Laserforce Explained, Part 2c: DM and CTF
Most of the game types available at Laserforce are either too simple or unusual for tournament or league play under normal circumstances. To that end, they offer a few special game modes that cater to the needs of tournament organizers and players who want something more rewarding and challenging than the usual game modes. As such, due to their greater difficulty, they are seldom used outside of official tournaments. So, to begin this discussion of game types commonly used in league play, here are two more Laserforce game modes I will describe in this informal guide.
DM (short for Death Match) can be played as an individual or team game. Each player starts a DM game with 100 hit points and a shotgun which serves as the mode's default weapon. Being hit by enemy fire will not only make the lights on your battle suit grow dimmer, but also cause damage, and will lead to you being deactivated (i.e. unable to fire) for 10 seconds (as well as losing any items you had in your inventory) if you run out of hit points, although your health will gradually regenerate when you are not shooting. All players will receive one frag for every opponent deactivated. However, zapping an ally will cause you to receive damage (or even be deactivated if you're particularly careless), and zapping a deactivated player (which can be done up to a few times) will not earn a frag, but will merely cause them to remain deactivated for the next few seconds. In addition, items can be obtained by hitting a stationary target twice; once this occurs, items cannot be collected from that target for the next 20 seconds. Moreover, players cannot have more than 250 health, 100 armor and 1 rune at a time, the last of which I shall describe shortly.
Items in DM fall into four categories: weapon upgrades, defensive items, power-ups and runes. Weapon upgrades activate an alternate fire mode for your blaster, but only provide a limited amount of shots. There are two such items available: the Nailgun and Rocket Launcher. The former allows you to fire up to 30 fully automatic shots by holding down the trigger, and in addition to this, it will increase the fire rate and damage per shot. The latter gives you 10 rockets, each of which has a large blast radius; anyone caught in the "explosion" will receive half as much damage as they would from a direct rocket hit. In the right hands, these upgrades can turn the tide of a battle.
DM also includes a pair of defensive items, both of which are intended to help a player resist incoming fire more easily. Armor absorbs opponents' shots, and its strength decreases with each successful hit; once the armor is depleted, only then will you actually take damage. Super Health gives 100 health points to whoever collected it, although if they end up with >100 health as a result of this, it will gradually decrease back to their starting level. Use them wisely and you should be able to survive for longer than you would otherwise.
From DM Level 2 onwards, power-ups become available for use. The Ring of Invisibility turns off the lights on your battle suit for one minute, making you more difficult for your prospective attackers or victims to detect. Quad Damage quadruples the amount of damage you can deliver for 30 seconds; it stacks with the Strength rune, thereby octupling a player's damage output if he/she has both of these active at once. Invulnerability prevents you from receiving any damage at all for 20 seconds. Utilize the benefits they confer and you will, more often than not, become virtually unstoppable.
Runes are only available in DM3 or above and affect you indefinitely until you are fragged. There are four distinct runes, but only one of each exists in the arena, and you can only carry one rune at a time. As an incentive to use runes, fragging an opponent who currently has a rune will cause you to collect the rune he/she had. So here they are, in no particular order.
Regeneration is a potential lifesaver in tight situations, since whoever collects it will recover their health (and armor, if they have any) more quickly than usual. Haste greatly increases the fire rate of your current weapon, regardless of what it is. Strength doubles your damage output, but can be stacked with Quad Damage for an eightfold increase. Finally, Resistance halves the damage you would receive from enemy fire.
Capture the Flag (often abbreviated to CTF) is a variant of Team DM in which each team has a flag which other teams aim to capture, while simultaneously defending their own flag. The flag is assigned to a randomly selected stationary target; hence, the more targets there are in the arena, the more teams this mode can support. Capturing a flag owned by an opposing team involves zapping it three times, then avoiding being fragged en route to your team's flag before zapping it three times. Fragging an opponent who is carrying your team's flag will cause it to immediately return to your base. Please note that you can only capture an opposing flag if your team's flag is in your base. Finally, you can only use your flag to collect items if it is not currently being carried by an opponent.
DM and Capture The Flag are available in four distinct skill levels. The higher the level, the more items will be offered. As stated previously, power-ups are introduced at level 2 and runes added in level 3. Level 4 is identical to level 3 except for all players starting at the same skill level, equivalent to standard level 6.
In short, these modes are more challenging than most other game types, and as such are recommended for highly experienced veterans like myself. In the next post I will describe a staple game mode of Laserforce leagues worldwide: Space Marines.
DM also includes a pair of defensive items, both of which are intended to help a player resist incoming fire more easily. Armor absorbs opponents' shots, and its strength decreases with each successful hit; once the armor is depleted, only then will you actually take damage. Super Health gives 100 health points to whoever collected it, although if they end up with >100 health as a result of this, it will gradually decrease back to their starting level. Use them wisely and you should be able to survive for longer than you would otherwise.
From DM Level 2 onwards, power-ups become available for use. The Ring of Invisibility turns off the lights on your battle suit for one minute, making you more difficult for your prospective attackers or victims to detect. Quad Damage quadruples the amount of damage you can deliver for 30 seconds; it stacks with the Strength rune, thereby octupling a player's damage output if he/she has both of these active at once. Invulnerability prevents you from receiving any damage at all for 20 seconds. Utilize the benefits they confer and you will, more often than not, become virtually unstoppable.
Runes are only available in DM3 or above and affect you indefinitely until you are fragged. There are four distinct runes, but only one of each exists in the arena, and you can only carry one rune at a time. As an incentive to use runes, fragging an opponent who currently has a rune will cause you to collect the rune he/she had. So here they are, in no particular order.
Regeneration is a potential lifesaver in tight situations, since whoever collects it will recover their health (and armor, if they have any) more quickly than usual. Haste greatly increases the fire rate of your current weapon, regardless of what it is. Strength doubles your damage output, but can be stacked with Quad Damage for an eightfold increase. Finally, Resistance halves the damage you would receive from enemy fire.
Capture the Flag (often abbreviated to CTF) is a variant of Team DM in which each team has a flag which other teams aim to capture, while simultaneously defending their own flag. The flag is assigned to a randomly selected stationary target; hence, the more targets there are in the arena, the more teams this mode can support. Capturing a flag owned by an opposing team involves zapping it three times, then avoiding being fragged en route to your team's flag before zapping it three times. Fragging an opponent who is carrying your team's flag will cause it to immediately return to your base. Please note that you can only capture an opposing flag if your team's flag is in your base. Finally, you can only use your flag to collect items if it is not currently being carried by an opponent.
DM and Capture The Flag are available in four distinct skill levels. The higher the level, the more items will be offered. As stated previously, power-ups are introduced at level 2 and runes added in level 3. Level 4 is identical to level 3 except for all players starting at the same skill level, equivalent to standard level 6.
In short, these modes are more challenging than most other game types, and as such are recommended for highly experienced veterans like myself. In the next post I will describe a staple game mode of Laserforce leagues worldwide: Space Marines.
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