Team Fortress 2 Strategy

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The fundamental requirement for teamwork on 2Fort is intelligence. No, not the intelligence, the reconnaissance type of intelligence. You will almost always be up against one of two type of opponents – either they will build and rely on an ‘impenetrable’ defence of sentry guns (3 or more) covering all entrances or they will have little or no defence (maybe 1 sentry gun). You’re probably thinking “obviously it’s one of them – the only other possibility is a team with 2 sentry guns.” I use the number of sentry guns as more a characteristic of the styles of play rather than a definition. Each type of opponent can be brought down relatively easily if your team works together efficiently and follows a solid game plan. I’ll cover the most effective method of combating these enemies below.

Engineer tending to his machines

The team that builds little to no turrets is the team that will fall easiest to a skilled opposition. There are two entrances to the basement (the long and short ramps) and if only 1 sentry gun is present, 90% of the time one of these entrances will be unguarded. This is nothing short of an invitation for the speedy scout to whip in, grab the briefcase and bring it back to the top of one of the ramps. The teamwork here is a team’s ability to relay the defensive situation of the enemy’s base, either by taking a look or reporting after a respawn. If told there are no sentry guns on the top floor, scouts will jump at the opportunity. Once out of the basement, the intelligence can be progressively transported back to base by a continued assault, ensuring someone touches it at least every 30 seconds.

If the opposition instead turtles and builds 3 or 4 sentry guns, perhaps 3 on the top floor and one in the basement, then scouts become very vulnerable and often useless. However to support 4 sentry guns, the opposition needs 4 engineers, and that’s a third of their team that become virtually harmless. In this case by having an intelligent class mix (say 4 soldiers, 1 demoman, 1 heavy and 2 medics) you can easily outnumber them. After that it becomes a simple matter of attacking their base, progressing steadily through their defences and eventually reaching the intelligence room. With an army escorting the intelligence back to their base it’s all but impossible to defend.

Vulnerable engineer/sentry combination set upon by a soldier from a distant corner

In either case, there’s a very good chance of some number of sentry guns being present, and as such the assault is the best choice of strategy since it works in both cases. Sentry guns are weak against different classes depending on their position, a fact that should be exploited at every opportunity. Distant ones with direct line of sight on doorways can be levelled by sustained fire from a soldier ducking in and out of cover, and ones that rely on the player walking around a corner into the line of fire are very vulnerable to the demoman’s sticky bombs. In fact the demoman is also able to demolish the distant sentries by charging up the sticky bomb launcher and ducking in and out similarly to the soldier. Ultimately any number of sentry guns can be destroyed by a single soldier and a demoman, so long as they are themselves defended against enemy troops.

One instance of sentry guns that demands some focus are the ones where an engineer has committed himself to sit in the intelligence room all game and look after a sentry gun, preventing anyone from taking the intelligence without going through him first. This situation will generally require at least one assault class (soldier, demoman, heavy), however if a scout is able to make it to the basement, a neat little trick that can be pulled off is a combination attack with a spy. If the spy runs into the intelligence room first and saps the sentry gun, he can keep it disabled (repeatedly placing sappers) while the scout darts in, grabs the case and bails back to his base. This requires some admirable teamwork, but it is one effective counter to the sentry-gun-in-the-intelligence-room defence.

Engineer committed to intelligence room defence duties

As a general rule, all players should remember that sentry guns are very vulnerable against a knowledgeable opposition and cannot be relied on as the only form of defence. This means defenders should be harassing attacking enemies to prevent them from having time to get off clear shots at these important defensive structures. On the other hand attackers should not be deterred by their mere presence – if a soldier or demoman can be protected against the defensive troops (usually by a heavy) they can make short work of the guns and, by reporting their destruction, allow a wave of scouts to rush in and all but win the game.

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