Multi Flag CTF

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Multi Flag CTF Icon

Multi Flag CTF is a variant of the popular multiplayer gametype Capture the Flag. It can be found in team playlists or on the Big Team Battle playlist.

Rules

There are two teams based on opposite ends of the map. There are also two flags, each one in the corresponding bases (or there can be only one if the game is "attack and defend, or Neutral Flag, like in Halo 2). The object of the games is to capture the opponents' flag three times to win the game, while protecting your own flag from enemies at the same time. Unlike slayer games, total number of kills does not count toward the score. For example, a team who captures the flag three times, but gets no kills, still wins the game. To score, the player with the flag must run directly over where their own flag spawns.

The flag

The flag is held in Halo 2 by pressing X. In Halo 3, RB is pressed, and in Halo 4, the player must simply walk into the flag. When a player is holding the flag, they walk slowly, and cannot get into the driver or gunner seats in vehicles. However, they can get into the passenger seats in vehicles such as the Mongoose and the Warthog. The player with the flag cannot pick up weapons but, if the player melees an enemy player in normal Matchmaking, the flag will kill the opponent in one hit, resulting in the Flag Kill Medal (unless the player has an Overshield). In Halo 4, the player duel-wields a magnum.

Variants

Attrition CTF

Attrition CTF is a variant of Multi-Flag unique to Halo 3. Respawn times are very long, but all team members respawn when a flag is captured.

Tank Flag

Tank Flag is another Halo 3 Multi Flag CTF variant. The flag carriers can take more damage, but have a slower recharge rate on their shields and slower movement speed, meaning protecting the flag carrier becomes much more of a job than before.

MLG Multi Flag

A Multi Flag CTF game under MLG's more hardcore rules, where these vary themselves on certain maps, such as on MLG Narrows and MLG The Pit, there are three flag captures. On the Narrows, your own flag must be returned, but on MLG Onslaught (a Foundry variant), there needs to be five flag scores to win, but they all similarly have a fairly quick flag return time.

Iconic status

Capture the Flag is generally recognized as the quintessential Objective-Based Halo multiplayer gametype, seeing as it has been the most consistently enjoyable gametype in all three Halo games. It demands and promotes teamwork along with diverse play-styles; the most effective strategies involve the use of all types of vehicles and weapons. Considering that secondary word-of-mouth objectives involve fighting for power weapons and stealing the other team's vehicles, this game mode leads to very intense and tactical Halo play - so much so that it has lead CTF to become second in popularity only to Team Slayer game types.

CTF tips

When you are attempting to get the flag,

• Know where your opponents are positioned
• If there is an active camo, use it. Note that you become visible when you pick up the flag.
• Choose a route that your opponent will think you are least likely to take.
• Should you be in enemy territory, avoid drawing attention to yourself. Should you shoot an opposing player who has not noticed you, you are simply alerting the whole team that the flag is about to be taken.
• Attempt to "spawntrap" the other team. Make sure the whole opposing team is eliminated before grabbing the flag. This allows you to enter the base without any resistance. Grab the flag and run off, and as the enemy team spawns, your team will cover you. This is easier to achieve on the smaller playlists such as Team Throwback.

When you have the flag

• Flag running is when the player drops and picks up the flag over and over again. The flag must hit the ground before it can be picked up again. (In Halo 2, the default buttons are "RT X RT X RT X", while Halo 3 its "Y RB Y RB Y RB".) Normally, you run slower when you retrieve the flag, but when you flag sprint, you run slightly faster, at the cost of letting your enemy know where the flag is currently is, if they have not known already.
• Do not always take the shortest route back to base. Enemies can easily predict your route that way. Try making detours and changing direction, but make sure you know where you are going.
• Do not take a route which leaves you exposed from all corners, even if you have teammates escorting you. You are always an easy target for a sniper.
• If a single pursuer is chasing you, do not be afraid to drop the flag and kill him. Hanging onto the flag would just leave you helpless.
• If you end up in close-quarter combat with an opponent who attempts to ambush you, melee the opponent for a one-hit-kill.
• Communicate with your teammates. This allows them to cover you and get free rides back to base.

When protecting a flag

• Staying in the flag base can help, but the closer you stay to your teammates, the bigger the target you pose to your opponents. Beware of opponents clearing the room with grenades before they rush to grab the flag.
• Place a sniper to guard the flag from a safe location. However, snipers should be adaptive, helping the team push forward, eliminating opponents which may ambush them. Sniping is the most effective way of eliminating key members of the opposing team such as Warthog gunners, other snipers and opponents with power weapons. Pace your shots to avoid running out of ammunition at a crucial time.
• Stay in a location where you have clear view of your flag, but at the same time hidden from enemy view. If your opponent grabs your flag, intercept them from range. A melee from a flag will kill you instantly.