While this advice will apply to any Battle Royal game with a revive feature, my current perspective is mostly Call of Duty: Warzone. The video in this post poses a question, “Would you leave your boy behind?”. In the comments, nearly every person thinks orange was in the wrong for not reviving, with only one or two disagreeing. The video shows the player crawling for almost a minute in near objective safety, not being chased and with no enemy sound near. So, while most think this example is cut and dry, not every situation is as easy to determine. In this post, we’ll discuss a little about when to go for the res, when to fight, and when to run.
The Obvious
First, let’s get some of the obvious situations out of the way. Always res if:
- The enemy squad is dead and there’s no sign of other enemies
- There’s only one enemy left, and they are outnumbered by your team fighting away from the downed player
- Your teammate was downed by a long-range enemy (sniped) with cover
- Your teammate downed themselves (not pulling parachute, grenade, etc)
Never res if:
- You or your downed teammate is actively being shot
- Your teammate cannot get behind any cover and the enemy has an obvious angle.
The Complicated
If you don’t know where the enemy is, but have cover. This can be a gamble, because if you go to fight you could die without support or they could find and full your ally, but ressing in this context can lead to getting caught off guard and being a free kill. The way to judge this situation is based on your confidence in dealing with the remaining enemy. If you’d be 1v1 and you feel good about that, take the fight. If you are outnumbered or outclassed, taking the chance on the res might even the playing field.
The enemy was at a medium range, but could be pushing. If your opponent can cross the distance to you in less than the time it takes to revive then you have a tough call. In this situation, if you’re outnumbered (particularly if you have any standing teammates that can help defend), get the res. However, if you’re alone and will definitely get swarmed before you can get it off and get to safety, then it might be time to run, instead.
General Considerations
- Timing: Can you get the res off safely in the time you have before the enemy will likely get to you?
- Positioning: Is there cover? Do you have a team laying down suppressing fire?
- Skillset: Are you a strong solo player? If you can 1v2 (or more) comfortably, take the fight. If you’re better supporting a team, take the res.
- What difference will the res make?: If you’re going to take that risk, will it help even the matchup or turn the tide in your favor? Because if you’re two and one is down and four are pushing, it might be worth backing off entirely and go for the buy back instead.
Outside of the obvious situations, going for a revive is a matter of measuring the risk. If you’re probably going to die getting the res, it’s really not worth it unless you going to die anyway OR the player you’re getting up is drastically better than you are. If it’s a 50/50 chance, but it’ll help the overall fight, then it’s personal preference. But, if you’re in warzone and your teammate has crawled 100 yards behind several buildings and hasn’t heard the enemy for 30 seconds, then take the revive and don’t run away.
So, what do you think? Anything I’m missing? Should you always res? Should you always play your life? Do different games like Warzone or Apex Legends make it different?