As you know by now, I have greatly grown to love 2fort_SK. I think it is an astounding improvement over the plainness of 2fort4. The map is quick, easily played, large, and new enough to renew my interest in that great 2forts concept. In general, the strategy is the same for 2fort4, but there are some interesting new additions which you should know about.

First of all, 2fort_SK (from now on referred to as SK) is much more ornate. The basic structure is there, but there are some slight changes which really make the map worthwhile. The author has added lots of little embellishments which add a lot to the basic 2fort4 concept. Since I don't want to make this a map review, I'll just start with the tips.

I've seen quite a few engineers place their sentry gun in the corridor above the flag area (that's right, above the flag area). See the figure at left. Though this is really protected, you'll note that it has only a limited aperture to shoot through and must shoot down to hit the enemy, thus making its detection time longer. However, this is an acceptable spot for sentry placement, it is easily refillable, and provides a vantage point which the engineer can use to keep an eye on the flag area (watch for enemies approaching his dispenser) without risking his neck. This spot is my favorite for killing the 2fort players who decide to play a game of SK one night. No one looks up.

In an email from SteelAngel of the Promethium Spy Academy, I learned the following:

> Hmmm. Maybe I should work on this a little. Overlap the base of the sentry halfway -- do you mean
> the center of the base being on the edge of the hole?

[His reply]:
Yeah, base about 1/2 way, or just at the edge. Just looking at the area that it covers, shows that it can easily attack and destroy most smaller enemies running to or from the flag room. As a test on my LAN. I put a gun there, and had a teammate run past it into the flag room. Here's what happened:
Scout: damage on way in, kill on way out.
Spy(undisguised): kill on way in.
Pyro: damage on way in, kill on way out.
Soldier: Damage on way in, damage on way out. One defender would have killed him tho.
HW: Damage on way in, damage on way out, defense kill.
Demoman: killed on way out
Medic: Killed on way in.
Sniper: Killed on way in.

"Damn good gun! Plus, if you linger in the entrances, you're guaranteed death." [End email]

So, it looks as if this is a pretty decent weapon position anyway. So, there ya go. :)

Additionally, since the bridge between the forts is so dark, it's ideal for hiding traps [see shot on right]. If your enemy team doesn't have any snipers, then you could build a sentry or dispenser here (using detdispenser) to catch whoever walks across the bridge. Build them to one side so that they won't be able to catch their silhouettes. Otherwise, a conscientious sniper will pick off your structures in a second, or any enemy crossing the bridge will catch the silhouette and blow it away from a distance. Obviously this is a very limited technique and can only be used in certain situations.

In addition to this, since the underwater tunnels now have space to breathe above the water, sentries can be built more easily in those tunnels. Of course, this only makes sense if you have a load of engineers (like 3) and are having trouble keeping enemies from entering through the water entrance. You should be notified of this by your snipers who of course will notice any enemies jumping into the water. However, now that underwater travel is much easier, an enemy attack force may just start from their water entrance, go through their tunnel, surface under the bridge, and then enter your fort through the water entrance, leaving no trace of their entrance other than a few gasps for air which could only be caught by a player on the bridge. With other classes (e.g. demo, scout, pyro) this is my favorite way to attack. Because of the air spaces, it is even possible for hwguys and soldiers to sneak in this way.

For now, that's all I have. As I play this map more, I'll put more stuff up here. Sorry if this is anticlimactic, but I just want people to play this map. Scrap 2fort4 (for now) and learn this one. I guarantee you'll LOVE it.