papaspur
Kasey Keller
First, many saw CQ as EA DICE's attempt at wooing over some of the run and gun crowd. While there are a few narrow corridors, there are always many points of entry to allow for flanking. There will be times of frustration as you learn the new maps and get flanked quite a bit yourself, meeting your end with another blast of shotgun pellets in your back.
The maps tend to be 3-4 floors featuring many overlooking vantage points for controlling key locations and choke points. There are some small vestibules with multiple smaller offshoots, multiple stairwells and a few open spaces. Did I mention the flanking?
Squad play is just as important as before, but don't get expect your teammates to be watching your back as they sprint blindly from one hallway to the next. As I started learning the layout of the new maps, I was able to prevent myself from getting flanked so often, but I will stress again: do NOT assume your teammates are watching your back, even if you're watching theirs. Additionally, enemy spawns can be very near your current position depending on the game type so you never quite know what's around the corner.
CQ TIPS
If spawning on a squad-mate, make sure they're not in the middle of combat. If you do spawn on them, try not to move since you have 2-second immunity to damage. You can look around, but as soon as you move/fire, you're a live target.
The urge to sprint will always be there, especially as I'm conditioned to holding down my shift key to traverse the larger maps. However, auditory cues are arguably more important in CQ and I can't tell you how many times I've whipped around 180 degrees after hearing an enemy solider hurtling towards me. Try to be a sneaky bastard. Check your radar to see if any known threats are about. Because the maps are much more vertical, it's a bit difficult to gauge whether enemies will be on the level above or below you so definitely don't sprint up and down stairwells. Sprint wisely.
Shotguns. I had a pretty amazing game with them, but I would argue that they're not the end-all-be-all of CQ. In a point-blank firefight, the shotgun will almost always win, but I also put a lot of faith in my F2000 and the ever-trusty M416. Hell, even the new M417 sniper rifle (fires similarly to the M14 or G3) with holographic or 4x ACOG sights is a viable option. The new unlockable support weapon is also another great way of dispatching baddies, which has a capacity of 45+1 rounds, but offers a quicker reload than most other support weapons. I do, however, come into situations where I expend all the bullets in my magazine and still have enemies left to kill, so sidearms have played a fairly large role for me as well.
Despite the fact that I basically stated that your teammates are basically sprinting meat-shields, you will still want to try to stick close to them. At the very least, they will provide a warning that an enemy is around the next corner by falling into a neat heap in front of you. This is also part of the reason why I tend to get such a crazy Assault score (defibrillators ftw).
Weapon attachments like the laser sight and flashlight can be very useful. T will toggle them on and off, so while in a larger and more open area of a map, you can leave the flashlight off, but when trying to clear out a stairwell, highbeams on!
Learning the new maps will take some time because they can actually be quite large and almost labyrinthine at times, so the only advice I can give here is to look behind you every so often and try not to rush into crossfire. Once you do learn the maps, you will know where good flanking routes are in order to avoid direct firefights.
As always, spot enemies, not just for your teammates' sake, but for your own. The red marker will allow you to keep tabs on the enemy so you can tee up your shot.
That's all I've got for now, please feel free to add your own suggestions and tips.
The maps tend to be 3-4 floors featuring many overlooking vantage points for controlling key locations and choke points. There are some small vestibules with multiple smaller offshoots, multiple stairwells and a few open spaces. Did I mention the flanking?
Squad play is just as important as before, but don't get expect your teammates to be watching your back as they sprint blindly from one hallway to the next. As I started learning the layout of the new maps, I was able to prevent myself from getting flanked so often, but I will stress again: do NOT assume your teammates are watching your back, even if you're watching theirs. Additionally, enemy spawns can be very near your current position depending on the game type so you never quite know what's around the corner.
CQ TIPS
If spawning on a squad-mate, make sure they're not in the middle of combat. If you do spawn on them, try not to move since you have 2-second immunity to damage. You can look around, but as soon as you move/fire, you're a live target.
The urge to sprint will always be there, especially as I'm conditioned to holding down my shift key to traverse the larger maps. However, auditory cues are arguably more important in CQ and I can't tell you how many times I've whipped around 180 degrees after hearing an enemy solider hurtling towards me. Try to be a sneaky bastard. Check your radar to see if any known threats are about. Because the maps are much more vertical, it's a bit difficult to gauge whether enemies will be on the level above or below you so definitely don't sprint up and down stairwells. Sprint wisely.
Shotguns. I had a pretty amazing game with them, but I would argue that they're not the end-all-be-all of CQ. In a point-blank firefight, the shotgun will almost always win, but I also put a lot of faith in my F2000 and the ever-trusty M416. Hell, even the new M417 sniper rifle (fires similarly to the M14 or G3) with holographic or 4x ACOG sights is a viable option. The new unlockable support weapon is also another great way of dispatching baddies, which has a capacity of 45+1 rounds, but offers a quicker reload than most other support weapons. I do, however, come into situations where I expend all the bullets in my magazine and still have enemies left to kill, so sidearms have played a fairly large role for me as well.
Despite the fact that I basically stated that your teammates are basically sprinting meat-shields, you will still want to try to stick close to them. At the very least, they will provide a warning that an enemy is around the next corner by falling into a neat heap in front of you. This is also part of the reason why I tend to get such a crazy Assault score (defibrillators ftw).
Weapon attachments like the laser sight and flashlight can be very useful. T will toggle them on and off, so while in a larger and more open area of a map, you can leave the flashlight off, but when trying to clear out a stairwell, highbeams on!
Learning the new maps will take some time because they can actually be quite large and almost labyrinthine at times, so the only advice I can give here is to look behind you every so often and try not to rush into crossfire. Once you do learn the maps, you will know where good flanking routes are in order to avoid direct firefights.
As always, spot enemies, not just for your teammates' sake, but for your own. The red marker will allow you to keep tabs on the enemy so you can tee up your shot.
That's all I've got for now, please feel free to add your own suggestions and tips.
