Can I more quickly recover from a melee / reload / equipment use?

Question

Can I get out of a reload or equipment use more quickly through an input of commands on my controller?

Sometimes I seem to really get stuck in melee or when I'm using a UAV or reloading in MW3 and end up getting killed.

:(

In Halo you could double-tap with the BR and quick melee reload, and most games seem to have little glitches you can input that can shave an extra frame of an animation or something.

While I do use quickdraw and slight of hand, and have experimented a little in-game I've not heard or seen much about forced reloads and tactics to recover more quickly through input combos.

If there is any info out there, I'd like to know.

Answer 1

You can do what is known as "reload cancelling" - basically tapping the fire key as soon as the gun is reloaded, but before the animation ends. The timing varies from gun to gun, but you can do it as soon as the magazine shows up as full in your HUD. This just takes some practice. Quickdraw pro you can use to recover faster from using grenades and equipment - I don't think it allows you to recover faster from melee.

Answer 2

If you sprint while reloading, it cancels the reload. I find this very useful and use it often. There is no way to speed up or cancel calling in a UAV.

Answer 3

I'd like to add to the other answers here by saying that there's a longer reload animation when the clip is fully empty. Once you get to a certain stage in the reload, regardless of whether your old clip is empty, you can reload cancel.

I find this especially useful when dealing with the Striker shotgun, as it reloads one shell at a time. The gun's ready for killin' after the first shell is slotted, but you can't press "fire" until the reload is completely finished.

My general method for reload canceling is to double tap the weapon switch button (Y on the Xbox) which will kind of quickly half-lower and half-raise your weapon. It works in more situations than sprinting (ie, when lying prone) and the animation is faster than the knife.

Answer 4

I would like to agree with @agent86 - another tactic I would suggest is knowing your cover areas well; keeping a good eye on your ammo doesn't hurt either. Taking cover while simultaneously activating your UAV or reloading is quite effective. If you start while moving to cover, you get a couple of seconds more to keep moving and let them fire at the wall while you ready your volley back to them.

This gives an added benefit of being able to see that first UAV swipe or to check for their dot on the radar so you're prepared to return fire when they reload - and most people with submachine guns, shotguns, or secondary will reload after seemingly small expenditures (vs LMG or AR).