You plan to bring back the enemy flag.

Good for you. Before you charge into the enemy fort with guns blazing, there are a few tips I'd like to share.

1. Choose your battles.



You have a limited amount of strength, and a lot of opposition. If you try to fight every person you run into between your respawn and the enemy flagroom, you'll almost never touch the enemy flag. One person will not be able to overpower an entire opposing team. Don't even try to.

So when you encounter enemies anywhere but in near the enemy flag, don't start a fight. Try to run past them. Even if you beat your opponent, he'll hurt you some. If you get badly hurt before even reaching the front gates of the enemy fort, you'll almost certainly be killed before reaching their flag. Save you strength (and health) for those gaurding the enemy flag.

2. Find several ways in.



If you attack the enemy flag by the same route each time, sooner or later the defense will catch on. When they do, expect them to heavily guard your main route of attack. You need to use several ways to get to the enemy flag. That will keep the defense guessing. Otherwise, expect to have to fight your way through several angry defenders along the path you typically attack.

3. Communicate.



If you and I are both trying to get the enemy flag, we have a better chance if we work together. If you spot a weakness in their defense and tell me, I can slip into their base as well. If you distract the defense while I grab the flag, we have a better chance of being successful in escaping with their flag. Communication is a vital part of any successful offense. Tell me where you dropped the enemy flag. Tell me if they have a sentry gun up. Tell me where to attack. Information is valuable on offense. Share it.

Even if you're the only one trying to get the enemy flag, talk to your team. One of them might just decide to give you a hand, doubling your chances of capturing the enemy flag.

4. Learn about Sentry guns.



If you're successful in capturing the enemy flag a few times, someone will probably choose to defend it with a sentry gun. You need to know how these things work to kill them, and you need to kill them to get the flag. Simple as that.

A sentry gun has three levels. A sentry on level one or two simply shoots shotgun shells at you, which a heavy class can survive for a short time against. A level three sentry gun shoots rockets. Rockets that can kill any class if they hit their target. You can identify a level three sentry gun by looking for two red rockets on top of the gun barrels. If you see those, lookout, it's a level three gun.

How do you kill a sentry gun? There are a few ways. First of all, do NOT charge it. Fighting a sentry head-on takes a lot of practice and is very dangerous, especially at first. You want to use one of two methods to kill a sentry:

• Throw 2 grenades at the base of it.


• Shoot it from the perfect angle.



If you're any class other than scout, two of your regular grenades will kill a sentry gun. The trick is not being shot by the sentry while you toss grenades at it. I recommend hiding around a corner from the gun, (out of sight) poping out for an instant, throwing a grenade, and ducking back behind the wall. The sentry may fire, but if you're quick you should take little/no damage. Repeat that twice and the gun should be destroyed.

You can also attempt to get 'just the right angle' on a sentry gun: To find a tiny spot where you can stand and shoot at the sentry, but it won't see you. This is tricky, takes longer than using grenades, and often results in a rather spectacular rocket-related death. Still, if you edge out from around a corner just right, you can find the spot and shoot a sentry gun to death even as a scout.
So long as the engineer who built the gun doesn't kill you for trying, anyway.

Finally, Spies are probably the best class for killing a sentry gun hidden deep in the enemy base. If you disguise yourself as a member of the enemy team, enemy sentry guns won't even fire on you. This allows for lots of time to sneak right up to the enemy gun and toss grenades at the base of it. Just be careful - if you're detected you won't last long.

5. Use the right Class for the Job



Scouts are great for blinding, shaking up, and zooming past soldiers and Heavy Weapons Guys. Scouts do not do well against sentry guns though. You'll need to learn to use a variety of different classes to attack the enemy with in order to be successful against a variety of defenses. Not to worry, trying out new things with different classes is a lot of fun.

There's much more to it than the basics outlined above, but those are the fundamentals of flag-capturing. Try to watch how other players attack and move the flags to learn new tricks and tactics. Try playing as a defensive player, and watch how the enemy attacks you. With a little observation and practice, you can develop into a strong offensive force.

Good luck moving the enemy flag. It won't be easy, but the reward is worth it.