1. Aim properly

The fundamentals of aiming are generally common-sense, but some people don't really follow them anyway.

• Use the crosshairs. Aleph One has built-in crosshairs which can be toggled in-game by pressing F8. Some players believe it's cheating because it wasn't in the original game, but it's not. After all, they can use the crosshair as well.
• Use a mouse if at all possible. Keyboard movement is very rigid and slow, and it can be difficult to aim and maneuver quickly without the aid of a mouse, mostly because turning rates are fixed. With the mouse, you can look and turn at lightning speed, and also track peoples' movements much more effectively.
• Lead your shots. No projectile is instantaneous; even bullets need to be led to a certain degree; learn the weapons and know how quickly they travel, and then lead your shots to compensate. Think of it like Space Invaders; you'll never win if you don't lead your shots.
• Aim for the ground with explosives. With both grenades and rockets, make sure to shoot at the enemy's feet; even if you miss by a little bit, they will explode at their feet, and they will take damage anyway. It's much easier than trying to hit directly.

2. Be aware of your surroundings

Being snuck up on by an enemy with a powerful gun is basically instant death. However, if you see the enemy coming, you can react -- you can get out of the way, you can fire on them and hopefully kill them first. You have a few abilities at your disposal which can help.

• Watch the motion sensor. Most hosts do not disable the motion sensor; while it doesn't have much range, it does help. You can get a good read on people coming up from behind or around a corner before you can actually see them.
• Be mindful of every direction. Enemies can come from in front of you or behind; above or below; left or right. Again, using the mouse helps tremendously, because you can quickly and easily scan in all directions. Getting shot by an undetected sniper sucks, so keep an eye on the sky for enemy bombardment.

3. Know the map

While a host might spring some personal homebrew on you, most of the time, you'll end up playing on maps in common rotation from a few big netmaps. Take time to look at them so you know the key features. It gives you a few benefits as well; while they're not big on their own, combined, knowledge of the map can be a huge advantage.

• Know where the big guns are. Rockets, shotguns, flamethrowers; some maps do not have many of these, and knowing where to find them the fastest will turn the tide in your favor quite quickly.
• Know where the health is, and go there often. If there's a recharger, use it a lot. If shield canisters spawn there, pass by frequently to see if you can grab it. Someone expecting you to be almost dead will be in for a surprise when you actually have double shields.
• Know where the geographic advantages are. Being able to get the drop on someone usually guarantees an easy point, and this is best done by knowing all of the tricky spots of the map.

4. Be aggressive

Campers can only do so well; the winners of the game are most often the people that don't spend much time hiding. They're always in the face of the enemy, scoring points. Campers, on the other hand, miss many kills because of the lack of sniper weapons.

• Always carry a big gun. Rockets generally kill in one hit; shotguns are usually an instant kill; the flamethrower is also effective. If you're trying to be aggressive with a fusion pistol, you won't do well; other people will steal your kills.
• Vulture often! If two people are fighting, try to kill the weaker one first. That's a point that goes into your pocket, not the other guy's! Then kill him too.
• Stick to the main rooms. You don't want to be alone; all of the action happens in the big open spaces in the middle. Stay there, and you'll gain kills often. You'll lose some, too, but that's just how it goes.
• Don't be afraid to kamikaze. If you kill yourself with a rocket launcher, you lose a point. If you kill someone else, you gain a point. If you kill both yourself and the enemy, you experience no net change -- but the enemy loses a point! That's still better than nothing. Always take this route rather than trying to avoid a suicide and getting killed.

5. Play defensively

Being aggressive does not mean being reckless. Try to avoid the stupid deaths and extend your survivability.

• Keep moving. If you stand still, you're a prime target for a rocket to the face. A moving target is a lot harder to hit, especially with weapons like the SMG.
• Always watch the enemy. Don't lose track of the person you're fighting; sidestep their shots, but turn so you can still see him.
• Whore health. As I said above, revisit health areas often, whether they are rechargers or respawning canisters. If it's a recharger, make sure the coast is clear before you charge up, and run away when you hear rocket fire. It's counterintuitive to die while healing.
• Take cover! If you need to reload, do so behind a corner. Lure people into corridors where they can't avoid your gunfire. Duck behind pillars to absorb enemy flak. Ride lifts up and down to evade and confuse the enemy.
• If you're severely outgunned, run away. You're not likely to kill many rocket launcher-wielding enemies with just a fusion pistol.

6. Don't lose track of the goal

The point of the game is to win by scoring points, time, etc. Time not spent on the hill is time spent losing the game. Time spent roaming the back hallways of the map is time spent not killing enemies and scoring points.

• In Every Man For Himself, always be looking for more people to fight. You probably won't win if you don't kill people. Even if you die a lot, there's no better way to improve.
• In King of the Hill, always head for the hill, and stay there. Don't waste time looking for ammo -- you aren't going to last much longer with those extra AR clips, so forget about 'em.
• In Kill the Man With the Ball, always search for the ball and pick up ammo on the way. Once you have it, keep a hold of it, but drop it when you're attacked. It's much easier to drop the skull, kill the attacker, and grab it again, than it is to die, respawn, and grab the ball again.

7. Be intelligent

Much of the game relies on common sense. Even if you feel like you can score a point by doing something overly bold, don't. If (when) you get killed doing it, you'll feel like an idiot.

• Don't follow someone into a teleporter. That person can easily turn around and shoot you as you teleport, and there's nothing you can do about it.
• Don't teleport or jump into the middle of a huge fight. Approach from the fringes; don't run straight in, or you'll just get shot right away.
• Don't wait for an elevator to come back down. Find another way up, or just do something else. It's not worth it to stand still and get splattered by someone sneaking up on you.
• Find a gun before you enter the fray. The fists might be powerful, but you probably won't win against a guy with shotguns. Or rockets. Or the assault rifle. Or almost any gun. Get a bigger gun, and then come back.
• Aim for number one. If you have the choice between killing the guy in first place or the guy in third, go for the guy in first. It'll close the gap much more quickly and put you two points closer to first place yourself.

Fists

General use: The Fist is sort of the "emergency weapon" in case the ammo for the rest of your guns runs out. Or, at least, that's the idea. However, the fist has a hidden "power" that makes it a fairly useful tool: run-punching. When running forward, as long as you are moving when your punch lands, your punches do a very significant amount of damage, greatly exceeding the damage dealt by a pistol bullet. Standing punches are not useful at all. Thus, the idea is to deliver as many run-punches as you can, which requires a certain amount of recklessness to do quickly. Fists are fairly useful in King of the Hill games, when you are forced to get in the face of your enemy, and you probably won't have a lot of ammo. Do not use the fist over any other weapon except for the Magnums; despite the power of the run-punch, it's too reckless and ineffective.

Fist vs. SPNKR: It's pretty tough to do, mostly because if the SPNKR-user follows this guide as well, he's just going to go for the kamikaze and kill both of you. Unfortunately, you can only really hope to run away if that's the case. If the SPNKR-user tries to back up and get a clear shot, prevent that at all costs. Stick to him like glue and never let him get a shot off. Even if it means delivering some normal punches as opposed to run-punches, don't let him get that shot off.

Beating the fist: This is easy stuff to do. One thing to remember is to never backpedal; otherwise the fist-user can just run at you and run-punch you relentlessly. Always sidestep while backpedaling, so you never present a good target, and keep shooting. Most people cannot punch effectively, so killing a fist-user is not that difficult.

Misc:

• Although you can use two fists, it doesn't help you; you can only punch with one fist at a time.
• Punching works underwater.

Pistols (Magnums)

General use: The Magnum is your starting weapon, but it's not very good. The average damage is 24, meaning that it takes 7 shots to kill most enemies -- that's almost an entire clip. And the pistol fires fairly slowly. AND it's difficult to hit often with the Magnum. Sure, you can carry two of them, but it really won't help you much. In the end, try to avoid the Magnum; if you can't find another weapon, use your fists instead. The Magnum does offer some pretty solid accuracy at long range, but it's unlikely that you'll be able to snipe effectively, just because leading your shots from that far away is a difficult task. Trying to use the Magnums over other weapons usually makes you prone to vulturing, so even if you are accurate, it's unlikely that you'll score many kills at all in a big game. Other people will just steal your kills.

Magnum vs. SPNKR: If you even attempt this, make sure you have two of them, and stay the hell away. A SPNKR-user from very far away isn't going to kill you often, because you'll be able to see the rocket coming and dodge, whereas it's difficult to dodge pistol bullets. Try to lead the enemy into a corridor where dodging is nearly impossible and just unload on him. 7 shots is a lot, though, and I would really recommend using a different gun; run away if you get caught with the pistol. All it takes is one shot from the enemy (or two if you have at least 2x shields) and you're toast; in a close encounter, you won't even live long enough to fire all 7 shots, most likely.

Beating the Magnum: Thankfully, this isn't too hard to do, because the Magnums aren't strong and it's unlikely the enemy will be very accurate. Sidestep left and right randomly, to throw off the enemy's aim, and just unload on the enemy with your (hopefully) bigger gun. In the event that you get stuck in a Magnum duel, which is unlikely, I'd just run away; don't waste your time trying to pelt the enemy with a peashooter. Find a bigger gun and come back.

Misc:

• Clip size: 8 rounds
• Maximum clip capacity: 50
• Average damage per shot: 24
• To kill an enemy: 7 shots at red shields

Fusion Pistol

General use: The Fusion Pistol is a bit more useful than the Magnums -- though not much, and it's not much of a useful weapon anyway. As a directly offensive weapon, the Fusion Pistol is garbage; it's not very strong and the bolts are easily avoided, making it almost impossible to use at long ranges. It improves slightly when you're just trying to fill the room with bolts; rather than aiming directly at your enemy, try spreading the bolts out all over. Make it so that there's no place to go without getting hurt. The FP's charged bolt travels faster and does about three times as much damage, so despite the charge time, it's a much more effective weapon than normal bolts. When you aren't fighting an enemy, always have a charged shot ready to go. Then, when you see someone, fire the charged shot, and then start attacking with normal shots. The FP is the only weapon that negates Invincibility powerups, so if someone is invincible, bust out the FP regardless of your other weapons. Invincible players tend to be extremely cocky and reckless, so you may be able to get the kill.

Fusion Pistol vs. SPNKR: This isn't a very good weapon for this matchup at all; unlike the Magnums, you can't outrange the SPNKR, since the SPNKR-user can dodge your shots almost as easily as you can dodge his. Ultimately, I'd recommend running away and getting a bigger gun. If you don't want to, or can't, then you're pretty much stuck. Try to stay a fair distance away anyway and use the flood technique I mentioned above; you may get lucky.

Beating the Fusion Pistol: Not a difficult task, mostly because the gun doesn't do all that much damage. Even with the Magnums, all you have to do is outrange the FP-user and snipe. With a bigger gun, you can pretty much go all-out, because the chances of the enemy outgunning you in this case is slim, unless you're a really poor shot.

Misc:

• Clip size: 20 rounds (Charged uses 5 rounds)
• Maximum clip capacity: 25
• Average damage per shot: 35 (Charged average: 90)
• To kill an enemy: 5 shots at red shields; 1 charged + 2 regular shots; 2 charged shots
• The FP can fire underwater; however, the bolt will immediately discharge, damaging you and any adjacent enemies

Assault Rifle

General use: The Assault Rifle is one of Marathon's flagship weapons, and a gun you will find in almost every map. It's not the greatest weapon overall, but in specific instances it is a very devastating weapon. The machine gun (primary fire) is hopelessly inaccurate; the only time you'll ever hit anything is when you're up-close and personal. Long distance, the machine gun probably won't hit with a single bullet. With the grenades, they are remarkably powerful, but it's difficult to hit with them if the enemy can see them coming. So, the best strategy is to get very in-your-face with the AR. It will kill people surprisingly fast, and doesn't require you to have remarkably good aim, unlike the very uncompromising Shotguns. On the other hand, it's not an instant kill, and can get outgunned by some other weapons. When you're not in a tight situation, stay away from the AR, because you won't hit anyone with it.

Assault Rifle vs. SPNKR: This isn't a bad choice; your best bet is to get as close as you can and hope he won't go for a kamikaze kill. On the other hand, if he does, you might be screwed. If you can ambush the SPNKR-user, you've almost certainly got him, though; a hit with a grenade will pretty much guarantee his death. Also, try luring the SPNKR-user into hallways and other curved areas; the AR lays down superior suppressing fire, allowing you to, if nothing else, escape. You can't outrange the SPNKR, but it can't outrange you; you have to get close to do damage.

Beating the Assault Rifle: If you can stay away from it, you've got the battle won. The Shotguns and SMG will do a number on it. If you have to get up-close and personal, make sure to avoid the grenades; getting hit by one will take off over half a bar of life. Because it's not a particularly fast weapon at killing people, you'll have several seconds to score a kill, especially if you can catch the enemy reloading the grenades.

Misc:

• Clip size: 52 bullets/7 grenades
• Maximum clip capacity: 15 bullet magazines/8 grenade packs
• Average damage per shot: 12 bullet/90 grenade
• To kill an enemy: 13 bullets at red shields; 1 grenade + 5 bullets; 2 grenades

Shotguns

General use: The Shotguns represent one of the two "ultimate" weapons in Marathon netplay, and in many situations, the Shotguns outclass the Rocket Launcher, which would pretty much make them the best weapon in the game. But let's talk about why. First of all, the Shotties fire pretty damn quickly. A direct hit with most of the pellets will kill anyone with red shields, and it is actually more accurate than the Assault Rifle (what?!). Its range allows you to stand safely out of the range of anyone with Rockets and still deliver enough damage to make them get closer, which will generally give you an even better shot. About the only weapon that really outranges it is the SMG, and that's a much harder weapon to use. But it's not entirely without fault; the extreme speed of combat means that it's quite easy to completely miss with the Shotguns, especially when up-close. Also, it will burn through ammo quickly, and most maps don't really offer all that much ammo for it. That being said, it is largely without equal in smaller maps, where there is little place to hide. Because it offers one-shot kills at no damage to the gunner, talented campers can be extremely deadly by lurking in the shadows until someone passes by. The Shotguns are stupidly powerful, and not using them is a pretty bad idea. And even if someone is very far away from you, if you have enough shells, you can kill them without too much effort anyway. The Shotguns are a magnificent weapon if you have two... but with one, you're in a nastier spot. I do not recommend using just one Shotgun, because the rate of fire is just too low.

Shotguns vs. SPNKR: The SPNKR-user will want to get up in your face, to exploit the difficulty some players have at hitting targets that close with the oddly precise gun. Your obvious recourse, then, is to prevent that from happening. You have the upper hand in most situations, just because you outrange the rocket launcher by so much. You'll be able to take him down in more open environments fairly easily, and generally before he can even get in range. In more cramped environments, though, the tables have turned a bit, because it's a lot easier for the SPNKR to hit you than vice-versa; the blast radius is difficult to avoid, and unlike you, the SPNKR-user doesn't have to score a direct hit. Basically, stay safely away from him, and you will do well without much struggle.

Beating the Shotguns: This is difficult to do at times, but the Shotguns are more dependent on the skill of the user than most other guns. A terrible shot won't be much threat at all, and can be beaten easily. However, the "weak" spot for the Shotguns is in extremely close quarters, and even then you're running the risk of instant death. The Assault Rifle, in this regard, is tolerable, because it's harder to miss with the AR. The same goes with the SPNKR, though you may have to resort to a kamikaze kill in order to win the day. Alternatively, you can just go with Shotguns yourself and try to outgun him. The TOZT is a bad idea in most cases, because you are generally presenting yourself as a clear target.

Misc:

• Clip size: 1 shot (10 pellets per shot)
• Maximum clip capacity: 80 shells
• Average damage per shot: 22 per pellet/220 per full shot
• To kill an enemy: 6 pellets/1 full shot at red shields

Alien Weapon (Alien Gun)

General use: While one of the more effective weapons in single player, the Alien Weapon does not really stand up well with the other weapons in most situations, and is generally looked down upon in favor of most other guns. The weapon itself functions similarly to the Fusion Pistol, and is about as effective; the bolts are weaker (but you can fire more), fire as fast, and travel about as fast. The real difference, then, is the secondary fire function -- and that you don't have to reload the AW. But, of course, you don't know how much ammo each AW holds, because it varies. Ultimately, the difference in usefulness of the secondary fires comes down to personal taste. The Alien Weapon's secondary fire can be fired in conjunction with the primary, and it sends off bolts at an angle. This provides a much larger area covered by fire, but burns the gun faster. The Alien Weapon's low damage, though, makes it largely useless unless you're close, where it's difficult to miss, and even then, the gun isn't that powerful. The only potentially useful function comes in stealing kills and interrupting duels between other players, because both firing modes combined can effectively flood a room with these weak fireballs. When someone else is also weakening the enemy, it's easier to get kills. However, that's about it. When you're stuck in direct combat with an enemy, get close, or use it in a corridor where it's hard to miss. Don't act like an Enforcer; nobody worth their salt is going to get killed by someone sniping with the AW.

Alien Weapon vs. SPNKR: Don't bother. Really, you're in a nasty position, here. From far away, you aren't likely to hit much, if at all -- but neither is the SPNKR. From close-up, you can hit him more often, but he can hit you too, and the SPNKR far outclasses the Alien Weapon. You can attempt to box him in with the bolts and eventually force him to get hit, but most seasoned players don't worry too much about damage from the AW and can do pretty well at avoiding the shots. On the other hand, it's tough to avoid the SPNKR when the user is in your face...

Beating the Alien Weapon: Because it's such a useless gun overall, this is a pretty easy task. Almost any gun can get the job done; just use the style that you're most used to, and don't worry too much about the damage you take, because it won't be much.

Misc:

• Clip size: Random
• Maximum clip capacity: 0 (the gun disappears after the magazine is emptied)
• Average damage per shot: 24
• To kill an enemy: 7 bolts at red shields

SMG (Submachine Gun)

General use: The SMG was introduced in Marathon Infinity, and in single player, it's largely a novelty gun; it's not really all that powerful, and you can't hold that much ammo for it, but it works underwater. In netplay, the gun is largely a novelty weapon, because it's very difficult to effectively use. That isn't to say it's a bad weapon -- far from it. The gun is extremely powerful, but it empties its clips very quickly, and it's so precise that you've got a good chance of not hitting anything at all. It takes an exorbitant amount of skill to use well, but once you get good with it, it's very powerful. In many circumstances, the SMG can be used in a similar fashion to the Shotgun; too close and you won't hit at all, because the target moves too quickly. Yet from afar, it's just inaccurate enough to not do any good, and you probably won't hit much anyway. That said, it's more accurate than the Shotguns, so it does outrange them... sort of. Shotgun pellets are a lot more powerful than SMG bullets, but the SMG lays down pretty continuous fire. Ultimately, preference comes in at whether or not you wish to kill instantly, or have to hold continuous fire on someone for most of a second. The Shotgun generally wins out. Plus, Shotties reload faster and you can carry a lot more ammo; there really isn't enough for the SMG. And, because it's hard to get that instant kill with the SMG, you will find that your kills get vultured quite a bit. Outside of duels, it just isn't that good, and should be avoided.

SMG vs. SPNKR: This can be a pretty easy matchup if you know what you're doing. The SMG outranges the SPNKR by quite a bit, so the obvious course of action is to stay away from the SPNKR-user. Unlike the Shotguns, you don't have that instant-kill option, so close-quarters combat is an extremely risky maneuver and I strongly recommend not trying it.

Beating the SMG: Fortunately, most people simply aren't very good with the SMG, and certainly the vast majority of players aren't good enough to be that deadly with it. Furthermore, the SMG's "danger zone" is pretty easily avoided. Get too close, and the SMGer probably won't hit you at all, let alone kill you. Then you can unload on him with your weapon of choice. Should it come to a Shotgun vs. SMG shootout, you're looking at the odds favoring the Shotguns, because of that instant-kill factor. Of course, it really boils down to aim. Most people can't aim well enough for the gun to be any good, but if they aim well, then you don't have much hope with any weapon except to aim better.

Misc:

• Clip size: 16 (32, but fires two shots at once)
• Maximum clip capacity: 8
• Average damage per shot: 12 per bullet/24 per trigger pull
• To kill an enemy: 13 bullets at red shields
• Bullets can travel through liquids, as well as permeate liquid surfaces. The gun fires underwater.

Flamethrower (TOZT)

General use: The TOZT is generally referred to as a "power weapon," and while this is true, it's a pretty rare weapon in netmaps and the usefulness of it varies wildly from one to another. In tighter netmaps, the TOZT (if present at all) is easily the most powerful weapon available. In more expansive maps, the TOZT's usefulness is diminished, outclassed (and easily defeated) by the Shotguns and SPNKR. Unfortunately for you, the TOZT is more common in these expansive maps, so the trick is to know when to use it. For example, in situations where close-quarters combat is a given -- King of the Hill, Capture the Flag, or more confined regions of maps, for example -- the Flamethrower will do quite well. In more open spaces, while the gun is not necessarily completely useless, it's just not going to be very good. It doesn't have much range at all, and most people will be running away from you or backpedaling, so you'll constantly have to run basically straight at them to do any good. But, unfortunately, you're prone to SPNKR or Shotgun fire. Avoid using it if your safety is compromised. Also, when making your assault, try to avoid actually running straight. While this might be required in some cases, it isn't in all of them; zigzag, duck, and weave, so you don't take quite as much enemy fire.

Flamethrower vs. SPNKR: This is a tough game, because in order for you to damage the enemy, you have to get very close -- and pass right through the SPNKR's most effective damage field. However, if you can catch them while they're reloading, you're at a distinct advantage; they're stuck reloading, and you have several seconds to score the kill. Unfortunately, they'll probably turn tail and run straight away from you, in which case you won't be able to hit them at all if you aren't already. Your best bet is to try and nail them when they aren't looking; the gun kills so quickly that they probably won't be able to react fast enough.

Beating the Flamethrower: This isn't really such a difficult proposition if the gun you have is any good. First of all, the Flamethrower has the shortest range of any gun in the game, so you can outrange it easily with anything; if you see the TOZT-user, you've got the upper hand. Kill him before he gets too close. Once he does get too close, if you don't have a gun that kills quickly, run. And don't backpedal, actually turn around and run. That way your speed matches that of the TOZTer, and he can't hit you. Then look for a SPNKR, take it, turn around, and fire for the kill.

Misc:

• Clip size: 7 seconds (210 shots, 30 shots/second)
• Maximum clip capacity: 3 tanks
• Average damage per shot: 10 damage (300 per second)
• To kill an enemy: 15 shots/0.5 seconds at red shields

SPNKR (Rocket Launcher)

General use: "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar," says Freud. In this case, it's a pretty badass cigar. (Yes, I know I horribly misquoted Durandal, sue me.) At any rate, the SPNKR is the "big daddy" of netplay, and rightfully so. It kills quickly, it's easy to hit with, and is generally the best weapon in the game (some might argue with that, citing the Shotguns, but the SPNKR is superior in most circumstances). It's a guaranteed kill against anyone at 1x shields, and the blast radius is 1.5 WU -- about 10 feet. So you don't have to be that accurate. While most people should be familiar with how to use a rocket launcher, Marathon scoring introduces one interesting kink in using the SPNKR: kamikaze kills. Say an enemy is so close to you that the only way to kill him is to kill yourself, too. In this circumstance, it is almost always better to kill yourself and the enemy than not fire your weapon. This is because, in the end, while your score will not change (-1 for suicide, +1 for kill), your enemy's score will decrease by 1. This is basically one point in your favor (instead of two for a non-kamikaze kill -- +1 for you, -1 for him). If you hold your fire and try to back up, the enemy may kill you, and that is always bad. To maximize your accuracy, aim at the feet of the target; it's much easier to hit someone with the blast radius of a SPNKR explosion than it is to hit directly with the rocket, because they're pretty easy to avoid.

SPNKR vs. SPNKR: Ah, the classic SPNKR duel. Almost every map has rockets, so whenever you participate in a 2-player game, you can pretty much guarantee that the game boils down to SPNKR duels -- and believe it or not, there's a fair amount of strategy involved. A key element is counting rockets. A rocket pack has only two rockets, so it's easy to keep track. During the period of reloading, the enemy cannot shoot more rockets at you (obviously), which gives you an easy chance to close in the kill yourself. Rockets aren't really that hard if you see them coming and have some room to move, so ultimately, the best way to do it is to hang back until the enemy fires both of his rockets -- and then close the gap and fire both of yours before he reloads. If you fail to kill, back off again while you reload. Of course, your enemy will likely be trying a similar tactic, so it really boils down to predicting enemy movement and aiming well enough to guarantee that kill.

Beating the SPNKR: See the other weapon sections.

Misc:

• Clip size: 2 rockets
• Maximum clip capacity: 4 packs
• Average damage per shot: 275 damage
• To kill an enemy: 1 shot at red shields

Shield Canisters

Shield Canisters come in three (well, four) flavors: 1x (red), 2x (yellow), 3x (purple), and oxygen (blue). In the case of the first three, they will instantly increase your shields to that shield level (if you have less than that); for instance, a 1x Canister will set you at full red shields if you don't have that much, and so forth. The oxygen canister will replenish your oxygen if you're missing at least 10% oxygen. While you probably won't see an oxygen canister in netplay, the three shield canisters are common enough and can really skew battles in your favor. Because they instantly heal you, unlike wall-mounted rechargers, shield canisters are an extremely favorable way of replenishing yourself, and in duels, this proves to be a huge benefit. They can turn the tables -- when you were once hanging on by a thread, now you're fully healed and have an advantage. In the case of 2x and 3x Canisters, the boost is even bigger, because you can survive a rocket's explosion (but not two). You can also survive a full Shotgun blast and most of a Flamethrower tank, and you are almost impervious to fire from the other guns. Yellow and Purple Shield Canisters are some of the most desirable powerups on the field, so get them quickly!

Invisibility

Invisibility is generally a nice powerup, but its usefulness varies from map to map and from just how invisible you actually are. Unlike other powerups, you can actually collect two Invisibility powerups at once, with drastically different degrees of transparency. While one Invisibility powerup does make you invisible to the motion sensor, and transparent to some degree, you generally aren't very invisible except in very dark shadows -- you're basically a black blob, which is visible enough in brightly-lit spaces. Two Invisibility powerups, though a fairly rare sight, yield completely different circumstances. Now, instead of being dark black, you're almost completely invisible; only in very bright areas will you still be visible, and in somewhat dusky maps, you will be almost impossible to track.

While this doesn't seem to make a single Invisibility useful, it definitely doesn't hurt you. Being invisible to the motion sensor is a pretty useful trick, especially in duels, where you'll be able to escape your enemy that much more easily. And you aren't really as starkly visible as a regular marine, so there's another benefit. It does help, but don't think you're totally undetectable.

Invincibility

Invincibility is the noob's way out. With Invincibility, you are immune to every form of attack -- except for the Fusion Pistol. However, the Fusion Pistol is not a very threatening weapon, so you're generally the boss of the map for the brief duration of this powerup. Nothing else will faze you, so you had better be as aggressive and threatening as you can with your biggest gun. All you have to really worry about is Fusion -- or if someone has the foresight to knock you into a lava pit or something.

Few good maps have Invincibility, and players that use it are generally looked down upon for being noobish. They offer such an overpowering advantage that it generally destroys gameplay while the user is invincible. But aside from that, none of the maps hosted on this site have Invincibility, and very few other good maps have it at all. Even the Infinity stock maps don't use it often. Basically, stay away if you value your manliness.

Extravision (Fisheye)

The big suck! These things look just like Invisibility powerups, but instead of making you invisible, they extend your field of view from whatever it is to a much larger angle -- sort of an "anti-zoom." While extending your peripheral vision could have its benefits, it's largely outclassed by the fact that us humans are not used to seeing in fisheye vision, so the powerup is extremely disorientating. On top of that, it makes the player think he moves faster than he does, and really ruins depth perception. Almost no maps ever contain this powerup -- certainly no good ones do. If you know there's an Extravision, avoid it like the plague.

Infravision

Infravision is Marathon's hacky version of thermal vision. It turns the entire world into a tetrachromatic mess; walls are blue, allies are yellow, enemies are red, and items are green. It also negates shading and makes the world generally look like shit. Most maps don't have this by virtue of the fact that it kind of sucks. It looks like the Invisibility, and though it isn't really detrimental to the player like Extravision is, it is rare and overall not that helpful.

Dueling (EMFH, 2 players)

Dueling is a key factor of learning how to do well at netplay, but only because dueling games are so common. If you play during the afternoons, you aren't likely to find many players, so you'll be in dueling games more often. Also, when that jerk calls you out for your skills, you'll need to know how to pull a few fast ones on the enemy. Dueling tends to be the most strategic form of gameplay (outside of Capture the Flag), and the best gamers will be able to play mindgames at a much more complex level than the weaker players ever will. Most good maps designed specifically for dueling go beyond basic arena maps, and have many nooks and crannies to be exploited, so knowing the maps themselves is an equally important characteristic of good dueling.

The best way to win a duel is to try and avoid direct combat unless you know you can win. Dying puts you at a disadvantage -- more or less, depending on the map -- because suddenly your enemy has weapons, and you don't. Also, you can escape into the sidelines again and strike. So, strike like an eagle, or something. Basically, wait until your enemy heads into some vulnerable position, and then ambush him with a big gun. The concept of "holding ground" does not exist in dueling (unless the map is poor); you don't necessarily want to be in the most highly trafficked areas of the map. Lurk around, strike from behind, and then flee again. Protracted duels don't work well in your favor; you take damage, and if you can't heal, then you're weakened, and you won't be able to retain your lead.

On the other hand, though, don't camp. Don't stay in one place at all. If you camp, then your advantage via sneakiness is lost completely, because the enemy knows exactly where you are. And believe me, that's never good. Camping is pretty difficult to do well at all in Marathon, and even more so when the enemy can simply stay away from the area you're camping over. Or, he can try and jump around a corner and blow you away with a SPNKR. You can't really win if you camp in one spot. Now, if you lurk in tunnels that provide several camping spots, then you can cover more of the map. Invite the enemy into your lair, only for him to find out that you aren't there... you're around the corner, waiting with Shotguns.

Should you have to get into a face-to-face fight -- and you will, if you're playing on an arena-like map -- then you should definitely play to your strengths. If the map is poor, one weapon will be extremely powerful, and you'll basically have to use it. However, on more fair dueling maps, any of many weapons will work, and you'll be better off with your favorite gun than with what's necessarily the best. The power weapons don't necessarily dictate the game, because you don't really have to kill fast in a duel; you just want to kill safely and efficiently. In this case, your best gun is the best pick. If you are playing on a map that requires you to use rockets -- like Route 66 -- then you might be stuck, but knowing how to use rockets well is a skill you should learn anyway.

Small EMFH (3-4 players)

Small EMFH games are slightly different than duels, in that two major factors emerge and quickly change the whole game around. The first concept is known as vulturing and you should know it well. Vulturing, at its simplest form, is interrupting a duel between two players and killing them both off, taking advantage of their weakened and distracted states. This is an effective strategy, because it's an easy way to score multiple kills without too much work. In this case, you'll want to use weapons that either kill quickly (the SPNKR), or cover a lot of area at once (the Alien Weapon). While vulturing is a good strategy, it has a tendency to backfire. People might realize that you're vulturing and focus on you, for instance, and negate the whole thing.

Vulturing goes in very well to the lurking strategy listed above in the dueling section, because you have the added benefit of preying on people that aren't necessarily looking for you. On the other hand, if they are both looking for you, you might be in trouble, so you'll have to deal with more face-to-face battling than in duels, because the number of enemies has doubled. Also, favoritism toward weapons as opposed to picking the biggest and fastest gun may fade away, simply because you'll want to kill quickly to vulture effectively. At the same time, you'll have to tend to other people vulturing you at the same time -- so avoid using slow killers, like the SMG, unless you can kill effectively with them.

Ultimately, though, the same principles of dueling apply, since most of your combat will be against one person. Track your target until he's vulnerable; kill quickly and hide again; avoid direct combat with the enemy. Unless you're really good at fighting face-to-face quickly (and if you are, you probably aren't reading this); then, by all means, do that instead.

The second concept (remember, there were two) that emerges into small EMFH games is what I call leader bias. It makes perfect sense; players are going to be more interested in killing the person who's got the most points. It's strategically sound, and something you should be concerned about when you start to win. When you kill the person who's in the lead, you're now two points closer to first place than if you kill someone who's not in first place; you get one point for killing the guy, and he loses one point, making that first place slot one point lower. You should focus your energies (though not exclusively) on the person in the lead... and when you're in the lead, watch out! You'll have to pay much more attention to your immediate surroundings, since vulturing will be less effective.

Large EMFH (5 or more players)

Large EMFH games lose some of the strategic focus of smaller EMFH games and focus more on quick killing. The person that can hunt down the most people, kill them the fastest, and then move on to the next person most efficiently, will win the game. As you have more and more players in a map, even if the map is larger, camping, lurking, and vulturing will take a back seat to direct combat, simply because there are fewer and fewer places to lurk effectively without someone sneaking up on you and ruining your day. Knowing the map that you're playing on is as important here, because you'll want to know where the key areas are, how to get to them as fast as you can, and how to collect the most powerful ammo and guns along the way.

The focus on weapons also shifts even more toward the power weapons -- Shotguns, SPNKR, and TOZT, with the Assault Rifle and SMG becoming less useful. This is simply because they can't kill quickly enough without the kill being stolen by another player. You'll want weapons that have a very high rate of instantly killing your enemy. Personal safety takes a backseat because (unless the host is an idiot) you're going to be playing on maps that have a large volume of big guns, and you won't have anyone specifically hunting you down when you're at a disadvantage.

Leader bias, on the other hand, takes a much larger role, but you have to worry, because if someone gets a clear lead, it's usually because they're much better than the rest of the crowd, and they're taking advantage of the weakest players. Preying, by the way, is something that you should do often in large EMFH. Seek out players that are easy kills, and kill them a lot. One, you'll kill them before other people do, putting more points in your pockets -- and two, because they're just easy points overall. Combine that with hunting down the leader and you should be able to close the gap more easily. However, if he's that much better than you, then you don't have much hope. Once they get that 10- or 15-point lead, you're kind of stuck.

Every Team For Itself (Team EMFH)

Team EMFH is typically played with 4 or more players and usually pits even teams against eachother in large maps. Team games don't work altogether too well in Marathon, because team recognition is somewhat sub-optimal. Here's how it works: the color of a player's shirt represents that specific player. This is how normal EMFH works. However, instead of the pants matching, the pants will be a different color, representing that player's team. Team identification is based on the pants of the player, not the shirt. Couple this slightly ambiguous form of identification with the fact that friendly fire is always on without Lua interference, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

Despite this, though, team EMFH games can work very well. A good tactic is to stay together -- but not too close. Try to disorganize the enemy team, and prey on single players. Two against one generally stacks the odds heavily in the two-player group; that's one point in your team's pockets, at a minimal cost. Plus, that means you can quickly take down the other team member without interference from the first player. And so on. Alternatively, you can have players stationed at specific areas, covering each area of the map. Though this is generally more organization than people want, if done right, it can lead to excellent teamwork; two good players can cover the whole map and put the entire other team in disarray because they can never band together.

A warning though -- random games are unlikely to be team-based, and even if they are, the organization you're going to get is slim. Many people don't know how to identify teams, and team-killing is rampant. You have to tolerate this. Team-kills are overall not detrimental to your team's score, but don't do it. It's never a good thing. Stand strong and lead your team to victory; it's a lot easier when half of the other players actively do not want to kill you.

Tag

Tag sucks. It's not played very frequently, and for good reason. But here's how it works: the first person to die becomes "It." While you are It, you slowly accrue time. To become Not It, the person who's It must kill another player -- or, alternatively, someone suicides. Suicide automatically makes that player It upon respawn. If a player dies while It, they respawn still It. The map beacon will always point toward whoever is it, or be a full circle if you are It. The person who has the least time wins.

So why does Tag suck? It very greatly accentuates the difference between the good and the bad. Ultimately, the game turns into "everybody vs. the It," and for people that are less skilled, they can be It for the entire game, because they simply can't score kills. Even if they do, they'll rapidly become It again. That's not really very fair at all. Also, camping does very well, because if you stay away from the carnage, you'll never die. While this is a cheesy way to win, it sadly works. Tag isn't much fun.

King of the Hill

King of the Hill varies drastically from EMFH in that the goal is specifically to stay alive as long as you can in a very small region of the map. This region varies from map to map, and many maps aren't enabled for KOTH at all. Enough of them are, though, and while KOTH is not nearly as popular as EMFH, it is very fun, and leads to an entirely different branch of gameplay than EMFH. For instance, you can throw out all of that stuff about vulturing, avoiding face-to-face combat, and so forth. The objective is to stay on the Hill, which is usually ridiculously exposed. You aren't going to live very long, so this part of the guide is all about maximizing your score.

First of all, the value of guns changes. The SPNKR isn't so useful anymore, because unlike before, you don't really want to kamikaze. It doesn't do you any good, because you die too, and you don't score while you're dead. It's a great way to clear off the Hill, though, giving you a few seconds of breathing room when you approach... you just have to beware of other people doing the same thing to you. On the same token, though, weapons that do well in close-quarters, especially the Assault Rifle, do extremely well here. You can keep continuous fire on your enemies, who are likely no more than eight feet away from you, and your grenades can push them away from the Hill. At the same time, you don't have to reload as often, so you'll always keep your enemies under pressure.

Next, you have to focus a lot more on simply getting to the place in question, and less on getting ammo along the way. Good KOTH maps are designed with this idea in mind, and simply provide tons of ammo everywhere. However, less can be found on the Hill, so you'll have to resort to plenty of weapon juggling in order to stay alive and well-stocked. Don't dawdle while getting to the Hill; the 10 seconds you spend looking for guns may be a very decisive 10 seconds. KOTH games are usually very close, and you'll want to spend every waking second either on the Hill or finding your way back there. If you don't have any powerful weapons, use your fists; run-punching can work really well. That being said, there are two golden rules in this regard. The first is never spend more than three seconds getting a weapon, and the second is never leave the Hill.

Lastly, you have to deal with a new kind of douchebag player: the spoiler. Spoilers aren't trying to win. They know they can't hang with the other players, so rather than trying to win, they stand on some sniper ledge away from the Hill and fire on it constantly. Spoilers are difficult to kill without losing the game yourself, yet they almost entirely defeat the skill component in the first place, because you'll just die anyway. It's not much fun. I do not advocate spoiling, mostly because this is a guide about how to win and spoilers lose. However, large games usually have at least one of them, and you'll just have to tolerate their presence.

Team KOTH

Team KOTH is exactly as it sounds, though the style of gameplay is almost entirely different to that of regular KOTH, for obvious reasons. Under normal circumstances (this can be edited by Lua scripting), everyone on the Hill scores points for their team. However, this is not necessarily the best way to play, because if all of the eggs are in one basket, then they can be broken most easily (so to speak). This can be offset by using some form of tactics -- and by dividing your team, keeping other members on the prowl to intercept people heading for the Hill.

In this case, spoiling to a certain extent is permissiable, because you can still win overall even if one team member isn't on the Hill. Sending one member (of, say, three) out so they can hoard ammo and attack the other team safely is a much better strategy than sending all three to the Hill for several reasons -- one, you can safely dispatch members of the other team while they're on the Hill so your other teammates can start scoring; two, you can take down people as they head to the Hill; three, you can get lots of big guns that other players would miss in their haste. This is good in many ways, though you shouldn't devote more than one person to this. Then you just won't score very much. Otherwise, principles of regular KOTH are retained; hurry to the Hill and stay there at all costs.

Kill the Man with the Ball

Ball is a pretty simple concept. You take the Ball and you hold onto it for the most time so you can win. This, of course, has its limitations; mainly, when you are holding onto the Ball (shaped like a giant bouncing skull), you can't shoot any other weapons. On top of that, you can't run; you can only walk. Furthermore, the beacon on the motion sensor will point directly at you. In other words, you're a sitting duck, and people are going to swarm on you like fat kids on candy.

Avoiding this is simple enough. Find a safe place to hide -- one where you can see the opposition coming, but you can still make a quick getaway if you need to. Teleporters are great in this regard, because you can't get shot through a teleporter. When the opposition comes, rather than simply running away, drop the ball (press fire) and draw your big gun. The enemy player will probably try to grab the ball himself; at this point, promptly kill him and take the ball. Then leave through your exit route and move somewhere else. It's not too hard to keep a hold on the ball, and if you're skillfull, you'll build a very large lead rapidly enough.

Capture the Flag

Note: this section assumes you're using the CTF Script and a special set of maps (like Magenta Filter).

Capture the Flag -- the most teamwork-oriented gametype and one of the most fun. The objective is to take the enemy's flag (represented by a miscellaneous item, see below) and return it to your flag base, while preventing the enemy from doing the same thing. In this gametype, all members of a team are represented by the same shirt color -- but if they're carrying the opposing team's flag, they'll be wearing a white shirt. This allows you to easily distinguish the important characters.

An example of a blue team's base. The blue team's flag is represented by the S'pht Card Key there on the blue square, which is the base to which you must return the enemy's flag. You want to prevent the opposing team from getting this flag.

An example of a red team's base. Their flag is an Uplink Chip. In both of these pictures, notice the handy scorekeeper on the top of the screen (yes, the pics are minimized...). It says 0/5, meaning that each team has captured 0 of the 5 flags required to win. The solid square adjacent to the score means that the flags are in their proper place -- that is, the flag base.

An opposing team member has taken the blue flag from the pedestal, and his shirt has turned white. Notice that the blue square in the corner has now become a flag, meaning that the flag has been taken. If the icon is a big X, it means that the flag has been dropped somewhere. To return the flag to its pedestal, simply touch it, and it will return automatically. Remember that you can't score points if your team's flag is missing, so you'd better go return your flag!

You'll always have indicators judging how far away you are from the enemy flag. The Oxygen Meter shows distance; an empty bar means you're very far, a full one means you're basically on top of it. Also, the motion sensor's beacon will point towards it.