How to : Claymores

[Kesserline]

The claymores meme got already nerfed twice. Expect this guide to be useless soon enough, or not so viable.

So.. Here we are for some claymores. We'll get along several big themes :

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First : The Unga to Dunga

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Know that a PFC can arm claymores, and disarm them using a multiool. Usually, it's hard for a PFC to have many claymores, so.. They tend to stay at what they do the best : ungas.

You'll be an engineer.

The Claymore Engineer is just a glorified PFC loadout that can hack/repair, but carry almost no building materials. Other engineers are there for construction ? You're here for destruction.


First step : 2 4xmineboxes from Vendor (8 claymores, the minimum to maintain a killzone) => In backpack or directly in explosive pouch.

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Second : You want sum.. facts ?

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Know that claymores have a direction explosion blast. The tile itself, and the 3 tiles (in a line, not a column) facing of the claymores. Claymores are DIRECTIONAL. If you face NORTH while planting a claymore, the direction blast will spread NORTH.
Detection radius is : the tile itself, and the tile FACING the claymore.

Now that you know that, you have to play with 3 factors :
- Concealment : at this very moment, concealment factor got hugely nerfed. Yet, it sometimes bug, so sometimes, claymores can still be hidden under random items about a random reason. Usually, use dead bodies, it works kinda efficiently. (NEVER DRAG A XENO BODY ON AN ARMED CLAYMORE. SET THE CLAYMORE AFTER PUTTING THE CORPSE)
- Visual pollution : with many items in range, it can distract the human eye and somewhat allow you to make your prey avoid detecting your claymores (usually against dumb Xenos, smart xeno-mains can still fuck you up, careful).
- Potential visual range of your preys : if you plant a claymore just after a turn (in a corridor for example) you increase the chance for your prey to just run into your claymore without seeing it soon enough.

You have around 1.5 sec to fire at a downed xeno to have a very fair chance to kill it while downed. Sometimes, you have to chase a little your target (if it fell critting just outside your screen).

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Third : Killzone-Minefield

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For a decent killzone, you need around 4 claymores. You can make deadly killzone with 6 claymores, but know that YOU NEED TO HAVE visual on EVERY claymore. If you fail to have a visual on a claymore, you risk to miss the kill if said-claymore is triggered.

Set claymores around you. Either randomize the facing of each of your claymores, either set it towards the most obvious incoming path of Benos.

Always have some landmarks :
- Frontline : where is it ? North of you ? West ? East ? Is it the River of LV ? And you're Fitness ? Is it Lambda labs ? And you're at engineering ?
- Potential hive location : Roamers will come from hive, first, then, arrive on your location.
- Where is the FOB/Potential friendly supply line ?

Set your minefield either on a flank, of the frontline, either on a supply node (Hydro road, for example), either on a FOB flank.

A minefield is good to kill flankers/roamers, not good to kill on frontline (Queen immune+Crusher immune+Ravager very slow stun duration).

Be at the center of your killzone. Xenos CAN and MAY enter your killzone without triggering claymores (usually happens in open spaces such as Containers Area on LV). BUT, if you fire at them, if you dodge, if you fight them back, they might dodge/try to flee/try to charge you back and trigger a lovely claymore.
I can tell you, playing on Planetside 2 as a Pilot, when you are going at 300 km/h, sometimes, it's not possible to avoid a mountain, or another plan, or a building, or whatever the fuck can fuck you up. Same for Xenos, they are fast as fuck, and a single mistake is what you need to fuck them up.

The minefield is a punishment tool. Usually, Xenos can flee and heal, and come back to kill you on the frontline. You're here to exploit their mistakes, and punish them harshly for that mistake they can usually afford. Know (I repeat that) that Xenos mains are fucking cunning. Last example, I had difficulties to survive 3 aliens that went in force on my mininfield, avoiding some and triggering the key claymores one by one to get on CQC with me. (Got saved by Lulzy Tank, but yet, was very scary).

You'll though, mostly kill the average or dumb xeno. It's still fun. Also, you'll always have some use for the platoon. A minefield only needs ONE marine, but just one. 2 or 3 is really extra. But it can secure a flank, or a supply line for dozens of minutes, and clearing roamers/flankers, allowing the frontline to be fueled with freshmeat, and ammo and other shits.

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Fourth : What the fuck I just said, but I explain it with screenshots

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Yellow : triggering radius.
Red : Blast radius
Blue : most obvious paths for incoming targets.
Got around 8 kills that round, including a pred whom I looted his tacticool clan mask, because he costed me 2 claymores.

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Fifth : The results easily reachable if done correctly

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Just to show you how I'm awesome the impact it may have on a round :
Before huge nerfs on Claymores : Record around 15 kills (only with wombo combo claymores + firing at downed xeno).
After huge nerfs on Claymores : Record of 13 kills (9 kills with claymores wombo-combo, 3 while being solo though)
Average bad round : 2 kills with claymores.
Average good round : 5 kills with claymores.

The maps, in order of awesomeness for minefields :
- LV [Delta level of awesomeness => means a very lot, like really awesome]
- BR
- Ice
- Prison [Bravo level of awesomeness)

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Sixth : BREAKTHROUGH ==> THE PANDORA BOX

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Alternative but ULTRA fun loadout. Use 2 shotguns loaded with buckshot, one with BC, one with bayonet and whatever you need. When xeno booms on your claymore, harm intent pointblank buckshot on the alien.

Doesn't work really well on Ice (snow slowing you down, allowing the xeno to get up), but awesome when you manage to reach the PB radius. Danger : aliens often explode on you, with huge burns on you.

Yet, it's ultra fun. Like : MEGA FUN.

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Oh, I forgot a thing : BE FUCKING PATIENT
20 minutes can pass without seing a single target. Use this time to RP/shittalk with a fellow marine.

NB : Gonna re-read what I just wrote, to correct some 7 y-o mistakes, some non-sense, adding that [INSERT DELTA PLAYER'S NAME] is the worst, adding screenshots, underlining that claymores may be nerfed again, so meh.

[Nantei]

Requisitions has two claymores at the start of every round, and people almost never ask for them. That's sort of been a secret for me as I always take them, but I may as well let it out because experienced players know anyways. I don't think claymores are ever worth buying yourself, however, and I take issue with the concept of not taking any building materials as an engineer, or taking very little. Your team is relying on you to do that, so you can make forward positions to push from, claymores don't really enable that. Also I take huge issue with putting a stock on anything, especially the shotgun. The stock reduces overall DPS of the weapon with no needed gain. You're using buckshot, you are GOING to hit. And the melee damage only goes up by 5, just skip it.

[Bath Salts Addict]

Here's another funfact about mines coming from a xeno main. Xenos can slash claymores to detonate them if they're outside of the mine's directional cone, and a clever xeno can and will use that to their advantage to hurt as many marines as possible. I love using an engineer's own mines to kill him. It'll damage the xeno but it'll hurt anyone nearby more, and that's what matters.

[Arbs]

Stop getting things nerfed echo. You're making us look bad.

[ghost120]

Stop getting things nerfed echo. You're making us look bad.

[adrenalinetooth]

Not sure if it is possible anymore, but I used to take a box of claymores, and put lay them all on the Alamo in a row on the south side whenever there was a hunter attacking the dropship. The claymores set each other off, so when the hunter stepped on, it would get insta critted. Good times. Fuck you elite hunter always killing the pilot.

[Kesserline]

Requisitions has two claymores at the start of every round, and people almost never ask for them. That's sort of been a secret for me as I always take them, but I may as well let it out because experienced players know anyways. I don't think claymores are ever worth buying yourself, however, and I take issue with the concept of not taking any building materials as an engineer, or taking very little. Your team is relying on you to do that, so you can make forward positions to push from, claymores don't really enable that.

First : it's 2 to 5 claymores, depending on marine pop.

Second : A cade protects you. But it doesn't allow a kill. A claymore does. Cades are abandonned after each push/fallback. Claymores can be retrieved more easily. Also, claymores are not put on the frontline for an forward position. They are put on flanks and supply lines. Marines don't win by putting cades. They win by killing the Hive. The way of killing the Hive depends on the marines. Mine relies on trapping my foes into wins they can't fight.

Third : As said : 13 kills. Other engies can build. I'm here to kill, because I can't SL with the current gameplay, so I'm having fun with other ways.

Also I take huge issue with putting a stock on anything, especially the shotgun. The stock reduces overall DPS of the weapon with no needed gain. You're using buckshot, you are GOING to hit. And the melee damage only goes up by 5, just skip it.

First : Shotgun is secondary. This means it's used situationnaly, or during emergencies fight.

Second : melee ignores armor, consider it nearly raw damage. 5 damage point more can put an alien into crit. I could put 2 aliens in crit out of 3, allowing me to save enough time to be saved by a tank on an Ice Round. I never doubt the power of melee anymore. You shouldn't neither. Nothing can prevent you from chaining a buckshot then a melee hit with Stock+Bayonet.

Not sure if it is possible anymore, but I used to take a box of claymores, and put lay them all on the Alamo in a row on the south side whenever there was a hunter attacking the dropship. The claymores set each other off, so when the hunter stepped on, it would get insta critted. Good times. Fuck you elite hunter always killing the pilot.

Why using 4 claymores when only 1 is needed ?

Your prey triggering a second claymore is part of the job. But deliberatly using several claymores on a single target is dangerous. You have to count on Req having other priorities than your claymores. That's why you have to try to make them count. Every single one.

Stop getting things nerfed echo. You're making us look bad.

Meh. People still don't understand how those babies work. Anyway, they already got ultra nerfed.

[Nantei]

I sincerely doubt that the 5 damage from stocks is going to hit the breaking point, and the overall DPS even with armor is still lower than getting more shots in. Stocks aren't worth it. Ever.

On the other things it's just a disagreement in philosophy. I think you are doing your squad a disservice if you don't bring a significant amount of building materials as an engineer. Any unga can claymore, only you and SL's can build, and most of the latter don't know they can. Claymores aren't guaranteed kills even when placed correctly, and when claymores are abandoned they get no kills. Claymores need to be manned the same way barricades do.

[Kesserline]

About the 5 damage, coupled with a bayonet, on a buckshot shotgun ? It's good enough to give you the upper hand. You don't need to KILL it. You need to CRIT it first. If critted, you can easily finish it.

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Claymores can be disarmed with a multitool. You don't abandon them. Barricades can be moved, but not dismantled.
Barricades are always abandonned, when you push, or when you fall back.

Claymores can get fair enough guaranted kills while cades never guarantee kills.

I don't say that every engineer should use claymores, but that they should use claymores in a smarter way.
I was a SL that didn't give a shit about gaining territory or ground control. I thought about killing aliens, to reduce hive strength and to give the final blow.
Marines win round by killing aliens, not by gaining territory. Never by gaining territory.

It's easy to ensure a 50% ratio kill-claymore used if you're kinda quick to draw your weapon and to act.

Cades are good, yet, overrated. Any boiler can set an acid cloud, then xenos push, slash your cades a little, then fall back. Over and over, until your cades break. You don't hold against Xenos, you push them, or you punish them.

You can't punish a xeno with a cade. And you can't push with a cade. Cades are good to secure triage centers, or to take a deep breath between two pushes, nothing more, nothing less.

[Nantei]

If you are setting your cades correctly boiler clouds shouldn't be doing anything, because they get blocked. You can fire into the cloud to discourage slashing, weld, etc. THere's a lot of counterplay to this strategy, and it leaves the xenos vulnerable to a push because their gas is down. A lot of marine play is milking the xenos for safe kills, and barricades facilitate that, they are outright necessary for victory. Claymores? Claymores simply aren't necessary to win.

[Rohesie]

Both your shotgun and your rifle would benefit from angled grips. They let you wield and start shooting it faster, which is essential in this case. Specially for the shotgun.

[Nantei]

With buckshot there's no real reason to wield a shotty. But I still otherwise agree.

[adrenalinetooth]

Why using 4 claymores when only 1 is needed ?

Your prey triggering a second claymore is part of the job. But deliberatly using several claymores on a single target is dangerous. You have to count on Req having other priorities than your claymores. That's why you have to try to make them count. Every single one.

One claymore would only take away a quarter of an elite hunter's health and it would walk away alive. Four claymores next to each other would instantly put the hunter into crit and kill it.

[Royal Griffon]

PSA ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ANY WANNABE CLAYMORE USERS
10+ CLAYMORES UNDER FRIENDLY FORCES IS NOT A VIABLE STRAT
YOU WILL BLOW UP FRIENDLIES DUE TO RUNNERS
EXPLOSIONS HURT MARINES MORE THAN XENOS
CLAYMORES CAN DROP 3 MARINES AT LEAST SOMETIMES
DO NOT DO IT

[roushguy]

Barricades can, in fact, be dismantled. Screwdriver, wrench, crowbar.

[Nantei]

Yeah but it's pretty costly time wise and IIRC does not give you all the materials back. Usually best to just drag them back, but either way something that is rarely done. The immobile nature of barricades is one thing with him I agree on, I just don't agree with the conclusion he made from it.

[Szunti]

Sandbag crates are quick to set-up and dismantle(with shovel) and they give all the sandbags back unless slashed.

[Kesserline]

Updated the thingies, added a cool screenshot of a cool rounds, with things described. This is always how I see my screen when I got a minefield on.

[Nanu308]

Good guide o7, Still sad people dont know how to Claymore doe,,

[Chatillon]

This is my work Kesserline-Senpai:

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Blue: Detection range of the claymores
Red: Explosion blast
Green: Safe zone
Orange Only path "safe" to me

I got 8 kills this round, (3 runners, 2 sentinels, 2 lurkers and a boiler *-* )

(PS: this screenshot date from 15 September or so, we now can't hide claymores under some objects...)

[Pogo92]

One critique of your philosophy--Simply killing aliens is rarely sufficient to get a win unless you can successfully kill the queen and deplete their larva. Otherwise, Xenos are much better suited to safely trading lives as they're ability to replenish forces is much greater. The reason why pushing and taking ground is important is to put the squeeze on the nest and force the queen into a deadly fight. Otherwise, if she remains safe and sound, the hive can usually bounce back. A win where Xenos just throw themselves upon the spear of the Marines are extremely rare.

[TopeyDopey]

Fam what you saying... i always have a contruction pouch and carry enough shit to make a smal to medium size point

[Audi_Gzz]

Kesserline..... why did you release the secret formula......

[Kesserline]

Fam what you saying... i always have a contruction pouch and carry enough shit to make a smal to medium size point

You feel that your mission is to support the platoon, by building fortified outposts that will be abandonned if we march forward and abandonned if we retreat.
In those two cases, they will be ultimately destroyed.
The only positive action that it can do is protecting the hosts of such fortified outposts, but it requires manpower, manpower that you are not.
You are just a rifleman or a shotgun, and you can't do shit against a xeno harassing your cades, destroying them little by little, one by one.

My vision is different. I'm here to kill. The more xenos I kill, the less marines xenos can kill. The less marines they can kill, the more marines can be mobilized against the Queen, which, when she died, disable a part of the hive.

Topey, here is a series of facts, questions and parameters :
- Let's say we have 20 xenos groundside at roundstart
- We deploy roughly 60 marines
- It means that for each xeno killed, we can afford losing 3 marines. Meaning that each marines must be able to assist and kill 0.3333333 xenos.

How many players of the marine base can actually just kill one xeno, without being a burden to its own side (major FF, nading, being a cost of resources without return of investment, and so on) ?

If you can kill my average 4 xenos per round using this method, you allow 11 other marines to focus themselves on the remaining xenos/Queen.

A successful claymore operator can secure a 5x5 tiles for a duration of 5 to 20 minutes (based on his patience and the number of hostiles he will encounter), more importantly he can kill any roamers (players from the Hive-side willing to flank and harass supply lines and wounded). Not all xeno players are flankers, but the flankers are the most vicious ones, and you want them to be dealt with ASAP.

You got my point of view on why I don't take any building mats. Yours is viable too, in your own eyes, and probably in the eyes of a majority of players here.
Though, I am not trying to convince you to use claymores, I'm trying to teach how to use them efficiently.

The amount of retard-placement is too damn high.
A single claymore can ensure a xeno kill.
You can have 8 claymores at roundstart. Let's say you fail 25% of your claymores kill, you still can land 6 kills.


@Audi : I consider that all players that want to learn to be better have the right to access the most important information. I don't stand in the way of any players wishing to learn how to be better and spending time and effort achieving this goal.

[lurkermain]

My xeno guide for dealing with claymores:

1. Go to hydro
2. See Kesserline
3. ":a Boomrocks at hydro"
4. Never go back to hydro