Tips & Tricks For Onward VR New Oculus Quest Players

Onward is a VR military simulator that rewards teamwork and unit cohesion. There are some tips, tricks, and overall etiquette newer players usually don’t know and this can make them a pain to play with and it makes life a lot harder for those newer players. Here are the best things to know before going into the field.

Crouching

Get ready to crouch low and even crawl if you have to. Having a lazy teammate who stands in the open and dismisses low cover can be useless when it comes to advancing through areas with scarce cover. I’d recommend knee pads if you’re playing on a hard floor since you will need to drop to your knees often and with haste. I got my knee pads from the dollar store for 2 dollars and they do just fine, simple foam pads with a velcro strap. Finally, take proper crouch position, your knee and both feet should create an equilateral triangle. I’ve witnessed players stumble while crouching improperly which not only takes them longer to aim their rifle, but also makes it harder for them to steady their rifle to aim at all. This position also makes it easier to lean side to side.

Ammo Management & Trigger Discipline

You don’t get butt loads of ammo in Onward as you do in most flat-screen shooters. When you drop a magazine, any unused ammo still in that magazine is gone. Ideally, try to use the whole magazine before reloading or pickup your partially used magazines. However, this also means that if you are getting low on ammo, don’t put yourself into a position where you or your teammate could die if you run out of ammo. Also, ammo can be shared by simply handing your ammo to a teammate, assuming you are both using the same caliber bullets, just one more thing to keep in mind. Finally, trigger discipline. In real-life you should keep your finger off the trigger along the side of the gun, but in VR we don’t really have that option, just do your best not to fire your weapon unless you want to, especially if you don’t have a silencer on it, or you’ll alert a lot of enemies.

Room clearing

When in close quarters be careful not to get in the way of one another, especially the guy who is in the front who may need to shoot or back up at any time. When clearing rooms, do not cross in front of any teammates and when required, hold your position at a door or hallway and let your teammates pass safely behind you. Clearing every room thoroughly and with haste is key. If done wrong could prove fatal for your whole squad. This often requires your team to move as one, which is difficult for even the best Onward players.

Be the Back Guy

When advancing there is always a chance to be flanked and have your whole squad wiped by a single enemy. Being the guy who watches the back is not exactly exciting. However, the guy watching everyone’s back might be the most critical role in keeping the team alive. He’s often the most under-appreciated hero on the squad. It’s not as glorious as getting lots of kills, but I ask any new players to learn to enjoy it and see the value in this position. Best of luck.

Reloading

Many people who play Onward or other VR shooters don’t actually know how to reload a gun. Most guns use a very similar format to reload, but some are very different. Get to know your gun before using it in action. Also, don’t forget to load the first bullet into the chamber after firing a full magazine. Nothing is more embarrassing than trying to shoot an enemy but not having your weapon loaded, this could cost you your life. The main mistake I see is players don’t realize that some guns require you to yank the magazine out of the gun, instead of the magazine sliding out when you hit the button. These guns require you to hold the button down and yank out the magazine. I personally hate these kinds of guns because it takes a fraction of a second longer to reload (but it does feel pretty badass).

Your Pistol

Remember, switching to your pistol is always faster than reloading. If you don’t have time to reload your rifle, being handy with your pistol can literally be a lifesaver. Pistols are hard to aim, so I suggest you practice using them often. Bootup a single-player level and select a close-range level and use only your pistol until you feel comfortable killing enemies in a variety of ranges.

Controls & Mic

Explore the settings and control options. You’ll want things to feel as natural as you can, reacting to intense combat situations is hard enough without having to think twice about what button does what. One setting I strongly suggest adjusting is your knife. By default when holding a knife it will kill anyone it touches even by accident. So if you scavenge through a wounded teammate’s supplies looking for syringes to heal them, you might accidentally kill them with their own knife. This is a needlessly dumb and annoying way to die, hence my suggestion. After changing the setting, it will require you to hold an additional button down in order for your knife to be lethal, hence making it impossible to accidentally stab your teammate to death. Also, the chances you’ll ever use your knife is almost zero. Finally, your mic. I’d strongly suggest you make sure your mic is on all the time and working. Communication is key in Onward, it’s a pain to play with someone who can’t communicate with you.

Nerves

This paragraph is for those who are brand new to shooters in VR. Aiming a gun in VR is surprisingly harder than aiming a gun in real life, but thankfully recoil is easier to manage. This being said, being shot at, the pressure of staying alive, the pressure of possibly failing your teammates, and the fear of an enemy coming to kill you, may cause you to fumble. Practice reloading, practice aiming down your sights in awkward positions, and most importantly, never give up. Your first few hours of playing you will screw up reloading when trying to rush things, you might drop a grenade by accident, you might forget to cock your gun, long story short you will make mistakes and take longer to do things than an experienced player. Plan for this, play smart, not hard. Don’t put yourself into situations that you’re not ready for yet. Everyone wants to be James Bond, but this game is realistic enough that it would take someone with countless hours of training to hold a candle to any action movie hero. We experienced players only ask that you do your best and never give up. We were all new once, you’ll get the hang of it in no time.

I hope this helps, shoot straight and happy hunting!

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