*update 10/9/11* Not writing the guide today, cause FOOTBALLLLLL
*update 10/13/11* Added sections for shield gun, assault rifle, and bio rifle.
*update 10/15/11* Added section for shock rifle
Im gonna start off by explaining why I am doing this and giving a little background on my vctf history.
REASONS WHY I AM DOING THIS
1. my job is really boring and they made the mistake of giving me internet access.
2. i just read a post where i said i was going to write a comprehensive vctf guide, so now im doing it DUH.
3. I MISS THE SHIT OUT OF VCTF and ut2k4 in general, there has not been anything that comes close to it in the FPS world for me and gaming in general.
MY VCTF BACKGROUND (it's long winded, if you dont want to read it skip to the strategy)
My love for playing capture the flag games dates back to my childhood, so naturally when i first bought ut2004 I had visions of CTF dancing in my head, and the idea of CTF with vehicles seemed incredible.
THE BEGINNING
I can't remember the name of the first vctf server i played on, but i do remember that it only played one map over and over, had dozens of strange vehicles that were awful and glitchy, and never had more than 8 people playing in it. I dont think I ever actually captured a flag on that server. Some of the more interesting vehicles that it featured included fighter jets (LOL) that were impossible to fly and were really only useful if you wanted to fly in a straight line to the other base very quickly, and a helicopter that fired missiles that did almost no damage and basically flew at random tangents. I also remember a Star Wars style speeder (think luke and leia chasing storm troopers on that forest planet). I don't really know why I enjoyed this fuck-up of a server but it proved to be my catalyst for years of gaming enjoyment. I highly doubt anyone reading this ever played in that server, but if you did, my condolences to you.
No more than a month after my purchase of UT2k4 (i bought it pretty soon after the release date) I found the Kush! vctf server. This was THE vctf server for quite a while and many of the legends got their start here. Some of the maps that were popular back in the kush days were Csdust (always been a sentimental favorite of mine, jumping on the roof of the map and killing people from above was hilarious.... until they started kicking people for it), Ancient Evil (2 hour overtimes is all that needs to be said, this map may be the reason that the manta run came into existence), BattleLine, Atomicsands, and Outlook2k4 (another sentimental favorite). During this time on the Kush server i began to learn about shield jumping and quickly became adept at the manta run when it was invented (It was either Ruff and Crage or bic Hellbent and bic Machine who invented it, nobody will ever know the truth).
I played on the Kush! server as "Shmash", and I desperately wanted to join the Kush! clan, but alas I was not particularly skilled and was 13-14 years old, not a good combination for someone wanting to join what was undoubtedly the best vctf team at the time. After being denied entry to the clan for the umpteenth time, I went into rage mode and started aliasing as prominent kush members and saying naughty things, which quickly earned me a permaban from the server. This was a problem because there were no other servers to play on and at this point I was physically addicted to vctf, solution? Reinstall 2k4 with a new cd key and play in the kush! server under the name, "Quickdraw". I still made a couple of efforts to join the kush! team but still failed, and they realized who I was pretty quickly, even though i made up the genius excuse that I was in a car accident and lost my memory (14 lol). Curiously, I was never re-banned.
Shortly after making my return to the vctf servers as Quickdraw and being denied membership by kush! once again, i joined a team called GT (genetically tampered, i doubt many people remember that clan). The leader was a guy named McClaren (go figure he makes a clan with the initials GT). And I liked him but to be frank he had absolutely no clue what he was doing and GT pretty much flopped, so I was back in the market for another team.
It was around this point that I saw a post on a fledgeling vehiclectf.com that would lead to the single most defining (and best) decision of my UT2k4 career. «ßîc» (Brothers in Combat, im not doing the official tag again) vctf was recruiting for a team in the new vctf league! I joined them for a tryout that very night after i saw the post in their private server. At this point i was nowhere near my peak as a vctf player but i was still very competent with all vehicles and above average all around, they were impressed by my skill and decided to welcome me to the team, oh happy day! Now im going to try to name off the bic vctf roster at the point when I joined (the beginning of the vctf league). My memory is obviously a little foggy since this was over 6 years ago from the time that I am writing this, so forgive me if I forget anyone.
Brothers in Combat vctf Roster (approx) early 2005
Quickdraw - me
Hellbent - Leader, incredibly patient and calm, really a nice guy all around, always called strategies on every map.
Nameless - Co-leader (discharged maybe a year later, only mentioned here because of the circumstances)
Kilgore_Trout - Great all around player and a nice guy
Gandolf - Older guy, never posted on the forums and rarely spoke on ventrilo but was a solid defender, slowly disappeared when bic was entering its prime
Bocce - great player, confirmed douche (anyone who has talked to him knows, his personality clashed with everybody) he was probably bic's most talented player at the point when i joined
Crage - one of the funniest guys of all time, great team player, joined about the same time as me
+Evergreen+ - Father of vctf, considered him an ingame mentor.
I know i forgot a few guys, ill add them if i remember who.
THE GLORY DAYS
I had already premeditated a name change once joining a team, when i joined bic i changed my name to "Slacker" (at the time i wrote it "$l@(|<er.... 14 lol)
Shortly after I joined bic Fat Jimmy's Vctf (admin +Evergreen+ who also joined shortly after me) was opened, and I had a new home. The early days of Fat Jimmy's could be considered the Renaissance days of vctf, new strategies and maps popping up almost daily. In the early days Evergreen had two mutators on the server which didnt completely alter gameplay but definitely added a dimension to some maps. First he implemented a parachute mutator which would kick in as soon as you reached the velocity at which you recieve fall damage when falling (it was incredibly easy to shoot people with hitscan when they were chuting). The other mutator, and probably my favorite for vctf, was a carpet bomb airstrike that replaced the target painter (which never really found a place in vctf). The new target painter was very effective on most maps where you could find it, especially horsellcommon and actioncity. It was not uncommon to kill 4-5 people with it in the enemy base on horsell ( i used to whore it
)As Fat Jimmy's rose to prominence as the clear #1 vctf server, the vctf league was just beginning to kick off. The website that it was run off of, vehiclectf.com, was the unquestioned epicenter of the vctf community and was a thriving center of discussion and flame wars (had to be said lol). Kush was initially the #1 team in the league (they beat bic in a very close match which I am sad to say i couldn't make it to
, that being said bic in our prime outclassed kush) But their leader, Deck, pulled them from the league after a flame war with a frequent instigator. After kush left the league it opened the door for bic to establish complete dominance, we were #1 (undefeated) for at least a year, putting major beatings on the #2 teams during this time to cement our status. During this time bic players began to become maligned in Fat Jimmys for aliasing and what some would describe as trolling the server ( it was lots of fun
) Basically Hawke, Phage, Lazy Pirate and I would come up with the best way possible to disrupt the game play on any given map. On facing ass we would control both raptors and have someone grab the flag, then berserk jump into the toilet bowl and hold the flag while chiding pubbers for voting for facing ass. On Action City we would steal the other teams flag and hole ourselves up in the Keg room stacking adren and health and essentially making the flag carrier untouchable (this was known as a "Keg Party"). On some of the worse manta run maps we would do opposite team manta runs (it's hard to stop a manta run when your own teammate is driving the enemy flag carrier making it impossible to get an avril lock or damage the manta). On various maps we found places to hide with the flag that could be described as exploits/glitches. These actions, along with our skill, earned us our bad reputation that turned us into a somewhat maligned team. Despite our carefree attitude our teamwork was still unmatched and we still had the best strategies and tactics in matches. During our long reign as #1 in the league i cannot recall a single match where we were ever even in danger of losing.
Bic Roster during the glory days
Hellbent
Slacker
Hawke
Phage
LoOp
Kilgore_Trout
Evergreen
CubanB
LazyPirate
Schmide
Zazerazifin
Crage (wasnt around much)
DrunkHighStyle (never wore the tag, drunky you shoulda played more matches with us!)
RU_exp (joined later in the glory days)
BowDown (rarely played in matches, wasnt around much, nice guy though)
EvilJuan (Was with WW for most of the Glory Days, funny guy)
I would take this roster against any team at any time in the lifespan of vctf in a 6v6,7v7, or 8v8 best of 5 match.
let me know if i forgot someone
THE (slight) DECLINE OF BIC AND THE VCTF MIXER
Fast Forward about a year and a half in the history of vctf, bic has dominated, beating the #2 teams various times (KHz has slowly been inching closer to us in terms of skill). A new team appears called K1 and proceeds to beat us in a match (I wasn't present, once again
). A short while later we lose in a match to KHz (who we had recently had some close calls against) mainly due to me completely blowing a flag run in overtime on Lonesome Glen (I let one of their players shoot me with an avril when i was on foot resulting in a denial of a game winning cap). Bic was no longer a dominant force, but we were still a feared team in the community.After playing in the fourth assault mixer and enjoying it immensely (my team won
) I decided to get the ball rolling for a vctf mixer. For those of you who dont know what a mixer is, basically anyone who signs up for it is placed in a pool of players, who are then drafted by a captain who is usually one of the more skilled players in the community and capable of leading a team.
Most of the credit for organizing the shindig should go to Phage. The mixer took place at the peak of vctf, with the field being large enough to support at least 10 teams. I was the captain of one team (The MOTHERFUCKING SNAKES) we were in first place in our division when the mixer stalled, which I think was pretty good considering i was not allowed to draft any of my bic teammates. Unfortunately there was some pretty bad drama (when was there not) on the vehiclectf.com site and evergreen chose to shut it down in the middle of the mixer and phage did not want to continue running it after that (someone please correct me if I have misremembered this).
BELOL AND BACK TO KUSH!
With the demise of the vehiclectf.com website went the greatest vctf server ever.... RIP Fat Jimmy's...... you were my best good friend...... and thats all i have to say about that
BELOL (also known as beyond enemy lines) was like Fat Jimmy's if it was strung out on coke and all old and wrinkly and drank too much. The "troublemakers" (i.e. most active bic crew members) recieved frequent tempbans for our antics and generally crushed the server. I had various run ins with Jett, the bipolar admin, which i do not care to remember or document, I also commonly used the name "Kaiser" during this time. BEL was a popular server but in the end i feel it aided in the decline of vctf.
The Kush! server made a comeback during this time, but it was poorly managed and populated by regulars who didn't care to learn vctf or revitalize the community, so it eventually faded back into obscurity.
We also attempted to get a vctf ladder going on the teamwarfare.com website, but it never really got off the ground and was considered a flop by most community members, people werent interested in the competition side of vctf anymore after the flame wars that marked the end of vehiclectf.com.
______________________
I'm going to end my history here because while i still played vctf after this point, nothing that occured was of particular note and no more matches were played. basically after this I joined K1 (bic was pretty much done with competition) to play various gametypes competetively.
______________________
********** COMPREHENSIVE VCTF STRATEGY GUIDE COMING SOON*************
A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO PLAYING VCTF BY $lacker
vCTF Is a unique gametype in ut2004 in that it requires a strong player to be proficient in nearly all facets of the game, be it vehicles, movement, aim, stealth, power up timing or communication. In this guide I will attempt to touch on as many important subjects as i can think of, addressing specific weapons and vehicles and both individual and team tactics.
Table of Contents
Weapons
1a. Shield Gun
1b. Assault Rifle
1c. Bio Rifle
1d. Shock Rifle
Weapons
1a. Shield Gun
Overview: The shield gun is one of your most important tools as a vCTF player. flag carriers should have binded to a key that can be accessed very quickly, as they should be using it profusely. Creative players will find many different ways to employ both of it's firing functions. The shield gun can save your ass in many situations so learn to love it. The primary fire is a melee weapon that can also be used to enhance your jumps. The secondary fire is a shield that will take some damage for you before it wears out.
-Primary Fire
The most powerful function of the shield gun primary fire in vctf is shield jumping. To shield jump, charge up your shield, aim it at an angle towards the ground and either dodge jump or bunny hop while releasing your shield's charge at the same time. The more you charge your shield the farther/higher you will be able to jump, but you will also do more damage to yourself the more you charge it. Different angles and jumps will lead to different results, i can only advise that you experiment with different angles and jump styles to find what works best. It is also possible to wall-shield jump (wall dodge + shield jump) which is IMO the most effective form of shield jumping in terms of pure propulsion.
Shield jumping can be combined with the berserk adrenaline combo to achieve awesome results, limited only by your creativity, try it for yourself and you will see. Berserk shield jumping while flag running is one of the most enjoyable things you can do in vctf.
The shield primary can also be used as a destructive force, but I would only advise this if you are in very close quarters such as a small room or narrow hallway. One effective tactic is to run away from your opponent and duck around a corner, he smells blood knowing that you have no weapons to fight him with but little does he know you're waiting around the corner ready to blast him in the face with your shield gun! Don't worry about releasing the fire button when you are attempting to fight someone with the shield gun, if you are within striking distance it will go off on its own, putting a major hurt on them.
Practical applications: Shield jumping is the best way to quickly pass through the line of sight of an opposing tank when you have the flag, or in some cases avoid it completely. It can also be used to traverse otherwise uncrossable gaps leaving lesser skilled players behind. Use shield jumping to put large amounts of space in between you and your opponents quickly, if you want to be good at running the flag then you NEED to be able to do this.
when NOT to shield jump: Do not shield jump when you are low on health unless absolutely necessary. Shield jumping is also far less effective on larger maps where the distance you gain on the enemy pursuing you by damaging yourself is not appropriate.
-Secondary fire
Shield secondary is a powerful tool in the right hands, it is very difficult to kill a player who is pointing his shield at you with many of the ut2004 weapons. Sometimes it is better to run from a fight with an opponent who has you overmatched either by skill or weaponry (i.e. you only have a bio rifle, assault rifle and link gun to fight him with and he has shock, rockets, and minigun). At these points the best option is simply to show him your shield and dodge away to the nearest safe area (i.e. your team's tank's line of sight, a nearby vehicle, or an area with more of your teammates). Make sure not to have your shield up when it is unnecessary because simply having it turned on deteriorates its power, also turning it on drains 20 power from it immediately.
Practical applications: Shield secondary is best used to fend off the fire of opposing teams foot pursuit when you are attempting to return to your base with their flag. When you have cover fire it will be very difficult for them to kill you with most weapons if you have any reasonable amount of health/armor. The shield gun secondary fire is most effective against shock primary/secondary, flak primary, minigun primary/secondary, link primary/secondary and assault primary. Weapons that deal splash damage such as the rocket launcher and flak secondary are far more effective against shield secondary. Shield secondary can also be used to stop some fall damage if you activate it and point it at the ground when falling
When NOT to use shield secondary: If you are under attack by an air vehicle shield secondary becomes nigh useless, mantas and raptors will wear it down quickly with their primary fire, you're better off shooting back at them unless you have good cover fire. Shield secondary is also far less useful in close quarters against splash damage weapons, once again in this situation you're better off just fighting back.
1b. The Assault Rifle
Overview: The assault rifle sucks. It's only redeeming quality is that the dual wield looks kind of cool. If you have ANY other weapons and you choose to use the assault rifle instead you should go to vctf HELL. The primary fire is the equivalent of a crappy minigun and the secondary fire allows you to lob a relatively weak grenade that explodes on impact or after a few seconds.
-Primary Fire
Assault rifle primary fire is god awful. It's incredibly inaccurate and does very little damage. When wielding dual assault rifles (a fairly rare situation) the primary fire still sucks but can do some OK damage in the right hands. If you MUST use the AR primary remember that the first shot will always go where your crosshair is pointing, but after that the shots are sprayed around in a random cone around your crosshair. So instead of holding down the button try to click it over and over, making the gun much more accurate.
Practical applications: The ONLY time i advise the usage of assault rifle primary (single gun) is when you are positive your opponent is very low on health. In almost any other situation you are better off finding a better weapon before you start shooting at people.
When NOT to use AR primary: When you have any other gun. Seriously. AR primary should only be used as a last resort, and the shield gun is still a better option a lot of the time.
Secondary Fire
Okay, so the secondary fire doesn't suck as much as the primary, it can put a dent in some vehicles and maybe kill someone if you get a lucky shot in, but its not going to win you many fights. The easiest way to hit a player with AR secondary is to charge it up all the way and aim at them, say a prayer, and let it fly. In narrow corridors it becomes an OK option if you have nothing else to choose. Some hardcore DMers have gotten very good at hitting players with AR secondary with lots of practice, but you needn't waste your time on such trifles in vctf where we have fancy weapon lockers.
Practical applications: The AR secondary can repel an over aggressive manta that is trying to run you over in a little too straightforward fashion. Simply charge it up as much as possible aim at him and let fly just before he is on top of you. This will knock him back for a few seconds and maybe give you time to run away and find a better gun before he decides to just kill you with manta primary fire. AR secondary is also fairly effective against scorpions, knocking them off course and doing respectable damage to car and driver. Against Hellbenders and tanks AR secondary is barely a nuisance and against raptors and cicadas it is a non factor.
When NOT to use AR secondary: When you have any other options. Last resort etc.
1c. The Bio Rifle
Overview: The Bio rifle is a personal favorite of mine, unfortunately its usefulness in vCTF is negligible. The primary fire ejects small globs of goo that fly a fair distance, while the secondary fire allows you to charge up a large glob that does severe damage but is slow and does not fly far.
All in all, its a cool weapon, but it's outclassed in terms of range and power by other weapons.
-Primary Fire
Honestly there is not much i can say about the bio rifle primary, it works fairly well against enemies using secondary shield (it may even completely bypass the shield) and does a good amount of damage, but it is fairly difficult to hit any enemy that moves well with it.
Practical applications: There aren't many practical applications for bio primary, if its your best option just point and shoot, it does seem to be fairly effective against vehicles, a better option than LG/mini/sniper/AR/shield against ground vehicles. The bio rifle wasnt designed for vCTF and it is rarely used. If you really want to use it try creating a minefield of the goop around your teams flag when opponents are attempting to steal it (this wont work for manta runs).
When NOT to use bio primary: Against enemies using hitscan weapons from a distance, air vehicles, and in any situation where you have better weapons.
-Secondary Fire
The bio secondary is slightly better than primary, if only because it can kill a player with 100hp/100armor in one shot, but it is even harder than the primary to score a hit with. It is very effective in narrow hallways, however. Fun fact, you can throw a big glob of bio under a scorpion and watch it launch faaaaaaar in the air
.Practical applications: Toss a glob at your flag when someone is trying to steal it, clogging up narrow corridors and choke points, launching scorpions aimlessly hoping to crush someone. It also does a fair amount of damage to vehicles, but is still outclassed by other weapons.
When NOT to use bio secondary: Bio secondary should not be used for any extended firefight because of the time it takes to charge up the glob. It's useless against air vehicles and in large open spaces.
1d. Shock Rifle
Overview: PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW!!!! Say hello to the best all around weapon in vctf, the shock rifle can take on anything vctf throws at you. If you want to be a good player then you need to be at least proficient in the ways of the shock. You will find yourself using the shock rifle often in vctf, so make sure it is macroed to an easily accessible slot (mine is the mouse scroll down.) Primary fire is a hitscan beam with exceptional range that will also knock players back. Secondary fire is a slow moving ball that does little damage on its own but when shot with primary fire creates a small but powerful explosion.
-Primary Fire
If you are good with shock primary you will have success in vctf. period. end of story. It bounces mantas and raptors around like no other weapon, it causes knockback making it ideal for disrupting a flag carrier's run, and its rate of fire is relatively fast for a hitscan weapon making it possible to knock a player back over and over with consecutive shots (commonly known as shocktaping.) Shock primary also works relatively well on ground vehicles, it somewhat bounces hellbenders and scorpions around, and is a good choice for poking at a tank from long distance.
Practice with this gun until you are good with it, you wont regret it.
Practical applications:
Shock primary can be used in almost any situation, but it performs best in mid/long range firefights and against mantas and raptors. It is also probably the best option for attacking a tank on foot from extreme distance (because it hits instantly and the farther away you are the longer an avril will take to reach the target.)
When NOT to use shock primary:
Honestly there aren't many situations in vctf where using shock primary is wrong. But there are better options for tight spaces and when attacking tanks from close range.
-Secondary Fire (inc. shock combos)
I chose to include shock combos in this section because the secondary fire is unremarkable by itself and generally exists solely for combos. By themselves shock cores dont do much damage but they bounce vehicles around more than anything else and have an extremely quick rate of fire. The real power in shock secondary lies in the shock combo. Shock combos deal damage relative to the distance from the epicenter of the explosion, they can kill a 100hp player in one blow with a solid hit. Try not to overuse combos though, because they use up 5 of your shock ammo (the most you can get is 50.) Try to practice moving while doing shock combos, because while it's easy to do them standing still it leaves you very vulnerable.
Practical applications:
Shock cores are great for knocking vehicles off course, they can flip a hellbender over and stop a manta in its tracks, they can also be spammed in narrow corridors which can be frustrating. Shock combos are exceptional for close range combat, and can also kill a manta in one shot if it is struck properly. Shock combos can also take out a scorpion driver in one hit, detonate the core over the top of the scorp and it will usually kill the driver and leave the vehicle flaming but intact. Shock combos work great in areas that get heavy traffic such as weapon lockers or flag posts, if you know your enemy has to pass through that point then you know where to toss your shock core.
When NOT to use shock secondary/combos:
Shock secondary and combos are pretty ineffective in long range fights and against raptors/cicadas. I wouldn't try to combo a tank either since if you're in a position to shock combo it you're better off jumping on top of it where it cant hit you.
1e. Link Gun
Overview: The link gun is a powerful tool in vctf. It can help to keep crucial vehicles alive and can also take down enemy vehicles fairly quickly. It does not fare as well against foot soldiers, the primary fire is difficult to hit anybody with and the secondary has a pretty short range. When a player on your team has the link gun equipped their name will change from your team's color to green. When this is the case it is possible to attach your link gun to theirs via link secondary thereby powering up their weapon (when they fire you still lose ammo.) Although it is a useful weapon, it is not necessary to bind it to a super-accessible key because you should rarely be using it in firefights. Always try to have a link gun handy, it can save you (or your team) in a lot of situations.
-Primary fire
Link primary is a tank/bender killer, plain and simple. It is very good for taking out stationary vehicles from a distance. It has a very quick rate of fire and travels very fast. That being said it is exceedingly difficult to hit any player on foot (that doesnt move like a downs kid.)
Practical applications:
Link primary should be used almost exclusively to kill camping benders and tanks. Try to find a spot where they will have trouble hitting you and let the plasma fly. This also works very well as a distraction for a manta run because no tank or bender driver likes it when someone is unloading a bunch of link primary on them and will probably turn their attention to them and away from their flag. If you are going to use it against a foot soldier try to strafe left and right and just hold down the fire button (this works best in narrow passages).
When NOT to use link primary:
I would go as far to say that defense players should NEVER use link primary, they should be saving their link ammo to heal crucial defensive vehicles (tank, bender, sometimes raptor). In most cases you should not be using link primary against foot soldiers, the ammo dries up quick and its pretty inaccurate. You should also never be using link primary against raptors or mantas in any situation, ever. Seriously.
-Secondary fire
The secondary fire is the real power of the link gun. It is the only thing in the game that heals vehicles and is very simple to use. It has a short range making it fairly ineffective as an offensive tool but is a good choice as an alternate to the minigun for killing players that are low on health. It also will "lock down" a foot soldier, making it difficult for them to move around or jump. Note: if you are linking a vehicle while it is at full armor you will not lose link ammo.
Practical applications:
Defense players will be using link secondary mainly to heal tanks and hellbenders that are protecting the immediate area around the flag. Manta riders should be constantly linking the manta when they are about to take the enemy flag and for the entire time that they are returning to their base with it (except in very specific situations.)
When NOT to use link secondary:
Link secondary is pretty ineffective against enemy vehicles and I would consider its usage against such as a waste of ammo. Don't waste your ammo on scorpions unless you have a scorpion that is an integral part of your manta run defense or a teammate is driving with the flag in a scorpion (lol.) It is inadvisable to use link secondary while running away with the flag because it is very hard to hit people with it continuously while dodge jumping (which you should be doing if you are running away with the flag.)
1d. Minigun
Overview:
I used to consider the minigun a noob weapon, and in a way it is. Newer players are familiar with it because almost every FPS game has some variation of one. It is very vanilla and extremely straightforward to use, just point and shoot. The primary and secondary fire are very similar, only differing slightly in their rate of fire, damage, and accuracy. The minigun is not a game changer, it will not win you any matches, and is fairly weak in many situations, but it works well as a complement to certain weapons and as a finisher. Protip: the minigun takes a second to "heat up" when you click the fire button, if you keep clicking it continuously (not holding it down) to keep the barrel spinning but not shooting then you can bypass this.
-Primary fire
Minigun primary is the epitome of the "spray and pray" doctrine. Just try to keep your crosshair on your opponent and hold down the fire button. The accuracy of minigun primary decreases the farther away your target is. It does have the "lock down" quality just like link secondary.
Practical applications:
Mini primary is a good option for new players, it's not hard to hit stuff with it and at least you're doing some damage. Use minigun primary against people that you know are low on health. It also works well on flag carriers making it more difficult for them to dodge and shield jump.
When NOT to use mini primary:
Dont use mini primary against players that you know have a lot of hp/armor unless you have no other options, it will take too damn long to kill them. Mini primary is also pretty bad against vehicles and should only be used as a last resort.
-Secondary Fire
Mini secondary is just like primary except it has a slower rate of fire, does slightly more damage per hit, and is more accurate. It does a little more damage to vehicles.
Practical applications:
Mini secondary is ok for long range if you are bad with hitscan weapons. It also is decent against raptors if you cant hit them with anything else.
When NOT to use mini secondary:
Never use mini secondary unless you are in a long range fight without a hitscan weapon.
If I knew you, I would have gotten it, but I don't and didn't. I'm now laughing at myself for bringing out the drama police within 
Another thing. I think I'm obsessed with these friggin' smilies 
Since there's not too many actual participants on the forums and many a "lurker" either afraid to engage in anything that might cause a stimulating conversation, or afraid "drama" might ensue from those of us who like throwing thoughts and ideas around or just BSing among each other - ya never know if anyone would actually bother to read...so actually...the title does it's job 
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