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These Battalion 1944 tips will guide your team to victory
Battalion 1944 is in Early Access – here are seven top tips that we've learned so far.
It’s in Early Access on Steam now, so we thought it would be a good idea to offer you some advice based on our experience so far. Hopefully, by reading the following tips, you’ll avoid making the same mistakes I did when I started playing the game and lead your team to victory.
1. Take cover
Hide behind those barrels
© Bulkhead Interactive
The maps in Battalion 1944 feel much smaller than those you’ll find in most modern shooters, calling to mind the multiplayer arenas of classic games like Call of Duty 2, Quake, and Unreal Tournament. What this means for the gameplay is that deaths can happen almost immediately after respawning, if you’re not careful, and that you can get bogged down in one position if the enemy has secured a firm enough foothold.
To get around this, you need to find cover wherever possible, and use Q and E regularly to lean around corners and scope out the terrain ahead. This way you won’t walk immediately into an enemy’s sights and feed them unnecessary kills. This is especially important in Team Deathmatch, where every point contributes to the final result.
2. Don’t be a hero
Look out for your teammates
© Bulkhead Interactive
As tempting as it is to run off and do your own thing, sometimes it’s more important to stay behind and support your teammates.
There’s a lot of reasons for this. For instance, if a team member shoots an enemy, but dies before getting the kill, you can pick up an assist by finishing them off and continuing the push. This will allow your ally to catch back up to you, and keep the pressure on the other team.
Supporting your teammates is integral to the Capture The Flag mode, where the person who is capturing the flag will move slower with it in their possession and require support to make it back alive. Don’t always think about yourself – keep an eye out for your team as well, and lend them a hand.
3. Be a hero
Sometimes you need to take the lead
© Bulkhead Interactive
Ok, so this sounds antithetical to the last point, but there are certain occasions where it’s acceptable to be a hero. If you find your team pinned down behind cover, with no signs of progressing, you can sometimes sneak behind enemy lines to break the stalemate while they’re preoccupied with the rest of your team.
On all of the maps, there are shortcuts that facilitate this approach. For example, on the Battery map, you can use the country lanes, running behind the back of the trenches to sneak up on your opponents and pick them off.
4. Windows make good shortcuts
Take a shortcut through a window
© Bulkhead Interactive
On the coastal map, there are several buildings that allow you to go upstairs and secure a better view of the battle. Here you can grab a few extra points, as unaware players walk into your sights. That isn’t the only thing you can use these buildings for though. You can also vault through them to get behind the other team and skip heavily guarded areas.
This technique was especially useful in the domination mode. Here, you can use the windows to sneak behind the enemy and dominate an area while they are busy trying to capture one of yours. The windows make extremely good shortcuts, so use them whenever you can.
5. Scoped weapons reign supreme
It's easier to take down enemies with scoped weapons
© Bulkhead Interactive
Something I found out very quickly from playing was how much better scoped weapons are than the other loadouts currently available.
It’s a lot easier to take down enemies with the Kar98K and the Springfield rifle. This is because they are more versatile and powerful than the other weapons. You can use them to pick off enemies from a distance, or wield them at the hip to instantly take down members of the opposite team.
I expect they’re going to nerf the weapons the future, but for now they’re the number one loadout, reflected in the amount of players who favour it over other cards.
6. Always look behind you
Be aware of what's going on around you
© Bulkhead Interactive
Most of the early deaths you will experience in Battalion 1944 will come from people sneaking up from behind and getting the jump on you. While moving, make sure to turn around every so often and always pay attention to your surroundings. This will decrease your chances of giving away embarrassing kills.
7. Use smoke grenades
Your team needs smoke grenades
© Bulkhead Interactive
One of the rifle loadouts in the game allows you carry a smoke grenade in addition to the standard one. It’s worth having one member of your team opt for this. This will give your team a method of escaping if you ever find yourself overwhelmed near your spawnpoint. The smoke given off by the grenade is incredibly thick and blinding, so it provides a great cover if you throw it between enemy lines.
