Review [Special] A Clan's Guide to Control Points

[St.Guardian 514]

 

In light of the new Esports tournament, it has been decided upon to finally place an up-to-date guide on the formidable format of Control Points. The reason? This tournament is the first of its kind; it is a major tournament in which the only battle mode is CP which most clans do not have a lot of practice with. If you are in one of those clans (no offense bro chill), you should keep reading!

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Introduction to the Format

 

The Control Points matches in this tournament will take place on the maps Iran, Massacre, Rio, Kungur, Wolfenstein and Serpuhov in the group stage, and in the playoffs the matches will be played on Gubakha, Skylark, Osa, Parma and Monte Carlo. Quite a diverse array of maps to play on, right? Due to this, it will be difficult for a clan to specialise their tactics for each map. The best mindset for entering a CP battle with your clan is to take just enough points to maintain a steady lead over the opponents, but not too much such that your team is spread thin over the map.

 

For example, Wolfenstein has 5 control points, with 2 being in each base and 1 in the center of the map. The most efficient way to get points would be to take the two in your base and the special one in the centre of the map. This 'tipping point' will be the key to every CP battle and does not always have to be one, it could be more but usually is not more than two. Your team should prioritize possession of this point, keeping at least one heavy hull with support nearby all the time; but never forget to periodically check on your base's Control points lest an enemy sneaks in. So, a clan's main task in CP is to effectively spread their forces out evenly, but as soon as one point is threatened, concentrate on re-gaining that point. 

 

Here is a list of the Tipping Points for each map and the best ways to control them (warning, incoming data may break your computer):

 

 

Massacre:

 

Parma:

 

Iran:

 

Wolfenstein:

 

Osa:

 

Gubakha:

 

Rio:

 

Serpuhov:

 

Monte Carlo:

 

Skylark:

 

Kungur:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boundaries of Equipment

 

Now that we have discussed the basic, you should be informed of how to disperse equipment among your clan evenly. Firstly, you should know that in this tournament, every battle will be played on a 7v7 format, lasting 10 minutes (you self-destruct at 10:15); only two heavy hulls and no more than two turrets of each type are allowed per team. Thus, I strongly advise against the use of Wasp, and Mammoth as these two hulls do not have a sufficient balance between health and speed. What about hornet, you ask? Well, that hull has enough health to be useful for what I call a 'portable sniper' who could use either Railgun or Shaft- with the turret's respective module that increases damage. This player will be incredibly useful in long range support as they could speed around the map, doing heavy damage to opponents while receiving little to none themselves. It would be best for this player to strike a specific point right after the enemies have lost their Double Armours, as this is when they will be most vulnerable.

 

Main Hulls

As for the other six players on the team, there should be a Dictator and Titan or simply two Titans, as well as three Vikings and preferably one Hunter with Isida equipped. The two heavy hulls should be re-taking and guarding control points, as their health allows them to sustain significant damage from opponents. These players are the core, the pillar on which the sustenance of a point lies. As for the three Vikings, their roles will be very versatile and ranges from racing across the map to combat enemies to simply capturing points. The Isida does not necessarily have to be equipped on a Hunter, but balanced statistics and size of the Hunter work well for the medic role. This Isida should always go towards the Control Point where your teammates are being pressured by opponents and heal as many allies as possible. If necessary, players should say in a call that they "need an Isida at Point X" or something similar.

 

A wide, heavy hull is great for blocking enemies' routes and defending a CP behind you, while attacking another CP.

 

Turrets' Roles

It is up to your clan to decide on which turrets to place on the two heavy hulls and three Vikings, but it would be best if your team has a layout similar to this: one splash damage turret like Thunder or Striker, a long range turret such as Railgun, a spray turret such as Firebird or Freeze, a turret with a high rate of fire such as Smoky or Vulcan, and a plasma weapon like Twins or Ricochet.                                                                                                                        

The splash damage turret would be used to efficiently destroy clumps of enemies at a point, and will be crucial as an offensive player in CP. The spray turret on the other hand could be used diversely and would suit as a weapon to defend a capture point or a weapon to damage multiple enemies crowded around a point. In addition, the turret with a high rate of fire would be a midfielder's weapon and would help relay a constant fire to the enemy. The player using this turret will serve as a distraction and will ultimately cause the enemy to use their supplies earlier. Lastly, either Twins or Ricochet's main purpose would be providing cover and hindering enemies' movements away from a certain CP, as the opponent would most likely move to avoid the plasma orbs.

 

                    

 

It should be noted that alterations are allowed in this tournament. If you wish to use any alterations, your team shouldn't have a drastic change in gameplay. The best alterations I could think of are only a fraction of the many alterations offered, though. For instance, the High Capacity Drum for Hammer, the Armour-Piercing Ammo for Thunder, Compact Tanks for Firebird, Corrosive Mix for Freeze and Unstable Plasma for Ricochet. You should just remember that there has to be a balance of splash damage and concentrated damage output, as Friendly Fire is activated and so you would not want to deal a significant amount of damage to your clan mates.

 

 

Different Maps, Different Strategies

 

As mentioned previously, there are eleven different maps that could be played on for this tournament, so it would be best to categorise them based on map size and structure, so as to form general strategies for each but not too many so.

 

Simple maps: Massacre, Parma, Iran

Medium maps: Wolfenstein, Osa, Gubakha, Rio

Complex maps: Serpuhov, Monte Carlo, Skylark, Kungur

 

Simple maps are the ones that have uniform terrain all around and are relatively compact, allowing for little movement that will also lessen the effect of camping overall. Therefore on these maps, it would be best to carefully guard your clan's heavy hulls specifically and place them at the respective map's tipping points. These maps are also of basic uniformity and therefore you will not have to change strategies when changing map sides. Additionally, on these maps there is really only one key tipping point that is located in the centre of the map that is encircled by props whether they be walls, hills, or buildings and trees that may not always provide sufficient cover. What this suggests is that splash damage -from turrets such as Thunder or Striker- as well as surrounding the enemy is crucial on these maps. Spray turrets should also be proficient here.

 

Medium maps on the other hand are a bit more complex in terms of where props are placed and are generally larger, offering a more broad spectrum in terms of progression of the battle. In other words, it could go either way, and change very quickly. The key to turning this to your advantage is map control: ensure that key camping positions are secure all the time and you could also try spawn-killing your enemies for some period of time (just to get ahead in points). They also have a significant amount of their points enclosed and camping is very effective, especially in centre/key locations of the map (that are also of equal distance to three or more points) such as the fortress in Wolfenstein or the Towers in Rio. In these mediocre maps, the tipping points are a bit easier to control than in Simple maps but of course just as hard to re-obtain from opponents.

 

Complex maps each offer similar styles of team play, in that they are all large and have usually fluent and adaptable dynamics. In these maps, it is important to spread your clan's forces wisely, perhaps assigning a designated player to a point and switching periodically. Perhaps your clan could designate a heavy hull and a supporting Isida to a point that is under heavy fire from enemies but when the enemies are destroyed, let a Viking/Railgun guard it. In these maps, it is easy to predict what will happen, such as whether or not the enemies will stay in control of a CP, because of the large expanse of space between points. This segregation also makes the 'tipping points' on these maps contingent, because a Control Point of the enemy base could easily be taken and be well covered by the base's own buildings/infrastructure. All these points further imply that on these maps, communication between members of a team is very important to maintain control of as many points as possible.

 

 

 

Productive Tactics

 

There are, of course, more things that you can do to heighten your advantage against a clan in a CP battle, thus I have compiled a short list of a few inter-related tactics to advise you.

 

Divide and Conquer-  This strategy is useful to destabilise enemy game play, especially if they are in fluent control or are about to take over a significant point. It involves focusing on the enemy team's main 'point capturers' and shooting at them in particular, and cutting them off from the main points. These key players of the enemy team typically have heavy hulls so turrets such as Striker, Thunder, Smoky and Railgun will be useful for destroying them. However, this tactic is often harder to put into place than most think, because it comprises both controlling the enemy's respawns as well as your clan having to station one player into the enemy base.

 

Enclosure of the Enemy and Splash Damage-  What this scheme certainly encompasses is teamwork. It simply but effectively allows your clan to magnify their damage output on the opponents. To perform this, your team needs to attack the enemies while they are taking a point, as this is when they will be grouped together and therefore splash damage will be most effective. You should do it by long range though, using either Thunder or Striker (Thunder might be better due to its high rate of fire). After this, the rest of your team's attacking squadron could dart in and finish off the enemies. It works very well on any size map.

 

The Engagement Principle-  Simply put, let's say a player with a high damage per shot turret wishes to defend point A. Since this person wishes to camp and snipe the enemy to defend a point, they should camp in a location that is both 1) unreachable -in terms of shooting- by Control point A and  and 2) is some distance from Point A. This is so that the enemy attempting to capture Point A will have to divert their route first to kill you and then take the point, wasting as much time as possible. As a fail-safe, the player defending point A could place mines around it.

 

Using Friendly Fire Against the Enemy-  In truth, using friendly fire against the enemy is probably the most sly but clever thing one can do. All your clan has to do is assign a 'recon' player who can get close enough to a cluster of enemies surrounding a point, while said player uses their Health Kit supply to stay alive for as long as possible, moreover maximising the self damage the enemy team does to themselves. The performance of this trick is exceedingly good if the enemies have Railguns, Thunders, Firebirds, Freezes, Striker and even Twins.

 

Assessment of Modules and Corresponding Change-  This last feat is quite a strategic one, so much so that your team should be careful that the enemies do this to you. Around 4-5 minutes into the battle, your clan essentially looks at all the modules the enemy team currently has, very quickly I should mention, and let one player switch to the turret that the enemy has least (or no) protection to. For example, say the defensive players of the enemy clan have equipped the modules Kodiak T-A, Grizzly T-A and Badger T-A. You wish to destroy them as quickly as possible, so which turret does your clan's chosen player switch to? The answer is simple. The modules mentioned do not have protections against the turrets Ricochet, Vulcan, Isida and Striker. Of course you would not want to attack them with a turret that diminishes their health slowly (after all, there are 3 of them and presumably they can use their Health supplies) so Isida is rules out. Vulcan's aim is too singular and that leaves either Striker or Ricochet to choose from.

 

A very hectic image in which some previous tactics can be seen

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Thank you for preparing yourself by reading this article which hopefully enlightened you. Now, soldier, you are ready to go into the nefarious field of CP battle. Good fortune to you and your clan in this tournament. Who knows, maybe you can become the first Lord of The Points!

[Guest Maserati]

Good Job

[Tofu 6,773]

Well done

[M.O.N.O.X.Y.D.E 123]

Wow amazing tips !!!

[Skills.n.Girls 767]

A lot of work and effort was put in writting this.

I liked the article and hope this what I just read may help me in future.

 

I would like some tips on using Twins with new features.

[Kurt_KurtDGreat 2,259]

Amazing article, really enjoyed reading this, especially loved the tactics tbh :)

[NORAGAVIT 2]

Good job ! ;)

[r_Your-Daddy3 605]

Your hard work can be seen in this article...Hats off ! ;) 

[hashim225 0]

Amazing tips ) :)

[Zenyth 6,494]

excellent tips mate

[maria-mary 23]

nice! :)

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

Nice guide!  

These pics don't work for me:

 

 

Parma:

 

Iran:

 

Wolfenstein:

 

Osa:

 

Gubakha:

 

Rio:

 

Serpuhov:

 

Monte Carlo:

 

Skylark:

 

Kungur:

 

 

 

A very hectic image in which some previous tactics can be seen

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2017 by Marc