Getting the Most from Insurgency

July 03, 2007

Earlier this week FilePlanet premiered Insurgency for Half-Life 2, a total-conversion of the game that takes players to war-torn Iraq to get a taste of modern tactical urban combat.

This is not an easy game! If you're looking for an arcadey deathmatch, you won't find it here. The realistic weapons spray bullets wildly if you don't brace yourself before firing, and most of the time you won't know where the shot that killed you came from. Welcome to the war. Teamwork is required if you want to have a prayer of survival, so keep your friends close and your enemies where you expect them.

Inspired by Insurgency's difficulty curve and the number of corpses I've been leaving on the battlefield throughout the beta, I thought I'd write a quick primer to help you not make the same mistakes I made. What better way to spend a mid-week holiday than with one of the most-anticipated Half-Life 2 mods ever created?

Installation: Make sure your Half-Life 2 and Steam clients are up to date, and if you haven't already, install the "Source SDK Base" from the 'tools' tab. Insurgency comes with an installation program that does all the work for you. If Insurgency doesn't show up in your games list, close down Steam and restart it; it'll be there in your games list, ready to play.

Joining a Squad or Cell: Insurgency divides players up into eight-player fireteams. In a perfect world you and your seven team-mates will work together as a well-oiled machine, although random players on the 'net aren't as organized as they should be. When you join a new server, you'll be asked to choose either the U.S. Marines or the Insurgency. Once you've chosen your side, a menu will display an eight-player squad (Marines) or cell (Insurgents). Press the number associated with an open slot to join -- your equipment will be determined by which slot you fill. If there aren't any positions you want in the currently displayed squad/cell, press the '0' (zero) button to look at a different squad/cell. Note that the Insurgents have soldiers armed with rocket launchers -- these are tough to play for new players and have limited use since you're always fighting infantry.

Learn the Maps!: Unlike, say, Battlefield 2 there's no map to look at to let you know where all your friends are and where the objectives are. Do yourself a favor: start up a local server and just tool around the level, learning the landmarks and the capture points. Depending on the mode, maps can have multiple capture points: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, etc. Very often one main street will be the focus of the action, so it's good to learn the multiple approaches and sniper spots.

There's Not Much of a HUD: You'll have to rely on your teammates to tell you what's happening -- voice chat is important! But Insurgency does give you one hint: there's a compass at the top of your screen that will show you where your squad/cell leader is and where the objective he's selected is located. Sticking with your commander is a good way of making yourself useful. Other than the compass, you're on your own -- learn those maps!

Brace Your Weapon and Use Those Sights: You'll also notice that Insurgency doesn't have a crosshair. Firing "from the hip" is about as helpful as throwing bullets at the enemy with your hands. You need accuracy! By default the right mouse button will bring up your scope or iron weapon sight. Doing this will not only give you some crosshairs to aim with, it'll also help steady your shot. But your rifle will still jump around if you don't brace yourself: crouching will give you support, but going prone will steady your aim the most. Some weapons, like the AK-47, have a deployable tripod. Use your alternate fire button to deploy the tripod when you're prone or resting against a solid surface -- the difference is amazing. Once you get familiar with the maps, you'll learn some good places to set up like this to cover your teammates advance.

Smoke is Actually Useful: Smoke grenades completely obliterate someone's line-of-sight. In a stalemate situation, where the enemy has some serious defenses covering the entrance to a building, a couple of these can help a half-dozen of your teammates to dash across the open ground and infiltrate the stronghold. Make sure your team is ready!

That should help you get started. For more advice, check out the Insurgency Manual or look things up in the Official FAQ.


      -Fargo

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