Frozen Synapse

General Tips

• Go through the tutorial. Then play a couple skirmishes to get used to how things work.

• Use and abuse the preview function. If you can, try to predict your opponent's moves, and see how the resulting firefights will turn out.

• Don't move unnecessarily. Stationary units have faster reactions than moving units.

• Aiming doesn't count as moving. Spin in place all you want, as long as you're facing the right way when the enemy pops out.

• Ducking makes you move slower, but it also allows you to hide completely behind short cover. This is especially useful if you need to pop out, and kill a guy, then pop back down before his buddies can fire back. It may also make you aim better and/or harder to hit, but I'm not certain.

• Cover is your friend.

• You know all that stuff they do in the movies like have several people enter a house at the same time, cover each other, etc? Do that.

• Don't forget to cancel aim before you move again, or your guys will happily charge through the door into the enemy ass-first.

• Never assume you will win an equal engagement. (Rifleman vs Rifleman, Shotgunner vs. Shotgunner, etc.) Always find some kind of advantage, if you can.

Rifleman

• Your bread-and-butter. Treat them well, in the right hands they can be deadly.

• Riflemen are the only unit that should ever Engage-On-Sight advance through the open, and even then, only when necessary.

• A Rifleman who is behind cover will live several times longer than one who is not.

• You can beat Shotgunners at range, but if you're both moving, he will turn you into cheese before you can even look at him.

• The effective range of a machine gun is both surprisingly long, and disappointingly short.

• If you even think your opponent might have a Shotgunner in a building, stay the hell out.

Shotgunner

• You move and aim faster than Riflemen, but your effective range is much shorter. You will be cut down at anything greater than about ten feet.

• Hit and run. Pop and drop.

• Stay indoors or behind cover if you can. Open terrain is just asking to get blindsided by a Rifleman.

• When you do move through the open (it happens), make sure you're standing, and set to Continue on Sight until you're indoors again. Anything less will get you murdered.

• Generally speaking, in close-quarters, you have the advantage over riflemen, but if you're moving, and he's not, it's still a gamble, so be careful.

Grenadier

• When you're ducking, your grenades will go over short cover. When you're standing, they'll bounce off of it.

• If your grenadier isn't ducking, you're doing it wrong.

• Pop a grenade through a short-cover window into a house, watch everyone inside flee into the open or turn to smears.

• Your grenades can also be used for area denial. There's no friendly fire, so get creative.

• You have no direct defense against Shotgunners or Riflemen, so stay out of their ways.

• You having a grenadier means your opponent does, too. Try to avoid confined spaces, or grouping your guys too close together.

Rocketeer

• You have the unique ability to destroy cover.

• When you're ducking, you can also hit short cover. Many people don't know this.

• Don't be afraid to crack open the wall of a building your opponent's hiding in. It'll deny him cover, and you might just get lucky and take someone out in the blast.

• Keep near short cover, but stay the hell away from full walls, unless you want to get blown the hell up.

• Duck behind cover, pop up, fire, and duck again. There is literally no advantage to keeping your ass hanging out in the open.

Dark Elimination

• These tips also hold for other game types, but since Dark Elimination is the most-played by far, they're under this section.

• Never have anyone move alone into a building unless you're absolutely certain you know where the enemy is.

• If you don't know where an enemy unit is, always assume the worst.

• If you can't see an enemy at this very moment, you don't know where he is. Even if you saw him 0.2 seconds ago.

• It is very possible to take out an entire team with one guy. Never give up, and never get cocky.

• After about 6-8 turns, the game will end, awarding victory to whoever has the most guys left. Turtling is effective, but no one will ever play with you again.