Combat Arms/Modes

There are currently five game modes. In each, the way to win is different, and the game mode can influences your tactics and methods greatly. Three of the modes are team-based, meaning that the players are sorted into Alpha and Bravo teams, and one of those teams will win the game. The other two modes are not team-based.

Elimination
Elimination is a very popular and simple game mode. Alpha Team and Bravo Team will try to kill each other's members as many times as possible. Each time a person kills a member of the other team, that team gets a point. The person that got killed will respawn at one of their team's spawn points. The two team's spawn points will be at opposite ends of the map or far from each other. Large maps will have multiple spawn points for both teams.

Both maximizing kills and minimizing deaths are important to win a game of Elimination. Even if someone made 60 of his team's kills, which is quite a lot, it isn't very helpful if he also died 80 times.

When the set number of points is reached by a team, they win. Committing suicide or killing your own team (if friendly fire is on) will give the other team a point. The goal can be set to 30, 40, 50, 60...kills etc, all the way to 140 kills. Elimination can be played on every map.

Capture the Flag
In Capture the Flag, each team has a flag (red flag for Alpha, blue flag for Bravo) that the other team will try to capture and bring back to their flag. If this is successfully done, the team that captured their opponent's flag gets one point. Each team only has one spawn point, which will always be located near that team's flag. To take the opponent's flag, you simply walk over it to take it. The point is scored when you touch base at your own flag.

If the opposing team takes your flag, you can get it back to your base by "recovering" your flag. You must first kill the person who has your flag. The flag will then be dropped on the ground. To recover, run and touch the flag, and it will be immediately returned your base. However, the enemy can also "re-capture" your flag if you are killed before you can touch and recover it.

A flag that sits on the ground in non-possession will be automatically recovered in 30 seconds, if it is not recovered by a person or re-captured by the enemy. Also, if the flag-bearer commits suicide, the flag is automatically recovered.

A touchdown cannot be scored if the opponent also has your flag. When both teams are in possession of the other team's flag, a "recovery war" is initiated, in which both teams will be trying to recover their flag so that their team can score a point. During this time, both flag-bearers will likely be hiding at their respective opposite ends of the map. Some people will be protecting the flag bearers, while the other people will rush to the other side and try to recover their flag. Once one team recovers their flag, that team can touch base and score the point.

The position flag-bearers is revealed to everybody by a nametag and a small picture of a flag beside it. Besides doing flag-related work however, anybody on one team can kill anybody on the other team, regardless of flag status. People who are killed always respawn at their base near their flag.

The game of Capture the Flag is over when one of the teams scores the set number of points, which can be 3, 5, or 7 flag captures. It can be played on every map. There is also a time-limit that varies with the set goal. If the goal is not reached by any team before the time-limit is up, the team with more flag captures wins the game. In the case of a tie in flag captures, the team with more recovers wins.

Search and Destroy
Search and Destroy is the most complicated game mode to understand, but it is actually not hard. There are two bomb sites, called Site A and Site B, shown by a green glowing circle on the ground. Alpha Team will always be the offensive team, and can choose to plant the bomb at either site. To plant the bomb, go to one of the bomb sites, press 6 to take it out, and hold the left mouse button. A circle of bars will appear and light up as you hold the mouse button, when all the bars are full the bomb is planted. If the bomb is not defused in 60 seconds, it will detonate and Alpha Team wins the round.

Bravo Team will always be the defensive team. If the bomb is planted, you can defuse it by finding the bomb, aiming your crosshair at it, and holding E. The circle of bars will begin to disappear, and the bomb will be defused when all the bars are gone. This takes around ten seconds, so if the bomb timer (which is shown at the top of everybody's screen once the bomb is planted) is already under ten seconds before somebody starts to defuse it, Alpha Team wins. If the bomb is successfully defused, Bravo Team immediately wins that round.

In Search and Destroy, people on each team can kill people on the other team in order to prevent bombs from being planted or defused, but anybody who dies will NOT respawn for that round. Instead, dead people will view the actions of their still-surviving team members, and choose which survivor to view by tapping the spacebar. The dead members can thus provide their surviving team members with advice or warnings by chatting. If everybody on one team dies before the bomb is planted, the other team automatically wins. If the bomb is planted, and everybody on Alpha Team is killed, Bravo Team still has to defuse the bomb.

The round ends when a bomb is detonated, a bomb is defused, or one team is completely wiped out. The game ends when one of the teams wins the specified number of rounds, which can be set to 3, 5, 7, or 9. Search and Destroy can only be played on Warhead, Gray Hammer, Snow Valley, and Sand Hog.