Canalzone Two

Let's get the fundamentals down first. Single respawn, two doors. Main base is tiny, contains the gren pack in a cubby hole. Command centre has a map on the wall, and the flags you need to take to cap. I'm going to number the command points assumnig that 1/2 are nearest and 4/5 farthest - just reverse the numbers if you're on the other team.

Adapt adapt ADAPT

Unless your opponents are of a significantly lower calibre than you, no sdingle strategy will win. You will need to adapt to their playstyle MUCH faster than on most maps, and keep changing your playstyle to keep them off balance.

There are plenty of different ways to play this map - I'll highlight a couple of the most common, then move onto some extra considerations.

Attack / Defence

Play the map as though it was a normal map. Ugh. This can work, but I personally dislike it.

Your attack consists of three scouts, who rapidly and repeatedly cap points 1-4. Your defence is heavier classes, five of them, who sit and guard 1-3. If the enemy can be held off and you have flag runers spare, then some of the defence can help them assault the final point.

This strategy attempts to turn a usually very fluid map into a lockdown, and only really works if you can force the oposition to focus their efforts where you want them to - any given defencive position is too weak to hold against a concerted attack.

Of course, that's what the scouts are for, you only have to hold a majority of the points for the majority of the time in order to win - and this startegy is only going to score the flush against very weak opponents (in which case you barely need a strategy)

Hunter-Killer

Play a very forward offence, consisting of dangerous fast classes - engineers, medics and pyros. The engy/medic combo can keep the other classes fully pumped, and deliver a lot of pain to the enemy.

Your goal here is to hunt down the enemy flag carriers - keep track of where asll the enemy are, rush in past their guards and kill them.

If the enemy persists in using scouts as the flag carriers, then they should only cap very rarely - if you can force them to use HWG and soldiers to cap with then you have won - they will, cap, but again, very rarely.

The danger is that they shift to medics and pyros as their capping classes - and as their escort. In this case you will want heavier killers and more offence yourself.

HWG assault

Slow, but deadly. Be careful that the enemy doesn't get the flush while you prepare it - but three HWG can take any hardpoint (CP3) and then trundle on to decimate their home point while they scramble to recap. HWG punch the hole, scouts cap the point.

Spies and scouts

Spies as defencive players are lethal on this map - and I'm talking using four of them. They know you're a spy, but there's nothing they can do about it. They mistrust each other, halluc like mad, and can't build a decent defence.

This is really a fast rush offence, you abandon defence almost completely, and just recap whatever the enemy caps.

Your worry is if the enemy decides to take and HOLD one or more of your home points (1,2,4)

Grab them all

Grab the last three points within a few seconds of each other. Do it when you know the enemy flag runners aren't in range. This takes more than a small amount of timing between the offence, and probably needs some of the defence to move forward as well.

You can sacrifice a couple of points for a while to do it, as long as you know that you can recap them in time - you're playing for that 25pt bonus, and so can afford to lose up to 24 points doing it. High risk strategy, if the enemy realises you're doing it, you may well find them in posession of the 25 point bonus...

Leader comms

The enemy will cap, sometimes - it's unavoidable. But you want to have a flag incoming to recap ASAP. Keep those comms rolling, make sure you know where all your flag carriers are at all times, what points are whose, and where as many enemy flag carriers are as possible.

If the league allows it, consider a spectator on radio chat in your command room, watching the map. Heck, in some games it's worth devoting a real player JUST to strategy and comms.

The home point

If you can cap the enemies home point just after they first do, and hold it, then the enemy will usually expend an extraordinary amount of effort trying to retake it - you can usually get the other four points easily while they do.

The sentrygun at the far door is a decent defence for the home point, enemies will usually be wounded and hounded when they get there - but be aware of people jumping around the back from the water.

Capture the base

Don't bother. Threatening to do so can distract an enemy team - and causing a bit of chaos in the enemy base can disrupt their timing quite badly if done properly - but the actual cap only zeros their points, which isn't much use if you hold the majority (gives your defence a short respite) and only slows their lead if they are ahead (if they got more points than you once, they'll do it again)

The home points

You intend to take and hold more points than the enemy. The enemy will usually fixate on point three.

Instead, take 1, 2 and *four* - 4 is VERY defensible from the high ground position you will have, give a good route to attack 3 (when you need to distract, afer all, you can't have the enemy realise you've abandoned 3) and is very close to home for a scout that can skipjump.

On a related note, it's no shame to need two soldiers and a scout to take 2.

Mobile SGs

Sentries aren't too valuable on most of this map, but an unexpected one in a corner (especially near 2 or 4) can do wonders. Remember to follow the basic engineer doctrine and keep that SG moving.

Dispensers can be invaluable - your defence can only restock while you hold the point, and often the enemy will be killed just fractionally too late - a disp gets around this nicely.

Home James, don't spare the frags

Suicide to get home if you are a slower attacker and far away. If it takes you longer than five seconds to run back, kill yourself. If you can find an enemy to force to take you down, while doing some damage, then better still.

To counterbalance, if you are less than five seconds away, then just run for it.

There *is* an advantage to always suiciding back - there is then no reason for a friendly to be coming into your base, so the 'spy sneaks in to distract' tactic is real obvious.

Time your rushes

One-two waves are important on this map, the enemy is distracted by the initial threat, and then the real threat can get in. If the enemy tries to ignore the first wave, then tell the second wave to HOLD OFF - and KILL the defenders.

Co-ordination to bring an attack in from multiple directions at once is very important.

Fluid Play

I cannot emphasise this enough. Any and all strategies are beatable - you don't have enough players (I'm assuming 8v8 play) to actually defend all the points you need to strongly, or to attack strongly all at the same time.

Switch tactics rapidly, beat the tactic the enemy is currently employing, and try to pre-empt their next one. Keep in contact, and to simplify the co-ordination it might be worth using the buddy system (only half the team on comms, but players always stick together in pairs)

This fluid play really is one of the biggest tests of clan play there is (once you're past the 'oh, we can out DM you' stage, anyway) so it's a damn shame that a lot of clans are just too scared to try anything that isn't CTF.