Community King of the Hill strategy

Sawmill

This article is about Community King of the Hill strategy.

General strategy

• If trying to capture the point, work as a team! A well-planned attack on the area will work better than Scouts running randomly onto it.

• When defending the point, don't watch one entry to the main point. There are usually many possible ways to get into the location, and only defending a single door can lead to disastrous results.

• Don't give up! If the other team is about to win the round, try a surprise attack or plan a Capture Point rush, at the very least to get into Overtime.

• Watch out for enemy Spies, Pyros, and Heavy-Medic pairs. By themselves, they can take out a good portion of your team, leading to an easy capture.

• Be on the lookout for Scouts and Soldiers or Demomen with equipped Pain Trains. They capture the points twice as fast, and are sometimes able to capture it without help.

• Try to clear out the main capture area before going for the Point. Sometimes there might be enemies waiting in the shadows to take out unsuspecting opponents!

• It's a good idea to push the enemy team back to their spawn area, as it makes them less likely to be able to capture the point before your team wins.

• Since most King of the Hill maps focus on mobility, fast and mobile classes such as Scout and Soldier are generally more effective than classes that don't move much like Sniper and Engineer.

Class-specific strategy

 Scout

• As a Scout, you capture the point twice as fast as other classes. Use this to your advantage when you go for the point!

• If you use Bonk!, you won't halt enemy captures or speed up your team's, but it's still a useful distraction for powerful enemies.

• Using your Sandman, you can stun enemies capturing or defending the point. This can be useful on Heavy-Medic pairs or any other powerful group!

• The Mad Milk is useful on enemies trying to capture or defend, as it heals every teammate who successfully hits them.

• Scouts aren't very useful for defending, but they can still try to distract the enemies by running through their spawn, with or without Bonk!.

• The Force-A-Nature can be used to push enemies off the point.

 Soldier

• Soldiers are good for defending and attacking, as they have high health and great weapons.

• The Buff Banner or Battalion's Backup are also valuable assets for your team. Use them when making an offensive push or a defensive stand, respectively. The Concheror is also good, as it will provide your team with a source of healing.

• Soldiers are also great for dealing with pesky Sentry Guns or Heavy-Medic pairs.

• Spamming rockets on the control point can be an effective method to clear the point of opposition; couple this with a Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge and you will be a force to be reckoned with.

• Soldiers make great crowd control classes. Fire into large groups of enemies to decimate them.
  • As an alternative, the Black Box can grant you more health for more enemies you hit. Use it if you don't mind one less rocket.
  • The Direct Hit is very useful for eliminating large clusters of enemies. Aiming in their general direction will almost always guarantee a hit, letting you take advantage of the Direct Hit's bonuses and negating its smaller explosion radius.

• Use the Pain Train and capture the point as fast as Scouts. Remember though that you will be more vulnerable to bullet damage with the Pain Train.

• If you're going to rocket jump a lot, use the Rocket Jumper or Gunboats to take the least amount of damage from your own rockets, but remember: the Rocket Jumper removes your ability to damage enemies with rockets.

 Pyro

• As a Pyro, try sneaking over to the enemy team and spraying them with fire, making them search for health. This can give your team more time.

• Remember to Spy-check, even while capturing the point, as a Spy might sneak onto it in the fray to halt the process.

• Use the Flare Gun while capturing to set enemies on fire without having to stop the capture process.

• You can be a big help to your team by deflecting enemy projectiles while capturing.

• Airblasting your teammates if they're on fire can also help your team.

• You can also use the airblast to shove enemies away from the point.

• If there's a large amount of enemies on the point, you can use the crit boost granted by the Phlogistinator to quickly and efficiently clear out unwanted enemies.

• Before a big team push, throw in a Gas Passer as an effective dispersal tool, and to get bonus fire damage on the enemy.

 Demoman

• An often-used strategy is to litter the Point with sticky bombs, then detonate them when the other team reaches the point.

• Watch for enemy Engineers and try to take out their buildings before they can get them to the main area.

• The Pain Train can provide a boost when capturing the point. Combine this with your ability to sticky jump, and you can have the mobility and capturing rate of a Scout.

• The Ullapool Caber can be extremely useful in severely weakening or completely wiping out the opposing team's capturing effort; just make sure to have a decent amount of health in order to survive the explosion.

• Due to the nature of KOTH, the splash damage caused by grenades can be a huge asset. Fire into large groups of enemies to make use of it.

• Due to the fact that there's usually many entrances to the Point, you can use the Scottish Resistance to effectively block off several entrances.

 Heavy

• Remember, Medics are your best friends. If you have a Medic healing you, try to protect him, so even if you get killed, he can heal other teammates.

• With the Hibernating Bear item set equipped, you are a force to be reckoned with on defense, especially in narrow passageways.

• If you're in the middle of a big firefight and have the Sandvich or Buffalo Steak Sandvich equipped, throw it near your teammates to give them a quick health boost if they are near death.

• Never try to take on the entire enemy team, even with a Medic. Try to take out one enemy at a time.

• Remember to keep your Minigun spinning, even after your team has cleared out the opposing side.

• Watch out for enemy Snipers, and try to make your movements random while capturing, such as randomly crouching or jumping unexpectedly.

• The Huo-Long Heater is particularly useful in this mode due to the maps having relatively close quarters and provides defense against Spies which are numerous on King of the Hill maps.

 Engineer

• Engineers aren't very useful in King of the Hill, as the Capture Point is usually in a wide-open area, but they can still be an asset to the team.

• Due to the fast pace and constant strategy readjustment present in KOTH, wrenches such as the Gunslinger and Jag are ideal. The Gunslinger's health boost turns the Engineer into a more viable combat class, and the Jag lets the Engineer replace destroyed buildings much faster than other wrenches.

• Have a Teleporter up that gets teammates closer to the point, to keep the pressure on the enemy team.

• During a coordinated push by the enemy team, the Wrangler's shield can be used to sponge a large amount of bullets, rockets, and stickies. This keeps the enemy team distracted and gives your teammates a valuable opportunity to recuperate.

• Remember to Spy-check often, so they can't backstab you and sap your buildings. Use the Southern Hospitality to bleed out and track cloaked Spies. Keep in mind though that you will be more vulnerable to fire damage.

• A well placed Mini-Sentry can provide a useful distraction to capturing opponents, allowing your teammates to harm them with less resistance.

• The Short Circuit can help your team by destroying sticky bombs placed by an enemy Demoman.

 Medic

• As a Medic, you can force a victory with your team thanks to your powerful Übercharge. Since KOTH only has one control point, one Übercharge coupled with a power class such as Heavy or Soldier can easily force out the entire enemy presence, and thus allow your team to take over the point.

• Due to the often open areas in which the control point is located it is recommended you try to find some cover, often found just outside of the control point markers. Be agile and, every once in a while, try to take cover while still try to heal other players.

• Remember to equally balance heals between those that need them most while attacking and defending the point. Five half-health players are much more useful to your team than a single overhealed one.

 Sniper

• Due to the high density of players usually on the point, a thrown Jarate can cover a large number of enemy players, making clearing the point easier for your teammates. Pair this with the Bushwhacka to deal full critical hits on these enemies.

• Sometimes it may be beneficial to take Huntsman potshots on the point, especially if there are a large number of players on it; due to the large size of the projectile hitbox, odds are you will connect with an opponent. It will also make you more mobile.

• If you can find a spot on the map that has a good view onto the control point, you can pick off any enemies that get on or near the point.
  • If a large group of enemies clusters on the point, use the Machina to take out more than one enemy at a time.

 Spy

• As a Spy, you can take down the enemy team's Sentry Guns defending the point with the Sapper to allow your teammates to move in and capture the point.

• Due to the (often) high density of players within and around the actual control point, it is recommended you try to pick targets to kill who are travelling from their area to the control point. The control point itself may provide ample oppertunity for backstabs but the choatic nature of it often means death for any Spy walking amongst it.
  • Try to prioritize targets that are walking towards the control point. Medics, Heavies, and Engineers are the highest priority due to their importance in the KOTH gamemode.
  • Keep in mind this advice is meant as a general guideline. If the enemy team controls the control point please feel free to attempt to kill key targets holding the control point. Sometimes dying for the sake of altruism can be a good thing if you manage to kill targets that were holding your team back from taking over the control point.