Blog Archives
CAMPING: The FINAL & ONLY Definition
WHAT IS A DIRTY CAMPER?
The only time a player can legitimately be called a dirty, low-life, scum-of-the-earth camper is in a Team Death Match or Free For All game.
Finding your own corner of some room or an enclosed space on a map with your ADS trained on the only entrance to the area in these game modes takes ZERO skill and is just poor sportsmanship (even when there are two entrances.) If everyone one did this in these game modes we’d all be sitting around pulling our peckers for 15 minutes. While some of you may find that fun, I find it just gets the controller all sticky.
THAT WHICH IS NOT CAMPING
Setting up camp near an objective, a flag in Domination, the flag in Capture the Flag, the bomb site in Demolition or Search & destroy, the M-COM station in Battlefield, IS NOT CAMPING. This is defending or guarding your objective.
Patrolling an area (larger than a room, about 1/4 of the map,) going back and forth and eliminating any enemy that tries to piss in your territory IS NOT CAMPING. This is controlling or holding down an area.
MIGHT AS WELL TALK ABOUT SPAWN TRAPPING
It is only spawn trapping if an ENTIRE team is camped in your spawn grounds keeping your team pinned down. Not a very sporting strategy but a viable one in certain circles.
ONE or two guys wreaking havoc and confusion in your spawn grounds are not spawn trapping you. Seriously, how can one or two guys spawn trap an entire team? Unless your team sucks that bad it’s not possible. Those guys are keeping you busy while their teammates attack the objective. Providing a small distraction is sound military strategy.
HOW TO DEAL WITH CAMPERS
If the camper is having a good day (notice that I did not say he is “skilled,”) the little shit probably has host advantage (in Black Ops.) The only thing you can do here is warn the rest of your team where his lair is and avoid him. No sense in you adding to his slow and steady killstreak, of which you can be sure will end in dogs.
In Battlefield the situation is not as cut and dry. The maps are larger with lots of prime sniper real estate. A skilled sniper overlooking–or a lone wolf controling an area near–your objective must be dealt with. And they are probably going to have to be dealt with more than once. Avoidance is not a viable solution here.
Use a camper hunting class. In Black Ops, Ghost Pro, Hardened Pro and Hacker Pro. Equip a Silencer and use Counter Spy Plane. Ghost Pro and the silencer keep you off the mini-map. Hardened lets you shoot through walls, campers will always hide in a corner to reload. Hacker Pro keeps you invisible to Motion Sensors, a favorite tool of professional campers. Hold on to your Counter Spy Planes and throw them up only when there is a Blackbird in play. Professional dirty, scumbag campers are killwhores, they won’t run something as useful to the team as the Blackbird, they’ll be running something like Attack Chopper and Dogs. Equip C4 and use it as an extra grenade. Toss it inside a camped room and set it off right away.
In Battlefield 3 there is absolutely no such thing as camping but there are those jackass snipers who like to hang out in the boondocks and pick your team off one by one. Anything that keeps your team from accomplishing its objectives becomes part of said objectives. On some maps dealing with skilled snipers is as simple as informing your own snipers to look out for him and kill on site. If someone has spotted him and/or you are absolutely sure of where his lair is, you can have someone blanket mortar the area. On some of the larger maps it may be necessary to dispatch a squad to deal with him.
Noob tube the fuck out of him, ’nuff said. In Battlefield 3, hop in a tank or some other ordinance ladened vehicle… You get the picture.
Learn the maps. Once you know the maps better you’ll be more aware of where campers like to take up residence. Go into Combat Training in Back Ops and learn to think like a camper. Those bots in combat training always use the most traveled routes. Finding the best places to hide and pick off a bunch of easy targets running by will show you where the best spots are to camp in any game mode.
Also look for the obscure, out-of-the-way camping spots. The ones that overlook the roads least traveled. These places are haunted by the lowest type of camper there is, politicians and lawyers have more scruples than these campers. I’m talking about the chicken-shit, avoid all confrontation, my-testicles-haven’t-dropped-yet, feckless camper. These guys equip sniper rifles and ghillie suits, hide in bushes on the outskirts of the map killing the odd passerby, and patiently build up a killstreak that will end in dogs. You need to find the alternative routes to these places because he will get you every time you come back at him from the same direction, mostly because that’s the only direction he’s looking in.
Once you’ve eliminated a camper from an area, stick around. Find a place to lay low. Campers are generally idiotic creatures of habit. Rest assured, he’s coming back. That should be another easy kill for you. Alternatively you could leave a claymore in that area if you’re fairly sure of the path he’ll be taking to get back.
In Battlefield 3 there is no safe way to learn the maps. Just relax and keep playing. Enjoy yourself and don’t let the game frustrate you. You’ll be surprised at how much faster you’ll get the hang of things simply by enjoying yourself. It is just a game.
WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN ACCUSED OF CAMPING
Just because you get called a camper by some guy frustrated with his inadequate performance or some dumb-ass, clueless teenager does not mean you’re a camper. Stop rushing off to some internet forum to whine about how you got called a camper when ‘you’re not.’ It’s just going to be another useless thread on the same old tired topic of camping and, quite frankly, it makes you look guilty. If you’re questioning whether or not you’re a camper then so are the people reading your post. Brush off his comments and try not camping in the next game.
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH CAMPERS?
I would like to hear how you guys deal with campers, please leave a comment if you have the time. Not only will you be helping the gaming community, you’ll also give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
1/04/12 EDIT: Removed my Treyarch/floating apple gripe because it added nothing to the article and Quo said it made me seem bitchy. I also added some Battlefield specific information.
Black Ops: Tips for Playing New Maps
While looking for information regarding the new Black Ops map pack, Annihilation, I found the following video by Matroix. He offers some good advice on how to play a new map pack. While this video was made for Escalation the advice he gives can easily be applied to any new map.
Black Ops: Domination Tactics on Grid
One of my favorite YouTube gaming commentators did a pretty decent video covering tactics for domination on the map Grid. A lot of times Woody blabbers nonsense while he plays, this time he stays focused. I’m not a big fan of reinventing the wheel so here’s the video.
And here’s the corresponding callout map, created by INFINITE at HupitGaming, to help you out;

Black Ops: Domination Tactics on Radiation
CALLOUT MAP
I found this map at HupitGaming forums, I believe it was created by a forum member named INFINITE. If she sees this I would like to thank her for creating it. It saved me a lot of work.
STRATEGY MAP
STAGING GROUNDS: These three spots on the map are the safest places to call in your Killstreak packages. You run the risk of trapping your care package on the roof in the factory.
A,B & C: Approximate locations of the DOM flags.
S1-9: Likely sniper nesting spots & their site lines.
A1, A2, C1, C2: Attack paths.
C1, C2: The best 2 places to plant a claymore.
GENERAL NOTES
The key to winning any DOM game is holding down 2 flags, most importantly the B flag, usually located in the middle of the map. The B Flag on Radiation is one major choke point. With the doors closed there are two ways directly in and out of the tunnel, plus the two ladders that come down from inside the shacks at the S5 and S3 sniper spots. Once you have control of the B flag get those doors closed. Having them open makes it easier to gain control of the flag as your team has high ground advantage and can clear the tunnel fairly easy with a few well placed grenades and a couple of heavy machine gunners. Most people like the direct confrontation approach on this map and will spend a lot of match time attacking B from inside the tunnel, leaving them highly susceptible to rear attack. I have found that most of the games I’ve won on this map are the ones in which my team controls C and B. This map is also good to run Hardened on, the walls are thin and it will make it easy to take out campers and snipers.
GENERAL STRATEGY
This is not an all inclusive strategy guide for this map in domination. Just my observations on how people tend to play this map with a couple of overlooked (or understated) strategic maneuvers thrown in. Always remember to adapt to the SitRep of the match.
If you spawn at C plant a claymore immediately in the nook between the barrels (C1) right next to the C flag, this is pretty much a guaranteed kill. There is always a rusher on the other team whose going to go for the C flag on this map. If you spawn at A plant a claymore on the small set of stairs (C2) that leads into the factory. This will take care of the rushers coming from C. I got the same two rushers 5 times in one match using this strategy. Why they didn’t learn not to bunch up while running after the same claymore got them both twice within 2 minutes I’ll never know. Just one of those universal mysteries I guess.
The attack paths are simple and similar no matter what direction you are coming from (A or C). There’s the basic straight forward direct attacks right into the tunnel but while your team is doing that try running through the factory and coming up behind the enemy near the A flag. The enemy will be preoccupied with the fight in the tunnel. When you get to the stairs at C2 (claymore spot 2) pause, don’t rush around that corner. Wait a second and give the other team a chance to respawn. When you see 2 or three of them run down into the tunnel zip on in after them (it’s probably best to be running a Lightweight/Marathon class for this strategy). If you time it right you can easily kill the entire squad defending/attacking the B flag. Be watchful of any enemy in the ladder nook or the dark corner of the tunnel near it. As long as the doors above are closed your team should easily capture B (if they haven’t already). I tend to run back the way I came and catch the enemy off guard as they try to recapture the ground they just lost and give my team those extra few seconds to capture and take up defensive positions.
Attacking from the A flag is a bit trickier. Most guys try to run in and cap that C flag first. It’s best to avoid it all together. And run into the tunnel (without setting off the C flag warning by going down through the C2 path) and come up on the enemy’s 6 and wipe them out. Taking the elevated catwalk to get to C from A will give you more cover, though a sneaky git hovering on the descending stairs will cause you a problem so keep an eye out for him. Also make sure to check the switch alcove as you run by.
Once you have B make a push for C and let A fall to the enemy. Keep a couple of guys in the tunnel to guard B and have the rest of the squad push for C. With the doors closed, your guys assaulting C, and A still under your control the enemy can only come down the ladders. If timed correctly this can throw the other team off guard. Their first reaction is to try and get B back but now they are losing C too. Once they’ve lost C, panic may set in and they’ll scramble to get any flag they can. Let them have A. It’s easier to win on Radiation controlling C and B IMHO.
SNIPER SPOTS
Most of the action takes place underground and this map is usually too hectic for snipers to set up house anywhere but there’s always that one git! The sniper in the elevated shack at S1 one is the biggest pain in the ass, he does not have too many lines of sight but the two he has are more than enough. He’ll usually hide in the corners to reload and protect himself with a claymore at the ladder. If you have Hardened on he’s as good as dead. Just shoot him through the wall when he’s cowering in the corner. The guy at S2 is another annoying git, only one real good line of site line along the lower switch catwalk but he has good cover. Run the elevated catwalk (or avoid the catwalks and run up the middle under the catwalks) to get by him and try and take him out in the shack, he will have a claymore guarding the stairs and be hiding to the left in the back of the room when he hears you coming. Alternatively, a few well placed grenades through that widow should take care of him or keep him busy enough for you to get around him. After all is said and done, if you are attacking A, the route through the factory makes more sense.
A lot of guys like to fight for the elevated room in the factory (S6.1) and take up positions at S6 and S7. Not really snipers per se, these lads are trying to control the factory path and usually only stop at the sniper spots to pop off a couple of rounds at anyone bold enough to traverse the center of the map before jumping back down into the factory. A talented player can slow the other teams progress greatly by controlling the factory in this manner.
The guy taking up position at the top of the conveyor (S8) is the dangerous one. He’s the dirty camper. He’s hanging out in the factory picking off people as they run through, taking advantage of the fact that your team is probably not communicating and trying to build up that slow and steady killstreak award to Dogs or a Blackbird. It’s imperative you warn your team about him.
These are some of the strategies I use on Radiation. They are not the only strategies for this map. I’m sure many of you have your own tactics for this map and I would love to hear about them in the comments section.
Black Ops Tips: Class Builds Update
Change is good. We live, we learn, we grow, we adapt, blah, blah, blah. These are the 3 main class builds I find myself using these days.
FANTOME
Perks: Ghost Pro / Hardened Pro / Hacker Pro
Primary Weapon: AK-47 w/ Silencer Secondary: Strela-3
Equipment: Frag / Concussion / Claymore
I started running the AK-47 because it has more stopping power and the silencer makes it a much more manageable gun. Ghost Pro and the silencer keep me off the grid. Hardened lets me shoot campers through walls and Hacker Pro gives better situational awareness on the battle field. You could substitute Ninja Pro here but I move slowly and systematically around the map with Fantome so I’m quiet enough as it is. Depends on your play style, impatient types would do better to run Ninja Pro. I’ve been using Concussion Grenades on all my classes now, I got tired of getting shot by the smegger I’ve just flashed. Happens sometimes with Concussions too but it happens less.
LEGIONNAIRE
Perks: Hardline Pro / Sleight of Hand Pro / Hacker Pro
Primary Weapon: Commando w/ Reflex Secondary: Cz75 w/ Ext. Mags
Equipment: Frag / Concussion / C4
Not much has changed here. Started running with the Reflex Sight instead of a Silencer. I like to run Spy Plane & Counter Spy these days. If the other team has an Ace getting Blackbirds I start using Legionnaire and save up my Counter Spy(s) to throw them up when he tosses the Blackbird out. I started experimenting with C4. In MW2 I was pretty good with the C4, I could leave it at a flag, run off and do my thing and kaboom anyone trying to take the flag. C4 in Black Ops is too easily seen. It’s better utilized as an extra set of close quarter grenades. Good for campers lurking behind a door.
ZIPPY
Perks: Lightweight Pro / Warlord / Ninja Pro
Primary Weapon: AK74U w/ Silencer & Dual Mags Secondary: Cz75 w/ Ext. Mags
Equipment: Semtex / Concussion / Claymore
I tried this rush class out one day, had a blast and now it’s one of my mainstays. The key to using a rush class is to get behind the enemy, deep in their territory. The silencer keeps you off the mini map and dual mags gives you a faster alternate reload but more importantly, more ammunition. I still have to unlock Warlord Pro with a grenade multi-kill, that’s why I’m using Semtex. I’ve had better luck being in the right place at the right time with a sticky and getting the multi kill than I’ve had with a grenade. Also, being behind the enemy gives me a little more time to aim a sticky properly. You could switch out the Claymore with a Tactical Insertion but I feel Tac Inserts are too easily noticed (I see them all the time, even without Hacker). Leaving a Claymore in the enemies spawning ground is priceless. I’ve started leaving Claymores near enemies Tactical Insertions; also priceless. When playing Capture the Flag you could substitute Marathon for Ninja.
KILLSTREAK PHILOSOPHY
Killwhore Strategy: RC-XD, Napalm, Rolling Thunder
Team Strategy: Spy Plane, Counter Spy Plane, Blackbird
I use the team strategy most days. I let loose the Spy Planes and Blackbirds as soon as I get them (HAH! like I ever get a freaking Blackbird!). I save the Counters for the enemies Blackbirds. I’ll switch to the killwhore strategy when I’m having bad days, any kill is a good kill.
Black Ops: Class Warfare & Escalation
LOADOUTS OF THE SO CALLED PROS
I came across this article over at IGN regarding the class setups that the “top 5″ Black Ops players use. You don’t have to go check it out, I’ll sum it up for you. They all use the FAMAS. Just 5 privileged kids, playing all day with what many consider to be a noob gun. I’m not saying that the FAMAS is not a good gun or that you should not use it, I’m just saying the article is a waste of time and internet space. I really didn’t need IGN to point out the glaringly obvious. For me the FAMAS runs out of ammo too fast making running with Scavenger a necessity for my play style.
I’ve changed my Fantome class a little bit. I now equip him with an AK47 and a silencer. I like the extra stopping power the AK47 gives me and the silencer reduces muzzle flash and makes it a lot easier to handle. Without the silencer I would not be able to hit the broad side of a barn with this gun. I’ve replaced Warlord Pro with Hardened Pro on Fantome as well. It’s easier to take out a camper by shooting him through a wall. People say the less flinching aspect of Hardened pro helps out in 1v1 battles but I don’t notice much of a difference.
I’ve also started using a rush class. I call him Zippy. Lightweight/SoH Pro/Marathon. Equipped with a silenced AK74u. I’ve gotten quite good at getting into enemy territory and causing a bunch of havoc before they even realize I’m behind them. I’m thinking about trying Warlord on this class and adding Dual Mags for the extra ammo.
ESCALATION WILL BE OUT MAY 3rd
The previews look pretty good, the new Zombie map has me intrigued, and that’s coming form a guy whose probably spent a whole 30 minutes playing the zombie mode of Black Ops. I heard in interviews that these new maps are more “sniper friendly”. I’m not sure what that means, how can you get more friendlier than one shot one kill even when firing from the hip? The recent patch had some sniper fixes in it. I hate it when they patch things like this and don’t tell you exactly what they did. I’m not a big fan of snipers in multi-player shooters, I think they unbalance the game. I have to unload an entire clip into someone just to get them into Second Chance while his buddy can no scope me from 30 feet away and I’m dead. So I’m a little worried that they may have made sniping easier and the new map will be inundated with the little buggers.
The new maps look pretty good and I am looking forward to them.
CoD BO: The K/D Experiment, Prestige 3 & I’m Done
I’ve hit prestige for the last time in Black Ops. Prestige 3, I’m done. Only did it to 3 to get a theme going with my gamertag. I’m not saying I’m fed up with Black Ops. Not at all. But from now on I’m playing strictly for fun. Gonna get all my favorite pro perks back and I’ll be right as rain.
THE KILL/DEATH RATIO EXPERIMENT
I decided when I hit second prestige that I would do an experiment regarding whether or not focusing on K/D ratio adversely affects team game play for an average player such as myself. At the start of this experiment my K/D was an abysmal .69 and my win/loss was .90 or so. Keep in mind I play mostly DOM games and, before I began this experiment, had no problem trying to capture 10 or more flags during a game. Also keep in mind that I have quit more games because of lag and a$$hats then I care to remember.
The rules I set for myself were simple. Quit all games that would adversely affect my K/D. These included games in which I zoned in late only to hear the sky full of enemy aircraft and enemy dogs running around and my standing rule about not playing with a$$hats and Captain Sobels (those demoralizing, feckless, silver spooned gits that do nothing but moan and gripe about how much the team sucks from the safety of their parents basements) always stands. I would cap the first flag and spend the rest of the game circling the map, clearing out enemies guarding the objectives, campers, looking for the flankers, and guarding our flags. I would only take another flag if I had a couple of team mates with me or I was fairly sure the enemy was fully occupied on the other side of the map. When I first started this experiment I held myself strictly to these rules regardless of winning or losing. In time though my basic nature of comradeship took hold and I would put my K/D at risk for the sake of a reasonably good team.
I finished this experiment with a K/D of .82 and a W/L of .61
From my personal experience I have to say that in objective based games such as DOM, the player that is unequivocally preoccupied with his K/D will be detrimental to the team. I’m not saying that I didn’t help in a lot of games, I did. But I had a good team with me on those games in which I was most useful with these tactics. They did a great job of capturing flags while I did a fairly decent job of shooting the enemy before the enemy shot them! Most games though I just ended up feeling like I could have done more for the win. Then there were those games in which I was positive nothing I could have done would’ve helped because we were just that bad collectively–some people just don’t mesh together as a team.
LESSONS LEARNED
But this experiment taught me a lot more. For starters I have a new favorite class.
Ghost Pro, Hardened Pro, Hacker Pro
Galil with Red Dot, STRELA, Frag/Flash/Claymore
I always used to think that the iron sites on the guns were good enough, then I popped the red dot on the Galil and noticed a significant increase in accuracy over a few games. Remaining completely hidden by using a silencer on this build is less important as most of the time I’m constantly on the move, flanking and coming up behind the enemy. If an enemy saw me it was visually and he was more than likely behind me. I’m still not sure about the “less flinching when shot” aspect of Hardened Pro; people say it helps on 1v1 fights so I’ll let it have a placebo effect on me. I’m more interested in it’s basic bullet penetration aspects. There’s many places on many maps in this game where you can kill the most predictable of campers simply by shooting through a wall in the corner of a room.
During my first few runs up the ladder I would get the Famas as soon as it was available, but this time my patience wore thin with the M16. I tried the Enfield as soon as it became available and found I like it much better than the Famas. The Famas runs out of ammo too fast for me and using Scavenger with it is a must. The Enfield’s iron sites are perfect and equipped with a silencer it’s deadly in my hands, I’ve enjoyed using this gun so much that I have kept it equipped on my Legionnaire class even though the tried and true Galil is available for me now. I also started using the reflex site on the Commando and found this combination to work well but this may have more to do with me not liking the red dot on this gun. There is something about the way it’s attached to the body that bothers me.
I learned to be a little more cautious in DOM games. To have a little more self-preservation does not hurt. But you have to work with the team for the win and compensate for their shortcomings. A lot of people playing DOM seem to play it the way I did during this experiment and if everyone on your team is doing this you will not win. Many of the other things I learned are just reinforcements of things I already knew I should be doing but for some odd reason always tend to forget in the heat of battle. Things like not sprinting everywhere, only fools rush in to objectives, etc. The one thing I am sure of is that focusing so much on all these meaningless statistics made the game a lot less fun for me.
The most gratifying games for me are the ones in which we win or lose by 30 points or less. I have the most fun in this these games, right up until the obnoxious Captain Sobel on the losing team inevitably bitches about his team sucking as he backs out of the lobby. But you know what they say? Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.
CoD: XboxAhoy on YouTube
Greatday2die over at Black Ops Forum turned me on to one of the best gaming directors I have seen yet. I guarantee you won’t find a more detailed Call of Duty weapons analysis than this. As much as I love the fellas over at NextGenTactics, they have nothing on XboxAhoy. But don’t take my word for it, go check it out for yourself.




