Opening Doors
There are two ways to open doors. The simple way is to walk into one and keep walking forward until it has opened and you are through. However, if you do this, you are a sitting duck for an enemy on the other side. To avoid this, you can use a more advanced technique. First, run into the door, so that it starts opening. Then, immediately back up and get to one side of the door, if possible. The door will continue opening even when you are not in contact with it. Once the door has fully opened, you may run, dive, or roll through with no impediment. Be careful not to touch the door on your way through, or it may close on you and push you back where you started or spoil your aim.
Escape Roll
When you need a quick escape, simply running away isn't always enough. The speed of a dive can mean the difference between life and death. However, using a dive for escape can be difficult. Simply forward diving away from your opponent means you have to get back up. Back diving away is even worse if you are unable to return fire. Side diving is good if you are already next to an escape route perpenidcular to your attacker's line of sight. However there are many time when you are several steps away from the hallway that can save your life. One highly effective maneuver in these situations is the 'escape roll'. To execute this roll, there needs to be a hallway or alcove or some other corner to go around. Going around the corner means getting out of the line of fire of your attacker. Ideally, if you are facing your attacker, the hall will be somewhere behind you. As an example, picture the main hall of Doombank, with the main entrance around the corner behind you and an attacker by the computer room. You are facing you attacker. Turn to face the wall to your right. Then, do a right-dive, which will take you into a roll. Once you are in a roll, and the wall is no longer in front of you, turn to face you attacker. You will continue rolling to your right, around the corner, and into (relative) safety. It takes practice to be able to do this smothely in battle, but the reward is substantial. You get the speed of a dive, with the reduced target area of the dive and the roll, and your feet are facing your enemy through most of the maneuver. With practice, you can even roll behind something small, like a crate or barrel, without coming back into view on the other side. This, of course, requires precise aiming and timing to execute.
Scanning Roll
Entering a room can be one of the most dangerous things in AHL. There could be enemies anywhere and you might not notice them until they start shooting at you. The 'scanning roll' allows you to enter a room, quickly see 180 degrees, and exit again, all while maintaining a the low profile of a roll. Basically, you start by facing the left wall of the hallway going into the room. Make sure you are far enough away that you will be rolling by the time you get into the room. Now do a right-dive into the room, quickly but smoothly, turn to the right as soon as you are rolling in the room. Stop turning when you are rolling back toward where you started. If you time it all right, you will stop rolling once you are back in the hallway. You will have seen the entire room, and if you have good vision, you will have spotted any enemies that are visible.
Ramp Roll
The 'ramp roll' offers another way of going around dangerous corners. My favorite place to use this is in hkheat. Next to the bathouhse is a marketplace. Next to the marketplace is a large ramp leading up to an alley that leads to the jazzclub. This alley is the site of many confrontations. Diving around the corner can be good, but you usually smack into the opposite wall and roll in place for a few moments. This can be a very dangerous thing to do. However, by side-diving before you reach the top of a ramp, you will almost immediately hit the ground and go into a roll, even before you have rounded the corner. You will end the roll in a crouch if you hold the duck button down. Being crouched is, of course, very good for aim, but is slow for going around corners. The ramp roll lets you quickly go around the corner and be a small target with good aim the whole way.