List of game modes

The Team Fortress world

For a full list of all maps, see List of maps.

Team Fortress 2 currently has seven game modes. Initially, the game shipped with three game modes: Capture the Flag, Control Point, and Territorial Control. Numerous updates have added four new game modes: Payload, Arena, King of the Hill, and Payload Race. These game modes are spread across 39 official maps and offer a great variety of play styles and games in Team Fortress 2.

Arena

arena_lumberyard

“

I say this to you with the unvarnished factualism of plain talk: I love Arena Mode. — Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, 1865

”

See also: Arena tips

Arena maps are designed to keep the class diversity of Team Fortress 2 while focusing goals around combat between two teams. Whereas other game modes lean towards a broad, overall strategy for the team, Arena concentrates on the specific tactical choices the teams make in a single fight. Arena maps carry the arena_ prefix.

Arena features smaller maps that play out for shorter periods of time. The round ends once one team has no players left in the arena, or when the central capture point has unlocked and been captured. The central capture point unlocks after one minute has passed in the current round. Rounds tend to be very fast and highly competitive, with an emphasis on your team's class makeup and your plan to counter the opposing team's class choices. Arena mode is suitable for smaller matches of three vs. three players, while still comfortably supporting huge knockdown twelve-on-twelve brawls. Arena works much like Sudden Death - respawning is disabled and there are no resupply lockers. There are usually very few health kits available, often located far from the main action and/or near high-risk hazards. This forces teams to rely more on Dispensers and Medics.

Players may have to sit out to balance keep team numbers equal if they were on the losing team, but players on the winning team never have to sit out the next round.

The First Blood Critical buff is unique to the Arena game mode, and is awarded to the player who scores the first kill of the round.

Arena maps:

• Badlands
• Granary
• Lumberyard
• Nucleus
• Offblast
• Ravine
• Sawmill
• Watchtower
• Well

Capture the Flag

The bridge area in the center of ctf_2fort

The bridge area over the crevice on ctf_doublecross

“

Wave goodbye to ya secret crap, dumbass! Click to listen — The Scout

”

Capture the Flag features both RED and BLU bases, each containing their own Intelligence briefcase (known as the flag). The goal for both teams is to capture the enemy's Intelligence until they have reached the game's capture limit (default limit is 3 captures) while preventing their enemy from achieving the same.

Both team's Intelligence are typically located deep within their territory, usually in a symmetrical location from each other, in an area known as the 'Intelligence room'. To pick up the Intelligence the player must touch the enemy's briefcase. While holding the enemy's Intelligence, the player must bring it to the location of their Intelligence where they must enter their 'capture zone' (indicated by the yellow and black lines) in order to make a successful capture. After each successful capture, your team will be rewarded with ten seconds of Crit boost.

If the Intelligence carrier is killed or the Intelligence is intentionally dropped, the Briefcase will remain stationary for 60 seconds, with a timer shown above the Intelligence indicating how much time is left before it is returned to the Intelligence room. During that time the Intelligence can be picked up as normal. Each time the Intelligence is dropped, the timer is reset. The enemy cannot move or reset the intelligence themselves. The intelligence cannot be carried by players with an invulnerability buff (i.e. ÜberCharged players, Scouts under the effects of Bonk! Atomic Punch) and intelligence carriers cannot receive an invulnerability buff. However, if a spy aqcuires the intelligence they lose their disguise and can no longer change their disguise or cloak.

If the intelligence carrier dies in a normally inaccessible part of the map (i.e. falling into a pit) the Intelligence is immediately returned to its starting location in the Intelligence room. If no team completes the capture limit before time runs out, the match will enter Sudden death mode.

Unlike variants of Capture the Flag in other games, you can make a capture without actually having your Intelligence at your base.

Capture the Flag maps:

• 2Fort
• Double Cross
• Sawmill
• Turbine
• Well

Control Point

cp_dustbowl

“

This point ain't gonna cap itself! Get over here! Click to listen — The Engineer

”

See also: Control points

Control point maps have two main types of game modes.

Control points are circular platforms with a team-colored light and hologram in the center (neutral points will have a white light and hologram). To capture a point owned by the enemy team, the player simply stands on the point until the capture meter fills with your team color. The more players on a point, the faster it will capture, though only to a limited extent. Scouts and Soldiers or Demomen wielding a Pain Train count as 2 players when capturing points. No capture progress will be made when players of both teams are on the point. If all the capturing players are killed or driven off before the capture is completed, the capture progress will not reset immediately but instead will slowly fade away.

There are three states for a Capture Point:

• 

  Neutral: The Point can be taken by either team (usually the central point in a standard CP map)

• 

  Captured: The Point is currently owned by the RED team but can be retaken by the BLU team.

• 

  Locked: The Point is currently owned by the RED team and cannot be retaken by the BLU team.

There are two main types of control point maps – Standard Control Point and Attack/Defend maps:

File:03 screen a.jpg

cp_yukon

Standard control point

Standard control point (or Linear Control Point) maps play symmetrically. Both teams start with two controlled points, and a central point starts out neutral. The team that captures all control points wins. Traditional Control Point maps will go into Sudden death (or Stalemate) if no team captures all the points before times runs out. Control points closer to a team's spawn point are captured more quickly by the enemy team.

Standard control point maps:

• Badlands
• Coldfront
• Fastlane
• Freight
• Granary
• Well
• Yukon

cp_gravelpit

Attack/Defend

Attack/Defend maps play asymmetrically. RED begins with all the points in their control. BLU wins if it captures all of RED's points. Points may only be captured in a set order (though some maps, such as Gravel Pit and Steel, may make exceptions). RED wins if it prevents BLU from capturing all points before the timer expires. Points captured by BLU are typically locked.

Attack/Defend maps can come in various styles. Some maps such as Dustbowl and Egypt require BLU to capture three stages of two points each to win the game. If the attacking team fails to win any stage, teams will switch and the defenders will then take turn to be the attackers, beginning with stage 1. Other maps such as Gravel Pit and Junction allow the attacker to capture two points in any order (points A or B) before attacking the final point (point C). Steel is a unique Attack/Defend map in that capturing each minor capture point (points A,B,C and D) will allow better accessibility to the main point (point E), such as allowing more routes into point E or extending bridges to the point so that classes other than the Scout, Soldier, Demoman or sentry jumping Engineers can capture it.

Attack/Defend maps:

• Dustbowl
• Egypt
• Gorge
• Gravel Pit
• Junction
• Steel

King of the Hill

“

Since their discovery in 1895, hills have fascinated kings. — The Classless Update

”

koth_viaduct

King of the Hill is similar to Arena. King of the Hill focuses on a single control point at the center of the map, which is neutral and locked at the beginning of the round. Teams must make their way to the Control Point and capture it when it becomes available. Once the point is captured by a team, their team clock will start a three minute countdown. If the enemy team manages to capture the point back, their clock will start counting down while the other team’s clock freezes at the time the point was recaptured. A team wins once they own the point and their three minutes is expired.

King of the Hill maps:

• Harvest / Harvest Event
• Nucleus
• Sawmill
• Viaduct

Payload

pl_goldrush

“

Onward, great bomb-cart! Click to listen — The Heavy

”

In Payload maps, BLU team must escort a cart full of explosives through a series of checkpoints and into RED's base within a certain amount of time. BLU team members move or 'push' the cart by standing next to it - the more people near the cart, the faster it moves. Any RED team member standing near the cart will stop it from venturing further. If no BLU player pushes the cart for 30 seconds, the cart will start moving backwards slowly until it reaches a checkpoint/BLU spawn or a BLU player stands next to it again. The cart functions as a level 1 Dispenser for BLU team (and disguised enemy Spies) to restore health and ammunition to those pushing it. Ammunition is not restored to players standing at the front of the cart.

Some maps have one-way routes from the BLU side, sometimes closed off until a specific point is taken.

Some maps such as Gold Rush, Hoodoo and Thunder Mountain are split in three stages that BLU must advance through and win. Stages one and two have 2 checkpoints and stage three has 3 checkpoints (2 for Hoodoo), including the final point. Badwater Basin and Upward maps have a single round with 4 checkpoints, including the final point. Advancing the cart to the next checkpoint gives the BLU team extra time. Advancing it to the final point moves the map onto the next stage. When the cart reaches the final point on the final stage, the Payload explodes and destroys RED base, symbolizing BLU's victory.

Payload maps:

• Badwater Basin
• Gold Rush
• Hoodoo
• Thunder Mountain
• Upward

Payload Race

plr_pipeline

Unlike standard Payload maps, Payload race maps feature both RED and BLU issued with a cart, thus teams are not defined to a attacking or defending role. To win, each team must simultaneously push their cart through enemy territory to reach the final point while preventing the enemy team from doing the same. As with Payload mode, team members push the cart by standing next to it, with more members increasing the speed of the cart and opposing team members halting it.

Unlike Payload mode, the cart will not move backwards after any duration of time and there is no time limit; the map will only end when one team successfully pushes their cart to the finish point. Each cart works as a Dispenser for their team (and disguised enemy Spies), restoring health and ammunition to those pushing the cart. Parts of the track may feature slopes, on which the cart will quickly roll back down to the bottom unless it is being constantly pushed.

Payload race maps may or may not be split into multiple rounds.

Payload race maps:

• Hightower
• Pipeline

Territorial Control

tc_hydro

“

We have you surrounded, at least from this side! Click to listen — The Soldier

”

In Territorial control the goal is to take over the entire map by capturing 'territories'. Each game is randomly selected from the six available layouts in a 'point against point' game where both teams must capture the opposite point while defending their own. After a team successfully captures the opposite point, the next round takes place in a different area of the map which is also randomly selected. After a team captures all four territories, that team must capture the enemy team's base. If the base point is captured (in Hydro, the Radar Dish for RED, The Power plant for BLU), the attacking team wins the game. When the next round begins, territories are reset and a new random layout is selected.

In any game in TC (except in RED/BLU base games), if a point is not captured within the eight minute time clock, the game then will go into Sudden Death mode.

Territorial control maps:

• Hydro

Training Mode

“

I make it look easy. Click to listen — The Sniper

”

Training maps are intended to tach the basics of gameplay and advanced techniques. Training mode shipped with the Mac Update, which introduced two official training maps.

• Dustbowl
• Target

Brandon Reinhart indirectly announced on the Official TF2 Blog on July 28, 2010 that Corey Peters is currently working on another official training map, though details are as of yet unknown for which class or what gameplay mechanics it focuses on.

Other modes

Highlander

“

There can be only one! Click to listen — The Demoman

”

Highlander mode restricts the number of players of each team to 9 players and only allows one player per class on each team. It is applicable to any game mode and can be activated by entering mp_highlander 1 into the console.

The idea behind Highlander mode existed previous to its official inclusion in the game, and has been implemented in server mods. Highlander mode was officially added in the February 3, 2010 Patch.

Dueling Mini-Game

A mini-game released in the Mann-Conomy Update. A consumable item is required to activate it. Limited to 5 uses. The Dueling Mini Game can be put into the action slot on any character to show players viewing your current weapons.

Unreleased

A new Gamemode was announced in the reveal of the Polycount Pack winners, which was stated to be released along side the Packs, unfortunately this wasn't possible, however Robin Walker has stated in an interview that this gamemode is to be released with the next major content patch, along with the new surprise Polycount pack. The two will somehow be linked.

See also

• List of maps
• Custom maps
• Map name prefixes
• Control point timing
• Skybox list