Hero shooters are all the rage these days, but that doesn't mean they're all the same. While they feature a large variety of characters to choose from (hence the "hero" in the name), they play differently.
Rogue Company plays more like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive than it does Overwatch, but the character variety makes it an entirely different beast.
While Rogue Company is currently in closed beta that requires you to pay to play, an open beta period and then the full release will both be fully free to play.
Whether you bought in early or you're looking to get ready for the free-to-play release, here are some tips that will help you get an early jump on the competition.
1. Use the Practice Demolition Training Mode
Rogue Company is all about teamwork, and the fastest way to anger your teammates is to jump into a standard match without any idea what you're doing.
Obviously, the in-game tutorial helps with the basic mechanics, but you still won't have an idea how actual matches work, and at least right now, the tutorial doesn't cover certain match mechanics.
Fortunately, there is a Practice Demolition mode, where you and a team of fellow players face off against AI bots in the Demolition mode. This not only lets you get a feel for how planting and defusing the bomb works, but get to know the general feel of the game.
2. Play Every Character
It's only natural that as you play Rogue Company, you'll find yourself drawn to certain characters. These may even increase your win rate, which is always nice. Just make sure that they're not the only characters you play as.
You may never be interested in playing as Glitch, for example, but you should still play a match or two with this character.
Knowing how a character plays will help you understand just how to take them down when you're facing off with another player using that character. It's especially important to know every character's special abilities.
3. Remember Your Abilities
If you come from a background of playing CS:GO or similar games, it may not even occur to you that you've got a special ability on each character to help you gain an advantage.
For Trench, this is a Barbed Wire Grenade that can slow enemies, perfect for avoiding being flanked. Saint, on the other hand, can spawn a Revive Drone to revive teammates from anywhere.
Knowing these abilities can be the difference between losing a 1-on-1 or winning a 1-vs-2 situation. The above tip also comes in handy, since knowing a given character's ability can help you predict their next actions.
4. Customize Your Control Sensitivity
Any shooter generally comes with its control settings set to a sort of "one size fits all" default. This is nice, but it also means it's rarely perfect for any given player.
Customizing your sensitivity can help you pivot to catch an enemy behind you or cover corners more quickly, which is a major advantage over a player with a slower movement speed.
Of course, there's such a thing as too much control sensitivity too. Take a little time and experiment until you've found the perfect balance of speed and stability.
5. Make Sure You're Actually in Cover
Unlike many multiplayer shooters, Rogue Company uses a third-person perspective. This has both benefits and drawbacks.
The biggest drawback is knowing whether you're in cover. In a first-person game, if you can see someone, they can see you. In a third-person game, just because you can't see someone, that doesn't mean they can't see you.
To help with this, make sure to use the command that switches the shoulder your weapon is on (R1 or RB on consoles, E on PC). This helps you peek around corners and take shots at enemy players without unnecessarily exposing yourself to potential fire.
More Multiplayer PvP Games
If you're looking for free-to-play multiplayer games to play while you wait for Rogue Company to go free itself, you've got plenty of options. It's far from your only option.
