Todays MLF event was quite a good one. We had a much higher than usual player count and so had some quite intense games. There were also more Rapidstrikes than usual this event. In this Nerf game report Ill be going through the main blasters that saw use, the gametypes we played, and how the high player count and changed play area affected our games.
Gamemodes
Old:
- Kill Confirmed very similar to Freeze Tag/Tag Teams. When a player is hit, they are downed and must wait for a teammate to revive them, which is achieved with a simple hand tag. All players in Kill Confirmed are medics. An opposing player may tag a downed player with their hand to confirm the kill and eliminate them from the game. If a whole team is taken down, the team will lose even though none of their confirmed kills are confirmed. The last team with surviving, non-downed players wins.
- VIP One player from each team is designated the VIP (teams do not have to inform other teams who their designated VIPs are). If the VIP is downed, their team can no longer respawn (but can still be revived by their medic). The VIP must call out when they are downed, and cannot be revived by the medic. The medic for the team is one player. This identity is not required to be shared publicly. The last team with surviving players wins.
- Capture The Flag (CTF). Classic gamemode. Take the flag of the enemy and return it to you flag at your base. If the flag is being held, it can be dropped. If the flag is picked up, the player cannot put it down unless they are downed. The flags are not allowed within or behind ~5 metres in front of spawn.
New:
Blasters
Since there were a lot of different blasters there, Ive generalised them and only listed down the ones that I saw as significant or noteworthy, or remember for that matter. It is possible that I missed some blasters because I cannot be everywhere at the same time.
Regular/Recurring:
Rebelle Sweet Revenges (light mods) my standard dual sidearms. Saw a bit of use in this event after I had run completely out of mags. They are not intended to compete with primaries, so they aren’t really competitive with proper primary blasters.
Elite Rapidstrike (various engines, LiPos), there were six or more participants this year. They served the same role as always, a high ROF blaster that excels in suppression and accuracy by volume. Requires good trigger discipline and a significant number of mags to fully take advantage of. Rapidstrikes were so numerous that there was an abundance of mag dumps. The air was filled with the whine of pusher boxes and the roaring of flywheels.
Elite Stryfe (various motors, LiPos) standard staple of Melbourne games, good range, decent ROF and very easy to use. Not as powerful as a high level springer (say a high power Longshot), and not as high ROF as a Rapidstrike, but an excellent middle ground that makes for an excellent all round blaster.
Elite Retaliator (various pump grips, springs) probably the most common springer that I see in Melbourne games, one of the faster firing springers with firepower that can contend with the piles of flywheelers. Substantially slower ROF than any flywheeler of course, but probably the best all round springer for these sorts of games.
Buzz Bee Sentinel Stock? its incredible out-of-box power allows the Sentinel to be one of the only properly competitive stock blasters. Naturally its still somewhat lacking in power compared to flywheelers, but a few simple mods can fix that. Far from the best blaster you can use, but probably the best out-of-box blaster currently available for these sorts of games.
New/Infrequent:
NStrike Stampede (Xplorer Kit) was a very good blaster. It was able to achieve muzzle velocity levels that were higher than those of top flywheelers and, thanks to the use half-length darts, it was also effective at longer ranges. Although its ROF was less than that of a Rapidstrike or well-used Stryfe it was still quite powerful and a great blaster.
This year, we used the second play area. Since the last time we used it however, a significant area had been cleared out of trees, this area being the light blue area.
This presented a problem as it removed the cover for that side of the play area, unbalancing the play area. Previously, the play area worked well for two corridors of combat: one skirting around the edge of the open field, and one further in along the north edge, just next to the extremely thick bush just north. The team started on the west side of the open field, and the removal of trees in the light blue area made it much more difficult to move forward if they were pinned down there. The play area having only two main corridors of combat for such a high player count did result in a few issues particularly for some of the objective gamemodes. This play area would be better suited for a lower player count of 10-12 players. The open field area in the green is the open area. The gap between the two areas is a single large bush. Weather was not a problem, decent cloud cover with temperature around 12-15 degrees C. There was a significantly larger turnout this event, with at least 14 players for most of the games, peaking at 16-18.
We played a number of rounds of Kill Confirmed, and they mostly progressed as expected. As usual it was rather chaotic and typically quite short, usually only ~3 minutes or less. The unusually high player count did elongate the games a fair bit compared to smaller Kill Confirmed rounds. Not only are there just more players to eliminate, but there are also more players to down before you can move forward to eliminate a group. In smaller KC games of 4-6 players per team in wider play areas, you usually only need to down 2 or 3 players per group before you have an opening to move in and eliminate them. With so many more players, you have to down up to 4 or 5 players before the area is clear. Even then, because of how narrow the play area is, you will likely be within range of the surviving enemy players. It is much more difficult to advance and eliminate all enemies. Many times, I saw several players being killed in one area. However, the enemy couldn’t move forward to eliminate them. Because this event is particularly important, the numerical advantage of winning a team that eliminates a large number of enemies often leads to victory.
The three KC rounds I remember best are the last three we played, each progressing very differently. The first KC round was very long and ended in a stalemate that lasted only a few minutes.
Each team had managed to take down quite a few players but not all. My team was able to down most of the players on our right side along the north, however had lost several players in the process. I was able to run up and eliminate the downed players, however the remainder of the enemy team had flanked around the left open area, eliminating the rest of my teammates. The situation left me with a 3v1 situation. 95% of the times I would have lost very quickly. The enemy players split up, two chasing me along the north edge while one went along the open field. Through sheer luck, I managed to dodge 2 mags worth of darts from a Rapidstrike, and was able to turn around and somehow down both enemy players coming from the north. I quickly went to eliminate them, after which I was attacked by the one remaining enemy, who I was able to down with my last 12 mag. 95% of the time, the enemy teams flanking would have been a game winner, and it was only through sheer luck and reloading practice that I survived.
The second KC round was quite short and for the most part played out in quite a different way to the first. Instead of a long stalemate, my team was able to rush the enemy team from the start, catching some of them out in the open and pinning them down. Two enemies were defeated by me, while the rest of my team managed to gain a solid offensive position. We were able stop enemy revivals and were able wipe out the entire enemy army without any significant loss. The key in this round was that rush from the start. Due to the nature and difficulty of the game, it is very important to get into a strong offensive position in KC. Because it is a game of momentum, any momentum your team can gain early on will be a great asset for the rest.
I sat out the last KC round because I was out of darts. I couldn’t reload for one round so I watched and took photos. As with the second round, the blue team (starting from east) ran ahead and finished in the same spot as me. However, the yellow team (starting from west) managed to get into a more defended position. The game was stuck for a while because several players were grouped together in certain areas of cover. Though a lot of players were downed, neither team was able to push up to eliminate them, so inevitably those players were revived and the game continued. Eventually the game came down to people switching to their sidearms, and the blue team were eventually victorious.
From the start, the blue team was the more mobile team, while yellow team became more entrenched and static, which gave the blue team a better shot at moving up to eliminate players. However, it is rare to see such a long stalemate in MLF. I believe the small play area and high player counts contributed to the increase in long stalemates.
We played a couple of CTF rounds, and they seemed to generally last longer than usual. Flag placement was not anything special, I think the main contributor was player count in this play area. The play area is quite small, with only 16 players. If you were in the front line, there would often be at least four enemies within reach. You could also trade fire with at least three of them. Given the proliferation of rapid fire blasters, it was incredibly difficult to break through a well positioned enemy team. Even with a poor positioning, it was difficult to move forward due to the sheer volume of players within a small area. Flag thefts occurred either before the besieged team could establish position or due to poor communication.
My team started in the west corner during one round I can recall well. I spent most of my time engaged in the north corner, downing several players but not being able to make much progress. Early on, one of our players had rushed forward and managed to steal the flag, but was downed shortly after. The flag was now in enemy territory and closer to their spawn. After some time in northern territory, I was able to respawn and move towards our flag to fight off a few enemy. This time we were extremely fortunate, as the enemy that was trying to steal our flag lost his footing. I had time to reload and wash him down. If not for that slip, he would have had a good chance of stealing our flag. After this, I noticed that while the enemy team was heavily entrenched in the north, there was a gap roughly southwest of where their flag was sitting. My run was coordinated with a friend, who moved along an open field edge, attacking enemies from spawn. This gave me an opening to run in and steal the flag, before the entrenched enemies realised what was happening. I managed to capture the flag by running past one enemy.
Communication and coordination were key factors in my flag run. I worked with a fellow teammate who drew fire and attention away from myself, and I owe much to him. Without that distraction and cover fire, I likely would not have been able to get out of enemy territory with the flag. It was also partly due to the apparent delay or lack of enemy communication. I was able sneak behind the main enemy group without being noticed. It wasn’t until I had the flag that any enemy pursuit occurred. The enemy group had been effectively split in two, one on the front lines and the other stuck near spawn. Communication is likely to be the reason for the distinct gap between enemy lines. I also owe a little to the teammate who made that early steal. Although the flag was moved further into enemy territory, it was also moved further away from the front enemy line. If the flag had been left in its place, I would have to fight through enemy lines to take it.
My team lost the second round due to poor coordination, which I still remember vividly. After more inconclusive fighting in the north corner, I saw two enemies approaching the flag. We had no defenders. Unlike the previous round, I was not able to successfully fend them off on my own. Although I attempted to summon reinforcements, they failed to arrive on time. The enemy took the flag. My team seemed to lack communication and our flag was left undefended. We had many players on the other side of the flag. Communication and coordination are vital in CTF, and can be the difference between a decisive victory or a disappointing defeat. Youre unlikely to be able to make a huge difference on your own, whether offensively or defensively. Coordinating with even just one teammate massively expands the options and tactics available, and has led me to victory many times in CTF.
We also played two VIP rounds. I don’t think it went very well. As with the other gametypes, I believe the main issues stemmed from the high player count relative to the play area size.
We had some issues in both CTF (and KC) with the sheer number of players preventing any progress. In each of those gamemodes though, there were ways to break the stalemates. KC rewards teams that are more aggressive and controlled. This is why even though we had many players, a coordinated and well-executed offense was often enough to win an advantage. CTF does not allow flags to be too close to the spawns. However, they are still easily stealable with skill coordination and luck. VIP does not have such a rule. VIPs can hide behind or near the spawn. The second VIP round was so long, it was finally turned into a sudden-death to end the game. My team was far more aggressive and my VIP was right in the middle of our field. However, he was not under any threat. If not for the VIP hiding near their spawn, I have no doubt that we would have won the round. Besides that issue (which I believe will be fixed with a minor rule change), VIP worked ok, but I think still suffered from high density of players. Even though the VIP was not camping close to their spawn, it was difficult for VIP players to get through to take a shot at VIP. My team won the first VIP round because we were able rush the enemy team. They werent fully prepared for us and hadnt taken up proper positions yet, so were easily wiped out, leaving their VIP vulnerable for an easy win. This VIP round could have gone on for quite some time if they hadn’t done so.
Overall this MLF event was quite fun. Although the high player count in this relatively narrower area I believe caused a few issues with some of the games, it also provided an intense and hectic environment. With the loss of the northwest cover though, I think this play area is a little too unbalanced. This creates too much variation between the areas covered, which I believe is detrimental to symmetric gametypes such as CTF. This high player count in a larger area such as the third play area would be practically perfect I think.
You can also find a link to the same Nerf game report on my own blog: Outback Nerf.
