AK-74 Guide.
Introduction to the AK
Quote:Many people complain that the Ak-74 has horrible aim, bad recoil...However, using the Ak is all about getting the feel of the weapon. First of all, what is the AK-74? The AK-74 is among SF's "rifles", as is the M4, the AN94, the M16, and the G36. It ranks among the SF community as a great weapon to use, but with bad recoil and more difficult for newcomers. However, once mastered the AK is easily the best weapon (IMO) out of SF's current cache. The best thing about the AK is that it's great for impatient people. Extremely good at rushing, it's always on the front line and the chance of you dying there is minimal compared to other weapons.
This is a picture of the AK's Stats
Pros
-most powerful weapon in terms of damage per bullet / recoil among the Rifles group
-easy to get kills, recoil is easy to control if experienced
-able to kill from long range, contrary to popular opinion
-rate of fire is easily one of the best, behind the M4 but nearly identical to the M16.
-once mastered, people using the AK will come out on top
-no need of any secondary weapon, it's clip size of 30/120 will definitely last an entire round
-when you shoot at someone, ANY shots that you land screws up the enemy's gun/rifle. This is an added bonus against killing snipers and such
Cons
-recoil is 2nd worst out of the Rifles group, hard to control if new
-REALLY heavy. So heavy that it's a must to run with a secondary weapon or a knife when rushing
-recoil blows when not crouched
-once you lose control, you're dead meat
-it costs 33,000, one of the more expensive primary weapons
Getting the Hang of the Recoil
One of the biggest problems for must AK-74 user's is the recoil. Arguably the only rifle with bad recoil, people unable to handle the recoil of this gun will definitely quit. First of all, the best combatant against recoil is to CROUCH. You can crouch by pressing (and holding) the Ctrl key. This is important to the AK-74's accuracy. In game, you will notice that any respectable AK user crouches when shooting, unless behind a box, etc. This affects the AK's crosshairs by alot. When standing and unloading a clip into some poor guy, it's easily noticed that the crosshairs of the Ak goes way out of proportion.
However, when crouching the crosshairs barely spread out, creating an easy target square. Therefore, ALWAYS crouch when shooting at someone. A good tip would also be to crouch before you shoot. Crouching after you shoot only makes it worse. Also noticable is that your gun slowly goes up when spraying, regardless of whether you stand up or you crouch. This won't be a big problem once you play a couple of games.
One dilemma that always confuses some people is that once they get their gun shooting, the crosshairs zoom out, making it really difficult to aim. Note: DO NOT CONTINUE SHOOTING. This just ensures that you're dead and they're not. Try getting back behind cover, wait for the crosshairs to resume their original position, then pop back out and fire. If you're in open space, try getting as close as possible to the enemy, to reduce the risk of missing.
When to Spray, When to Single Shot
Spraying, or continuously holding your left mouse button, is a great way to kill people extremely fast. It takes about 1.5 seconds to kill the average player up close if all bullets land on the target. However, there are certain situations where spraying is frowned upon. Some examples:
-when you're behind a box or any other cover
-when you're standing up
-when the target is far away/ hiding behind something
In these cases, spraying just causes you to waste your bullets. Therefore, it would be advisable to single shot. Shooting single shots, or rapidly clicking your mouse button, increases your accuracy by a minimal amount, because it reduces how high your gun goes up (recoil). Use single shots when you're behind cover (boxes and such).
A great example for this is when you're behind the box in Shanghai, where the red team attempts the rush out through the narrow passage and onto the docks. Rapidly click the mouse whenever someone attempts to rush or get past the box. This ensures free kills because you're behind the box, where it's difficult for people to shoot at, and they aren't
Another way to kill using single shots is when you're behind a window (Shanghai's windows are great places for this). Rapidly click at any passerbys who try to rush past you. Therefore, look for places such as those when you're in a game. Like spraying, there are certain situations where clicking is just a death wish. Some examples:
-when you're out in the open and close to your opponent
-when you're being doubleteamed
-when the target is up close
However, there is a middle ground. When single shots just dont work, and neither does spraying, then there's another viable solution: bursting. Bursting means that someone sprays for a few seconds, regains their bearings for a moment, and continues shooting. However, I recommend getting used to either spraying or single shots due to the fact that there are undeniable negatives in using burst fire.
Some people say that burst fire is weak. Using burst fire allows someone the regain their control after 4-5 shots. This is difficult because the aim of the AK has to be readjusted every time there is a stop, because there's recoil when firing and a lack of recoil when stopping. Inevitably, it will always take longer to start firing than wanted.
What would be better would be a continuous fire of single shots, where the recoil is easy to handle and the mouse is easy to control. This is much better than bursting, because it allows for a stream of bullets to be fired at the enemy, rather then a few shots, break, a few shots, break. Even bursting does not guarentee that the shots will slant left or right. Some of you may have noticed when spraying, bursting, or any time of style that requires you to hold down the left mouse, the AK's bullets may swerve left or right. I know for a fact that this does NOT happen when rapidly clicking one bullet at a time. At far ranges, realize that enemies are having as much difficulty killing you are you are killing them. So why not single shot when they try to spray? This overall makes bursting much more weaker at long distances where people are more likely to "burst", thinking they can kill the enemy, than shooting shots one at a time.
Section Dedicated to Killing Snipers
A big problem for AK users are snipers. Most of the time, they one-shot kill you when you're running, making it annoying and tedious to avoid them. The most important component against snipers is to JUMP. Jumping is essential against snipers, because it makes you that more difficult to aim at. I wouldn't recommend jumping if you lag, because it makes you slower, if only for a second. If the sniper is behind cover, it would be advisable to sneak up behind them(if you can) or keep on jumping and rush them.
Here's a tip that may or may not work for all of you players out there: Try switching to a knife while running/jumping in zigzag lines (when approaching snipers). You always have to be cautious of other teamates, but there is a big noticable difference between jumping with an AK and jumping with a knife. However, time yourself to switch back to the AK when the time is right - specifically, when you get close enough in which you feel that you have enough time to aim and kill successfully. Once again, zigzag lines are stressed. As one person noticed, it's also possible to do a combination of jumping/crouching/running. This gives you the advantage of unpredicatability.
Up close, snipers are no match for the AK's power and rate of fire. However, this doesn't mean that you should relax...sniper's may tend to pull out a shotgun/pistol. If that's the case, rush them quickly, keep them behind the box and kill them before they have a chance to shoot. Also note when a sniper reloads. It takes snipers the longest time to reload, and this happens quite frequently, since they only has 5-10 shots per magazine. When a sniper ducks down longer than he/she is supposed to, immediantly rush them before they finish reloading. For the Fr-F2, listen for when they shoot. It takes then around 1-2 seconds before they can aim and fire again, so use that time wisely. Many matches are won by listening to the click-click of an FR-F2 and knowing what to do.
It would be advisable to spray a sniper when he/she is in full sight/ and to single shot a sniper when they are running or partly behind cover, or when you yourself are behind cover. Lastly, it is important that the sniper can see as little of you as possible. This means you must ALWAYS hide behind something when not rushing, no exceptions. Crouching out in the open trying to kill a sniper is a death wish. Also, try to run/jump in a zigzag line. Doing that makes it annoying for the snipers, wh are trying to line up their crosshairs with your body. Running in a straight line makes you an easy target for snipers.
Equipments
Equipments in SF mean little to an AK-74 users. However, if you wish to buy one, buy something that's actually USEFUL. Probably the only thing you should buy is Body Armour, Boonie Hat for SAS, or the helmet. However, note that although the Body Armor and Helmet each gives protections against projectiles coming from 30 meters away (really only helpful against snipers), it also reduces your speed by 0.5. Seems like a little, but you WILL notice it ingame.
This is the body armor for
SAS ONLY. However, there
are similar armors per force,
just different colors but same
stats.
As a result, people using SAS force should be recommended to buy the Boonie Hat, which increases speed by 0.5. This cancels the speed drop out, and still provides you cover from snipers. Usually, the Body Armour will reduce the damage from a normal 100 points (1hko) to 92-99 points, which leaves you with 1-8 hp. It doesn't seem like alot, but it helps. Equipments are buyable the same place you buy your character- in the Character Shop.
Caution: it takes around 7-10k recharge before you yourself recieve money for filling up the recharge bar, so make sure you don't waste your money as to having less than 5k left. if you have the money, buy a grenade. They are helpful against glitchers and killing your glitching teamates xD.
Using the 3rd Person POV (Point of View)
A somewhat underestimated advantage, the 3rd Person POV is extremely good at three things:
1.scouting
2.you see them, they don't see you
3.shooting at people as they pass by...
In a normal game without the 3rd Person, the only way to know what's going on in your field of vision is to pop up behind something. 3rd Person POV changes it all. With that, you can still hide behind a box, press the q button to enter 3rd Person, and be able to see everything that's going on.
Although 3rd Person POV seems to be a tactic with no disadvantages, there are some. NEVER use 3rd Person when fighting someone. This blocks your view, because when the opponent and you line up, all you can see is their name, because your own character is blocking them. This makes it that much harder to aim. So when do you use 3rd Person? Simple. When you're behind a box of sorts, crouch down so NO ONE can see you, zoom out by pressing q, and wait there. When someone pops out from behind a corner, zoom back in and shoot them.
However, if you're new, give yourself a few seconds to orient yourself after the change. The difference between the two modes is obvious, so often when you zoom back in you find yourself staring at the box you're hiding behinds. Besides boxes, you can hide behind a wall, zoom out, and view the people running up and down WHILE still behind the wall. When someone gets close enough for you to know they'll pass you, zoom in and wait for them.
The best way to use 3rd Person POV to the maximum efficiency is to get behind a box, zoom out, crouch, and just wait there. Sooner or later, opponents will come rushing down upon your position, not expecting anyone to be there because they don't see anyone. READ THIS: EASY KILL. When they come rushing past you, wait a few seconds for them to pass, just in case you see another teamate following the first. After you're sure that there's no one else coming, zoom in and follow them from behind. Quickly kill them, and get behind the box if you're sure no one saw you. If someone saw you, don't go back to the box, you're going to die.
With this strategy, it is possible to rake up to 6 kills at once (maybe more if you're lucky) with out dieing at all, and with 100 hp left. Remember that if you're cover get's blown, quickly zoom back to first person and run to another position.
How to Combat Glitchers Ingame
If you know where a glitcher is (trust me, you will know), try to camp out that site while keeping yourself out of range of the glitcher. If you're on defence and the glitcher is the last man, camp out while your teamates complete's the objective. When they come out, kill them. Another way would be to throw grenades. When a grenade explodes, the glitcher get thrown up, where in some cases will expose the glitcher's head. Immediantely switch to the AK, and spray the heck out of them. Note that this tactic only works for several spots.
Otherwise, if you can't do anything else, avoid the particular spot. Often, there are multiple paths to one place. If you meet any other type of glitchers (yes, there are more), your best bet would be to hide from their POV, wait for them to pop out of wherever they were glitching, and spray them.
Conclusion/Credits
The AK-74 is a worthwhile weapon to use. Remember to crouch before firing, etc.
That's All Guys.
