates ready to move on command. In general, having one decently skilled person assigned to cover a flag for the duration of the game will ensure that no random enemy can slip through your lines and capture anything. But for those times when the enemy team is well-coordinated and moves in groups of two or more to capture a point, have your teammates ready to respond to threats when they arise.

Adjust your class loadouts for a balance between mobility and and flexibility - meaning combat at different ranges or against single targets or groups in various places. Marathon is a must, but having semtex might make it easier to clean up a team of rushers. Trophy systems can prevent the enemy from raining explosive death from afar, while an IED or C4 charge can guarantee a surprise for anyone trying to capture. On weapons, marksman rifles or snipers can lay the hurt at range while SMGs or shotguns give you an edge up close.

Try to balance your loadout with the rest of your team's so that your skills compliment theirs. It's recommended that not everyone snipe, or rush. At the same time, mix up assignment for assault or support streaks so that your skilled players can bring the pain with assault streaks while a pack of vests or Oracle can help the rest of your squad do its job better.

Planning in advance is key. Don't play it loose going in, unless you plan on losing. This mode can be brutal and success requires lots of communication, call-outs, and improvising.

#3 - FREE FOR ALL

Objective: Kill everyone else!

Strategy: Stay mobile, invisible, and lethal!

Tactical Factors: Map, enemy strategy, and your individual skills.

Breakdown: While almost every mode in Ghosts has a heavy teamplay aspect, FFA is one of the few games that puts everything completely on you and you alone. This mode can be effective for training, since it's all about combat and takes out any need to focus on coordinating with other players towards any kind of objective.

The best strategy is to stay mobile from start to finish. In other words, DON'T CAMP. The maps on Ghosts aren't very suited for camping and even if you try, chances are that the enemy won't take kindly to it. Without teammates to back you up, the odds are against you staying alive unless you use camping as a way to funnel other players to attack you ... but even this has limited effectiveness for the following reason -

TIME IS YOUR ENEMY.

The round timer isn't all you have to worry about. The first player to get 30 kills takes the game and so whoever can kill MORE people FASTER ultimately wins, regardless of skill at simply killing. Matches aren't decided based on KDRs alone, though this can make a difference. The players who are mobile have a better chance at encountering more players - ergo, they can kill more targets and achieve a higher score faster than those who camp or play defensively.

Secondary to mobility is invisibility. Playing it stealthy gives you a one-up over the guy running around gunz-a-blazing because he's easy to find and will draw more attention from more players - therefore, he'll probably die more, too. Stay off the radar and take your opponents by surprise! Silenced weapons are a must, along with Dead Silence. Marathon and Agility can help you stay quick on your feet, while Amplify will lower the chances of people getting the drop on you.

One useful perk that comes highly recommended for this mode especially is Quickdraw. FFA puts you in a cage match with a lot of players, all of whom are gunning for you and each other. Having the ability to pop a target first will put you in a better position to do more than just kill someone first one time - it can set you up to take down multiple targets. See the Loadout Section in this guide for more on Quickdraw.

See the section on Reinforce for additional info on the newest mode in Ghosts.

Sec. 3 - Skill Training

The following section details methods for improving skills in Ghosts, such as accuracy, reflexes, and the general control scheme in the game.

#1 - ACCURACY

Essential to your performance in any FPS game is your ability to aim and hit targets precisely. Developing your accuracy can take time and will require a lot of practice. Some of the ways you can train accuracy in Ghosts are by taking advantage of features within the game itself to challenge and improve your hit percentage. Give the following exercises a shot (pun intended):

The "One-Mag" Exercise: Setup a private match against easy AI in a deathmatch mode and select your loadout with an assault rifle of your choosing. Limit yourself to using one and only one magazine of ammo and try to get as many kills as possible. When you deplete the mag, reload and get a knife kill before letting yourself shoot anyone else. Tally your score and try to raise it. To increase difficulty, use weapons with a smaller mag capacity or mix things up by using just a pistol. In time, your accuracy will increase if you can work up to killing more than 3-4 targets with a 30-round magazine in an AR. Apply this method online in FFA or TDM for maximum results, but at the risk of your KDR. Also give the mode called Hunted a try for a faster and more dynamic version of this. Raise the AI's difficulty for more of a challenge.

The "Deadshot" Exercise: Setup a private match against easy AI in a deathmatch mode and equip your loadout to use a high-powered sniper or marksman rifle. Tweak health settings to improve your odds of getting one-shot kills. Then go at it and work on making every bullet nail a target. For a twist, penalize yourself for missing by going for a knife kill before you can fire again. As an advanced variation of this, tweak your private match settings to enable headshots only!

#2 - REFLEXES

Equally essential to your hit percentage is the speed with which you can engage and neutralize targets. Training this skill is harder, but very rewarding with time. Try these exercises:

The "Drag-Shot" Exercise: Setup a private match with easy AI who have low health. Position yourself in a spot with good vantage or go mobile. Use a powerful sniper on a class with quickdraw and focus - but don't aim directly at targets. Instead, before aiming down the sight (or scope), focus on a spot NEXT TO your target or a short distance from him. Perform a drag-shot by ADS'ing while shifting your aim from that spot onto your target and fire at the moment you sight up. With practice, you should be able to snap your aim from spots in a target's vicinity onto him and put him down. Over time, you can extend the distance from the spot to the target but retain the same reaction time and precision.

Target-Switching Exercises: Aside from just sighting on targets, you will need to be able to drop targets in quick succession. There are a few ways to train this skill, but the easiest is to setup a private match against easy AI on a small map. MAKE SURE THERE ARE MANY, MANY BOTS. The idea is to pit yourself against groups as frequently as possible so that you can work on engaging groups, one target at a time, faster than any of them can get a shot off at you.

Spec-Ops or Extinction: If you have either MW2 or MW3, take a stab at The Pit or Stay Sharp missions on Spec Ops. Both focus heavily on target switching and lots of practice with these will pay off. You can also try Extinction on Ghosts with the difficulty set to Hardcore. This will stack a lot of targets against you and will offer ample opportunity to practice switching - hence, reflex training.

#3 - CONFIGURING YOUR CONTROLS

As a general rule in FPS games on PC, your keyboard and mouse should be setup in a way that is both comfortable and accomodating for your specific playstyle. I myself use custom control schemes for every FPS I play, which caters to my skill set and method of play.

Some things to consider doing are fine-tuning your mouse sensitivity to enhance your aiming capability. You might also configure your mouse for more instantaneous actions like melee or ADS. I prefer using the right mouse button for melee because it's faster for me and comes in handy when my enemy is trying to stab me first. I also have my ADS configured to a thumb button, since I have a gaming mouse.

If nothing else, turn off Mouse Acceleration!

On that note, investing in better equipment is highly recommended. Gaming mice are very useful because they give you options to improve your control scheme for those instant actions like ADS or melee while building onto mechanics you already know (using a mouse to aim and shoot). Gaming keyboards may or may not be worthwhile, but that's more up to you.

One final bit of advice worth mentioning is to break the default mold for FPS controls. If you can, change up your key bindings to enable faster or easier use. Don't worry if you forget what you set it to at first - practice will fix that and will pay off by giving you an edge later.

Everything should have its place and should comfortably fit together for your satisfaction. To do otherwise is to short-change yourself and ignore options given to you by the game makers.

As a sample bonus, I've included my control scheme for Ghosts below -

Movement: Arrow Keys
Jump: R-Shift
Change Stance: R-Ctrl
Use/Interact: Enter
Sprint/Hold Breath: \
Reload: Spacebar
Killstreaks: 7-0
ADS: Thumb Button on Mouse
Secondary Equipment: Mouse 4/5
Melee: RMB
Grenade/Lethals: Middle Mouse

(I'm often asked "HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU USE THIS?!" - my answer: practice became habit)

As far as equipment specs, I use a Corsair M60 Gaming Mouse and a Logitech G110 Keyboard.

Having the right equipment with the right modifications can work to your advantage if you put the time in to set it all up.

Sec. 4 - Loadouts

The following section details information on class loadouts and weaponry in Ghosts Multiplayer:

#1 - BE VERSATILE

Always have the right class for the right situation and be prepared to be flexible as possible and engage any situation that comes along. Setup your class slots for various types of combat, be it assault, CQB (Close Quarters Battle), LRB (Long-Ranged Battle), or tactics-specific loadouts (tube class, runner class, anti-air, etc.). The game mode shouldn't have a huge bearing on your classes, as opposed to your role on the team and the map you're playing on.

Try to organize your classes into categories, each suited to a particular type of combat and designated accordingly for easy selection during the game.



One other recommendation is to acquire the DLC for additional loadouts slots, which furnish you with an extra 4 classes per soldier. The logic behind paying money for this aside, having it does put you in a better position since you can't change your soldiers once you're in-game. The alternative is having to swap around a bunch of stuff during lobby intervals, which can mess up any system you devise. Sometimes, being well-organized comes with a price.

#2 - LET THE MAP DETERMINE YOUR CLASS

This cannot be overstressed. The layout of the battlefield determines what types of engagements you can expect. Game modes can affect these too, but ultimately the map supersedes the mode as far as how you will encounter the enemy.

Don't worry about naming classes for every map. Instead, simply make mental notes on the types of encounters you experience during games on a map during a certain mode and use that to determine your loadout for matches on a specific map.

#3 - DUMP THE DEADWEIGHT

Another way of saying this is "don't pack what you won't use." A class is completely built around the gun. Whatever your weapon is, your perks and equipment compliment its prime function. Focus, for example, goes well with scoped weapons, while Dead Silence aids with the stealthy attributes of a suppressed weapon. Keep the prime function in mind!

Don't use Perks that don't directly benefit your playstyle. Some of the abilities in Ghosts are really nice, but they take the place of things that can be more useful in the long-run. This is especially true of "expensive" perks like Danger Close or Deadeye. More is better, considering that most perks only cost two gear slots, while many abilities only come in handy less than half the time.

Don't use a secondary or any throwables unless you absolutely need them. The average player barely lives long enough to use all of his ammo anyway, so no secondary is needed in most cases. Sometimes, you will be caught in the open while you're reloading and having a sidearm or flashbang will come in handy. But don't concern yourself with this unless it happens often and take advantage of bonus slots that you get by not packing extra junk.

Ask yourself what you NEED to do and setup accordingly.

#4 - ADJUST AS NEEDED

Not every loadout works perfectly and there is always a way to better equip yourself. There will also be times when you have to support your team through using specific killstreaks or other equipment (Trophy System for rushing a flag, perhaps). Change things up when you need to and don't be afraid to try something new if you find your current class isn't working quite right.

Also don't forget to swap classes mid-game if problems are occurring or you need to adjust tactics to take on your enemy more effectively.

#5 - ON WEAPONS

Rather than recommending specific guns, my advice is to stick with what YOU find most effective and disregard what the pundits or critics say.

If you find a gun that works well - use it.
If you try a gun and nothing you do makes it work well - ditch it and try another.

In most FPS games, there is a Rock-Paper-Scissors rule for weapons in general:

SPEED BEATS DAMAGE
ACCURACY BEATS SPEED
DAMAGE BEATS ACCURACY

Select your weapons accordingly, balancing your skills with these rules.

If you want to get the most out of your efforts, try each weapon out for yourself and find what works and what doesn't. There are and will always be some weapons that are more effective than others. But in the right hands - any gun is deadly.

#6 - ON ATTACHMENTS

Some weapons do better with added range or stability and should be equipped with attachments as needed. A few specific tips I will submit are as follows:

-Rapid Fire is useful on close-ranged weaponry (SMGs)
-Some guns come with stock attachments that can save an extra gear slot (Honey Badger, VKS, etc.)
-Extra Attachment Perk has its uses
-No weapon does well completely absent of attachments
-Optics should be configured to suit your skills and yours alone
-A VMR Sight combines the properties of a Red Dot and ACOG without sacrificing field of view
-Thermal isn't as great as everyone claims and severely limits your field of view
-Flash Suppressors are useless because a Silencer does the exact same thing and keeps you off the radar
-Tracker Sights create game lag for most people
-Underbarrel Shotguns are VERY underrated

#7 - ON PERKS

One area that is worth getting specific in is Perks, because unlike weaponry, Perks operate the same for everyone. Below, I've included some notes on several Perks that have proven to be effective when added to classes in general:

Dead Silence: Extremely useful and extremely common. Being able to traverse the map silently goes a long way towards achieving stealth.

Amplify: Counters Dead Silence and comes recommended precisely because Dead Silence is so commonly used. Helps you stay aware and keeps the ninjas from getting the drop on you.

Quickdraw: Yes, it eats up 3 perk slots and yes it does only slice your ADS (aim-down-sight) time in half. But think about it - most weapons can kill in only a few shots and getting shot throws off your aim. Most engagements are decided by who lands the first hit because recovering your aim after it has been staggered is tough. Making up for the damage you've already taken is even tougher. This Perk is worth the expense and will pay dividends almost immediately.

Marathon: Another common Perk but an equally useful one. Since mobility is key for most game modes, having unlimited sprint will ensure you don't stall out in a bad spot or get bogged down in a firefight.

Agility: This Perk will upgrade your mobility even more by removing the weight factor that comes with some weapons. Turn an LMG class into an Assault class and an Assault class into an SMG class. Speed matters and experienced players will know how to lead on targets moving at standard speeds. Give them a surprise and close the distance on them faster.

Focus: Necessary for any class that includes a scoped weapon (sniper or marksman rifles). While it tones down the staggering effect of being shot, its more useful function is reducing the "bobble" that comes with using scoped weapons.

Extra Attachment: Another three-point Perk, but also useful in some circumstances. Combining a silencer with a grip and optic or even bundling a tube with a barrel mod and extended mags can be necessary at times. Not recommended as a stock perk but definitely worth considering for more tactical classes.

Overkill: Again, a three-point Perk and again, useful in limited situations.

All other Perks should be rated discretionary. As a rule - having more Perks is better, so empty any useless gear slots.

Sec. 5 - Tactics

The following section explains ways to utilize and improve various tactical specialties in Ghosts Multiplayer:

#1 - SIZING UP YOUR ENEMY

Before you jump onto the battlefield, it's important to get an idea of what you're going up against. Of the many features in Ghosts Multiplayer, one that is extremely useful in gauging the skill of the players you'll be facing in a match is in-game stat tracking. Using lobby leaderboards or the at-a-glance profiles, you can get solid intel on the level of resistance to expect, as well as who poses the greatest threat.


Some things to take note of aside from the all-important KDR are the ratios from the player's last few matches as well as his or her overall win/loss ratio. The number of games played can matter, too - since new players often have good stats because they haven't been to the school of hard knocks yet.

As a guideline for assessing KDR stats - assume the following:

-Any KDR over 1.0 represents a decent player
-Any KDR over 1.5 represents a skilled player
-Any KDR over 3.0 represents a hacker (or an extreme try-hard)

For W/L stats - assume the following:

-Anything over 2 means that the player is good at playing the objective
-Anything under 1 means that the player thinks every mode is TDM

Aside from familiarizing with these guidelines, another skill you will need to develop is the ability to quickly assess stats in a pre-game lobby. Players can join in quickly, up until the last second the game starts - giving you only a little time to scan their stats and determine whether you need to sit up in your chair for the coming match ... or leave because there's a hacker around.

#2 - ENGAGING YOUR ENEMY

This is where the metal hits the meat,

You've trained your skills, built your loadouts, and now you're in a firefight and need to maintain the edge over your enemies. A few tips:

-Headshots win the day but aren't essential
-Landing hits center of mass are most effective in typical engagements
-The first person to get a damaging hit usually wins
-Most engagements are decided in less than a second
-Most engagements happen at close range
-Don't rush in blindly - have a plan
-The first person to reach an objective usually takes it
-All objectives are deathtraps in one way or another
-Operate as if your enemy knows where you are
-Operate as if your enemy is faster and more accurate than you
-Never assume the match's outcome is certain until the end
-Don't bite off more than you can chew

#3 - SURPRISING YOUR ENEMY

Ideally, you should focus on getting BEHIND your opponent before engaging him - either up close or at range. Killing someone is a lot easier when they aren't looking in your direction and especially when they don't know you're there.

Slipping through your enemies' line and attacking them from behind is ALWAYS more effective than a frontal assault because it increases the chances of you being able to fight the enemy on YOUR terms. Attacking him head-on puts the engagement on his terms and leaves you at a disadvantage.

Now that we've explored the What, let's discuss the How -

-Stick to the edges of the map rather than the center
-Avoid open areas that have long lines of sight
-Use diversions to your advantage - explosions, weapon fire, or your teammates can draw the enemy's attention away from you. Touch a flag and bug out to draw someone in and prep an ambush
-Use cover as much as possible - boxes, counters, doorways, and anything else that can absorb damage or conceal your presence until the moment is right
-Do not engage until you are ready to - again, don't let your opponent have any say on when and where and how a firefight starts. If you get caught, either adjust or fall back to a place where the fight is more on your terms
-Don't take on more than you can handle. There is such a thing as too many hostiles. Let them separate and take down the ones that pose the most threat first
-Be flexible - you never know what might happen

#4 - BEING STEALTHY

Stealth dovetails off the previous subsection, since surprising your enemy depends on how stealthy you can be up until the moment of engagement. Having the right class is only half the requirement, because there are many predictive elements to the equation:

-Be ever mindful of what your enemy is thinking - put yourself in their seat
-Never assume you have an advantage, even for an instant
-Stay on your guard even after you get the kill
-Engage a mental "What-If" strategy to keep yourself ready for any situation as you move. Consider what you'd do if 3 enemies came around the next corner and visualize yourself reacting to that situation. Leave out no reasonable possibilities - because it can get random sometimes
-Minimize your footprint visually and on radar
-Learn when to wait and when to move
-Stay above, below, or behind your enemy
-Go places that most people don't
-Your goal is to be a continuous nuisance - not a one man army

#5 - ASSAULTING

On the polar opposite end of the skill spectrum from stealth is assault - which focuses completely on attacking the enemy from the front, side, and rear in an overt and conspicuous manner.

-High damage weaponry is your best friend
-Aiming reflexes and accuracy are most essential
-Explosives come in handy for this style
-Assaulting alone is usually considered suicide because you will be on the radar
-Recognize that your ability to engage is limited to targets that stand between you and the objective. Ignore anyone who doesn't get in your way.
-Team coordination is essential for assault
-There are no one man armies
-More firepower is better

#6 - DEFENDING

In conjunction with assault, defense focuses on what to do once you've secured an objective and encounter hostile counter-assaults:

-Always make the enemy come to you
-Limit the number of directions that you can be assaulted from
-Make use of cover as much as possible
-Traps are your best friend - they can cover the routes you can't
-If you can't kill them all, buy time
-Area of effect weapons can give you an edge against groups
-Engage and displace. Your enemy will remember where they saw you crouching last time
-Keep the backup flowing in - team support is essential
-If ammo runs dry, grab what you can off the ground - but make sure you can use it
-Being surrounded only means you can attack in any direction
-It's recommended you avoid getting surrounded if at all possible
-Make the enemy pay for every inch

#7 - CQB

Close Quarters Battle refers to engagements that happen at short ranges:

-Your knife is your best friend
-Hip fire can get you out of some situations
-SMGs provide flexibility while shotguns offer reliability
-Don't give your enemy room to manuever
-Take the targets as they come to you
-Know when to push and when to fall back
-Equip the right optics for the right guns
-Corners are your friend and enemy
-Break the enemy's line of sight on you to buy time and regain the edge
-Don't let the enemy break your line of sight on them if they're losing
-Always keep your magazine topped off
-Specialist killstreaks are useful

#8 - LRB

Long-Ranged Battle deals with combat over huge distances:

-Sniper rifles pack damage, marksman rifles grant speed
-Focus is a required Perk
-Silencers reduce the range of some weapons, but they improve stability
-Secondary weapons are recommended, since you will need to defend yourself up close
-Traps can provide cover if you post in a flankable location
-All locations are flankable - watch your six
-Assault killstreaks are not recommended because this is a defensive style

Sec. 6 - Teamplay

The following section provides an overview of teamplay elements in Ghosts Multiplayer:

#1 - COMMUNICATION

Critical to any team's success is their ability to cooperate. Continuous and effective communication is key to achieving maximum effectiveness as a group - both on and off the battlefield.

In-game: Devising your own call-out system with your friends will give you an edge when you play together. Take the time to familiarize with the maps so all of you can learn important locations and the placement of the objectives. Also take the time to work out special codes just in case you need to say something quickly that only members of your team can understand.

Out-of-Game: If you're part of a team or clan, it's important to stay up to speed with everything that is happening with your group. Take part in meetings with your group or host them yourself. Train often with your teammates so that you can work together better during the real matches. This helps build unity within the team and will guarantee you better performances in the future.

#2 - TEAM ROLES

Also important to any team's success is the assignment of members to specific roles which they can carry out in ways that compliment the team's overall performance. No man is an island and everyone has something to offer.

A typical squad on Ghosts is comprised of six members:

-3 can serve an assault role - with the job of rushing the objective and engaging the enemy
-2 can serve a support role - with the job of defending objectives and backing up their teammates
-1 can serve as a free element - with the job to shift between roles to bolster the team as needed

This is just one example of designating team roles. The reason why team roles matter in Ghosts is because of the constraints on every player's capabilities, as well as their skills. You can't carry every weapon and run every perk at once - and neither can you take on an entire team solo. Your teammates can carry some of the load along with you and together you can all work to achieve the goal, complete the objective, and win the victory.

Let your teammates stick to the roles that suit them the best, or help them to get assigned to a role that fits both their style and the game mode.

#3 - STICKING TO YOUR ROLE

As an off-shoot of having a role, it's important to stick with it. The longer a match goes on, the greater the temptation to break away from whatever you were assigned. It's human nature and it's driven by boredom because we would all like to do only what we wish ...

AND THIS IS WHY SO MANY TEAMS FAIL

Too many matches are decided based on a failure by one side to maintain a winning strategy. If the focus is no longer on protecting the flags needed to earn points, then the door swings open for the enemy to take them over and turn the match around.

Boredom is a relevant factor - gaming should be fun and interesting. Winning, however, doesn't happen automatically. It takes conscious effort. Sometimes playing your part will require you to keep pressing into an area to get shot time after time until your team breaks through, or you may have to sit in the most boring corner of the map for the majority of the match, guarding a position. But it all matters in the end!

So take on your role, stick to it, and learn to appreciate it. Your teammates surely do.

#4 - WIN TOGETHER, LOSE TOGETHER

Every victory and defeat is earned as a team. This has been a consistent theme throughout this guide - there are no one man armies. Even those players who perform in an outstanding fashion need to realize that they are not what makes the team. At best, they only help make the team better.

At the same time, those who might feel like they drag the team down with their performance need to learn some perspective. If you did all you could to the best of your ability then no one can say you didn't do your part. All of us can do more - but there isn't anything good to be found with assigning blame to anyone other than the team. The team has the option to train its members to perform better and the team has the ability to direct even its best players to invest their skills for a purpose.

The worst players carry the burden of improving while the best players carry the burden of working harder.

In the end, all of us need one another and there is no sense in letting a difference of skill or smarts come between the sense of purpose we share as a team. The only thing worth fighting over is how hard we each need to work to do better in whatever role we hold.

#5 - HAVE FUN

One aspect of teamplay that is often lost in discussions like this one is the fact that in the end, it's all about having fun. Fun is what brings teams together in games in the first place.

No matter how important winning is, at best it's only equal to whether you get any enjoyment out of the win.

The day you stop having fun with a team is the day it needs to reevaluate whether it's doing everything it should for its members.

With that said, keeping things fun requires keeping the team experience fresh and exciting. A team that can't develop itself is like a pool that never has its water changed - stagnant and unappealing. If you or your teammates aren't satisfied with the direction your team is heading, there are plenty of things your group can do.

Find ways to bring in new members. Try starting operations on new games or expand your current operations include new activities or training. Ideas kept quiet are ideas wasted.

Be mindful of why you're part of your group and what it means to you.

#6 - TAKING LEADERSHIP

Last, but most important of all: every team needs sound leadership - from both its members and its commanders. Those charged with leading a team have the task of providing a goal and instilling a vision for how to make that goal into reality. At another level, the members of a team will often find themselves in a position to lead and encourage their teammates in ways that their commanders can't. This again touches on the nature of roles within the team.

If you are serving as a commander or authority figure of some kind, the best advice for you is to lead from the front, lead by example, and lead with a purpose. Your job is to set the pace and help to guide others. They will watch what you do and take what you say as important. Therefore, your responsibility is to not lead them astray. Power changes everything and it is a force to be reckoned with. Above all else, your challenge will be not to abuse what power you've been given - but to use it to accomplish something more for others. Inspire those under you and treat them with respect and they will follow you.

If you are serving as a member under the authority of a commander or officer in your team, advice to you is equally important because your role is no less important. Listen to your leaders. They need your support and they do what they do because of you. There isn't much room to debate whether the person in charge has the right to be - they are. So deal with it and make the best of it if you can. If you can't - then go somewhere else or learn to lead, step up, and try to do it better for yourself. Encourage those around you and stay committed to your teammates.

Whatever your role might be, you are always in a position to take initiative. Even in games, this holds true and others can benefit from your leadership if you make an effort to lead by taking the lead. Sitting back or taking the sideline approach never helps anyone.

"Leadership consists of picking good men and helping them do their best."
-- Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Sec. 7 - Reinforce Strategy Guide

The following section provides an in-depth breakdown on the newest game mode in Ghosts Multiplayer:

REINFORCE

Objective: Capture all the points OR kill every member of the enemy team.

Strategy: Rush for kills and cover your points!

Tactical Factors: Map, teammates, communication, enemy strategy.

Breakdown: This mode is best described as a compacted version of Domination, or Domination combined with Search & Rescue. The premise is simple but the rules are not. Both teams spawn into a map with 3 points marked with flags. Capturing all 3 flags instantly wins the round. The first team to win 4 rounds is victorious.

Here's the twist - although players have unlimited lives, no one can respawn until their teammates capture a point. Once you go down, you're stuck in spectate until your team gains a point or kills every member of the enemy team.

Reinforce is tricky and brutal because it's possible to win or turn the course of a round in a matter of seconds. Awareness is critical in this mode and not just to avoid going down. The time needed to capture a point is less, compared to a normal game of Domination - so one person can take a flag on his own and resurrect his entire team in only a few seconds. This can be bad news if your team has already taken losses or if it's down to just 1v1. The silver lining is that this cuts both ways.

Coordinating with your teammates is mission critical. Also critical is working with people you know, who can follow orders or at least be on comms with you during the course of the round. There is NOTHING worse than going down with all of your friends and being left to watch the idiot that was dumped on your team by automatch run past all the points, right into the enemy, and get cut down like the noob he is because he thinks this is TDM. Going in with a full team of 4 who are on voice comms with you is strongly advised.

Communication throughout the course of a round matters because you and your team will have to constantly shift between offense and defense in this mode. Depending on who's alive at any given moment, you might have to run in to replace your downed teammate so the last enemy can't capture the unguarded flag on your side of the map and bring his team back.

When you go down, call it out. Your team benefits from knowing it's down a man and now needs to take a point to bring you back or make due without you.

When you kill someone, call it out. Your team also needs to know that there's one less threat to contend with.

For offense, push from the start. Most enemy teams make the mistake of capturing the flag near their spawn, thus wasting a potential respawn for any downed players on their side.

It goes without saying that your teammates should avoid making this same mistake. ONLY capture your spawn flag when someone on your team goes down. Otherwise, you'll have to push to take another point and risk losing more people. The spawn flag is FREE at the start of the game - don't waste it.

Once the enemy team takes their flag, there will be a brief window in which you can hit them hard and either kill the players that are taking their flag (if you move fast enough, you can kill them before they take it); kill them after they cap it but before they reposition; kill any that are moving for the middle flag point; OR all of the above. The point is that a huge chunk of the action happens in the first 30 to 45 seconds of a round and should be approached like a make or break situatuon. Successfully downing 2 or 3 of the enemy team puts the outcome significantly in your favor (assuming you don't lose anyone) and will make it easier to cap a second flag - which starts a timer that ends the round. In turn, they will be forced to capture or neutralize a point in order to stop the timer - effectively forcing them to assault you.

At this stage, your strategy should adjust to a defensive one.

For defense, assigning point guards (people to take position near a flag) is a good strategy because it prevents the enemy from respawning or, worse, achieving an instant win by capping all 3 flags.

Point guards should stay in the vicinity of their flag, without getting too far away to prevent one or two enemies from rushing in to take it. Unfortunately, using explosive traps isn't enough in this mode because should the person who planted the trap die, his equipment despawns - unlike in S&R or S&D. It should also be noted that some killstreaks will self-destruct if their owner goes down (Dogs will die and IMS can shut off - no intel available on other killstreaks yet).

So forget about the "plant and forget" strategy with IEDs, C4, or anything else you would ordinarily use to protect a point. The only reliable measure to safeguard positions in Reinforce is to have players positioned on site to guard them.

Once you take two flags, the enemy will be forced to recapture a point or lose. Having point guards ready and waiting to defeat any rush attempt tips the scales in your team's favor for winning the round.

If your team has taken losses, recapture flags ASAP to bring them back.

If possible, you can triple cap and take all the flags for an instant win. But this should not be the default strategy. Only attempt this if one of the following is true:

-The enemy team sucks
-Only one of you is left alive and can't clutch kill the remaining enemies
-Only one member of the enemy team is left and he is trying to clutch the round by killing you all
-You're certain there aren't traps or enemy point guards protecting the third flag

One safe strategy to employ is to never let the enemy hold onto two flags for any length of time. This will prevent them from setting up for a triple-cap and also ensure that respawns happen regularly to get your guys back in the fight.

A few other things worth mentioning:

-Because the rounds in this mode can end incredibly fast, do not attempt to get big killstreaks
-SAT-COMs are by-far the most useful killstreak for this mode
-Setup your loadouts focusing on speed - you may have to kill multiple targets fast
-Don't waste loadout slots on secondary weapons or Perks suited for longer games (Fully Loaded, Scavenger, etc.). The rounds are too short to justify this.
-Marathon is absolutely essential - you will do lots of running here
-Amplify is also very useful - you will want to hear them coming
-SMGs are a safe choice for most maps on this mode, since you will likely need to guard a point against assault from 1-4 targets

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, LEAVE POINTS YOU CONTROL UNGUARDED.

You have one job as a point guard: don't wander off. The enemy WILL come to you. The only stage of the round anyone should be assaulting is the first 30-45 seconds when initial point capturing occurs. After you get two flags or kill 2 or 3 enemies, it's all about the defense.

This gametype has a little bit of everything in it and inculcates almost every aspect of team-based FPS strategy. Small scale, yet strategic. Tactical, yet short. Fast, but brutal. That's Reinforce in a nutshell.

Sec. 8 - FAQ

A few queries I expect people will have relating to this guide and what was covered in it.

#1 - What Kind of Experience Do You Have?

Since you asked - I'm something of an FPS Veteran. I got my start on Halo in 2002 and have been active on every major FPS title on PC since then. I also founded and commanded a team for a period of ten years. It was over 60 members strong at its height and focused regularly on intensive skills training.

#2 - Why is Your Guide so Short / Long?

This guide was written balancing content with readability. I believe there is enough contained in here to help anyone who applies it improve their skills at Ghosts and FPS games in general.

#3 - Why Don't You Give Specific Class Loadouts?

Everyone has a different play-style and favors different weapons and perks. Consider this guide as something to use for further developing your loadouts, rather than a cut-and-dried "do this, this way" type of walkthrough. I intend to provoke additional thinking.

#4 - What About Other Gametypes?

I didn't include a guide for every game mode in Ghosts because most players nowadays focus on just the ones mentioned. There isn't much of a need to go into the other modes since the community barely plays them anymore.

#5 - Will You Write a Guide For Extinction?

You have ten seconds before the hordes are upon you.

#6 - Does Any of This Apply to Other FPS Games?

Absolutely. A lot of the theory is the same and so are elements of gameplay that you train. You might not be able to do skill training exercises the exact same way, but I invite anyone to put their ingenuity to work and devise alternate ways to emulate the kinds of exercises I laid out.

#7 - Your Training Isn't Working For Me!

How long did you do it for? Almost none of this is meant to provide an instant boost to your skills, and it might take longer for some than others to reap any benefits from it. Whether you experience gains in two days or two weeks depends on your abilities - and ultimately a portion of what you get out of this remains outside your control anyway. I can only recommend you stay consistent.

#8 - How Am I Supposed to Work Together With Noobs?

Excellent question! The best answer I can give you is to lead where you can, carry where you can, and if all else fails - focus on using what you have and who you have. There will always be someone derping for the sake of their not knowing better or just being a muffin-head. All the more reason to entrust your gameplay experience in the hands of friends or people you can trust rather than random players you don't. Play with friends more to experience this less.

#9 - Can I Repost Your Guide?

Yes. All I ask is that you assign credit where it is due. I didn't invest several hours of my life to write all of this up so someone else could put their name on it.

#10 - Can You Youtube This?

Already did. I also covered some additional stuff not mentioned here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qyymXWiGGc Also feel free to give my channel a look: https://www.youtube.com/user/Falcon197

#11 - Will You Train Me or My Team?

Contact me and ask ;]

#12 - How Do I Use Any of This to Deal With Hackers?

Ah, there it is - the issue lurking in the shadows that makes everyone groan. Unfortunately, there's only so much anyone can do to take on hacking players. I've fought my share of them and beaten quite a few, but that's beside the point that all of us have a duty to the greater PC community to do two things to help address this problem: don't hack and report those who do. This problem won't go away if we go about making it worse. It will go away, though, if we work together to ban what hackers we can and encourage people to build up their skills rather than download them.

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What's up guys Mr. RoflWaffles here with another no nonsense guide

[Loop]

is there a way to play split screen?

[I am thinking miku miku miku]

This is kinda helpful but the cod PC player is dead

[Noele Veerod 🖤]

Wonderful read. I like your approach to FPS games!

[Strider]

nice

[Corn168]

Well done guide

[ᴛᴏxɪɴ]

Thanks

[Russian samurai]

wow

[✪Twerl]

how to see if anyone hacks?Like lots of kills or very high score?