Tactics

Tactics has been studied since the first armies fought a battle. Many generals bowed their heads over it, and many lost battles for their disregard over it. The final battle between Alexander the Great and the King of Persia was a direct result of the Persian miscalculation over Alexanders logistics: it cost them their empire. Frederick the Great on the night before a battle decided to completely change the standing orders of his troops: as a result the enemy was completely confused the next day, and lost the battle. Wellington always kept his main army hidden so that an advancing enemy would be totally surprised.

Tactical considerations are the basis of your team�s behaviour. It is the general line you set up for any fight. To win is the objective, but to score is a tactic, how to score is a strategic consideration...

TeamFortress(C), like war, is a combination of distinct engagements. Unlike war there are no armies to command, no regiments to send out. Equal to war it should be realised that the team and its base are always open to attack and will be attacked. So the team must always have defense on its mind even when attacking. Defense should be the first and foremost concern of the team. If you cannot successfully attack the enemy base, then at least the enemy should not be able to attack yours.

Tactics and strategy separates the captains from the "cannon-fodder". There are teams, which have no tactics or strategy, and just fire at will. They jump, they strafe, they fire rockets, wopdiddelydop and such, but they have no objective other then each man for himself. These teams can usually be stopped by a couple of organized players.

The team leader should know the place of battle, and choose his place of battle carefully. A lot of variables come in to play here which all belong to the tactical sphere: ask yourself, therefore, a number of questions:

What is my intelligence on the other team?

Sometimes psychological factors outside of TeamFortress(C) may play a role in winning or losing the game: if your opponent has a lot of people who have a day-job in their team it might be advantageous to plan a match in the early evening where the opponents forces are still tired. If they have relationships try planning games at irate times. Furthermore, read the article on Intelligence to get an idea on what I am talking about

Which map do they prefer?

Check out the teams scorecard, how did they play in the various maps. If they have a map in which they have an unblemished winning record, it might not be such a good idea to propose this map for battle.

What do I know of the map that I am going to play?

Know your map. If the other team proposes a map you should get the "Aha"-feeling rather then the "Huh?"-feeling. Know your maps inside out, read up on them, and practice them.

Is my team at full strength?

If any of your team members has a history of not showing up or performing bad, do not use this player in difficult matches. You need your team at full strength. It's hard, I'm sorry, but you'd like to play to win, wouldn't you?

Can my team perform the actions I ask of them?

Of course you can plan great rocketjumping offences scaling walls and going where no team has gone before, but are you aware of the strengths your team has. Do you really know how a person sits behind his PC trying to figure out what buttons to push?