Turtling

“

Don't hide behind your toys, lad! Click to listen — The Demoman

”

Turtling is term that refers to a situation when a majority of team players purposefully decide to defend a specific location with the intent of not pushing forward. Just like a real turtle, the team hides inside of its "shell" to prevent the enemy from pushing further into their side of the map. However, the reason this strategy is not popular, is because it prevents the Turtling team from pushing forward and winning the game. The result of turtling is a stalemate between the two teams that can last for extended periods of time. Turtling usually takes place at choke points found throughout the map as teams cannot avoid passing through these points. This strategy is usually associated with the Engineer class which uses uses Sentry Guns and Dispensers to fortify a specific location.

Turtling is frowned upon by most players as it is labeled a form of Camping and consider it a cheap strategy that doesn't require much skill. While it may seem beneficial to turtle, most teams prefer not to do it as it prevents the turtling team from winning. It is also discouraged during sudden death itself, as opposing Engineers can end up prolonging the round into a Stalemate. This occurs most often when a stronger team has pushed back the weaker opposition onto the last remaining control point one too many times. But this strategy should be a last resort that is used by a team when the opposing team is stacked.

How to Turtle

• Position yourself at a choke point. Choke points are ideal locations because the opposing team must pass through these close quarter locations in order to reach their destination.
• Make sure you can last at that location for an extended period of time. The issue with Turtling is that the enemy team can whittle down your health and ammunition. Have an Engineer deploy a Dispenser to address this problem. A Medic is also very helpful as the healing and Übers are great for stopping enemy advances.
• There is strength in numbers. Multiple people are usually required for a successful Turtle to occur.

How to Break Through a Turtle

• As with most strategies a coordinated assault is the ideal way to break down a Turtle. A Medic with an ÜberCharge is the most effective way to break through a Turtle as the invincibility will allow you to deal with the enemy Sentry Guns and spam. The rest of the team should follow in behind the Über to provide support and clean up the area. The Spy can also sap the enemy team's buildings allowing your team's heavy-hitting classes to quickly move in and eliminate the threat.
• Kritzkrieg übercharges are not recommended, as buildings are immune to Crits. In addition, the lack of invincibility can leave you very vulnerable to the enemy's attacks. A couple of well placed Critical rockets, however, could kill the Engineers, letting a Spy to sap the Sentry Guns.
• Single, uncoordinated Übers or lone Spies may fail as they will not have enough firepower to take down the opposing team. While a single person may be able to take out some of the enemy's defenses, the enemy will quickly recover from the damages.
• Remember to destroy the Dispensers too. If a Sentry Gun is destroyed but its accompanying Dispenser is not, then a new level three sentry can be rebuilt very quickly.
• Sending a Spy to sap the Teleporter entrances will slow Engineers and other classes down. This might give other people in your team a chance to wipe out the turtle.
• When in sudden death, it's best to go for the Engineers directly, as any buildings they have constructed will be instantly destroyed upon their demise.

How to Prevent Turtling

• Most of the time the best action to take is to push forward with a strong offense. The main weakness of a Turtle is the amount of time necessary to set up the proper defenses. If your team can swiftly move in before the enemy team has time to set up then their Turtle will not succeed.
• Watch for any warning signs; if the opposing team is not pushing forward, it's most likely that they've fallen back and turtled up in their base.

Gallery

• Turtlingtothemax.jpg

  Turtle Power!