Low Honor = Underestimation
One misconception in America's Army is that honor directly correlates to skill. This is not true, for a variety of reasons. They include:
- Multiple Accounts: Often players with high honor start additional accounts. Also, they may have accounts with various tags. There are always accounts that were stolen too.
- Players may actually play the game as intended despite the influx of rushers and stat mongers to the game. By this it is meant low honor players could focus their sessions on providing covering fire and teamplay rather than personal point gathering.
- Cheating: A user who cheated may have high honor from cheating on public servers, but that doesn't mean they are going to be able to beat you in matches without their cheats.
- Bought Accounts: You can buy high honor accounts via services like eBay. WARNING: Many accounts on eBay are possibly stolen, or were used for cheating. If you use one of these accounts, there is a possibility you may be banned from the game for doing so.
So, remember, honor is not equal to skill. But you can trick those who don't believe by playing on a low honor account.
Check Your Fire... And Your Six
It is never good to shoot your own team. Once they're dead they can't cover you. So check your fire, and check your six too. The OpFor can sneak up from behind.
Noise Is, Well, Noisy
Believe it or not, the OpFor have ears. This means you can be heard, yet not seen. Your goal is to be neither seen nor heard. So stay low, stay quiet. (PS from RandomSAW- wear headphones so you can hear OpFor trying to sneak up on you. The advantages of wearing headphones are endless)
Love Your Neighbor Like You'd Like To Be Loved Yourself
George W. Bush's idea of being a good neighbor applies to America's Army. Be sure to respect your teammates, especially those around you. Teamwork is key. If someone needs an extra grenade, or a smoke thrown, help them out. If you don't, they may be reluctant to help YOU later.
The Gun Fires THAT Way, Soldier
Know your weapon. Remember that spamming a door with the M4 against a RPKer isn't going to work well. You have 30 bullets - they have about 6 times more. And remember that you can't throw a grenade an infinite distance either.
Thou Shall Not Cheat
If you are cheating, stop reading here and quit playing this game. If you still want to game, get a Game Boy, that way there's no way for you to cheat.
Use Thy Sight
Use Your sights/scope when ever possible. You will be amazed how many more kills you get by taking the extra second to bring up your sights.
Communication Is Key To Teamwork
Even if you never use any of the more sophisticated methods of communications, such as the several voice communications programs, or hand signals, there are a few simple things to keep in mind that will do wonders for helping your team achieve its objectives.
Report your position frequently. This action is bound the 'U' key by default. Binding the "Report In" action to a convenient button, such as the middle mouse button will make it easier to report, and safer since you're finger isn't far from the fire button. A good rule of thumb for the frequency of reports is to report whenever you enter a new area. At the very least your teammates know where you've been killed, which can be a very important piece of information.
After making reporting in a habit, another useful habit to aquire is reporting the location and movement of enemy forces unless you have a sure kill. Report the enemy if you're under fire and can reach cover. Someone else may be able to flank the enemy. Reporting enemy locations when not under fire is recommended in several situations when firing on them could be disadvantageous. A short list of sample situations include, but is not limited to:
- Being in a concealed locations and not wanting to be revealed by shooting
- Spotting an enemy force that has the advantage of numbers.
- Spotting an enemy when you are unable to assure a kill due to your health or distance.
It can be difficult to type and play, but when you're not under fire is the perfect time.
For the Squad Leader, setting objectives can help coordination immensely. If the other players are working as a team you can overwhelm the enemy by approaching a single objective from several ways. By default, setting objectives is bound to the 'O' key. After pressing the 'O' key, press the letter for the objective as listed on the HUD.
Links to General Tactics and Beneficial Behaviours
The content from the following links could be incorporated if permission is granted by the authors.
- New Guy's Guide to Common Traits and Skills
- RodeoX's Americas Army Operations Basic Training (No longer maintained)