A Javelin’s Perspective - Written by cRaZi

[soup]

I once told him about this document and he was alright with me making a new thread about it, enjoy.




Created on June 2nd in 2006

Message From The Creator:

This is not going to help you Javelin better. This is not going to suddenly make you elite. In fact, most of this document you may think is bullshit. But all I am providing for you is another view of playing the Javelin.

I have a very unique style of playing and would just like to provide insight in how I play. I do not claim to be the best player or even a very elite one. But I have been playing since January 1st, 2000 and will show you the knowledge I have gained since then.

Of course, you need to be playing and practicing to get better. Period.


BITS OF WISDOM I HAVE PICKED UP

When I had first joined Pure Luck in 2000, one of the people I had looked up to was a player named “Mjollnir”. I asked him, “What is the best way of dodging a bullet? (in Warbird)”. He replied, “The best way is to not allow yourself to be shot.”

What Mjollnir had meant is to not even allow any possible angle for a kill. This had me thinking (especially if I can still remember this tip from him). I began to change my entire perspective on playing and have lived by that motto for my dodging since I heard it.

Phyre, one of my longest SS contacts, had given me some advice on Javelins:

“Javs are Ez. Just stay away from the walls and you’ll be good.”

Some other influences on Javs that I have learned from are these players and the strengths I have observed (there are MANY I have learned from but here is what I can think of off the top of my head):

Domi: Patience
TheSerpentMage: Advanced Shooting
Scuzzy Sureshot: Advanced Shooting / Weakness Reading
Blood: Rushing
Rough: Weakness Reading / Consistency
Plague Rabbit: Aim / Advanced Shooting
DanyalDenyo: Aim / Advanced Shooting / Weakness Reading / Abuse of Lag
Louis XV: Consistency
Fireballz: Teamwork

Thundermare: Advanced Shooting / Aim / Converting Pub Skills Into Competition Skills

And many, many more.

You may not agree with me on these players, but this is what I have learned from them.


Simple Tips For The Impatient

1.) Never shoot unless you are 100% sure you will do an effect.
2.) Stay away from any possible angles that may cause harm.
3.) Be alert at all possible ways of killing. (And killing YOU)
4.) Always go for the shot with the least possible chance of failure.
5.) One life may end up winning the game.

These are very general and simple tips that I try to follow. It is easier said than done but not impossible to accomplish.


Basic Skills / Environment Awareness

Javelin is a ship that requires high control and observation. You must always be in-control of your ship as well as knowing all of your surroundings. Just as you dodge a possible radar shot in warbird, you must dodge any possible shots preemptively.

Example 1:



(PICTURE ABOVE)
2dragons is in the weaker position.
The most efficient way for 2dragons to escape without death is to fly toward the east wall and get onto the other side (possibly north of it).
However, seeing his momentum, he may be able to kill DanyalDenyo before DD gets a chance to shoot.
You must weigh the risks and what point of the game is needed if a suicide would be possible.

My Strategy (As 2Dragons)
I would go straight north and east a bit, then wait to see exactly what Danyal does. If he attempts to claim my position, I will have many options reserved to me for killing him. I can bomb the niche in the square, do a sideways bomb off the 1 tile of the north wall exploding on the east wall, or hit him directly with bullets and follow with a bomb.
However, most decent players will not follow as it is an obvious trap.

Example 2:



(PICTURE ABOVE)
Rocket Soldier does not have many options as he is in a terrible situation. PPk is destined for bombing the shit out of Rocket in this position. However, there is a possible chance of escape for Rocket as long as he can outwit PPk.

Looking at the momentum of PPk can tell a lot. First, PPk is at an awkward angle for downward shots. Rocket may attempt to escape south by hugging the southern wall as he heads down. Most likely, he will be damaged but may possibly survive and have enough to rebuttal with bullets. But the most plausible route would be to head north against PPk’s momentum (MAKING SURE NOT TO GET TOO CLOSE TO ANY WALL and hope that PPk misses. PPk would have to be a good shot to nail Rocket and if Rocket makes it difficult to read exactly what speed and momentum he will be heading, PPk will miss as he would have to do a backwards shot.
Most in this situation (supposing they had full energy) would most likely bullet PPk and cause a suicide. Some would bomb for further confirmation. Survival rate in Rocket’s case is low if PPk is a good player.


My Strategy

If I were in Rocket’s position, I would definitely bullet and hope that PPk chickens out. Then follow with a bomb.


Example 3:



(Picture Above)

This is a standoff. Both opponents have almost equal opportunity to escape and kill. For cRaZi, he is in the disadvantaged position because of all the walls surrounding him, but he can also utilize this incase the opponent attempts to enter his position.

There are a variety of outcomes from this scenario.

My Strategy

I would defend my position by holding the exact spot I am located. There is no possible way for Shaguar to hit me without shooting an easily dodged shot or entering my position. If he gets too close to the wall, he will get bombed heavily and most likely bulleted. If he attempts to cross the path by heading north away from the center wall, I would head south and stay away from any possible walls he may explode upon. (I would zig zag away from the right obstacle (below the square box) and then head torward the right wall once I cleared the obstacle and continue until I had cleared the position. Then I would possibly wait for his response if he chose to pursue me or if he decided to go the other direction.

[soup]

Example 4:




(Picture Above)

It may appear as if Tibro may have the best position, but in actuality, Lordy is the one who has the upper hand. Tibro cannot hit Lordy if he dodges to the right without doing an easily dodged shot or entering his position. Lordy on the other hand may hit Tibro (with Advanced Shooting) at any of the walls surrounding him. Tibro’s best bet would be to advance at Lordy and follow through, forcing Lordy to either suicide or head right. If Lordy chooses left, he may possible be killed. In this particular picture, Tibro is attempting to bomb the Reverse L shaped corner in an attempt to ward off Lordy. Unfortunately, this is a bad maneuver since Lordy has plenty of room to dodge (and not to mention energy). This is a Vulch Manuever only and should not be used often.

The best shot Tibro could do is to attempt to either shoot the right wall, hitting the lower left entrance (if he see’s Lordy attempting to rush through) or by bulleting down and attempting to rush Lordy. There are many other shots of course, but these are reasonably easy to pull off.

My Strategy

If I were Tibro, I would attempt to read my opponent. If he is truly heading left, he may be able to rush through. My shot would be a vertical shot bouncing slightly off the left entrance wall hitting the south wall. If he was heading right, I would bullet the possible pathway (therefore disabling it in most cases) and attempt to hit him either bouncing a bomb on the various walls toward his general area or by attempting to hit him directly. Either way, I would most likely be protected (unless I were an idiot and hugged the wall).


Useful Shots
(Videos Captured By: Abos )

(Video 1: http://www.fucksubspace.com/videos/crazi1.avi )

In Video 1, You can see how I use my momentum to throw a bomb at someone. I will bounce off any tile I can get a hold of to immediately kill but still keep my distance. These shots are extremely useful in almost any situation. Just be careful not to go onto a tile which is being bombed.

(Video 2: http://www.fucksubspace.com/videos/crazi2.avi )

In Video 2, You can see how I do a vertical side bomb to hit the floor next to someone. This is a VERY common shot and also very successful. They can be done in horizontal or vertical positions next to any wall. Try to always do a wall shot with these and have the destination of your bomb into a wall next to the opponent.

(Video 3: http://www.fucksubspace.com/videos/crazi8.avi )

In Video 3, You can see a very useful shot to keep distance from opponents by threatening their territory. If they pursue you past the wall, you may do these type of shots to ward them off, kill them or damage them at least. This still provides a good separation between you and the enemy (DO NOT PREFORM THIS SHOT IF ENEMY HAS FIRED)
This type of shot capitalizes on a short distance for guaranteed success.

(Video 4: http://www.fucksubspace.com/videos/crazishot6.wmv )

In Video 4, You can see a reversed shot against a wall. This can be a great vulch maneuver and also allows you for a quick escape. If you are really skilled, you may perform this shot without ever touching the wall at all while heading the opposite direction. If there’s any shot you want to perfect, this one is very useful.



Conclusion

Hopefully, you have received some insight at least on how I would play most situations. Of course, you have to actually play to really develop any skills, but observation and a little nudge always helps.
Good luck on your Javelin Method and I hope to play against you soon.


-cRaZi

[soup]

Obviously the link don't work anymore but that doesn't matter.

[Edify]

LOL way to go with what I wrote on ina's thread. All you did was manage to find the file, but I guess you deserve some congratulations for doing exactly that.

[LaG KiLLeR]

This methodology deserves no credibility as it failed to enhance soupero and edify's javelin skills!

[soup]

LOL way to go with what I wrote on ina's thread. All you did was manage to find the file, but I guess you deserve some congratulations for doing exactly that.

Wait what? Why are you saying '' all you did was ...'', fuck that shit.



I didn't read your post in that thread, just a coincidence. I still had that file on my harddrive.

[jngy slate]

Thanks for posting this. I wish there were more of these ship based tutorials. I've only seen one more besides this one, for wb. Eventually I'll make one for terr.. eventually. When I learn to base. B)

[Downfall]

^----- Noah> there are no pubbers on this forums ..... (or something along the lines of.)

[Jones]

Thanks for posting this. I wish there were more of these ship based tutorials. I've only seen one more besides this one, for wb. Eventually I'll make one for terr.. eventually. When I learn to base. B)

there are tutorials on the tw.org mainpage, 2 min search gives you Lunch3's spidertutorial too

[MaGi kOz]

If it could happen, then it just might.

In your peripheral vision, you are looking at the most hostile movements. The ones with their noses facing you while heading in your direction are the ones you should be looking after. The best kinds of attacks are the surprise attacks. They think you're fighting someone else when in fact, you were just waiting for them to move into position. Knowing your javelin shots is essential. There are typical wall formations that provide a typical outcome in a javelin shot. Moving constantly in a non-duel situation (when you're not particularly fighting somebody else one on one.) will help to ensure that you will always find action and that you will never be in somebody's cross hair at all times. Once you find somebody moving into the direction of a particular shot that you're approaching, it's only a matter of AIM and GETTING AWAY. Getting kills is always second to surviving. Jav bullets and bombs are typically (from a standstill) slow and are easy to predict and dodge. All it takes is patience when it comes to surviving and not overdoing it. By that I mean it's unnecessary to run if nobody is shooting at you, for example. You just might end up running into someone with full energy while you just wasted your energy thrusting away. Never find yourself directly facing another javelin unless you've got more energy than he does - Simply because if you had less energy, he'll be able to get his bomb off before you can. Thrust (shift) is best used to escape FIRST and kill LAST. Bulleting someone with, presumably, full energy puts him in a slight disadvantage as you as far as energy goes. Using thrust to catch up to him to bomb him puts YOU at the disadvantage.

I'm going to sleep. afk.

[inaphyt]

In a jav you must bare in mind that you have 1100 to fire a bomb. Sometimes if you thrust at the opponent and fire quite far away it catches them offguard.

I disagree with this guide however. Only use bullets when there's not enough for a bomb. Get good at aiming bombs and you'll better that the player that learns to aim bullets.

[Turban]

I should not check the forums when I am tired.. this is why..

Javelin is probably the easiest ship to learn yet the hardest one to master. I have three rules of thumb that are quite handy for elimination games such as Baseelim and hosted events. I will try to explain them in detail --

1. Do not overuse your afterburners:
   To put it bluntly, overusage of afterburners can have catastrophical consequences. When you are chasing an enemy (or running away from one) you have to know when to use your afterburners to optimise your energy recharge. Also, well planned bullets are an excellent way to provide additional protection or distraction / damage to your enemy, depending on the situation you are in.
   
   For starters I would advise you to not use afterburners unless you are either in imminent danger or your enemy is running away at low energy. By doing this, you will slowly learn when to use and when not to use your afterburners and it will also improve your dodging, running and chasing skills. There is only one way to get better at this, and that is to practise and get some experience in the game itself. In my opinion, knowing how to effectively use your energy is one of the most important things to learn in this ship.
2. Pay attention to your surroundings:
   Are you tired of being vulched every single time you fire a bomb? Or would you rather want to learn how to vulch and gain kills easily?
   
   There is an easy answer for both questions; simply open up your eyes and pay attention to your surroundings. It is important to know where your enemy is located and where they are heading to at all times. When you learn how to do both of those things simultaneously, you can try to pay attention to the energy of your enemies to make it easier to decide whether to take an offensive or defensive approach when someone is heading towards you.
   
   You should never place yourself in a position where you are in immidate danger, such as in a position between two players close to your ship. To prevent this from happening, you have to learn how to position your ship better or take advantage of the situation and revert it from 2vs1 to 1vs1vs1 to gain a slight advantage.
   
   You should not follow blindly your enemy as there is a high chance that you will be either vulched (unless it is a 1vs1 duel) or killed by the one that you are chasing. Always keep a moderate distance (this way you have more time to react for sudden changes) when chasing your opponent and keep an eye on other players as they might try to vulch you.
3. Keep it as simple as possible:
   You must not attempt to do nearly impossible shots that have close to zero chance of succeeding. There is always a chance that you will end up damaging your own ship, thus making yourself vulnerable for vulchers.
   
   Keep it as simple as possible. Shooting straight (yet aimed) bombs and bullets is the best way to gain kills. Run when you're at a disadvantage, unless you are confident about your skills, and take advantage when you see an enemy with low energy in front of you. Show no mercy, vulching is part of the game.

When you die, you could try asking yourself two simple questions..

# Why did that happen?
# What can I do to prevent it from happening again?

This is something that I am not doing, but it should be helpful at the beginning to think about the things and trying to correct your flaws. I do not have the slightest interest of getting any better in this ship, but for the few of you that want to... think before acting. Patience is a virtue, as they say.

I am not claiming to be an expert of this ship, in fact I have realised a long time ago that I am not among the greatest players. I have my major flaws that I do not intend to fix any time soon, and that's all there is to it.

These hints are mostly for elimination styled events, and should not be applied to TWD / TWL if you ask me. Being good at teaming is the key part of team games, and to be honest.. teaming is something I can't talk about, as I suck at it.. actually.. I am probably among the worst teamers in this game.

Random Facts & Hints a'la Turban:

# You can shoot two bombs within five seconds if you shoot the first one with full energy.
# Bullets do EXACTLY 520 damage to your opponent unless the arena has Random Damage settings.
# You can shoot a bomb almost immediately after catching a bullet at full energy.
Most players fail to realise this and will not move away from your bomb on time.

@ Firing a Level 1 Bomb takes 1100 Energy.
@ Firing a Level 1 Bullet takes 300 Energy.
@ It takes roughly ten seconds to get full energy from 0 Energy.

post scriptum: fúck you American English. it's time to use British English for once in a while. BLOODY HELL!

post post scriptum: tired. should never log on to the forums when I am tired.. never.. again..

[Funk]

You forgot best team Crazi and Web j/k.
The only problem with people is they think their to good and all their deaths are strays/vulch/luck. When they get there head out of their ass they'll get better.If they have to keep making excuses they'll never realize how flawed they are and never learn from there mistakes.


Web

[Infrared]

Radar-

Watching the radar for enemy/team movement provides me some of the best opportunities for kills. That sniper that thinks he is safe lobbing offscreen is in trouble if you can anticipate his bomb by watching his movement on radar, and either lobbing a bomb near him or rushing his side.