Community Thunder Mountain strategy

Thunder Mountain strategy.

Community Thunder Mountain strategy
Basic Information
Developer(s):	{{{map-developer}}}
Map Info
Environment:	Alpine
Setting:	Daylight, raining
Hazards:	Pitfall
Map Photos

 Pyro

Due to a lot of tight corners and a large scale, Thunder Mountain is great for the Pyro. There are plenty of different methods to ambushing enemies pushing the cart.

First Courtyard: The beginning of this map is hell for Pyros. A large body of water surrounds BLU's spawn point. Anyone you engulf in flames can easily extinguish themselves. However, later down the line, the Pyro can become a beast. The choke-point hallway after the first capture point is prime ambush material! The sharp corners and tight hallways do the Pyro many favors. Have your Flamethrower ready and wait for the cart to get full. Surprise your enemies with a wall of flames and put them in a panic. If you wanna do some extra damage, switch to the Backburner and take the above route over the hallway and sneak up from behind. They won't know what hit 'em!

Bridge: This portion of Thunder Mountain is probably the weakest area for the Pyro. After the initial push out of spawn, the battlegrounds are a lot more open and expansive. Aside from the indoor portions, the Pyro is bait for any long range capable class eyeing you up from a distance. You may find the Flare Gun more helpful on this map. When the bridge takes it's time to raise, it's often BLU on one side and RED on the other. This is a great opportunity to abuse your Flare Gun and the Mini-Crits it provides. Due to the large gap, the Shotgun's spread will hinder you from making very effective or damaging shots. Snipers love this portion of Thunder Mountain. It's not too compacted like First Courtyard and not gated like Final Spiral. The open and large areas give Snipers the distance they need to start knockin' off heads. Combine that with a bunch of BLU teammates standing around in the same spot waiting for a bridge to raise and you're inviting RED Snipers to dismantle your team. This is another great use for the Flare Gun. Two can play at that game. Keep an eye out for idle Snipers who are picking off your teammates and fire away. If you're at the bridge raising, there's bound to be at least one Sniper try to collect some skulls. Move in between the two open rooms and use your Flare Gun to take down those Australians. Even better, if they're using the Bushwacka, you got yourself some extra damage. When running in the open field below the bridge, you get a much better arena for burning enemies. Depending on which team you're on, the end of the field can lead to either safety or massacre. If you're on BLU, try to stay away from the specific approach until you survey your surroundings. Usually Engineers will set up shop in that area (since it's so close to the final capture point) and Snipers will be creepin' on the perch above their spawn. Use caution in this area.

Final Spiral: The Pyro's Air Blast can be very effective here, especially late in the game. When BLU has their cart at the top of the structure, it's a prime opportunity for you to ambush with Air Blast and either kill the enemies or send 'em back to the bottom. This will buy RED valuable time, maybe even enough for a friendly Engineer to set up a defense at the last capture point. When out on the spiral, the Pyro isn't half as effective as he is indoors. Try waiting inside the indoor capture point areas or on the bridge looking over them. You'll have a tight corridor to burn everything around you and they'll have less room to run. On the other hand, out on the spiral, enemies have plenty of places to run and can even jump off, escaping your flames. You may find the Shotgun more effective on this map due to the fact that the Fencing surrounding enemy spawn will prevent Flares from hitting idle enemies, unless they're standing in front of a gap. While running up and down the spiral, when someone is out of reach, they still may be fairly close whether they're above, below or in front of you. Unless you're a pro with the Flare Gun, you're gonna want as many shots as you can get.

 Demoman

• The Demoman is ideal for this map defensively due to a large amount of blind spots on the enemy's behalf. The first map has the least spots, but more open up the more distance the cart covers. Remember to have the Grenade Launcher/Loch-n-Load out as much as possible, as enemies become suspicious of a Demoman holding the Sticky Launcher/Scottish Resistance, and the primary weapons are better suited to general combat.

Spots in stage one:

• In the blue building that the cart enters after leaving BLU spawn. Beware of Übercharged enemies, though.
• On the metal shutters at the top of the hill the first point is on.
• On the sides of where the bridge right after the first cap. DO NOT try to plant stickies on the bridge before it raises, as the stickies will go straight through.
• On the badge building before the second checkpoint, on the corner the cart will pass by.
• Directly in front of the final cap, it is best to just lay a carpet around the cart. Less subtle, but buys time for you to blow the up and for your team to react.

Spots in stage two:

• At the end of the bridge, in the two dirt patches.
• Just after the bridge, on the metal shutter.
• Any corner/doorway in the tunnel.
• Just before the final cap, where the cart passes the end of the grated room with the health/ammo packs.
• Sticky carpet spam the rest of the way, other spots won't have the range.

The third stage is a wonderland for defensive Demomen. The cart constantly passes perfect areas.

• All throughout the tower exterior, there are small nooks and crannies after the cart passes a corner. Abuse when possible.
• The cart constantly enters doorways, especially when approaching capture points. A few good spots are the shelves after the first cap, and the many doorways at the second cap's area.
• The final cap doesn't have a ton of spots, but the traps can be laid around the many corners.--Flutterguy 06:35, 26 July 2011 (PDT)

 Spy

Overall, Thunder Mountain is a very good map to Spy on because it has plenty of alternate routes, and lots of blind spots.

Offense

Stage 1

• A good place to hide out for a while is in the window across from the RED spawn, disguised as a Sniper. That way you can look at your enemies while they won't suspect you or sometimes even notice you. Then, when the time is right, jump down and attack. Just watch your back for enemy Snipers coming up to snipe.

• A good way to get through behind their lines is by going up the ramp, and staying to the left.

Stage 2

• Right when setup is over, a good strategy is to go to the right through the passage. That route puts you behind most of the enemies, just be careful because sometimes Engineers like to set up there.

• The overlook in between the two control points is a very good place to wait for people to come by, for a leaping stab.

Stage 3

• Stay by the cart. At the first sign of danger, vanish and flee. You may be a cunning backstabber, but you're not a hero, and you're 'certainly' not a tank. Leave it to the tougher classes.

• It is easy on this stage to set yourself up for some nice leaping stabs on enemies below. Look to the catwalks and bridges, and if there's an enemy, then jump on him and stab him.

Defense

Stage 1

• Usually a good place to wait for people to pass is the shed in front of BLU spawn. Wait for people to go to the cart, check your back to see if there are any others, and stab!

• If there's an Engineer in the shed, and there's no way to get in, then try and telefrag him. That will catch him off guard, then sap his things.

Stage 2

• A good place to be during setup is to the left of the BLU spawn. There is a little indent where you can hide behind the door, and as soon as the mission starts someone can come out and you can stab him. However, beware of other people seeing you and hunting you down.

• That overlook that was mentioned above in the Offense section will also work here. Wait for the cart to come by, then drop down and stab the people pushing it. However, watch your back, because there is a possibility that someone will come attack you as there is an entrance to the overhang from the BLU side.

Stage 3

• Since most enemies will be focused pushing the cart up the mountain, the odds of them spotting you coming up to them are low. However, in the tunnels, this is not the case, so be very careful in them because people like to watch their back.

• Be careful when attacking the carts however, if there's a Pyro watching the back then don't even try to go near. Try shooting them with the Revolver.