[Leonard]

My favorite is a toss-up between Resistance and Lockdown. Those maps make sense to me. Outpost isn't exactly terrible, but I can't stand the layout.

I agree with you on Outpost. I hate the layout. I've camped the hangar or warehouse a couple of times as it's one place that has only 2 ways in. Snipers seem to love that map too.

Resistance is another of my favourite maps. I like campingon the one side of the map (opposite side of the map from the stairs).

I think I love Mission because it's almost a 1-level map. There are no second floors. The only exception is the low-end of the map, which I avoid. Lots of nice corners to camp.

[Jawbone54]

Maybe I just haven't figured it out yet.

With small maps like Rust or Nuke Town, I could spot patterns and adjust my play style. With Dome, it doesn't seem like the layout lends itself to predicting and opposing team's behavior. Also, the elevated walkway is certain death 100% of the time.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Leonard 

I think I love Mission because it's almost a 1-level map. There are no second floors. The only exception is the low-end of the map, which I avoid. Lots of nice corners to camp.

Not pointing to Mission in general, but I think this one of the bigger issues with the maps. CoD4 had more verticality than this shit. You can have to sets of people fighting in the same space only separated by level was a boon, not a deficiency. Half the reason these maps blow is they've been neutered hard to prevent choke-points and powerful spots, completely missing that choke-points (if done properly) enhance action, and powerful spots give possible focus.

The trick is having multiple choke points on maps (See: Invasion, Strike, Jungle). Going back to iInvasion (My blueprint for a perfect map) there are several great spots to hold. Several. As in, if someone has a good spot you can take it or choose to take another great spot and fight there instead (See Karachi Rooftop vs. the tunnel/statue spawn nearby vs. the roof/alley overlooking the diner vs. the building with the blown-out wall diagonal from the rooftop).

Then I look at Bootleg, and it horrible. There's one massive choke-point, a flank, and a long open sight-line that would be deadly if it was ever worth being using to flank.

I don't think it's coincidence Fallen is one of the better maps, when it has the most height variation I can think of. I would not be surprised if it was a cut map from one of the previous games.

Edit: Multi-level also adds complexity – relying on UAV too heavily can be misleading. Arkaden has an area where this can happen: Top of the escalators. Keeps things interesting.

[The Final Dakar]

Once in a Lifetime Throwing Knife Kill - Modern Warfare 3 - YouTube

[mattyb]

For some reason, I have double XP atm. I have no idea why.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

For some reason, I have double XP atm. I have no idea why.

Did you accept a clan invite? When i joined the clan that Dakar set up, I got double XP for 2 hours.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Edit: Multi-level also adds complexity – relying on UAV too heavily can be misleading. Arkaden has an area where this can happen: Top of the escalators. Keeps things interesting.

It happens on Lockdown and Sea Town too. I especially notice it on Lockdown.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by Leonard 

Did you accept a clan invite? When i joined the clan that Dakar set up, I got double XP for 2 hours.

Yes, that must be it. Wonder how many clans one can join. ;-)

[Jawbone54]

I tried to join on the web-site, but I'm getting an especially retarded 404 page. Will try again (and again) later.

[mattyb]

Just been looking at my stats on Elite.

Can't stress how sucessful I am with the Type 95 and a Stinger. I've got Support equiped with a CUAV, SAM Turret and Advanced UAV. Anytime the opposition send up a UAV, I'm on it. Helis seem to be far easier to bring down, although the Reaper is sneaky. I've only come up against one Pave Low so far and AC-130s don't seem to me to be as bad as in MW2. The three-shot burst stops me spamming (I always run out of ammo for fully auto weapons) and usually drops someone first time. I've got red dot and a noob tube (found that using the silencer really decreases the knock-down power). Claymore and Concussion grenade are must haves, the claymore protecting one side of the SAM Turret (I rate them more than Bouncing Bettys, quicker to react). Blind-Eye, Assassin and Sitrep as perks, although I wonder if I shouldn't use Dead Silence.

[Jawbone54]

Funny you mention the Type 95. I was just about to post the link to this video: MW3: Best Gun in Modern Warfare 3 (By Far) - YouTube

He had me at "it's the FAMAS from MW2."

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

He had me at "it's the FAMAS from MW2."

He didn't complain about the knock-down power reduction with the silencer, I may try it again to see. Maybe I just had a bad day when I was trying it before.

[Jawbone54]

I've always wondered about how significant the decrease in power really is. With the FAMAS in MW2, I ran with the silencer and red dot scope (Warlord) the vast majority of my playing time, and didn't notice enough of a difference when removing the silencer to warrant becoming visible on the map.

I'll goof around with it and use Elite to track my progress with/without, though the stats will probably be skewed due to my little red light is drawing them in like flies.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

"it's the FAMAS from MW2."

I would agree with that definition.

I haven't tried it with a silencer. Right now it's configure with red dot and rapid fire.

[mattyb]

I never thought to put rapid fire on a 3 shot weapon. If there was one downside to the Type 95 its the "oh-shit-I've-just-met-3-or-4-people-who-are-trying-to-kill-me" moments. I always feel better with fully auto in those moments.

Anyone using Specialist? I'm unsure if its worth it or not.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

For some reason, I have double XP atm. I have no idea why.

Originally Posted by Leonard 

Did you accept a clan invite? When i joined the clan that Dakar set up, I got double XP for 2 hours.

Nein, If the clan he joined was at Level 10, he'd get 2x XP. Otherwise, I'd point to Premium membership kicking in.

Originally Posted by Leonard 

It happens on Lockdown and Sea Town too. I especially notice it on Lockdown.

Interestingly, two of the better maps. At least I'm consistent. (I really despise the tunnel that runs under the one area, however. Very Treyarch.

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Funny you mention the Type 95. I was just about to post the link to this video: MW3: Best Gun in Modern Warfare 3 (By Far) - YouTube

He had me at "it's the FAMAS from MW2."

It's not quite the same. The Type 95's paradoxical weakness (given it's burst) is it's damage drop-off over range is intense. It's why you'll notice you go from one-shotting guys up close to having to use three or four bursts at distance. Which is not to say I would be surprise if it got a mild nerf. If the stats are to be believed, you only need two of the three bullets in a burst to connect to kill someone up close, which makes no sense.

I call it the lag detector. Can't tell you how many times I haven't dropped someone up close in one burst. Which is statistically improbable.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Anyone using Specialist? I'm unsure if its worth it or not.

Funny you should mention that! I opened up a game running Specialist on Bakaara last night 15-0 (16 if you count my murderer's insta-death). I wish I could do a commentary for it. I've uploaded it and a game I opened 13 or 14-0 on Fallen (Also using Specialist) into slots 24 and 23 on my file share. Once I die on Bakaara there's nothing worth watching (Close to the same on Fallen).

I'll try and provide some text commentary here later.

[The Final Dakar]

Oh, question for JB and Leonard, what the hell happens when you add em to the leaderboard tracker?

[The Final Dakar]

Some stats:


I played around a little with the MK46 last night, but obviously that's just luck.

The real meat starts at the Striker, which has been rising meteorically since I added Portable Radar to my sniping class.

For some reason, it seems to me the sniping accuracy in this game is glitched, unless you guys think I'm firing off 19 shots for every one that I connect on.

The SCAR-L is my workhorse this Prestige (going for mastery), but it's still obviously superior to the M4, my workhorse from most of last Prestige.

The PP90M1 is the real star here. 2/3rds through last Prestige it stood around 1.3 k/d. Since then I learned about using the range proficiency and have gotten less shady connections. Averaging almost half a kill more per life with it.

[sek929]

Just logged into Elite, no invite to the clan, unless I'm missing something.

[sek929]

Something wonky with the sniper accuracy for sure. I'm fairly certain I'm far higher than 6% with my L118A, since I was around 66% with the L96A in Black Ops.



Other things to note is the growing surge of kills with both the L118 and the Type 95, since I haven't been using the SCAR for quite some time now.

[The Final Dakar]

Just resent. Try again.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by sek929 

Just logged into Elite, no invite to the clan, unless I'm missing something.

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Just resent. Try again.

I'm guessing this is just another Elite problem that is (hopefully) soon to be ironed out.

[sek929]

Okay, it worked this time.

[Jawbone54]

I'm far too insecure about my stats to post them like you and sek have.

Also, I don't have a large enough sample as of yet.

[Jawbone54]

I've gotten this every time. I'm just going to wait a few days to try again.

(top is first screen, bottom is second)

[The Final Dakar]

So it looks like they rolled back the patch they just issued. It deleted all the games I played last night from the vault, and even worse, my extra slots look missing, which means it may have deleted those two awesome games I played last night that I saved.

Not happy.

Edit: FourZeroTwo's twitter indicates they're temporarily unavailable. I hope so. Still peeved I can't revisit a Seatown game I rocked last night. I hit the zone so hard at some point I was in a shoot out with a dude behind a truck, so I just dumped the rest of some dude's P90 clip into the hood and called it a day (It exploded and took him with it).

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

I'm far too insecure about my stats to post them like you and sek have.

Also, I don't have a large enough sample as of yet.

This... has no bearing to what you quoted.

[Jawbone54]

I know. I hit reply, then changed the subject without deleting your quote.

Reason for switching: I had no idea what "em" you were referring to.

[The Final Dakar]

me.

[Jawbone54]

It just keeps up with a wider range of statistical comparisons than was previously available on in-game leaderboards. I haven't delved too deeply into it yet, but I'm sure to waste a few hours in it. I'm too much of a graph/stat/chart addict to stay away for long.

I did notice that some of them aren't as immediately easy to comprehend as I'd like. I'm not much of a fan of the site's design, as a whole, and that extends to the statistics.

[mattyb]

Since I had double XP, I thought that I'd make the most of it and play some S&D. Got 23,000 one match and (IIRC) over 10,000 the next.

Unfortunately, I put Cowboys and Aliens on and was captivated by Olivia Wilde so I switched off the Xbox.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

It just keeps up with a wider range of statistical comparisons than was previously available on in-game leaderboards. I haven't delved too deeply into it yet, but I'm sure to waste a few hours in it. I'm too much of a graph/stat/chart addict to stay away for long.

I did notice that some of them aren't as immediately easy to comprehend as I'd like. I'm not much of a fan of the site's design, as a whole, and that extends to the statistics.

Can you post a screen? I have no idea where this is.

[Jawbone54]

I'm not seeing everything I saw on the 360 app, but here's one:

[IMG] [/IMG]

[The Final Dakar]

That says rivals.

[The Final Dakar]

Well, I'm glad I took a pic of those stats yesterday, because this game took a shit on them last night. Lobby after lobby of awful hosts. At some point I caught a guy clear in the center of his chest with a striker blast at point-blank range – watch the killcam, he turns a corner, has his screen turn red without me visually firing and then drops me.

It really seems like the more people that are on their servers, the worse the connection quality gets.


Edit: I"ve also come up with a fair indicator of whether a map is good or not – by how hard I camp on it. Maps like Fallen and Lockdown I tend to move around more – even if it's in a small area – as opposed to shit like Carbon and Mission where the most I do is turn around from whatever spot I'm in from time to time.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Unfortunately, I put Cowboys and Aliens on and was captivated by Olivia Wilde so I switched off the Xbox.

Excellent movie! And Olivia was hot in that movie!

[The Final Dakar]

Well, I think it's time we posted our set-ups for everyone to see. Which isn't the wisest move for me to make as a couple of mine just hit a state of flux as I'm refining my strategies by map and class.



Some background. I was running Assault on my PP90 class, but I'm going to test the Specialist Package, as I feel reloading and UAVs are the cause of the majority of my deaths with it (Previously, I was running 3/4/5 UAV, Care Package, IMS). It's obvious I need to tweak my perks/specialist order as I don't need Scavenger off spawn. Also thinking about replacing the SMAW with the X25, as I keep the SMAW as an emergency UAV killer and possible explosive weapon, but the possibility of Assassin, having a more full-time explosive could be more useful (particularly on Dome).

Edit: Hardline also guarantees me my first perk after one kill.

I also just revised R2 to use Assault (though it still says Support, for some reason), as that my more aggressive AR class, and getting some free killstreaks plus having IMS to help deter flankers would probably be a boon over UAV/Scare Package/Stealth Bomber. Still trying to sort out what goes at Perk 1. Have a feeling it's not the same as from my previous prestige, as I may have used Blind Eye to allow me to roam free.

My T95 class is showing my only using a Claymore from some odd reason (edited it online), but I also use a Portable Radar as on maps like Outpost which have no flow, it's invaluable (See you in the warehouse!)

Custom Class 5 is my experimental class slot. Currently playing around with the LMGs. The MK46 is pretty decent.

The last class is the Chosen One. OSOK is my dedicated sniping class. Striker Primary, AS50 Secondary, thanks to Overkill. Specialist package running Assassin, Extreme Conditioning, Scavenger. I've seen a lot of men die at the hands of this class. (As an aside, it'd be cool if they could track k/ds for each class)

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

It really seems like the more people that are on their servers, the worse the connection quality gets.

Thats exactly the feeling I had in Blops. I was far happier not playing TDM, hence my love of barebones - the network connection was ALWAYS better.

Originally Posted by Leonard 

Excellent movie! And Olivia was hot in that movie!

Yes, indeed she was.

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Well, I think it's time we posted our set-ups for everyone to see. Which isn't the wisest move for me to make as a couple of mine just hit a state of flux as I'm refining my strategies by map and class.

Here ya go


Decided that the Type 95 with silencer just isn't good enough, the knock-down isn't there all the time. That RSASS really is ASS. Can't wait to try the MSR.

[mattyb]

Thought that I'd shot down more with a Stinger, anyway having fun using it.



Hard to see the UAVs on some maps with the clouds and snow and shite.

I might un-equip the SAM Turret and try something else.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by Kevin Bogues 

Also easy way to grab the "Bridie" achievement, also during the first level of survival, copters show up on wave 6, during wave 5 grab a "Predator", hid under the overpass, kill one with the "Predator" and sneak back and forth (2/3 clips of an Assault) easy to hide when the mini gun spools.

Thanks for the strategy. I used the same strategy on Resistance to get the 2 helicopters And the Birdie achievement.

[Leonard]

Some of those Spec Ops achievements are going to take forever to get.

Ex. Buying everything in the Weapons Locker. Getting to wave 15 on every Spec Ops mission.

The equipment locker and air support locker have alot less in them to buy. I can probably finish off those 2, once I level up. I guess I'll have to join some spec ops mission matches rather than doing them solo.

[mattyb]

I have a feeling that Specialist could be VERY interesting. Setup a class (called it weirdo because I was thinking about Dakar) :



Pity that Assassin isn't in the first slot, then you could ensure that you can't be seen by a UAV if someone storms to 3 kills before you've gotten it.

I like the PP90M1 as well. Not sure what the secondary should be.

[Leonard]

I've been using the Assault Killstreaks mainly, until now. While I was setting up a class for Support, to try it out, I accidentally set it to Specialist. It basically gives you a fourth perk. I didn't really try it out as I was surprised by it. But I am going to try out the Support killstreak more.

[mattyb]

Hardcore, I missed you.

[The Final Dakar]

MW3: Spawn Failure - YouTube

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by Leonard 

Getting to wave 15 on every Spec Ops mission.
.

Ok this may not be too hard and may be some fun! I've already got to over 20 waves on Village and Interchange via the online matchmaking in Spec Ops Survival.

Is there some way to track how many waves you made it to on each map in Spec Ops Survival in the game or on Elite??? Found my answer. You can find out how many waves you've done in the Spec Ops barracks. As well, it seems I've been playing the easier maps!

[Jawbone54]

Confirmed: Type 95 with Rapid Fire is 100% cheap.

...and I am running with it in two classes.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

MW3: Spawn Failure - YouTube

Wow.

[mattyb]

Whats the 'feeling' about the raising/ADS speed for the L118A vs the MSR? The Barrett feels VERY slow to me. The Drag is ... a Drag. The AS50 is as slow as the Barrett and IMHO the RSASS just doesn't have the knock-down power. I like both the MSR and the L118A but I have a funny feeling that the L118A is just that little bit faster.

What say teh expurts?

Loving HC TDM and Barbones BTW. Not having to think about UAV, helis, SAMs etc is quite liberating.