im going to now start talking from a perspective that you have a good idea of what halo is, and are able to do pretty well in many gametypes, and are ready to get into various gametypes like MLG & Team Snipers, so, here's a few tips to make you, a better player and make you better at MLG to pwn all them noobs!
1. The Importance of Communciation
You may hear people in high level Arena / MLG shouting stuff out like "1 SHOT" or "MOVING TO (Insert location), Now, while you may not initally understand this, it should become a bit clearer now.
There are two reasons people communicate.
1. To show how damaged a player is, if he's 1 shot then he has no shields left at all, and 1 shot to the head or 1 beatdown will kill him, because, obviously he's 1 shot and will die to anything, but you need a second thing to kill him.
2. His location, if you don't get the location, you won't know where he is and he will be able to regain shields, and he will just be a pain in the *** for the rest of the game.
if you nail these 2 reasons perfectly, everyone will want to team with you, but there is 1 other important thing.
CALLOUT EVEN IF YOUR ALIVE, oh my god, you don't know how annoying it is to hear a callout when someone is dead, because that is just silly, you will have an unfair advantage, because, despite having a general location of where the guy he is, it will be 4v3 or something like that, and he will have his teammates around him most likely, so, communication is important in all fronts, whether you are dead or alive.
EDIT: i can't link to anything because, despite searching through google, i can't find callouts, any help would be greatly appreiciated.
2. Life Over Death, A Simple Factor, right?
now while this may seem pretty obvious, the countless amount of times i have seen a member with no shields go up against a member with full shields is ridiculous, they know they won't win, and it is practically like someone standing still and being AFK.
If you are 1 shot, move back, again, this may seem pretty obvious, but get into some form of cover and just wait there until your shields recharge, and then go back into the fight and see if you can win more battles.
Get Medipacks! You won't believe how useful medipacks are, they regain health which may not do much if you get shot in the head, however, if you get shot in the body, you may have a better chance of getting back and staying alive.
do ANYTHING to stay alive, because, that is obviously the most important thing, a live spartan is better then a floored spartan, if there's no way you can get out of a battle you have to enter it, but, while the chances of you winning are low, hit your shots right, and you may have a chance
3. Moving A Flag (Normal Settings)
Yes yes, i hate also you can't "run" the flag in Normal settings because of the delayed time of picking it up and dropping it, however, i think, there is a way. If you flow the flag up at an obtuse angle (above 90 degrees) and press the RT button to throw it, then by the time you get to the flag, the delay will of worn off, because it would take you that amount of time to get there again and run it.
this video probably shows it better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzsQWocSCvQ
running a flag is important because it allows you to get the flag to the point much quicker, also, it can give you a chance to hide if you're damaged, if you have no shields and are running the flag, just drop it and hide, because, they may think you're going to pick it up again due to the fact that you have dropped it, but you can prove them wrong by appearing out of nowhere and backsmacking them WOOOOOOOO!
4. How Your Movement Can Affect Plays
you know how you like to run around the outside of the map? that affects the game.
you know how you like to be in the center, trying to create havoc? that affects the game.
you know how you like to try and be a sneaky beaver and get to the top without being seen? that affects the game.
All of these things affect the game, because you take that movement, and since everyone is unique, everyone has their own passage of play and their own ways of movement, and this in turn, if it is a good move or a bad move, can affect the game in different ways.
if someone goes through the center, this shows they want to get to the action quickly and try and get many kills, but also die many times perhaps, someone running around the outside may be a sneaky beaver, but also may get caught out by a sniper, all of these things affect plays in the game, which affect the long run of the game, everything you do in reach has an effect, you need to adapt your plays for different situations.
here's an example: 49-49, Team slayer Asylum, both of you have snipers, what do you do? Im going to go from 1 - 3, 1 is what you should do, 3 is what you shouldn't
1. Stay back and poke up a little to see if you can see anyone, so that way then you can't be blamed for a last death and will overall, stay alive, and as you know, life is important, especially in these situations
2. Run around the outside, this is a heavily not recommended idea, because if you get caught by a sniper, guess who your teammates are going to blame...., however, you may be able to pull it off, get into their base and assassinate them.
3. Go to the center, ive got 3 words, NO! NO! NO! The reason for this is because most likely there will be people in the center, you will get ambushed and killed, and we will have the exact same issue as #2...
This was just a typical example, there are many more which i may go into in later entries
5. The Importance Of Watching Pro Plays
This may seem pretty obvious, but they are pros and know what they are doing, and have minimal issues with their gameplay, obviously they're not perfect (who is?) but they make minimal errors and have such good teamwork.
here is a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g4ewwce1yk
^^ this one is good, i recommend watching it because you will learn a lot from them, and if you try to base your plays around them, you will become a better player.
This is all for entry 3 guys, in entry 4 i will discuss:
Teamwork
Good Headsets
How custom game slayers help you.
A bit about myself
The Difference Between online and LAN.
Thanks for reading , hope you enjoy it