TitanFall is arguably one of the best first person shooters ever, and that’s partly because it adds a lot of new features to a relatively tired genre. But you’ll need some new tactics to go along with that – we’ve got you sorted with this TitanFall Tips video.
Note: The text that follows is a slightly tweaked transcript of the video for those with slower Internet connections.
One of the most overlooked features of the game are the zip lines, a really quick way to get around, sometimes across entire maps in a few seconds. Simply run near one and hold X. This can really give you an edge to get behind enemy forces while they’re off engaging in the centre of the map.
If you’re an absolutely beginner, try the Smart Pistol – it’s a great way to rack up kills with minions. Speaking of which, the Minion Detector is a powerful bit of equipment which shows you all the minion locations so you can hunt them down. In attrition, every minion kill still contributes to the final score; so don’t feel like you’re not helping the team. You are. In fact, I’ve come first place on matches where I literally only killed Grunts. Combine your minion kills with a card that gives greater XP for killing Grunts, and you’ll be sure to level up quickly.
Don’t kill Spectres though: hacking them is not only more fun, but you’ll end up with an army of your own robots following you around, which is obviously just awesome – and they’ll come find you again if you die.
Rodeoing the Titan and pounding him with the LMG is by far the faster way to kill one – around 5-10 seconds total from full armor. Simply approach the target cloaked, double jump and hold X to mount it – or if you’re particular good at free falling, jump directly on one from a building. Also, try to only tackle those alone; surrounding Titans can pick you off very easily. Once you’ve beaten it into submission, run onto a roof and cloak again while he explodes, being careful not to be caught in any nuclear explosion.
Deploy your titan sensibly: just because it becomes available, you shouldn’t call it immediately – The thing with Titans is that they can be really vulnerable, and simply dropping them into the heat of the action is a sure fire way to get them killed quickly. The counter for your next Titan begins when your current one dies, so you don’t gain anything by calling it immediately and just letting it die, other than having to wait another 3 minutes. Remember, you can spawn right into your Titan if you die, which means you’ll be placed nicely.
That said, if you really don’t care about your Titan, calling a TitanFall on top of the enemy is an instant one hit kill – even on other Titans. It’s just highly unlikely.
Also, don’t be afraid to run away with your Titan, particularly if you play with the scouting class like I do whose strength lies in being nimble, getting out of tight situations and attacking from more opportune areas – like circling back around a Titan currently engaging you. A Titan played defensively will rack up far more kills than one rushed into combat.
Like all good FPSs you’ll need to learn the maps, but in TitanFall this mean where to wall run as well. Counter-intuitively perhaps, wall running is actually a lot faster than running on the ground. You’ll also have the advantage of height, which as Sun Tzu told us gives significant strategic advantage. Your enemies won’t even know you’re slaughtering them as they’re too busy running around like headless chickens on the ground.
Don’t forget, you can hang on to a wall by pressing down on the left trigger, though you’ll lose the ability to aim down your sights.
Don’t be afraid to use burn cards. You’ll get tons of them, and if you don’t use them you might miss out on some rare cards because your deck is full. Trash the ones you don’t want, as not as of them will be appropriate for your play style.
Double your firepower: piloting your Titan is good, but if you allow it to follow or guard, you’ll have both the firepower of you as a pilot, and that of your Titan in AI mode. This is particularly great once you unlock the better AI chip, though that isn’t until around level 49.
If you have lost, don’t run straight to the extraction point and wait for the ship: you’ll be picked off immediately. Instead, plan your escape route and hide nearby. When the dropship is about to arrive, leg it. You want to be in the position to jump on just before it leaves. Make sure you know beforehand a clear route to every high building on the map. On the winning team, you’ll need at least 3 titans shooting at a ship to destroy one, which is immensely satisfying.
Follow all these tips and you’ll be sure to rack up a first place every time. Can you share any tips of your own?