General

Sub-Machine Guns

Some of the most powerful and versatile weapons in DOD are the SMG's. These hand held firearms are somewhat lacking in power and accuracy, but they more than make up for these faults in their high rate of fire, and large ammo capacity. Sometimes. The Grease Gun, one of the allies’ SMGs has a painfully slow ROF (Rate of Fire). It makes up for this by having even less recoil than any of the other SMGs. It also, is more accurate than any of the other SMGs.

The Thompson is as powerful as the Grease Gun, yet it fires very fast, giving it the title of "trench broom". The Thompson is best used for clearing out cramped spaces filled with Nazi soldiers. It can also be used very effectively at medium ranges, by either firing in short bursts, or by using methods of "controlled automatic fire". Controlled automatic fire sounds more complex than it actually is. Simply crouch, or go prone, get the enemy in your sights, and start firing, and don't stop until the enemy drops, or until someone starts shooting back at you. Using this method, you drastically increase your accuracy, while decreasing your recoil. Using controlled automatic fire, one is able to mow down many more enemies than he would be able to if he were moving or standing. This tactic can be used just as effectively with the mp40.

Another advantage of the SMG is that it is relatively accurate on the move, so you can circle strafe, and maneuver between obstacles while Accurately shooting at an enemy, a luxury that a rifleman, or support infantryman is left without. Written by pinche

Sniping

One of the most deadly and feared weapons in Day of Defeat is the sniper rifle. There are three sniper rifles in Day of Defeat, the Springfield for the Allies, the K98 "High Turret" for the axis, and the FG42 with scope for the Axis paratrooper. The Springfield, and the K98 are very alike in Day of Defeat because they are both bolt-action rifles. The FG42, on the other hand, is a fully automatic sniper rifle. Sniping with a bolt-action rifle in Day of Defeat can be hard to learn at first, but it does have its advantages. The main difficulty with bolt-action sniper rifles is that you only get one shot. After that one shot your character must manually unload the spent shell, and then load in a new bullet. All players in DoD know that feeling of vulnerability you get when you are unable to fire your weapon, either because you are reloading, sprinting, moving while prone, or just lagging out. Some snipers feel this vulnerability a lot more because once you fire a shot you have to wait about one to two seconds to fire another shot. Little do players know that we can use those few seconds to our advantage. Let’s say I am sniping in Caen. I am guarding the big plaza in the middle of the map (the one with the Horse). This part of the map is big, and because there are so many different places where people can pop up. I do not zoom in. I sit and wait until I see movement, then zero in and take out any opposition that was there. As I reload my bolt the screen returns to normal view. It is at this time that I quickly look for any enemy soldiers that I missed while I was zeroed in. I then center the enemy in my screen. Once I am zoomed in again my crosshairs are either on, or very near my enemy. I shoot and repeat.

Many snipers in DoD think that in order to avoid being killed you must find a great sniper spot. This is only one sixth of what you must do in order to increase your ability to kill and escape unscathed. If you find a great sniper spot and just camp there sooner or later you are going to piss people off. Those people will then change their mission objectives from capturing flags/objectives to filling your body with as much lead as they consider necessary. After they find where you are located, they will move very carefully to a place where they can either come up behind you and execute you, or they might just throw a nade into your nest. They might even get someone to counter-snipe you (I will discuss this more later on).

To avoid becoming victimized by these people you must follow these six rules. One: Find a great sniper spot. A great sniper spot will be hard to find, and will have good visibility of an area that enemy soldiers will have to cross in order to win. Two: Find two more sniper spots that you can fall back to if necessary. Three: Find a connecting route between these sniper spots that is relatively safe. Four: One Shot, One Kill. Make sure your shots are fatal, this way your enemy will not be informed of your presence until it is to late. Five: Know when your enemy knows where you are located. If people see you, or start to shoot at you withdrawal from your current position into a place from which you cannot be hit. Six: Relocate. It is always a necessary thing to relocate. Use the route you found in rule number three to get you to your other positions. This will keep your enemy guessing as to where you are, and prevent them from accomplishing their objectives.

Every great sniper must also be a good counter-sniper. Counter sniping is when one sniper moves into a position and takes out an enemy sniper. "Enemy at The Gates” was a movie about counter sniping. Counter sniping is only necessary in DoD when an enemy sniper is taking heavy tolls on your team, and only by taking him out can your team advance. First, find out were the enemy sniper is located. Next crouch and move behind something that blocks you from the snipers vision. Only move behind things that would not hide you if you weren't crouching. Thirdly, face your enemy sniper and zero in (Zoom in) to the object that is hiding you. Now let go of the crouch key, this will send you into a standing position. Quickly find your enemy in your crosshairs and shoot. After you have fired immediately crouch. If you killed the sniper, signal to your squad that you did so. If the sniper is still alive, try to sprint back to safety.

Another way to counter snipe is by slowly moving while you are zoomed in, seeing a part of your enemies body (usually an arm), and shooting him. Do this by zooming in, holding your "use" key, and sidestepping into view. This will greatly reduce the speed of your movement, and the enemy sniper will probably not catch you doing this. This trick is an easier way to counter-snipe, but it will not work all of the time. Written by pinche

More Sniping Tips

There are THREE types of visual you want for your sniping position. One is a good sight of the enemy, two is that there is no way for them to sneak up on you (ideally, however often times this is not possible), and three you want to be not easily seen (this is almost never accomplished in the dark, as soon as you fire the flash will light you up and it will attract eyes). The ideal location is up high where no one would look for you. Your sight must be unobstructed and bright.

Now that you've got your position all set… it’s time to pick off some guys. But, which one should you take out first? Well... in the end it will be up to you, but here is what I do. In this order, I choose my target: MG, Enemy Sniper, Heavy, Medium, Light. Also, another factor is: When you shoot, can they see you?; Have they seen you?; are they shooting at you? If any of the above questions were a yes, then for gosh sakes kill him first. But if they're no, go by the priority list.

If someone is getting too close, well... that’s every snipers worst nightmare, but its easy to right. First, get out of prone and pull out your pistol. Remember, it’s always better to be the hunter than it is to be the hunted. So get cracking. I'd follow the sidearms strategy... I agree with it completely. Remember... if you have to reload... your in trouble; so make your shots count. Written by James Davison

I usually run and get into position with my handgun out, however, I have seen people do so with the springfield/kar out. If you pretty much know where your bullet will go with the unscoped rifle, go for it, but I would suggest using the handgun. Don't always go to the obvious sniping points. Although they may look like really good points, the enemy will most likely look there first. Find an unusual place, or one that the enemy would not expect. Always provide cover for an assaulting team (on your side of course ;p). If you can hold off some of the MGers and/or snipers and anyone else you see, you will gain the respect of your team. Not only that, you will help your team win. Everyone has to be a team player in DoD, and a Sniper's job is no less important. Written by Zeris

All the other sniper rules are very very helpful and should be used in order to be an effective sniper in your team. However, I always feel that a sniper is NOT just a defensive role. Many people get to their flag, find a nice spot, and wait. Not only is that just boring as hell, it doesn’t help you team out too much. Whenever I'm a sniper, I have my primary rifle out, if I do run into an enemy, that first shot is going out w/o the scope, if I hit him, he will usually drop. Now this is just a preference, but if you do choose to use your primary, always shoot once, then hit 3 in order to get your sidearm out right away. Now the sniping part comes in: once you’re decently close to the enemy side, find a good spot. I suggest NOT capping any flags until later. Get somewhere were you’re going to be shooting the enemy in the back but DO NOT shoot a guy in front of another. I always give advancing units a little time then take out the one in the back. Now you cleared out the next wave. If you want to make enemies, stay in that spot. I think that’s camping. Now get out of your spot and grab that flag. Wait for the next wave in a new spot, take them out, and move up to the next flag. Written by Viper_Fubar

Machine Guns

Using the machine gun can be very awkward at first, because it is totally different from using the other weapons available in the other classes. Besides the obvious not being able to move and the firing inaccuarcy without the bipod down, you have to pick up a few tricks when using this class. There are many other disadvantages with this class, but there also many advantages.

1) First, the machine gun fires a lot faster and better than some weapons when it has a bipod down (each machine gun varies). They also have a continuous feed of ammunition from the ammo belt, so until you run out of ammo in your box, you won't have much fear of another enemy catching you with your pants down. Also, the bullets can go through certain walls, for example in the Avalanche map, where the german sniper nests are.

2) Machine gunners are very threatening when they are from a long distance or when they are concealed. And they are even more dangerous when they are both. If they are placed in an area where most enemies have to come through, they'll have a lot of trouble getting past a machine gunner.

However, there are also other tricks which I managed to pick up while playing this class:

One trick is the standing-while-deploying-the-bipod locations. If you get behind certain areas (windows, behind sandbags) when the deploy symbol pops up, if you press the "secondary fire" key and a movement key almost simulatanously, you'll be able to deploy the bipod without having to get restricted by where you are (i.e. being exposed right in front of a window or a sandbag). Instead, you'll have slightly more cover from the enemy, and works well if you got a narrow area which enables you to see all enemies coming at you. However, if you move too far away from the deploy area, the trick won't work, only a slight shift works so know your limits before trying it during critical moments.

Another trick you have to master right away is the fact you can't avoid grenades if you're prone with the bipod down. Pressing the secondary-fire key and then pressing the prone key takes too many precious seconds of running away from the grenade before if explodes. However, if you press the prone key and the secondary key almost fast, almost simultaneous, with the prone key hit first and right after the secondary key, you'll get up a lot faster and you can sprint your butt out of the grenade(s) blast radius. This takes practice, but you should be able to get up from your prone-bipod position as fast as if you were just prone.

Anti-MG better-know-its:

Snipers are THE anti-machine gunners. They can take em out without much trouble, if they keep themselves concealed. Grenadiers can also take machine gunners out, if they're not spotted. So its a good idea as mentioned before to keep the machine gunners in areas where there aren't too many windows or ledges where they can get flanked.

Machine gunners can't see things behind them when they are deployed (duh!), which puts enemies in the perfect opportunity for a knife/spade kill. Sure, its enjoyable when YOU do it, but it sure is embarrassing if it happens TO you. Make sure your team mates can see where you are, so they can support you when needed.

One last tip: machine gun fire leaves tracers... its so obvious you must be a newbie not to know that (FYI: Tracers are bullets that are noticeable only in machine guns in Day of Defeat, they are seen when bullets are fired in a continuous stream that the bullet build up so much heat that it looks like "little yellow fireballs" if you can find a better word, email me...haha) If you fire too much from a position leaving too many tracers, enemies are bound to know where you are firing from, and the next thing you'll notice is a grenade landing right on your lap.

***Tracers are like arrows pointing where you are firing from. ***

If you're in a firing position and you're all by yourself, its not a good idea to keep fighting for long if you know more enemies will be coming from all directions. However, if you're good enough, the machine gun should be able to hold them back and the grenade avoiding trick should help you out. Still it would be safer to move from position to position so you don't get enemies to remember where you are. Written by Daedalus

Grenades

There are two different types of grenades in DoD. The pineapple grenade for the Allies, and the stick grenade for the Axis forces. These two different types of ordinance have the same explosive power, and are therefore pretty much the same weapon. However, there are subtle differences.

The Allies grenade is dark green and rather small, making it hard to spot before it is to late. This often scares the Axis soldiers, for they can just be trotting along, and then, BOOM! Initial reactionary thoughts may include: "Was I hit by a rather accurate artillery shell?”, or "Did I just become a victim of God's wrath?". People think these irrational thoughts because it is a very unpleasant shock to "spontaneously" explode. People can choose to deny their own death, when they do not understand how it was that they died.

The German grenade is larger, and flips through the air in its own unique style. These sticks of death often lead up to moments of terror in a young G.I.'s heart, as he can see the instrument of his own impending death flipping towards him like a dive-bombing seagull. And, yes, Seagulls do flip like that when they divebomb,.... sometimes.

There are four different ways to use the grenades to kill players in DoD. The first being the basic lob. This is best used to buy yourself time to reload or reposition yourself, for people will not usually advance into an explosion. Even if they do, the better for you. The lob can also be used to kill enemies on the other side of a barrier. This will either "Flush" the enemy out (making them abandon their nest or bunker), or it will blow them six to ten feet in the air, possibly severing their limbs in the process.

The second way to use the grenade is to "prime" the grenade. This is done by tossing the grenade at your feet, picking it up with your "use" key, waiting a few seconds, and then tossing it at your foe. The result being that the opposition will have no time to run from the grenade, and the increase of the chance your grenade has to kill someone. One must be careful when doing this, because if you are not fast enough you will explode and die a suicidal death. Also one must know how far away his enemy is, so that when he primes the grenade it still has enough fuse to reach the enemy before it explodes.

The third way to use a grenade is similar to the second. It is throwing your enemies grenade back at him. This is done by picking up your enemies recently thrown grenade, and throwing it back at him. This is a difficult, but highly humiliating way to kill a player in DoD.

The fourth way to use a grenade is the "fast ball" technique. This is the tactic to use if you want to kill someone who is far away. First line up a clear path of running space between you and your target. Next hold down your fire button (I assume you already have equipped your grenade). Now, sprint for a couple of seconds toward your target. Jump-Duck while you are still holding forward, sprint, and fire. Now just release the fire button while you are still moving fast. The result is an extremely fast moving grenade that has a high velocity (if it bumps into the ground it will skip like a rock on a pond). Doing this also increases your range by a lot.

Feel free to use these tactics, and even COMBINE these tactics to make new grenade uses. Written by pinche

More Grenade Tips

If TeamKilling is on, I almost NEVER use my grenades, unless I'm 200% sure there isn't anyone on my team in the area of my throw.

Nades are best used in cramped areas, where you know the enemy frequently visits. The most notable of these places is in dod_avalanche's Allied spawn. Nade spamming -- chucking nade after nade after nade-- into spawning areas is a surefire way to make enemies real fast, so, unless you have no intention of coming back into that server, don't do it. Spamming in all other areas is generally accepted.

Need to get a nade really far, really fast? Do what I call "Mortaring." what you do is simple:

Arm the nade, but don't let go of the mouse button. back up a bit, aim high, and then move forward -- sprint if you want -- then jump-crouch, and in mid-jump, let go of of the mouse button. In essence, the nade flies high, far, and -- hopefully -- falls down in the middle of the enemy, the same way a mortar works.

Lastly, if you know you're in a losing situaion, do what I do -- though you have the option not to, as you end up killing yourself. While behind some cover, cook a nade (throw your grenade at your feet and pick it up) and run up to your enemy. When he pops you, the grenade you were cooking will go off, hopefully killing your killer in the process. This is especially nasty if you know a group of baddies is near you, and you feel like being a jerk. The choice to Kamikaze yourself is up to you, but I do it all the time; I'm not the "Flippin' Kamikaze" for no reason, you know. :) Written by Flipkami84

If you are ever caught running from an enemy (happens a lot if you're sniping), toss a grenade at the wall ahead of you (or just a little head of you on the ground). Now when that enemy rounds the corner after you he's gunna get a real nice surprise. Written by Viper_Fubar

Movement

This is probably one of the simplest, yet least followed tips when playing Day of Defeat. Moving. Yes, that's right, moving. Well what do you mean by moving you might ask? Now listen closely, instead of camping with your machine gun ten feet from your spawn position, move up the map! What a novel idea. I can't count the number of times I've been trying to cap flags and the rest of my time is camped out at the first flag not really accomplishing anything. If you are a sniper or MG, hold down one flag until your team caps it then move on up to the next flag and hold that one down. This way the rest of your team can go about their capping ways and you can be on defense and everybody is happy. Written by Fireraven

Run in bursts strategy: due to DoD’s stamina system you might find yourself out of breath and under heavy fire. It'd be bad if you can't make a hasty retreat when only a few bullets can kill you. So it's best to run in bursts from cover to cover, resting while picking off who you can without wasting too much energy. But this can be dangerous also. Make sure that if you have been spotted to move your position. It isn't hard for someone to bank a grenade into your hiding place. Also, avoid jumping unless necessary. Move in teams. There is a greater chance that if 3 people move together that at least 1 will get through. If you’re using an automatic weapon fire in 3 round bursts and aim for the chest. Most automatic weapons will recoil so you can get 2 to the chest and one to the head. Keep these in mind and you might just earn yourself a medal. Written by AutomaticMan

Assault Squads

In DoD, to overwhelm an enemy with speed and ease you must use teamwork correctly. First off there should be 4 people in an assault squad and 2 in a sniper/mountable machine gun squad, but a few more people wouldn't hurt but if you have an assault squad that has 10 people it is kinda missing the point. Both of the squads are small so they can get around with ease and ability to overpower single units and deal with large squads till backup arrives (yes, you MUST call for it otherwise it most likely won't and respond to other people when they call for backup). For the Assault squad you must have a Support machinegun (not supportable but support like the BAR or the MP44), a Rifle infantry, a Sergeant with a Thompson or MP40 (depending on the team you’re on), and the last spot can be anything.

For the actual assault you should have 2 people stay still while the other 2 sprint of a spot and you take turns on this job. The squad should be standing in a square or rectangle formation staring the opposite of center of this box when not moving, but if your moving then just check that spot often seeing how enemies could sneak up. When shots are fired and you don't know where they are coming the squad should run in directs that you would be staring at if your squad wasn't on the moving and try to take the best cover in that area but you must go for the closest piece of cover and if you know where the enemy that is firing is tell the rest of the squad ASAP. For a sniper/mountable machinegun squad you must have the sniper or (wo)man with the mountable m-gun and backup of a sergeant or in only a few cases a support m-gun. Most Sniper/Mountable M-Gun squads should move in to the spot by first choosing one at spawn then taking turns running to a point while the other person provides cover fire. The most important factor is that the Sniper/Mountable M-Gun gets in to the spot. When in the spot the sergeant should be watching the spot where enemys could come behind the sniper/gunner and if there is none then it should also stand there and cover the spot the sniper/gunner and if a nade comes in the gunner can toss back at the enemy so both can survive and keep the spot. The sniper should be prone, in some cases this isn't possible due to the spot but prone gives a large advantage to the user. Written by Bob "Vash" Dornin

Fog

As many know, fog has been available in Day of Defeat since beta 2.0. But many people don't use it, because they believe it to be a visual handicap. In actual fact, nothing could be further from the truth. A light fog makes it ridiculously easy to see soldiers (be they friendly or not) at a distance, especially in very dark maps like dod_thunder, or dod_zafod. And most don't realize that the density of the fog can be manipulated to tailor it to specific maps. Remember that as a general rule, ideal fog settings for one map do not apply to another map. DoD_Thunder, for example, looks fantastic with a thick fog. But if you use those same settings in DoD_Schwetz for example, it will look positively atrocious.

In order for fog to function, users must be in the OpenGL video mode. Fog does not function in Direct3D, and no-one who's playing in software mode should be worrying about aesthetics. There are two different functions of fog, one of which is DoD specific, and the other is Valve fog, which you can find in other official Valve mods. This is the beginning of a collection of good fog settings. Note that right now, there are no Valve fog settings, because I haven't found ideal fog settings with it yet. So, without further adieu, try entering these commands in your console on the named maps:

dod_thunder cl_fog 1 cl_fog_start -800 cl_fog_end 2500	dod_zafod cl_fog 1 cl_fog_start -300 cl_fog_end 3000	dod_overlord cl_fog 1 cl_fog_start -100 cl_fog_end 5500
dod_koln cl_fog 1 cl_fog_start -300 cl_fog_end 6000	dod_schwetz cl_fog 1 cl_fog_start -50 cl_fog_end 7500	dod_anzio cl_fog 1 cl_fog_start -100 cl_fog_end 5000

Now, this isn't all the maps, but that's so that you can get a taste of these and experiment for yourself. Written by Rob

Target Practice