Overview
A Deathmatch is simply a free-for-all where all the players are let loose in the map at the same time. There are no teams, and no allegiances. All players are trying to kill all other players.
Goal
The goal is to achieve the highest score. The game ends when one player achieves the target kill count, or when the timer expires. If a player achieves the target kill count, that player is the winner. If the timer expires, the highest score becomes the winner. There can be ties.
Scoring
Players get one point for delivering the killing shot/blow to another player, or for being the means by which another player dies, such as knocking them out of the playfield (such as into outer space if fighting on a space station) or into an environmental damage area such as toxic sewage or lava which then kills them.
Players lose a point if they kill themselves, which can occur through splash damage from their own weapons, falling a long distance, jumping or falling out of the playfield, or entering an environmental damage area and dying from the damage.
Strategies & Tips
- Know the maps! Practice on the playing maps until you know them like the back of your hand. You should know:
- Where you are as soon as you respawn
- Where all the better weapons are, such as the rocket launcher and flak cannon
- Where additional ammo is for your favorite weapons
- Where the health powerups are
- Where special items are, such as armor, shield belts, superhealth, redeemer, etc., and how to get to them
- Have strategies for all weapons, such as:
- Switching to the flak cannon for movement through tight corridors with short lines of sight, where you are likely to run into an enemy coming the other way
- Use the rocket launcher to lock onto fleeing enemies in areas with little cover
- Loading up rockets in a tight pattern if you have a few seconds to track an enemy, and you have the element of surprise for your first shot
- Use the shock core combo for enemies in bunches or around corners
- Develop a movement pattern that allows you to stay in motion while traversing important areas of the map to watch for spawning powerups
- Use shock rifle primary fire or sniper rifle for enemies a long way away