User:Neon Knight/BUCaptureCTFBridgeOfFate

Originally posted in the old Capture website, at capture.beyondunreal.com, now defunct. I had a copy in my backups.

Well, if one had to say something about this level as an introduction, one would most definitely have to say that the word ‘huge’ applies liberally. For example, it would not be an matter of great exaggeration on my part if I were to say that the distance between the two flags is roughly the same distance as between my seat here in front of my computer and, oh, Proxima Centurai.
The reason, however, for the Brobdingnagian nature of this level is not, it must be said, the actual bridge itself. That section is really rather tiny compared to the absolutely gargantuan bases, the main room of which could swallow Jupiter whole and have room left over for a good portion of Saturn’s rings. Do you get the picture? It’s big.

Throughout this walkthrough, we will be looking at offensive tactics, defensive tactics, weapon placement, and yet more complaints about how this level cannot exist under the present laws of physics. For the purposes of easy navigation there is a contents page literally just below this paragraph, so if you want to find a particular section it’ll be a simple matter of playing the ol’ ‘Find’ game with the number of that section. Ready? Game on.

Yes, I could've linked them, but this way you get to participate in the article! :)

1) Offensive Tactics
1.1) Preliminary
1.2) Frontal Assault
1.3) The slightly sneakier entrance
2) Defending

The Actual Article
1) Offensive Tactics

Well, we should all be aware by now of the sheer size of the level, and it must be said that that presents quite an advantage to you, my dear attackers. Because the bases are so mind bogglingly huge, it is all but impossible for an average sized team of defenders to cover the whole thing all at once, meaning that while you may encounter enemy attackers coming the other way, you should not expect any serious opposition until you reach the Flag room itself.
That, however, isn’t a indication that you should travel fast and light, because not only are all the defenders going to be in the flag room, they’re all going to be heavily armed and waiting for you to pop up – and then there’s the small matter of getting the flag back to your base. A successful attack on an enemy base requires –as always- large amounts of armour, ordnance, and, if possible, teamwork.

1.1) Preliminary

We will assume, for the purposes of this exercise that you’re spawning in the flag room. If, by some cruel twist of chance you don’t spawn in this desirable locale then you’re just going to have to make do, ‘cause I’m not going to repeat this for every single bloody spawn point. Ready?

Once you’ve spawned, your first ports of call should be the Flak Cannon and Rocket Launcher, stored either side of the flag room, down those two dinky little tunnels. These will serve the dual purpose of momentarily keeping you near the flag room in case you’re needed there, as well as letting you load up on some serious hardware. Of course, once you’ve got them both, it’s probably time to go on the offensive.

1.2) Frontal Assault

The frontal assault is probably truly effective as a diversionary tactic (giving someone a chance to slip in from the sides and half-inch the flag) or if you happen to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Either way, once you’ve loaded up with the above hardcore weaponry, make your way out of the front door of the flag room and into the main room.
You should be at full health at this stage, so you can forego the handy spinning health pickups. Both the Link Gun and the Minigun may be worth picking up if you’re a mid-range fighter. Certainly, you should make a point of grabbing the Shield if it happens to be present. Don’t stick around waiting for it if it isn’t there, though – you might well find one in the enemy base.

The next section is, surprisingly, normally pretty safe. Despite the fact you have to walk across a pretty thin bridge completely exposed to potential snipers, everyone is normally buggering across the other bridges for your flag, hiding out in the flag room, or complaining about the lag. Regardless, that shouldn’t stop you from hotfooting it across this area, making a quick point to grab the Damage Amplifier should it be present – you’re going to need it.

Of course, the enemy’s hall is much the same as yours, aside from the fact that it is probably populated by a fair few enemy goits, who will no doubt experience feelings of deep displeasure at you being in their base. They may even try and vent this anger upon you by way of blasting your constituent atoms into the nth dimension, but that’s just because they didn’t receive enough hugs as children. Forgive them their childish anger, before reciprocating with that double-damaged Rocket Launcher you thoughtfully collected at the start of your assault. Once their entrails have finished raining down from the ceiling, you can proceed to the enemy Flag Room.

As covered later, you might well find that there’s a defender sitting on the arch above the door with some sort of pain-inducing device in hand. Just be aware and make sure they don’t jump you. Even if there isn’t a defender there, you’ll most likely have quite a fight on your hands to get up to the flag, especially considering that many people will no doubt be on voice comms hollering for assistance. Grab the flag, and hightail it out of there.

1.3) The slightly sneakier entrance

In the likely event that you’re not the Arbiter from Austria, you might want to consider the advantages of going in around the back. While the route may be a little longer, it does have the advantage that you basically bypass the main hall, which is where you’re likely to encounter swathes of enemies going about their duties. Of course, you might well find the odd enemy coming in the opposite direction, but that’s just a risk you’re going to have to take.

Starting from the Flag Room, you may as well load up once more with the Flak Cannon and Rocket Launcher, because, let’s face it, you’d be under compensating otherwise. Now, from here you have a choice of which route you want to take – you can either go left, or you can go right…but guess what? They’re basically sodding identical. Once you’ve picked up the heavy weaponry, follow on past to the side galleries, where you can add a Shock Rifle to that unfeasibly large arsenal of yours. The correct direction should now be obvious to even the slowest amongst you, as you need to go but forwards and up some stairs to reach the small platform overlooking the Bridge of Fate.

Now, I did say just a few moments ago that the paths are basically identical, but there is one critical difference. If you follow the side corridor leading off from the Flak Cannon, then you’ll always end up wrapping your greasy mitts around a Bio Rifle, whilst the Super Shield can be found simply by proceeding past the Rocket Launcher. However, the other pickup can found at the far end of the bridge, so unless you meet someone on the bridge itself it doesn’t really matter a damn which way you go.

Of course, the enemy base is exactly the same as yours – just reversed one hundred and eighty degrees. It should be a simple matter to peg it down the stairs and through the side galleries, making a point to grab any weaponry or ammo that you need en route. It’s the enemy’s ammo, after all – so help yourself. Once you’ve reached the small waterway between the heavy weaponry and the Flag room, you’re basically there. Of course, there might be the odd defender, but by now you should be proficient at drop-kicking people off the mortal coil. Grab that flag, and run like Captain Buggery himself were after you.

2) Defending

Naturally, getting the flag is only half the job. The other half of the job is making certain that those cunning foxes on the enemy team don’t purloin your flag while you’re all out enjoying the luxuries of their base. To this end, you need guys to intercept these pennon pinchers.
Unfortunately, Bridge of Fate is -as you may have guessed by my earlier statements- quite sizeable, meaning that the number of defenders you’d need to cover it entirely would leave no-one left for attacking the enemy base. Therefore, you need a more fluid, communicative team, with the attackers also performing an outer defence role. If they meet anyone, they should engage them, and if they die then the least they can do is radio back (or type, if they haven’t got with the program yet) where the guy was coming in from.
As for flag room defence, there are several places where you can quite happily get the drop on the enemy. If they’re coming in from the side passages, then their movement is going to be very heavily restricted within the confines of the tunnel – which means the best remedy is a bit of the ol’ Rocket Surprise or a heapin’ helping of flak. Defending against an incursion from these entrances is best done from the upper level, meaning that anything you launch at them will impact on the floor nearby their frail bodies. With those two entrances covered, the only other place entry can be gained is through the main hall and front door of the Flag Room. However, if you have someone sitting on the arch directly above the door, then they should be able to get at least one surprise attack on the incoming kleptomaniac. Even if it doesn’t kill them, it’ll make people far more wary about going in that way then the other two.

While the majority of the map is quite spread out –making hitscan weapons a good choice- the flag room itself is actually quite confined. This means that any weapon with a large explosive radius is good for attackers and defenders alike. If you have the time or the numbers, get someone to pick up a Bio Rifle from the outlying caves – the goop that it can lay down in a causeway could delay attackers for long enough to ship in reinforcements.