Guides (Titanfall 1)

The Basics.[ | ]

Before you even start playing the game, you need to choose to use either a controller or keyboard & mouse (not console).

The Gamepad (Xbox 360 controller) default controls[ | ]

                               Aim/Modifier     :Left Trigger               Right Trigger:        Fire
                                     Cloak      :Left Bumper                 Right Bumper:        Throw grenade
                    Move (click for sprint)     :Left Stick                   Right Stick:        Look (click for melee)
                        Call down titan         :D-Pad down.                   (Y) Button:        Switch Weapons
   Switch Titan AI mode. (once titan is called.):D-Pad down.                   (B) Button:        Crouch 
                 Equip anti titan weapon.       :D-pad left.                   (A) Button:        Jump/Double Jump
                                                                               (X) Button:        Reload

Once you familiarize yourself with these controls, you can start learning more advanced maneuvers. Practice at your own pace. Do not be reluctant to re-map the controls to fit your playstyle.

Combat[ | ]

Next, you're going to learn about the basics of combat in Titanfall. This is where most of the gameplay meets. You're going to need to familiarize yourself with your arsenal.

All of your ballistic weapons, (the ones that fire bullets.) will have recoil and spread. Both of these are things you'll need to manage carefully for you to effectively kill other players and AI. Holding down the trigger and emptying entire magazines at once is the most ineffective use of automatic guns. This is also known as "Spraying." A more effective way of killing enemies is by using short, controlled bursts. Aiming down sights will allow you to do this much more easily than firing from the hip, as you will have greater accuracy and zoom functions. (Magnification of zoom is set by your scope and weapon.) A single well-placed burst can take out another player enemy from long distances. You will need to re-adjust your cross hairs constantly to try to stay on target as your recoil from firing will jar your sight. Even if you maintain perfect recoil control, you still have to stop and wait for your spread to decrease. Weapon spread is your cone of fire, the tip of the cone starting at the tip of your gun and outwards away from you. You want your cone of fire to be as small as possible. While firing, this cone will start to increase, causing your bullets to stray off target.

Grenades and other explosives usually need a surface to trigger. Propelled projectiles such as rockets can deal a tremendous amount of damage on a direct hit. Because rockets have a travel time, trying for direct hits is ill advised. It is much easier and advantageous to instead aim at the ground on which your target is standing. Because of this, higher ground usually favors explosives against lower targets. This way, even a near miss can still inflict efficient damage through what's known as splash damage. Splash damage is when an explosive or similar effect has an immediate area of effect not far from the source. You will kill most of your targets with splash damage when using grenades. Grenades can be very useful in a firefight when encountering multiple enemies, or tough enemies that are utilizing cover. Because grenades have a fuse time, you can not only time an explosion around obstacle, but also ricochet a grenade by bouncing it off of walls and other surfaces when thrown. Cooking grenades IS present in this game, with the Frag Grenade having about a 5 second fuse, and about a 3 second fuse for the Arc Grenade.

Melee is not an effective means of direct combat. It is instead more of a trademark move of killing unaware players, or as a last resort when your firearms are empty. Using the Jump Kick in a gunfight will usually mean death and success is usually just a matter of dumb luck. Even in the slight of events where your melee opportunities arrive, precision movement and footwork is more important than aim. Some of the best times to perform melee on an enemy is while he is reloading. So it may be best to try to dodge and waste all of your enemy's magazine before trying to close the distance unless he is unaware if your presence.

Titans have what's known as a cooldown (A set time in which they cannot be used.) before they can be called. Once you find a suitable spot that has a line of sight to the sky, you can call down your titan. When your titan has landed, you can get inside and resume combat as if you were still on foot. The titan will protect you from small arms and other things that would normally kill you quickly. Do not get comfortable and think you are invincible, as titans themselves have many weakpoints, and are very noticeable large targets. If you are taking a lot of damage from incoming fire, you need to use your Vortex blocker, or get out of harm's way. If you see an enemy titan, you can use any available anti titan weapons you may have, or jump onto the titan's back and shoot its weak spot. Though the latter of these two options makes you much more vulnerable, especially when an enemy titan can easily trample you under it's feet. If you are trying to take an enemy titan out with weapons, guerrilla warfare is strongly recommended. Well orchestrated group work can easily deceive and destroy a titan.

Gametypes[ | ]

The gametypes are Attrition, Capture The Flag, Last Titan Standing, Pilot Hunter and Hard-point Domination. Attrition is essentially a form of Team Deathmatch. As a beginning player, you may want to invest your time in only one of the two depending on your skill level. If you are better at objectives than you are at combat, you may want to start off playing Hardpoint. If you are better at doing your own thing and have played other FPS games, you may want to stick to Attrition.

If you're going to play Hardpoint, one thing you may be good at, or develop the skills for, is playing defensively.

Playing the Game[ | ]

Player Styles[ | ]

There are two different major playstyles to FPS games. Finding your playstyle and realizing it is important as then you can specialize in techniques and other things down the road.

Defensive Play Styles-

Camping. Camping is a play style in which the player is never moving much or at all from a single spot. Or may stay in one location for a while, and then shift to another spot to continue camping. This is the ideal behavior of snipers. The advantage to camping is anticipation and getting the jump on other players. It also takes advantage of your environment. For example, camping a choke point inside of a building with a shotgun can hold off a lot of enemies from going through.

Territorial denial. Similar to camping as in you stay in one general location. But you patrol or frantically and persistently check certain spots for enemies. This can prevent enemies from flanking, or cut off surprise attacks. These kinds of players are crucial to objective based matches. An example of this would be staying on top of two rooftops and constantly running from one side to the other, checking for enemies that may come near.

Kiting. Kiting is a form of defensive play where you let an enemy persue you, letting yourself slip through their fingers just barely outside of their lethal range. You can lead them to other teammates using yourself as a carrot on a stick, or you can lead them into traps. Such as using the fuse of a frag grenade to blow up on time as the enemy passes through the same area you were in just moments before.

Another example is leading an enemy outside where your titan is set to assist you. You now have the upper hand and can kill them much easier.

Aggressive Play Styles-

Flanking. In all FPS games, flanking is the one trump card that can end any one good player. No matter how good one player is, the advantage of timed teamwork in the form of flanking by even mediocre players is devastating. That being said, flanking is performed when two cooperating players approach the same target at the same time from two different angles. The better the timing and more separate the locations, the better. The idea is to cause an enemy to either divide their attention inefficiently in two directions causing them to be vulnerable, or to cause that player not enough time to kill both targets. Even if the enemy sees it coming, there is usually very little they can do about it. Two players that flank even a group of unaware targets with the odds against them can easily turn in their favor. An example of this would be to have two players go around two different sides of a building to meet up against an enemy that is in the back.

Rushing. sometimes you need to take advantage of opportunities before they pass. This makes for an extremely fast paced reaction based playstyle that doesnt allow for a lot of time for planning ahead. This is the opposite of taking it slow and easy. Sometimes it can take an enemy off guard or give them less time to react rationally to your movements. This is also a high stakes playstyle that can get you killed very often seeing that you're jumping into the water without knowing how deep it is, so to speak. An example of this playstyle is if an enemy throws a grenade at you indirectly through a doorway, you hear them reloading at the same time, you run past the grenade before it goes off, and while the other player is still trying to reload, you have an easy kill. He doesnt know what to do because he thought throwing a grenade would buy him some time assuming you kept your distance to wait out the grenade.

Neutral Play Styles-

One neutral playstyle is covering fire. How this works is one player shoots at an enemy, forcing them into cover. They then keep firing at them even though they're behind cover because it buys your teammates time to move. The reason this works is because in general, people do not want to jump out into oncoming fire. Players who do generally take a disadvantage and immediantly die due to taking stray shots.

Another neutral playstyle is the buddy system. The buddy system is where you simply pick a teammate or group and follow them. The idea is to have strength in pairs and maximize your chances of survival. Another feat of this playstyle is that even if one of you goes down, it gives the other a chance to retaliate immediately seeing as your enemy would have to kill both of you in a single magazine, it heightens the difficulty situation against you and your teammate.

Making the most of Titanfall[ | ]

You will level up and unlock new customization features as you play the game. Take advantage of this as often as you can. Customizing your loadout to your playstyle is extremely important if you want to be the best that you can in Titanfall. Loadout items you can use to your advantage are things such as the cloaking device, or smoke screen if you want to play evasively. Shotguns can be used in close quarters for maximum lethal effect. Smart pistols can help you dispatch pockets of enemy AI quickly.

It takes more than that to become a great player, however. As you get used to the game, you will find yourself doing a lot of things better than you did before, the learning curve of the game may take you up to a week of continuous play to master, or a month or so for the more casual player. Either way, there are a lot of meta game elements to do on your part in order to truly overcome the competition. These elements include self improvement based on self realization. This means that you need to take note of your own playing behavior like learning from your mistakes every time you die, to trying to learn how to use your team to your advantage without them even realizing that they are cooperating with you. How you do this is entirely up to you. Some players do this through clans and friends they constantly play with. Some do it through FRAPS recordings as they review their own behavior. Is it uncommon for most people to go through these motions, but choosing to can easily push your performance past theirs. Maintaining an open mind and being rational and honest with yourself on your mistakes is the first step in self improvement. If you were killed by running out in front of enemies, getting angry and trying again will most likely lead to an endless cycle of frustration. Instead, take note of why you died, and learn from it. Quickly brainstorming during your respawn timer during match time can help you in small situations. Brainstorming outside of match time about specific recurring problems you face can help your playstyle improve by outsmarting disadvantageous situations.

Summary[ | ]

The more you take sections 1, 2, &3 and apply them, the greater your titanfall experience will be on a personal level. If you followed or are following this guide, it should give you a better understanding of what the basic controls are, learning the basics of the game including your weapons and titan, figuring out your own personal playstyle experience, expanding your skill level and getting farmiliar with the gameplay mechanics.

Being a beginner should be a fun experience but its also an important experience as its your first impression of the game. This is why making the most out of titanfall is the purpose of this guide. Take everything you've read into consideration. Coming back to this guide every now and again in steps may be a more thorough way to digest it at your own pace.

This is a list of useful links you may want to use as a reference while you get used to the game.

Picking Your Loadout[ | ]

Picking a loadout in Titanfall 2 is no easy feat - each weapon loadout and Titan is customized to a specific play style, but each choice lends itself to customization and extension in almost every imaginable focus. Some weapons are obviously best suited for certain play styles, though, and with that in mind, you broadly have a choice across three different approaches.

The Ranged Killer[ | ]

What's the perfect weapon for a ranged killer in Titanfall 2? While one could argue anything with a scope and a decent amount of accuracy is adept at this type of play, the fact remains that sniper rifles in Titanfall 2 are the best way to get those awesome kills at range.

There are three main choices in this field - the Kraber-AP Sniper, the D-2 Double Take, and the Longbow-DMR. With each choice, though, you give up certain benefits in a tradeoff for certain other boosts. The Kraber is a great all-around weapon, but it lacks in rate of fire. The D-2, on the other hand, has a twin-fire configuration that allows for two quick, consecutive shots - at the loss of damage, that is. The Longbow has the greatest rate of fire, but this is balanced with a drop in both accuracy and range. That being said, the Longbow-DMR is likely the best choice for a ranged killer looking to enter the fray from time to time, though the Kraber more accurately suits the role.

Something can be said for balancing a class into a blend of assault and ranged, though, especially as some assault rifles have accuracy that might put them firmly in the "ranged" class. The R-201 Carbine fits this bill, and if care is taken to only let out one shot at a time, the increased accuracy can lend itself quite well to ranged combat. The G2A5 falls into this category as well, though upgrades take it from a middling ranged combat rifle to a more efficient one with such effect that it's hard to recommend without almost saying those upgrades are required.

The Assault[ | ]

The assault class is a much more diverse group of weapons than the Ranged Killer largely because the role is more diverse. Whereas the snipers of the world need to attack from afar, the assault is more in the fray, and as such, needs weapons with a bit more oomph. Assault rifles like the Hemlok BF-R and V-47 Flatline lose quite a bit of their accuracy when in full fire, but the suppressing power of these weapons is commendable. Similarly, there's very few weapons that can clear out a room like the SMG class of weapons represented by the CAR, Alternator, and R-97 Compact SMG. For a bit more diversity and not much difference in effect, the Volt is an energy based SMG that packs quite a punch.

Of course, if punch is what you're after, you simply can't forget the shotguns. Bearing down the Mastiff against an entrenched group of Pilots will clear the room with gusto, and very little compares to the stopping power of the EVA-8 Shotgun. But if stopping power is what you're after...

The Heavy[ | ]

The Heavy is where you'll find it. Heavy players broadly use one of two categories of weapons - the Light Machine Guns and the Grenadiers. While the Light Machine Guns such as the Spitfire and X-55 Devotion are classic semi-ranged heavy machine guns, variations like the L-STAR bring energy to the front in a quite literal and modern sense. These guns are great at laying down suppression fire, allowing you to both function as a quasi-assault unit and as a support unit for clearing out blockades.

The Grenadiers, on the other hand, are in a class their own. The Sidewinder SMR boasts rapidly firing micro-missiles, the EPG-1 a single, direct energy launcher, and the R-6P Softball a "sticky" explosive grenade. The EM-4 Cold War takes it up a notch with a 4-round burst of hellfire to clear even the most ardent Pilots from their nests.

Which you choose tends to go back to whether or not you're a "support" or a "heavy assault" player. Light Machine Guns deliver impressive firepower, which is great for assault, but when it comes down to being a support unit, nothing matches the Grenadier with clearing out Pilots - let alone the damage they can help do to Titans in a pinch.

Choosing a Titan[ | ]

Finally, onto a more specific question - what Titan should I choose in Titanfall 2? Well, put simply, your choice in Titan has to do entirely with what you want the combat to feel like.

If you're looking for fast-paced, death from above style play with your Titan, the Northstar is a good bet. Its VTOL Hover and Flight Core make it one of the most nimble of the Titans, and a hard beast to pin down. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of slightly reduced longevity and offensive capability, so players looking to last a bit longer might forgo Northstar for now.

Ronin is a good choice for the active player as well, with the caveat that his sword can be as much a limiting factor as a multiplying one. Defaulting to the sword might be cool, but it opens you up to quite a lot of damage. With his main attacks focusing on the sword - Arc Wave, Sword Block, and Sword Core all use the sword in some way - Ronin can be limiting to all but the most experienced Pilots if used improperly.

Both Scorch and Ion, however, can be considered the most neutral of the choices for new players. Their main differences come down to their weapons - Scorch, predictably, focuses on literal "fire"power, whereas Ion focuses on electrical and energy based attacks. While they are both effective in combat, they've also been used the most by players, being available during the beta. While this means you might be comfortable with them, it also means their weaknesses are already commonly known.

On the other end of Ronin and Northstar is the lumbering, hulking Legion. While it boasts incredible firepower - the Power Shot has knockback and clears a path at range, the Smart Core locks on to a target in both close and long-range mode - it loses a lot in mobility for this firepower. What this means is that, while it's quite effective in Titan on Titan combat, when paired with two or more Titans, it becomes a target.

Tone is a much more "working man's" type of Titan. While it doesn't boast the kind of firepower that Legion has, it is more powerful armaments than most other Titans in its weight class. The Tracker Rockets allow for ranged effective combat, and the Particle Wall more than makes up for the defense lost for increased mobility.

Surviving The Rodeo[ | ]

Rodeos are the bane of every Titan Pilot. Rodeos are when a Pilot climbs on top of a Titan; when they first board, they remove a battery, which can be given to an enemy Titan to boost their health. The second time a Pilot lands a rodeo, they toss a grenade down your neck, dealing huge damage. So how does a Titan combat this?

Stop the Pilot[ | ]

There's a few ways. First off, negate the threat before it even happens. Yes, that's easier said than done, but once a Pilot is on you, it's much harder to negate the incoming damage. Watch your surroundings, rotating often and scanning the tree line and building entrances. Try and use a main with explosive shells, and don't be afraid to unload everything at an enemy approaching. The Splitter Rifle is rather effective, and the Laser Shot can one-shot Pilots from afar.

Clouds, Clouds Everywhere[ | ]

If the Pilot manages to get on board, there is sort of a "hail mary" you can pull using the Incendiary Trap. Dropping it down and lighting it will take out a Pilot when they dismount pretty quickly, and will negate a lot of incoming threats as well - though how effective this is in the long-term remains unseen, as you're wasting quite a bit of firepower against a small enemy.

You can also deploy your Electric Smoke Grenade, which will pretty much destroy anything around you, even if they do grab your battery. Just grab the battery outside of your Titan, and drop back in for a great countermeasure.

You Spin Me Right Round[ | ]

As soon as you get rodeoed, unless you pop out or throw down an electric cloud, prepare to spin 180 degrees. Because the Pilots always disembark directly backwards, if you wait until they do so and then spin around, you can take advantage of their disembarkation to kill the threat.

Situational Awareness[ | ]

Realistically, though, a lot of this can be negated by making smart choices. Don't move your Titan through tight spaces beset on both sides by buildings, be wary of cliffsides, and when you see someone grapple onto you, aim just forward of where you see them to deal massive damage. Once you get this down, rodeoing won't be a problem, because pilots will cower.

Guerrilla Tactics[ | ]

Being a Pilot certainly has its perks. The Titan is often hard to navigate with through tight corners, and is limited to "visible" areas only. As the Pilot, you don't have this limitation! Use that to your benefit. Titans can only fire at what they see, so darting in between buildings is highly effective. Don't think of your Grappling Hook as a means to go higher, think about is a movement accelerator - by jumping out a window behind a Titan and grappling to the other side of the street after firing off a few potshots, you've tricked the Titan into thinking you're in one place, moved to another, AND set up a great fire position. The value of that can't be overstated.

Shock and Awe[ | ]

Keep getting ganked in tight corners inside buildings? The easiest way to deal with that is to make a ton of noise. Players will respond in certain predictable ways, more often than not. If a room is suddenly filled with bullets, they'll move away. If they see a grenade, they'll jump away. Use this to your benefit. See a Pilot shooting down the hall? Toss a grenade at them, them quickly move to flank them in the opposite direction. See a group of friendlies pinned down by a sniper? Chuck a grenade, no matter how bad the throw, and the explosion, if close enough, might be enough to persuade the sniper to move - and if their scope is down for even a second, that's a valuable reprieve.

Slide, Slide Everywhere[ | ]

Sliding is a new mechanic in Titanfall 2, and it is incredibly powerful. Pilots are often aiming for headshots, as they're the quickest kill - simply engage a slide, and you've minimized your height by half, while maintaining your own aim. This will negate a lot of the sniper jockeys as well, as anyone using the Doubletake is going to need more than one shot if it's not a headshot to take you out. Slide whenever possible.

Use Momentum[ | ]

The Grappling Hook is a great addition, but if you use it incorrectly, you're wasting a formidable gadget. The grappling hook essentially has two behaviors - clip onto whatever it can, and try to close the distance between you and the point you've hit regardless of what's between you. Accordingly, there's some physics behind the hook's cord that can be used to your advantage. If a Pilot fires the hook into a wall and moves around an obstacle between the Pilot and the end point, such as a wall or window between the two points, you can push in a direction to augment the way you're pulled in. This is great to use against Titans, who can easily shoot down most Pilots, but won't see it coming if you "slingshot" around a corner or land where they don't expect you to.

Likewise, using the hook's momentum to get out of an engagement is paramount to its effective deployment. When entering a fight with the hook at your side, always look for an optimal escape route. Knowing what to shoot at to "get out of dodge" within a second or two can mean the difference between being wiped out or living to fight another fight. The reverse is true, as well - while heading into a building is deadly, using the hook to sling across the interior of the building's roof (or hiding in the rafters at such points as Hardpoint A on Boomtown) can help you enter engagements before enemies know where you are, scoring a few easy kills.

Hip Fire vs ADS[ | ]

Some guns fire more effectively from the hip than they do using the rail sights. For instance, the CAR SMG has a tighter grouping pattern in hip fire than in rail sights. The R-201, however, has a wider spread at hipfire than in rail sights. Other weapons, like the Spitfire LMG, have terrible aiming and spread regardless of rails or hip fire. By and large, sniper rifles with have better aiming down sights than by hipfire, with snipers often having a wide swath of aim drift when firing from the hips.