When you join a server, you will begin in spectator mode. You should resist the temptation to press fire and join the game immediately, although a random weapon configuration is provided each time you start a map it is advisable to familiarise yourself with the menus nonetheless. On the left-hand side of the screen you will notice a menu, on this list there are several options:

  1. Join Game
  2. Buy
  3. Remove Item
  4. Reset config
  5. Save config
  6. Load config
  7. Random weapons

To deal with them in order:

  1. Join game

Fairly self-explanatory, once you’ve selected the configuration you want, press 1(or alternatively, fire) to join the fray.

  1. Buy

Enter this menu and be confronted with a vast array of weaponry for your delectation. The various firearms/knives etc are split into categories: Pistols, Sub-machine guns, Rifles, Shotguns and ‘Other’. We will look more closely at the range of weaponry later.

  1. Remove Item

Once you have selected weaponry, you can enter this menu to remove specific weapons from your configuration.

  1. Reset Config

If you are unhappy with your entire configuration(or simply wish to use kung-fu) this option will clear your entire loadout, leaving you free to select different weaponry or simply join the fray.

  1. Save Config

If you have found a range of weaponry that works well, you can save it and spare yourself the trouble of having to select each weapon every time you want to use it. You have 9 slots in which to save differing configurations, simply open this menu when you are using your preferred selection and press the desired number to save.

  1. Load Config

Once you have saved configurations in your game, you can access them again by opening this menu and pressing the corresponding number between 1 & 9. there are no default saved configurations, so any saved loadouts in this menu must be of your own making.

  1. Random Weapons

If you’re feeling adventurous, or just don’t care, you can trust to chance and receive a random selection of weapons. You can always throw them away if you don’t like them…

In Deathmatch games, you have no limit(apart from the number of free slots you have) on how many weapons you buy. However, in Teamplay maps, the amount of money you receive is dependent on your number of frags/level of success. Which makes it more of a challenge to afford heavier weaponry. You can only access the buy menu when waiting to respawn. Although new weapons can be picked up in game from disarmed/dead players by pressing use whilst looking at the dropped weapon.

The Buy Menu – Weapons

The weapons menu can look rather intimidating at first, but it’s only as complicated as you want it to be. This is because most of the weapons are very customisable. Additions such as flashlights, lasersights, scopes and silencers are all available to be attached to the majority of weapons.These additions can be useful, depending on how you want to play the game. Lasers, for example, are excellent for helping you aim more precisely, but they can also give away your location, as other players can see the red dot projected wherever you are aiming.Ultimately, the modifications you make to your choice of weapons is up to you, and here’s how to do it: When you open the buy menu, as mentioned before, you are presented with the weapons split into their various classes.

Let’s say that you want to buy a pistol; Press 1, and a menu will branch off showing you all the pistols available to you. Now let’s say you want to buy the SOCOM Mk23; Press the corresponding number (2) and yet another menu will appear.

In this new menu will see the option to buy the gun and the various other additions you can make to it. In this case, we will add a silencer (press 2) and a lasersight (press 3). Now the gun is configured, press 1 to buy it. If you wish to cancel and pick another weapon, press 0 to back out to the previous menu. You can of course have as many, or as few, attachments as you want, but you must add the attachments before you buy the gun. Here is a brief explanation of the effects that each of the weapon attachments have:

Suppressor/Silencer : This will reduce the noise that your weapon makes when fired and also reduces muzzle flare, it also very slightly increases the accuracy and decreases the power of the weapon.

Flashlight : An attachable flashlight that you can activate and de-activate, useful for those dark areas.

Lasersight : Creates a handy red dot in the centre of your crosshair, making aiming easier, the disadvantage of this is that it can be spotted by other player, hence giving your position away.

Scope : This allows greater accuracy when firing on from a distance, activated with Alternate Fire.

Please note that the buy menu will only function correctly if your number keys are bound to your weapon slots. For example 1 is bound to slot 1 etc, this can be changed in the key configuration menu. However these are the defaults and you should have no need to change them.