Coalplant (competitive custom map)

This article is for competitive play, based on the standard community competitive format. For the generic article on this topic, see: Coalplant.
The community competitive scene changes frequently. Some or all info may be outdated.

Coalplant
Basic Information
Map type:	King of the Hill
File name:	koth_coalplant_b#
Developer(s):	Ian "ScorpioUprising" Cuslidge
Map Info
Environment:	Industrial
Setting:	Night, cloudy
Map Items
Health Kits:	×8  •   ×5
Ammo Boxes:	×2   •    ×6

Coalplant is a King of the Hill map created by community map maker ScorpioUprising. It is a recreation of Ashville, and has received popular support for fixing some of the problems of Ashville.

Locations

The map is symmetrical, so any area or position is consistent for both sides.

Spawn

• 

  Spawn Area

Spawn refers to the resupply room, as well as the area immediately in front of it.

• Spawn contains 3 exits, 2 into the building, and one leading to the flank.
  • The Flank exit provides the fastest entrance to the point, but is more easily blocked and opens into a larger sight line.
  • The building exits empty into a safe area, that is well blocked from spam, but slows players down that attempt to jump through it.

Building

• 

  The inside of the building

The building is composed of a shutter door, a large health pack, and large amounts of safe area.

• Shutter: The shutter is a door in the middle of the room that leads directly to the point. It has a bridge on top of it that leads to the flank.
• Flank: The flank exit of this room is an open gateway that leads to the flank's balcony.
• Choke: Opposite the flank exit is an opening leading to the point, that is blocked by a large sign.

Flank

• 

  Balcony

The flank is a long hallway that runs alongside the building and leads from the spawn to the point. It contains a medium health and ammo pack, and provides a large sight line over the map.

• Stairs: The flank starts from spawn with a narrow chokepoint leading to a set of stairs. These stairs have a health pack at the top of them.
• Balcony: On top of the stairs there is a large balcony that runs along the front of the building and overlooks the point, providing a powerful defensive position.
• Under: Below the balcony, there is a large set of hallways that run to the spawn.

Point

• 

  Water

• 

  Shutter

The point is the main area of the map, where most of the fighting occurs.

• Choke: This area is connected to the choke in the building, and leads out onto the point behind the house.
• Houses: The point is flanked by two large buildings that players can stand on. They contain entrances to water.
• Water: Below the point there is a large room containing a medium health pack and some water.

Tactics

General

• Being a King of the Hill map, the main focus is on controlling the point for as long as possible, suiciding to delay an enemy capture even for a few seconds can win a round.
• Like other KotH maps, Coalplant is very off class friendly. A full time Sniper or Heavy can prove incredibly effective during a match.
  • Balcony especially can accommodate a skilled sniper. The sightline allows him to cover all of the point and most of the enemy's flank without much worry.
• Because of the generally short range of engagements, and the lack of cover,the Kritzkrieg can prove very effective when paired with a strong pocket or demo.

Defense

• Once you control the point, you lose a spawn advantage. Expect heavy suiciding while you're on the point as the enemy can spawn nearly twice as fast as your teammates.
• Forward holds are rarely useful on coal plant. The preferred strategy is to hold on your balcony or choke, and only push when you have Uber or Kritz.
• It is ill advised to sit with uber too long. Because of spawn advantage and the nature of KotH, playing too defensively can lose you the point while you never even get a chance to contest. The best way to utilize your uber or kritz is aggressively, by pushing as soon as possible with it, in an attempt to kill the other team's medic.
• Avoid areas that have a direct line of sight to the balcony as medic. The sniper friendly nature of the map makes it dangerous to hold there.
• Avoid getting bottled up in choke or shutter. Always be pushing out, and if you're getting trapped or stonewalled, it's time to back out.

Offense

• When you don't control the point, your respawn time is much faster than the enemy's. Knowing this, you can suicide constantly without much threat of losing ground or uber advantage.
• If you find it difficult to push or are having trouble in general, consider utilizing or switching off classes. A skilled sniper or heavy can turn the tide of the match quickly if they catch the enemy unprepared.
• If you are at a significant uber disadvantage, attempt a 4 man sack. Do this by leaving one scout at spawn to build while the other 4 players suicide in at once in an attempt to force the enemy medic. Even if you're unsuccessful, your spawn time will be so short it will be a non issue.
• If you fail multiple pushes in a row, try switching mediguns.

Rollouts

Video of Several Rollouts:

Because of the small nature of the map, most rollouts are very simple, and only require a few jumps. This also allows for a great deal of freedom as a player can go through building or flank easily with little loss of speed.

Demoman

The demo rollout involves a short static jump to the door, and either a single jump to the building followed by walking to either shutter or choke, or sticky jumping to the flank and then jumping again to either the house or balcony.

Soldier

The soldier rollout is also very concise. Static jump to the door, and then either jump to the building and pick an exit, or jump to the flank, then jump again to balcony. Exceptionally skilled jumpers can work slides and speedshots in so as to arrive on the enemy's house or even balcony, but the practical benefits are rather low.