Gravel Pit (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 Some or all info may be outdated.

Gravel Pit is one of the original released maps, and is virtually the only Attack/Defend map played competitively. This maps starts with points A and B both open for capture, leaving C locked until both previous points have been captured. BLU's base is located between A and B while RED's base is located behind C.

The objective of Gravelpit is for either the attackers to gain control of all three points, or the defenders to defend all three points. Gravelpit uses the ingame stopwatch to time how fast the attackers take control of capture points. Once time runs out or the attackers take control of C teams switch sides, the now current attackers must capture the same amount of points in a shorter time.

Place Names

Point A

• Spawn Door: Typically most teams will enter out of A's spawn door first; most of the time a defending Demoman will hide stickies on or around the door. Sometimes the defending team will have a sniper watch the door to get a quick pick on anyone running out, or the defending medic can use this jump to get into the spawn corridor and use the Kritzkrieg on their Demoman to have him launch stickies as soon as the door opens, which can be deadly to any team assaulting A first.
• A/B Connector: This is the tunnel connecting points A and B, attackers will generally use this to escape from B from a failed push, or sometimes push to B from here if the pressure from attacking from C is too much.

Point B

• Roof: This is the roof of the building contain the point. A soldier usually stays on the roof as it serves a vantage point for almost every entrance, and can pressure attacking enemies using height advantage. On the center of the roof is an opening which drops down to the point; useful for defenders stopping anyone that is capturing.
• Catwalk: This is the ramp that connects the two entrances from C. Usually after capturing A, attackers will attack from C as the catwalk gives them height advantage and easier access to the roof.
• Shadow side: This is the side of the point that is opposite of the B tunnel entrances, and is covered in a shadow, hence the name. Defenders will usually have an engineer build a nest on shadow side, as it gives much greater control for the defending side of B.
• Long B: The longer tunnel out from the attacker's spawn. For the attacking team this is where they will usually build ÜberCharges before making a push.
• Short B: The short tunnel, right out of spawn for the attackers, next to the A/B connector.

Point C

• Tower: The tower in the middle, containing C at the very top. Once pushed back, defending teams will sometimes have a Heavy on the point at all times as it can easily stop any Soldier or Demoman from jumping up to the point.
• Short A: The entrance directly in front of the point, a spot attacking snipers frequently use as it gives a vantage point for a large amount of the area. One of the two usual spots that attacking teams will ÜberCharge out from.
• Long A: The tunnel from A that is next to the point. This is the other entrance that attacking teams will usually ÜberCharge out from, as soldiers and Demomen can more easily jump to the point from this entrance.
• Ramp: Can be referred to as right or left depending whether you are attacking or defending. The defending team will sometimes have a sentry on one of the ramps as the spot covers point and the area around it. Sentries near the point are a great way to stop scouts from scaling and any rocket jumping soldiers, but can easily be taken out.

Tactics

Since Gravelpit is an attack/defend map, different from the usual 5CP, the style of play is much different and can employ many different strategies and class layouts.

Defending

For defending, the layout can vary quite a bit. Many teams will use an engineer, and sometimes replace a scout or soldier with sniper or heavy.

Defending A

• Teams will very rarely attempt to fully defend A, usually leaving a Demoman to sticky up the spawn doors, and a scout for backup, just to buy some time and letting the attackers take A.
• The Demoman will often hide stickies around the spawn doors and in the corridors to get some picks and quickly retreat after wards.
• Some teams will have their medic join the Demoman at A, utilizing the Kritzkrieg they can easily destroy a team attacking A first.
• Right under the A/B connector, a sniper can be utilized to get a pick on a team rushing A, and quickly retreat back to B.

Defending B

• A soldier should always be on the roof watching all the entrances at all times, especially after the attackers capture A, to see which point they are attacking from, when the soldier is low on health the pocket should be ready to quickly switch to keep someone on the roof for as long as possible.
• Soldiers on the roof should keep pressure on entrances that attackers are attacking from, stop other soldiers or the Demoman from taking control of the roof, and pick off and stragglers.
• If the defenders are using an engineer, the sentry should always be built on the shadow side, covering the C entrance, and most of the catwalk. A dispenser should be built near the mini-health kit to keep the sentry up.
• If being attack from C, and if your team has a sentry, your team should ÜberCharge first into the enemy to pop their ÜberCharge so that they don't have one to attack the sentry with.
• In case of a sniper, the medic should stay behind the main building on the shadow side at all times.
• The Demoman should spam which ever B tunnel that the attackers are attempting to push from, and lay traps around the catwalk entrances if they're attacking from C.
• Snipers should watch the tunnels before any pushes, and during pushes should retreat to the catwalk as it serves as a vantage point for both sides of B.

Defending C

• For teams using engineers, sentries should be built on one of the ramps to stop any scouts from climbing the tower, and soldiers or the Demoman from jumping up. A dispenser should also be built on the point to keep the soldier, or if the team is using a heavy, supplied with ammo without having to retreat to spawn.
• A soldier should be on the point at all times, and use the same tactics for defending this point as it would defending B roof.
• The Demoman should spam which ever corridor the attackers are trying to push from, and lay traps at the entrances.
• A scout can sometimes sneak to B and through the A/B connector and surprise attack the other team while they are building uber. This attack would be best utilized while the attackers are under heavy spam.
• If a heavy is being used, he should stay on the point at all times. Heavies serve as a great defense against attackers attempting to jump up to the point, and can wreak havoc on scouts wandering around the entrances.
• If the attackers are using a sniper, the medic should position himself behind the soldier on the point, just below the top ramp, as it blocks the view from both A entrances.

Attacking

Attacking A

• Because there will most likely be a Demoman setting stickies up at the A entrance, a useful tactic is to have a scout use the Bonk Energy Drink to trick the Demoman or run past his stickies. Another tactic is to have a spy disguise as one of your team, preferably a high value target such as medic or Demoman, and use the Dead Ringer to have the enemy Demoman explode his stickies and trick him into believe he got a pick without actually killing anyone.
• If it can be heard that a Kritzkrieg medic is with the Demoman, the attackers should hang very far back from the entrance or just attack B.
• Scouts should always be the first on out to check spots for stickies or scan the area for snipers.
• The Demoman and soldiers should shoot at the spawn door and through out the corridor to displace any sticky traps.

Attacking B

• After capturing A, the best strategy would to attack from C, as to get the catwalk height advantage while attacking B. Sometimes the enemy Demoman will have traps laid at any of the C entrances or in the A tunnels. Sometimes there could also possibly be a sniper waiting at spawn to pick off anyone coming from A.
• Before a push, Scouts should use Bonk! Atomic Punch before entering B to find the location of any sentry.
• During a push, the Demoman should be ÜberCharged to take out the sentry, one of the soldiers should take the roof to gain height advantage.
• If your team has failed a C push, the remainder of the pushes should be carried out from the B tunnels, primarily in Long B where ÜberCharge should be built, from here the same procedure should be followed out in attacking B as from C.
• Because B takes a long time to capture, the scouts should be left to take the point while the rest of the classes defend the entrances from counter pushes.

Attacking C

• On a successful B capture, C should be pushed from the B side. ÜberCharges should be shared with the soldiers to let them jump up to the tower, and the Demoman should climb with the medic or take out any sentries. Scouts should quickly infiltrate after wards.
• For pushes from A, ÜberCharge should be built by the A entrance, while ÜberCharge is being built it is viable for the roam or Demoman to suicide into the enemy medic in an attempt to pop his ÜberCharge.
• Snipers should be utilized from the short A entrance, and any ready push should be made on a pick.
• During a push from either A entrance the same strategy used as pushing from B should be used with pushing from A.
• Other viable tactics include having the medic use Kritzkrieg, and ÜberCharging the demoman, as stickies can easily reach any part of the tower where the soldier and medic usually hang out.
• Sometimes a Pyro can also be utilized, during a push if he makes it to the stop of the tower, and the Compression Blast can be used to knock anything off, and once up there alone it is very difficult to knock the Pyro off.