How do you get started in Ready or Not? This ultimate beginner's guide is packed with tips to ease you into Void Interactive's tactical first-person shooter.

Table of Contents

Ready or Not is a tactical first-person shooter in development by VOID Interactive which provides a realistic SWAT team experience, with players clearing out hospitals, nightclubs, bars, and general housing. The game draws inspiration from real-life police procedures, as players lead their squad through various high-risk operations, such as drug busts, hostage situations, and counter-terrorism operations.

The game highly promotes strategic planning, coordination, and excellent execution of missions. This isn't the typical run-and-gun shooter most FPS players are used to, meaning it requires patience and great mechanical skill. No game available has accurately depicted the settings and experiences VOID Interactive has achieved within the title Ready or Not, making it the GOAT of SWAT games currently available.

If you're thinking of trying out the game, then these helpful beginners tips should help any beginner looking to get started.

The Basics

Due to Ready or Not's above-average complexity, here is a list of things you should understand before entering the game and getting kitted up and ready for action!

Learn Your Controls & Keybinds

There are plenty of controls within Ready or Not, players can complete numerous actions within the game, therefore leading to a mass amount of keybinds. Before entering the game, learn the different keybinds and what will be expected of you. Whilst learning the keybinds you'll learn the different abilities you have available to you such as:

• Low-Ready - bringing the gun nozzle to the ground
• Yell for compliance - telling enemies to comply with you
• Magazine check - check ammunition remaining in the magazine
• Walk - change from walking to not alerting enemies of footsteps 

These are all controls we're not used to seeing within generic FPS titles, therefore learning the controls will allow you to also learn the functions the game has available, allowing you to grow and explore these controls and actions in-game, saving you possible grief from enemies. 

Understand Enemy AI

The Ready or Not developers decided to create an incredibly complex AI system to enhance gameplay immersion, with these AI making decisions that benefit them based on their experiences, almost like real humans. For example, if under pressure, these AI will decide to retreat and re-establish a new location to fight in that has better odds, whereas most in-game AI will follow you around once activated and fight until they or you are dead. 

The AI additionally can comply with your instructions, such as the "Yell for compliance" options. Before killing the AI enemy, you're able to persuade them to drop their arms and comply with your demands, leading to their arrest. The AI will comply, pretend to comply, or continue to aggress, and it's up to you to take control of the situation with lethal or non-lethal force. 

Enemy AI set traps along different maps and locations, for example, setting trip wire grenade traps, killing you almost instantly and not being able to protect yourself. These traps can be located by taking the necessary steps, such as moving slowly and clearing each room of a building incredibly carefully, as well as using all the equipment provided to you.

Learn The Purpose Of Each Scenario

Each scenario is completely different, perhaps you're tasked with killing a group of terrorists inside a hospital, taking control of a domestic hostage situation, or simply taking a non-lethal approach and trying to arrest rather than kill the perpetrators. Each scenario requires different skills of a SWAT officer, therefore, it's vital you understand the requirements of each situation and can differentiate them from mission to mission. 

Once entering a scenario you will obtain an Objectives List giving you simple instructions on what to complete within that mission, for example, "Rescue all of the civilians" which would require you to locate and rescue as many (alive) civilians. Once completing all the objectives you would have completed the mission and successfully finished your scenario, after receiving praise and XP from the mission you just completed. 

Make Use of Customization Options

To customize your character select "Play" and "Singleplayer," bringing you to an in-game lobby with the aesthetic of an intelligence base and locker room. Once entering the base, turn right and enter the locker room, to change your appearance, go to the mirror on the right wall and you'll be prompted to customize your character. To customize your weapon and loadout, head over to the open locked (first visible one), and again, you'll be prompted to customize your loadout.

Within loadouts, you're able to customize yourself and your SWAT team, allowing you to change and optimize your team for the best outcomes in situations. You're able to select yours and their weapons, equipment, and all other aspects of their loadout, essentially, as if it were your own. The weapon customization within Ready or Not is incredible, with plenty of weapons and attachments to choose from, although, it's best you select weapons best suited for the scenarios you're planning on entering. You don't want to be walking around with an MK16 in close-quarters residential addresses. 

Overall the customization will constantly be updated and upgraded, considering the game revolves around successfully operating SWAT equipment and tactics to win. Utilizing SWAT equipment is vital, such as flashbangs and camera devices to help gain an edge over the enemy, however, using them at the right/wrong time will make a huge difference within Ready or Not.

Written by Will Dowey

Will is a freelancer who formerly wrote for Jaxon where he completed a series of CSGO skin guides, Escape from Tarkov updates, and Modern Warfare stories—additionally, joining forces with DualShockers to share expertise on the much-beloved franchise, Wolfenstein. Following behind Will is his degree in Esports, obtained at the University of Chichester, the degree acts as a foundation for his articles and his love for games. If not battling PMCs in the Streets of Tarkov and farming clips for his YouTube channel, Will is inspecting upcoming Counter-Strike skins and plotting potential purchases to fuel his inventory. 

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