UT2k4 hints & tips

[Nilk]

These are from PCGamers latest issue, talking with Epic's Cliff Bleszinski.

Vehicle Fun
1)Always remember, players fall faster than vehicles, so if you lose a raptor off the side of a building, you can jump off after it, and you will catch up with it, just make sure to press use, before you pass it. also remember to pull up, before you hit the ground.
2)A variation of this tactic, is to hit Use when falling onto, say, a hellbender, from a great height. All falling damage will be zeroed out and you'll survive-if you can get the timing down.

The Manta:
1)best anti-infantry vehicle. Yes, you can jump and "fast fall" by hitting Alt fire or crouch, but that's just for newbies. Advanced players will line up the Manta and leap out at the last second, allowing its momentum to carry it into a crowd while unloading with a Minigun or a shock rifle.
2)One of my facorie things to do is to "Beetle" the Hellbender (HB) while in the Manta. If the HB is on a slope, approach it with the Manta, and hook one wing beneath the HB . Then, proceed to drive into the HB and jump with the Manta. You can actually tip the HB over, causing all three passengers to be ejeected. Now you can proceed to sqash each one of them, turning the server into an International House of Pancakes!

Husks:
When a vehicle is destroyed, it yields a "husk"-the burnt out remains that p roceed to fly up in the air, Jerry Bruckheimer-style. They're awfully dangerous and can kill. Tou can acquire several kills by blowing up the empty enemy HB next to your enemies.

Sticky Grenades
1)Sticky Grenades are great not only for attaching to enemies(and subsequently exploding), but also for attaching to TEAMMATE vehicles(like on the hood of a scorpion) to create a "super bomb" or to add to the momentum of a vehicle. Several grenades attached to the rear wheel of a scorpion will send it flying hundreds of feet into the air!
2)Sticky Grenades also stick to Spider Mines, and Spider Mines can be placed on any teammates vehicles, Imagine the combinations you can pull off!

Spider Mines
1)It's important to note that Spider Mines are useful not only as Weapons of Mass Destruction, but also a Weapons of Mass Destraction. Toss a few at you foe and then bring out your shockrifle, and a leathel shockcombo, wil lbe much easier to perform. When arriving at a neutral node, toss out a few and then proceed to juice up the node. If an enemy comes running over, to try and kill you, the mines will harass him, buying you precious time. Few things are funnies than watching some poor sap attempt to blow up the Spiders as a teammate in a manta zips by and clips off the fool's head.

The Link Gun
1)Remember, the Link Gun Alt-fire beam repairs/charges nodes, vehicles, and turrets. This effect increases dramatically, when multiple teammates link to one another. When attempting Wehiclure Manslaughter, nothing yields thlocation of a hiding opponinet, more than multiple Link beeams. Use them to your advantage
2)Healing a tank with multiple people(while using the tank as cover) is a surefire way to create a near0invulnerable killing machine. A competent driverr will reveal only as much tank as he needs to while backup "fixers" remain out of sight and out of harm's way. And no, th eLink Gun can't heal the main Power Core.
Avril
1)(I almost hate to share this one-IP)A few players using an AVRiL can take down nearly any vehicle within seconds. The best way we've found to use this gun is to launch one of the missles out and then, at the last moment when the missle is close to the target vehicle, acquire a lock. AVRiL missles can turn on a dime when locked on, allowing the user to target a foe without the "missle lock-on" message appearing onscreen(and warning the driver)
Scorpion
1)The Scorpion's "bolo" weapon is rather useful agaisnt the Manta. Turns out the Manta's fan engines "suck up" the energy when they flly over it and moments later, burst apart like a popcorn kernel. Use the energy bolo agaisnt the Manta and the retractable claws agaisnt infantry, keeping in mind that the Scorpion is not very heavily armored.(note- you can also snipe drivers out of manta's and scorpionswithout even harming the vehicle-IP)Also it's important to note that the bolo is one of the preferred weapons for blowing up an enemy node.