Mid fight (competitive)

This article is for competitive play, based on the standard community competitive format.
The community competitive scene changes frequently. Some or all info may be outdated.

The initial mid fight is the battle for the central point in a 5CP or KOTH map before it is captured. The mid-fight is considered one of, if not the most important fight of the round as it frequently serves as an indicator of which team has the upper hand and sets the tone of a match. A team that captures mid quickly and with little damage to their forces also may potentially capture the next point while the enemy is respawning or trying to regain composure.

General

Regardless of the map, a very important factor in determining a mid-fight victory is the teams' ability to rollout to mid and arrive as early as possible. This applies specifically to the Demoman and Soldier, who should rocket jump and sticky jump to save as much time as possible. Because Scouts and Medics are the two fastest classes they don't have to worry about any special tricks to get to mid faster, though Medics must be very purposeful in their healing of the Demoman and Soldiers to ensure they reach mid with full health.

Generally, each class will have the same basic strategy during a mid-fight, regardless of the map.

• Scouts: It is the Scouts' job to keep control of the other team's Scouts, take advantage of open flanks, or break through cracks in the enemies' defense if their Scouts are down. Opportunities to take out the opposing Medic should almost always be addressed, as a lack of healing almost shatters the opposition's hopes of a successful capture.
• Roamer: The Roamer should stay back and help the Demoman spam, or keep control of a certain area at mid(such as the crates on Granary). If the Roamer spots a crack in the other team's defense he should take advantage and jump into the enemy's midst, raining down rockets and spreading chaos to deal heavy damage and ideally disrupt the other team's plans. If he arrives fast enough, the Roamer should attempt to pick off the enemy Demoman, as the Demoman most likely will be at critical health due to the damage he took while rolling out. The Roamer is expendable, it doesn't matter too much whether he dies, what matters more is what he does before he dies; if he manages to deal out a lot of damage and put the enemy in a bad position then he has done well.
• Pocket: The Pocket's job is to stick with the Medic and keep him safe from Scouts or jumping Soldiers, and to help deliver spam. Utilizing rocket jumps as Pocket will not only allow for better angles of fire and increased maneuverability but will also enhance the Medic's Ubercharge rate.
• Demoman: It is crucial for the Demoman to always arrive at mid-first to deliver spam or lock a choke point as early as possible in order to deny popular map shortcuts as well as hold off the enemy until the rest of his team arrives. The Demoman should spam the enemy's entrance or choke point to keep pressure and go on the offensive when they begin to retreat. In some cases, a carpet of stickies on the midpoint can deter would-be captors or pick off Soldiers making blind jumps onto the point.
• Medic: The Medic should position themselves in a way to avoid as much spam as possible or close to the nearest health pack. Communication with the Pocket is key, and healing should be given out as necessary. It is imperative for a Medic to constantly be on the lookout for Scouts and alert the Pocket at the first sign of danger. The Medics job is to try and keep as many people alive as possible, he can do a better job of this by healing the players that are dealing damage and taking heat, rather than the players that are in a safe position but hurt.

Granary

Granary mid point.

For mid specific terms see here.

Rollout

• Scouts: Getting to mid for scouts is much simpler as they are the fastest class. Scouts can take the same path Soldier's take or the path the Demoman will take if he's attacking from catwalk. Example.
• Soldier: Soldiers should do the same as the Demoman and rocket jump to the supply cabinet before movement is enabled. Once out of spawn they should rocket jump off the door frame or the wall next to the door, or the tire next to the wall. From the door at Point 2 they should jump straight through to the point and go out the left door. From left yard a rocket jump should be done off the wall next to the door to the point entrance.
• Demoman: Straight from spawning a Demoman should sticky jump to the left(as in spawn position) resupply cabinet before movement is enabled. Once movement is enabled he should jump from the opening door to Point 2's door, then to the health pack. From there the Demoman can choose to either take left yard if he chooses to attack from crates, or right yard, if he chooses to attack from Garage or the battlements. Example.
  • Medic: It is the Medic's job to constantly heal the Demoman in spawn until he gets out of range, from there on he should focus on healing the Soldiers.
• Medic: The Medic's path is very straight forward. He should always follow the Pocket.

Mid fight

• The basic Scout strategy is to the keep the enemies scouts in check and look for opportunities to deal damage, especially to the Medic. If the enemy's defense is weak Scouts can sometimes go straight to the crates from the catwalk and take down the roaming Soldier and gain immediate control of the high ground.
• It is the Roamer's job to take over crate control. At arrival he should jump straight to the crates and spam while keeping an eye out for the Scouts, or any jumping Soldier's attempting to take crates. When the advantage comes he should jump to the enemy's crate and take territorial control over their side of mid.
• The Pocket should stick with the Medic at all times and put them in safe positions out of the way of spam and deal with enemy scouts. During a winning mid fight he should push up with the medic to the point. It is a good idea to keep the Medic away from the health pack area as it is highly contested. The Pocket should also always be ready to switch places with the Roamer on the crates if the Roamer ever finds himself with very low health.
• The Demoman can choose to either help the scouts at the very beginning for a possible early pick, or stay back and spam the enemies choke point behind the crates, or their health pack area to pick anyone with low health going for the pack.
• The Medic should keep an eye out for spam and avoid as much as possible. Positioning ones self further away from the health pack, primarily near the enemy's garage area will help avoid a lot of spam and has the added bonus of over-watch from the Roamer.

Badlands

Badlands mid point.

For mid specific terms see here.

Rollout

• Scout: The path to mid for Scouts is straightforward, using the same path as the Demoman/Soldier's use. Example.
• Soldier: Arriving at mid early is also very important for Soldiers. They will take the same route the Demoman will, expect from the window will jump to the bridge once they hit the ground. Sometimes the Roamer will jump to the mid valley and jump up to the enemy's crates from there. Some extra jumps can be done with the Gunboats to save extra time as shown in this Example.
• Demoman: The Demo's ability to get to mid quickly on Badlands is more important than on any other map. He should start by sticky jumping to the right door before movement is enabled, followed by a sticky jump down to the central entrance of the point. From here he should sticky jump up the stairs, grab the small health pack, and sticky jump from the window on to the bridge outside forward resupply. The Demoman should then grab the medium health pack in the mid house before engaging the point. Example.
• Medic: For Medics the path is also easy, he should take the same general path and stay with the Pocket. During the initial spawn time it is very important that everyone but the Demoman and Medic crouch so the Medic can more easily focus an overheal on the Demoman as his jumps will separate him from the Medic the quickest and do the most self-damage.

Mid fight

• Due to the nature of the mid fight, control of enemy Scout's is crucial, especially to preserve the Demoman and Medic. Unlike Granary, the Soldiers have less power due to a lack of easy height advantage, so Scouts will enjoy slightly more impunity unless a Soldier opts to take to the skies with a rocket jump.
• The Roamer will generally position himself on top of the crates and help the Demoman with spam and keep scouts or the enemy's Roamer in check, frequently utilizing aerials to punish Soldiers looking for a height advantage. When the Roamer sees an advantage he should jump to the enemy's crates. Sometimes the Roamer will take the valley route or head to the balcony off the mid point house to jump straight onto the enemy's crate at the start of the fight to open up an offensive for his team.
• The Pocket will always stay near the medic, either by the crates or on the crates helping the Roamer with spam. The Pocket should also watch under the bridge for any Scouts attempting a sneak attack, and should always keep a close watch on the Medic.
• The Demoman should arrive at mid at the same time the Scouts do, and with practice even before the Scouts. The Demoman is the most important class during the Badlands mid fight because of the area's vulnerability to spam. Upon early entry the Demoman should either help the Scouts fight the enemy Scouts or sticky the enemy's mid entrance. Doing the latter can greatly slow the other team's push from their house. Given an even fight the Demoman should focus on lobbing grenades around the enemy's crate in an attempt to deal heavy, confined explosive damage to the enemy Medic. With a crack in the enemy's defense the Demoman should take the advantage to go on a full offense and continuously stick spam retreating enemies.
• The Medic should position himself near the crates farther back towards the choke point so he can make an easy escape if needed.

Freight

Note: Most leagues use an older version of Freight, not the official, thus the map's lay out for competitive is different; also, during any 6v6 round on freight teams will always spawn in the right spawn room.

Freight mid point.

Rollout

• Scout: The Scouts will also follow the same path.
• Soldier: Both soldiers follow the same path and utilizes the same jumps that the Demoman uses to get to mid.
• Demoman: Upon leaving the spawn gate, the Demo should immediately sticky jump to the close left door to Point 2. From the Point 2 opening he should then jump to the upper left door by the stairs and proceed out the gate. Leaving the gate to the mid area, he can either jump to the medium health pack to save a few seconds, or walk straight to the point and leave it for scouts. Example.
• Medic: The Medic should heal the Demo until he is out of range and then stick with the Soldiers. The trip to mid is much shorter on Freight than most other maps so scouts should also be occasionally healed as their overheal will last them when they reach mid.

Mid fight

• The Scout's jobs are to flank the enemy during the mid fight. They may choose to either take the upper left or right sides, or the water route to cross mid, but should never run straight through the point. Freight's mid area is much less spam prone and more open making Scouts more effective during the mid fight.
• Very often a Scout, or sometimes a Soldier will be switched out for a Sniper. The Sniper will mostly position himself on the stairs far back near the water as this spot elevates him and gives cover from spam. Since the middle point is very open Snipers can be especially deadly during a mid fight.
• The Roamer's job is to watch the upper left or right flanks for Scouts. The Roamer should also take advantage to jump in during any opportunities such as when most of the other team is injured and huddling near their Medic's position or when a Kritz push is initiated. If the Roamer is spamming from the left side, nearer the enemy's medium health pack he should watch for injured enemies attempting to snag health and deal with them by spamming rockets at the health pack or jumping into it.
• The Pocket should constantly be near the medic helping him build his uber. If other teammates are injured and taking the Medic's heals then he should help pressure the enemy from making an offensive move.
• The Demo is not as effective for the mid fight on Freight as he is on other maps and will mostly be left to simple spam. The Kritz is often utilized at Freight so he should be fully loaded and ready once the kritz push is initiated.
• The Medic should never expose himself in the open or in a spammed area, especially when the other team is using a sniper. Most Medics will behind the wall next to the point, closer towards their second point so they can make an easier escape just in case. The medic must constantly build his uber during the mid fight for the possibility of the enemy using the Kritzkieg. If your team is using the Kritzkrieg it must be used as soon as it is ready so that the other team does not get a chance to build an uber or before they get to use their Kritz.