GETTING AROUND
RUNNING
Speed kills... not you, but your opponent. Always run. Never stop running. Just when
you get ready to stop, run some more. Walk only when negotiating difficult ledges and
other delicate maneuvers, and, in the meantime, practice delicate maneuvers while running.
Then practice them while strafe running (below). Did I
mention you should always run?
CAMPING
The occasional ambush from a dark corner or a sniper's nest can result in an easy
frag. In the long run, however, habitual ambushing (often called camping, or lurking) is a
bad practice. When you camp, your tendency is to meet confrontations flat-footed:
motionless, versus a moving target. This is a serious disadvantage against a good player,
especially one who's discovered your camping ways. When dealing with a camper, caution and
knowing the levels so you are aware of likely campgrounds are musts. Usually, potential
hiding spots can be approached so that an ambusher is at the disadvantage: spotting the
stray arm or toe sticking out from behind something, firing a few preemptive rockets in
key spots, or simply approaching areas ready to drop your flat-footed opponent.
A favorite campground is along the wall next to a door where a
camper will wait for someone to come through the door to shoot them in the back. This can
be countered by strafe running and turning to face this inside wall by the time you are
through the door. Then just be ready to show your opponent the advantages a moving target
enjoys versus a stationary one.
There are many reasons not to camp. Most players find it
irritating to play campers, and they will likely make a point of kicking your camper's ass
and then refusing further play. Feeling both players are supposed to be equally motivated
to find each other, many (myself included) resent the onus of the hunt being on them.
Camping is boring, slows down the game considerably, and, since some games involve
long-distance charges, it is downright rude. Besides if both players camp, the game stops
entirely; no fun at all.
MOVEMENT
Don't overlook the importance of movement. Obvious components of deathmatching include
strategy and aim, but movement is an integral part of success. You need to be able to
maneuver comfortably through doorways, across gaps and along ledges, using the strafe run (below) for top speed. Movement contributes to your
aim and to your ability to gain strategic advantages. You can practice some movement
skills in solo play (with or without monsters). Just run around a level, taking corners
tightly, strafe running as much as possible. Your goal is to be able to strafe run as your
main mode of transport. This is essential in the art of chasing and escaping.
PATTERNS
Avoid falling into patterns of navigating levels the same way repeatedly. Take notice
if you die in the same area of the level an unusual amount of the time. Often you'll
realize that you have fallen into some predictable pattern upon which your opponent is
feasting. By discovering that pattern, you can figure out your tormentor's tactics and
turn the tables on him. You can often pick up a few frags this way, because it will
usually work more than once before he realizes that the well has run dry.
THE STRAFE RUN
Sometimes referred to as the diagonal run, the strafe run is an essential technique
and one reason why you must define separate left and right strafe keys. The trick
is to master holding one of the strafe keys down while running forward. As a result, you
will run at about a 45-degree angle rather than the direction you're facing (this takes
some getting used to). Another result (this is the cool part) is that you will travel
roughly 50% faster, actually 44% for you math majors, than by normal running. A player who
understands how to strafe run will enjoy a significant advantage against a player who
doesn't.
THE CIRCLE STRAFE
Another essential technique. Circle strafing also requires that you define separate
left and right strafe keys and consists of strafing to the left or the right while
adjusting the mouse slightly to maintain aim at the target. A properly executed circle
strafe will allow you to circle your target, firing at it constantly. In a deathmatch, you
rarely circle all the way around your opponent (a little predictable). The motion becomes
more often a series of back-and-forth quarter and half circles, using the above technique.
CORNERING
Facing where you're heading is best at all times. Don't turn after you pass a corner.
Instead, practice turning before or while passing the corner so that you're facing in your
new direction by the time you're around the corner. After a while you should be able to strafe run around corners, ever ready to fire at anything in
your path.
THE WALL RUN
One of the buggiest of the Doom bugs. By strafe running
along a wall from South to North (North is up on the map), you can achieve a speed best
described as ridiculous. Wall running is allegedly 300% faster than strafe-running, which
is 44% faster than running, which would be, um,...well, you get the idea. It's fast.
COMBAT
THE "DANCE OF DEATH"
This is what my friends and I call those dogfights where both players, armed with
super shotguns, circle around each other firing away. Success in these encounters will go
a long way towards your success rate in deathmatches. Many of the following techniques
deal specifically with strategies also used in the dance of death. Bear in mind that as
you play higher quality opponents (and get better yourself), the duration of the average
gunfight gets shorter and shorter.
OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE
Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Certainly dodging around is part of your
defense, but so is killing your opponent before he shoots you (the best defense is a good
offense). Ultimately, separating exactly where offense leaves off and defense begins is
difficult, but being aware of the balance is important. Sometimes your opponent starts
getting the better of you because you are over-concentrating on one or the other. By
dodging around too furiously, you spoil your own aim; but conversely, standing around
trying to draw a good bead can help your opponent's aim.
AIM
To quote NY DWANGO's Fragman, "I'd rather die aiming than reloading." Words
to live (and kill) by. One hit is worth more than all the misses in the world combined.
Avoid the impulse to fire the shotgun as rapidly as possible by holding down the button.
If you notice your opponent holding down the fire button on his shotgun, time his shots
and spoil his aim by moving at the proper moment.
THE SNAP-SHOT
Once you get a comfortable feel with your mouse sensitivity, you should find yourself
getting more "snap-shots." A skilled snap-shot involves whipping the mouse in
the direction of your opponent while firing, often just after you and your opponent have
run past each other. Done properly, you'll hear your opponent scream or take damage before
you see him. A snap-shot has the feel of firing blind, and while it seems like luck, this
skill can be a legitimate part of your arsenal. Abraxas on the successful snap-shot:
"I find it one of the most satisfying kills in the game."
THE "STOP-N-DROP"
Constant movement can aide your chances of survival. Yet in the middle of a gun battle
(especially a shotgun/SSG duel), occasionally stopping entirely can put you at the
advantage. It takes a little nerve. Stopping can give you an opportunity to draw careful
aim and kill your opponent (hence, stop-n-drop). Your chances of living through this trick
increase if you stop immediately after your opponent has fired his shotgun (see timing,
below). This maneuver is often successful during one of those too-long dogfights with both
contestants missing shots. But it is better as a surprise than as a steady diet. If your
opponent starts anticipating it, you're in trouble.
TIMING
Because it has the capability to instantly drop an opponent at short range, the super
shotgun is one of the game's most potent weapons. However, the length of time (more than a
full second) needed to reload the SSG and be ready to fire again is a significant factor
in combat. Using the time between your opponent's shots to make sure you get a
high-quality shot is often in your best interests. As long as you shoot between his shots,
it doesn't matter when you shoot, just how well.
THE SKEET SHOOT
One of the most enjoyable kills in the game, what we like to call the skeet shoot,
allows you to kill an opponent midair after he's jumped off a ledge. Don't forget: The
Doom engine will adjust the horizontal aim of your shots, allowing you to hit an opponent
above or below you. The "instant strike" weapons (chaingun and shotguns) are
more effective than projectile weapons (rocket, plasma) when firing at an opponent above
or below you, because to fire upward or downward, you must be aiming directly at your
opponent, which prevents you from being able to "lead" with a projectile.
THE JOUST
Many deathmatch confrontations begin (or end) with both players running straight
towards each other, guns at the ready, hence "the joust." Be prepared to shoot
at all times (especially when running through doorways or around corners). Often the one
who gets off the first blast wins.
RESPAWN FRAGS
When he knows a level well, an experienced player can sometimes haunt the starting
points hoping to catch someone respawning after a frag. A close match can tip in favor of
the player who can pick up more of these "cheap" frags. The design of some
levels makes this an essential strategy. A good example of respawn frags dominating a
match can be found in Doom2 Map 01, which has four deathmatch starting points, three
bunched close together. Matches between experienced players on this map center around
picking up respawn frags. One way to avoid being the victim of a respawn frag is to hit
the ground running as you respawn (in a different direction every time). Good players will
quickly discover you running in the same direction every time you respawn, and make you
pay.
DOOR KUNG FU
Some players develop the knack for being particularly deadly around doors (we call it
the door kung fu, I don't know why). If you've ever played a practitioner, you know what
being his victim is like. Each of you is on the opposite side of a closed door. You open
it. Boom you die! Next time, you wait instead...he opens the door. Boom you die! I know of
no way to teach or master this skill (I'd have it myself), but there are a couple of ways
to deal. First, avoid the door! Good deathmatch levels rarely feature rooms with single
entrances. If you have a feeling your opponent is on the other side of the door, find
another way into the room. The second trick involves key setups. Set up your use key
(usually the spacebar) to be the same as your backwards key. It'll take some getting used
to but once you're comfortable, you'll be able to move backwards as you open doors. This
can give you just the breathing room you need to deal with your door camper. Bear in mind
that this can cause the Instant Respawn (below) if you
should die while moving backwards.
THE BODY BLOCK
Because it lacks full freedom of vertical movement, Doom is not true 3D. One thing you
cannot do in Doom is jump over, or stand on top of, a monster or player. The game
determines if you are blocked by a monster or other player by whether or not you are
obstructed on a flat view of the level, disregarding elevation (picture the map from above
with no elevation changes). This means if you can stand between your opponent and where he
wants to go, you can block him from jumping or moving past you no matter how far above you
he's standing. You can put this to your advantage on some levels where you can use the
body block to keep your opponent from jumping across a gap above you.
Also, remember this effect if you find yourself obstructed in
such a way, because you should immediately recognize the presence of the other player
below (who might even be unaware of your location, heh heh heh).
STICK WITH WHAT WORKS
Different opponents and different levels make certain strategies more or less
effective. It is important to recognize when something is working (or not) as a match goes
on. You want to be unpredictable, but if you find your opponent particularly vulnerable
to, say, rocket fire, then you should be firing a lot of rockets.
MOMENTUM
As in other forms of competition, momentum plays a significant role in deathmatching.
If one player can jump out on his opponent and dishearten him, the outcome of a match can
sometimes be decided in the first few minutes. Momentum can also play a large factor at
the end of a match, especially if playing to a certain score. The last 10 or 12 frags
(call it the endgame) tend to have an added intensity, especially in a close match.
Control of the endgame can be key. Often the better player is the one who can get those
last few frags when it counts to seal a victory.
RUNS
The outcome of a match can also be decided by stretches where one player kills the
other several times in a row without dying. In my circle, we call these runs (like in
basketball). Many things can contribute to runs, including infuriating strung-together respawn frags. Runs can become self-perpetuating because, as
they continue, one player's confidence grows while the other's dwindles. Sometimes a match
will be decided because it was pretty even, except one player had a nice run which made
the difference.
Twitter 
