Community Nucleus (Arena) strategy

Nucleus (Arena) strategy.

Community Nucleus (Arena) strategy
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Basic Information
Developer(s):	Unknown
Map Info
Environment:	Spytech
Setting:	Indoor
Hazards:	Pit
Map Photos

General

• Players moving through open areas of Nucleus should be cautious of enemy Snipers, who can kill higher priority targets very early into the round as players leave the spawn. Going into the doorway nearest the spawn is a good way to avoid them.
• The circular nature of the map allows for easy access to the opposing team's spawn entrance, which in turn opens for ambushing.
• The roof on one side of the map has an opening on the top, giving Soldiers and Demomen an opportunity to do much damage without being noticed.
• The Medkit on this map is extremely valuable as it will heal half of your maximum life. This can mean the difference between life and death.
  • The Medkit can also be a good trapping position as most enemies going for it will have low health and will be easy to finish off before they reach it.

 Scout

• Scouts with the Force-A-Nature and Pyros with either the Flamethrower, Degreaser or the Backburner equipped can use their weapons to knock their opponents into the center pit and to an instant death. This also works for Soldiers and Demomen, although this is more difficult.
• There are many fast routes in the map that are ideal for Scouts. Jumping over the chasm can provide a quick escape from an enemy. The medium health pickup is only two jumps away from almost any point on the map, seeing as it's placed low and in the middle.
• At the start of a round, Scouts are able to jump on the roof of a low building to the right or to the left as they leave spawn depending on which team you are on (BLU = Left, RED = Right). This allows access to a fast route to the other team's spawn area. Be advised that Soldiers and Demomen may favour this route as well.
• It is possible, albeit highly difficult, to escape from the lower platform of the map to the surrounding ledges as a Scout by double jumping and crouching as you approach the edge of the ledges. This technique is made much simpler through use the Force-A-Nature or the Atomizer though it can be performed by any Scout, regardless of loadout.

 Soldier

• Take advantage of the Rocket Launcher's and the Black Box's large splash damage to juggle enemies into the pit.
• The Black Box gives you 15 hitpoints everytime you hit someone, regardless of how much damage you actually do, this could prove to be invaluable on a team without Engineers or Medics.
• The Direct Hit is an interesting option on this map, it allows you to possibly injure an enemy Sniper at the start of the round.
  • The Direct Hit also allows for useful application of the Gunboats, allowing you to climb to the roofs effectively giving you a much larger field of view at little cost to health.
• As with all Arena maps, banners, outside the Battalions Backup, are risky as they are very difficult to build rage with.
  • The Battalions Backup is a very risky option, seeing that you need to have a Medic, a Dispenser, or a reliable source of healing in order to build rage safely.
• The Equalizer can provide a quick escape or a strong last stand at low health.
• On a team with no Medics, the Half-Zatoichi can be used as a means to replenish your health, but keep in mind, once drawn you are Honorbound and have to kill an enemy in order to use any other weapon.
• The Reserve Shooter can be a good choice on this map as many people jump to reach the Medkit, this can be exploited by quickly pulling out the Reserve Shooter to finish off injured enemies with the Mini Crits.

 Pyro

• As a Pyro, try to stay around the Health Pack on the bottom walkway and compression blast any enemies going for it into the pit. The lack of health on the map makes this an effective strategy.
• As this map is large, the Flare Gun may be more effective than the Shotgun to ignite enemies on the other side of the map.
  • The Flare Gun can be used at the start of the round to ignite enemies leaving spawn on the other side of the map.

 Demoman

• Remember that as a Demoman, your Stickybombs will not stick to the extending walkways leading up to the control point, and will instead bounce off.
• Often people use the Demoman to sticky jump across the map at the beginning in an attempt to get first blood by catching the enemy team off guard. This can done most effectively with the Ullapool Caber.
• Sticky Traps are useful when placed on the Medkit, this can be good when finishing off injured enemies.

 Heavy

• This map allows for successful Heavy ambushes, as the narrow catwalks leading to the center Control Point give enemies no space to avoid the Minigun.
• Natascha is a great choice for Heavies on this map, the speed reduction allows for you to kill, or severely injure many players either trying to get health, or trying to capture the point.
• The Sandvich and the Buffalo Steak Sandvich can be dropped by pressing alt-fire as a medium health pack to be given to your teammates on a team without Medics or used as quick healing to protect yourself from Spies or incoming threats.
• The Hibernating Bear set can be used to protect yourself from the players who get the First Blood crit buff.
• The Fists of Steel can allow you to make a safe retreat.
• The Brass Beast is ill advised on this map because the slow movement speed while revved and the lengthy rev up time makes you an easy target for Spies, Snipers using the Huntsman, and enemy Heavies using the Minigun.

 Engineer

• As the Engineer, you can deploy a Sentry Gun near the medkit, which finishes off any enemies with low health trying to get to the medkit.
• Sentry Guns are extremely effective when used in the Flank Building.
• An effective tactic is to build a Mini-Sentry on a roof. To do this, build a Sentry near the roof in the beginning of a round, then jump on it and do a Wrangler jump to the roof. Build a Dispenser and a Sentry there. It is better to take some ammo after building a Sentry near the roof, so that you can build a Dispenser there immediately.
  • Don't forget to watch for Scouts and Rocket Jumping Soldiers. They can prevent you from staying there.

 Medic

• Medics are invaluable on this map due to the lack of health pickups.

 Sniper

• At the start of a round, run out of Spawn and go to the right, you should have a good position to headshot any enemies running for the stairs.
• A good Sniper position is on the second floor of the access building, as there is good view of the map.
• The Croc-O-Style set bonus is a great way to prevent enemy Snipers from taking you out of the game early, as Nucleus is a very Sniper friendly map.

 Spy

• Though overall a good map for Spies, the circular nature of the map disrupts line of sight, meaning you have little warning before enemies are suddenly upon you.
• It's effective to camp at the side stairs in the Access Building as Spies may pull off a Stair Stab on unsuspecting enemies.

See also

• Community Nucleus (King of the Hill) strategy