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 Some or all info may be outdated.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 before it is captured. This term only applies to 5cp maps such as Granary or Badlands, but can sometimes be used Turbine when talking about the initial fight for control of the central area, but in this article will refer to the mid fight for 5cp maps. The mid fight is considered as one of the most important fights of the round as it can determine who will win or lose the round depending on each teams offensive and defensive capabilities and match ups. All sections of this article will be for the standard popular mid fight strategies, not for unique team strategies.

General

Regardless of map, a very important factor in determining a mid fight victory is the teams ability to arrive at mid as early as possible, mainly 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.

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.
• 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 teams defense he should take the advantage and jump into the enemy. In some situations the roamer may jump immediately into the enemy at the start of a mid fight in order to create a crack in their defense.
• 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.
• 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. The Demoman should spam the enemy's entrance or choke point to keep pressure and go on the offensive when they begin to retreat. The Demoman could also help the other team's Scouts at the beginning of the mid fight before other the other classes arrive.
• Medic: The medic should position themselves in a way to avoid as much spam as possible or close to the nearest health pack. The medic should also stay near the pocket so he may have protection from scouts and offensive roaming soldiers. The Demoman will be the Medic's highest heal priority during the mid fight.

Granary

Granary mid point.

For mid specific terms see here.

Rollout

• 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.
• 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. Example.
• 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.
• Medic: The medic's path is very straight forward. He should always follow the Pocket.

Mid fight

• 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 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 Scouts have many options during the mid fight.
  • The basic strategy is to the keep the enemies scouts in check.
  • Sometimes if the enemy's defense is weak they can go straight to crates from the catwalk and take down the roam soldier and gain immediate control of the crates.
  • A scout can sometimes rush the medic for a kill, doing so will crate openings in the enemy's defense for the Demoman or roam soldier to take advantage of.
• 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 that is a heavily focused area. 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 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 is a spot where the Roamer can easily take care of scouts.

Badlands

Badlands mid point.

For mid specific terms see here.

Rollout

• 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.
• 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.
• Scout: The path to mid for Scouts is straightforward, using the same path as the Demoman/Soldier's use. 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 damage.
• Pyro(situational but used often): A Pyro can either replace a Scout or a Soldier. He will follow the same path as everyone else, except should take the valley to mid for a sneak attack.

Mid fight

• Keeping of control of the enemy scouts are very important for this mid fight, especially to defend the Demoman. Unlike Granary, the Soldiers have less power here because height advantage isn't as great, so Scouts will have an easier time being offensive during this mid fight.
• 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 ladder can greatly slow the other team from getting out of their house and will are usually greatly pressured by spam in that position. Given an even fight the Demoman should focus on lobbing pills around the enemy's crate as this is where the Medic will usually position himself and because of the narrow area, explosive damage is especially deadly. If the Demoman is slow to mid a good strategy would be to stay in the house and spam pills from the window at where ever the medic is positioned. 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 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. 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 star 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.
• The Medic should position himself near the crates farther back towards the choke point so he can make an easy escape if needed. The Demoman is the Medic's main heal priority.
• If a Pyro is used he should always go the valley route and either attack from closet or from under the bridge when the time for a surprise attack is optimal. Doing so can easily fluster the enemy and can create many openings for a full offensive.

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

• 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.
• Soldier: Both soldiers follow the same path and utilizes the same jumps that the Demoman uses to get to mid.
• Scout: The Scouts will also follow the same path.
• 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 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.
• 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 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.