Clark 12B Shotgun: Tips and Tricks

**Zhohar** · 11-12-2008, 11:41 PM

Gentlemen and Ladies,

Many of you know me as a huge shotgun whore. I'll be first to admit it -- I saw Reaper using it, and I fell in love. (With the shottie, not Reaper.)

So I mean to spark a discussion -- let's get the shotgun whores in this thread (and virgins too!) and share some tips on making this an effective weapon.

Couple of things I've picked up on my own -- you like, dislike, disagree?

1. Run through someone, prone, and turn around. This is especially easy in close quarters and it often confuses people. Confused people are dead people.
Just like confused pies are eaten pies.

2. Make sure you're firing at the maximum frequency of the shottie. Shottie fires faster in 1.5 and many people shoot slower than the maximum frequency. You will often not take down a person with 1 bullet so you need to click fast enough to get the second one off.

3. Don't look at people's faces. It wastes time.
This is not a tip especially useful in 1v1 engagements but it is lifesaving in 1v(3-4)

As humans, we're trained to look at a person's face -- to make eye contact, to figure out their emotions, to see if they're joking, etc. There is no sense in looking at a BF2142 soldier's head. Unless you are Bomber or Kosst and can actually shoot people's heads from 8 miles with a pistol, it's usually good to aim for a person's chest.
You waste a significant bit of a milisecond searching for their face, even if your crosshairs are not on it.

I often just stare at people's chest and shoot there.

Got more tips? Share your own.

<FHC]==0 HighNoon · 11-13-2008, 12:08 AM

Well, after some deliberation I have recently fallen in love with the Clark as well and, in fact, my roommates and I will often run 3-man clark squads.

I'm not sure if this counts as a clark-specific strategy, but as many of us here do, I usually equip an IDS and EMP grenades. I've had great success using EMP grenades to disorient enemy soldiers that are far away (20-30 meters) and closing the distance using the EMPs as cover. Also, if there's a group of enemy soldiers on the other side of a wall that I'm about to assault, I'll throw the EMP at the wall (as EMP effects pass through walls) before I make my rush.

A more general tip would be to always make sure your clark shots are hitting the enemy in the back. If there's anything you can do to clark people in the back, do it. Many of my clark kills come from engaging the enemy from above or jumping onto/over ledges/walls and assaulting from there. You have a little more versatility with the clark because of its advanced mobility over other weapons so don't be afraid to make use of it.

I think the clark is a highly underused weapon. I've had amazing success with it in all maps I've tried -- northern strike, suez canal and highway tampa, camp gibraltar, cerebere, fall of berlin... you name it.

Also, I agree 100% with all of Zhohar's tips. Also also, sup Vancouver buddy? :-)

**PennyFlame** · 11-13-2008, 12:23 AM

I like staring at peoples' chests too.

The clark is useful in close quarters only. But I guess everyone knew that tip already =) Unless of course their health is low.

**Dictate** · 11-13-2008, 01:21 AM

Eh, not my favorite weapon to use. When I do use it, it's always "aim for the chest".
Geeo loves it, whores the thing on close quarters maps. I just can't tear myself away from the Scar/Krylov. =P

**Spur** · 11-13-2008, 08:33 AM

Watch your ammo!!!! I try to minimize engagement to 2 enemies, in the back, and have 3 shots each (because of aiming deficiencies). Reload a lot! When running I try to have ammo crate out and reload after each engagement, even if I only fired 1 or 2 shots. That ammo runs out fast for me.

I am not afraid to shoot at someone far away (much as people laugh at me for it). Some folks will duck and cover when hit, even if damage is minimal. You won't hurt them bad from far away, but you may give your teammates a chance to aim and fire.

Of course I have only recently tried to get the hang of the clark, so my input could be way off

Mech__Warrior · 11-13-2008, 08:49 AM

Whenever I engage with the Clark, I always die. I aim at the chest, unload several shots and I die. Not my perferred weapon.

<FHC]==0 HighNoon · 11-13-2008, 09:47 AM

I'm not the world's best Clark user by any means but I have a bit of experience with it and it's probably my best weapon. Spur's comment regarding ammo is definitely true. You want to always make sure you're starting a fight with full ammo.

With that said, I think it's best to not engage enemies at long range. The enemy has such a great advantage over you, and you give away your position. The Clark is all about being sneaky, like a ninja! If you see someone far away, you can grenade them (frag or EMP if you plan on engaging them) or sneakily find another way to get to them and pop 'em when they're looking the other way! You must be patient with the Clark. Hover around, keep your eyes open for that perfect opportunity and them BLAMMO!! 3 guys down and you're still at full health.

Mech__Warrior, I used to have the same problem when I was just starting. It takes some getting used to but you must practice! Nobody was good when they only had 500 kills with the Voss, same goes with the Clark. I only started getting decent when I had around 1500 kills. Really, the key is as I mentioned above: Engage the enemy on your terms with unusual close-range positions! If you're in a spot that would be a good place to be fighting with the Voss, MOVE! Don't be where your opponent would expect you to be.

I have had excellent success hiding under stairwells, in boxes, or next to crates... waiting for people to run past (this is the important bit) and then opening fire. Remember that with the clark you can zig-zag and fire without penalty, so do so! Don't just walk in one direction if the enemy turns around and starts shooting at you, move back and forth (or better yet sprint past them, turn around, and shoot -- as Zhohar mentioned) to get the edge on them.

I think (and I'll qualify this by saying that what I'm saying right now is entirely my own opinion) the difference between the Clark and the other guns is that you can make up for poor positioning with good gun skill in some cases but with the Clark, if you don't have all 7 shots lined up before you hit the trigger you're probably going to find yourself counting to fifteen.

**Dirtboy** · 11-13-2008, 11:55 AM

From my personal experience, the Clark is not for everybody. I find myself using it more than any other weapon. I love to strafe with it and aim for the head. Instead of using your mouse to aim, try strafing from side to side. But like using it because I am SL 75% of the time and am not really paying attention to what is over 50 meters ahead of me. Also, I have almost all my squaddies as Assault/Medics to revive me

D_Ronin · 11-13-2008, 12:26 PM

I am getting better with the Clark but I use it in a very precise circumstances. Mainly when cleaning out the Titan or in tight areas.

I am more an advocate of 'the ridiculously long shot' with the Baur

FeralShadow · 11-13-2008, 01:20 PM

I love the clark, but my effectiveness with it is sketchy. Some maps, like Cerbere or Gibralter I can rack up 40-60 kills easy. Other times, I get owned every corner I turn. A very large depending factor on how well you will do with the clark is your latency. Because it's a single shot weapon, and close range, Latency is very important. You need to learn where you need to shoot for your shot to hit. It's most of the time not directly at the person (unless they are running at or away from you) but generally a little ot the left or right. As far as the running behind and diving.... I haven't mastered it yet. Seems complex to me when you can simply run around the corner and pump a round or two into them, but I certainly do see its usefulness as I've gotten killed by Zho many times with him using this tactic.

However, whenever i see Zho and he's using the shotty and he runs at me.. i basically pre-180 degree and shoot the ground. He usually lands there. I've gotten used to his tactic lol.

-Feral

Gronigo · 11-13-2008, 02:50 PM

I'm more of an Assault Med type, but I do love to use the Clark (with an IDS) in certain circumstances/locations. What I'm about to say may seem obvious, but could be of some help to people who wish to learn how to use the shotty.

I play on two different computers, at different places with different ISPs.

Week end gaming rig (very good graphics adapter + 24inch screen for good FPS and tasty details at 1920x1200, razer mouse for precision, 5.1 sound for precious info on what is going on around me, 50-80 ping).

Week nights laptop (poor mobility graphics adapter + 15inch screen for low FPS and ugly details at 800x600, pretty bad MS mouse, stereo sound and 90-150 ping).

When using medium range weapons, there is not so much difference in accuracy on both systems. But I noticed that latency and system performance matter a lot more when you are in close quarters combat. I'm not an expert at the shotty, but I can assure you that my accuracy with the Clark is a lot better on the gaming rig. I don't want to say that skill has no importance, to the contrary, but these factors have an influence on the outcome.

So, an other valuable life lesson learned today: only the rich and famous can afford to be good with the shotty. If you ever see Paris Hilton going after you with a shotgun, you better run, unless you are Warren Buffet.

Bomber · 11-13-2008, 03:02 PM

one thing I did a while back cuz my computer sucked was to see how many fps I got w/ some command like rendererfps 1 in the in-game console and just see how many you get. Below 60 consistently is noticeable by the human eye and above 60 does not matter. This is for people who cannot hit anything with the shotgun because it becomes noticeably smoother. Unfortunately, sacrificing in graphics which I don't know why, but some people apparently care about it.

**Zhohar** · 11-13-2008, 06:56 PM

This is true. The shottie focuses on CQ combat, and for CQ, miliseconds count. To this end, your machine needs to be able to comfortably crunch several graphics levels above of what you're currently running to get the benefit of lag-less CQ combat.
My machine can easily run 1680x1050 at highest settings and 4x AA without lag. But when an OS hits, things slow down. The same is true in CQ.

Because of that (and because I like reading people's names ingame), I run the game at 800x600 with the lowest possible settings. It ... feels right. I've always played it that way. I don't get the benefit of rocket trails or a long view-distance, but I can see through bushes!

FL1Pmode · 11-13-2008, 08:30 PM

Wearing light armor helps enormously to close the distance between you and the enemy. Zigzagging too. Oh and aiming is crucial. Missed shots cost you dear...that took me a long time to learn, but now I love rolling with the Clark on smaller, city maps.

**MDFubar** · 11-13-2008, 10:24 PM

Point, Shoot , and drink.....always helps me. DO not listen to the beautiful sound the shotgun makes, this will make you slow your trigger. Click that fire button as fast as you can and it will fire faster than the beautiful sound it makes. The only better sound is hear Zhohar on TS go " HolY **** Fubar!" or someone else go "jesus". The best I ahve done is 4 people with the clark, spanky finished the 5th one for me while I was reloading.