Half-Life 2: Deathmatch General Strategies

---

Welcome to the bloodbath of Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, a multiplayer game where anything that can be used as a weapon probably will be. In a nutshell, the purpose of the game is to acquire the most kills, known as frags, through any means necessary. Of course, by any means necessary we mean within the game—cheats and hacks are never a proper solution. At any rate, the entire game boils down to you spawning in a battle arena, collecting weapons and equipment, and wasting anybody who dares to oppose you. Occasionally you take part in team games where you join either the rebel or combine side, but for the most part it’s all about little old you facing off against the big mean internet.

Never fear however—we’re here to help! With this guide, we’re going to show you the basics of the game, go over each weapon and its tricks individually and explain a few advanced tactics. Let’s get to the meat and potatoes of the matter shall we?

Overview of Game Modes

Currently, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch (HL2DM for here on out) features two official gameplay modes, Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. Below is a brief description of the game mode and how it is played.

Deathmatch: A free for all, kill or be killed game type. In this mode, you’ll enter the fray armed with a melee weapon, pistol, SMG, two grenades and the gravity gun. The goal of this mode is to acquire the most kills before the opposition does.

Team Deathmatch: Players spawn on the team of their chosen player model, be it Combine Forces or the Rebel Alliance. Players begin with the same load-out as in normal deathmatch, but now they must work together with their fellow teammates to score the highest number of combined kills.

As you can see, the overarching goal of the game is pretty simple. The devil lies in the details however, as unlike the single player game, your foes aren’t going to simply lie down and die for you. To make sure your opposition expires before you, you’ve been provided with numerous weapons to dispatch them. In the following section we’re going to take a look at the different strengths and weaknesses of each weapon. More importantly, we’re going to show you some neat tricks you can pull off with them.

General Tips

Never stop moving, ever. In deathmatch games, halting your movement essentially promises you a quick death. Unlike Day of Defeat and Counter Strike, there are no accuracy penalties for moving while shooting. Therefore, learn to abuse your sprint and jump keys when trying to quickly get from one section of a map to another. However, make sure you conserve some of your stamina for the inevitable surprise encounters with your enemies that you’ll face. All too often the player who is able to dash behind cover quickest will gain the split second advantage in the tides of battle.

Like the Nurse Betty quote, "Three in the head, you know they’re dead.” Always aim around the upper torso regions when shooting at an enemy. Although instinct will tell you to aim to the chest for the easiest hit, you need to keep in mind that HL2:DM has both "body” and "head” hitboxes. Scoring headshots will deal far more damage than chest shots, so learn to aim around the neck. With some luck and a bit of skill, you’ll score headshots. Failing that, you’ll at least get body damage in.

Keep track of item locations and when they respawn. Aside from decent aim, one of the most important factors in a deathmatch-type game is controlling and dominating the resources of any given map. Just remember, if you haven’t taken an item within five seconds of it rematerializing, then your opponent most certainly has. In HL2:DM, the items to keep tabs on are the RPG, energy ball, magnum, health kits and health/armor power-up stations. Should you control these weapons, you will have essentially cut off your opponent’s access to the most powerful weapons of the game (as well as their ability to replenish their health and armor). A dirty trick to keep in mind is to always fire off a round before you pick up the weapon. This way the game will automatically assume that you need ammo from the gun and take the whole weapon for just a single shot. Though you may give away your sound position, it’s a decent trade off.

Remember that grenades and energy balls can be caught by your gravity gun. One sly move learn is tossing one of your grenades to the floor, swapping to your gravity gun (by pressing "g”), picking the grenade up with it and throwing it at your foe (as a sort of makeshift grenade launcher). Just be aware that anything you toss can be caught and thrown right back at you, so make sure to time your throw accurately. Also take note that while SMG grenades cannot be caught, you can blast them out of the sky. The shotgun is a good choice for this due to its pellet spread.

The props in the maps are not there simply to look pretty—use them to your advantage! While you may simply chuck them at your enemy, don’t forget that you can also use them as means to protect yourself from harm. Next time you’re being shot at, try grabbing a nearby table and using it as shield. Also note that you can use the props to barricade areas and control the flow of a map.

Keep your health and suit power at max charge at all times. Without a suit, you’re a sitting duck. Without life, you’re simply a corpse.

Advanced Tricks

You’ve been given a pair of ears; use them! Keep yourself aware of noises at all times. While this skill may be underused in 12-player free for alls, in a one-on-one situation it can mean a whole world of difference. Health and armor chargers make distinctive noises when they are being used as do items when they respawn. Keep your ears open to the sounds of doors opening, props being moved about, lifts activating, etc. If you have a keen situational awareness at all times, you’ll be able to counter anything your enemy attempts to throw at you. Of course, this comes only with practice and knowledge of the maps themselves, so stick with it and you will improve with time.

Distractions are both your worst enemy and your very best friend. Half-Life 2’s singleplayer mode should have already taught you about the power of distracting Combine forces and their automated turrets (with Antlions, grenades and props). Why not apply the same techniques in multiplayer? If you see two of your fellow players in the midst of a firefight, wait a moment for them to weaken each other. Then, when they least expect it, toss a grenade at them to kill two (or more!) birds with one stone. On the flipside, you shouldn’t let yourself become too distracted in a fight as any old chump can run up behind you and blast you without you detecting it.

Following up on the distracted opponent bit, make sure that you make excessive use of all powerful weapons. The RPG and the energy balls kill most opponents in a single hit. Therefore, make sure that you use these whenever you have the ammo. Is your opponent about to respawn? Run to where you believe he’ll be and clean his clock with a magnum round. Throwing aside your powerful weapons to fight an under-armed opponent "mano y mano” is not only stupid, it’s very wasteful. Free points will secure you first place, so take them as they come.

Even in death, you should find a way to hinder your enemy. If you know you’re about to die and can’t escape, quickly swap to your crowbar, gravity gun or pistol. When you die you drop whatever weapon you’re currently holding for your opponent to pick up, so why give him that RPG that you worked so hard to acquire?

One of the most important maneuvers you can master in the game is the bunny-hop. Bunny-hopping—performed by jumping ahead at an angle, tapping sprint, and tapping the crouch key—is an incredibly effective way to get around the maps at extreme speeds. Though some may claim it’s cheap, it’s been seen and officially-approved by Valve themselves. The best way to learn this movement is from another player, so go out and find someone who is willing to help you learn.

Aside from bunny-hopping, numerous other movements such as physics jumps exist within the game. Learning these moves is something that goes beyond the scope of a mere introductory guide—the best way to learn these is to observe them in action and then immitate. Hit some online servers, check out clan pages, replay some demos of top players going at it and ask other players for advice! All of these things will improve your game, get you more involved with the community and ultimately help you derive some more enjoyment from the game. Good luck!