Swat is a classic gametype that has been around since the days of Halo 2. It has endured multiple sequels and makes an appearance in the Multiplayer Beta for Halo: Reach. For the uninformed this game type pits two teams of Spartans against each other in a round of ten minutes slayer. The difference between Swat and other game types is that that neither team has access to radar, shields or markers on their hud.
In the Halo: Reach Beta Team Swat is available on both the Swordbase and Powerhouse levels. Since the tactics available for players can be different for each map this article will be updated with strategies for each. In the thick of combat you can’t rely on grenades to save you. Instead use your DMRs scope to aim for body/headshots in the thick of combat. One or two well placed shots can end an engagement against a single opponent. Since there is no radar in Team Swat crouching to avoid detection is useless. Instead you can run right in to your opponents using the default scout ability. Since there are no shields you can follow up a single shot with a quick melee to dispatch a target. The lack of shields also makes picking up kill assists a lot easier.
Basic combat strategies will help you stay alive but you also need to know where to go to get the optimum amount of kills. There are several positions on Powerhouse that will give you a view to kill. One of my personal favorites is the “office” above the bathroom section that overlooks the dam portion of powerhouse. From here you can use the DMRs scope to kill multiple targets. There is a section of ridge on the south side of the map that can be useful to take cover early in the map and pick off the opposing team. Another great position that gives you a view to land some headshots is the north west of the map. Coming out of the lower section of the powerhouse you can gain access to three construction beams that are very useful for sniping.
Hopefully these tactics prove useful for even the most experienced Swat players. Look for more impressions and strategies from Halo: Reach Ring as the beta progresses.
Double kill, triple kill, killing spree, are these the words you, as a gamer, live and kill to hear? If so, then you must love playing team slayer on Halo. The Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta has just what you need, team slayer, only now there’s a twist. The new load out abilities adds some interesting tactics to team slayer to make it a completely different experience while retaining that exhilarating kill or be killed feel of team slayer. This past Monday the Slayer Arena made it’s appearance on the Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta and I have loved every second of it.
With so many tactics to choose from it’s crazy but once you find that perfect balance for yourself you might just be able to save your sanity. For instance, the Stalker load out gives you the ability to turn invisible and scramble your enemies’ radar. This ability is perfect for sneaking up, or ‘stalking’, people to get those amazing assassinations that could tilt the scale in your team’s favour. The Scout load out gives you the ability to sprint and in a close quarters battle, this can come in handy by delivering swift justice. The Scout load out also gives the advantage of a quick getaway so you can live to kill another day or, in the case of Halo: Reach, the next couple of seconds. The Airborne load out gives you the ability to fly (hence ‘Airborne’) for a short period of time and rain death from above. And, finally, the Guard load out. The Guard load out, if you have not guessed, gives you a powerful shield, impenetrable to be more precise, but again, there is a time limit. The Guard load out makes for a good distraction so that your teammates can come in and reap the benefits and the EMP flash at the termination of the Guard can give you the edge in a losing battle.
You may find that the competition in the Slayer Arena is... well... more competitive, and there’s a reason. The reason behind this increased opposition is the incentive to be the best. I know, I know, that has always been the case, right? Yes, it has, but now the better you play the higher your ranking will be. Again, that’s how it has always been, but this time around it’s different. The difference being that at the end of a season of gaming, Halo: Reach evaluates everyone’s rank and places each person into four separate leagues. This makes it so that once the leagues are set up everyone will be playing against similarly skilled players and, of course, there are the bragging rights for the people who make it to the top league. Watch out for me on slayer arena, my gamer tag is Mattie Graw, and I LOVE team slayer.
On a closing note, I wish everyone seasons greetings, ‘deck the halls with brain matter grey, ‘fa la la la la, la la la’, BOOM!!!!! “MULTIKILL”.
Bungie has released the first day figures from the Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta. Amazingly players in the Reach beta have logged more time in the first day than the entire Halo 3 Beta from 2007. Bungie also sends us players thanks for all the data they’ve collected. It will help them make the final release better. Check out some of these crazy figures released by bungie.
* 14,205,611 Player GamesSource: Bungie.net
* 157,972,986 Kills
* 936,864,266 Seconds Spent Playing * 1,170,112 Total Players!
Machinima.com is pretty well known for their slick productions and weekly news show featuring footage from Halo 3. Their halo experts Mr.Stark and The Dead Pixel discuss their favorite tactics when it comes to objective game modes and the various load outs. You can watch it below in the embedded player.
Joystiq is reporting that on May 14th, 2010 Xbox Live Silver members with a copy of Halo 3: ODST will be getting in on some Halo: Reach love. So, if you are one of the unfortunate souls who have a silver account and want to get in on Halo: Reach, you will have to wait until then. The bad news? It only runs for three days, as the beta will be ending on May 17th, 2010.
Starting May 14 at 9:00am PT, Silver members with a copy of Halo 3: ODST will be able to access the beta. You'd better get as much as you can though, because the party ends on May 17 at 9:00am PT, two days before the beta closes for everyone else. But hey, some Reach is better than no Reach, right?Source: Joystiq
IGN’s Jessica Chobot shares her love for grenade launchers and showers. Who would have thought those two great things would go well together? Well the designers of Powerhouse think so! This latest video shows you some sweet weapon spawn locations as well as some tactics to use while fighting for these instruments of destruction.
If you are a fan of any type of First Person Shooter, then you will know a lot about the gameplay type known as Capture the Flag. Stockpile takes this concept to a brand new level. Stockpile is essentially a frantic version of the Capture the Flag game type variant. Around the entire map you will notice flags that aren’t assigned to any specific team. Your job is to grab a flag and place it back at your team’s base.
The base itself will house all of your flags, and this is where the challenge comes into play. There is a set timer on the base and after a minute goes by, the flags that you collect will be counted towards your total set score. In order to win the match, you need to grab 10 flags and place them back at your base. When have collected 10 flags match will be over.
What makes this match so unique is the fact that you are automatically gaining a point for each flag that you take back to your base, not to mention racking up a score before the other team scores 10 themselves. Another neat feature is the fact that you have the ability to steal another teams flags if they are not doing a good enough job guarding the area for intruders. So, if there is nobody around guarding their own flags, then you can come in and steal away their flags and add them to your own.
The fun factor is very high as it is a very frantic type of game, trying to get as many flags to your base is actually tough as carrying the flag back to your base will slow down your character considerable and especially your range is cut since you can only do melee attack damage. However, like the skulls in Headhunter and Oddball, they are pretty much a one hit kill and you will be on your way back to your base to give your team a point.
As I played through this game type, it was very apparent that team work is essential to winning games. Finding out different patterns of the enemy and how they are handling one end grabbing flags, and on the other end trying to save their flags from being saved. It’s very essential that you should “watch your front” and “watch your back” when heading into this game type as you will most likely find your flags being taken if you’re not careful enough!
IGN Xbox 360 brings us another round of their “Top 10 Kills” using the Halo: Reach beta. There seems to be a good collection of user submitted kills in this montage. I am not sure why there are so many references to Super Smash Bros in the community, namely falcon punch pictures, but there is one in this video as well. Watch it in the embedded player below.
Kotaku brings us an article touching on the lighter side of the Halo: Reach Beta. Sure any schmuck can write a quick how-to to increase your killcount but how many people have written a guide to sucking? There are some obvious tips like attacking your own team consistently and only using the assault rifle but there are other great tips to help you suck.
Tip Two: Ignore Those Other Weapons They wouldn't issue you an assault rifle if they didn't think it was completely capable of getting the job done. Sure, guys seem to run at you head-on, completely ignoring the bullets ripping into their shields while multicolor flashes of light spew from the highly advanced alien weaponry they have at their disposal. They don't suck. That's their problem, not yours.Source: Kotaku
Besides, the assault rifle is perfect for...
It seems the demand for the Halo: Reach beta is higher than expected. Reports from the IGN Boards, Neo Gaf and the official Bungie Blog confirm that the back end servers for the Halo: Reach beta are down as of 3PM PST. In their official statement Bungie says they are working to bring the servers back online and will let us all know as soon as everything is operational.
Yup, the backend servers are getting hammered.Source: Various
We're aware and working to resolve slow matchmaking times and inaccessible playlists. As soon as we're back up and running at full capacity, we'll make some noise. Stay tuned for more information and thanks for your patience.
Information about Halo: Reach has been released at a steady pace recently. How can someone stay on top of all of the character profiles, available weapons and multiplayer previews? We have a solution for you here at Halo: Reach Ring – our community driven Wiki. In the Wiki you will find several sections that provide the latest information for Halo: Reach. Our wiki is open for any registered IGN member to edit. Check out some of our featured Wiki sections below.
