Backshots can be done 2 ways: Using feel and using the 2.5 bar fixed power formula. I love formulas, but I recommend you learn backshots using feel... That's because the backshot formula uses a lot of power and requires deep knowledge of wind and lots of calculation. Basically, it's good but not so good you don't need feel anymore. Naturally I'll explain both methods. Backshots are important to master so the only way to learn is to get out there and do them. However, don't cause teammates to lose while you learn ^_^ ...find a friend and 1v1 or something.NEXT >>The idea behind a backshot is this: Wind is blowing towards the enemy. You turn your back to the target, and choose a fairly high angle (close to 70). You shoot with the right amount of power, and your shot will fly up, get blown backwards, and drift into the enemy. You'll notice when it hits that it does a fair chunk of damage, more than usual. That's because (for boomer only) a damage bonus is added for backshots.
Backshot pointers:
- Obviously the wind needs to be blowing towards the target in order to backshot. A good rule of thumb is that you need at least 2 wind strength pointing towards the enemy in order to backshot, and depending on the wind's direction 2 wind might not blow your shot backwards (i.e. if wind is against but also very up or very down, 2 wind might not be enough). Four or more wind strength is generally safe for any wind direction.
- The wind strength determines, to some extent, how far your backshot can fly... but what's almost more important than strength is wind DIRECTION. The more upward the wind arrow is pointing, the further your backshot will fly. The more downward the wind arrow is pointing, the shorter your shot's max range is. A common noobie mistake with backshots is to keep attempting backshots that are beyond the maximum backshot range... if the wind is pointing diagonally down and towards the enemy, then you can safely assume you will never get a full screen distance backshot. If the wind is pointing mostly down and a little towards the enemy, your range is quite tiny, maybe a couple of inches at most.
- If wind direction determines the maximum range of your backshot, wind strength determines how much 'stuntiness' you can put into it. "Stuntiness" is a goofy made-up term I came up with to describe backshots that fly very far forward before flying back. The more you can push your backshot forward (before it flies back to smack the target), the more 'stunty' or fancy the shot looks. Almost anyone can do a short range backshot where the shot flies forward half an inch, blows back, and connects with the enemy after less than a second in the air. It takes a stunter to do the same shot at the same distance but make the shot fly forward half a screen before returning like, well.. a boomerang... to hit someone just behind you after 4 or 5 seconds. The stronger the wind is, the more power and distance you can safely put into your backshot. Therefore the ideal wind for super stunts would be wind that blows towards the enemy and also strongly upwards, at very high wind speed (20+). You can then actually make a shot fly forward nearly a screen before it comes back to travel about 1 screen's distance in the opposite direction. Wind strength does also determine the shot's range to some extent, but I always check direction first.
- For backshots, more power does NOT always mean more distance. In fact, backshot power is a little goofy. After a certain point, adding power causes the shot to have less range. Then beyond that point, more power actually DOES add more range. Then even further beyond that point, more power will not add to the range. It's quite weird. Some rules of thumb:
- Max power is never recommended. If your shot cannot reach the target at ~2.9 bars, then more power is useless and will only shorten your shot.
- -A very simple rule for short and easy backshots is: 1 bar will travel about 1 bar's length. This won't apply to every wind and every angle but it's a start.
- If you just barely cannot reach even at 2.9 bars, try changing your angle.
- If the wind is strong and also upwards, try angle 66 for the best distance.
- In very weak wind (2 wind against) a backshot needs a lot of power, at angle 70 2.5 bars of power travels a bit less than the distance from the start of your power meter to the 2nd bar.
- Angle determines, to some extent, how far a backshot flies. Like power, it's a bit funky. The basic angle for backshooting that a lot of players use is 70.
It's rare that you absolutely MUST change that angle to make a shot. Occasionally, 70 won't cut it and you need to get more range. In those situations, you might want to try a LOWER angle to get the shot to fly further. It's weird but it's true, sometimes a lower angle will reach places the higher angle cannot. However lowering your angle doesn't ALWAYS mean more range. Past a certain point, lowering your angle will make the shot land closer. The closer you come to the 'suicide angle'... the angle at which your shot hits yourself... the less likely it is you can get more range out of lowering your angle. The absolute lowest angle I've ever heard of for a successful backshot is 37, the the lowest I've personally suicided with is 45. Therefore I think that angles 60-70 are the ones you need to play with to find your maximum range.
Lower than 60 might allow you to make your backshot look more 'stunty' but it won't help you hit the target. One thing that IS safe to say is that raising your angle to points above 70 almost never gets more range, and the higher your angle the closer the shot will land. You can do angle 89 backshots even, and they will land directly behind you regardless of wind.
- Generally if the backshot hooks downward sharply instead of travelling in a smooth arc, you are using a higher angle than you ought to or else too much power, and the shot isn't getting the best possible distance.
- Some key stuff I just wanna summarize: Backshot is not just a stunt, it adds more damage and is therefore very useful. If you have a sure backshot, then I recommend using a dual because the damage makes the delay worth it. However if you cannot backshot using true angle, then don't be stupid and use weak angle backshots. Weak angle backshots don't do any more damage than a normal true angle shot, and often they do less damage. You're also making the shot more difficult than it needs to be. One trick for achieving angle... if you have a very steep upwards slope in front of the enemy, you can actually face towards the enemy and backshot. You simply get boomer as vertical as possible and then move your pointer as far away from the enemy as you can (while still keeping true angle). If you can get angle 70 pointing away from them, that's great... but if you must settle for e.g. 75 that's ok too. You don't want to use something like angle 80+ unless the enemy is super close.
If you want to learn a formula for making backshots (especially high power SS backshots) then click here for the formula.
Otherwise click next.