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You can see here the blast radius of the rocket jump


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Rocket Jumping

This is what Daikatana is all about. This alone is an entire science. I will not explain all the techniques possible with this masterful art because there is no room on this page for that. What I will do is give beginners a full breakdown of what is needed to be learned in order to "hold their own". The whole concept of the Rocket Jump is using the momentum of your regular jump combined with the recoil and blast of the rocket spashing underneath you.

First off the Rocket Launcher (rl) is the most powerful weapon on the map besides a cluster of C4. We all know how long C4 takes to place so the Rocket Launcher seems like the best weapon to use. The rl (Rocket Launcher) has a quick reload time and fires 2 independent rockets (if one hits a door frame the other could pass and frag). Aside from it's effectiveness as a weapon, it has priceless value as a maneuvering tool. But using this tool comes with a price. The powerful blast from the rocket(s) creates a blast radius called a "splash". This splash is like a dome of pure fire, a dome of pain, a dome so ruthless that when it be smacking you up side your skull, you will understand exactly the lowdown on dat shit! Without armor you need at minimum of 61health to perform the Rocket Jump since it will eat 60health points. With armor it will take much less depending on how much you have. (Experiment to see the different effects). So the splash from the rockets WILL have a devastating effect and lower your health considerably. When we get fragged from a rocket shot, it's usually not the rocket that fragged us, it is the splash damage that killed us. Most players aim for your feet hoping to hit you with the splash. Only players with low ping and excellent video and cpu hardware can aim for the player himself and hope to hit him consistently on the body. But the rocket splash can, despite it's damaging characteristics, help you maneuver which is why where here boyz and girlz. Hitting your opponents feet can have another beneficial effect aside from rocket jumping. The Splash can send the opponent flying away fast in a direction he was not prepared for. They will fly in the opposite direction of the blast. Different angles and distances that the splash is from the player, determines the different effects it produces. I wont go into these techniques but you can use them to own players with what i call the "ping pong" technique...heh

The Jump Itself

Looking down and making a rocket splash under your feet will shoot you up into the air but not that far. Since the splash is directly under you, you fly straight upwards. If you further add to that move by jumping right before you fire the rockets into the ground, you fly higher. If you look down, jump, fire and then look up as your gaining altitude all in one steady move, you will have completed a Rocket Jump (RJ). I have found the most effective way to execute this move is by first looking down....then jump....fire(after .1sec)....then start looking up slowly (after 1.0sec) Turning left or right in the air will boost you further and faster).....then finally land at your target -ALERT and FOCUSED. You should experiment with "looking up" timing to get a feel for the highest jump possible. I time my "looking up" so that when I'm done looking up, I'm just landing on my target like one flowing movement.

This takes a lot of practice...theres no way out of that and to further advance your effectiveness you need to be able to use this move immediately and into any direction you desire on a split second (you may need to get out of a bad situation fast!). The seasoned player does not guess and play random. 

Need to bug out fast!

Rocket Jumping Into Different Directions

To jump into a desired direction with the rocket jump (RJ), run into that direction 1st. You don't have to look into the direction your planning to jump into, you can do this backwards or sideways. Simply move into the direction you want to fly to for a split second then hit your RJ. You will fly into that direction you moved. Now, the most important part you need to remember...

Maneuvering in Mid-Air

YOU CAN MOVE IN THE AIR! Never forget this for it will be the basis for all air maneuvering. Like Super Mario back on Super Nintendo, you could jump and while in the air move back and forth with the left and right keys. Same here, except you can move left, right, forward or backwards while flying in the air. Furthermore, you can move in those directions and change your mind in mid air. Let's say your flying towards the soul heart on the 3rd level in the attack building and you really need that heart. You run towards the building, hit your RJ and fly up making a large arc in the air but before your arc is done and you land, you need to fine tune the jump. As you approach the building in the air, mentally calculate if your going to land on the 3rd level ledge. You may have jumped too high and will land on the 4th level. If you see yourself over shooting your target, you need to pull back on the cursor pad like a brake and sharpen the angle of your arc. It's not always that easy and it's better to aim for the outside of the 4th level rail and then when you hit it, push forward into it till you slide down and push yourself into the 3rd level. You can do a combination of both pushing back and forth in the air to align yourself to land perfectly into the heart (DJ Style). Other techniques would include you rocket jumping along side the 3rd level ledge and strafing left into it with your right mouse button (or whatever you have your strafe button set to) and slide into home base kid:)

Using Rocket to Change Direction in Mid-Air

While your in mid-air besides moving with the cursor keys, you can use your rocket to propel yourself into the opposing direction or add velocity to your existing direction. Shooting forward will push you back and shooting behind you will push you forward. (This especially works nicely on timescale 0.3 with rocket / attack while fly around the map).....heh.

This way of propelling can be used anywhere. It's great for battle indoors when you shoot behind yourself running backwards. You both cover your ass and push yourself faster like up the stairs. The recoil will push you more when your in the air, so always be strafing when you use it for best performance.

Using Rocket to Make Your Strafe Jumps Go Further

Strafe jumping as mentioned earlier is essential. Some areas could use the addition of the rocket to alter the effect. Strafe jumping into the air out of a window or ledge and then, while in the mid-jump, firing your rockets downward will increase your effective range. The recoil from rockets being launched compensates over gravity and you go further. Most places do not need the assistance of the rocket for the strafe jump to reach but using the rocket could lead to some free frags down below. For example... strafe jumping from the power tower high window to the vitality roof does not need the rocket shot to make it. Using it however would shoot your rockets into the streets where players may be dog fighting and they may be low on armor/health. Your one blind rocket shot could lead to 1, 2 or 3 frags or even 4 as I have fluked in the past with power :)

Remember... seasoned players don't guess and play random. You can do the same strafe jump from the power towers high window to the vitality building roof but instead of just blindly shooting down you can FOCUS your mind for that .5 sec and shoot downward with a purpose. Aiming at a visualized opponent while hanging in that brief limbo is what elite players are made of. You don't need to just shoot at a player, you can shoot at a window or doorway and get a free frag.

The DJ KAMAKAZI Attack Rocket Jump

This is my personal favorite. After gaining the attack powerup, run into the streets and rocket jump and while in the air keep hammering the rockets into the streets. This will have 2 effects. First, you will temporarily fly (which can also be directed with aim) and second, you will "clean the streets". Having 8 players in a Free for All (ffa) leads to many street dog fights. Many times I will see a handful in the streets battling it out. Yup, I love to frag with that attack pounding rockets into them flying from over their heads.

Street Fighting Rocket Jump

Are you unpredictable? If you find yourself being hit with every shot your opponent has, you are not:). Keeping yourself where your opponent doesn't know, is where you want to attack from. Like in the real war, catching your opponent off guard and creating the element of surprise will always give you the upper hand. If your enemy sights you on the street and pops behind the corner to avoid your shot just to then peek around the corner again and attack you, can be to your advantage. Before he comes with his attack from behind the corner, you can execute a RJ and fly over his head to land on his blind side and attack him from the back. He won't know where the hell you came from! A seasoned player will hear your rocket jump though and act accordingly so stay alert in mid-air of their position. On most RJ's you can squeeze off 2 attacks while in mid-air (without ATTACK). Hitting him with both shots will put your enemy in a low health/armor situation (if no powerups are available) making the best choice to go in for the bumrush frag.

If you are in a close dogfight with your opponent and want to escape and your going to rocket jump outa there, do it with style... do it close to him. This will hit him with your splash and get you out at the same time.

Rocket Jump For Short Cuts

If your opponent is headed for the 200 armor in the storage room on Gibbler on the Roof map and he takes to the streets from the vitality area, you can rocket jump over the vitality building and meet up with him to frag his ass. This can be used in many areas in all maps to create short cuts that would take longer with even strafe jumping.

Rocket Strafe Jump

This is the move of champions. This is the one that puts you with the best. As mentioned in the strafe jump section, the strafe gives you more velocity. By strafe jumping and rocket jumping right after you land, you can clear maps with one bound :) The move is : strafe jump forward (or any direction for pros) and as you land... immediately rocket jump and feel the force. To gain full potential, two strafe jumps are needed. The ultimate is 2 quick strafe jumps and boom.....the rocket jump and goodbye charlie, your launched. This takes much practice to make it become effective in battle.

In addition to this (yes theres even more :), you should turn your body sideways in mid-air and push forward and left on the keypad (if you turned right) at the same time to maximize distance and to increase velocity as mentioned in the strafe jump section. There are some interesting combinations with the strafe key while in air that will make you do some weird things. Learning this rocket strafe jump and angling your body properly in mid-air flight will make you a flying wizard. Flying wizards are the owners of large maps.

There is so much more tactics and techniques with rocket jumps that I could keep writing for days but enough is enough. This is an excellent primer for beginners. The rest of the stuff is thought to CLaN DJ members only :)


Author: DJ CROWZNEST (AKA. KAMAKAZI)
Founder of CLaN DJ

Now you know why you see red when the splash hits you

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