It’s ok, I know your pain. You promised yourself you’d put a bit of time into the likes of Battlefield 4, Destiny or Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare in order to get your online multiplayer skills up to scratch, but where has that time gone.

If you signed up to the new Battlefield: Hardline open beta you might be having a bit of tough time getting back into the swing of things. I can’t stop people shooting you in the back half a second after respawning, or offer any logical advice on how to fly a helicopter, but here are five survival tips that should make life less difficult.

Buy a new assault rifle

Sorry to get all technical on you, but the default assault rifle is just balls. It’s particularly awful if you’ve not played a shooter online since last year thanks to the way the muzzle dances around as soon as you look at the trigger. Money earned from matches can be spent on new weapons and the first weapon you’ll want to buy is the SG553, which reduces recoil and increases accuracy. Sadly, you’ll only be able to use it as the Police. I’m not sure having the unlocks tied to each side is a good idea to be honest, Visceral – especially at those prices. If you’re light on funds, maybe opt for the mechanic’s sub-machine gun, which is much steadier than the first rifle, albeit at the cost of range.

Listen for chopper pilots bailing

Sitting in a gunner seat in the helicopters is great fun and it’s the fastest way to get into the action as a round begins too. Sadly, pilots are dicks. They’ll bail for no apparent reason in mid-air, sending everyone to their doom. You don’t have to wear a headset, just listen out for the AI saying something along the lines of “I’m handing the controls over to you.” This means the pilot has gone, meaning you can either hot swap into the pilot seat or jump out and parachute to safety. If you are parachuting, be sure to pull the cord at the last possible moment, so snipers can’t pick you off as you float back down.

Armoured Command Centres FTW

Need to beef up your kill/death ratio? Well be sure to get in one of the bus-sized mobile command centres. These heavily armed vehicles can take tonnes of damage before exploding and many opposing players don’t seem to register them as a threat or are unable to detect which window you’re using. There are two side windows on each side, each with a mounted machine gun with unlimited ammo. Snipers don’t appear to be able to shoot you either (or I’ve been really lucky at least), so until someone comes at you with a grenade launcher, have fun. Fill the thing up with allies or just park it sideways at a junction with plenty of scope on both sides to pick enemies off and you’ll probably be able to get five kills before someone decides to do something about you.

Keep moving in Hotwire

There really isn’t much to this mode. Once you’re in a car that earns conquest-style points, just keep moving in a lap around the map and be wary of any dead ends as the loss of speed slows down your points. Slow down occasionally to let an ally hop in and make a beeline for any unused cars so they can jump out and score some points too. If you’re riding shotgun to defend the driver, be sure to lean out the window with the button prompt so you aim anywhere. The grenade launcher is handy to take out pursuers or fools trying to play on foot.

Avoid melee encounters

This isn’t Call of Duty where a single melee strike is enough to earn an easy kill in close-quarters, especially from behind. Multiple hits are required for a kill. So even if you’ve got the drop on someone, just shamefully unload a clip into their back and hope it’s enough.

Well, there are a few tips to get you going. We’d love to hear some of your own though, especially any that involve not crashing helicopters 15 seconds after takeoff. Um, so I can tell my friend that is.