2FORT
2Fort is a symmetrical Capture the Flag map—the only CTF map available in Team Fortress 2. Fans of Team Fortress Classic will feel at home running about this new and improved rendition of the original battleground by the same name. At 2Fort, teams must vie for dominance as they struggle to extract a briefcase full of enemy Intelligence from deep within their rivals’ base. The enemy defenses must be breached so their Intelligence briefcase can be stolen and carried back to the opposing team’s base. Bringing the enemy Intelligence within the boundaries of the Capture Zone that surrounds each team’s Intelligence scores that team one point. The match concludes when one team manages to score the requisite number of points to be victorious.
2Fort features two complex, symmetrical fortresses stationed at either end of a long, narrow courtyard. The fortresses each have a distinctive look that matches their team and they share the exact same structural layout. Let’s take a look at the fortresses’ most notable departments.
BATTLEMENTS
This is the ideal place for Snipers and Soldiers. The battlements offer a fantastic view of the courtyard that separates the two fortresses and give long-range combat specialists a chance to put their talents to use. Teams should always try to keep a trained Sniper and Soldier on their battlements to defend their fort from advancing enemies and pick off opposing Snipers. Those stationed atop the battlements must guard their backs against enemy Spies. The lower doors are well defended by Demomen and Heavies, who can lay down grenades and uncork swarms of bullets at advancing ground troops. Medics should support these defenders, who are apt to suffer heavy damage as they work at holding their fort’s main access doors.
LOWER HALLS
Breaching a fortress’s front doors or sneaking in through its underground sewer tunnels lands players within the fort’s lower halls. These halls lead to a stairwell and catwalk area that attackers must smash through to reach the fort’s second floor and press on toward the Intelligence chamber. The confines of these halls make them perfect ambush spots for Pyros and Demomen; these classes can inflict serious pain down there.
INTERIOR CATWALK
Inside each team’s fort lies a two-story catwalk that connects the first floor to the second. It’s important to defend this area, as doing so makes it extremely difficult for invaders to move between floors.
Defending Engineers should place Sentry Guns atop the catwalk to fi re on enemies trying to rush from the fi rst fl oor to the second. Demomen can easily defend this area by lobbing grenades down at foes below, while Pyros can drop in to fry enemies trying to juke out from beneath the catwalk and take shots at the elevated defenders. The best classes to assault these catwalks with are usually Soldiers, as they do well at popping out from beneath the catwalk to shell enemy defenders stationed above. Sentry Guns should be their primary targets.
TIP
Defending players can utilize the holes in their fort’s upper floor to
drop to the lower halls and ambush trespassers.
TIP
Soldiers and Scouts can strike at the catwalk from the second floor if they use their unique jumping talents to infiltrate the enemy fort from its second-floor battlements.
TUNNELS
A stairwell in the lower halls leads down to a sewer tunnel. The tunnel’s elbow is a good place for Engineers to set up shop, positioning Sentry Guns to defend the tunnels from invaders. Sentry Guns should be set where they cannot easily be targeted by enemies within the tunnel; this ensures they won’t be seen or destroyed from afar. The tunnel eventually leads outside to the watery basin beneath the map’s central bridge. This offers teams a slower but stealthier way to cross the middle courtyard and infiltrate the opposition’s fortress. The tunnels are great routes for Spies and Pyros to take, allowing these classes to easily access the enemy fortress without exposing themselves to the hazards of the courtyard.
INTELLIGENCE CHAMBER
Deep in the heart of each team’s fortress lies their Intelligence chamber the place where the team’s all-important Intelligence briefcase is kept. Intelligence chambers can only be accessed from a fort’s second floor, so invaders who enter through the main doors or sewer tunnel must use the interior catwalk to reach the second fl oor and grab the Intelligence. The tightness of this chamber and the surrounding stairwells and halls make it an ideal spot for Pyros and Demomen to have their fun. Sentry Guns can also be erected in various nooks and crannies to surprise and shred enemy intruders a fantastic Scout deterrent. After the enemy briefcase has been stolen, it must be brought back to the opposing team’s Intelligence chamber and placed within the bounds of the Capture Zone to score a point.
A central courtyard divides the two fortresses, and is itself divided by a wide chasm. A rickety wooden bridge stretches across the ravine, the basin of which is filled with water. Ground troops must cross the bridge to reach the opposing team’s fortress, but are highly vulnerable to enemy Soldiers and Snipers poised atop their fort’s battlements. Soldiers can rocket-jump up to the enemy battlements to invade the fortress from the second floor, while Scouts can run and jump along the roof of the bridge to cross the courtyard and reach the battlements in short order. This is a great way to harass enemy Snipers and allows these classes to storm the enemy base from the second floor, creating disorder. The courtyard’s water filled basin can be exploited to help teams sneak through the middle ground. The underground sewer tunnels can be used infiltrate the enemy fort. This is an especially useful path for Spies and Pyros because it allows them easier access to the fort by sparing them most of the dangers associated with crossing the bridge. Once inside the opposition’s fort, Spies and Pyros can stir up lots of trouble for the defending team.
