Introduction
In this guide, you will learn several tips and tricks for playing team-based gametypes. What must be stressed here is that team-based games are very different from FFA (free for all). Playing only team games can deter your ability to play FFA games and vice-versa. The best team is the team that has all players working as one, constantly communicating and supporting one another while actively keeping in mind their individual roles.
The fastest way to lose a game is to start complaining and blaming one another. It is a TEAM game. Just because one person went -10 does not mean it was that player's fault (excluding trolls and derankers). Remember that each player has their set of strengths and weakness; you need to learn or discover your role(s) when playing team-based games.
The best type of team consists of players that are well-rounded in all areas. In principle, I believe that the main roles for most team-based gametypes are: Support, Leader, CQB, Specialist, and Objective. Depending on the gametype and player count, there could be two people sharing the same role or one person with two roles. Below you will find a description of each role.
The Support Player
The support role is exactly what it sounds like: providing support to other players in various ways. Support players are not aggressive; they play cautiously and look for any opportunity to help out. You should never expect a support player to have a lot of kills, as their job is to assist. A good support player assists others through: support fire, communication, driving a vehicle, acting as a bullet sponge, or just holding a certain area.
Support fire is providing extra fire at whatever your teammate(s) are shooting at. Double-teaming/team-shooting one person is devastating. You and your teammate can get 4 shots off while the opponent can only fire 2 shots. Though you may not get the kill, you must realize two things: 1) you just saved a person's life, and 2) you have reduced stress from your teammate. In very intense games, people can get very nervous in a 1v1 situation. Providing help will relieve the tension by showing your teammates that they are not alone. This can strongly boosts a person's confidence. Support fire is best done by using accurate weapons such as the Battle Rifle, Carbine, Magnum, or Sniper Rifle. These weapons offer medium to long range capability, and each one enables you to get a headshot. It is important to note that the a support player is not necessarily the weakest player on your team. You need to know when to provide support fire even without your teammates talking. Fortunately, Halo 3 has in-game icons to tell you what is happening in the battlefield. A yellow icon indicates your team-mate is firing. A red icon indicates a teammate is receiving enemy fire. These icons will appear on the edges of your screen so make use of them!
Next, communication is essential for any team game. The support player should be doing a lot of the talking throughout the game. It is their job to call out enemy positions, weapons, etc. The support player could also be the one who is keeping track of the spawn times for power-ups or power weapons. If your team leader prefers to be the main communicator, then the support person should be confirming the communication by asking whether anyone picked up a power-up, killed the guy on open street on Construct, etc.
Driving a vehicle is another way of supporting your team. In maps like Valhalla, using a Banshee or Warthog is critical in map control. Again, a support player should be very skilled in driving or piloting vehicles. Remember that you are vulnerable to heavy weapons, and you should be working with your team to learn who has what weapons. If driving a warthog or mongoose, use the horn to indicate that an enemy is near (to the gunner/passenger) or that a ride is available. For support-style play, just stick to the outskirts of the map to keep your opponents under constant pressure. Using vehicles in a support style is an excellent way to manipulate player movement and dictate the base of the game.
"Bullet sponge" is a less prevalent tactic used by a support player but it sometimes can be useful in objective games like CTF. A bullet sponge is taking shots or grenades for your ally by standing in front of the incoming fire or explosion.. If your teammate is running away with a flag, bomb, or power-weapon, your job is to stand in front of the incoming fire and explosion so that your teammate does not die. Though it seems like a waste of life it does several things: 1) you waste your opponent's ammo 2) you ensure that your team-mate can score flag/bomb or secure a power-weapon, 3) it is decent distraction to your opponents which can also allow your other teammates to sneak around, and 4) the player's reticule aim assist will mess up, making it even difficult just to aim. See image below.
Depending on the map, your support player could also be the one who controls your spawning. Some maps have broken spawns which means you should have someone stay in a certain area to help increase the probability of consistent spawning. In this case, it is useful to have a sniper as you can not only see what is happening in the distance, but also safely kill people. The support player could also be the one who stays in the base in Last Resort. This should not be confused with camping because the support player would still be actively moving around, albeit in a more limited area. See gameplay below for an example.
The Leader
Every team must have some sort of leader. Whether you are playing with random players or with your friends, you need to have some sort of hierarchy. A leader is the "brains" and "skill" behind any team. A leader is often the most diverse player. They can do anything and everything, but since it is a team game, the leader must work with others if he/she wants the TEAM to win. If you are the leader you must establish strategies and tactics. As soon as the game starts, everyone on the team should know where to go and what to do. Discussing tactics in the pre-game lobby or in custom games is highly recommended.
If you are the leader, you should be calling out. You should know when to expect new weapons, new power-ups, the last known enemy positions, how much time is left for the flag to return, who has what weapons, what is the current strategy, etc. Always remind your team of what is going on in the battlefield. Since you are constantly fighting or moving in and out of hot-spots you can send important information to support player(s). The leader in a slayer game will often have the most kills. In an objective game, the leader can have the most kills OR the most flag captures/bomb detonations; however, he will most likely have the least assists.
Psychologically motivating players is an unknown component of Halo that most intermediate players do not realize. Boosting confidence or calming distressed players can quickly change chaos into a straightforward battle. As the leader is more or less the boss, it is also his/her job to encourage other players. The leader should compliment what others do in one form or another or tell them thanks. Not only does this improve attitude, but it also boosts confidence. If someone is worried about an encounter, saying things like, "don't worry, he sucks" or "that's an easy out-BR" may relieve tension. Careful with what you say, because your comments such as "he's garbage" can haunt a person's mind if they lose that battle. Should that be the case, quickly brush it off by saying, "don't worry; there was nothing you could've done anyways."
There is a lot of randomness in the world of online play, and Halo 3 is no exception. If a teammate ever becomes angry due to some unexplained death or glitch ("I shot him in the @#$%&* head!"), it is your job to calm that player down. Best way to do this would be agreeing with them that you also saw the glitch or the moment of confusion. This reminds your teammates that they are not alone in their experiences. It also re-affirms that the player did the best they could. Finally, if your team is losing, it is your job to put confidence back into the team by complimenting each kill and saying that there is still time left. This is often difficult with random players, so I always suggest playing with at least one friend.
See the old gameplay below and listen to how I communicate.
The Close Quarters Battle (CQB) Player
A CQB player is the one who likes to get inside the base of the enemy to steal weapons, objective items, or to cause pure carnage. A CQB player should be armed with some sort of power weapon to maximize damage. A CQB player must be skilled in strafing as well as fooling opponents. A CQB player is essential when it comes to drawn out game, as they are the ones that turn the tide of the game. However, CQB players are heavily dependent on leadership and communication. Otherwise their efforts will be futile, and their life, wasted.
Since their job requires meticulous work, you will often notice that they will not talk. That is because they are listening to their environment, cautiously looking around, and carefully approaching their objective. Even in MLG matches, the person with Active Camo will be a CQB player, and often will not talk until they have assassinated a player, even if they see multiple players. Because of this, the leader must keep an eye on what they are doing, since the CQB player may miss important call-outs. Weapon-choice is critical for a CQB player. If you are the CQB and go into a base with a weapon like a Rocket Launcher or Shotgun, make sure you do not have full ammo.
There are many quick decisions a CQB has to make inside an enemy base. If you are playing a Slayer game, the most important thing you should be worried about would be killing and stealing the person with the power weapon. Above all, you must get a kill before you die, so your life was not wasted. Always be ready to drop grenades at your death to ensure some last second carnage or a potential kill. If it looks like you are unable to get away with a power weapon, just jump off the map or jump into a man cannon. Irrational players will chase you or look for the weapon, causing a break-up in their setup. If you are playing Objective, then your primary goal should be the objective item. Remember that grabbing and then throwing the flag out of the base does nothing if you do not kill people or cause chaos in their base. A good player will at least take one or two players out and then run the objective item. If you have a choice between a power weapon or a flag, you should at least make a quick attempt for the power weapon, since going for the flag may be pointless if the enemy has a full Sniper aimed at your back.
Crouching is good but don't think that your enemy will not turn around and shoot you!
In larger maps, destroying vehicles is an excellent strategy if you are unable to steal them. Hint: Banshee spawn time is 3 minutes!
The Objective Player
Objective players have the least glorious role of the team, the objective item(s). These players know that they have to be the luckiest players in the world to do what they do. Make no mistake, these players also have a unique set of skills. Their sole task is to pull the flag, run the bomb, get into the hill/territory/destination, etc. They are not concerned with killing; therefore, excellent communication and cover is needed. Objective players tend have more pressure than any other player in the team.
Objective players do not necessarily have to be the most individually skilled to get the job done. I personally have friends that can run a flag through hell in a matter of seconds, but cannot 4 shot with the BR consistently. So for those who are in the lower calibre of skill, this may be your best role. That being said, I will not deny that having a skilled player running the flag is great thing. Think of it this way: would you rather have the best player on your team killing everyone or running the flag? Timing is critical so you need to coordinate with your team when you are about to make a move. Always tell your teammates when you are close to an enemy base so that they can shift their attention to you. Trust is a big factor. You need to trust your team if you are going for the flag. There may be several opponents around flag, but if you have teammates who said "they got it," then do not stop there and start fighting.
To explicitly type out the exact moment when you are suppose to go into a base is tricky. The key thing to keep in mind is: distraction. If your opponents are busy fighting/respawning or they are unaware of your presence, accomplishing your goal will be much easier. Do not forget to call for help. Your job is to run the objective item and not necessarily slay everyone.
Running the objective item requires technique and environmental awareness. The main thing to keep mind is: DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR K/D. This is much harder for skilled or egotistical players. It is a team game, so you have a team to help you out. Flag running can be difficult, and as mentioned above, you can run weapons too. Running a flag or weapon is done by rapidly picking it up and dropping it. What this does is minimize the impact of player traits that are applied to a flag carrier (such as walking slower). METHOD: As soon as you pick up the flag, jump and look (aim) up and then press the trigger to throw it. You gain more distance the higher you aim. You should always throw the flag as soon as you touch it. You save much more time jumping + throwing then just running the flag. Jumping also allows you to dodge explosions as frag grenades have a low vertical explosive radius. While the flag is flying in the air you now have the ability to shoot or throw grenades. Finally, you do not have to worry about dying as each touch will bring the flag closer. See the videos & descriptions below for an illustration.
Notice how FAST flag running is in this simple video. The regular run time was 7 seconds; while the other two runs were 5 seconds. Note how for the jumping run, I only had to touch the flag THREE times to score; and this was on a flat surface too. Imagine how far and fast you can run a flag on map with elevation.
Simple physics are at work here: you add your own momentum to the flag by running; hence, why it travels further the higher you throw it. This also explains why you throw grenades further when running or riding in a vehicle. Halo 3 has a lot more realistic physics engine than most people realize.
Conclusion
Team Slayer and Team Objective are team-based games comprised of several members who have different functions. To win a game, each team member must not only have a certain degree of individual skill but also work in conjunction with another by adopting different roles. Understanding your role in your team while communicating reduces chaotic gameplay and stress while maximizing the potential of each player. What's your role?
