Halo 3 multiplayer — fun, ain’t it? But you’ve discovered something — plenty of other people love it, too. And no matter how hard you try, you still find yourself watching that darned respawn screen more than you’d like. That’s not to say you’re bad at Halo 3; neither are we, but you know you’ve faced opponents that seem like they must play the game all day, every day. The good news is, you don’t have to play 10,000 matches to learn to hold your own against those obnoxious, teabagging 9-year-olds anymore! With our OXM-approved list of Halo 3 strategies, all you everyday Halo 3 players can learn to bring your A-game every match and start booking non-stop trips to Wintown.

10 SWEET SKILLS TO PWN TEH LAMORZ

1) Play with friends and start simple
Why throw yourself into slaughter right away? Not only is a match with friends often more fun than playing with strangers, but you’ll have a leg up on everyone else playing in randomly matched-up teams. Try warming up your team on unranked Social games like Social Slayer. Because they’re not ranked, they’re not as competitive, and they’re a great way to get your trigger finger ready for more serious matches.


With friends like these...

2) Choose your targets wisely
It can be tempting to open fire the second you see an enemy, but you really shouldn’t take a shot unless you know that you or a nearby teammate can finish your target (or unless you’re attacked first). If your opponent is too far away or near cover, you’ll lose them and reveal your location as well as that of the rest of your team in the process. You should also try to determine what weapons your target has and if they’re alone or are being trailed by teammates ready to outnumber you. Don’t impulsively “try” to get a kill. Kill or don’t kill — there is no try.

3) Crouching tiger, hidden headshot
The two keys to bullet-dodging ninja moves are crouch-jumping and holding your aim steady while you’re strafing. Always jump and strafe in unpredictable, non-linear directions while you fight — it’s much harder to hit a moving target. But this technique also requires you to keep your reticule trained on your opponent’s noggin with your right analog stick while intermittently pressing A to jump and using the left analog stick to move. In case you don’t already know how to crouch-jump, click down on the left analog stick as you press A to get an extra boost.

4) Learn to aim your ’nades
One of the quickest ways to rack up lightning-fast and morale-crushing quick kills is to “lead” an opponent with a grenade throw, knocking their shields down. To do this, you have to learn how grenades react to different surfaces (for instance, grenades sink into the snow on “Snowbound” but bounce off the walls like super balls on “Construct”). Panicking Spartans often mistakenly hurl a ’nade over an attacking enemy’s head without really aiming. Don’t be that guy. Instead, aim your reticule closer to the ground and throw the grenade where they’ll be in a second, not where they are. Where they are will be behind them by the time the explosion goes off.


Suicide runs with grenades...fun, and sometimes, they even work!

5) Master the melee
When you’re fighting in close quarters, sometimes the difference between a righteous kill and a humiliating death is a good beatdown. That is, if both you and your opponent are trading shots at relatively the same rate, try rushing them and follow through with a fast tap of the “B” button, throwing a bone-cracking melee move to finish the medal-earning kill. Seasoned players do this without even thinking, and you should learn to do so as well. For kicks, check your Career Stats on Bungie.net to see how many jerks you’ve retired via the melee attack — as for us, our third top “Tool of Destruction” is the melee. Believe us, it works.


First you shoot, then you smack, then they die.

6) Aim for the brain
It usually takes about four direct hits with a typical weapon to send your enemy packing for Palookaville (except with one-shot-kill weapons, of course). You can speed up this “four-shot” process by landing headshots. For instance, because a battle rifle fires a three-round burst, two or three well-placed headshots can down a foe. Headshotting is also especially effective when playing close quarters during Shotty Snipers, a Slayer variant that comes up frequently. When going toe-to-toe using shotguns, keep your reticule aimed at the head and you should drop your opponent to his knees with one blast. Don’t forget to immediately melee — just in case.

7) Heavy weapons for the win
It’s surprising how often we see Warthogs, Banshees, and Ghosts go neglected on maps like “Valhalla,” “High Ground,” and “Snowbound.” It’s easy to get caught up in a foot race and forget about the vehicles, but chances are if you turn a corner and see a vehicle just sitting there, your enemies have forgotten about the vehicles, too, which means you’ll catch them off-guard. The same goes for the turrets, missile pods, and flamethrowers. Learn how to use these heavier weapons and vehicles and you’ll find yourself dominating the map and winning the game.

8) Be patient
There’s no shame in playing like a ninja assassin, and sometimes you can avoid a certain death by waiting, even for a second or two. For instance, you can get the drop on a foe by waiting behind cover until they pass you, letting you crack off one or two shots before they can turn and counter. Other times you can lead a pack of goons into a trap where your teammates are waiting to raise high the banner of WIN. We’re not saying “Don’t be aggressive” — by all means, do. Just know that you can sometimes gain a clear advantage by holding your fire, especially when facing really good players.


Recharge. Reload. Then replay the saved films of your domination. 

9) Focus on the fight, not the score
Morale plays a huge part in your performance, and if you’re constantly obsessing about the tit-for-tat scoring dance in every game, you’ll be distracted. Ultimately, the final outcome of any match is defined by the sum of lots of little one- to three-player encounters, and if you focus on finding encounters to engage in that you and your team can win — such as outnumbering a single roaming player, helping your buddy finish off a fight he might’ve lost alone — you’ll find the score going up and your worries disappearing.


Our #9 says be the blue guy. Our #10 says don't be the red guy.

10) Assisted living is better than dying alone
What’s the difference between winning or losing a firefight between four or five guys? It’s often only a few shots. Pay attention to your radar and listen for gunfire, then get yourself to the fight to pitch in. You may be able to run in, with full shields, and finish two or three opponents who may be barely hanging onto life with blinking shields. There’s nothing wrong with batting clean-up. In fact, team-assisting kills like these may be some of the easiest you’ll come by, and your almost-dead teammates will thank you for the help in those clutch situations.

WHAT TO DO WHEN…

…your nearly-dead opponent drops a bubble shield

Grav lift + bubble shield = shenanigans

Bubble shields are some of our favorite opportunities for shenanigans. First, we always run in and try to plop a sticky grenade right on our enemy’s visor. Don’t worry about dying if you have to — it’s worth it, in part for the humiliation factor. Or better yet, if you have a grav lift, drop it in the center and watch the bubble shield itself fly into the air, leaving the cowering wuss defenseless.

…the swordguy is looking at you like a hot plate of KILL

Now that the energy sword has been tuned with a shorter range than its Killtacular sibling in Halo 2, you finally have a hopping chance against the incorrigible swordguy. Throw a grenade at the floor at your feet while crouchjumping backward. Swordguy’s only play is to come right at you, so he’ll have to walk through the blast, which will take down his shield. Finish him with a well-placed shot, grab the sword, and inform him that there’ll be no free lunch today.

…an opponent is dominating the map with the Spartan Laser

The humble Needler can pwn the Spartan Laser. Try it.

One word: Needler. Even the best S’plaser dood has to warm up his red-eyed cannon. Once your Needler reticule turns red, unload the pink mist in his general direction, jumping out of the way of his blast, and watch him pop like a Spartan piñata. The same tactic can be used against snipers on “Guardian.”

…someone in a Ghost is ruining your day

Sticky grenades go where your RB can't.

Getting splattered sucks, and if you can’t do the classic Ghost-jacking move with RB as your enemy approaches at high speed, one wellplaced sticky can end a Ghost-rida’s killing spree. Crouch-jump over its plasma cannon with your reticule down, and when the pilot boosts for the splat, throw when the vehicle is within about five feet. Ghost go BOOM!

…you want to win on “Construct”

Finally, a good use for the flamethrower!

Hands down, get control of the top halls and you’ll dominate. Do so by posting someone at the big, gold lift with a flamethrower. As enemies come barreling up the lift, fire up the heat and start the Spartan BBQ. If you’re on the bottom facing this tactic, send grenades and a Shield Drainer (a piece of equipment that does what it sounds like it does) up the lift to douse the slow-moving flamethrower guy. For fun, try heading to the very bottom and waiting next to the purple and gold lifts. The opposing team will search the whole map before coming down to the bottom, at which time you can launch up the lift, reclaiming the top territory. Wash, rinse, repeat.