User blog:AraedonMelias/Friday Firefights

=Papa Server=                  This morning’s fun started off in the Papa server. I thought this would be a good way to level up as it had more people in it than Jackson. Other recent matches in Jackson have been plagued with hackers. Another feature of the Papa server is that your KDR isn’t affected. My load out on my alternate account consists of the Hot Shot weapons. I figured the reduced recoil would help make the SG550 a better gun. I wasn’t wrong. Once I equipped an ACOG and Extended Mag 1 on the weapon it became fairly usable in Papa. The host of the room I played in did not have Super Soldier turned on and explosives turned off so gameplay was more balanced.



=Junk Flea 2=                  As soon as I logged in I got an invite to an Elimination match by a Lieutenant. We started the match with 2 vs. 2 and as play went on more people joined. Using my SG550 Hot Shot I was able to hang back and play defensively as suggested in a few YouTube video reviews of the weapon. I believe that Alpha side may actually have a defensive advantage in this map. There are a number of vantage points that have very long and crisscrossing fields of fire that provide good cover as well. I managed to get approximately 28 kills and 16 deaths this match. Not only that but Alpha team pulled off the win. This garnered me around 400 Experience and about 300 Gear Points thanks to my EXP/GP passes.



=Cold Seed=                  I stayed in the room and the Lieutenant changed the map to Cold Seed. I knew this one would be difficult from the start as I was on Alpha Team, but I stuck it out. Alpha is at a major disadvantage in this map. At a minimum Alpha must hold the Silo and the facility the Silo is connected to via the walkway to do well. Even then it is very difficult not to get spawn camped on Alpha side. Bravo side as approximately five ways to get mid-field, while Alpha has only three. If Bravo were to get spawn camped, they still have three exits from spawn while Alpha is limited to two. Lock those two down and you are pretty much guaranteed the win. With the reduced recoil, my SG550 was a surgical scalpel and I was able to effectively engage a number of targets fairly easily at range. Unfortunately Bravo gained a VERY effective sniper with an M99 Bigshot, I believe. They also positioned two people with MG’s to cover our two egresses. We got HOSED and Alpha team lost the match. I finished that game with about 26 kills and 30+ deaths, definitely not a strong finish. Even though my showing wasn’t very good I did rank up to PFC2 so I’m happy over all.



=Weapons=                  The weapon that I used the most during my matches today was the SG550 Hot Shot. I had very few occasions to use the MSG90 Hot Shot. My firefights in Junk Flea 2 were medium to close range. In Cold Seed, even though snipers can be very effective, we were pinned down and the AR was more effective in trying to break out of spawn and make some headway. I would still suggest tap firing the SG550 because with a whole magazine less than other AR’s and such low damage you need to make the ammo count. I ran out of ammo a number of times and had to pick up dropped weapons or use my pistol. It is definitely NOT a good AR to rush with due to the low damage, low ammo count, and low portability. A fair amount of my kills were headshots thanks to the high accuracy of the gun. I would suggest putting the ACOG’s red dot at approximately shoulder to neck level if possible.



=Tactics= Always reload behind cover especially with the Extended Mag 1 making the reload even longer. Taking a shot at an unaware target at a distance as they approach is not always the best tactic with such a low damage AR. A few times I waited for the enemy to pop around the corner to get the drop on them. If they know you are there because you opened fire you lose the element of surprise. Once you lose the element of surprise then the SG550 will typically lose the firefight. A few times I dropped back behind cover a little farther than I had to when reloading. When the enemy came to engage, I wasn’t where they expected and was fully reloaded by the time they arrived. This happened in both matches and appeared to be fairly effective.



=Player Spotlight= I would like to thank the Lieutenant that hosted the matches. We had no hackers as far as we knew and the gameplay was pretty balanced. I will be more diligent in the future to get the IGN of those people I feel deserve a spotlight if they consent to it.

