Capture the Flag

The goal

Take theirs home while yours is still standing. That last clause is the whole mode: you cannot simply trade flags, so somebody on your side has to stay and hold, and the run only pays if the defence held while you were gone.

How to win

Because a capture only counts with your own flag home, you cannot trade runs. Somebody has to stay. In a team of four that usually means one runner, one escort, and two who never leave. The runner's job is less about speed than timing: you leave when the enemy's defenders have just committed somewhere else, which is a thing you can see, because the minimap shows both flags and who is carrying them. The information is free. What loses matches is nobody looking at it.

How many to bring

Capture the Flag supports 4 to 8, and the lower end is the harder game: at 2v2 the mode's central tension (somebody has to stay home) costs you half your team. At 4v4 you can afford a runner, an escort and a defence, which is the point at which it stops being a race and becomes something you can plan.

Know before you drop in

• A capture only counts if your own flag is home.
• The bases move every match, so the routes are never the same twice.
• Flags show on the minimap, including who is carrying one.