FPS Esports For Beginners – Skills
Welcome ladies and gents to another entry in our FPS Esports for beginners series. In this edition, we’re going to be talking about some of the different skills you need to be aware of when it comes to competing in a first-person shooter arena.
Every FPS is different, so naturally, each game has some skills individual to it, and more pressingly, some skills are more important than others in certain areas. Regardless of all these conditionals, there are some fundamental skills that lay at the foundation of every FPS out there, and that’s what we’re here to help you with today.
When equipped with the knowledge that we are about to impart onto you, you can make the conscious decision when it comes to practice with regards to what skills to be working on.
Skills
Gun Skill:
Gun skill, believe it or not, is what we call your ability to handle your weapon, and mostly, how good you are in a firefight. There are various different skills and fundamentals that go into firefight ability, so don’t get the two mixed up, gun skill is purely weapon-based.
It’s all about how well you know your weapon. Most importantly, how well you can control the recoil. Not only do you need to be aware of the recoil pattern and tendencies of your gun, but you need to be able to control it both at short and long-range. Ammo awareness is also important, but significantly less so.
Game Knowledge:
Game knowledge is filling in the gaps that other individual skills leave out. It’s all about how well you know the ins and outs of the game, the technical and tricky parts, the little niches, and situational nuggets of info that are going to make a difference.
Things like range falloff apply here, as in, how many bullets it takes to kill an enemy at different ranges. Interactions come in here too, and how certain things, like smoke negating Molotovs, come into play.
Map Knowledge:
If game knowledge is strictly about knowledge of game mechanics, map knowledge is how well you know certain maps, and how to play them. This starts out with understanding a maps layout, the basic three-lane structure, as well as any areas to cross over.
That is followed up by knowledge of flanking routes and choke points. These are areas of high risk, so being aware of them is going to help. Lastly, rotation knowledge is key to map control. Understand how and when to move around a map, and your gameplay should see a massive improvement.
Situational Awareness:
Situational awareness is how well you understand what is going on when you’re in the thick of it. When you’re concentrating on a firefight, you need to be constantly analyzing your situation and taking in information from your teammates.
Are you holding one bombsite by yourself, fighting off an attack, before realizing that your mid push isn’t covered and that you need to turn around? That’s situational awareness, being aware of possibilities and threats based on the situation you find yourself in.