Global Agenda Melee Recon Guide

Global Agenda Melee Recon Guide by Pluberus

Introduction:

Seeing as GothoFury doesn’t wanna write a guide, I decided to compile a list of tips and create this simple guide to the Melee Recon. Hopefully this will help those new to Recon become a little better. This guide is written with PuGs in mind, as I have nearly no AvA experience. Most people say that the usefulness of Meleecon in AvA is limited, so you might want to spec Sniper when playing in an Alliance vs Alliance battle.

The recon class (all specs) has a high skill ceiling which means that there is a big difference in player effectiveness between a poor Recon and an excellent one. I would argue that being a good recon (of any spec) takes alot more practice than any other class. Be prepared to take a lot of flak for playing Meleecon; many people fail to see how useful a good Meleecon can be (probably from seeing many poor ones). It is your job to prove them wrong.

Do not be discouraged if you fail the first few times you try Meleecon. Meleecon is a difficult specialization to be effective with, but with practice, you can be a great asset to your team.

Skills:

Don’t be afraid to experiment! I typically do not use the Jetpack skill because I prefer the increased defense since I’m always in the thick of battle. Besides, Meleecons are almost always running around on the ground, not jetpacking around.

Equipment:
Experiment. If the situation calls for it, change your equipment in the middle of the match. I prefer the EMP Nade over mines because it allows you to be more useful when a group of people are clumped together on a point. Not to mention the player stun, which helps a ton with Meleeing enemies.

Depending on the situation take Bionics or Decoy. Decoy is great for distracting turrets or groups of enemies. Bionics is great for escape or hunting people down. Here is my suggested equipment loadout:

Sword
4 Rifle
Jetpack
4 Sprint Stealth
4 Melee Stim
2 Decoy/Bionics
1 Sticky Mine/EMP Nade

Upgrades:
Again, experiment. Mess around with common upgrades and use what you like best. I strongly suggest using +Speed Upgrades over +Melee Upgrades because they make you harder to hit and allow you to survive longer. This in turn lets you do more damage. For defensive upgrades, try HP or Ranged Protection.

Your job as a Meleecon (Pick Up Games):

• Your job is disruption. Be a Robo’s worst nightmare. Take out all deployables, spike damage medics, hunt down that beacon!
• Use your headphones – You can often here enemies sneaking up on you. It also helps to pinpoint their location.
• If a point is about to be capped, fight on the point!
• Protip – Use the Q button! (Your Last Used weapon button/Quickswitch)[/u]. Using this key properly makes you alot quicker when switching from sword to stealth or from sword to gun in situations where you must swap weapons alot. (i.e. Close Quarters Battle)
• Do not waste your time with an enemy intent on escaping. It is better to let them escape instead of letting them lead you away from the point. You did your job by making them run away. (Disruption) Kills are not everything.
• Switch to your rifle when not in Melee range, or when your enemy begins to use his/her shield. Do not limit yourself to only your sword.
• Prioritize targets. Deployables should be your top priority – Beacon, Turrets, Heal Stations, etc. Also remember to target medics before you attack the Assaults they’re healing.
• Keep yourself alive off the HP Bubbles players drop when you die. If you’re low on health, look for a “weak” opponent, kill them, and eat their bubble.
• Practice! Don’t be discouraged if you fail.
• Listen to criticism but don’t be overwhelmed. Chances are, you have room to improve. If one your teammates criticizes you, try to improve in that area (i.e. standing on the point, find the beacon, get the medics, kill the turrets, etc).

Your Mission in AvA – by GothoFury
Your job is a tough one and takes a great familiarity with the recon to pull off.

My base AvA Spec (tweak accordingly)

• Planning on taking out Passive Protection 1 for Bomb Effect Potency when I get epic protection upgrades
• Only difference from my PvP spec is changing Melee III for Explosive Area Increase
• Why? b/c if you have to switch to a 2 bomb or 3 bomb build your more balanced
• Won’t you be underpowered if you switch in bombs? No, bombs are primarily used to debuff/stun, not kill.
• When comparing my dmg numbers to a bomb/recharge spec, I got similar scores, and didn’t feel the increased bomb dmg justified the loss in versatility

Priorities:

• Staying alive – a death puts a great strain on your team, not only does it knock the fight down to 9v10, but now your beacon carrier has to work on safely porting you in.
• Teamwork – while of course beacon, turrets, and kills are your priority, in order to achieve it your going to need to work as part of a team.
• Your spec and offhands are reflective of the mission, not just your preference. Before the match begins you need to take note whether you’re attacking or defending, and whether you’re doing a breach, control or payload mission.
• Next look at your opponents, you’ll of most likely see familiar names and group composition. Then switch your offhands accordingly. Adapt.
• Communication – Talk to your other recon, decide how much pressure your going to have to put on the beacon carrier, some games you’ll find it’s better to leave the beacon hunting 100% to the sniper, others it’ll be 50/50. The synergy between a sniper and melee/bomber can be devastating. For example, if your full bomb it’s a wasted effort and you’ll most likely just get yourself killed going after a good robo.

If you repeatedly get beat by the same team and feel underpowered, try changing to heavier bomb build (most likely for Breach), I preferred a bomb/recharge spec.

Make sure to not only focus on your target but be aware of how the battle is progressing, your not always trying to go for the kills, sometimes you need to apply pressure to tanks or even leave the action entirely and search for the beacon.

Method of Attack

• Choose a target – I prioritize turrets and beacons. However, I do target most players I see (try to kill Medics first, and Robos guarding their nests).
• If you get at least 7 common speed upgrades and are fully specced for Meleecon, you will be much faster than your opponents. Speed is the key to Meleecon survival
• Sneak up on your opponent and try to attack them from behind. If available, use your Melee Stim immediately before you start attacking them.
• Once your opponent notices you, circle strafe (Use the A and D keys while sliding your mouse to keep your field of view/your attacks focused on their person) around them while continuously hitting them with your sword.
• If they try to run, switch to your gun and shoot them. You can try to follow them, but if they are intent on escaping, just let them go. You should be staying near the objective.
• If enemies are standing on the point, toss the EMP Nade to clear it. Those who don’t move are stunned. After it explodes, begin fighting on the point. Hopefully your team will arrive soon and give you backup.

Opponents

• Posion Medics – These are difficult. Try to kill them quickly and DON’T run away if you are posioned. Unless there is a Heal Station or Medic nearby, you will need to kill them and take their health bubble to survive.
• If you do run into some tough poision medics that are giving you a tough time, switch in Sealed Systems for your bomb/mine slot, which should then make it an easy kill.
• Minigun/Inferno Canon Assaults – You can usually just circle strafe around them with their speed and they can’t do anything about it.  However, there are some extremely good assaults that can own you with the Minigun/IC at point blank.

Terms

• Meleecon – Abbreviation for Melee (Close combat sword user) Recon
• Rerecon – Cryme’s term for Meleecons (Retarded Recons). He may be a forum troll, but do NOT underestimate his in-game skills.

Helpful Links:

• Meleecon + Medic PuG duo – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqR0TiyDlSY
• GothoFury’s Channel – http://www.youtube.com/user/gothofury
• Meleecon in AvA – http://www.youtube.com/user/gothofury#p/u/7/MWJmcCEVWQs

Contributors

• Thanks to GothoFury for inspiring to compile and write this guide.
• Thanks to RisingSun for the excellent questions to improve this guide.
• Thanks to Cryme for inspiring debate.

Notes
This guide is a Work In Progress. I will edit and add more a little bit later.
If you see me failing as a Meleecon in-game, try not to flame me too much. Its much harder than you think.