In DUST 514, your FPS skills work against you.

YouGÇÖre likely an experienced FPS shooter, youGÇÖve spent years playing FPS games, developing unconscious strategies, tactics and muscle memories. YouGÇÖve likely switched shooters several times, and after a little practice youGÇÖve been able to perform as well as you did in your last FPS. YouGÇÖve developed a set of FPS skills / FPS game instincts, and youGÇÖve likely come to view yourself as an experienced FPS shooter. HoweverGǪ

In DUST 514, many of the play-styles, tactics, and strategies you have developed will work against you.

It is very likely that every other FPS you have ever played has been built on the same premise: nothing except player skill (and a little luck) influences who wins. In reality, things like lag, hardware, cheats, game imbalance, exploits, etc influence who wins, but at the core, the FPS premise has always been a level playing field where player skill triumphs. ItGÇÖs the main reason why Kill/Death ratio is the metric used to track player performance and 1337 status.

DUST 514 does NOT play like any other FPS.

DUST 514 is different, at the very core of the gameplay is the idea that not all mercenaries are created equal. In DUST you can and should seek to obtain an unfair advantage against your opponent (in accordance with the EULA of course). In DUSTGÇöas in EVEGÇöplayer skill is not the only factor affecting who wins.

This is a huge departure from the traditional FPS mechanic. Your characterGÇÖs skill points (SP) and equipment play a very significant role in determining who wins a firefight. You will not be able to go head to head with every other player on the battlefield. But your FPS skill, instinct and mindset will tell you that you should.

In short, your set of FPS skills is based on a completely different paradigm from the one operating in DUST 514. Practically, this means that your FPS skills are going to get you into trouble. But itGÇÖs not a lost cause, you just need to refine and alter your FPS mindset.

This changes EVERYTHING!

Once you understand that your FPS experience is getting in the way of your success, you are on the road to improvement. The good news is that you wonGÇÖt need to throw out your FPS skills, they just need to be modified, and for the better. IGÇÖve found that the FPS skills IGÇÖve adopted for DUST have improved my game in other FPSGÇÖs. This is because DUST challenges you to play more strategically. Strategy is how you approach the battlefield, itGÇÖs the bigger picture. Tactics are what you do in the firefight, strategy is what you do to shape the fight to your advantage.

The DUST 514 mindset

So how can you play more strategically? The following are a list of strategic lessons that shape the way I fight.


Not every player can be beaten head-to-head.

Everyone can be beatenGǪin the right set of conditions

Never get tunnel vision, continually evaluate the battlefield, and force the enemy to play in conditions that favor you.

If the conditions are not favorable, hide with pride and seek out a more favorable set of circumstances.

Circumstances are fluid, but you canGÇÖt take advantage of them while you are waiting to respawn. If in a firefight you have to give up a kill in order to survive yourself, do it. ItGÇÖs better to stay in the fight.

If at first you donGÇÖt succeed, try something new. They enemy likely has control of the current circumstance, you need to try something different to alter the battlefield.

Work with a squad. One well-coordinated squad is often enough to turn the tide of battle for the entire team. Shoot, move, communicate.

FLANK, FLANK, FLANK! Getting the first shot is often the difference between winning and losing a firefight.

Specialization is king. Find a role, suit, and weapon you like, and stick with it. Your strategy will largely be determined by the weapon and suit you are using. It is very hard to get switch roles and also successfully switch the strategies each suit/weapon will need to succeed. Prototype gear helps compensate for this, but it can never fully eclipse the issue. Over time, you will be able to expand into different suits, weapons and roles. Also, DUST alters your rotational speed based on the size of your suit and amount of armor. Your aim will feel completely different for a shield-tanked scout and a brick-tanked sentinel.

Strategy is queen. Or in other words, character skill and equipment canGÇÖt beat player skill and strategy. A highly skilled player using a high SP, prototype-fitted character is something to be feared. But it is the player skill that is to be feared. I regularly go into the negative K/D using my 25m SP character equipped with prototype gear, while just as often go 17/2 or better with my 600k SP character using militia gear. The difference is the complacency that often develops when using prototype gear.