Standby for Titanfall: Six Old FPS Habits You Need to Break to Succeed

The first person shooter has been the dominant videogame genre for more than a decade, and it’s safe to say we’ve gotten comfortable with certain conventions. Since “Titanfall” introduces squads of patrolling AI, incredibly mobile Pilots, and massive Titans, some of those instincts may work against you. So for those of us who’ve been playing Xbox shooters since the original “Halo,” here are some habits you’re going to need to break if you want to succeed at “Titanfall”, directly from the people who made it.

Don’t be a one-man wolfpack.

“Charging in too aggressively into a fight, assuming that just because you’re really good that you’ll easily be able to take out more than one guy as a Titan is one of those things that isn’t necessarily true. You’re going to have to work as a team, you’re going to have to think about what your circumstances are, what your abilities are as a Titan, what you’ve got as a pilot, how that’s gonna play out a few steps down the road. What’s your exit strategy? Are you thinking about that? The minute you get in there and some guys jump you, it’s time to get out of there and then try and regroup and reconsolidate and relaunch your strategy.

 

“So, charging in wildly with no regard for your own life just because you’re in a Titan, just because you’re armored up: not necessarily the smartest way to play and probably will get you killed.” – Steve Fukuda: Game Director, Titanfall

 

Get. Up.

“Running around on the ground [will get you killed] – get up in the air.” – Vince Zampella: CEO, Respawn Entertainment

 

Don’t be a human turret.

“One of the things that gets me killed in “Titanfall” that I’ve done in past shooters that I had to break is don’t fire more than 3 times from the same spot. Always change your positions, always shift your fire.” – Joel Emslie: Lead Artist, Titanfall

 

Don’t bring a gun to a really-big-gunfight.

“The obvious answer, I think is if you don’t switch weapons. So if you try and use an infantry weapon against a Titan, that’s… that’s the end of you. They’ll step on you.” – Dominic McCarthy: Associate Producer, Respawn Entertainment

 

Stairs? You’ve got a jetpack!

“One thing in “Titanfall” you would never want to do is take stairs. With the verticality of the game, you want to get up high. If you’re going down hallways, you’re just going to get shot. Someone’s going to come up behind you, from the side of you, wherever. They’re going to get you. Avoid stairways.” – Mathew Everett: EA Community Manager, Titanfall

 

No camping.

“Standing still, skulking around in corners, anything generally immobile is a really bad idea” – Stephen Barton: Composer, Titanfall

So get up in the air, stay mobile, plan ahead and shake those old habits by March 11th. For more on “Titanfall” on Xbox One, visit
Xbox.com or check out some of our recent Xbox Wire content: