An Introduction to Halo 4’s Multiplayer

For new players, jumping into the multiplayer of a well established shooter can be very daunting to say the least. Generally people who have been playing the series for years will kick your ass time and time again. We’re here to give you a hand with that.

First things first, as soon as you have the opportunity to unlock a precision weapon as your primary, do it! Assault rifles are great for close range but there are a lot of maps that are geared to long range combat and you’re not gonna be able to hit anything with an AR at medium range. The first two precision weapons that become available to you are the Battle Rifle and the DMR. What you choose here is entirely up to you, they are both great weapons and it all just depends on whether you prefer the three round burst of the BR or the single shot of the DMR. The BR and DMR will drop a player in 4 bursts or 5 shots respectively, so if your aiming’s on form enemy players will drop pretty quickly.

The default secondary weapon is the magnum, this is a very good gun but requires some skill to use. If you normally play a lot of vehicle friendly gametypes (i.e. Big Team), you may want to kit yourself out with a plasma pistol as your secondary. This comes in very handy as a simple overcharged shot can render a vehicle immobile for a few seconds giving you that crucial time to jump on top and hijack it.

Next up is your grenades, of which there are 3. The frag, the plasma, and the pulse grenade. My favourite to use is definitely your bog standard frag, it has a good blast radius (which can be improved further using perks) and a high rate of damage when detonated close to an enemy. The plasma grenade is really only effective when you hit your target directly as it sticks to enemies and vehicles, if you miss though it’s blast radius is pretty poor and will probably get you killed. As for the pulse grenade i don’t think I’ve had any kills in campaign with it never mind multiplayer.

As for the different armor abilities, tactical packages, and support upgrades, it will all depend on your play style which combination is best for you. I generally use the regeneration field as my armor ability as it will recharge your shield whenever you’re in it, this also applies to teammates so when used tactically it can be very effective at keeping you and your teammates alive. My normal tactical package is mobility as this gives unlimited sprint, allowing me to traverse maps extremely quickly. Lastly the support upgrade I use is ordnance priority, which gives me more frequent ordnance drops, allowing me to get some powerful weapons or upgrades such as speed boost. This is just the loadout I’m using at the moment, there is a lot to choose from and it will take some experimentation to get the one that is right for you.

Another tip while playing multiplayer is always play as a team and communicate with each other. This may sound basic but if your playing against a group of players that are coordinating and you are running around on your own, you’re going to get dropped extremely quickly, with multiple people shooting you at any given time. Do not underestimate the power of team BR/DMRing, for instance if four people shoot you with a BR at the same time you will die in an instant.

When on vehicle maps, use what you’re given to your advantage, don’t drive around in a warthog without a gunner, you’re just going to get taken out. If you’re using something like a banshee or the mantis, make sure to have your teammates close by, as vehicles aren’t all that sturdy, it doesn’t take too many shots from a sniper rifle to take down a banshee, so bear that in mind before flying straight over to the enemy base to try and rack up the kills.

I hope this introduction to Halo 4’s multiplayer helps out some of the newcomers to the series, as I know how frustrating it is coming into a new game and constantly getting your ass handed to you. Be sure to check out our other guides for halo 4 such as terminal locations and campaign walkthroughs.