Steam Holiday Sale 2013: Knights of the Old Republic 2, Counter-Strike tips and strategies

I’ll level with you. Day 3 felt a little lackluster when it comes to “OMG MUST HAVE” sales. And what is on offer either I can’t cover or I’ve covered before, so yeah, more CS tips. I’m happy KotOR 2 is on sale, as The Sith Lords needs more love, especially with the huge number of mods that can only make the game better. Let’s get into it then.

Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords strategies

To begin, the most fun you can have in KOTOR 2 is playing as a Jedi Consular and upgrading to the Jedi Master/Sith Lord prestige classes. Lightsaber fighting is fun and all, and sometimes being a skill-monkey has its advantages, but don’t lie to my face saying sucking the life force out of somebody doesn’t make your spine all a-tingly. The early game is a little punishing if you’ve never played a KOTOR title before, so save often. Pump up your Constitution and Wisdom ability scores, adding Dexterity if you feel so inclined. Pick up all the Force Lightning, Choke, Stun, Drain Life, Force Speed, and Heal powers and upgrade them fully.

That tiny selection of powers will literally win the whole game for you. By level 12 you’ll be a Force-powered killing machine ready to take on the galaxy, and once you pick up the Jedi Master/Sith Lord prestige class, you’ll be almost untouchable as well. There’s an ability that adds your Wisdom score to your Armor Class (what the game uses to determine who hits you), and if you go full Light or Dark Side, you’ll get an automatic +3 Wisdom. There are rewards for altruism and douchebaggery, but only if you’re fully dedicated to those pursuits.

As for mods, the Restored Content Mod is an absolute must, and I will probably be giving it its own article somewhere down the road. I mean, really, they’re still updating the thing with new content no one outside of Obsidian’s ever seen! I’d recommend any lightsaber model mods, as well as any mods that add in cool items or gameplay changes. There are a great number of these, so I won’t name anything specific, if only to give you carte blanche to dig around the mods yourself.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive strategies

I’m double-dipping strategies, I know. Learn to deal, bro. Honestly I don’t know of any time where you can’t find something new to learn about CS at any level, and it’s still very much a game I need to somewhat master myself. That out of the way, my first tip is as simple as the last, but it might be a little harder to pull off consistently — exact horizontal tracking.

If you watch Counter-Strike played at the highest levels, you’ll see the pros rarely need to readjust their aim from headshot to headshot. That’s do in large part to their ability to keep their crosshair at the exact same level over long distances. Then, when they do have to adjust, they snap directly back to head level. Training yourself to do the same is straightforward enough. You can use this custom map or any map with close item groupings, and spend some time trying to shoot along a horizontal plane. See if you can line up 30 bullet holes in what any layperson would call a straight line.

At first, stick to single shots to get the feeling down. When you feel confident, hop into Deathmatch and go for snap headshots with the AK-47. If you’re feeling ballsy or masochistic, bind “kill” to Q or E and every time you miss, press that button. The reward for success is the chance for further failure. A fail means a respawn.

Once you have single shots down, try to approximate a bullet-line with two to three shot bursts. This will work both your spray control and aim resetting skills. Again, when you feel ready, jump in Deathmatch and test yourself. And don’t spend ten minutes on these drills, especially if you’re serious about getting better at CS. Set aside an hour per gaming session to training, or you’re just wasting your time. Top level players eat, sleep, and breathe the game, and they won’t spend just a few moments honing their skills. Their daily bread rests on their ability to execute, and while yours might not, your dedication should be just as powerful.