Control point (objective)
| “ | Stand... On... The... Point, Numbnuts!
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— The Soldier
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Control points (also known as capture points or simply points) are used as the main objective in Control Point, Territorial Control, and King of the Hill maps, and a secondary objective in Arena maps. In appearance, they are circular metallic platforms with a team-colored light in the center with their team logo hologrammed above it (neutral points will have a white light and a question mark above them).
Contents
Gameplay
There are three statuses for a control point:
Neutral: The control point can be taken by either team (usually the central point in a standard CP map).
Captured: The control point is currently owned by the RED team but can be retaken by the BLU team.
Locked: The control point is currently owned by the RED team and cannot be retaken by the BLU team.
Offense
Control points are captured by standing on top of them. The speed at which a control point is captured depends on how many players from the capturing team are present on the point: two BLU players capturing a RED point will capture that point faster than only one BLU player would. Scouts count as two players, as do Soldiers and Demomen wielding the Pain Train. There is a limit on how fast a control point can be captured (see Control point timing). A Spy is allowed to capture a point while disguised as a friendly player.
Defense
If players from both teams are on the same, unlocked control point, that point is said to be contested, which means no progress is made toward the point changing team control. When players from the offensive team are removed from the point all of their progress is lost gradually over time, not immediately.
Reverting a capture
When a control point is neutral and both teams are trying to capture it, captures can be reverted. If a team begins, but does not finish, to capture a neutral point and then is driven off, when the other team begins to capture that point they will first have to "revert" the progress that the first team made before they can begin to make progress of their own. The revert rate will increase in speed with more players of the second team standing on the point.
Limitations
- Disguised Spies cannot block a capture if they are disguised as the team capturing the point, and cannot capture a point if they are disguised as the enemy team.
- Cloaked Spies can not defend or capture a control point.
- ÜberCharged players cannot capture points, but can block enemy captures. Note that Kritzkrieg and Quick-Fix ÜberCharged players can capture points.
- Scouts under the effects of Bonk! Atomic Punch can neither block enemy captures nor capture points themselves.
Strategy - Control points
The Scout benefits from a capture rate double that of other classes, giving Scouts an advantage in capturing control points. The Scout also has the ability to easily dodge incoming damage due to his double jump ability. This is very useful on certain control points, such as Badlands Spire, where an enemy Demoman can easily spam stickies onto the point. However, the Pain Train, a melee weapon for the Soldier and Demoman classes, improves their cap rates to equal that of the Scout – making these three classes excellent for rapidly capturing a point.
When these classes work together, they can provide a devastating offensive and allow themselves to punch through to the point and hold it just long enough to capture it. However, this is easier with support from other classes such as Pyros and Medics. A Medic's ÜberCharge can be an enormous help when pushing back the defending team, however Übered players cannot themselves cap a point. Additionally, Heavies can provide additional assistance as their high health increases the time a player is on the point.
Engineers can set up Sentries and Teleporters around a control point to help their team fight the defending team, and help get to the control point faster, especially if the control point is far away. Also, if using this offensive strategy, the Gunslinger melee weapon for the Engineer is very useful for quick deployment of sentry guns and also requires less metal to build. Players should remember to check for Demoman sticky bombs on the point and destroy them or the Demoman himself (a recommended class for this is the sniper due to his ability to dispatch bombs and enemies from a long distance) to avoid a failure of a direct assault from your team.
Stealth can also be used to rapidly capture points. Using his cloak and disguise, the Spy can easily slip past the front line undetected and hide on a locked control point further ahead. This means that when the previous point is captured and the next one unlocked, a Spy can capture it before the defending team has time reach the point and set up a good defense. However, a Spy is unable to capture a point while invisible or disguised, so he must expose himself just before the point becomes available for the greatest success. This is called back-capping. This is very successful when your team is losing and they have a slight chance of getting the 1st point. On occasion, the Scout can also do this, but it is usually much harder for a Scout to reach the point and hide there.
Strategy - Intel
In a typical CTF map, the Intel is deep within the enemy base and thus capping the Intel in CTF usually requires team coordination to be able to fight through many enemies.. Occasionally the enemy team may be completely disorganized with no one defending the intel, in which case, a spy or scout can simply run out with it. The most common defense for the Intel is the Engineer's Sentry Gun, combined with the natural barrier of enemies leaving the base and often patrolling around it or covering the sentries blind spots. Heavies equipped with the Brass Beast are also good defenders of Intel due to the small space they have to defend.
Usually, a team will attempt to capture the Intel with a "Push". A Push involves several teammates working together, typically with a Heavy and Medic supporting them to easily cut through the enemy base and the Sentries blocking the way to the Intel. After one of the team members takes the Intel they will often have to fight their way out with survivors from the Push and the teammates coming into the enemy base.
Standard Competitive Control Point maps
Note: Community maps are identified in italics.
| Map | File Name | |
|---|---|---|
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5Gorge | cp_5gorge |
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Badlands | cp_badlands |
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Coldfront | cp_coldfront |
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Fastlane | cp_fastlane |
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Freight | cp_freight_final1 |
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Granary | cp_granary |
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Well | cp_well |
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Yukon | cp_yukon_final |
Related achievements
General
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Scout
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Soldier
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Hamburger Hill Defend a cap point 30 times. |
Pyro
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Controlled Burn Ignite 50 enemies capturing one of your control points. |
Demoman
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The High Road Sticky jump onto a cap point and capture it. |
Heavy
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Engineer
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No Man's Land Use a sentry gun to kill 25 enemy players that are capturing a point. |
Medic
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Sniper
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Not a Crazed Gunman, Dad In a single life, kill 3 enemies while they are achieving an objective. |
Spy
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Foundry achievements
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Update history
April 29, 2008 Patch (Gold Rush Update)
- Spies disguised as their own team can now capture control points
- Fixed rare client crash on level change during control point capturing
- Fixed a case where capturing a point in Overtime would end the round before time could be added
Trivia
- Despite not contributing to the progress of capturing a point, ÜberCharged players still gain credit for capping the control point if they are on it when the capture completes.
See also
- Intelligence, the objective in Capture the Flag games.
- Carts, the objective in Payload games.
- Control point timing
