GraviNULL: Play tips tutorial

Welcome to this simple article with some tips to improve your proficiency at ball grabbing and more helpfull stuff!

First before I get on to the actual gameplay tips, here's a basic thing to keep in mind about the scoring systems:

Deathmatch:
Score earnings go like this:

• 1 point for every 10 points of damage done in a single attack(even if it's overkill damage)
• 3 points for a kill on top of the damage points
• -5 points for a suicide by touching your own balls.
• -2 points for a world suicide(flying into the core of gn_core for example)

Seeking(blue) mines deal 25 damage a hit, for as long as they remain charged this doesn't change.
Normal(red) mines start with 85 damage on launch, but rapidly discharges damage potential, starting with 15 points of damage within 1,5 seconds(1 per 0,1 second), but increasingly faster afterwards.

This means, the max points to be earned with a kill can reach up to 8+8+3 = 19 points, that is only achievable through close range red mine usage.

Since seeking mines deal 25 damage, you only get 2 points per hit, the point system doesn't ever round it off higher, always lower. But getting a kill is usually still better than none, so it has it's use.

Hazard:
1 point per finish, how much times can you finish within the time limit?

Race:(in the beta, but no maps out for it yet at the time of writing)
The score for finishing all the laps is: Maximum player limit(currently 8) minus the amount of people finished before you.
Map ending score is 20 points. So the map will often end after 3 rounds have been played, unless players placing is varying a lot each round.

[+] Movement

When gravity is not your bitch, you'd expect to be in big trouble! But you're wrong, your trusty grappling device will ensure you can get to A to B in style while avoiding an early funeral.

Here's some tips on how to best work with movement in zero gravity:

1. Grappling "pull strength" gets stronger the more the beam is going to stretch, this can be usefull in maps like hz_hazardforce or gn_worse, you can use it to "cut corners" or alter your course dramatically in a easy way. In hazardforce, you can use it to fling yourself to the walls on the side to get past the "ramp" area, it's slower, but easier than using the ramp itself.
2. The above stretch power can also be applied to mines you shot, if the mine moves away from you faster than you can follow, this can effectively boost your speed to be that of the mine you are grappling onto, use this anytime where you need to cross a large space quickly.
   It's hard to control though so it's fairly useless in small area's where this can often lead to you crashing into your own mine and dying a humiliating death.
3. Arrange your grapple movement to bounce you into walls when you grab a ball, this will make you a harder target while you try to find someone to shoot at.
4. If appropriate, try to fling yourself towards an enemy, this can be very succesfull if you have full health, even if the target hits you, you won't be killed by that one shot, when you get close enough, you almost can't miss anymore and a red mine will do maximum damage and score you the most points.
   

   After the first hit, you can grab the nearest mine, or the rebounding mine and use it again to finish the enemy, if you have already lost some distance by then, use a blue mine to ensure a hit, if not use a red mine for maximum score!

5. When an enemy is attempting to take a shot at you from any other range then "in your face" and you don't have a mine absorbed... run!
   Don't let your pride be your death, grapple a mine that will move you sideways out of the path of the shot mine and you'll avoid death most if not all of the time.
6. Don't grapple charged mines that aren't moving away from you, it usually ends in swift death!
7. Don't cling too long to the same object, expirement with grappling new objects during flight to figure out the best way to get around.

[+] Combat

Combat is the more straight forward part in GraviNULL, absorb a mine, shoot, repeat. With some movement above mixed in, still here's some tips on improving your combat prowess:

1. Red mines are godly for close range, dishing out a maximum of 85 damage, leading shots is nice and all, but if possible, try to get close to an enemy for a double 8 pointer kill!
   A long range hit feels nice, but the damage reduction and health regeneration system can leave a player surviving the next shot you hit.
2. Blue mines are mainly usefull as a finishing move, scoring a few needed points needed to win or an use alot of people aren't making advantage of is: leading your enemy, shoot a blue mine, when they run, you can take your time making a predicted shot after they just changed course to avoid the mine, sometimes enemies will even end up fleeing towards you, making it a golden oppurtonity to strike, sometimes the this can result in an awesome crushing move, with both the red and blue mine hitting at the same time.
3. If you happen to pass by a mine while fleeing, fire it in seeking mode as the enemy may have moved from his current spot due to the kickback from firing a mine at you. If the enemy shoots a blue mine, counter by absorbing it if you can, instead of running for it and getting caught in a crush move(see point 2 above)
4. Take new targets, don't go nuts on chasing one target, chasing can mean he'll set a trap and launch a mine towards your thick skull, instead take some distance or simply go and find something else to attack. Should the enemy try to chase you, grab a mine and land a brutal hit yourself!
5. When a enemy is about to shoot you and you intend to counter by grabbing the mine, you may want to ensure there's some distance between you, for roughly the first 0,4 seconds you will not be able to grab the shot mine.

Have any of your own tips? Feel free to add them here!