RwR tactical guide or how to die as little as possible

This guide was originally written in French before I translated it into English. For this reason, the translation may not feel natural to read as my English is not equal to my ability in my native French. Nevertheless, I’m sure that the general sense will remain comprehensible.

My goal is to cover good behaviors to adopt as an infantry soldier. However, infiltration, or "stealth" as it is usually called will not be treated here. The same goes for the use of vehicles. In addition, this guide is written for the vanilla game, for game modes that include bots and only bots as opponents. However, the majority of the tips here can also be applied to other modes and DLC of the game.

The main factor that determines whether or not you will survive in the ruthless world of Running with Rifle is your ability to frag without being seen by your opponents. To achieve this, you have to understand how the bot line of sight works. Unlike players, bots cannot see a covered player, nor can they see as far as players. The distance at which a bot can see you depends on several factors.

• Firstly your position, if standing, you will be spotted almost immediately. When crouched, you lose speed of movement, but gain in accuracy and you maintain the ability to shoot quickly in any direction, in addition to being more difficult to detect for a bot. The prone position has the advantage of being the hardest to detect.
  
• Another factor is the day / night cycle. Obviously, at night you are more difficult to detect.
  
• Finally, the last parameter is your equipment. By this I mean it will depend on the outfit you are wearing, hiding bonuses may also apply.

Conclusion: in combat, always favour the crouched position because you will be harder to detect for your enemies than if you were standing. You will also be more precise and less annoyed by the elevation than if you were shooting prone. Another great advantage of this position, unlike the last position mentioned, is that you still have the ability to instantly turn around in any direction.

The standing position is therefore forbidden in combat, because it will immediately get you spotted. It is only to be used on the move, when no enemy is detected nearby, or if you want to take to your heels and run.

The prone position is interesting because it is the position that provides the most precision. However, it is only to be used when the enemy is far from you, there is no possibility of being caught from behind and the elevation does not obstruct your line of fire. Therefore, this position is preferred for situations where you hold a strategic position giving you an advantage in terms of height over your opponents. For example, when camping on a rooftop. Fall back on this position as soon as you are within grenade range of your opponents.

In combat, you will advance crouched and fire short bursts at nearby enemies. The key to success is your ability to keep your enemies far away from your soldier which means at a distance where they can’t see you. This should be combined with short bursts which will act as suppressing fire to discourage your opponents as soon as they try to approach you.

As far as possible, prioritize high positions, this will make it easier to eliminate your enemies. When possible, move around to see your enemies in one of the corners of your screen, so you can easily keep your enemies at a distance while continuing to cover them in a hail of bullets. This advice is especially true when using a sniper rifle, because in the corners of your screen you will get extra visibility.

In a game where one bullet can be enough to kill, it seems normal to seek shelter. However, some types of cover are to be avoided as often as possible. I'm talking about all the low walls that would require your character to get up to fire. Because by using them you will immediately give your position to your opponents. Please note that this advice is only true in open spaces. For example, in a corridor-type area such as a bridge, the probability of taking a bullet that is not intended for you is very high, due to the presence of allied forces. In this situation it is better to use cover even if it means giving your position to the opponents.

You will often have to fight enemies with clear numerical superiority. So in order not to be overwhelmed, it is essential to identify which target represents the biggest threat to you and is therefore a priority to eliminate. Generally speaking, a particularly dangerous enemy is an enemy who sees you and whose shots can reach you. Secondly, what makes an enemy a threat is the type of weapon he uses. To find out, simply hover your mouse cursor over a soldier to see the name of his weapon.

• Your nemesis is vehicles that are capable of firing, and more specifically armored vehicles. If facing them, run away, hide, position yourself for a counter-attack using an explosive device. To make sure you stay alive when facing one of those, the best bet is to see them coming soon enough. To do this, regularly take a look at your map to find out if a hostile vehicle is around. Vehicles also make a lot of noise so it’s easy to hear them coming. Listen, because the last thing you want is to be surprised by a tank.
  
• Your second source of concern in this world are snipers. There aren’t many of them but they are absolutely deadly because they can see you from a very long way away, sometimes even beyond your own field of vision. As soon as you see or hear a sniper, this soldier should become your main concern.
  
• Then come explosive weapons such as grenade launchers and other mortars. Because they can reach you behind your cover, they must be eliminated as soon as possible. Do not hesitate to order an air strike to destroy a mortar.
  
• Soldiers with assault rifles, SMGs, heavy machine guns and shotguns shouldn't worry you too much as long as you manage to keep them at distance.

Even when playing like a god, there will always come a time when you take a bullet. To avoid a sudden death, the use of a bulletproof vest is essential. This is why I recommend always carrying two of them on you, one equipped and the second in the inventory. So as soon as your vest takes a bullet you change with a vest in better condition from your inventory. When all your vests are used, return to the armory to buy more. Never throw away your used vests before reaching an armory, unless you need to make space in your backpack. A used vest can always save your life, so if you have only that left in the inventory, equip it anyway.

Be careful though, buying so many vests can be by very expensive for new players. That’s why throughout the game you’ll want to make sure you always earn more money than you spend. Selling rare items recovered on the battlefield can help.

Take care not to underestimate the battlefield map, it can be a valuable source of information. I strongly suggest that you choose a very easy-to-access shortcut on your keyboard or mouse to open the map. Indeed, you must regularly take a look at it to observe the different enemy movements to avoid being surprised, to define your next objective, or quite simply to orientate yourself.

Because RwR is also a multiplayer game, you often find yourself fighting alongside new players doing silly things and at the same time exposing you to enemy fire. Of course, this also applies to allied bots.

In order to avoid dying from a shot that was not intended for you, it is necessary to quickly identify friendly soldiers who may pose a threat to you. By that I mean all the bots, soldiers or players who stand in the combat zone, inevitably attracting fire in their direction. Keep a little distance between them and you at all times in order to guarantee your safety.

As you accumulate XP points in the game you will unlock the ability to recruit bots under your command up to a total of 10. Using them well can really help you. Use them as scouts to secure a position. Order them to cover your rear or to kill an enemy soldier who is difficult to dislodge. In short, be a little creative and don't just let them foolishly follow you. And if they are more of a nuisance to you than a real asset, do without them (there is a shortcut to change the number of bots in your squad or their type).

In RwR, not all weapons are created equal. With a little experience you will quickly see the clear advantage of certain rare weapons. However, all the basic weapons remain playable and some are even particularly effective (a quick mention for the SG 552).

Nevertheless the best weapons in the game remain IMHO, all of the weapons that have good range and good handling. I’m thinking of assault rifles and sniper rifles, plus a few deadly SMGs like the P90 for example. Playing with a shotgun is still do-able, but it's a whole other way of playing and is very challenging.

Now that you've chosen your primary weapon, the remaining question is what you will assign to your secondary weapon / equipment location. If your primary weapon is a versatile, fast-reloading weapon, there is no need to equip a second weapon. On the other hand, if you play with a sniper or a heavy machine gun, in short, a weapon which is not fitted for close-combat, assign a secondary weapon such as a SMG or a desert eagle (pistol). Silent pistols however are not recommended for this type of use.

A good choice of secondary equipment could be a shield, because it may save your life in many situations. For example in the case of a forced retreat, or if you want to reach cover in one piece or even to pick up an item on the battlefield.

Remember to always carry a medikit. It only costs one RP and takes up little space in the inventory. So you will always be able to heal an injured player. It’s very important because if you get into the habit of doing it, other players will do the same to you. This will help to maintain a healthy atmosphere of mutual support within the RwR community.

Regarding grenades, equip the one of your choice. But, if you are not very confident in your throwing ability, equipped standard hand grenades. They have a detonator set to 3 seconds and can give you or your allies time to run away in the event of a bad throw.

Despite all of my recommendations, the most important thing is to have fun, so play with the weapons and equipment of your choice, no matter how effective they are.

Depending on the number of items you carry in your inventory, a larger or smaller backpack may appear on your back. The size of this backpack represents the weight due to the material you’re carrying. Having a backpack generates penalties in accuracy and speed of movement. It is possible to fight with a small backpack, because despite the disadvantages, it remains playable, although it’s not recommended. On the other hand, fighting with a large backpack is far too difficult and would be suicidal. So generally we do not fight when wearing backpacks, we first have to empty them in the armory or in our personal cache.

If hit with a fatal bullet, your character ends up crawling on his back, all is not lost. You have a little time to be treated with a medikit. Maybe you have a doctor in your bot squad. To find out, look at the bottom right of your screen. If a red cross is visible, it means that at least one soldier in your squad has a healing pack.

If you have allies nearby take cover or crawl to them for treatment. If you are alone, crawl in the direction of your allies or to the nearest armory, a point very frequently visited by players. When crawling, try to avoid being hit by stray bullets, as you may die from a bullet or a grenade intended for one of your comrades.

Another solution, if you have enough money and flatly refuse to die, is to drop allied paratroopers into your position. This can be a way to make sure you don't lose a rare weapon.

Finally, if you have lost all hope of being saved, you can still kill yourself to reappear faster. To do so, just hold the knife shortcut for a few seconds.

If you’ve made it to the end of this guide first of all thank you for your attention. I sincerely hope that you have learned something and that it has given you the desire to put some of my advice into practice. By reading it you will probably understand, although easily affordable, Running with Rifles is a more complex game than it seems. There is certainly a lot more to add and every veteran could probably add their own advice. However, I am convinced that with all the material provided in this guide you already have what you need to face most situations. As for the rest, I’ll let you make your own discoveries. If you want to go further than this modest guide, I advise you to take a look at the official game wiki https://runningwithrifles.gamepedia.com/Running_with_Rifles_Wiki or even other Steam guides.

Now that you know the essentials to becoming the equivalent of John Rambo and to make the enemy tremble at the mere mention of your name, it only remains for me to wish you good luck and see you soon on the battlefield comrades !

Feel free to leave a comment or a thumbs up if this guide was helpful to you.