RoadKill's super support guide

At this point in the game, I am extremely tired of bad supports. They are literally everywhere, and very few actually do their job correctly. Some base camp, some camp their firebases, some don't do crap at all other than die. I am worn out, and although I doubt a guide is going to fix this kind of stupidity, I think it may help new players/veteran players in adjusting their habits to fit what I consider the "ideal" support.

THE OFFENSIVE SUPPORT GUIDE

First off, let me address the fact that this is not like my other guide. Although Secrets of the Support Masters offers legitimate advice, it is somewhat of a joke, and was never intended to be a complete guide.

This guide will go over how to play an offensive support. We will be covering endorsement loadouts (for Crossfire only), tactics, proper habits, firebase positioning, and combat techniques over the course of the guide, and hopefully by the end of it, your support playing will be a little better than before.

As a final note before starting, if you are in fact doing your job properly, you will likely be leading the scoreboard in terms of cash and kills. This is somewhat map dependent, but typically you should be able to maintain a "positive" K/D (even though this isn't always important).

Let's begin!

Table of Contents: (You should be able to control-f these if you want, that's why I set it up like this)

X-I. Endorsements
X-II. Skill Order
X-III. Mindset
-a) Approaching Targets
-b) Using the Heal/Hurt Gun
--1) Advanced Usage
-c) Other Notes
X-IV. Firebase Usage/Hacking
X-V. Airstrike Usage
X-VI. Countering Classes
-a) Assassins
-b) Support
-c) Tank
-d) Sniper
-e) Gunner
-f) Assault
-g) Dealing with a Juiced Anything
X-VII. Other Tricks/Notes
X-VIII. Conclusion

_________________________________________________________________

X-I. Endorsements
For the offensive support, there is only one set of endorsements that I will ever consider:

-Rate of Fire (Gold)
-Armor (Silver)
-Skill Recovery (Bronze)

This may or may not be what most typical supports use, as frankly I haven't asked many other supports about their loadouts. However, I'll go over the reasoning for each.

Rate of Fire Gold:
The primary reasoning behind ROF Gold is the fact that it accentuates both of your weapons. The heal gun beam is affected by ROF, so you will in fact be healing your teammates/turrets faster (notice I only say heal gun: the hurt portion of this weapon is pathetic and should almost NEVER be utilized). Your shotgun is also affected by this endorsement, and benefits you greatly in actual close quarters combat. ROF Gold should ALWAYS be taken over Armor gold, explanation to follow.

Armor Silver:
Armor Silver (by default) allows the Support to survive one face grapple by an Assassin. This basically negates the majority of your problems right here, as any Sin that doesn't kill you instantly theoretically should die .2 seconds later. I used to take Armor Gold, until a friend of mine informed me that Passive 3 gave Support HP (those were dark times >_>). With Support Passive 3 and Armor Silver, you should be able to survive most situations. This set up also benefits you later when executing quick strikes into enemy territory. More on that later.

Skill Recovery Bronze:
Frankly, on Support I feel that there is truly no other option in terms of a bronze endorsement. He does not need HP Regen due to Support Passive 2, Criticals are just silly, his weaponry already has plenty of ammo, nobody gets juice endorsements and etc. etc. The point is, this is seriously all that is left for the Support, as his skill set and default values give him some initial playing power. There's not much to say about this endorsement. It helps out with regaining airstrikes, and recovering hack time, and I guess if your firebase dies it helps that out too.

All of these endorsements dramatically affect the Support's offensive capability, and considering that's what we're going for, it seems good. I'll slightly address how these factor into actual combat later on.

X-II. Skill Order
For Support, I find his skill ordering past game start is very loose. You really can't go wrong with taking any option over the other, but I still tend to typically stick to a certain skill order. This is:

-(Game Start) Firebase 2
-(Game Start) Hack 2
-Airstrike 2
-Airstrike 3
-Hack 3
-Passive 2
-Firebase 3/Passive 3
-Firebase 3/Passive 3 (whichever you didn't pick, obviously)

It's important to have your firebase up immediately close to game start in a good location on most maps to start denying bots and players of certain zones, and this is typically why I'll take Firebase 2 and Hack 2 right off. Soon after, upgrading Airstrike is mandatory to begin denying enemy firebases, and for taking out weaker emplaced turrets (Rockit level 1, Longshots, LazerBlazers 1-2). Hack 3 comes after to help out friendly base turrets, and then the rest is just general overall survivability.

X-III. Mindset
As an offensive Support, you -must- play differently than what you may typically play. Your primary goals in a match right off are to:

-Deny areas of bots and enemy pros
-Eliminate enemy Firebases and Turrets
-Keep friendly pros alive
-Keep friendly turrets hacked and alive

Some of you may ask "What exactly is different here?" Well, honestly nothing. However, I frequently see Supports -NOT DOING- ALL of these things. Yes, you do in fact have to do ALL of them, not just some of them, in order to be a good support.

Now let's get to the actual core component of this guide, the "offensive" part. I notice many Supports neglect their shotgun like it has been cursed by the gods, despite the fact that it is what I consider the most powerful weapon in the game. Neglecting it is wrong. To play offensively, you act like THIS is your primary weapon, not your heal gun. To survive and do well, you run around with the SHOTGUN out, and not your weak heal gun. Trying to switch to your shotgun mid-battle will only get you killed, so why not just have it out to begin with?

This is not to say that you should neglect your healing duties, but the point is here that you are just as much of a threat to the opposing team as the rest of your team is. Theoretically, you should be able to take out ANY target that gets too close (perhaps with the exception of the tank, but there are methods to deal with him). On maps like Spunky Cola and LazeRazor, you should be absolutely decimating the field.

Primarily the problem seems to be with closing the distance to opponents, so most Supports seem to just stay out of fights. However, with a little extra situational awareness, you can abuse the fact that most opposition will initially consider you a small threat, and overcome the gaps separating you and your opponent.

Methods To Approach Targets (in general, the countering class section goes over this in more detail)
-Take relatively roundabout passages to your target. Do not approach from the front; flank them, and catch them off guard.

-Use height to your advantage. A sudden drop off a high ledge (such as on Steel Peel) will typically not be expected, especially not from a random Support! Abuse your enemy's ignorance of your ability.

-Pick up speed boosts (the dropped power up) as often as you can. These are KEY to becoming a force to be reckoned with.

-Approach particular enemies (Assassin, Sniper, Support) with LESS caution; sometimes a charge at an opponent will throw them off guard, or they will be over confident in their ability to engage you.

-Abuse corners. Maps like Spunky Cola allow you the ability to see around corners (whether this is a glitch or not is irrelevant; the mechanic is there, and I'm not going to argue whether or not this is "cheating," because it isn't), and allow you to blast an enemy in the face with the full force of the shotgun. A second well aimed shot will typically be enough to take weaker classes out, and sometimes you'll even get lucky on a gunner.

These factors will all assist you in becoming an overall better offensive Support.

b) Using the Heal/Hurt Gun:
This weapon has been seriously hit or miss for me for a long time, and in most of my guide I probably complain about it a metric ton (I'm not taking the time to change that stuff). However, I realize I don't even have a major area specifically addressing how to use the weapon in an offensive matter. Fact is, you won't ever use it as a serious weapon against any opponent, but you still have to maintain that "offensive" mindset.

It's pretty simple really. You need to heal teammates, but not only when they enter your own zone. You have to be moving with your team if they decide to head forward into battle, and if you are out of combat range yourself, you should always be healing a teammate. You need to prioritize friendly targets in this order:

-Burning teammates that are heavily wounded (dark red indicator)
-Heavily wounded teammates (dark red indicator)
-Teammates currently being targeted by opponents
-Wounded teammates (red-orange-yellowish range)
-Green teammates for Overheal
-Stupid teammates (any wound level)

This is the order I always try and heal people with. Please note that stupid teammates are ALWAYS last, no matter what. If you are playing in a pub match, and you have a person who is consistently feeding the enemy team and not contributing to kills, you need to ignore that individual. You are wasting your time trying to keep someone alive who will not stay alive.

In regards to deployed teammates, observe their actions. If a friendly appears to be doing some serious damage but is taking hits, consider healing him for some time. Do not stay with the deployed person too long; in this way you can encourage him to move if you need him to. If he continually deploys and does nothing useful, place him at the "Stupid teammates" level.

Additionally, after you have gotten a teammate out of the danger zone (dark red/burning) and they are at a safe level (yellow-green), feel free to stop healing them if you have better things to do. If they're smart, they'll thank you for the heal mentally, and take some time to regenerate themselves if they don't believe they can head back into the fight. The important part is that you kept them alive through a battle.

--1) Advanced Usage:
I do not recommend using these methods if you are not confident in your ability to manage multiple targets, friendly and enemy, in regards to healing and fighting. If you do not know how to micromanage yourself very well, then you should not use this method and should instead play more cautiously (but still offensively!)

The heal/hurt gun is generally regarded as the crappiest offensive weapon in the game, but I'm starting to believe this is not the case, and this is simply because of the personal healing ability of the hurt portion. What I've found is that, many of the times where I would have died to something stupid (bots, burning, a stray shot from an assault rifle), I could have easily brought myself back up to combative standing.

Using the hurt gun on almost anything (including base turrets) will begin to regenerate your health. Knowing this, more advanced Support players will find themselves staying in a fight longer if they have the ability to manage both of their weapons efficiently.

Here's a step by step!

-Head into any fight (making sure you adhere to other advice in this guide)
-Begin battle. Pretty simple.
-At 1/4th HP, get out of the immediate combative area immediately. If you trust yourself, push the health amount lower.
-Make sure your surroundings are clear to an extent. Figure out mentally (a second or less) if you are safe enough to get yourself to at least half HP.
-Find a bot/base turret. Dodge the shots, and heal.
-Go back to the fight.

It's not even tough, but I'm heavily afraid that there will be a ton of Supports out there that think they can heal and then get blasted because they weren't paying attention. If you don't think you can do it, then don't; just back off.

c) Other Notes:
Get away from the idea that you must be guarding your firebase at all times. This is stupid, and by constantly healing your firebase you are neglecting precious DPS you could be dealing with your shotgun. This applies vice versa as well, however; if you do not have your firebase deployed, you are also missing out on vital damage, not to mention you are being a selfish player by not stopping bots. There are some situations where you will be allowed to be NEAR your firebase for relatively lengthy periods of time (Spunky Cola), but you should not be focused on keeping it alive. Keep your teammates alive first, then yourself, turrets, and THEN your firebase.

Base camping is also pointless, and if you are doing this then you are failing miserably, since you are likely not supporting teammates, not covering a lane with a turret, and not doing any damage at all. This makes you detrimental to the team and a useless player.

X-IV. Firebase Usage/Hacking
This section honestly doesn't need to be very lengthy. Your firebase is your number one tool for denying lanes of bots and pros, covering teammates, and saving your *** after you've been lit on fire once again by a lumbering tank. Most people don't screw up on pressing a single key to place their firebase. However, people tend to place their firebases all wrong and it's insanely silly. Let's fix that now.

-Your firebase should always be in a forward position. That is typically where the enemy pros are, and it will shove them back even further. Additionally, your bots will be able to progress further before encountering enemy bots, just because of your friendly turret.

-Your firebase should (ideally) be placed under cover from airstrikes. Good supports will get around overhead cover with airstrikes anyway, but it will usually take quite a bit longer for your firebase to go down. Placing firebases undercover is not NECESSARY, but certainly helps their survivability. I will attest however that there are situations where they are much more useful on high ground.

-Your firebase needs to be in a spot with high traffic from both teams. It will heal your teammates when they pass by (at level 3), and it will shoot silly enemies that approach your turf.

-Your firebase should -NOT- BE PLACED ANYWHERE WHERE AN EJECTOR CAN HIT IT. This is the NUMBER ONE MISTAKE on maps like Spunky Cola and Grenade III. The ejectors instantly destroy any firebase (except for fully overhealed level 3's, I believe). There are much better and more useful places to place firebases where they won't be automatically destroyed at the whim of any player on the opposition.

Just be smart about it, and you shouldn't have a problem with firebases.

In regards to hacking, hack as frequently as possible. Base turrets that are fully upgraded (namely Shave Ice and Rockits) take priority over your firebase unless you have pushed the enemy team far far away from your locale. If you have a good teammate and a recently destroyed firebase has just finished recovering its skill bar, consider an attempt at hacking outlying enemy turrets, namely Longshots and low level Rockits. This is honestly more for humor than anything else, but watching an enemy LS rain death from above onto its own team is quite awesome, and they will most likely eventually destroy their own turret instead of hacking it back.

ALSO LOOK UP.

X-V. Airstrike Usage
As an offensive support, you should typically be using your airstrikes to eliminate enemy firebases, turrets, and as a form of powerful crowd control in areas with high traffic and tight corridors. That's all there is to it. Use Airstrike level 3's wide explosive range to take out enemy fire bases that are even located under ledges. Abuse the radius to take out enemy base turrets that are also typically protected by ledges. Some useful information here also:

Turret HP in regards to Airstrikes (assume non-overhealed, full HP)
-Rockit Level 1's go down in 2 airstrikes
-Rockit Level 2's go down in 3 airstrikes
-LazerBlazer Level 1's go down in 1 airstrike
-Longshot Levels 1-2's go down in 1 airstrike
-Longshot Level 3's go down in 2 airstrikes
-Any firebase will go down after an airstrike

Don't try airstriking ShaveIce turrets or Level 3 Rockits. It's pointless. Let gunners/assassins deal with them.

Additionally, Airstrikes also serve a very useful purpose in terms of combat. In a pinch you can throw them directly at an opponent; best case scenario is that it Ground Zero's them and they panic and die anyway. Typically I will use airstrikes in one of two ways, however.

-An escape denial system. Place them behind enemy escape routes and stop an enemy from running away from your boomstick of death. If they try and get out, they still die.

-An escape mechanism. Only those people with balls of steel will chase you through an airstrike, and often times they will misjudge the falling time of the bomb. Enjoy a free escape and a free kill.

Important things to note about the airstrike:

-Do not assume you have killed an enemy if you get a Ground Zero. Observe them until they die. If they don't die, consider falling back or reengaging with your shotgun.

-If you Ground Zero an Assassin in an open location, continue to monitor the enemy. Good players can still dodge airstrikes with a well timed lunge or by airstrafing with a well timed smokebomb.

-If you Ground Zero someone, keep your distance. A good player will try one of two things when GZ'd: he will either attempt to take you down with him by approaching you fast, or try and get under cover. Don't let the first happen under any circumstance. If you anticipate that he will try and approach you, back off immediately. Surviving is more important than guaranteeing a kill.

X-VI. Countering Classes
The Support can counter almost any class at close range. There are precise methods with dealing with certain classes though, and having these strategies may help you out.

a) Assassins
You should be able to beat every assassin that approaches you, without fail. If you get face grappled, you have the HP to survive and kill them before they can get another slash or lunge off. Some steps to deal with these gals:

-Situational Awareness trumps all. Listening for the hum of an Assassin's cloak is key to survival. Make sure to do full circular sweeps on occasion to make sure other enemies are not approaching as well.

-Approach the Assassin straight up. Despite the Sin's powerful grapple and lunge combo, most of them will only properly use it if they catch you with your back turned. The point is, if you bring the fight to where you know an assassin will be, then you will win without fail.

-If you are having trouble hitting an Assassin that is adamant on killing you, go for the shotgun grapple. Not only is it the most hilarious grapple in the game, it leads up into a powerful combo maneuver. Immediately after the grapple, fire a shotgun shell when the camera reticle centers on the Assassin again. If she doesn't die, fire another shot while back pedaling. There will be very few situations where you can't win this, and if you have Passive 3 it should be easy going.

-Catch her immediately after jump pad usage with a grapple, and proceed with the actions described above.

-Grapple the Assassin if she jumps you on a firebase. The grapple animation takes a long enough time that she will either be forced to smoke bomb, or die.

-Jump like you're in Super Mario Brothers.

b) Support
Presumably these guys will be impossible to kill after they read this guide, as any person that reads this guide instantly becomes invincible as Support.

On a more serious note, your best bet is a lot of unpredictable movement combined with bunny hopping. You need to basically out-shotgun your own class; relatively simple if they have a heal/hurt gun out, but there are many ways it can go wrong. Use extreme caution if you know the support is good, and only approach if you have the advantage (aka a teammate, the first shot + some extra time, etc). If you're having trouble hitting him because he's jumping around just like you, consider trying to close the distance to grapple and then blast them.

c) Tank
Your worst nightmare. This is basically the hard counter to your expert shotgunning skills, no matter how fast you are or no matter how great at aiming you are. Typically they will immediately charge at you as soon as you blast them once, and I have yet to find a consistent way to avoid it (there is a technique, described in the "Secrets of the Support Masters" thread, however. You can check that out if you want.). Your best bet is to only approach them after studying their habits during the round. If they do not charge after you blast them once or twice, feel free to engage them frequently. If they are charging after a blast, your only methods of dealing with them become waiting for them to waste a charge or utilizing hazards. If you don't trust your own skills with the Support class, ignore the tank as best you can, and let someone else more suited to it engage and take him down.

Most tanks take anywhere from 3-5 full shotgun blasts to kill.

EDIT: ALTERNATIVE METHOD
Although probably one of the most difficult maneuvers to pull off, you CAN consistently stop a tank's charge without a firebase in a situation where he can hit you, however, you probably require a low ping server and supah-fly skills. Ironically, this is also how you deal with every situation where you are at a disadvantage. Grapple. Let me explain.

During the tank's charge, there is a precise moment where his charge cannot actually hit you, but where your grapple has enough range to lock him up. If you can time it flawlessly, you can stop the charge. You'll still be hit with the slow down effect, but you will not go flying, and you can fire immediately after your grapple completes.

I'm currently working on perfecting this method, but it has some pitfalls:
-You have to anticipate it correctly. Some tanks will gladly just nail you with their jetgun for an hour instead of charging you.

-You have to anticipate correctly again. If you're jumping right before/while he is charging, you can say goodbye to this maneuver.

-Sky high difficulty. Although it is a methodical move, the timing is so precise that it's crazy. Crazy, but not impossible.

Good luck with that.

d) Sniper
Your second worst nightmare. A sniper is the exact opposite of what you are, and for you this is a bad, bad situation. If the sniper can consistently pull off headshots with a sniper rifle, avoid his line of sight as best you can. Take low paths and watch where he's aiming at from a distance. You aren't really the best class for dealing with him either, but if you can somehow close the distance, he's a one hit KO with your shotty. Do not attempt to grapple him unless you seriously have no other option; if you do, be prepared to jump and back pedal, for he will quickly try and counter grapple. And frankly his grapple kicks your grapple's *** in terms of damage and utility.

e) Gunner
My favorite class to deal with, honestly. He's a really easy target to hit, and typically only takes 2-3 shots to take down. You have to flank them; that's your only option. Use the techniques I've described in the Approaching Targets section. Gunners are particularly vulnerable to attacks from a height.

Don't forget to jump frequently while fighting them. Dodge the slam, and keep your distance from the grapple, and he's a quick takedown.

f) Assault
As of right now, most Assaults can be taken down relatively easily. However, they are also very troublesome if the player behind the mask is good. Detpacks will ruin your day fast, and their charge is also a decent counter to your close range focus. However, unlike the Tank's crazy charge, you have a shot at dodging the Assault's, once again by jumping and unpredictable movement. If an assault decides to engage you at close range with his charge, do your best to dodge it, and then knock him out for his stupidity at ever trying to get close to you in the first place.

If the assault you are fighting against is smart and keeps a medium distance to continue harassing you with his rifle, you need to retreat immediately. Focus on a completely different target for the duration required, and if you feel confident, see if you can take the Assault out later, if it has not already been done by another teammate.

g) Dealing with a Juiced Anything
You need to be willing to sacrifice your life immediately in case a juiced opponent (doesn't matter what it is) tries to cut down your base. You need to do a couple things really fast when they Juice (if you can't prevent it beforehand):

-Approach as quietly as you can/as stealthily as possible

-Blast the opponent with a shotgun blast if you can. You may have to skip this if the opponent is doing a ton of damage to the base already.

-Grapple. You have to lock them up for a few seconds at least to stop them from doing too much base damage.

-Finish the Combo. Your shotgun is still extremely powerful, and weaker juiced classes will still take a heavy hit from your shotgun. Try and hit them.

-Jump and Backpedal, with random strafing. Continue to try and blast them for as long as you survive. If you can survive the rest of their juice, you still have a shot at killing them, even if you are heavily damaged.

X-VII. Other Tricks/Notes
-Always look up when hacking. Saves your bacon hard core. Read this for more details: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=6617

-The Support's level 3 Passive can be used like the tank's health clutch. This -only- works for level 3, not level 2. Use it when you're at way low health and blamo, you're back in the game.

-If a turret on your side of the map is hacked by an enemy, you can hack it back if you have hack level 3. The time to hack back your own turret is very short and it is very unlikely that you will die in the process.

-The Support can can surprise the crap out of everyone on Uncle Tully's Funland by bouncing around the middle. For some reason people tend to ignore the funny looking Supports there.

-I've recently seen people trying to hack enemy FIREBASES. This is stupid. Don't try it because it doesn't work.

-Support is OP.


X-VIII. Conclusion
In the right hands, the Support is a powerful class. He has the damage potential to take on most targets, and offers a ton of utility with his skills. He can keep the team alive, he can take a large amount of damage for a "weak" class, he can deny entire lanes, crowd control enemy opponents, and eliminate strategically important enemy defenses. When played correctly, he offers the absolute most utility out of all other classes in the game; but the key is, "when he is played correctly." Heeding the advice of this guide will be your first step to becoming an overall better Support player, but a lot of it comes from continuous practice and dedication with the class. If you don't have the will to overcome his initial apparent lack of ability, then you won't be able to shine with the class. That's just the way it is.