Learning goals
- Understand primary fire.
- Understand secondary fire and alt-fire.
- Understand aim-down-sights.
- Understand hipfire.
- Understand reload timing.
- Learn when not to reload.
Explanation
Most weapons have a primary fire, and some weapons also have secondary fire or alt-fire. Alt-fire may change the weapon behavior by firing a different projectile, detonating an effect, switching mode, launching an explosive, or charging a shot. Aim-down-sights helps with precision, weakpoints, and distance. Hipfire is useful when enemies are close, when you are moving quickly, or when perfect precision is not needed. Reloading refills the magazine, but a reload can be short, long, safe, or dangerous depending on the weapon and situation.
Controls and smart use
Default PC controls can differ by platform and custom keybinds. If your controls do not match, follow the action name in Options > Controls.
- Use LMB for primary fire on PC defaults.
- Use RMB to aim-down-sights when precision, distance, or weakpoints matter.
- Use MMB for alt-fire or heavy melee attack when the weapon supports it. Some weapons do not have an alt-fire.
- Use R to reload when safe, between enemy groups, behind cover, or while repositioning.
- Smart use: hipfire close targets, aim for distant or precise targets, and test alt-fire before judging a weapon.
What should I do?
Use the right firing style for the range. Close enemies can often be handled with hipfire. Distant enemies and weakpoints usually reward aiming. Large groups may be better handled by hipfire, abilities, or area damage. Special weapons should be tested in both fire modes before you judge them.
How do I avoid wasting time?
Do not reload after every tiny burst unless the weapon demands it. Reloading too often interrupts damage, but ignoring reloads until you are empty in front of a dangerous enemy is also risky.
Common mistakes
Watch for these patterns while practicing.
- Never testing alt-fire.
- Aiming down sights at point-blank range when hipfire would be faster.
- Hipfiring at tiny weakpoints from too far away.
- Reloading after every kill.
- Waiting until the magazine is empty in a dangerous fight.
- Cancelling movement flow because of panic reloads.
Practical example
A weapon has a normal shot and an alt-fire explosion. A beginner only uses the normal shot and thinks the weapon is weak against groups. After learning the alt-fire, the weapon becomes useful for clustered enemies.
Key Takeaways
- Before judging a weapon, test its primary fire, alt-fire, aim behavior, hipfire, and reload rhythm.
Practical task
Many weapons feel bad because the player has not tested their modes.
- Equip any primary or secondary weapon.
- In a safe mission, test primary fire.
- Check whether the weapon has secondary fire or alt-fire.
- Test aim-down-sights at medium range.
- Test hipfire at close range.
- Reload after one shot, at half magazine, and near empty.
- Write which style felt best.
You know whether your weapon has an alt-fire and when aiming or hipfire feels better.