I’ve played Dirty Bomb for over 250 hours and have been somewhat addicted to it. If you love First Person Shooters (FPS) games like CounterStrike, Call of Duty, Battlefield, I think you will enjoy Dirty Bomb. This in my opinion is one of the best free to play co-op FPS game available right now. It’s free and does not employ Pay to Win business model (yet). As free to play games tend to deviate towards pay to win, Dirty Bomb has been online for some time without angering the community like EA.
The DirtyBomb gaming community’s only gripe is the RNG (random name generator) way of getting items/rewards. There’s no difference as to how players obtain rewards on games either they pay real money or game currency. Most reward contain random item or skin which players often have no control over. Dirty Bomb seems to be trying to not seem like a pay to win platform. They have a good development cycles, public announcements and open discussions on forums. While it has been in the beta since like forever, it’s pretty stable and fun to play. While there are bugs, glitches and quirks it is very very fun.
Here are some of the tips and tricks I’ve gathered from hours and hours of playing that will help beginners:
-
Go through the tutorial:
If you go right into the game, you are going to get hammered and feel like a noob. At least take the time to make some practice run in the tutorial section to know what you can accomplish. There are power jumps, double jumps you can do in Dirty Bomb which can save you a lot during actual games.
-
Configure your settings/keys:
If you are a gamer, then you need to look through keyboard settings on your settings panel. This will avoid you from finding something out mistakenly which you could have been using all along. Also, you won’t press the suicide ‘k’ button when someone makes you press it.
In Dirty bomb, you can configure a lot of keys from your keyboard and mouse. You can also set the state of the stance. For example, you can press the right click and hold to scope or make it a toggle. Same with running and crouching. If you have extra keys on your mouse, you can configure them as well.
-
Know your teammates and communicate:
As you are new, you need to practice your guns, moves, and power-ups. You can’t possibly do that on your own against all your opponents. You will have more freedom to point and shoot or lay down you are deployable with teammates around you. As you master these, you can lead the next run.
Also, keep an eye on the minimap and re-spawn time. Mini-maps let you know where your friends are and when you can be most helpful. The respawn time a timer that you wait to re-spawn after it runs out. If you are about to die, probably wait up/hide/defend in a way everyone is not dead on your team.
Also use team-chat (Key:U) to talk about strategy and location. So that only an engineer can do his job without every one else stacking on the objective. There are times where many people will throw airstrike on same location where it becomes less effective. So use the mic or team chat to better co-ordinate your moves.
-
Consider the spawn time, health, and ammo:
A spawn time is counting down from 30 secs on your HUD. This is the time you have to wait before you can re-spawn, If you die when the time spawn is at 25 secs, you will have to wait this time to re-spawn with the rest of the players that die during this time. So it’s appropriate to make the best of it by not wasting too much time waiting to re-spawn.
Check your health/ammo and spawn time to make aggressive moves so that even if you die, you will have less time to wait and spawn with your friends
-
Use objectives based gameplay
Some mercs perform well in some maps and limited on some. Mercs like Skyhammer, Kira, Arty’s AoE abilities are very limited in underground or inside buildings so before you start the game, consider which merc can do the most damage.
Also switch to Merc as necessary. Check the current mercs on your team and the state of your objectives, if you aren’t winning you may need to change to a merc that is better fit for the objective. There are maps where stages go from outdoors to indoors, so If you die between them, you have an option to choose another merc that would offer better advantage in that situation.
-
Right place for your deployable
This can make and break a game. As Aura, you can place health station; you hide it behind a wall easily accessible for you and your team, hidden from enemy sight. Your teammates can replenish their health and go out and kill in no time. Bushwhacker can place turrets which can take out the enemy from a corner hidden in plain sight. Proxy can set mines nearby enemy objectives where they have to activate C4. As the enemy is in a hurry to place their C4, they are most likely not notice it before its’ too late.
-
Know your role in-game:
If everyone goes on a suicide run, no matter how good you are, you will be overrun by the enemy. You can choose three mercs in-game so use them correctly. If the team lacks a medic be a medic they need. Don’t try to start a game with a merc you’ve never tried.
If you feel like you’re winning is inevitable, then you can try out the new mercs abilities. Without knowing your merc, you’re just jeopardizing everyone in the team which can cost you the game.
-
Don’t get hung up on load-out cards
Often people complain they are outplayed by players with a higher level of loadout card while they have a lower level card. While there are slight advantages, they only apply when one player has a bronze card or higher, and the other does not. They still can be beaten, and loadout cards don’t make mercs bulletproof.
It’s often related to experience in the game. The new players’ are likely to have less practice and no good loadout cards, while people having played the game enough will have higher level loadout card and also with more skills. Once you get the bronze loadout card, they are not too different from Gold ones.
-
Gather your daily gifts:
Dirty Bomb gives you daily rewards for playing a game. Here you can win credits and loot boxes which give you load out cards. So you will need to play at least one game to qualify.
Play missions for credits:
The missions regularly update on the first screen which when you complete give you high credits. Accomplish these tasks quick as an easy way to your favorite merc. Also if you are late or don’t feel like finishing a mission, you can cross it out which will renew a new mission after some time.
-
Utilize free merc rotation before buying a merc
Dirty Bomb has (random) merc rotation where you can play them for free without buying them. So if you want to buy a merc, it’s best to go through after you’ve played all the Mercs at least a few times. Don’t just purchase a merc because you liked it a few times you’ve tried them.
