Overwatch’s latest Brawl — Capture the Rooster — takes place on Lijiang Tower and its three stages. Below our our best tactics and strategies for attacking and defending on each stage.
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Garden
On the Garden Stage you’ll need to protect the flag from a frontal assault and also pay attention to enemies flanking your base.
To capture the flag you’ll need to make sure the path is clear and that there are few or no enemies protecting it. The open area of the bases makes it tough to get the flag cleanly without support. You’ll really only get the flag if you enter the base with two or more heroes.
Roster
Defense
Symmetra, Bastion, Junkrat
Offense
Tracer, D.Va, Pharah
Defending
Use Symmetra to cover the flag with turrets by placing them above the circle entrance and entrance to the right. This should stop any enemies from entering from the ground. Once you have her ultimate you can either place a Shield Generator in small building to the left of the flag.
Have Junkrat place his Steel Trap and Concussion Mine on the flag and then wait to the left of the flag, in front of the small building and facing the circular entrance and the opposite raised walkway. Frag enemies as they come through the entrances, especially if trapped by Symmetra’s turrets. Pay attention to the doorway to the right of the flag as some enemies may appear here in an attempt to flank Symmetra and avoid her turrets.
Place Bastion in turret mode up the back and on the right of the flag with his back against the wall. Concentrate fire on any enemies breaking through Symmetra’s turrets and Junkrat’s frags. Keep your eye on the flag and on the three entry points.
Capturing
You’ll want to use the combination of Pharah, D.Va and Tracer to get the flag into Pharah’s hands, into the air and back to your base.
Send Tracer into the enemy’s base, by climbing the staircase in the building just before and Blinking deeply towards the spawn room. Shoot the enemy team in the back and use Recall and Blinks to stay alive for as long as possible, while drawing fire.
While Tracer is harassing the enemy, use D.Va to enter the base front on. Using either the Boosters of Defense Matrix, you should be able to provide a large target and split the enemies’ attention between Tracer and yourself. Take out as many enemies as possible while providing cover to Pharah.
Pharah should be high above the action as Tracer and D.Va enter the base and should be using her Concussive Blast and Rocket Launcher to assist with clearing the base. Once the way is clear (or reasonably clear) drop onto the flag.
If you manage to grab it, immediately use your Jump Jets and get away. Fly all the way back to your base and land on the flag for a capture.
Night Market
Capturing the flag on Night Market is by far the most difficult map to do so. The location of the flag and limited escape routes, coupled with easily defensible position means that you need to work particularly hard to get it.
Defending the flag is relatively simple and so this map more often than not ends in a draw.
Roster
Defense
Symmetra, Torbjorn, Bastion
Offense
Genji, Soldier 76, Lucio
Defending
As mentioned above, defending the flag on Night Market is far easier than capturing is. The combination of Bastion, Symmetra and Torbjorn makes getting into the base nearly impossible.
Use Lucio’s speed boost to get your team into place as quickly as possible.
Like with Garden, Symmetra’s placement of her turrets is key. Directly in front of the flag is a wide door. Place three turrets above the door (on the flag side) and another three along the left side of the door. There is more opportunity for these turrets to be destroyed by enemies, so maintain them as they’re destroyed.
Once Symmetra has her ultimate, place a Shield Generator in the building above and behind the flag (toward the spawn room).
To the left of the flag (if facing towards the enemy) are some stairs that lead down into a small alcove. Have Bastion enter turret mode in this alcove with his back against the wall and with an eye on the flag. Save his ultimate for when the enemy team makes a big push.
Finally, place Torbjorn on the platform to the left and behind the flag (when facing the enemy). The platform has some railings and a good view of the flag. Place a turret here and upgrade it to level 2. Make sure you collect scrap dropped by enemies defeated by both the turret, Symmetra and Bastion. Throw armour packs all around the flag and keep your team stocked up.
Capturing
If the enemy team knows what it’s doing, capturing the flag on Night Market is a real challenge. The combination of Genji, Soldier and Lucio might just get you there.
Lucio is a must because of his healing aura and speed boost. You’ll need someone who knows him inside out and can switch between speed and healing as required. You’ll want to save Lucio’s ultimate for a big push on the flag, but in the meantime enter the enemy base through one of the smaller doors; either through the second floor or the smaller door off to the side on the ground floor.
Harass enemies and draw their fire while criss-crossing through the base and giving your team health as required.
You’ll want to use Soldier’s Helix Rockets to try and remove the biggest threats first and once they’re gone, use his Biotic Field on the flag to both heal himself, Lucio and Genji. Soldier should enter through the main door, if safe to do so, but be careful of Symmetra’s turrets and Bastion. Keep firing on the enemy and drawing their attention to give Genji time to slip in.
Thanks to Genji’s wall climbing abilities, you can get into the enemy base on Night Market from above and other angles the enemy won’t be expecting. Once Soldier and Lucio begin their strike, make your way in from above. Hopefully the defending team are distracted by the attack from Soldier and Lucio and if the Biotic Field is on the flag, Genji will be able to use his Swift Strike to land on the flag, grab it and beat a hasty retreat.
Once the flag is in Genji’s hands, Lucio should switch to speed and escort Genji, alternating between speed boost and health. Soldier 76 should remain at the enemy base and make a stand to stop any enemies chasing or at least delay them long enough for Genji to score.
Control Center
Control Center is the easiest map to attack on and the hardest to defend. The flag is located in the centre of a room with four different entrances that surround it. Protecting each door is very difficult and fast characters with movement abilities can capture very quickly.
Capturing on Control Centre relies on speed. Blitz the enemy base, get in and get out before they know what’s happened.
Roster
Defense
Symmetra, Torbjorn, Junkrat
Offense
Tracer, Winston, Lucio
Defending
Like with Night Market, you’ll want to use Lucio to get your defence team into place as quickly as possible.
Symmetra should place turrets in a wide perimeter around the flag. One on either side of the main stairs down, one on either side of the smaller, semi-hidden stairs behind the console and one either side of the door that leads outside.
Once her ultimate is charged, place the Shield Generator outside and back towards the spawn room. It’ll need to be somewhere out of the way so your team can use it and the enemy team won’t easily find it on their way to the flag.
Torbjorn should place his turret in the back right corner, as entering from outside, so as the turret faces the main circular room and the two staircases. Keep placing armour packs down and use his ultimate whenever possible.
Have Junkrat place his Steel Trap and Concussion Mine on the flag and then sweep the perimeter. Junkrat should keep moving in a loop around the staircases. By doing this you’ll be able to see enemies coming through the darkened room in between both bases and cutting them off as they try and enter the base.
Capturing
Capturing the flag is all about speed. With Lucio on your side, Tracer can use her Blink and get to the enemy flag before any of the opposing team; depending on their heroes of course. If you can get once capture before the opposing team has time to set-up, you’ve made your own job even easier.
Use Tracer to Blink and Recall into and out of the enemy base, harassing the defenders and trying to get them to break rank. If your attackers manage to momentarily clear the base, use Tracer to grab the flag and Blink back to your flag and score.
Lucio should be used to keep your attackers healthy while removing any of Symmetra’s turrets and harassing other defenders. Use his ultimate to get your attackers onto the flag for an almost guaranteed score.
Winston is the All-Star for capturing on Control Centre. His Jump Pack combined with Barrier Projector and Tesla Cannon makes him an all-rounder in the enclosed corridors of the map. You may be tempted to leap into the enemy base and onto the flag, but Winston is far more effective if you leap out once you have the flag.
You should enter the enemy base from either the outside or from the wide corridor that leads to the circular room in the centre (where you normally capture the point). Place his Barrier down as you enter the base and use it to protect yourself while you remove enemies or grab the flag. When Winston has the flag, leap up the stairs and through the darkened room. If the ability has recharged, leap again, down the stairs and onto your flag to score.
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These are our tactics for Capture the Rooster. Do you agree?
What are your best strategies?
