The Last of Us: Multiplayer Tips Not Taught in the Loading Screen, Part II

Back in April of 2015 I wrote a post titled 11 Tips Not Taught in the Loading Screens for Multiplayer Mode in The Last of Us. With the announcement of the sequel to The Last of Us, excitement is once again brewing around this title, so I spent some time revisiting the multiplayer mode, and today am listing out some additional tips and strategies. Tips are in no particular order.

1. Mark while firing - If you are firing on an enemy, always simultaneously mark them, if not marked already. It's no extra work, and you not only get parts of marking, but you also get parts if a teammate kills the marked target, even if you are already down or dead at that point.
2. Baiting downed allies - This doesn't make you a bad person...honestly. Sometimes baiting a downed teammate in order to down an approaching enemy is the best thing you can do for your team, especially when playing in Interrogation mode. Don't just go charging out in the open to help a teammate up, if it means you are going to get shot down in the process. 
3. Run baiting - When you sprint, you appear on the enemy radar. This can be used to your advantage. Try sprinting in one direction, then pivot in a different direction and wait for an unsuspecting enemy to approach.
4. Changing load outs mid-game - Try this out: start with a crafting load out, so that you can quickly craft items from the materials you pick up from lockboxes. Then, after your first death, switch to a more favorable load out. If you upgrade a weapon and then switch to a different load out that has that same weapon, don't worry, because you won't lose the weapon upgrade.
5. Ideal place to die - With the exception of situations where you think you can be helped up or when you are hiding from a potential interrogation, crawl out into the open. That way, if an enemy wants to loot your leftovers, they have to do so without cover.
6. Self terminate - When downed, it's often to your advantage to die quickly, with the exception of when you might be helped up or when playing in Survivor mode, so that you can respawn faster. If this is the case, and you see some enemy molotav fire or an enemy bomb, crawl on top of them. And by taking out that bomb, that's one less bomb for your team to worry about.
7. Trigger enemy bombs while crawling - Similar to the previous point, try crawling over an enemy bomb when an enemy is nearby. That way, you can trigger the bomb and take out the enemy...along with yourself.
8. Block vault objects while down - I know, I have a lot of tips related to crawling around. For this one, the idea is to crawl next to vaulted objects, such as low walls and windows, in order to prevent enemies from jumping over to your side. This can be handy for preventing an enemy from getting an interrogation, or just to throw them off and leave them exposed.

Here is the original list from 2015:

• 1. Craft a modified 2x4 as early as possible - When you pick up a 2x4 and die, you lose it, but if you upgrade it and die before using it, the upgraded melee weapon will cary over to your next life.
• 2. Save one-time use boosters for challenges - Unless you have stored up a hefty reserve of one-time use boosters, save them for challenges.
• 3. Save easier missions for later in the campaign - Challenges get harder the farther into the weeks you get, and while you can redo a previously used mission, the requirements go up if you do so.
• 4. Avoid the large headwear - Sure, you look great in that large cowboy hat, but you are also easier to spot.
• 5. Locate enemies while dead - When dead and waiting for your chance to respawn, press R1 to toggle through the various fixed cameras, and locate enemies.
• 6. Don't sprint next to crouching teammates - Avoid sprinting next to your stealthy teammates, because as you charge around you will make your location appear on the enemy radar, potentially giving up your teammates. However, the opposite can also be used as a way to bait enemies into an ambush or planted bomb (sprint to attract enemies into a trap).
• 7. Avoid putting yourself out in the open - It's tempting to execute an enemy from afar and then retrieve your loot, but make sure it's safe first. You can always collect the drops later in the round, so don't feel rushed. It's also tempting to run into a pile of unaware enemies while throwing haymakers, but if you have the ammo and don't have a melee weapon, it's probably better to just shoot them in the back.
• 8. Learn the maps - This is a pretty obvious tip, I know, but an important one. It takes time to learn not just the layout of each map, but the vantage points and cover as well.
• 9. Don't stray too far from the team - Sure, it's fun to be the lone wolf that sneaks up behind an enemy for a shiv kill, but more often than not riding solo is not a favorable team tactic. And, in the case of interrogation mode, it often leads to an easy interrogation for the enemy team. Instead, try working in a loose cluster formation, and ensure you have all vantage points covered (i.e. don't just have everyone staring ahead). But don't cluster too close, or else you will find the enemy taking the bulk of your team out with one molotov. 
• 10. Revive teammates in safe areas - Often times you will do more harm than good when you rush out to revive a fallen ally, because in doing so the enemy will destroy you both. It's tempting to pop out from cover to help your comrades, especially when you see that big triangle icon staring at you, but think before you expose yourself. Sometimes letting your teammate crawl to your cover point makes the most sense for the situation, whereas other times letting the teammate die, as harsh as it may sound, is actually the tactical choice. And when your teammate is crawling for cover, actually let them make it behind the cover before you initiate the revive sequence, otherwise you may be blocking them and leaving them open to fire (with exception to a teammate that is a second from dying, in which case it's worth the risk of leaving them partially exposed).
• 11. Don't sit in one place for too long - Unless you are guarding your lock box, or are sniping and know your area is secure, it's probably not safe to stay crouching behind that rusty car for very long. Staying still for a long time makes you an easy target for enemy flankers.