Guide:Dominating Kill Creek

This guide is for players that have at least intermediate skill in long range combat. Please review the map article or general sniping guides if you are a beginner.

Kill Creek is a very popular map. This guide is meant to walk you through the maps fundamentals of sniping, counter-sniping, ambushing and understanding the terrain of Kill Creek with or without team support. The central strategy focuses on the lower portion of the map. Sniper tactics in Kill Creek can differ from tactics snipers employ on other maps due in part to Kill Creeks large size. This also opens the door for more realistic strategies rather then just using your bolt-action sniper as a shotgun. Another interesting scenerio that happens here more than in any other map is the 1 vs 1 sniper duel. We'll get into that soon.

"All war is deception. -Sun Tzu"

Vantage Points
Vantage points are spots on the map where the player is able to set up camp whilst keeping a low profile or maintaining a large view of the surrounding area to reduce the risk of getting killed by sharpshooters closing in.

Choking Points
A choke point is either a spot on the map where opposing sides clash or one side gains strategic control over the opposition through terrain advantage. A player can camp/patrol multiple choke points for a continuous source of fresh kills. Note that this guide does not display all high value choke points in kill creek; only those with a strategic importance towards the lower map.

Flow
A maps flow is the manner in which the environment was designed to give advantages and disadvantages to opposing sides. Kill Creek is a pretty symmetrical map and only the lower cliff mound on bravo gives it a tiny advantage with an extra vantage point. The upper map flows in a very linear fashion with the bridge being a very long choke point for rushers; everyone else picks a rock and camps. On the lower map however, their is more variation in flow as players can slide down the cliff through several paths and use them to flank. The stairs also serve as important vantage points that can control much of the surrounding area on the lower map, though camping on the stairs repetitively will get you flanked. One contradiction to the Kill Creek map design is the effect of the players on the upper cliffs and train/rails not gaining any form of height advantage over players on the lower map due to the constant counter-sniper fire being exchanged from both spawn areas. This gives players on the lower map the edge over any enemies attempting to cross the bridge too slowly, snipers hopping on the rails, snipers using the catwalk ladders, and snipers on the cliffs that stick their neck out too far. The lower map has way more options.

Cover
The upper map has its rocks that most people love so much. When threatened from a rush coming up their stairs they become sitting ducks essentially. All that time spent focusing on the other side is put to waste. Thats where the players that patrol the lower map come in, they obstruct any waves of rushers from reaching their stairs; they have to. The diagram displays several choke points in the the creek area which are guarded by rocks, terraces, and mounds. The large mound on bravo for example can even be used to snipe an enemy sniper near the far left of their spawnpoint provided that you have a high powered rifle with minimal damage drop off. Additionally their are two small/roomish indentations under the creek bridge that can be used to hide and ambush players, bonus if you can use the awareness ability to hear them coming.

Gambit
A gambit move is associated with playing extremely skilled opponents. In order to formulate a good strategy for Kill Creek you have to know how your enemy is playing, his habits, his style and his errors. A quick way to test the way your enemy plays is to offer him a few free kills. This will let you know how he intends to play and will also probably lead him to underestimate you. Which is good. Gambits are not necessary if you know for a fact your enemy does not fair well on large maps like Kill Creek.

Short Flank
A short flank is a small and fast maneuvering around an enemy. Flanking someone behind a rock, on a rock, in the creek are the most common short flanks on this map. One of the most useful short flanks is outflanking an enemy coming up the terrace leading to your stairs by dropping down the right side of your stairs and quickly maneuvering  down the opposite side of the creek and up the same terrace. A faster short flank can also be used to trap an incoming rusher. If you get killed by him simply wait a couple seconds for him to reach the base of your stairs. As he starts climbing up drop down the rightside of the stairs and follow up behind him as he reaches your spawn, you'll be in such close proximity that you can choose to knife him in the back, always brings laughs.

Long Flank
Unlike a Short flank, their is more risk involved with a long flank, but with risk comes reward. Scenerio 1# their are three enemies in the creek and you were just killed by them. Two are still near their spawns cliff base and one is rushing hard. What you have to do is strafe from your spawn to the other side of your cliff, while you strafe in a horizontal motion you can also choose to kill anyone trying to rush the train/rails quite easily since their aiming at the people camping the spawn, they don't expect you. Once you reach the left side of your cliff drop down to the ledge thats almost touching the bridge, then drop down to another ledge to the left of that ledge. '''You must be very careful. Hug the cliff wall while you drop to the second ledge or you could incure serious fall damage.''' Once on the second ledge you have the support of the tree canopy to camouflage you from anyone on the right lower map. Now you can proceed to kill those 2 on the left side of the enemy cliff base. Be sure to check no one is behind the rock by your stairs, and the other guy that was rushing should be reaching the stairs by now. Just wait for him and kill him as he start sprinting up the last flight of stairs to the top. Mission accomplished. The blue square near the spawn on the diagram represents this long flank and the two green squares the ledges you must connect too. Not the easiest flank and you probably will incure some fall damage from hopping down cliff ledges while sprinting at first, but remember all you have to do is hug the cliff wall and you won't incure damage. Just Practice.

Full Flank
A full flank in Kill Creek is when you outflank an enemy (usually group of enemies) by traversing to their side of the map and then coming up completely behind anyone on the lower map patroling or rushing. This can be done in many ways but none are very easy. It can most easily be done when playing with smaller teams since theirs less people to cover their flanks. In large rooms you can manuever an aggressive rush up their stairs, wait a couple seconds if you know some people are about to drop down the cliff, then rush the spawn. Use the rock by their stairs as cover but be sure to kill anyone directly in front of you. Proceed to kill from right to left, on a rare occasion their might be someone waiting for you behind the train, start with campers on their left cliff (Remember to use the rock as cover or the campers near the spawn might see you first) and then strafe around the rock and kill the rest near the spawn. Jump back down their left cliff in the same manner you would do a long flank on your side and come up behind any enemy players on the lower map. Killing players with their backs turned to you should be easy. Thats why its called a FULL Flank. You are completely behind them. Tip: Try to pack a hard hitting assault rifle when rushing the spawn. AK varients or G36E are recommended. It will kill them faster. If you try to spray them with SMG's you will run out of rounds fast and lose your momentum. Remember that you'll probably be killing many campers in only a few seconds so you must have plenty of ammo and firepower.

Denied Area
Area denial is used to obstruct an enemy from his path. The main weapons used for this tactic are grenades, mines, and more grenades. Grenades should not be used with the sole intent to kill. Its great if you manage to blow someone up but the real purpose behind this is to distract/occupy the approaching enemy to give you just enough time to outflank him in medium to close ranges. Scenerio 2# A rusher is sprinting up the creek towards your stairs. You are on the second flight of stairs and throw a grenade in his path. A dumb enemy will keep coming at you or even worse, run in the opposite direction. A smart enemy will strafe to the side once the nade is in his path. Once he has strafed you strafe too, but at a wider angle at the base of your stairs. The explosion near him will obstruct his view and give you the time you need to land a killshot. Mines are useful too. The best way to ruin your opponents day is to rush the creek and plant your mines on their first flight of stairs. Anyone trying to come down will trip them. If they're sliding off the cliff simply plant them right alongside their cliff walls. The enemy will learn to avoid these areas or waste time trying to destroy the mines. Precious time they could have used to kill you.

Sniper vs Sniper
Sniper duels are the most common thing in Kill Creek. Remember that everything about this map leads back to the terrain. The Diagram marks several advantagous vantage points with green squares. Take advantage of these spots by camping and patroling them. If your fighting an enemy with dumb snipers you shouldn't have to move around too much. Pick a spot and set up camp. However if your fighting a team with good snipers you're going to want to change your spot everytime you get a kill or risk having your position comprised. Rotate through your sides vantage points on the diagram, you'll notice they have a circular path. Choking points are by far the easiet kills. There are 3 main choke points on the lower map: stairs, rock and terrace. They are the blue squares on the diagram. The arrows point towards points on the map where the enemy can most likely be found rushing, or attempting to camp. Sniping from your second flight of stairs can be easy, the only thing you have to master is peripheral vison in order to distinguish small details through the tree vegitation. You therefore have a choke on anyone coming down their stairs or left cliff, if you're spotted simply go up your stairs and mesh in with the tree canopy around them. The rock choke point is even easier, its basically a funnel that brings anyone coming down their first flight of stairs straight to your crosshairs. They also have limited vision due to the trees and the rock you're behind. Many snipers use this tactic but some overdue it and spend the entire game on that spot. If you see an enemy attempting this simply slide down the right cliff, go down the creek, manuever around the rock and knife them. They deserved it if they decided to camp the same spot all game. The terrace choke point can be used as an alternative to to rock by killing the enemy at their second flight of stairs, though your chances of being spotted are greater. The terrace choke point also allows you to pick off those annoying people that like to jump on the rails and snipe. Simply aim at them as they jump on and they will get shot off the bridge, same goes for campers hiding on the catwalk stairs, or anyone dumb enough to poke their head out of the train cart. The arrows in the diagram can be seen pointing towards the bridge and stairs. Smarter players will catch on to you burdening their choke points and attempt to counter-snipe you. This is really when you have to know how to snipe, since your cover is blown. A common method is the quickscope/bunnyhop combination. Quickscope/quickswitch and hop to the side if you miss. If the other sniper starts doing this hop at an angle instead, will throw his aim off. Being able to hardscope effectively can often be better then being able to quickswitch like a pro in kill creek. Longer ranges means more strain in your aim. Nonetheless most still stick with quickscoping and end up with negative KDR's. Here is why hardscoping is better in kill creek: most pro quickscopers used low sensitivities to control their linear lock-in speed and guess the spot the enemy will be at before aiming. Its a great skill though constant elevation changes, trees, and open ranges come in to play Kill Creek. This causes many problems for quickscopers as they have to yank their mice to adjust aim. Higher then normal sensetivities are recommended with hardscoping (around 16). This is the true form of sniping. Its no different then sniping in real life. Find the target, learn to lead them according to their speed and align the crosshairs. Some hardscopers in kill creek prefer to sway their cross hairs back towards the target they were leading instead of waiting for their crosshairs to align. This makes for extremely fast kills on multiple moving targets. Beware though, you have to learn to adjust your aim to track the targets speed. Faster targets require wider parameter leads then slower ones. Don't forget that.

Non-Sniper vs Sniper
You don't have to have a sniper to play well in Kill Creek. As a matter of fact most counter-sniping tactics use long range AR's like MK14 Mod 0, F2000, G36E, AN-94 Tactop, M4A1 SOPMOD. What this type of marksman will due is patrol the bottom of the creek for snipers dropping down. High rates of fire combined with high damage will cause a sniper to flinch while aiming, aslong as you always hit first. Since your position will be given away easier with an AR, many players use guerrilla tactics. Kill, retreat, repeat. One of the better spots to hide is in that indentation under the creek bridge. Once you hear footsteps you can pop up and ambush with ease, the longer you wait the more enemies you can catch by surprise. Attempting a full flank is also easier if your not trying to concentrate on just sniping.



Loadouts
The gear you carry is important. It is recommended you avoid heavy snipers unless your camping base, even then heavy snipers tend to have plenty of recoil. Go for the lightest rifles you can find. Try not to stick with l96 variets too much since they tend to miss. DSR's and TPG's are best along with quickswitching. Use top speed gear if you plan to move around a lot. You can tank a little if you're playing a team thats camping hard, though it doesn't really make a difference. Use long range assault rifles, avoid weaker ones in the SGG series though, even the Mark II's have damage drop off. '''Camouflage that fits the setting is important. '''Wearing arctic camo under tree vegitation will get you spotted quickly and good players won't miss. Try to silence all your weapons. Stealth reigns supreme in Kill Creek. If you use abilities Awareness/Specter/Steady Hand are recommended.

Gameplay Psychology
Sniping has always had psychology involved. Its important to remember this in Kill Creek since it moves at a slower pace then other maps. If you like a challenge and join rooms filled with people who only play this map you're going to need to be sharp and adaptable. Its OK if you start off on a losing streak, losing gives you a chance to recognize why you failed and the opponent won. Adjust your tactics and loadout. Play him again until you beat him. Use gambits, recognize bad player habits and exploit them. If you see a sitting duck sniper don't shoot him, but knife him instead. It sends a messege across to the other player letting him know that your going to give him a hard time and that he won't be able to slack off and simply pick on the unexperienced players. He'll have to deal with you, and if he ignores you he'll end up negative. Pick up enemy weapons. If you see someone with a high rank showboating and killing with an M16, pick up his M16 and kill him with it. The point is made.