(Re-uploaded) The Vanguard: Manual to frontline combat.

[WitheredGryphon]

5. Know your maths: dead marine with kills > alive marine with zero kills.

this has absolutely nothing to do with stats or whatever, it's a simple equation. One PFC life is worth way less than one xeno. That's it, if you die with a kill or two - you're doing a good job.

This is wrong and I already posted why. Marines capable of dealing damage, regardless of kills, are far more valuable than dead ones. It also provides morale, and is one less corpse detracting from DEFCON. Not to mention if they were captured and killed, that "life" could have turned into 3+ larva for the xenos.

3. Guns tend to go dry, get lost or get taken. Always carry two.

Not using a shotgun as a backup weapon & X as a med range brawling weapon is actually quite crippling. One of the main points of this guide is to carry two weapons. Ammo is everywhere like you said and carrying two sets is no problem.

Considering I've never had issue with single weapons, I don't know how you would define "crippling." Having to manage two weapons and ammo types is by definition crippling. An MOU can cover short-to-medium range distances for shotguns. You don't need two weapon types.

2. Stop worrying about your health, modern medicine is a bliss (aka defibs).

In CM a huge chunk of the community has no balls to charge that X who is attacking the marine next to them and will rather run away in fear of losing their life. In other words this could be quoted as ''Don't be afraid of dying, you'll be revived in 99% scenarios if marines get to your corpse and if not there will always be a next round''

Except that's not what it says at all and you're putting words in that aren't there. And being defibbed does not mean you're immediately put back into the round. Being delimbed, facehugged by a combat carrier, a punctured lung, or even damaged kidneys are all reasons you could need to be medevac'd. That's not including the heart damage from multiple defibs that requires surgery before you can even be revived (and yes, this happens regularly as someone who routinely plays medic/doctor).

In other words, throwing your life away in the hopes of rescuing a marine will frequently just produce two dead marines, making everyone's job that more difficult. That is of course, assuming you aren't captured in the process.

[Avalanchee]

You still don't get it, all Ruben wanted to say was that if you take out a xeno or two and then die you contributed to the round in a good way. We're not talking "if", this is a scenario where you die. You can not avoid death, it will come eventually.

If you die with a kill you're doing it good.

MOU is all cool but like I said, this guide is focused mainly on multitasking with two weapons. Shotgun with buckshot on your suitslot & m41 on your back. Said author mentioned numerous players, including me with a note that says "watch them" - Most of us aren't sticking with big groups and having the ability to RELIABLY STUN and EXECUTE brawlers (Runners, Lurkers, Warriors) while also remaining effective against other castes such as spitters is a must, otherwise you'll struggle and have a very hard time.

>putting different words

You can ask the author for a proper explanation but in my eyes, this is exactly what I wrote. Being afraid of losing your life in CM is thing that you have to overcome in order to become better. It's an extremely limiting factor, every shot you don't take you miss.

And regarding defibs, most of the already mentioned players don't bother with evac. Perfect example being Murry, guy that will never return to the almayer and is still sitting at a positive KD.

Having fractures might be very annoying, needing to dex+ yourself every 5 minutes might be driving you crazy and having to loot corpses just to get a protein bar off their helmet to help you replenish your blood could be the bane of your existence but you're still very capable of defending yourself (at all ranges because you have 2 weapons duh) and pose a threat. This is just an approach that many of us follow, evacuating is weakness. If you're only capable of being effective at 100% health that's on you.
Call this boomer elitism but one good player is thousand times more useful than 5 randoms with MOUs and HPRs.
Leaving the field for 15 mikes just to get a fracture fixed is a fatal blow.

>trying to save a marine usually equals 2 dead marines

You see there is the problem, you fear your life.
Be confident and you'll benefit, most xenos will skiddadle or drop the guy they're dragging if they see you running towards them with a shotgun in your hands. Seriously, try it.


Sidenote for ruben
Meta M37 loadout is Gyro RC 28/12

[Grentex]

Going to have to agree with Avalanchee here.
Too many times i've watched other marines be to scared to take a shot, or to scared to save me because this one warrior has some Young Defender (241) prepared to do a weak tailsweep.
The number of times i've saved other marines going full blunt force against a warrior is a lot. Most will back off the moment they understand they are outmatched because T1s generally aren't threatening.
The only time I would say it's not worth it is when I know that the entire xeno force is barreling down on me and PFC dingus that doesn't under the word "BACK" being shouted at him x3 after saving him once from the first warrior grab.

Also using only one weapon is bad if your job is combat. Pulse Rifles are good for medium-ish range but I would be hard for me to say good at close even if you are bursting due to the lack of stun.
Same saying for shotguns as I wouldn't use an M37 for anything beyond 5-ish tiles unless i'm doing something real dumb for a meem.

This is wrong and I already posted why. Marines capable of dealing damage, regardless of kills, are far more valuable than dead ones. It also provides morale, and is one less corpse detracting from DEFCON. Not to mention if they were captured and killed, that "life" could have turned into 3+ larva for the xenos.

As said by an engineer main that I looked up to some long time ago, for marines to win, each one needs to contribute about approx 0.3 of a xeno kill as a PFC to be considered having truly properly contributed to winning for rines. Getting kills is important since it lowers the amount of total xenos which effects how many T2-T3s can evolve beyond the initial ones. No to mention, you can land hundreds of hits but if that xeno succesfully retreats, that damage is equal to nothing in the end because it'll be healed back. Lastly, dead rines don't detract from DEFCON. That was changed and people should STOP GIVING OLD INFO.

Being a Vanguard is all about trying to be at the front at almost all the possible time.
Hence the name of the guide.
It's not how to be a FOBBit or patrol rine.
It's how to play the role of the Vanguard.

[WitheredGryphon]

>trying to save a marine usually equals 2 dead marines

You see there is the problem, you fear your life.
Be confident and you'll benefit, most xenos will skiddadle or drop the guy they're dragging if they see you running towards them with a shotgun in your hands. Seriously, try it.

No, I look at the strategic and tactical advantage of having a Rambo vs. having a coherent squad. Your "Vanguard" and what a Vanguard actually is are different. A Vanguard has never consisted of one person trying to take on the world, or senselessly rambo'ing enemies. Maintaining a positive K/D is pointless, and I already said why. It's not hard to maintain positive K/D's in every single combat role. And I didn't say anything about leaving the field for a fracture, but anyone having to gulp down constant streams of Dex+ or Dylovene because they refuse to get treatment is a burden to the operation.

Going to have to agree with Avalanchee here.
Too many times i've watched other marines be to scared to take a shot, or to scared to save me because this one warrior has some Young Defender (241) prepared to do a weak tailsweep.
The number of times i've saved other marines going full blunt force against a warrior is a lot. Most will back off the moment they understand they are outmatched because T1s generally aren't threatening.
The only time I would say it's not worth it is when I know that the entire xeno force is barreling down on me and PFC dingus that doesn't under the word "BACK" being shouted at him x3 after saving him once from the first warrior grab.

Also using only one weapon is bad if your job is combat. Pulse Rifles are good for medium-ish range but I would be hard for me to say good at close even if you are bursting due to the lack of stun.
Same saying for shotguns as I wouldn't use an M37 for anything beyond 5-ish tiles unless i'm doing something real dumb for a meem.

As said by an engineer main that I looked up to some long time ago, for marines to win, each one needs to contribute about approx 0.3 of a xeno kill as a PFC to be considered having truly properly contributed to winning for rines. Getting kills is important since it lowers the amount of total xenos which effects how many T2-T3s can evolve beyond the initial ones. No to mention, you can land hundreds of hits but if that xeno succesfully retreats, that damage is equal to nothing in the end because it'll be healed back. Lastly, dead rines don't detract from DEFCON. That was changed and people should STOP GIVING OLD INFO.

Unless it was changed effective this past week, dead marines detract DEFCON because I was dragging marines into morgue while a CL read off DEFCON increasing. And unless you can point out when this was changed in the changelog, it's still current information.

Again, the MOU can easily handle mid-range distances, I didn't mention the M37 at all. I maintain over a 2:1 K/D ratio just fine as a squad marine with one weapon, so clearly it isn't this weird hindrance you both make it out to be. Not that K/D matters like I already mentioned.

[Avalanchee]

No, I look at the strategic and tactical advantage of having a Rambo vs. having a coherent squad. Your "Vanguard" and what a Vanguard actually is are different. A Vanguard has never consisted of one person trying to take on the world, or senselessly rambo'ing enemies. Maintaining a positive K/D is pointless, and I already said why. It's not hard to maintain positive K/D's in every single combat role. And I didn't say anything about leaving the field for a fracture, but anyone having to gulp down constant streams of Dex+ or Dylovene because they refuse to get treatment is a burden to the operation.

you simply don't get it, you're taking it too far with your strategic and tactical advantage rubbish. Read the guide again man, you seemingly weren't here for long, considering you have no mentions on old forums and your forum account was created in November of this year. There was a similar guide made by the same guy, named ''Rush like a fucking idiot'' if I am not mistaken and it was directly linked to this one. Can't be bothered to search for it but ruben might still have it somewhere.

Regarding KD, nobody said it's groundbreakingly important and yes, you can easily maintain positive K/D as every other role but it's not as 'skill demanding' as playing PFC well. Every dumbass can hold down LMB as a smartgunner or gib a defender offscreen with a HE rocket. Being actually capable to raise the kill ratio and fight off xenos using clever tactics & brute force when not in groups that are always supported by quadrillion smartgunners, sniper spec, B18 spec and 30 miniscope L42s from offscreen is what draws the line between people that are good at ''unconventional warfare synonym being vanguarding'' - absolutely amazing examples being Chance Warden, Pierce Jackson, Masamune Sanada or Cletus Mingle and the classic point and click & die gameplay that most of the community uses.

[Heckenshutze]

Avalance and Grentex have spoken truth here, it's good to see marines get the real interpretation and soul of the manual. My opinion on the subject: stats are tricky since you can have a good K/D by just 'finishing' and 'stealing' kills so all in all, the marine that does all the damage is worthier than the one that kills it.

New generations are still too green to understand the secrets behind 'The Delta Way to do things' (which is what have brought to us the most marine major rates since I don't know) but I'm positive everything gets inside their try-hard heads from time to time.

UPDATE: Added 2 CURSED FUCKING BAD NOT RECOMMENDED PIECE OF SHIT guides that are complementary to this one. That only a few will find a way to put in practice.

[Snezhinka]

I don't know about you guys but most of my acquired kills are from using PVTs as bait

Also, I would like to add on that it's possible to throw nades around corners. Works with the UGL as well. Pretty useful when dealing with tight hallways.

To the greenhorns who are reading this, please do not throw nades. Use the UGL. And please do not use HEFA unless you're good enough to drop them right under your target WITH the UGL.

[Anoonki]

Considering I've never had issue with single weapons, I don't know how you would define "crippling." Having to manage two weapons and ammo types is by definition crippling. An MOU can cover short-to-medium range distances for shotguns. You don't need two weapon types.

>>>Two ammo types/basic inventory management is crippling

Backpack PFC spotted

To the greenhorns who are reading this, please do not throw nades. Use the UGL. And please do not use HEFA unless you're good enough to drop them right under your target WITH the UGL.

This.
Load a HEDP, then a HEFA in a UGL. HEDP for the fat meme stun, then direct a HEFA on them for the big damage

[hatman52]

Backpack PFC spotted

Hey! Don't lump us backpack PFCs with this clown, if anything being a back pack PFC makes inventory management even more of a breeze.

Seriously, once you get the hang of using your backpack and juggling two primary guns with your suit slot this becomes a very fun, interesting and effective loadout, seriously you can carry so much stuff!!!!
Although like I said it needs some getting used too.

Also if anyone is having trouble with juggling two weapons (unholstering one and holstering the other) here is a macro that might help with that v

[PogoMarimo]

Hey! Don't lump us backpack PFCs with this clown, if anything being a back pack PFC makes inventory management even more of a breeze.

Seriously, once you get the hang of using your backpack and juggling two primary guns with your suit slot this becomes a very fun, interesting and effective loadout, seriously you can carry so much stuff!!!!
Although like I said it needs some getting used too.

Also if anyone is having trouble with juggling two weapons (unholstering one and holstering the other) here is a macro that might help with that v

Oooh, this is a great macro idea I hadn't thought of. Thanks!