Community Borneo strategy

Borneo
Basic Information
Map type:	Payload
File name:	pl_borneo
Released:	July 2, 2015 Patch (Gun Mettle Update)
Developer(s):	Sean "Heyo" Cutino Matt "vhalin" Leahy
Map Info
Environment:	Jungle
Setting:	Daylight, overcast
Map Items
Health Kits:	×10  •   ×9  •    ×1
Ammo Boxes:	×6   •    ×9   •    ×4
Map Overview

This article is about Community Borneo strategy.

Note: It is recommended to read the main Borneo article first to become familiar with the names of key map locations used in this article.

General strategy

Offense

• RED team Engineers will often immediately set up in the maintenance building. This often does not become problematic until BLU team attempts to push the cart towards the first checkpoint. Often there will be a Sentry Gun nest set up preventing the cart from being moved too far beyond the catwalk.
  • It is crucial for BLU to have at least one Spy. This will be of great importance to disabling the Sentry and allowing a Heavy, Soldier, or Demoman to eliminate the nest.
• It is imperative for BLU to have at least one Medic on their team. The ÜberCharge is often the driving force behind a push in this map. While the charged pair is clearing ground, the rest of the combo should work to push the cart forward.
  • When pushing with an ÜberCharge, be sure to prioritize targets correctly.
  • The first priority while charged should almost always be buildings, followed by the enemy Medic, with the third being the most powerful classes on the enemy team.
• RED will oftentimes have many offensive classes set up in the area immediately outside of the BLU base. It is wise for BLU to counter this with splash damage from Soldiers and Demomen so that the rest of the team can leave the base more easily.

Defense

• As BLU team will often lead out of their base with an ÜberCharged Heavy, Soldier, or Demoman, it is often incredibly helpful for RED to have a Pyro on their team to use the compression blast in an attempt to more easily nullify the push.
• As the enemy team begins to make a push, it is essential to protect the Engineers as well as their buildings. While many forget about them in times of distress, Teleporters and Dispensers are extremely important to defend.
  • Teleporters provide mobility assistance to fallen classes, especially those which are slower and must return to battle quickly.
  • Dispensers provide both health and ammo to nearby team members. Keeping them functional and protected is extremely important to classes which expend ammunition quickly or frequently run low on health such as the Heavy.
• Punish BLU whenever they push too far forward.
  • Gradually, their team will begin to scatter if they push too far beyond their limits. This is a perfect time for pick classes such as Spies or Snipers to eliminate isolated enemies.

Class-specific strategy

 Scout

• Use the corridors and corners that are scattered throughout the map in order to flank and more easily deal damage in close-quarters combat.
• When the area has been cleared of immediate threats, stay close to the cart.
  • You not only push the cart twice as fast as any other class, the health and ammo regeneration will also help you get back to flanking once pushing becomes impossible.
• Pay close attention to eliminating Demomen. If they are left without anyone to counter them, they can become a truly unstoppable force.
  • Using the quick speed and the double jump ability of the Scout, it is relatively easy to counter a Demoman. If you circle around them by strafing and continue to shoot them with your Scattergun, there is often not much that can be done for them. However, pay close attention to their stickies, which deal splash damage that may hurt you indirectly.

 Soldier

• Rocket jumping provides great mobility through the elevated catwalks around the map.
  • Gunboats should be equipped to reduce damage taken from these jumps.
• Using the Original is incredibly useful when shooting down buildings around tight corners that are simply out of reach of the Rocket Launcher.
  • The centered viewmodel of this weapon allows it to be used to more effectively shoot around walls whether they're to the right or the left of the player. This small advantage can be huge in the right situation as it can allow the Soldier to fire off rockets before the Sentry Gun has ample time to return fire.

 Pyro

• Spycheck frequently and effectively. Stay around classes most vulnerable to them.
  • Once the team begins to push once more, stay closer to the Medic and their healing target. As they're especially valuable to a Spy, you must be especially vigilant in checking for them.
  • Remember to stay back and support the Snipers and Engineers. They are especially weak to Spies.
    • Protect the buildings of the Engineer by keeping Spies away. Consider equipping the Homewrecker if they begin to consistently breach defenses and begin sapping.
• The three stories of catwalks within the giant garage provide a great ability for the Pyro to use the Backburner to take enemies by surprise.
  • A highly effective strategy is to use the elevation that the catwalks provide in order to get behind enemies before they can see you.
    • In order to save time at the cost of health, the Detonator can be used to jump higher. This can be done by jumping while crouched and shooting towards the ground.
  • The corners provided by the catwalks and walls are incredibly useful when flanking. Once an enemy moves past a quick corner, they will often run right by. This gives you perfect opportunity to strike from behind.
    • If the enemy does happen to turn around in time, you will oftentimes still have the advantage of seeing them first and therefore being better prepared to fight them.
• While defending, it is crucial to use your compression blast to reflect incoming projectiles from your team. This will often render Demomen and Soldiers completely useless.

 Demoman

• Demomen are useful on both teams. On team RED, the cart can be surrounded with Stickybombs which will force the enemy to either spend time removing them all or to die quickly. On BLU, Demomen can aid a push with relative ease due to their high damage output and building denial capabilities.
• Splash damage is extremely important on both teams. Team RED needs the damage to attack multiple players on the cart at once while team BLU needs it in order to more easily destroy the nests of Engineers as well as groups of players.
• Sticky jumping provides great mobility through the large open spaces of this map in light of the low speed of the Demoman. Sticky jumping allows the Demoman to traverse immense ground distances as well as allowing him to reach great vertical heights.
  • This can be useful in both the open stretches of the map where a long jump can make up for slow speed as well as the parts of the map that are too high to be reached with a standard jump.
  • This can also be useful while defending or attacking as it can allow you to get behind the enemy quickly in order to pick off unsuspecting classes.
• With the catwalks and low ceilings, stickies can easily be hidden from view and detonated upon unsuspecting victims.
  • A similar strategy is to place them in the many various corners which still allows them to remain out of sight.

 Heavy

• While staying close to the cart is both extremely beneficial to the team as well as to yourself, it is often more successful to stay ahead of the cart to provide a clearance.
  • Pushing a bit beyond the class allows you to more easily be able to destroy Sentry Guns or eliminate stronger classes. By doing this, you're giving the team a much greater ability to push the cart.
  • Staying relatively close to the cart, however, is very often beneficial. If health or ammo becomes scarce, running back to the cart to refill should always be an option.
• Being the slowest class in the game, it is incredibly important to be extremely wary of Spies at all times.
  • Being the slowest class by default, the Heavy is already extremely vulnerable to quicker classes. It is crucial to only rev up the Minigun when absolutely necessary. While spinning, all miniguns allow the heavy to move only at 37% of the speed of a normal player while the Brass Beast forces the player to move at a sluggish 15% speed.
  • An occasional glance over the shoulder is often all it takes. If anybody is acting suspicious, Spy check them.
• The catwalks of the giant garage provide great access to ambush enemies by using the Tomislav.
• Because he fires from his eyes, the Heavy can fire down at enemies while only allowing a small portion of himself to remain visible. This can be abused with relative ease in Borneo due to the many stairwells and obstructions throughout the map.

 Engineer

• There are many good places to build a Sentry on this map. There are many places with flat ground and good coverage to place a conventional Sentry Gun as well as many unpredictable places to put one such as an elevated catwalk, a smaller building, or around corners.
• Because of the large size of this map, an upgraded Teleporter is often very useful. This device allows teammates to more quickly return to battle after respawning.
• It is important to be very careful when watching your back. This map is incredibly open and Spies are often very prevalent due to the power possessed by Engineers.

 Medic

• The Crusader's Crossbow is often a key weapon for the Medic to use in Borneo. The vast open fields and immensely spacious buildings allow the Medic to utilize its long range capabilities.
• Checkpoint A has quite a height difference between attacking and defending teams. If you are attacking, watch out for any counter-attacks from above. Don't overextend and use the Crusader's Crossbow to heal teammates out of your reach. If you are defending, take occasional peaks over the hill to overview the battlefield, but generally stay behind cover.
• Kritzkrieg is a powerful tool on checkpoint B. There, the wide open area leaves you little place to hide from such an attack. This fact is particularly well exploited by the Heavy, who's Minigun can mow down anyone in sight.
• Medics should watch themselves while inside the Giant Garage, as hostile threats, such as Scouts, Spies or a Kritzkrieg charge can unexpectedly drop down from one of the upper floors.
• The stock ÜberCharge is mandatory for capturing the final point. If you can, try and take it through either the right or left flanks, but never straight down the center. That way you won't end up in a height disadvantage compared to Red.

 Sniper

• There is a very clear sight line to the BLU base. It is nearby a rock in case cover should be needed, however, it should be noted that Spies can flank and maneuver around these barriers with relative ease.
  • Beware opposing Snipers. They, too, share this sight line with you.
  • With little natural Spy protection provided in this map, the Razorback may prove to be an item of choice.
• Due to high amounts of explosive splash damage, the Darwin's Danger Shield is often outclassed by the Razorback or the Cozy Camper for protection.

 Spy

• The numerous catwalks, elevated platforms, and winding stairs of this map provide great opportunity to get behind enemies without them noticing you.
• With the high amount of potential flank routes and the sheer size of this map, it is often easy to get behind enemy lines without being spotted.
  • This is especially useful on BLU team. The RED Engineers often have their backs exposed due to the open nature of this map. As such, it is easy to stab them and follow up by sapping their buildings.
• You can use the occasional bush as a safe decloaking spot. Especially if you are operating around the Blu spawn, where many can be found.
• The map is large and ammo packs scarce. Use the L'Etranger if you find yourself running out of Cloak while navigating the flanks.
• Dropstabing (i.e dropping from a high spot and landing on your target's head) is a very effective method inside the Large Garage, which has multiple floors and elevated platforms.