The key to being the king of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is that piece of equipment that's changed the entire game: the Exo suit. This futuristic exoskeleton enables players to perform amazing feats that were never before possible.
If you're ready to play Advanced Warfare like a pro, you've got to master the Exo suit. Here are some little-known tips and tricks — taken from BradyGames' excellent Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Signature Series Strategy Guide — that will catapult you to the top of the leaderboards.
While these tips were written with multiplayer in mind, many of them can prove very useful in the singleplayer campaign, too.
Two Crucial Perks
Exo Abilities are one of the best ways to give yourself an edge in multiplayer, so BradyGames strongly suggests the use of two Perks that will give you an even greater advantage.
Since all Exo Abilities are powered by your Exo Suit's battery, you need all the power you can get if you want to win. The Overcharged Perk can make all the difference, since it prolongs battery life.
The drawback to Exo Abilities is that they can take a few seconds to activate, and those seconds can be the difference between life and death. The Fast Hands Perk is the key to shaving time off of Ability activation. The book gives a smart example of how important this can be: Imagine rounding a corner and a cloaked opponent is standing there waiting to nail you with a shotgun. If you have the Fast Hands Perk active, you can pop out your Exo Shield in a snap. You'd be able to negate that shotgun blast and take down your opponent with a melee hit.
Boost Dash: Your New Best Friend
Most players are employing the Boost Dodge to strafe sideways to safety or make an instantaneous retreat after running into crossfire. But the Boost Dodge's brother, the Boost Dash, is even more powerful. The Dash is just like the Dodge, only it happens in the air after you jump or fall.
A common move with the Dash is to Boost Jump and then immediately Dash for quick positioning (plus: it looks wicked cool), but you don't have to Boost Jump to Dash. You can just do a simple jump (a.k.a, a hop without Exo boost) and then hit Dash. It's advantageous because you stay close to the ground and and cut across a distance crazy fast. Want to sneak up on an enemy, or close distance before they can react? Hop and Dash.
Know When to Hide
The Exo Cloak Ability is cool, no doubt. But it doesn't make you invisible, just transparent. So if you're cloaked, you could still be seen by an enemy.
For this reason, the BradyGames book says that the best places to use the Exo Cloak are in areas that have low contrast. In other words, using Exo Cloak in very bright or very dark spots minimizes your chances of being seen while cloaked.
Hide on the Mini-Map, Too
The Blast Suppressor Perk is like a cloak for your ping on the Mini-Map. Brady suggests that the Blast Suppressor Perk is best used by players who "fight near the enemy team" and/or "use Exo movement constantly."
Don't Fall
Boost Slams are awesome. Hit your target just right and boom -- instant fatality. But Boost Slams are just as useful for defense as offense. Maybe even moreso.
Boost Jumping may be super useful for traversing terrain quickly, but sailing through the air can make you an easy target for players planted on terra firma. It's always a good idea to keep your opponents guessing, so don't forget just how fast a Boost Slam is. Why drop lazily through the air when you could rocket to the ground like a meteor? If you're under fire in mid-air, Boost Slam to get down faster. Besides, falling is a helpless feeling; Boost Slam helps you maintain that all-important sense of control you need to dominate the battlefield.
Double Up
If you're going to rely on Exo Abilities often (and you should), be sure to use the Tactician Wildcard. It lets you use two Exo Abilities simultaneously. Just imagine the possibilities: For example, you could use Exo Cloak and Boost Dash (see above) at the same time for the kind of stealth takedown a ninja would envy.
Speed is Everything
Multiplayer matches are already frenetically fast-paced, and Advanced Warfare enhances that feeling by adding superhuman movements and technologies to the mix. In this environment, if you're not fast, you're dead.
If you plan on using more sprinting than jumping, enable the Gung-Ho Perk. It allows you to fire your weapon while sprinting or sliding. Which means you can gun down a close-quarters enemy before your opponent can even aim.
The Only One You Can Use With Your Weapon
The Overclock Exo Ability is like turbo boost. (As such, Overclock and #7 go together like peanut butter and chocolate.) But it has an added benefit that you may not have noticed.
| A Word of Warning The Overclock Ability puts a yellow glow on your Exo Suit. So other players will know when you're using it! (The Stim ability likewise gives your Suit a green glow.) |
All Exo Abilities activate with an animation where your on-screen character puts down his weapon and then triggers the Ability. All but one, that is: Overclock is the only Exo Ability that has no activation animation. You trigger it and it happens instantly. No putting your weapon down, no pause for animation or effect. This is one you don't have to think tactically about finding the right moment to trigger; just use it when you need it.
For more tips, detailed maps for every level, loadout builds for every occasion and much more, grab yourself a copy of BradyGames' excellent Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Signature Series Strategy Guide. It's out now.
Images: Activision
