Improving Your Game: Shootmania

I just recently picked up the new, upcoming first person shooter "Shootmania". I admit I never thought I would be interested in it, but, coming from a long time FPS player, I must say that it is very enjoyable with plenty of long term potential for maintaining its eSports status.

In my journey to reach pro level play, I have quickly realized that I will have to adapt to this new style of game seeing as how I am used to more modern first person shooters such as the Call of Duty and Battlefield series. I will share with you, what changes in play style need to be made to become the best of the best at Shootmania, whether it's in the casual or elite scene.

Understanding Hitscan

Many gamers who are fairly new to the first person shooter scene won't be familiar with the term "Hitscan". Without them knowing, it will certainly affect their game performance if they stay ignorant to it. Hitscan is, simply put, a term for when a game implements a function when a player fires a weapon that "shoots" the projectile in a perfectly straight line instantaneously. Coming from playing Battlefield 3 this is a pain in the side.

It may seem odd, but pulling the trigger when the crosshair is directly over an enemy can be tougher than it sounds. You may notice that Quake playersare switching over to Shootmania, and that's because the two games are very similar including the hitscan feature. My advice? Practice, practice, practice. The laser is the only hitscan weapon of this game and is a very powerful tool in game as it has impeccable accuracy and uses hitscan.

Get used to walking your crosshair into a target. I couldn't tell you how many times when I was first playing Shootmania that I would witness a pro's laser shots shooting about an inch to one side of his or her crosshair. This is because a skilled player, such as a pro, will know how hitscan works and will adjust their aim when moving. Trust me, there is lots of movement in Shootmania, and at varying speeds due to sprinting and jump pads. I recommend playing the "Siege" game mode in Storm or, better yet, Shootmania Elite.

Using Stamina Properly

As pro team Do Not Jump's, Victor 'Nimbus' Maillé once told me, "[Shootmania] is movement and how you use your stamina." He's certainly right about that. While your stamina regenerates rather quickly, you will want to conserve it until it's necessary to use it. What you deem necessary is up to you, but while playing siege or elite, I save mine for a few different situations. One good time to burn your stamina is when the opposition is rushing you.

In some situations, it'd be best to sit back and pick off the enemy coming towards you, but I do understand that this isn't always possible and evasion is the best course of action to gain a terrain advantage over the enemy. Another good reason to burn stamina is when you are rushing the enemy. Many Shootmania maps contain large open areas and a plethora of choke points. It's best to rush through the bottleneck rather than walk through it, as it gives you less room to maneuver. As a word of caution, be careful of pre-firing into the bottleneck.

Pre-Firing

Simple in theory, complex in nature; Pre-firing is the act of firing your rockets (or nuclei) through a likely entry way that the attackers will go through in hopes of scoring a lucky hit and/or deterring their progression. In my early days of playing elite and siege, I would often pre-fire too often. Pre-firing too often is a surefire way to get vaporized without scoring a hit or two (or three) on an attacker.

In my experience, pre-firing liberally before the attacker is spotted is generally a good tactic. While this depends on the map, I would recommend only blowing all of your rockets once unless the choke points are far away. Aside from that, try to pre-fire one or two rockets around corners occasionally if you suspect the attacker is headed that way at some point. Though, be wary of a quick shot to the face as you are essentially giving away your position when pre-firing, hence why I say not to pre-fire boat loads unless the attacker is at a distance.

I can't stress enough how important it is to conserve your rockets (and stamina) for when you are in close proximity to the enemy player(s).

Learn The Map

This one is a given when playing any competitive game, but it certainly deserves a mention. Elite mode has a "warm up" mode implemented before a match starts that starts you with laser and allows you all the time in the world to roam around and learn the map. One thing to look for when studying a map's layout would be good routes to attack and likely possible defensive positions. This eliminates any surprises that may be waiting around the corner.

Surprises lose you the round more often than not, and who wants that? Another thing to look around for is good spots that you can pick off anyone camping the pole whether you are attacking or defending. This is very important, as I will explain in the next section...



Playing The Pole

Whether you are playing Battle, Siege, Elite, or Royal, you will find yourself in a 1 v. 1 on the pole more times than you can count. I very much recommend practicing this. I've seen countless players panic when they are confronted by an attacker or defender who is dancing around the pole with them. Don't be that guy and panic. Conserve your shots to maximize your chances of landing shots when it counts.

In Siege and, more so, Elite the pole is captured rather quickly by the attacker so you must act quick. Always be mindful of the capture time or else you'll find yourself in trouble. Make sure you can "juke" or "fake out" the attacker. If you can successfully do that then it's your time to strike (this is where conserving shots comes into play).

Fake Outs, Fences, And Jukes, Oh My!

I touched on it briefly in the previous section, but I'd like to give fakes, jukes, and fences their own section as they are all very important points to know when improving your Shootmania skills. What I call "fake outs" are when you are a defender taking cover behind an object of some sort (wall, pole, etc.) and you strafe back and forth ever so slightly in an attempt to fake the attacker into firing their laser at you.

This gives you a prime opportunity to fire shots at them while their weapon is recharging. This is a critical strategy when in a defensive position behind a fence. As an attacker, you will want to be wary of the defender trying to make you miss and thus make your shots count all the while watching your back assuming you hadn't already annihliated the rest of their team. A strategy that I find helpful when attacking a defender behind a fence is to burn your stamina and run right at them from a close distance and flicking a shot at them. This isn't a tactic easily mastered. You will have to first perfect your laser technique before consistently pulling it off. While attacking, you should always be mindful of any rockets coming your way.

This is where learning to juke and do it calmly comes into play. Rockets do move slow enough to where you can strafe out of the way without much issue when it's from a range. Up close must rely on your reflexes. The most important thing is to not panic. If you can keep your cool, even during a deadly crossfire of rockets headed your way, you're in good shape.

Have Confidence

Self confidence is a key to becoming a top player. The other day, I witnessed a teammate on elite who was attacking and was being rushed by one defender each round, and each time he would panic and miss several shots before being hunted down by their whole team. He complained the whole match about it.

Simply put, he lacked the self confidence required to overcome tough situations such as the one he was forced into. As the player, you need to trust in yourself to land shots even if they seem impossible. You never know what you might hit. Trust your shots. Trust your reflexes. Landing one shot could change the whole outcome of the round.

Follow these the tips that I mentioned and you should notice a difference in your Shootmania gameplay sooner than later. Even if it takes you months to get better at the game, just remember that you are better. Remember to stay positive and be creative! Before you know it, you'll find yourself playing among the pros.