Sawmill

Sawmill
Basic Information
Developer(s):	Unknown
Map Photos

Sawmill has multiple variations, including King of the Hill and Capture the Flag

“

Set in a stormy mountain sawmill, this arena map has its cap point in a large structure atop a hill in the center of the map; beneath which lies a hidden underground spytech base; and above which, pouring down on everything we just mentioned, is rain—the first weather effect to appear in a TF map. If that previous sentence wasn’t long enough for you, replace the period with a comma and add this next part: players must ALSO watch out for the two deadly saw blades near the cap, which were left on when the previous occupants abandoned it for a less deadly, hilly, rain-swamped sawmill not built on a spybase. — The Sniper vs Spy Update (Day 2)

”

Sawmill, or arena_sawmill, was introduced as an official TF2 Arena mode map in The Sniper vs Spy Update.

Your goal is to eliminate the entire enemy team or capture the central capture point when it becomes available.

Locations

Waterfall

Located on the right hand side of RED's spawn area, a titular waterfall flows down from a gray cliff into the centre of a large pool. Logs form a floating path across the pool, although the water itself is not too deep. A mini health kit can be found in the centre of the logs. There is also an obvious 'hidden' path that goes behind the waterfall that can be used in case of watchful enemy eyes.

Log Shed

On the left hand side of Blu's spawn area is a wide shed, full of timber, standing over a flooded ditch. Another mini health kit sits on a pile of planks within the shed.

Centre Shed

The centre of the map is dominated by a large shed that houses multiple entries for either team. Within the centre of the shed is the map's control point. Large circular saws move linear to the control point, generate large amounts of noise, and serve as clear obstacles to players as they attempt to capture the point. Logs are suspended above the area.

Strategy

• Each team has access to ramps leading to the rooftops surrounding the centre shed. These can be used to identify enemies coming through the outerlining areas towards the spawn. Additionally,the rooftops allow entry into the centre shed. The stairs near these entrances are good for picking off enemies down on the main point.
• The saw blades provide an opportunity to those classes with knockback abilities such as the Pyro and Scout. Knocking opponents into the saw blades can be a useful strategy, whether attacking or defending the capture point, or simply for combat within the centre shed.
• Unlike many Arena maps, water is abundant in Sawmill. Combined with easy access to health pickups, the map encourages tactical retreats in the face of unlikely odds. Pyros would be well advised to chase and prevent alight enemies from reaching the water sources.

Trivia

• Thunder occurs every 11 or 12 seconds.
• Just like in Lumberyard, there is a spytech missile silo directly under the capture point. This is more prominent in the CTF version of the map.
• Sawmill was first seen in the background of the Huntsman update page. [1]
• During Humiliation, many players like to intentionally throw themselves upon the saw blades. With possible developer hindsight, Valve added in basketball hoops over entrances adjacent to the blades in order to encourage this.