Team Fortress 2/ctf 2fort

2fort is a popular CTF map. Games of 2fort are very different to games on other maps. Medics are not absolutely needed, scouts are ineffective against demomen and so on.

Due to the map's layout, 2fort games often stalemate on public servers.

Strategies
Unlike ../ctf_turbine/ or ../ctf_well/, bases in 2fort can be easily defended by a few people. Engineers have a variety of places to set up and the fastest way in and out of the intelligence room goes right past the defending team's spawn. As such, putting most of your players on offense is advisable.

Because of the tight hallways of the maps, be sure you know where the enemy sentries are, and take them out. Because there are only a few ways into the intel room, you want to know exactly what you are going to do once you start your assault, rather then just wing it. The easiest way would be to have a scout use the bridge roof while there are no snipers (or, alternatively use the scouts pistol to shoot at the snipers [it actually works with the majority of snipers I have seen in game-they are not expecting a scout zig-zagging across the roof shooting at the!]until they can get to the other side and run past them). In terms of defense, keep plenty of heavies around, as inside they can wreck havoc on the attackers, as well as pyros (there will be spies)!

Scout
Scouts are fairly limited in 2fort; it is a choke-point heavy map that mostly takes place indoors and a single sentry can block all access to the intelligence. Unlike in more open maps, the scout is countered by nearly every class in the game on 2fort, so he's not an effective defender either. As such, scouts are best used in the first minutes of the game or as an opportunistic choice, if the enemy intelligence is on their battlements, for example, going scout until the intel is captured may be wise.

Scouts can also be quite a pest and hindrance. Due to their double jump ability, they can leap right from your battlements to the bridge to the enemy battlements and start killing enemy snipers. Not only does this cause general havoc but it puts the other team on clean-up duty as well as putting them on the defensive for a little while. Nothing more annoying than scouts manically running and jumping circles around you in 2fort. This in turn will also allow your team to set up some snipers on your battlement which should enable some dominance for a while.

Don't be discouraged, though, a skilled (and admittedly lucky) scout can bypass the whole tournament by stealing the intel out from under the opposing team's noses. There aren't high points to be gained but there is something inherently classy about ending the match prematurely with 3 successive intel caps without getting hurt once.

A small tip: when you first snatch the intel case, the team is alerted to your presence and they watch their intel compasses to let them know whether you are heading up the spiral or the straight stairs. If you avoid being sighted and don't move around too much they won't see their compass moving and will soon be distracted by other tasks. After about forty seconds, check with your teammates if there are any new Sentry Guns in place and head on up the other way.

Contradicting the last tip, if you were chased on your way down to the intel room by a scout, medic, engineer, spy (or another class manned by an unskilled player) kill your stalker and run back the way you came as soon as you can before the rest of the team can rally against you, chances are if there was no sentry on your way down, there won't be a level 3 Sentry on your way back. If you are out of options and are being chased by one of the more powerful combat classes or a group of enemies, race up the other stair and hope there are no Sentry Guns waiting for you.

Remember: always move sporadically: there is a tendency with newer players to use the scout all the time on this map, and use either the sewer system or the roof of the bridge (if there are no snipers) almost exclusively. It isn't really a good idea, as it gets predictable, switch up your class and try a different tactic.

If you've been playing Team Fortress 2 a lot, and have acquired some items, you might be familiar with the Soda Popper and the Bonk! Atomic Punch. The Soda Popper is a two-shot-per-clip scatter gun which builds "hype" as you run. You can see the hype meter in the bottom right hand corner. This is nice for this map because you won't get many chances to have a prolonged fight with someone. As a scout, your fights are over and someone is dead in a few seconds. When the Soda Popper's hype is full, you'll have mini-crits for 8 seconds, and anyone you meet will have a much worse chance of beating you.
 * Alternative strategy

While the Soda Popper is not essential in the strategy explained below, the Atomic Punch is. This is a drink that replaces your secondary weapon. It charges up after every use over a period of 24 seconds. During the eight seconds after you drink it, you can't shoot anyone, but noone can hurt you (knockback is still applied). There is a certain path and order you need to take explained below which could guarantee you access to the intel room:
 * 1) Exit off the battlements and double jump onto the path roof. Walk to the edge of the roof and drink your punch.
 * 2) Double jump onto the enemy battlements and enter their courtyard. Aim for the stairwell. This part can be tricky if a sentry is pushing you around.
 * 3) Your punch will wear off after the first turn in the stairwell. Continue to the intelligence room and grab the case. (If you have taken any damage along the way, get that health pack pronto.)
 * 4) Two choices here: if someone was chasing you down the stairwell, and you couldn't kill them, head out the other way. Your punch only works without the briefcase on your back, and you've got the lowest health in the game.
 * 5) Otherwise, head back up the stairwell. Take an immediate right and down the hole. You don't want to deal with jumping over the roof again.

Your hype should activate at the last turn in the stairwell and also when you return to the courtyard on your way out (provided you didn't do any extra running when fighting anyone, direct route only).

Some problems you might encounter:
 * The best thing someone could do to stop you on your way in is to block your way in a corridor. You can't move through enemies, even in Atomic Punch mode, and all they have to do is wait for that to run out. Abort and try again later if you get delayed for more than a second.
 * If there's a dispenser in the doorway to the spiral stairwell, abort and try again later. An engineer is intentionally doing this to block enemies from passing through. You can't move through enemy buildings.
 * Lots of snipers: while its hard for them to headshot you on the roof, they can cause quite a hassal, especially if they're good shots. You can take an alternative route under the roof. Activate your hype before you enter the courtyard with all the wooden stairs, and head down the long stairwell to the intel.
 * A well-placed sentry in the intel room: even level 1's will stop you. If there's a sentry in there, you need to pick other classes and get rid of it first. Sometimes even a mini-sentry can take you out. Don't try to destroy it, as your Soda Popper hype can only do so much.

Soldier
Soldiers are helpful to have around on 2fort. The narrow corridors give them an advantage against most classes and they can rocket jump up onto battlements either to harass enemies coming out of their base or just to make a direct run to the intel.

The scout is not the only stealth capture class in 2fort. With deft use of the rocket jump, a discreet soldier can swiftly propel himself up the roof grate leading from the main entrance up into the enemy hay-room. Sneak past the spawn without being seen (if possible) and run down the spiral stair to their intelligence. Unlike the scout, the soldier packs some of the hardest hitting guns in the game, and how he deals with interference on his solo runs is really how he stands out from the scout. Sentry Guns can be dealt with quickly and there are many times that a good soldier has left the opportunistic scouts in the dust.

Although the cramped nature of the bases in 2fort give the soldier an advantage in combat, they also have a less helpful side effect: Soldiers will be hard pressed to avoid taking damage from their own rockets. If there are no medics around you will usually need to head to the sewers for health.

Pyro
Sentries tend to put a stop to a medic-less pyro on offense, but on defense the large number of possible flanking routes make the pyro an incredible defender, although decent pyro can reflect a level 3 sentry's rockets, making the sentry kill itself. If there is an enemy in your base, chances are you can flank them. A pyro constantly patrolling the base also makes life difficult for attacking spies, plus a good flame can kill a medic or force him to pop his uber early. Pyros on defense are best complemented with an engineer, giving the pyro a safe area to retreat to and giving the engineer an effective filter against spies.

In this map, enemies will usually have ready access to water or a health kit, so your after-burn won't last long. Either make sure you kill them directly or block off the nearest source of water. Plenty of hallways allow to use your airblast to push the enemy into a corner, ignite him, and finish him off with your axe.

Demoman
The demo-man is both a very effective attacker and defender on 2fort. If you position the demo-man in above the hole in the floor on the spawn level of the fort and lay out some sticky bombs on either side of the entrances below you, the demo-man can rack up insane kills. While your finger is on the detonate trigger, proceed to bounce normal grenades out onto the main killing ground outside - if anyone enters either entrance blast it and, if the charges are well placed, you should kill any and everyone in the area. Make sure the sticky bombs aren’t visible from the outside. This spot allows for a great degree of protection and is a great vantage point to exploit. If done correctly you can pretty much hold off the entire enemy force from gaining a foothold into your fort via that entrance. Get an engineer to place a dispenser behind your defensive spot so that you can keep dishing out grenades without running dry.

On offense, you stand the best chance of taking out sentries without assistance using your stickies. The demo may also try to take the intel solo by sticky jumping onto the second floor by way of the battlements or the hole in the ceiling near the 1st floor entrance, destroying any sentries on the second floor, going down the spiral staircase, destroying any sentries in the intel room, and then escaping with the intel the way you came (make sure you destroy any sentries made in the time you were taking the intel). This strategy is very risky, however, as encountering any enemy will likely result in the rest of the base going after you. If you are part of an offensive group, your medic will probably need to use his uber in the courtyard, leaving you to take out sentries in the intel room if there are any. If you manage to get the enemy intel outside, consider sticky jumping if you have enough health.

Heavy
On offense, the heavy is mostly useless without a medic. With a medic, the heavy stands the best chance of getting the intelligence out of a heavily guarded enemy base. Snipers tend to make venturing outside risky, so ideally you should stick to the sewers when attacking the enemy base. If you must go outside, try and stay under the bridge the avoid sniper fire from the battlements, but be careful as snipers staying downstairs can still hit you.

On defense, the heavy works best when used for ambushing. The mini-gun deals 600 damage per second point blank, so ideally you'll want to jump into the enemies face and mow them down. Spinning up in midair can help you with this. Even the best ambush will usually result in you taking a little damage, so you'll need to make frequent trips to the resupply cabinet.

If you aren't very good, and still want to contribute, use your heavy to clear out your sewer and repel courtyard invasions, everybody loves a team player.

Engineer
On offense, the engineer is only good at building bases in the enemy fort. If you can get a base in the enemies intel, you can provide your allies with easy access to the intel for a while. The enemy team will likely storm down and destroy all of your buildings after a while, but this is still good for humiliation. An engineer can also build a base in the enemy sewers and provide a convenient teleport and an inconvenience to enemies who have fallen from the 1st floor. Alternatively, an engineer can build a sentry in the corner of the water for a surprise attack. Don't expect to last too long, though. A demo man can easily sticky bomb your sentry from the first floor with no risk to him.

The engineer is best suited for defense in any map, and 2Fort is no exception. Placing a sentry in an area around the exit to the courtyard from the left spawn allows the sentry to cover every possible entrance to the intel. A sentry may also be placed nearly anywhere in the courtyard and near the front entrance. A sentry can be placed in several places in the intel room. In the corner not visible from the two hallways, directly on the intel, etc.

Spy's are common in ctf maps, 2fort included and especial. If you have a base in your intel and are having spy problems, place your sentry directly on top of the intel. The enemy spies have to get pretty close to sap your sentry, and even disguised if they get close enough to the table they'll pick up the briefcase, undisguising and endangering themselves. Don't focus on getting the spy when you use this strategy, just get your sentry up ASAP.
 * Engineer vs Spy tip

A good sentry makes ALL the difference. Even for good scouts, sentries often pose a problem when trying to work in such a confined map, but placement is key. The Intel room has a lot of good spots (see above), as does the courtyard, but other places, such as the sniper decks, can have short-term sentries set up-often you can get one or two decent kills with a level 3 sentry (moved, not built) in those spots, especially if the bridge is swarming with the enemy.

Medic
The Medic is critical for capping the intel if you aren't planning to go in unnoticed. The Medic has little other ways to help their team. If you are going for the intel, make sure you have an uber. If you are going in as a Heavy/Medic combo, you'll probably go in through the sewers, although it is easier and riskier to go in through the front door. Once you're in the enemy base, go for the courtyard. This is the place where you'll probably activate your uber, as this is where most sentry guns are. Once you've cleared the courtyard of sentries, go for the intel by way of the spiral or straight stairs. If you spot another sentry in the intel, make sure you recharge your uber before going in. Then get your heavy to pick up the intel. If he dies, you can pick up the intel and continue. Exit the enemy fort by way of the battlements or the first floor. It is possible to go in with a pyro or demo, but the heavy has the most health and is the most useful for storming the intel.

Sniper
This map is an extreme sniper map. The two battlements are positioned relatively close together and are very vulnerable to sniper fire. There are a variety of ideal spots from which to snipe; the most common of which are located on the extreme left and right sides on the battlements. If you want to mix it up a bit you can also relocate to the bottom entrances below the battlements and snipe reasonably successfully as enemy snipers usually target the other battlement initially when they step out.

In order to be a dominant sniper on the map it pays to move around the battlement and position yourself so that you are only expose yourself to a limited angle of attack. A good example is to crouch and push yourself right next to one of the outside walls of the wooden shack on the battlement. This limits your exposed angle and allows you to only have to react to a smaller killing range as well as a small number of enemy snipers. If you attain dominance and the enemy snipers start to peel off into other classes then its time to start capping off any vulnerable enemies such as heavies and medics which will allow your team to push forward with their HWG/Med combo.

One thing to be wary of is enemy spies and snipers: to deal with spies, just keep your wits about you. Snipers however, are a high-priority target, sniping both you and teammates. Do NOT do a mistake so many snipers make on this map: getting involved in "sniper wars" (snipers shooting at only other snipers, to the extent both are hindrances to the team.)

Remember that despite the popularity of the sniper on this map, the one objective of your team is capturing the intelligence. if your team is flagging and in need of leadership, change classes and help out, the role of the sniper is to prevent excessive enemy audacity, not to sit around playing a private match with the enemy snipers while watching your team get blown to hell.

Spy
2fort can be good for a spy in some situations, but once they catch on to you, a single pyro can patrol the base enough to keep it spy free. A popular strategy is to go in through the sewers, and there is a nice space between the stairwell from the sewers and the barrels where you can crouch to recharge your cloak, while staying unnoticed. Snipers can harass your team, so they are good and easy targets. Also, if you stay right against the enemy base's front, you can back-stab anybody that exits the base before they can see you.

A proven strategy for the spy to implement is to imitate common patterns of the opposing team:

there are always enemy snipers congregating in the same place over and over and over again. Mark their deployment locations, wait for an opening and slip into their ranks. keep your back to the wall and strafe sideways backstabbing as you go, if you re-don your previous disguise (using the 'b' key) quickly, anyone turning the corner will just assume their teammate was just head-shot for the umpteenth time as per usual. As with any spy action, this technique does not benefit from recognition, if you are not promptly killed, move to the next option; position your spy in the shadows just inside their main entrance and strafe left and right, pretending to snipe at your team mates. while pretending in this manner, pick off any unlucky soldiers, heavies or pyros running past to enter the fray.
 * Disguising as a sniper

The "Cloak and Dagger" makes sniper killing easy, effective, and much more fun. Seriously. What's more fun than messing with people when you're a spy? Disguise, Stab, Cloak & Disguise, Crouch. Just make sure you keep mixing up the places you camp. Also, when people get irritated of spies, they tend to do a bit of pyro. The second you see flame, get off the battlements and into your sewer. It's too confined to avoid the pyro, unless you want to really try and stab him (which if you do successfully, get out of there after. They won't be happy at all).

For those who don't know: the "Cloak and Dagger" is a movement-sensitive cloaking watch. This means if you sit still and are cloaked, not only does your cloak not go down, it recharges as fast as it does uncloaked. Sneaking while cloaked will almost stop the drain, but it will still go down gradually. This makes getting into the base alot easier for sniper killing. If you have the patience, just stop in convenient spots. (e.g. the barrels in between the entrances, the corner in the room before the courtyard, on top of the hay by respawn, and ta da! you're at the battlements)

Engineers are a familiar sight around the base, avoid trigger happy pyros and single engineer teams though, as it is an easy thing to be outed. If engineers like to sit still, and have their back exposed, you should be able to pull off a stab-before-sap, just be quick. This is exceptionally difficult in the corners of the intel room, but still feasible.
 * Disguising as an engineer