Welcome to the Ultimate SvM Guide. It is my hope that with this guide, I can help you become a competent player, who works well with his team and has a good time. (Oh yeah, and maybe win sometimes too.)

This guide will cover every single area that I've learned about in my ~200 hours of playing SvM; including game modes, equipment, teamwork, general tips, and more.

Hopefully as you read through this guide you will learn a lot about SvM, and if enough people read through it, the multiplayer can get even better.

This guide will not have many (if any) pictures, or videos or anything fancy. It will be mostly text, and too the point. However, I hope to format and write it in a manner that makes it fun to read and informative. Due to the length of this, it's designed a bit more like a reference guide, more than something you sit down and read all at once.

If you have any feedback, please feel free to comment. If you feel this guide was helpful, PLEASE like and favorite it so that more people see it. It's my hope that it will help as many people as possible get better at SvM, so the overall experience can be better for everyone involved.

What weapons you use is crucial to the outcome of almost any encounter. For very perticular reasons, I will not go over every single weapon indevidually. The main reason being that there are no clear winners here. One of the best parts of SvM is that Ubisoft has done an incredibly good job balancing the gameplay in terms of weapons, armor, gadgets, and equipment.

Choosing a weapon: There are a lot of choices, and it can be intimidating. A common approach is to try random guns until you find one you like. However, there's a little more involved in choosing a good gun. A good choice is a gun that plays with you well. It should counter act your shortcomings, and boost your strengths. Everyone plays differently, so everyone will use certain guns differently.

Let's start by going over the catagories of weapons:

• Pistols: Both spies and mercs get access to pistols. Everyone has one, all the time. They are for general use in most cases when your primary weapon runs out of ammo and you need a quick backup, or you are unable to use your primary. (As a spy hanging from a climbing position) Contrary to many games and popular believe, pistols can be just as deadly as their larger, louder counter parts. A well placed burst of first from a spies pistol can bring down even the heaviest of mercs. They are the weapons with the most variety. Depending on the gun you pick, and the attachments you choose, they have have excellent damage, range, accuracy and/or control. Choose wisely, and you will be a deadly pistol killing machine.
  
• Sub-Machine Guns: The SMGs can only be used by Spies. They tend to have lower accuracy and control, and far less range than their merc counter parts. However, if used by a skilled player with the proper choice in weapon and attachments, they can be incredibly deadly, especially at close range.
  
• Assault Rifles: Can only be used by mercs. The assault rifle is the mainstay of the merc team in SvM. They are the most common weapon, and are probably used (Fired) more than all the other types of guns combined. They are usually medium range, with slower rates of fire making them less effective at close range. Some of them are very good at long range, especially when combined with an ACOG. SvM does not have snipers, but some assault rifles can almost serve as such.
  
• Shotguns: Only used by mercs. Shotguns are fairly straight forward. Very low effective range, high spread, and medium power. However, they are incredibly deadly at close range (Often violently throwing their victim away from the shooter), and rather useless at longer ranges. These are best used by mercs who like to charge in up close. Some shotguns are semi-auto (Firing in rapid bursts), and some are magazine fed. Pay attention to these attributes when chosing your shotgun.
  
• Light-Machine Guns: Only used by mercs. High rates of fire and control make these excellent supression weapons. However, they almost always have low damage, and low accuracy, meaning it can be difficult to get a kill with them. They should be used by support classes that wish to serve more as a destraction than a deadly machine. Of course, they are still plenty deadly, just less so than the other catagories.

Next, we'll go over the stats for guns. Analyze your play style, as certain stats help some players more than others. Your choice for these stats matters more than you may think. Not all guns are the same. Depending on the stats they perform very differently. Focus on the stats that complement your skills the best.

• Power: Straightforward. The damage of your gun. Higher power means more damage per shot. Silencers reduce the power of all weapons by one; decide if this tradeoff is worth it. NOTE: This game does have headshots, so even low power weapons can be very deadly when used effectively on the head.
  
• Accuracy: How accurate the gun is. The higher this stat, the smaller your crosshair. This combined with range (and control for rapid fire) determines how true your bullets land with each shot.
  
• Range: The effective distance of your gun. Generally lower for SMGs, higher for assault rifles. This, combined with accuracy, determines if your weapon is a sniper, or a hallway sweeper.
  
• Control: Determines how much the weapon moves (And how much the crosshair grows by) when fired. Players who can control the weapon drift on their own should focus on accuracy instead, while players who quickly lose control of a weapon should focus here. Note that some guns can max this stat out, meaning they do not move at all when fired. However, this comes at the sacrifice of accuracy. This stat is important for keeping SMGs from going all over the place.

Generally when customizing a gun, you want to focus entirely on either accuracy or control, depending on your play style. Silencers reduce the noise from your weapon, but also reduce the damage. Depending how exactly how sneaky you wish to be, they may or may not be a good choice.

That does it for my coverage of weapons. You may just see a bunch of guns with similiar stats, but Ubisoft did a great job here. They are all very different, and every little bit matters. Play with them to determine what compliments your playstyle best so you can be a master gunslinger; whether you're a spy or merc.

This section will cover ALL equipment (Except armor; as those are pretty straightforward), what they are used for, and how you can counteract them. This includes googles, gadgets, and the crossbow. This will be the longest section, but possibly the most important one.

Please Note: Every single gadget can only be used by either spies or mercs, so if a spy gadget is listed as a counter for a spy gadget, that means it's only viable in a mixed team game mode. (Uplink or Team Deathmatch) Games modes are covered in more detail later in the guide.

Equipment is entirely class specific. There is not a single item in this category that can be used by both Spies and Mercs.

Gadgets
Both teams are given a choice of 5 gadgets. You may pick 1 without gadget pants, or two with. If your deployed gadget is destroyed the game will tell you, so even if an enemy sneaks up and takes out your mine, it can still inform you that an enemy is present. All explosive devices can be used to kill yourself. So, excercise caution. Friendly fire is off, but overcharge/shooting/etc. will alter who the device harms. (I.e. overcharged mines explode, and will harm allies and enemies alike)

Spy Gadgets

Smoke Grenade:

• Uses/Strengths: Obscures vision. Creates destraction.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Spy goggles allow sight through. Merc RFD can still mark spies through smoke. Smoke affects both teams equally.

EMP Grenade:

• Uses/Strengths: Disables all nearby hostile gadgets including mines, sticky cams, and drones. Also disables enemy HUD, goggles, 3D HUD, and suit abilities. Lasts about 4-7 seconds depending on range from EMP blast.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Rather short range/duration.

Flashbang:

• Uses/Strengths: Blinds/deafens enemies temporarily (Again 4-7s depending on range from blast), or can be used as a destraction.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Very short range, merc flash visor blocks it entirely.

Trophy System:

• Uses/Strengths: Used defensively to shoot down all projectiles (Execept bullets/shockers). Shoots drones and grenades that pass within about 5-10m.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Large object, has a glowing light on top that makes it easy to spot. RFD marks it out, and it has a 2-3 second activation time on top of the slow deploy animation.

Sticky Camera:

• Uses/Strengths: Can be detonated to kill hostiles. (larger explosion than grenades) Can make noise to destract. In Classic mode it makes a clicking sound, that is obvious and ignored by all but the least experienced players. However in all other modes it simulates gunfire, which can draw attention and destract enemies, often very effectively. Last, it can be used simply to survey. Monitor enemy movements, etc.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Spy cannot do anything while viewing the camera. Cam can be shot and destroyed. Disruptor disables it for duration of disruption. Cannot be used until it lands/sticks, making an emergency throw-and-detonate scenario very difficult to pull off. EMP and overcharge destroys it. Very large and has small red lights on it as well, so it's fairly easy to spot.

Merc Gadgets

Proximity Mine:

• Uses/Strengths: Triggers once enemies enter it's radius. Useful for controlling enemy movement or watching areas you cannot constantly keep an eye on. (Terminals, vents, doors, etc.)
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Beeps loudly and has large red proximity lines, so it's fairly easy to spot if you're attentive. Can be shot and destroyed. Can be triggered and escaped, not killing it's victim. (Won't kill heavily armored mercs) EMP/overcharge destroy. Sticky shocking or overcharging an enemy with a live mine in their hands detonates it, killing them.

Intel Device:

• Uses/Strengths: Mark out nearby enemies with device centric RFD. Keep an eye on far away places, or be notified of nearby threats. Works great on cloaked spies running up on you.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Spy RFD blocker renders useless. Makes loud noise and can be spotted and shot. EMP/overcharge destroy.

VX Gas Grenade:

• Uses/Strengths: Gas out hiding enemies, or block routes. Slowly kills you/enemies within the cloud of noxious gas.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Spy gas mask completely prevents it. Enemies can quickly run through the cloud and survive. It blocks both teams visibility. Trophy system shoots before it deploys gas.

Resupply Pack:

• Uses/Strengths: Drop on the ground to provide 3 resupplies for you and your allies. Completely refills all ammo and gadgets (minus resupply packs, of course)
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Disappears after about 30-45 seconds, wasting any left over uses. Only contains 3 uses, so all 4 members of your team cannot resupply. Can be shot and destroyed. Can be overcharged to explode and kill anyone (Even friendlies) nearby.

Frag Grenade:

• Uses/Strengths: Standard grenade. Throw into vents/nooks/etc. to kill the enemy. Can be cooked by holding the throw button (can go off in your hand and kill you!)
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Trophy system destroys midair. Poor throw can result in suicide. Sticky shocking or overcharging an enemy with a live grenade in their hands detonates it, killing them.

Goggles
Each team is given a choice of three types of goggles. The spy goggles are toggled via F. Merc goggles are always active. When chosing which goggles to use, think of the situation you may want to use them in. All goggles can be disabled briefly with EMP or disruption.

Spy Goggles

Thermal:

• Uses/Strengths: See enemy heat signatures through walls. Realtime effect. Shows gadgets/mines/etc.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Shortest range.

EMF (Electro Magnetic Field:

• Uses/Strengths: See electronic devices at medium range. Realtime. Reveals lights, wiring, enemies and gadgets.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: More cluttered view than thermal.

Sonar:

• Uses/Strengths: Longest range, reveals enemies/drones at great distances.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Pulses, leaving you blind for brief periods. Makes it nearly impossible to see mines/gadgets.

Merc Goggles

Motion Tracker:

• Uses/Strengths: Reveals extreme hostile movement at medium range.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Crouching, not moving, or climbing/parkour prevents detection. Does not say whether detection source is up/down/level.

RFD (Radio Frequency Detector):

• Uses/Strengths: Points out nearby enemies that are using electronics in 3D space, placing a diamond over them. (goggles, cloak, etc.) Great for preventing cloaked spies from surprising you. Also marks out nearby enemy gadgets. (Mines, trophy systems, etc.)
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Blocked by spy 'Infiltration' helmet. Doesn't reveal you if you aren't using electronics. Electronics include goggles, cloaking devices, etc.

ATS (Acoustic Targeting System):

• Uses/Strengths: Marks out loud weapon fire in 3D and gives you a distance, in meters, to the disruption. Experienced players can use this to pinpoint exact enemy location when they fire a weapon. Also shows a realtime waveform at the bottom of your HUD for nearby sounds. If used properly it reveals moving enemies, and silenced gunfire. 3D HUD marker only shows for loud gunfire.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Silencers, not shooting your loud weapon, not making noise (at close range). Doesn't update to enemy location in realtime, only one point in 3D when they last fired. Stays for only about 5-8 seconds.

Ops Suits

I will not be going over all options for the ops suit, as the headgear, gloves, pants, and boots are all very self explanatory. The complex portion, however, is which torso piece you pick, as it affects your Suit Ability. Again, each team has three options here to complement different playstyles.

Spy Abilities

Digital Ghillie Suit:

• Uses/Strengths: Cloaks you, making you about 95% invisible. You do still shimmer, so avoid sprinting straight into an opponent as they may still gun you down. It sounds stupid, but if you must rush an enemy head on, serpentine. Simply zig-zagging will save your life 90% of the time.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Markers like merc's RFD and ATS still call out and mark you, even while cloaked. (Unless you use the proper counters to those) You are not 100% invisible.

Intel Suit:

• Uses/Strengths: Marks all enemies within a very large radius, outlining them in red. Also auto marks enemies that enter your line of sight. Great for letting your entire team know where everyone is, so they don't have to use goggles or reveal themselves.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Enemies are notified when detected. A quick burst from a disruptor breaks the effect. Spies & Mercs have an armor piece that blocks intel detection.

Overcharge Suit:

• Uses/Strengths: Sends out a massive overcharged EMP blast, detonating nearby enemy explosives (mines, etc.) and destroying all enemy gadgets nearby. Also messes up enemies vision for a short period. (~4-7 seconds) Great for clearing areas if you are unsure about what gadgets lay in wait for you.
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Blast expands radially, revealing the source position to a keen enemy. (I recommend moving after using this) Blast triggers explosives, meaning you can kill yourself if your overcharge sets off mines or drones.

Merc Abilities

UAV Suit:

• Uses/Strengths: Spawns a UAV drone that you control. Can be detonated to kill nearby enemies. Great for scouting, automatically marks enemies within drone's line of site. Great for reaching places mercs cannot reach on foot. (Vent's, roofs, etc.)
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Merc is defenseless while using, trophy systems shoot drone down, overcharge blasts, emps and gunfire can all eliminate/detonate the drone. Damaging the pilot in any way (shooting, sticky shocking, etc.) pulls them out of the drone, so if you simply shoot them (even if you can't kill them) it wastes the drone before they can kill anyone.

Disruptor Suit:

• Uses/Strengths: While active enemies within the area have their HUD disabled/messed with and goggles won't work. Gadgets in the area are disabled (not destroyed, just made useless temporarily). Abilities are interrupted, and grenades that land within the disruption radius are destroyed. (EMP grenades will disappear near the disruptor, instead of going off)
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: Sticky shocking the disruptor is the best way to counter. Followed by a quick EMP grenade which will disable his disruption ability for about 10-30 seconds (It basically can reset it's recharge time), giving you and your team the chance to make a move.

Adrenaline Suit:

• Uses/Strengths: On use you inject yourself with adrenaline. Your vision brightens, increasing nighttime vision. You reload, sprint, and melee faster. Sticky shockers only affect you for roughly 1 second. (You can use adrenaline WHILE shocked to break free of it's effect) You have 1 block of extra health, and regenerate health faster/constantly. (Even while taking damage)
  
• Counters/Weaknesses: No blatant counters. Adrenaline gives the enemy an edge, so use extreme caution. Extra adrenaline health appears as a WHITE square, giving away their use. Try to kill adrenaline'd enemies first, as they pose the greatest direct threat. Balance is achieved by the fact that adrenaline has the most direct results. It doesn't help Mercs kill spies in vents or roofs harder, so spies can still easily escape/avoid an enemy who is using adrenaline.

There are five game modes in Spies VS Mercs, and they are (For the most part) all very different. There is a key to playing each one well, and working as a good team.

SvM Classic

Parameters: 2 VS 2, Locked Gear, 2 rounds; 10 minutes each. Asymmetrical teams. Hack each of three terminals to 100%.

Goal: Hack each of three terminals to 100%. The team with the most completed hacks, and the highest leftover percent wins. (I.e. three hacks to 70% lose to a single hack of 75%)

Notes: The slowest of the modes. Loadouts are locked and everyone gets the same gear (spies and mercs seperately, of course). This mode favors stealth, patience and careful movement on the spies part. The mercs must remain agile at all times as the maps are far darker, and it is easier to be ambushed.

For this mode, I strongly recommend ALWAYS sticking with your partner. At all times. Do not stick so close that you can both be killed by a single sticky explosion, grenade, or burst of gunfire. But, close enough that if one of you is killed, the other may react. In many cases this means a merc will see his partner die, but may quickly gun down the killer (Often times the hacker). Careful use of gadgets can sway the tides of the fight.

A tip for mercs, don't always have your flashlight on. Spies get no special goggles to call you out (just plain night vision), so you have the chance to be stealthy as well. Moving without a flashlight, while reducing your vision, also prevents your position from being given away. Remember this at times when you know where the enemy is and wish to approach quietly.

SvM Blacklist

Parameters: 4 VS 4, Customizable Gear, 2 rounds; 10 minutes each. Asymmetrical teams.

Goal: Exactly the same as Classic, hack each of three terminals to 100%.

Notes: This is the most common game mode. As with classic your goal is the hack, however larger teams, brighter maps, and customizable gear mean much faster gameplay. The gameplay in this mode is centered far more around gadgets, and using your abilities to defeat your enemy in direct combat. As a spy, you can still be stealthy, but on a much smaller scale. Be prepared to fight almost constantly with someone.

If you are a merc, set up defenses around the point and patrol the map looking for spies. It is recommended that you stick in teams of two, each taking a point (leaving the middle one unguarded, as you can both reach it quickly and attack from two sides at once). As the spies, I cannot stress this enough, do not be afraid to hack. Even if the enemy is greater in number or power, and you feel weak, try. Many times my team has simply hid and waited it out while I rush in to try and hack. If we had all simply gone in at once, we would have at least started a hack. You cannot win if you do not hack terminals. You cannot hack terminals if you do not start hacks. Be agressive, don't cower in a corner. In this mode spies are given guns, and plenty of helpful gadgets to use on the mercs, so use them. Of course, there is some balance here, don't rush in wildly all the time, but move quickly.

Extraction

Parameters: 4 VS 4, Customizable Gear, 2 rounds; 10 minutes each. Asymmetrical teams.

Goal: One way capture the flag. Mercs have to retrieve the intel and bring it back to their base; spies have to guard the intel. Score 5 points or run out of time to end the round. The team at the end of both rounds with the most points wins.

Notes: The merc holding the intel cannot sprint, so keep this in mind. Keep the lanes right ahead and behind the courier clear of danger, and always stay within sight of eachother. Spies can reset dropped intel by being within about 4-5m and holding E. Note: This takes a while (6-8 seconds?) so make sure no enemies are near. Once the intel is on the move, the spies' jobs become far harder. Your best bet is to prevent the mercs from even reaching the intel, as once they do, retrieving it can be touch. Remember to use sticky cams and other gadgets to fight the horde that usually forms around the courier. As mercs, spread out a bit so you keep a safe zone around the intel, and cover eachother.

Uplink Control

Parameters: 3 VS 3, Customizable Gear, 1 round; 10 minutes. Mixed teams.

Goal: Capture uplink points and hold them for your team for 100 seconds. Once captured, NOBODY on your team has to stay near it. You can run around the map still. Just make sure the enemy doesn't capture the point. Once one team hits 100% hacked, they get a point and a new uplink is chosen. First team to 5 points, or the team with the most at the end of 10 minutes wins.

Notes: This is the first game mode with mixed teams. That's right, you can pick from any of the 12 loadouts, 6 spy, 6 merc. This creates some incredibly fun gameplay. Running down hallways as a merc, and having spies sneak up on your enemies to cover you. I strongly recommend mixing your team. If you notice your entire team is spies/mercs, pick another class and balance things out.

Once you capture the uplink, your goal is to guard it until the transfer is complete. Patrol the area, looking for enemies. Be careful! In this mode, extra portions of the map are opened up to allow additional spawns/flanking to both teams, so learn these new areas and guard them as well.

Team Death Match

Parameters: 4 VS 4, Customizable Gear, 1 round; 10 minutes. Mixed teams.

Goal: Simple team deathmatch. Kill the enemy. First team to 40 kills, or the team with the most at the end of 10 minutes wins.

Notes: This is the other mixed gameplay mode. Make sure your team is neither entirely spies nor mercs. Spies goggles can see other spies, so you can work together to call out the enemy. Stick relatively close to eachother and always work together. Your allies are often your most powerful gadget. Destract the enemy and provide covering fire to allow allies to flank.

Likewise, try to identify times when you can help an ally out. If the enemy is engaging someone, often times they get tunnel vision and focus only on the target. This makes it far easier for you to quickly shoot or melee them, and save your ally. There is no rush in this mode, so be careful and cautious. The only goal is to get kills, so your objective should be to keep your K/D ratio above 1.00.

Be careful though, this mode has slightly smaller maps, with some sections sealed off, so learn what areas are inaccessable so you don't plan on using them in a hurry.

Throughout gameplay, you get access to three 'default' loadouts for each class.These are great starters to get you familiar with all the abilities as well as afew different guns and gadgets. However, the instant you can afford it, I recommend immediately buying the extra three (for each class, 6 total) loadouts and customizing them. Since setting up my six extra loadouts at level 10-20, I have not used the 6 default ones once. Ever.

Not sure what to choose? Well, you want each loadout to be different. Many people may instinctly set up one loadout for each gamemode. However, this doesn't work for a few reasons. First off, there are 4 gamemodes (Not counting classic as you always use a preset for that) and only three loadouts, leaving one of these modes out in the cold. Second, even in a single game mode, you will have many different scenarios that you have to deal with. These often overlap, and the same situations often happen in different game modes. As such, instead of setting up for a mode set up for a situation.

For example, you can make a spy loadout for completing objectives (hacking, returning intel, capturing uplink). This loadout could focus on a few things depending on your playstyle. For me, it revolves around stealth. Ghillie suit, emp grenades, stun crossbow, and fast armor with melee gloves. This allows me to move around without being seen. It's not set up to kill, or to confront, it's set up to avoid. This works very well in several game modes.

You may want to set up a loud set for spy as well. Unsilenced weapons, more armor, and loud/explosive gadgets. Your goal is to hunt. You make mercs fear you, you hunt them down. This works well with an intel suit; though for some overcharge is best. Ghillie rarely works well with a loud loadout.

For merc you can set up a quick scout loadout. I use sprinting boots and the disruptor, allowing me to quickly respond to a threat; reaching an objective, disrupting the enemy and moving around quickly. With the sprint boots you can actually outrun spies, making it easy to escape them, or catch up to them.

For merc it is also common practice to make a 'heavy' loadout. Full armor, loud gadgets, and big guns. (Shotguns, Ak-47, or an LMG) This loadout often works best with adrenaline. It's for killing, often in mixed modes against other mercs. Just keep in mind that shotguns do NOT work well at range on other armored targets.


Adapting

Using these loadouts, which are set up for situations and not modes, you can adapt to the enemy. If they are using a certain tactic, or your team is in a bind, you can switch loadouts and react. Always change what you are doing.

Almost any 'tough' game can be won simply by changing what you are doing. This can mean swapping loadouts, or taking a different route. If the exact same thing (You go to a place and are killed by a player) happens twice in a row, do NOT do it again. Find a different way in, use different gadgets. Change something. All too often do I see teammates run into the enemy and die, only to do the exact same thing over and over for the entire game. Be it a vent that the mercs can easily camp, or a spot that is vulnerable to death from above, you have to adapt and counter the enemy.

Sucessful counteracting can even take down PUGs (Large groups of friends playing together against random people), as they are often slow to react due to their confidence. They also frequently talk on an exterior service such as skype, meaning they are destracted, and while they have better communication, often ironically react and adapt more poorly due to this.

Ideally, you will never do the same thing more than once. Always change how you play. Where you go. Who you target, and how you target them. Keep the enemy confused and surprised, and you will do far better.

This section will be brief as I've already mentioned most of this, but I'll go over it again.

Work together. You don't need microphones, you don't need text, you don't even need to understand the same language. Look at what your allies are doing, and do something supportive. Work together on terminals, uplinks, or to take down groups of enemies in TDM. Simple teamwork can greatly alter the outcome of the map.

Distraction
That said, there are times when you can go 'lone wolf' but you are actually proving a huge help to your team.

For example, lets say you are playing on Lebanese Hospital in Blacklist mode. If you see all three teammates going to C, and you are closer to A, you have an opportunity to destract and divert. Make noise, attract the enemy, fight them at A. The enemy will think you are making a move on the terminal, when your real purpose is to keep them away from C. Meanwhile your team can set up at C, get dug in, then start the hack. The enemy will quickly realize their mistake and rush across the map to respond to the threat. This means their backs are now turned on you and you may persue and eliminate them.

Dying
Survival instinct tells us, as humans, that we must survive. Self preservation is one of the strongest instincts we have. However, in video games you respawn. Death is often rather meaningless, simply a game mechanic. Keep this in mind as you play. The common reaction is to get angry or sad when you die. However, in team based gameplay, this simply isn't right.

Instead of thinking of the gameplay as a singular force, just yourself, think of it as a team effort. Even if you die, if you help your team progress you've done your mission. As a result of this there are many times in SvM (Also commonly in Assassin's Creed multiplayer) where I will die, but I still laugh to myself and have a great time. This is because my death had purpose. Destract the enemy, help the hacker escape death, progress your team, and even if you get no kills, and don't do anything 'measurable' or concrete, you can be happy with what you've achieved. Think of the gameplay as a team effort. You are not just a spy or merc. You are your entire team. If they do well, you do well. Do not be afraid to sacrifice yourself for the good of the team. This is a game after all, and you'll be back in 15 seconds to do it all again.

One of the most common complaints I hear and mistakes I see is people lacking control over their character in the environment. This section will focus mainly on control as a spy, since mercs movement through an environment lacks the vertical complexity that the spy's movement has.

Simply put, this is a complex game, and it needs complex controls. Think about previous games in the series, and how limited they were. You have more options and more freedom in Blacklist than ever before. As such, the controls are more complex and require more precision than ever before.

Here is my recommendation; find a friend you trust (It can even be someone on Uplay) and host a private match with them. Pick a mode with mixed teams so you can both be spies, then instead of fighting eachother, simply practice the controls. Explore the maps, move around, read the inputs. Take the chance to learn some of the ins and outs of the control system. A lot of people say it's clunky, or poorly designed, but frankly it's simply precise. You have to be very careful with what you do, or you will do the wrong thing and probably get killed.

Directional movement input while climbing, and [SHIFT] are the biggest two you should practice.

Shift Sysdrome
My biggest piece of advice, if you find yourself climbing everything in sight on accident, you are holding shift too much. This is a rookie mistake, I did it too. I should almost always move with shift, and often find myself snapping 90 degrees to climb a wall as I ran passed, and getting killed. Shift is for quick moving through open areas, or quickly moving vertically around an obstacle. Do NOT use it in tight spaces, or close to enemies. More often than not, it will get you killed, as that is not what it's for. Think of shift as an ability in itself. You wouldn't ALWAYS use an ability, you would use it when the situation calls for it.

Find a friend and mess around. Learn the controls and how they work so you can more effectively use them to outplay the enemy.

Knowing the Environment
Another big factor is the map design. Ubisoft put a HUGE amount of time into these maps, and they are incredibly complex. I again recommend finding a friend and exploring the maps. Look for vents, hiding spots, ledges and pipes. The biggest weakness you can have as both a spy and merc is knowing the map less than your enemy. I've put in 200 hours and I still find a new pipe, ledge, vent, or crevice from time-to-time and I'm surprised every time. These maps are complex, overlook nothing. Almost everything can be climbed as a spy. Utilize this to outsmart the enemy, while using your knowledge of it as a merc to stay alive.

As we near the end of this guide, I want to go over something briefly. Ranks, 'stacking' and team morale.

A huge problem in this game is rank based skill assumptions. Players see a high level player, and assume they are very good and will dominate. Frankly, this just isn't true. I have played many games where 50+ players do very poorly, and 20- players do very well.

Why it doesn't add up.
Here's the issue with rank. Rank is simply the total tally of the player's gained experience. A very good player might play a game and get 8000 points. While a moderate/bad player gets 2000. The thing is, after 4 games that worse player still has 8000 points, making them the same rank as the 'good' player.

The result of this is that rank is simply a summation of total points earned, not how long they've played or how good the are. Keep this in mind when you are pitted against much higher levels. I've played on the underdog team numerous times and come out with a strong lead. So never assume anything. And remember, even if a player is very good, they can always be countered. They may have more skill than you, which gives them an edge, but everything they do has a weakness and you can exploit that weakness to bring them down.

Remember, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Ubisoft did an incredible job balancing this game. When it comes to tactics and gadgets/gunplay, there is almost always a viable counter. Keep morale up and never surrender. Fight to the very end, as often times you'll surprise yourself and just may turn the tides of the game.

Stacking - Why it happens, and why it often isn't actually stacked.
Early on I would often play, and make the assumption that the teams are stacked. Well, remember, as I said before, level isn't as important as you might think. It isn't a rank of how good a player is, simply how much experience they've gained.

A huge feature that actually serves to prevent stacking, is how the game creates a new team when the lobby goes into a fresh game. If you have 8 players finish a game, then go to lobby, when that lobby ends and makes the teams, it does it based on score from previous round. The result is that, over time, the game balances out the players.

Of course, this is thrown off by people joining the last game late (Resulting in a lower score), or new players joining the lobby (Resulting in 0 score), but it still acts to smooth out gameplay.

The only thing that absolutely throws this off, are groups. Ubisoft made the choice to give groups team priority. If 4 players group up, no matter what they will be on the same team. This can lead to dominations, and grief. However, as stated many times before, remember that these teams often expose several weaknesses. Either through destraction or over confidence. Use this guide to analyze their tactics, and find a counter. Everything they do can be avoided, or counteracted, you just have to learn how. I've worked with people to take down big groups of 4 before. It's tough, so think of it as a challenge, and if you prevail you'll realize just how vulnerable large groups can be.

Finally, I want to touch on ragequitting. It may be one of the games biggest issues. So big that in the 1.02 patch Ubisoft saw fit to remove the 'quit' button entirely. That combined with the disabling of Alt+F4 (While not impossible) make it far harder to rage quit. This was controversial, but I agree with their decision. Rage quits plummetted after the patch, and often times the mad underdog (Which was frequently me) would end up winning, or turning the game around at least partially. The issue with this is that more often than not you will not complete a game. Everyone leaves, or the host leaves; shutting down the game and sending it into lobby. This ruins everyone's fun and makes the game experience terrible at times. Of course, I do acknowledge that not every 'quit' is a ragequit. Sometimes someone just has to go, or their game crashes. But a very large majority of the quits are out of rage.

In my eyes, there are only ever three legitmate reasons to leave a game:

1. You have to go. Games don't rule us, and obviously there are times when you simply have to leave halfway through a game to do something else. The only counter to this is better planning. If you start a game try to ensure you will have the time to complete it.

2. There is a cheater. An undenyable cheater. Contrary to popular believe, these are actually incredibly rare. In my 200 hours in Blacklist, I have only seen one or two undenyable cheaters. What classifies them as undenyable? Completely obvious cheats. Things like teleporting around the map killing everyone instantly (Never seen, just an example), or getting into the spy only areas of the map. (I had a teammate who got onto the roof of Lebanese Hospital and griefed the other team) If a party stomper like this shows up, it's often understandable to leave. Just keep in mind that these are incredibly rare, and more often than not, you are simply outplayed, don't understand the mechanic that led to your death, or the game is laggy.

3. That brings me to my final reason; lag. One huge mistake that Ubisoft made was not implementing world regions. This means that EVERYONE plays online with EVERYONE else. It results in a larger playerbase, but more often than not, you get a host in Dubai or Sweden or something, and if a majority of the player's in your game are not in that area, laggy madness ensues. However, keep one thing in mind; Lag is almost always worse for the spies, no matter what. If you play as a spy first and the game is laggy and aggrivating, remember that the lag will be in your favor when the round ends and the teams are swapped. I've seen many laggy games where the mercs absolutely destroy the spies, but when the teams swap, so does the balance of the fight. The new mercs dominate the spies, and neither team gets any hacks. At that point, you simply have to try to get a hack as far as possible. Lag isn't the end all to fun, but it often creates problems. Try to play it through, and remember that lag goes two ways, giving you an advantage at times as well.

All in all, I ask that you try your best not to rage quit. Instead, use the tips in this guide to adapt to the enemy, your environment, and the game mode to counter the opponent, and come out on top.

Remember what it feels like when another player quits in the middle of a match. That's how other players feel when you do it. So stick to it, adapt to the enemy, and change the tides of the fight.

There are a lot of little hints and tips that are hard to classify, so I'll list them out below. I recommend when you have time that you read through them all, you never know what you'll learn.

• Look up. Look behind you. Frequently I could make an entire 100 page guide that says this over and over. Probably 75% of deaths in this game are avoidable if you just look up and look behind you from time to time. I've seen many allies run around to be DFA'd, or stabbed in the back simply because they didn't care to look.
  
• (SPY) When you have no other choice and have to charge an enemy head on (Especially while cloaked) simply zig-zagging can greatly improve your chances of survival.
  
• Remember that explosives can be used to kill yourself. Be careful when throwing grenades, placing mines, or staying near your stick cams.
  
• (SPY) Overcharging or sticky-shocking an enemy with a live explosive in their hand (Grenades, mines, etc.) will cause the device to detonate, killing them.
  
• Mercs have a melee range of about 4-5 feet, while spies have a range of only about 1-2 feet. Melee gloves even it out some, bringing the spy's range to about 2-3 ft. However, merc still has more range, meaning a head on collision will (not counting lag or poor reaction time) result in the merc melee killing a spy 100% of the time. So do your best not to approach for a melee kill from the front as a spy.
  
• (MERC) Remember that overcharge, direct gunfire, and hostile explosions can set off friendly mines. Once placed, make sure not to stand around them!
  
• (SPY) Intercept! Try to take notice where the enemy seems to be spawning, and kill them before they even get close to your objective. In Blacklist mode this works well by killing them before they even get into the hack zone. This ensures the hackers safety. They can't kill him if they never reach the area!
  
• When someone dies holding a gun, they drop the gun. You can run over the gun to pick it up and gain one magazine worth of rounds for your primary weapon.
  
• Seriously guys; Look up when you walk under ledges. Look behind you as you sprint around. It's simple and could save your life and turn the tides of the match.
  
• If you see an ally using a sticky cam or drone, cover them. You can prevent the enemy from getting an easy kill on them, and let them effectively use their cam/drone.
  
• Cloak and distruption can be toggled with [CTRL]. Don't need it anymore? Turn it off to save charge and cut down on the recharge time. No need to burn through it all at once.

Thank you for reading through this guide. I hope that you learned a lot about SvM, and can hopefully have a more enjoyable time playing it. Hopefully this will have a lasting impact on the multiplayer community, and everyone can have a more enjoyable experience.

Remember, if this guide was helpful, spread the news. Like and favorite it so others can see. If you have any input on things I should change (Or typos, etc.) or add, please feel free to comment!

Have fun out there,
Yatagan