Controlling weapons in xonotic

Is this a valid strategy at high level? I had an interesting match earlier on final rage where I was able to win against a player with good devastator aim by camping next to the 100 armor and keeping the devastator on cooldown. I think you could also pull it off with the mortar since the mega and large armor are nearby.

Item respawn is rather fast, so really controlling weapons sort of pinpoints you to a position. It can be a worthwile strategy, though. I remember controlling the only vortex on aurora (I think that's the name, big very open ctf map) for quite a while much to the annoyance of good vortexers for the sole purpose of making the map playable for less skilled players. Or I often pick up vortex after fragging someone on final rage. But really controlling a weapon constantly will allow the opponent to stack too much.

Will it though? at least in finalrage you can control mortar and mega+large and with devastator you can control heavy armor. which means you should have even stack unless he shards up too much.

Excessive weapon control is not really a thing. The weapons respawn relatively fast (10 seconds), so once you make the move to one of the Megas (more important) you have to leave the position.
However if you figure out that a player it just strong with a certain weapon, it is a very valid strategy to keep him away from it as long as possible.

I've stolen just-spawned powerful weapons with nearly no health, then switched away so it's not the weapon that gets dropped when I die many times. It's sometimes useful as a pinch move to starve someone off a particular weapon so that you have a chance to turn the tide when you respawn without getting immediately fragged. It's not really a great ongoing strategy though.

Yea mirio. I tried it against someone good with both mortar and dev and it's only a matter of time. But it definitely stops mortar dev spam rape when I don't have an mg to defend myself with

It kind of works against people who depend on one type of weapon, but it becomes a riskier tactic the more experience your opponent has. You can also just deny the opponent going towards the dev in first place, at the very least punish them every time they go for it and try not to lose your composure even if they get it. It's noticeably easier to deal damage to opponents who's moves you can predict and you can exploit this usually whether or not you're directly in front of their objective. You should also train to be comfortable fighting against rockets. When they eventually do get the weapon then simply do the same thing, but with armor and healths - deny them and punish the opponent at every attempt to grab them. Stay patient and don't make it a priority to rush the opponent as soon as they get the weapon they're good at, it would in turn only make your moves more predictable.

Speaking of which, how are you supposed to deal with rockets? Since they can curve and detonate midair it feels like there really isn't much you can do to avoid getting hit. Mortars are pretty hard too with how fast they are

Speaking of which, how are you supposed to deal with rockets? Since they can curve and detonate midair it feels like there really isn't much you can do to avoid getting hit. Mortars are pretty hard too with how fast they are

Well, here's some examples:

First key is obviously to pay attention to the projectile and be fast enough to react to their behavior and trajectory. What Mirio did with his rockets in the first clip was that he assumed I was gonna walk to the doorway where one of my team mates already went. He also assumed I was gonna dodge to the direction that had more space to move around in. Second key is knowing what options your opponent has and be unpredictable in choosing action against it, "seeing the matrix" as some would say.

Mortar is hard to dodge indeed, but usually people fire it as rapidly as they can which gives you the edge in knowing when the next projectile is coming. Your opponent in contrast will not have any idea where you're going to dodge, unless you're a predictable person. Same principle can be used against dodging weapon combos, because people often fire their next weapon as soon as their weapon is switched. So pay attention fire rates, switch speeds and how your opponent uses them.

I'm gonna try all these tips out when I play, thanks!

Yes it is a valid strategy and yes you can do it even with the 10 second weapon spawn time.

On final rage as you mentioned, controlling the nex isn't just about grabbing it all the time, as long you can push up do some damage then drop back, or bait them to it, fire a prediction shot at it etc.

https://youtu.be/sD7ZtGoebOY

Start from 16:22, best example I can find from my POV vs ZeRoQL

So you sorta tax their health and stack every time they try to get a certain weapon? This is pretty cool. I like the fact that each weapon only has 1 spawn so you can do stuff like this.

EDIT: Smilecythe's tips on dodging really helped.

Some people might have faster reaction time and aim, but you can always take notes from their behavior. Usually when I see that an enemy spots me, I just redirect my direction somewhere else really quick and I try to time it according to how fast I would picture myself reacting to it. Many opponents I've played against usually miss their first shot due to this - especially when I'm aware of their location.

Sometimes my opponent's behavior is so predictable that I can tell when they're anticipating that I'm gonna dodge, so sometimes I just simply don't dodge at all and they end up firing way off mark. Works occasionally whether it's a projectile or a hitscan weapon. It's all mindgames.

Sometimes when your opponent is losing and starts to panic, simple taunting can straight out destroy their soul. Occasionally at that point you can be the easiest target ever, have the most predictable movement and that's going to annoy the hell out of anyone who still misses the shots:

I don't think I can read my opponents that good yet but I'll keep it in mind for when I do. Thanks for the additional tips : D

Can you detonate the opponent's rocket midair by firing something at it? Is it practical?

Can you detonate the opponent's rocket midair by firing something at it? Is it practical?

You 'can' but its not very reliable enough to do it on a whim

I guess you could use it deliberately if you practiced timing a lot. Most of the time it's just a lottery ticket though, stupid luck. It's a lot easier with electro though, because the balls are slow and easy to track. You can basically just instantly detonate your opponents balls with your own electro. It's not the most convenient weapon to use overall though so it's kinda 50/50 whether it really was a handy way to handle your opponent. I guess more so for people who aren't as good with direct hitting with other weapons.

Apart from Electro, I've never liked the feature. I have similar opinion about projectiles changing directions from negative or positive splash force. It's fun when it works in your favor, but ultimately just adds a needless layer of luck to the game.

Thanks, Splat. I remember using the shotgun to blindly shoot around me and prevented some rockets from hitting me. It wasn't reliable but I thought that was me.

Smilecythe, I didn't realize that crylink would affect the rocket projectile! (Also, how did you record your opponent? Did you opponent provide the recording?)