Community Sawmill (Capture the Flag) strategy

Sawmill (Capture the Flag)
Basic Information
Map type:	Capture the Flag
File name:	ctf_sawmill
Released:	August 13, 2009 Patch (Classless Update)
Variants:	Arena, King of the Hill, SnowVille and Soul-Mill
Developer(s):	Valve
Map Info
Environment:	Alpine
Setting:	Cloudy, raining
Hazards:	Saw Blades
Deep Water:	Yes
Map Items
Health Kits:	×5  •   ×4
Ammo Boxes:	×2   •    ×4
Map Photos
Map Overview

This article is about strategy specific to the Capture the Flag variant of Sawmill. For strategy specific to the Arena variant, see Community Sawmill (Arena) strategy. For strategy specific to the King of the Hill variant, see Community Sawmill (King of the Hill) strategy.

This article is about Community Sawmill (Capture the Flag) strategy.

Note: It is recommended to read the main Sawmill (Capture the Flag) article first to become familiar with the names of key map locations used in this article.

General strategy

• Use the rooftops to give yourself the high ground advantage. The tops of the stairs in the central area are also good for picking off enemies down on the main point.

• Use the wall that disconnects the teams to your advantage, try to climb over or on it to get a jump on the enemy.

• Remember, the saw blades will instantly kill any player who wanders into their paths. Take advantage of knockback from the Force-A-Nature, compression blast, and explosive projectiles to knock enemies into the saw blades whenever possible.

• The waterfall on Blu side is a great place to hide because you can partly go inside the bottom of it, and it can make you hard to see on the outside.

Class-specific strategy

 Scout

• Scouts work wonders here. Use the rooftops and you will be in the enemy's Intelligence room in a blast.
• Double-jumping allows you to flank the enemy. A few bursts of the Scattergun can take down most classes quickly, if they're caught by surprise.
• When using the Force-A-Nature, try not to accidentally smash yourself into the saw blades.
• Mad Milk's health benefit is useful when there are fewer health packs. Do not let your enemies get to the water to wash it off.
• Bonk! Atomic Punch does NOT protect against saw blades. Don't run into them!
• The Sandman is relatively useful in this stage: accurate pitching over the rooftops may stun a dangerous foe.
• The Boston Basher, Three-Rune Blade, or The Flying Guillotine are very useful here. The bleeding can only be stopped by health packs, which are far and few. Just be careful not to hurt yourself in the process.
• The Candy Cane helps you get more health on this stage, which is relatively useful.
• The Fan O'War can be useful for teamwork here. Just never go alone or you risk a quick melee death.
• Although a risky maneuver, you can shove enemies into the saws with the Shortstop. Do be careful however, as you could miss or run into the saws yourself!

 Soldier

• Rocket jumping works well for experienced players. Jumping past the boarded-off area will allow you to flank the enemy and smash their defenses.
• If you encounter a Pyro, try to head for the waterfall area. Underwater combat is much easier when the Pyro's primary weapon is unusable.
• The Black Box is recommended here because there are fewer health pickups.
• The Buff Banner, Battalion's Backup, and the Concheror will work well here. The small map works to your advantage, allowing you to buff more players at once.
• Gunboats will massively help rocket-jumpers so they can ambush the enemy, with enough health to fight more effectively.
• The Half-Zatoichi is massively helpful here, making up for the small amount of health pickups easily. Be aware that players will try to keep a distance from you.

 Pyro

• If you want to grab the intelligence, it may be a good idea to use the Powerjack. A 15% increase in movement speed will help you move across the map; however, don't forget that you're 20% more vulnerable to damage.
• You can use your airblast to push enemies into the saw blades.
• Pyros can utilize the corner sheds as hiding spots while waiting for an enemy to ambush.
• Pyros can Spy check for friendly Engineers that are building in small, enclosed areas. This would be in places such as the Intelligence room.
• Pyros armed with the Neon Annihilator can defend friendly Buildings in the Intelligence room, using the flooded floor to get crits against Spies (instantly killing them if they are not overhealed or using a Dead Ringer) as well as destroying any Sappers in two hits.

 Demoman

• Demomen with the Scottish Resistance can place stickies on the Intelligence while continuing to defend other spots. This is incredibly useful for a steady defense on the Intelligence while retaining chokepoint defense.

• Demomen can sticky jump above that boarded off area along with soldiers. This is very useful for successfully capturing the intelligence quickly.

 Heavy

• Heavies should always look for Engineer bases to destroy so Scouts can get into the Intelligence room and capture it. This would preferably be done with a Medic that has a full Ubercharge if there is a Sentry Gun in a enclosed area such as in the Intelligence room. If its out in the open, fire at the Sentry from the outside of its range.

• The Huo-Long Heater is a good weapon to use for this map since you can Spy check easily with this weapon, you can find ammo packs that are around the map to refill your ammo. This can also be used to burn nearby enemy players.

• When playing Heavy on this map, you should stay near team members in case of a Spy or a large group of enemy players. Keeping a watch out for players attacking from the roof tops or behind you will increase your team's chance of staying alive.

 Engineer

• The stairways from either spawn to the control point make for excellent Sentry Gun spots, they are especially useful for defending the Intelligence room and being able to fire at other would-be attackers if you have the Wrangler equipped.

• Another strategy is to just set up in the Intelligence room, as this strategy defends against sneaky Scouts who try to steal the intelligence.

• BLU Engineers have the slight advantage of using the top shelf of the log shed to place a Sentry Gun and Dispenser. This can be easily achieved by approaching the edge of the door frame leading to the central area, running along a small lip on the outer wall towards the log shed and crouch jumping onto the ledge. This spot gives a strong defense/offense against most classes that happen to pass through and has an excellent element of surprise. Your team can receive ammo and metal from your Dispenser by jumping on the lower ledge directly below it.

• Remember that placing a Sentry anywhere other than in the basement itself may allow enemy players to slip by and nab the Intelligence while you're away. Make sure that your team is covering every other route before you set up a Sentry Gun elsewhere!

 Medic

• The Medic's health regeneration and the two large pools of water mean that fire is largely of no threat to you. If you find yourself fighting an enemy Pyro near the water, don't be afraid to take him on.

• The Medic's high speed and relative sturdiness (mid-level health with passive regeneration) mean you are still capable of making a capture. If the Intelligence room is clear of Sentry Guns and no enemies are in sight, go for it unless you risk losing a full or near-full ÜberCharge. If planning to capture, the Overdose may be a good choice of primary so you can escape faster.

 Sniper

• An excellent Sniper spot on this map is on the balcony near the spawn room. This is a great defense spot for any enemies attempting to capture your team's intelligence.

• The other great defending Sniper spot is on the rooftops. This will allow you to defend against enemy Soldiers that are Rocket Jumping over the barricade on your team's side and anyone going in through the other entrance to the Intelligence room.

• There is a very specific spot only available to RED team in which Sniper can look through a small hole just underneath the ramp that leads outside of the BLU entrance to mid. If you jump down onto the metal sheeting underneath the ramp you can get a straight sightline onto their spawn.

 Spy

• Try sapping buildings on the top shelf on the log shed, as Engineers often go in the corner to hide and protect their buildings.
• Sawmill has many different areas with a variety of elevations, as a Spy these can be used for escaping from enemies and staying aggressive in unusual ways.
• The Invis Watch of choice to use is the Cloak and Dagger. This will allow you to get past enemy players without having to uncloak. All you have to do is find a convenient spot to hide in for your Cloak to recharge.