High, I'm Johnny Ringo, Gamer Junkie, gunslinger and part-time smartass. I like long walks on the beach, TI and verbally beating down morons in game. Shooting people in the digital world keeps my powder dry. Real world I'm a military vet and a film actor. But that's not relevant to why you're reading this. YOU want to know how to be like me...or just be better at TI.

I'm here to show you all that I can to help you play better. So, read ahead and learn how to improve your game and be more like Ringo.

This may be the largest section of the guide because there is so much to cover and weapons and equipment are a huge part of improving your game. It can also be a bit daunting at first for new players. I continually hear questions like:

"Where do I get a silencer for my gun?"
"What boots should I buy?"
"Why is my mom calling you at 1AM?"

So, I'm hear to answer those questions and more...except that last one. You know why she's calling bro.

To start with you have 50000 GP as a new player. Most people will blow that faster than Charlie Sheen goes through blow. Here is your first lesson.

DO NOT RENT! DON'T RENT GUNS! IT IS EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You waste your GP with no permanent results. Your starting GP is valuable. Use it wisely.

Lesson two. THE STARTING WEAPONS SUCK. That said, the Bekas is fairly solid. If you don't want to buy another gun straight out, use it or the PSP sniper to start. The Skorpion and M1 are fun ways to get yourself killed more. However, killing a level 40+ player with one can often times create great wailing and nashing of teeth...which you want to achieve.

So, you have 50K GP. What should you do?

Well the first thing you may want to consider if you enjoy the game is picking up a starter pack. Yes, TI is free to play, but you can get a jump start on your game by picking up some downloadable content on the cheap. For only $3 you can pick up the quickfire pack and get a slightly better rifle, a decent SMG and a nicer pistol w/ silencer (the only place to get the P2000 with silencer right now btw).

I'd say DON'T buy the Quickfire unless you want the P2000 silenced.

For $5 (technically 4.99) you can grab a CT or Terrorist starter pack. Some solid guns, decent gear and dogs unique to the packs. I recommend these to everyone to start. This is about 1/10 of the cost of buying CoD for any platform and you'll have a ton of fun.

For $12, snag up the Full Metal Overcoat and go crazy. Great guns and great gear. About 1/4 of the cost of CoD and you'll have a lot of the best stuff in the game.

But, you don't want to spend moneys. OK. You have GP.

The best bang for your buck (pun intended) on weapons is to grab them permanent. With only 50K GP you don't have a ton to work with. I am going to give you the five best options to buy permanent with starting GP:

1.) P90 SMG. At only 29K GP you'll have some left for gear, which is nice. The P90 has a sexy mag size and is great for driving maps. Great starter weapon.

2.) Super V. At 27K, you'll have cash left over as well. Smaller mag size than the P90, but more damage. Also still solid accuracy even after being nerfed a bit. This used to be the gun EVERYONE played with.

3.) SWAT. 47K GP. One of the best rifles in the game. Solid accuracy, decent damage and an amazing rate of fire. My top recommendation for starting rifle.

4.) M4. 49.5K GP. Takes up nearly all your starting GP but a great gun for beginners and pros alike. Everyone respects someone who can handle the M4.

5.) Aug. 50K GP. Accuracy for days. Not as broken as it was in CoD Black Ops but a fun, fun weapon.

So, now you have your starting weapons figured out and you weren't a dummy wasting your GP on renting. If you dropped some cash, you have some starting gear too.

Now, how do I equip it and get to it in game?


On the main screen you have several options in the left-hand column. SHOP is where you buy stuff. RACK is where you select the guns you want to have available to switch between in game. It's also where you get silencers and optics and cool stuff for your guns. More on that later.

INV is where you set up what equipment, boots, helmets and skins your character will have. You can create 3 options for CT and 3 for Terrorist. These are you "classes" so to speak.

First off, I want to talk about how you buy boots and stuff. Once you click on SHOP, go to the APPEARANCE tab at the top. No, it's not under Equipment. Yes, that's weird.

Skins are optional and just make you look badass. They don't enhance performance.

My suggestion is that you have one appearance item equipped for each available category. I will now break down the best (IMHO) from each category.

HEAD

Get the best helmets. They ARE CT/Terrorist specific, so you'll have to buy one for each. Protektor for Terrorist and GSG9 for CT. Don't waste your time with the lesser helmets. Both of these are 36K GP. Their huge plus is their ability to reduce headshot damage. Headshots in game are the fastest way to die.

However, my personal favorites are the headsets. In particular the Panther headset. It's only 13K GP and it goes a long way to telling you what's going on around you. Situational awareness is key. It enhances your sound, makes your radar more useful AND shields you from the noise caused by flashbangs (which are EVERYWHERE). I use the Panther exclusively.

FACE

Hawkeye Goggles, end of story. 17K and major protection from flashbang. Flashbangs suck and everyone uses them. You will thank me that you got these.

HANDS

Flight (14K) or Beatdown (15K). Only two options. Use speed is key for planting and defusing bombs and picking up ammo packs. Also gloves affect melee damage. Flight are best for use and offer solid melee bonus. Best all around gloves. Beatdown are the king of melee. So many people cry about these gloves...which means you should be using them.

FEET

With boots you want fall protection and stamina bonus. That said, go with the Trail Shoes II at 15K or the GSG9 at 15K.

HOLSTER

Midnight III. Do NOT ignore the poawer of the holster. Switching weapons faster is awesome and for 9K this holster gives you that and a little XP bonus.

Now that you have gear, how do you equip it?

Click on INV in the main screen and select one of the 3 options for CT or Terroist. Once it opens it will look like this.

Ringo the CT

Ringo the Terrorist

Make sure you add an item for every category. Also, this is where you can switch your grenade types from Frag to Gas or from Flash to Smoke. Not a lot of new players know this. I'd stick with the defaults.

Don't forget to click save. This is also where you equip your EQUIPMENT and PERKS. More on those now.

EQUIPMENT

Heavy Armor or Dogs. Charges and Shields can be fun, but I always run between Heavy Armor and dogs. Between those, Heavy Armor is my favorite. You have to rent it every 7 days. There is no permanent option. It's about 8500GP, but if you play a lot...or too much like me, you can afford it.

PERKS
GP bonus perks don't do enough to warrant buying them. I would avoid them. Also not a fan of the ammo perks because they plus your total ammo count but not your mag size. Mag size would be way more useful.

For perks I run XP bonus and GP/XP bonus. Earning XP faster does nothing for you but give you the prestige of rank. Plus there are achievements tied to XP and I am an achievement ♥♥♥♥♥.

Now you have all the bells and whistles. But how do you get a silencer or sexy optic? And how do you make your weapons available in game?

Click on RACK from the main screen.


The default page shows you your current deployed load-out. These are the weapons available for you to use in match. You can switch your weapon in match by selecting F2. Upon respawn you will have the different weapon.

Click on each subcategory and select the rifles, pistols etc you want available in game.

Now, from the subcategories you can buy cool stuff for some of your guns.


Personally, Holo Sight and Flashlight are my favorites. The C button turns flashlight on and off in game. It's great for those dark little corners in the Office and other maps. Holo gives you a nicer sight and a little more accuracy. If you need your CoD clutch and must have ADS buy an ACOG.

These items are rent only and last 14 days. Generally get them for your primary use weapon only to save on GP.

With all my gear and stuff, here are what my stats look like. In the bottom left corner you see a sum of bonuses and penalties. This is why boots and such are so important.


Now onto basic ettiquette.

Here are ten things NOT to do in game that will help you not be a douche:

1.) You can't ADS unless you have an ACOG from the Rack, A G36 or a Sniper. DON'T ASK HOW YOU AIM?! Every new player does this....that's a lot of chat waste and then people get butthurt when they don't get an answer.

2.) Every player who is better than you is not a hacker...just stop. Some people are just really, really ridiculously good. Guys like Conan, Platinum Caliber and IMEI will curb check you and calling hacks makes you look dumb. If they have the Russian F encasing their name, or the [MVP] before their name, they are probably just really, really badass.

3.) Don't call players that are much higher level than you, noob. It signifies that you don't know what the word means and it makes you look like an ass.

4.) Don't kill the hostages if you are a terrorist in hostage rescue maps. You hand the other team the game and you look like a total asshat.

5.) Don't be a DJ. No one wants to hear your damn music.

6.) Don't have an open mic. It makes it hard for others to play and no one wants to listen to you grunting and clacking your keys for a whole match.

7.) If someone is being an idiot in chat, hit F3 and click the volume icon. This mutes them. Don't tell them OVER AND OVER to turn their music off or close their mic in voice chat. It makes YOU annoying too.

8.) Don't team swap and/or team stack. Now, when you get higher level, you'll want to play with your friends, so some of that is understandable. Clans also play on the same team. But switching to the winning team mid game is a jackass move.

9.) Don't talk ♥♥♥♥ if you're being carried. Also don't say dumbass stuff like "Too easy". It makes you sound pompous and I like to throat punch pompous people. If you want to say ♥♥♥♥ like that hit the quote key and say it to your team.

10.) Don't cry about stupid ♥♥♥♥ like OP guns and gloves, kill stealing, camping, shotgun noobs or other excuses why you suck at the game. Cowboy up and embrace the suck. Citing your horrible ping or Frames Per Second rate is tolerable.

Now that we have that done. What are the 25 things you should be doing to play better?

Here are the top 25 things you can do to be a better TI player. Do these and see a massive improvement in your game and standing.

1.) Pick up ALL the bag drops you find. When a player dies, they usually leave behind a bag that glows green on your screen. Pick that thing up using F. It has HEALTH and AMMO in it. You ALWAYS need those bags. ALWAYS. Pick them ALL UP! DO YOU HEAR ME! Never leave a bag behind. This alone will drastically improve your KD.

2.) Kneel to shoot. It improves your accuracy. It is the cntrl button. I set mine to toggle in options. Kneeling is the key to more and more headshots.

3.) Headshots kill! Shoot for the head. Or more accurately, shoot for the upper chest. Muzzle climb will find the head on your burst.

4.) EMBRACE MELEE. If you don't have a CoD dependency and aren't using a sniper rifle, the right mouse button pistol whips or buttstrokes your opponent. It does a lot of damage. Get used to using melee as soon as you close the distance. With beatdown gloves, always have a rifle. Rifle is the best weapon for melee damage. Melee is king.

5.) HEAL YOUR TEAMMATES. Aim at them and hold T. You have a monitor bar under your health meter that is colored red. If there is red in your box HEAL SOMEONE. For one, it keeps the enemy from getting more kills. Secondly, you get XP for healing!!! Healing others helps you!

6.) Reload obsessivley. Never get caught with an empty mag. I set my reload to automatic when empty in options.

7.) Play missions to get more XP and GP. You get way more of both in missions than in TDM.

MAP SPECIFIC

8.) As VIP, if you die, your team loses. Let them cover you. If you aren't VIP and are CT, cover the damn VIP.

9.) In Castalla, ALWAYS go left as CT. Rushing middle can work, but it can easily become a death trap. Going right is a damn sure way to get sniped. Always left. Even if you encounter resistance, you have escape options AND better cover.

10.) When driving, don't oversteer. Just tap the left and right buttons. You won't run into as much stuff. And step on the damn gas!

11.) When driving, the VIP car is the most important car. CTs should protect that car. Don't race it to the finish. Terrorists should focus on killing the VIP car or ambushing it at the end of the map by speeding ahead. All else is dumb.

12.) Uprising Mission. ALWAYS PLANT AT A. Both A positions offer the best cover positions for terrorists and the coolest ambush spots. Same goes for Airport.

13.) Morning Calm. When starting at the base of the cliff, ALWAYS GO RIGHT WITH THE BOMB. Left is a death trap for sure.

14.) When driving, the space bar is a break! Use it to power slide around corners without hitting stuff. Space bar is a MUST for driving.

MORE Basics

15.) RADAR IS YOUR FRIEND. Your basic HUD shows friendlies in green and enemies in red. If they are on the same level plane as you (same height on map) they will be solid. If they are above or below you they will be a dot in the center of a ring. The larger the dot, the closer they are. Their location on the HUD ring shows what direction they are in. This will help you avoid ambush and hunt down prey easier.



16.) When coming out of spawn protection ALWAY melee the closest enemy. They can't hit you while you are spawn protected so don't fear them. As soon as you shoot your spawn protection goes away and they can kill you. Melee can be a one hit kill and save you from spawn kill (another thing you should NEVER cry about). If you have a sniper, aim carefully with your first shot. Use the protection to your advantage.

17.) Using X to roll is a great way to get to cover and to dodge sniper fire (unless you are rolling TOWARD the sniper).

18.) When you have to choose between melee and knife, choose melee. Also remember that melee is best when combined with rifle. Right mouse to melee. Do it OFTEN.


19.) Keep moving. Find cover on the move. When someone kills me from a camp position, I will go right back there and kill them. Respawn is the enemy of camp. Always be moving.

20.) When approaching someone with spawn protection, KILL THEM. Don't worry about the "spawn kill" label and the whiners who wield it. They will not hesitate to use spawn protection to kill you and they would kill you while you were respawning in a heart beat. They are hypocrites. The best way to approach them is from behind. Circle them and stay moving. As soon as they shoot, they lose protection, then kill them. Watch for people who obey rule 16. They may eat your lunch.



21.) Unless it's your own or FF is on, friendly fire and gas won't hurt you. Let other players know that they can safely go through gassed or firey areas you created.

22.) Never be affected by arbitrary rules other create for the game. Don't let people bully you into not using armor, shotguns, AS50, beatdown gloves or anything else they deem OP or noob. Use what you're good with. The military never mothballs their badass hardware in the name of fair play. You shouldn't either.

On this note, don't worry about labels like "camper" or "spawn killer" or "kill stealer". If it works for you, then do it. Don't worry about people who have to make excuses for why you are better than them. Let them cry and die. And shoot EVERY enemy you see...though be mindful of friendly fire. Letting someone "call kills" is a good way to get you both killed. I know when I'm going up against guys like Ninja Cookies, Cheese or Deadeye I'm always down for someone else helping me take them down.

Being called a hacker is the ultimate compliment. Unless you are hacking...then you're just a lying douche and a scumbag...



23.) Always be fully equipped. We covered this before, but make sure you have gloves, boots, perks equipment, attachments and everything you can possibly have that gives you bonuses in play. If you don't have it yet, earn the GP to get it. If not, you are playing to a disadvantage intentionally. On this note, if a weapon or piece of equipment is "broken" or "OP"...you should be USING IT, not crying about i.

24.) Spectate matches. Find the great players and watch them play. See what they do. It's a great way to learn about the game. Spectate is also a great tool if you suspect someone of hacking. You can learn if you're right about them, or if you're just a bit weepy and making excuses. Yes, I have been guilty of weepiness.

25.) Play, play, play, play, play. Practice really doesn make perfect...or close to.

So my homeboy Zengo wanted to chime in with some tips and tricks for players who want to play like absolute douche canoes...I mean...pros. Yes...pros. Pros do all this ♥♥♥♥. Live by it all!


ALWAYS pick up a fire extinguisher. Blowing a white cloud will allow you to grab hostages on the floor above or below you to win the game!

NEVER unlatch from your rappelling umbilicus. Think of it as your mom, you never want to let go. This way you wont be bothered by using the big-boy guns.

ALWAYS crouch down, as a passenger, for the entire duration of a car ride.

The driver who is whining about his poor health is just a ♥♥♥♥♥, or a liberal who is looking for a free hand out. Don't even think about healing him, the player who dies with the most unused health points wins the game.

Bystanders are there for your plinking enjoyment. The dead players on your team who are shadowing you are mostly impressed by the sniper head shots you deliver to the Asian driver from 12 feet away.

Who needs that RPG launcher or Grenade gun? Those are just put there for the noobs. Real men use the scorpion to take out an enemy car.

And remember, pistols are the best for long range shooting, shooting through walls, shooting at cars and especially for shooting or bashing hostages! And be sure to get one with a pimp skin, it will make it shoot longer and harder!

Don't forget the forklift! Driving that super-charged beast is the key to absolute victory in Uprising!