Titanfall

Respawn Entertainment’s flagship title, Titanfall, has finally arrived. The Xbox One/PC/Xbox 360 first-person title fuses frenetic small-arms firefights with deadly clashes between towering Titan robots. Now that the multiplayer-only powerhouse is here, we’ve updated our list of tips originally published in advance of the title's release.

Here are some tips from the Game Informer staff that can give you an edge next time you jump online to play with friends and randoms.

Strategic Ejection
First-person players are used to battling to their last breath, but there’s no obligation to go down with the ship when you’re in the cockpit of a severely damaged Titan. Planning a prompt ejection from your flaming wreck of a robot is the best way to exact revenge on your destroyer. We recommend jettisoning yourself into the air and breaking line of sight with an elevated position, or aiming for your enemy’s Titan itself. Manage to land near the Titan’s mother-brain computer, and you have a chance to destroy your enemy’s rig.

Deploy Your Own Iron Giant (Updated)
Controlling Titans is a blast. What’s not to love about unleashing missile volleys and ripping enemy Pilots from their cockpits? But don’t forget that your Titan can also be used as an unmanned sentry. Your Titan automatically clicks into defense mode upon exiting it. This automated mode is great for back up while you take control of a capture post in Hard Point or simply want to double your firepower. Titans can also be set to follow you across the battlefield, which is great for baiting enemies and launching a surprise strike from above. 

Titans on auto-pilot mode provide a brilliant distraction on the battlefield, too. We’ve had a lot of success walking our self-guided Titan into an engagement with an enemy and then going for the rodeo. With the pilot distracted, you’ll either do enough damage to put them in a doomed state or force them out of the cockpit, giving your auto-Titan a chance to do some undefended damage. Just remember to watch for your mount to take a knee and jump off.

Cloak And Dagger
Every Pilot begins with the ability to cloak themselves. This Predator-like invisibility isn’t flawless, but it obscures you enough to lend an advantage. The cloak’s cooldown is quite generous as well, so don’t hesitate to activate it whenever. This stealth feature is great for fading away after firing on a Titan or keeping a low profile while securing a capture point.

Don’t Ignore NPC Grunts
Titanfall’s max player count may be 12, but multiplayer matches are populated with NPCs on either side who also duke it out. Don’t ignore the grunts, either. Popping every enemy NPC you see will speed up your Titan’s deployment, which means you can stomp enemy Pilots before theirs is ready.

Pilots Should Stick To The High Ground
Titans dominate open spaces with their lumbering mass and explosive firefights. Pilots will get squashed quickly unless they stick to building interiors or rooftops. Wall-running and double-jumping allow Pilots to traverse buildings without ever touching the ground. Chaining together wall runs also increases Pilots’ speed, allowing them to sprint through maps faster. Devising your route through a map and mastering it is key to speediness. Also, try stabbing your knife into a wall to stop mid-wall run and gain a new vantage point.

Boomerang Rocket
Certain anti-Titan weapons allow Pilots to lock on to their targets. This lock-on function can be exploited to create a boomerang effect and attack Titans’ vulnerable backs. Successfully pulling off this move allows Pilots to prevent Titans from catching projectiles in their vortex shield and tossing it back.

Smashing Titanfall
Calling in your Titan for the first time in a battle is exciting. Players’ first instinct is likely to designate the Titan drop point in a safe spot far off from a heated combat zone. While this ensures your Titan will arrive unscathed and reduce personal harm, you’ll be missing an opportunity to destroy an enemy Titan in one fell swoop. If you manage to call in a Titanfall on top of an enemy Titan it will destroy them instantly. Of course, an unsuccessful attempt will land your Titan dangerously close to the enemy, so proceed with caution.

Spawn From Your Titan
The default option for respawning after death is to reenter the battlefield as a Pilot. But if your Titan is ready, you can save some time and energy by respawning from your Titan by selecting the option after dying. It’s a fast, efficient way to seek revenge on your enemies without wasting a moment.

The Low Profile Anti-Titan Weapon
Early on in Titanfall’s Call of Duty-like progression system, Pilots have access to two anti-Titan weapons: The Sidewinder and Archer. The Archer deals heavy damage with a single homing rocket. Its downsides include a long reload time and a lock-on warning that enemies Titans can see. The Sidewinder may deal less damage per shot, but it’s multiple round magazines and lack of enemy warning give it a slight edge in our opinion. 

Use Those Burn Cards! (Updated)
Respawn recently announced Titanfall’s Burn Card feature. These special ability cards are earned throughout the game, and can be activated once per match. Bonuses include increases to Pilot movement speed, beefed-up anti-Titan weapons, and decreased Titanfall cooldown. Effects only last as long as you stay alive, so you’re encouraged to keeps streaks going.

Select burn cards based on the mission type you’re about to play. Don’t bring an amped pilot weapon to a Last Titan Standing match, but do use Titan Salvage for extra XP. Bring a Prosthetic Legs card to a CTF or Hardpoint match, but do you really need a burn card that boosts XP for grunts on a Pilot Hunter mission?

Don’t Ignore The Campaign
The campaign multiplayer might just be a bit of narrative flavor on top of normal match types, but you should take the time to play through it. It’s the only way to unlock the Stryder and Ogre Titans for your custom loadouts.

Learn To Love The Smart Pistol
The smart pistol is a great first weapon to master. It’s an invaluable aid for situational awareness, as you’ll often see lock-on trails veer off to the side making you aware of nearby foes.

The smart pistol will also detect cloaked enemies, giving you more notice if you don’t see the telltale shimmer. For grunts, which only take one shot, you’ll typically get a headshot, which is worth extra experience. Use the smart pistol enough, and you’ll unlock an attachment that speeds up your lock, making you even more deadly.

Don’t rush things with the smart pistol, though; patience is key. Do your best to get behind a pilot, then follow them and wait for a full target lock.

Adhere To Pack Mentality In Last Titan Standing
In Last Titan Standing, until you are very experienced or working with a coordinated team, do not go off on your own. Move in small packs with one or two other allied Titans, and don’t charge into obvious ambush points. Instead, try to have your team take down at least one or two enemy Titans from a distance while remaining in cover.

Hardpoint Domination Is About Early Leads And Situational Awareness
When defending or attacking in Hardpoint Domination, few tools are more valuable than the active radar pulse. While defending, use it to track where enemies are approaching from. When attacking a hardpoint, use it to find where those defenders are hiding. This same tactic applies for CTF.

Also in Hardpoint Domination, make sure you start the match with a goal to control two of the hardpoints right away. If you’re playing in  a pick-up team with little communication, that likely means that you need to hurry to the hardpoint that is second-closest to your base (usually B). Someone on your team can almost always be relied upon to take the nearest point to your spawn location (usually A or C). If your team can successfully take and hold those two hardpoints early in the match, you’ll have an early lead.

Titans Make Great Capture The Flag Guard Dogs
Whenever possible, use Titans to your advantage in CTF. Keep one allied Titan player near your base to defend. Many players try to use their own Titan on capture runs, but it can be even more valuable to work in a pair with another player.

Ride your friend’s titan to the far side of the map, and jump off to go get the flag. If you can get the flag back to your friend’s titan and hitch a ride, you’ll be in good shape – not only can your friend’s titan keep you well protected and move you across the map quickly, but if you are killed, the flag automatically passes to your friend inside his or her titan.

For more information on Titanfall, visit our cover story hub for exclusive information on the game. Mike Futter and Matt Miller contributed to this updated story.