[poll] Teleporter camping

[Firethem]

I had this issue sometime ago, because when I find an ennemy teleporter in my base, I like to stay around it and wait to melee anything that comes out of it. However, another felow =e= told me "You're an =e=, you should know better" and I wondered: Am I really bad? And why, if anyone that comes out of it gets killed, why the engi doesn't destroy it? Why do I have to destroy it?

So I'm asking you guys what you think about it and admins if it is against the rules to do so ^_^

 

[Flippy the Squirrel]

It's a perfectly valid strategy, and one that an opposing player should only fall for once. If another team complains about it, they're welcome to come and guard their own teleporter.

 

[AzzNik]

My personal opinion is that camping teleports is bad. Mostly because the person camping a teleport is doing so just for kills, ie personal score. To me that goes against team objectives. I would kill the tele, which slows the other team a bit and then move to help my team. I know an arguement can be made that camping a tele is a strategy...I just don't think it is a team playing strategy and would be more likely to think someone is doing it just to get easy kills.

 

[Flippy the Squirrel]

While it's true that a player may be doing it just for kills, it does inhibit the other team's ability to use the teleporter, and thus does help the team. That is, if you think about it, the perfect balance in TF2.

For instance, as an engineer, you want to put a sentry gun in a location where it's most effective, but also where it'll shoot the most people. Is that unfair, or is that good teamwork? It's essentially the same thing.

 

[Drew The Pirate]

Flippy is right, imho. I camp them as a pyro from time to time, and I look at it like this: You're in my base. You can destroy the teleporter at any time. I am guarding my base.

if you come through once and I flame you to death, shame on me. If you come through twice... shame on you

as far as tactics: as long as they're wasting time coming through a teleport and dying, they aren't helping their team, you're forcing a lot of enemies to sit through their respawn timer, and in doing so you're keeping them off the field and helping your team.

it's a little lame, sure. But perfectly valid.

 

[NinjaFluff]

Flippy's always the master at saying these things, but here's my two cents anyway!

There's always something to be done about teleporter camping. It's not like anyone is required or forced to use a teleporter. Don't like being killed? Don't take the teleporter!

 

[!Woodstock!]

If you do not want to destroy the tele, I think guarding the exit is ok. As Flippy said, they are wasting their time by going through only to be instantly killed. If they figure out what is going on, they can always tell the engy to destroy it.

 

[Carne]

Whenever I see a teleporter, I usually destroy it, never thinking of camping. But I don`t think there is anything wrong with it though.

 

[AzzNik]

[quote1209392869=Flippy Squirrel]
While it's true that a player may be doing it just for kills, it does inhibit the other team's ability to use the teleporter, and thus does help the team. That is, if you think about it, the perfect balance in TF2.

For instance, as an engineer, you want to put a sentry gun in a location where it's most effective, but also where it'll shoot the most people. Is that unfair, or is that good teamwork? It's essentially the same thing.
[/quote1209392869]

I support whatever the community thinks is ok. I just personally see pyro's camping teleports the most. I think pyro's are much more effective defending their medics from other pyro's and keeping the other team pushed back by rushing demo's and heavies. Often, I burn the teleport and then head back to the fight. In the process, here comes the engie running back to rebuild his sentry and he gets burned up. Now the other team has unguarded sentries and dispensers for my team to destroy. That inhibits the other team's travel speed a bit more effectively to me. Like I said though...it's personal preference.

I don't think the sentry thing is the same thing at all. Unless an engie sets up a sg outside the spawn, I really could care less where they set it up. Some think an sg outside the spawn is ok too. Whatever....just my preference not to.

I am far from an expert on team strategy but what I do know is the best team strategies rarely involves one person off on their own. I have fun by helping the team. If you have fun trying to sneak around and get easy kills, then more power to ya'. I'll frag you when I can and die when I can't.

 

[RaiN]

Yeah, I see no problem with this. If this is happening, the engineer could always destroy the exit and build a new one elsewhere.

 

[MrQ]

You see that TF2 is a balanced TEAM effort. Whatever you do to the enemy helps the team. Its just how much, where and when you attack the enemy or defend that makes it a better or worse attack or defense.(Bleh, tongue twister) In essence unless you are intentionally hacking you are not hurting the team.

 

[Booster37]

In my opinion, teleport camping is fine. Sure, they could destroy it earlier, but sometimes, like in the final leg of Dustbowl, it can be used as a vaild strategy to wait for a few seconds to wait for some engineer to think the coast is clear, only to get himself and his tele blown up and wait quite a while to respawn.

Sire, it may not be exactly following team objectives, but the pubs who play on our servers can just about do whatever they want as long as they aren't causing grief, exploiting, and anything else we'd ban for. This cannot be counted as griefing as the engi did it to themselves. I personally don't try to take teleporters in which have been abaandoned..

 

[R.E.D]

I think TF2 does a great job at protecting players from spawn camping, so if you use a teleporter you are already fair game imho, one of the mission is to defend from intruders so I guess anything goes...and of course you can always rebuild that tp elsewhere.

I guess it would be bad only if the players had no other way to go and it was closed to that option but one of the things about the map design is that there is always a way to go around the enemy, the classes are also well balanced so you never get that feeling of being trapped.

If guarding a TP is considered bad then other things will start being considered bad such as building a sentry in the enemy's base or sneaking up on someone while cloaked, and even if somehow the enemy team managed to build 3 sentries in front of the spawn area you are always recharging your health, getting ammo and have the option to respawn elsewhere...

...a little off topic but my point is that the game is balanced to prevent camping, if it happens is because the team is not doing it's job right.

 

[Jon2486]

I try to be fair in this situation. I kill only one person that comes through then I destroy the teleport.

 

[OODA Loop]

yeah i think it would be fine,

just dont stand over it, because if someone teleports when you are, you die.

 

[Flippy the Squirrel]

[quote1209403230=AzzNik]
I support whatever the community thinks is ok. I just personally see pyro's camping teleports the most. I think pyro's are much more effective defending their medics from other pyro's and keeping the other team pushed back by rushing demo's and heavies. Often, I burn the teleport and then head back to the fight. In the process, here comes the engie running back to rebuild his sentry and he gets burned up. Now the other team has unguarded sentries and dispensers for my team to destroy. That inhibits the other team's travel speed a bit more effectively to me. Like I said though...it's personal preference.

I don't think the sentry thing is the same thing at all. Unless an engie sets up a sg outside the spawn, I really could care less where they set it up. Some think an sg outside the spawn is ok too. Whatever....just my preference not to.
[/quote1209403230]

Personally, I think it may be bad sportsmanship, but it's still a valid tactic. I also think it's bad sportsmanship to set up a SG outside enemy spawn, and when it happens (a lot on Dustbowl, for some reason), I curse to myself off-mic and set about trying to resolve it with my team. However, no matter what, unless it's an exploit and you're using the map in a way that it was obviously not intended to be used (e.g. building an SG in the air or underground), it's valid.

[quote1209403230=AzzNik]
I am far from an expert on team strategy but what I do know is the best team strategies rarely involves one person off on their own. I have fun by helping the team. If you have fun trying to sneak around and get easy kills, then more power to ya'. I'll frag you when I can and die when I can't.
[/quote1209403230]

I agree with you completely. However, there are also situations where a single player can help to make it possible for the team to execute their mission. The SG outside spawn or teleporter camping pyro may be awful and border on poor sportsmanship, there's nothing that says a well-organized team can't prevent that from happening in the first place.

I also consider placing a teleporter in the enemy intel room to be along those lines, but that doesn't mean I won't try to do it (poorly) every single time I'm an engineer. If the opposing team can't stop me (they usually can), then they deserve what they get.

 

[tiddy]

I'm sorry, but I had one of the most hilarious moments ever in TF2 that involved teleport camping. 2stage, 1cap in dustbowl, we found an Red teleport in the house near the first cap and about 8 of us just surrounded it with our melee weapons drawn. Just waiting. Half of us were on mic's just laughing uncontrollably. "Someone just has to come through. They HAVE TO". It took about a minute and a half, but some spy (of all people) came through and was systematically slaughtered by 8 melee weapons. We then destroyed the teleport and moved on.

On focus though, it's a valid strategy and if an engineer can't take a hint to destroy and rebuild, then - as Flippy said - they deserve what they get.

 

[Lafinass]

I will, quite often, camp an exit. If the other team is so disorganized that they just keep going through it, it won't make a huge difference either way as the round will end shortly. If nobody comes through for 20 seconds I'll trash it and move on.

But as has been proven over and over, I'm a big fan of using any means within the game's design to hurt the enemy. And unless I'm wrong, the teleporter's recharge is faster than the respawn for defenders- so I'm keeping 2-3 of their players dead at any given time. That's a sight better than some people who are throwing themselves into the fray.

 

[Raziel44]

all is fair in love and war.. except hacks..

 

[KaptainKangaroo]

I don't see a difference between camping a teleporter and setting up an sg to target anyone who comes out, which is a bannable offense the last time I checked. Just sounds like splitting hairs. Just because a team is unorganized, clueless, or simply not talented enough to understand they are going to die using a teleporter doesn't mean it's alright to camp it. The same could be said for people trying to grief a server. Just taking advantage of a situation for entertainment or points rather than it being strategically helpful.