dm_runoff

Inspired by the HLDM map Crossfire, Runoff will test not only your long range combat skills, but your ability to duck and cover as well. Unfortunately for you, this ducking and covering isn’t merely to avoid an onslaught of bullets or rocket fire, but a nuclear holocaust from a Combine bomber. As the old saying goes, by the time you see the flash it’s too late.

Essentially, Runoff is divided into two distinct areas. The first is the open swamplands, the drainage ditch surrounding them, and the massive expanses in between. When doing battle out here, the magnum, crossbow, and RPG will be your weapons of choice due to their efficient long range stopping power. Luckily for you said weapons can also be found just hanging about in the open. In fact, the RPG isn’t even slightly concealed; it’s simply placed at a location easy for nearly anybody to reach. Compared to the aforementioned weapons, however, the RPG pickup isn’t protected by the walls of a trailer, meaning that any halfway decent sniper can pick you off with a quick magnum or crossbow round before you have the chance to react.

Speaking of the magnum and crossbow, learn their spawn points and make sure you establish control of them at all times. The wide spaces of the map lend themselves to long range firefights and with these weapons in your inventory, and denied to the opposition, you’ve earned a surefire ace up your sleeve. A neat trick to keep in mind is using the magnum as a makeshift sniper rifle by using your "zoom” feature to quickly draw a bead on your targets and snipe them from a distance. While you can’t zoom and shoot at the same time, a little finger dexterity and practice will pay off in dividends. Though the crossbow has a built in scope and is far easier to shoot with, it can only load a singe round at a time and takes quite a while to reload. In addition, the bolt of the crossbow will loose it’s velocity after a while, so make sure you aim slightly higher than normal for those headshots. A possible trick is to use the crossbow as your "first strike” and then quickly switch to the magnum after launching your initial volley, as the bright orange bolt will distract and disorient the enemy, trick them into thinking your reloading, and lure them right into your trap.

This outside area is also the only location on the map where it’s possible to collect Combine balls. While these items are of limited use in the outdoors, they are incredibly destructive when used inside the base. Since you’ll probably be spending equal amounts of time both inside and outside, it’ll serve you well to monitor players who attempt to nab them. As luck would have it though, the trailer they’re stored in can only be entered from one side, leaving a hapless player completely vulnerable to your rocket and grenade attacks.

Though we’ve spent some time discussing the importance of dominating the outside, one mustn’t forget about the importance of seizing control of the bunker. While said bunker doesn’t offer much in the way of useful items, as both the assault rifle and shotgun inside can be collected outside the bunker as well, it does offer a devastating doomsday device. The computer console in one of bunker’s sub-rooms can be used to trigger nuclear holocaust as mentioned previously. When used, the red alert alarm is raised, alarm lights go red, and the two passage ways to the bunker seal shut, protecting anyone inside from the blast. Mining the entrances with explosive SLAMs and clogging up the passage ways with physics props are a surefire way of slowing down the opposition and preventing them from surviving. It’s also important to make sure that you monitor both entrances to the base and budget your time equally between the two. While it may feel as though you need to be in two places at once, it’s a necessary task if one wants to keep their newfound home all to themselves. Keep in mind however, that explosion earns you no points, it merely kills off the other players.

While these tips are fine and dandy for anyone who is inside the base, what can one do when the alarm is raised an the inevitable mob scene ensues? First, stay back a bit from the pack and don’t attempt to base rush on the first alert. Hang back and let your fellow players whittle down their numbers on their own. With some luck, a weaker player may seize the base, leaving it ripe for a counter attack. Second, the slowly closing blast doors can be blocked and propped open buy a heavy physics object such as the green dumpsters. By placing these in between the track and the door itself, you can give pry yourself a little entrance into the base. Don’t worry about the blast, as it cannot kill you so long as you’re in the base… regardless of the door’s status. Finally, if you are killed simply do not respawn till the blast is over. There’s no "forced respawn” after a certain time in HL2:DM, so play dead till the shows over and come back for more punishment after.

Please click here to download the optional screenshots .zip that goes along with this strategy guide. (Coming Soon!)

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