Just to quickly clarify the Open Beta details as the same questions came up time and time again during the live stream yesterday …
- The 30Gb PvP Beta is free to download and does NOT require the base game.
- The final version of Ghost War PvP will be available to all existing Wildlands owners for no extra charge as free DLC.
So, in advance of the open beta tomorrow, check our Breakfast Club Ghost War tips and enjoy 5 days of Ghost Recon PvP!
These beginner tips will help avoid early n00b mistakes during the beta and increase the chances of your team success – so in no particular order let’s get down to it….
# 1 Communication
Communication is key. Team will want to make good use of Wildlands built in comms for squad situational awareness and calling out targets. Your enemy will give away their position eventually, whether it is gunfire or being spotted by teammate, and it is essential that this information is communicated to your teammates if you have eyes on the target. For example, which direction is he heading in, or is he camping, is he alone, or in a group, what rifle is he packing? Share this information using voice comms with a good pair of headphones to increase your opportunity to win by a large margin.
# 2 Headphones
The sound in Wildlands is brilliant for identifying which area the enemy is approaching from and there is no better way to capitalize on this intel than with a good pair of headphones. This is particularly important if your preferred play style is to hunker down and camp it out, sniping from the perimeter or high ground. The noise of the enemy moving through the undergrowth will reveal if he is to the left, right or behind you – and if you have chosen a good camouflaged spot, you will hear him before he sees you, giving you a huge advantage.
# 3 Evasion
When you get spotted, either by a drone or the enemy you must move immediately and try to break line of sight. As soon as you break line of site your position is removed from the other teams map overlay, but as long as you stay stationary you are a sitting duck. A good tactic here is to double back to the your previous position and sit it out rather than running around like a headless chicken. Once you have broken that contact you can proceed with your previous planned line of attack, or change route – just remember if you are spotted move fast or you will be mortar bait.
# 4 Drone Defense
If it becomes clear that the enemy team is using drones early as a recon tactic you must disrupt this tactic and destroy their drones early on. There is a fairly generous hitbox around drones, so although they seem like an impossible target as they zip about in the sky, it only take a couple of team members with good reflexes and a couple of accurate shots to take it out. This will disrupt the other team’s tactics and force them to play blind, something they will not be comfortable doing. Shooting a drone will reveal your position however, so make sure you immediately relocate back to a safe area immediately the drone is downed.
# 5 Drone Intel
The enemy drone can actually give you some early intel without launching your own drone. Enemy teams set a drone over specific areas for only two reasons, either because they think you are in that area and they want to pinpoint you, or because they plan on moving into that area and want to check if it is clear. Knowing this, if you are caught with a drone flying overhead, if you can stay in cover you are in the best place to camp it out as the enemy may just be about to walk into your trap; stay in cover and once the drone moves on – do not move. The enemy have just declared the area clear and may enter the area without due regard, giving you the upper hand.
# 6 Revive
As Ghost War is a 4 v 4 game, losing 1 team member reduces your firepower by a massive 25%. It is vital that every effort is made to revive your downed teammates, however there is a crucial piece of intel you must be aware of – the colour of the downed marker. During the time you spend reviving a teammate you are vulnerable to enemy attack; in addition to losing the use of your weapon during the revive, you cannot even look around for awareness – your are 100% focussed on the revive. The length of time it takes you to complete the revive is hugely important, and this is where the marker comes into play.
A blue marker on your teammate indicates a normal wound and you can expect to effect a hasty revive and be on your way in a few seconds. A purple marker indicates a lethal wound that will take additional time to heal – you will be vulnerable for longer. Before attempting a lethal revive you will require to assess the risk factor, ie do you have awareness of the enemy location, and do you have a pointman as backup to light up the enemy if you start taking incoming fire while you are strapping on the bandages? For these reasons think very carefully before attempting a lethal revive.
# 7 Q
Bash that Q button and mark the enemy to share location intel with the rest of your team. You can even do this even when you are out of action injured and waiting on a teammate to revive you, so don’t lie there feeling sorry for yourself!
Ubisoft have added this feature to keep players engaged in the action even when they cannot directly take part. So help your team Ghost and markup that enemy using the Q button!
#8 Don’t Rage Quit
When the writing is on the wall and it looks like all hope is lost, what are you going to do? What you do not want to do is rage quit! Quitting a game where the team ultimately loses without you will still count as a loss in your stats and affect your metrics including your skill level – so man up and don’t desert your team. In Ghost War the situation can turn around very quickly so hang in there and finish the round.
#9 Perfect your Class
There will be twelve character classes available at launch, it’s up to you if you wish to be a jack of all trades (and master of none), or to specialise in one (or a few) classes. Whichever appeals to you most, make sure you check the Ubi Blog for details of the strengths of each class as in addition to the differing weapon arsenal available to each, there are subtle differences to the character metrics.
# 10 Pick Your Shot
This final tip is a double whammy from Ubi forum moderator extraordinaire Ulukai and the most PVPalicious™ AI Bluefox. For this tip Ulukai recommends the tactic of wounding an enemy then covering the area until an enemy member attempts a revive. This is a great way of reducing the enemy not by ¼, but by a full half of their team. AI Bluefox recommends picking your shots carefully however as every action has a consequence, so make sure you are at least 80% sure you will eliminate the enemy, otherwise you will only unleash the other teams fury upon yourself!
