Becoming a better CoD player - Written by Donkey

Hi All,

I have had quite a few people send me PM's for tips on how they can improve there game so rather than replying to you all I thought that I would make this:

Over the past 5 years of competitive console gaming at the highest level in Australia/ World I have learnt over time that the following are the basis of becoming a well rounded player that will be able to compete and win.


PUG to improve your individual knowledge of maps. By this I mean realising where nades usually come from, where rushes are, suppressive spray spots, head shot spots (my fav) and how others move. As well of the overall feel of maps. Public won't give you the same feel as PUGS as people are too conservative and won't want to ruin there stats in pub.

SCRIM to improve your team work. There are alot of good players, but to become great you need to be able to work as an integral cog in your team. Keep at it without getting discouraged against more experienced teams. You can only improve from losses against better teams and will learn from your mistakes or there better play.

COMMUNICATION is the key to success. With good communication a good player only gets better. Some people say that they can communicate, but communication isn't about how much your saying. It is about what you are saying. Making better, more informative calls and letting your team know what they don't already. Also talk between rounds between your team and change your plans on the run...

BE FLUID. If your team, or your play style is so set, a good team will pick this up pretty quick and either have a nade on your dome the next round or wait until you peek. By staying fluid I mean stay unpredictable. Move up a bit further, hold back slightly and wait for your opponents to jump out looking where you were, Also on occasion switch your weapon up. I always rifle, M16 in my hand my staple diet, everyone knows it, and I played to this fact, but in some choice positions I would switch to an MP5, rush an extra 20m forward and surprise my opposing number. You can have structure whilst staying unpredictable.

PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS. I started out playing CoD3, battle. I love Free for All and have played it on every CoD since. When I wasn't playing with my team, I was playing FFA. This was what I liked, and this is how I got my shot up to a competitive level. For me I found that the unpredictable nature of never knowing when your enemy was going to be around a corner or sitting in a random corner, in a headshot you had never seen would improve my reaction speed, keep me on the ball and always learning new positions to out-play future players. You could do the same thing if you play demo, SnD. What I mean is you should always push yourself so that you learn more about the game and what people do, whether you know it or not there will always be something new.

To sum up the above, basically practise using PUGS, SCRIMS and PUB to keep your skills up and knowledge expanding. Eventually you will be able to rely on your skills in these areas and be able to spend more time with your team coming up with runs and strategies. But the most important bit of advice I can give you is that gaming isn't the only thing in the world. You can't get rich playing xbox, so play sport, get a job and make the most of your opportunities outside of the box and this will reflect your online gaming in a positive way too.

As some of you know, I am now retired from competitive gaming and only playing a little bit of public from time to time. Goodluck to Cheese and Guardian continuing the Legends legacy into 2011.

Hope that the skills and information that I learnt over the years can help at least few of you.

Highway Donkey