Empulse: Tips and Tricks for Beginners, But Not Only!

Empulse might look approachable at first glance - readable maps, familiar loadouts - but it's a movement shooter at heart. If you don't master movement, grenades, and mechs from your very first matches, you'll spend a lot of time running back from spawn. Here's everything you need to know.

1. Movement first - no exceptions

This is rule number one. Wall-running, grappling hook, boost grenades: it all needs to chain together constantly. A stationary player is an easy target. If you're not flying from one building to another, you're going to die a lot. And dying a lot gets tiring...

Get into the habit of chaining movement abilities even when you're not in combat. The reflex needs to be ingrained before it becomes urgent.

2. Read grenade colors at a glance

Every grenade is a paint grenade, and each color has a specific effect. This translates instantly on the battlefield:

• Orange - speed boost. Run through them every time.
• Blue - jump boost. Same thing, dive right in.
• Green - healing. Actively seek these out when your health isn't at its best.
• Yellow - slowdown. Drop these in front of enemies, avoid them for yourself.
• Red - explosive. The only one that's truly lethal on contact.

Note

Orange and blue are your allies when moving around. Learn to spot them and take advantage of them without even thinking about it.

3. The sledgehammer destroys mechs very quickly

Mechs have 1,500 HP - meaning they're tough. But the sledgehammer melee weapon takes them apart at a surprising speed if you manage to get right up against the mech. Use sprint or the grappling hook to close the distance, then keep swinging. The sledgehammer swings fast, and the damage piles up just as fast.

It's counterintuitive to charge at a mech, but it's the most effective solution. Distance, on the other hand, will kill you slowly and inevitably.

4. Use your grappling hook on enemies for an instant KO

The grappling hook isn't just a movement tool. If you hook an enemy with the grappling hook and go all the way to the end of the trajectory - meaning you actually reach their position - you trigger a melee attack that kills in one hit. Just one. KO (pronounce it Street Fighter-style!).

It's risky because it requires precision to hit a moving target, but when it lands, it's devastating. Also useful for quickly reaching a teammate if you need to regroup.

5. Get up high and stay there

Empulse's maps have real verticality. With enough momentum and a good grappling point, you can climb very high - then maintain altitude with wall-running and gliding. From up there, you'll have all the time in the world to shoot enemies who aren't thinking to look up.

It's an underrated advantage in FPS games. Players on the ground always take longer than expected to spot a threat from above. Take full advantage of it.

6. ADS isn't essential

Unlike most modern shooters, aiming with ADS in Empulse doesn't change bullet spread or actual accuracy. Firing from the hip is just as effective - in a style close to the old Halo games. So if an enemy drops on you at full speed, don't take the time to aim: open fire immediately. It really changes the way you play close-range fights. Less hesitation, more instinct.

7. Mechs don't regenerate health - play them aggressively

A mech has no HP regeneration. Once it takes damage, it keeps losing health until it explodes. Don't bother taking cover and waiting: a defensive mech is a wasted mech.

The right approach: play aggressively until the very last moment, then eject before it explodes. If you get out of the mech before it explodes, you come back out with a full health bar. It's a great window to catch nearby enemies off guard.

8. Select multiple modes in quick play for more XP

In quick play, you can tick several modes in the playlist and get a small XP bonus as a result. XP raises your overall level, and that unlocks additional weapons and perks. Even if you don't like certain modes, the penalty on the XP bonus is minimal - it's often worth keeping them checked.

9. Max out your weapons to unlock mastery skins

Each weapon has its own progression level, which unlocks gear and skins as you level it up. Once a weapon reaches its max level, additional challenges appear in the Mastery Gigs section of the main menu. Completing these challenges rewards exclusive skins - a solid long-term goal to keep you motivated after you've optimized your favorite build.