How To Play Guide for Titanfall 2

So you've loaded Titanfall 2 up, ready to lay some smack down on those dirty IMC? Or maybe you're a corporate talking head supporter, ready to take down the resistance? No worries, friend - this guide has everything you need to get started in the world of Titanfall 2.

Picking Your Loadout
Picking a loadout in Titanfall 2 is no easy feat - each weapon loadout and Titan is customized to a specific play style, but each choice lends itself to customization and extension in almost every imaginable focus. Some weapons are obviously best suited for certain play styles, though, and with that in mind, you broadly have a choice across three different approaches.

The Ranged Killer
What's the perfect weapon for a ranged killer in Titanfall 2? While one could argue anything with a scope and a decent amount of accuracy is adept at this type of play, the fact remains that sniper rifles in Titanfall 2 are the best way to get those awesome kills at range.

There are three main choices in this field - the Kraber-AP Sniper, the D-2 Double Take, and the Longbow-DMR. With each choice, though, you give up certain benefits in a tradeoff for certain other boosts. The Kraber is a great all-around weapon, but it lacks in rate of fire. The D-2, on the other hand, has a twin-fire configuration that allows for two quick, consecutive shots - at the loss of damage, that is. The Longbow has the greatest rate of fire, but this is balanced with a drop in both accuracy and range. That being said, the Longbow-DMR is likely the best choice for a ranged killer looking to enter the fray from time to time, though the Kraber more accurately suits the role.

Something can be said for balancing a class into a blend of assault and ranged, though, especially as some assault rifles have accuracy that might put them firmly in the "ranged" class. The R-201 Carbine fits this bill, and if care is taken to only let out one shot at a time, the increased accuracy can lend itself quite well to ranged combat. The G2A5 falls into this category as well, though upgrades take it from a middling ranged combat rifle to a more efficient one with such effect that it's hard to recommend without almost saying those upgrades are required.

The Assault
The assault class is a much more diverse group of weapons than the Ranged Killer largely because the role is more diverse. Whereas the snipers of the world need to attack from afar, the assault is more in the fray, and as such, needs weapons with a bit more oomph. Assault rifles like the Hemlok BF-R and V-47 Flatline lose quite a bit of their accuracy when in full fire, but the suppressing power of these weapons is commendable. Similarly, there's very few weapons that can clear out a room like the SMG class of weapons represented by the CAR, Alternator, and R-97 Compact SMG. For a bit more diversity and not much difference in effect, the Volt is an energy based SMG that packs quite a punch.

Of course, if punch is what you're after, you simply can't forget the shotguns. Bearing down the Mastiff against an entrenched group of Pilots will clear the room with gusto, and very little compares to the stopping power of the EVA-8 Shotgun. But if stopping power is what you're after...

The Heavy
The Heavy is where you'll find it. Heavy players broadly use one of two categories of weapons - the Light Machine Guns and the Grenadiers. While the Light Machine Guns such as the Spitfire and X-55 Devotion are classic semi-ranged heavy machine guns, variations like the L-STAR bring energy to the front in a quite literal and modern sense. These guns are great at laying down suppression fire, allowing you to both function as a quasi-assault unit and as a support unit for clearing out blockades.

The Grenadiers, on the other hand, are in a class their own. The Sidewinder SMR boasts rapidly firing micro-missiles, the EPG-1 a single, direct energy launcher, and the R-6P Softball a "sticky" explosive grenade. The EM-4 Cold War takes it up a notch with a 4-round burst of hellfire to clear even the most ardent Pilots from their nests.

Which you choose tends to go back to whether or not you're a "support" or a "heavy assault" player. Light Machine Guns deliver impressive firepower, which is great for assault, but when it comes down to being a support unit, nothing matches the Grenadier with clearing out Pilots - let alone the damage they can help do to Titans in a pinch.

Choosing a Titan
Finally, onto a more specific question - what Titan should I choose in Titanfall 2? Well, put simply, your choice in Titan has to do entirely with what you want the combat to feel like.

If you're looking for fast-paced, death from above style play with your Titan, the Northstar is a good bet. Its VTOL Hover and Flight Core make it one of the most nimble of the Titans, and a hard beast to pin down. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of slightly reduced longevity and offensive capability, so players looking to last a bit longer might forgo Northstar for now.

Ronin is a good choice for the active player as well, with the caveat that his sword can be as much a limiting factor as a multiplying one. Defaulting to the sword might be cool, but it opens you up to quite a lot of damage. With his main attacks focusing on the sword - Arc Wave, Sword Block, and Sword Core all use the sword in some way - Ronin can be limiting to all but the most experienced Pilots if used improperly.

Both Scorch and Ion, however, can be considered the most neutral of the choices for new players. Their main differences come down to their weapons - Scorch, predictably, focuses on literal "fire"power, whereas Ion focuses on electrical and energy based attacks. While they are both effective in combat, they've also been used the most by players, being available during the beta. While this means you might be comfortable with them, it also means their weaknesses are already commonly known.

On the other end of Ronin and Northstar is the lumbering, hulking Legion. While it boasts incredible firepower - the Power Shot has knockback and clears a path at range, the Smart Core locks on to a target in both close and long-range mode - it loses a lot in mobility for this firepower. What this means is that, while it's quite effective in Titan on Titan combat, when paired with two or more Titans, it becomes a target.

Tone is a much more "working man's" type of Titan. While it doesn't boast the kind of firepower that Legion has, it is more powerful armaments than most other Titans in its weight class. The Tracker Rockets allow for ranged effective combat, and the Particle Wall more than makes up for the defense lost for increased mobility.

Surviving The Rodeo
Rodeos are the bane of every Titan Pilot. Rodeos are when a Pilot climbs on top of a Titan; when they first board, they remove a battery, which can be given to an enemy Titan to boost their health. The second time a Pilot lands a rodeo, they toss a grenade down your neck, dealing huge damage. So how does a Titan combat this?

Stop the Pilot
There's a few ways. First off, negate the threat before it even happens. Yes, that's easier said than done, but once a Pilot is on you, it's much harder to negate the incoming damage. Watch your surroundings, rotating often and scanning the tree line and building entrances. Try and use a main with explosive shells, and don't be afraid to unload everything at an enemy approaching. The Splitter Rifle is rather effective, and the Laser Shot can one-shot Pilots from afar.

Clouds, Clouds Everywhere
If the Pilot manages to get on board, there is sort of a "hail mary" you can pull using the Incendiary Trap. Dropping it down and lighting it will take out a Pilot when they dismount pretty quickly, and will negate a lot of incoming threats as well - though how effective this is in the long-term remains unseen, as you're wasting quite a bit of firepower against a small enemy.

You can also deploy your Electric Smoke Grenade, which will pretty much destroy anything around you, even if they do grab your battery. Just grab the battery outside of your Titan, and drop back in for a great countermeasure.

You Spin Me Right Round
As soon as you get rodeoed, unless you pop out or throw down an electric cloud, prepare to spin 180 degrees. Because the Pilots always disembark directly backwards, if you wait until they do so and then spin around, you can take advantage of their disembarkation to kill the threat.

Situational Awareness
Realistically, though, a lot of this can be negated by making smart choices. Don't move your Titan through tight spaces beset on both sides by buildings, be wary of cliffsides, and when you see someone grapple onto you, aim just forward of where you see them to deal massive damage. Once you get this down, rodeoing won't be a problem, because pilots will cower.

Guerrilla Tactics
Being a Pilot certainly has its perks. The Titan is often hard to navigate with through tight corners, and is limited to "visible" areas only. As the Pilot, you don't have this limitation! Use that to your benefit. Titans can only fire at what they see, so darting in between buildings is highly effective. Don't think of your Grappling Hook as a means to go higher, think about is a movement accelerator - by jumping out a window behind a Titan and grappling to the other side of the street after firing off a few potshots, you've tricked the Titan into thinking you're in one place, moved to another, AND set up a great fire position. The value of that can't be overstated.

Shock and Awe
Keep getting ganked in tight corners inside buildings? The easiest way to deal with that is to make a ton of noise. Players will respond in certain predictable ways, more often than not. If a room is suddenly filled with bullets, they'll move away. If they see a grenade, they'll jump away. Use this to your benefit. See a Pilot shooting down the hall? Toss a grenade at them, them quickly move to flank them in the opposite direction. See a group of friendlies pinned down by a sniper? Chuck a grenade, no matter how bad the throw, and the explosion, if close enough, might be enough to persuade the sniper to move - and if their scope is down for even a second, that's a valuable reprieve.

Slide, Slide Everywhere
Sliding is a new mechanic in Titanfall 2, and it is incredibly powerful. Pilots are often aiming for headshots, as they're the quickest kill - simply engage a slide, and you've minimized your height by half, while maintaining your own aim. This will negate a lot of the sniper jockeys as well, as anyone using the Doubletake is going to need more than one shot if it's not a headshot to take you out. Slide whenever possible.

Use Momentum
The Grappling Hook is a great addition, but if you use it incorrectly, you're wasting a formidable gadget. The grappling hook essentially has two behaviors - clip onto whatever it can, and try to close the distance between you and the point you've hit regardless of what's between you. Accordingly, there's some physics behind the hook's cord that can be used to your advantage. If a Pilot fires the hook into a wall and moves around an obstacle between the Pilot and the end point, such as a wall or window between the two points, you can push in a direction to augment the way you're pulled in. This is great to use against Titans, who can easily shoot down most Pilots, but won't see it coming if you "slingshot" around a corner or land where they don't expect you to.

Likewise, using the hook's momentum to get out of an engagement is paramount to its effective deployment. When entering a fight with the hook at your side, always look for an optimal escape route. Knowing what to shoot at to "get out of dodge" within a second or two can mean the difference between being wiped out or living to fight another fight. The reverse is true, as well - while heading into a building is deadly, using the hook to sling across the interior of the building's roof (or hiding in the rafters at such points as Hardpoint A on Boomtown) can help you enter engagements before enemies know where you are, scoring a few easy kills.

Hip Fire vs ADS
Some guns fire more effectively from the hip than they do using the rail sights. For instance, the CAR SMG has a tighter grouping pattern in hip fire than in rail sights. The R-201, however, has a wider spread at hipfire than in rail sights. Other weapons, like the Spitfire LMG, have terrible aiming and spread regardless of rails or hip fire. By and large, sniper rifles with have better aiming down sights than by hipfire, with snipers often having a wide swath of aim drift when firing from the hips.