What is the "meta objective" of Tower Control?

[Zoot]

I am truly awful at Tower Control. My experience with it is just an endless Zerg rush of getting splatted over and over, whether I'm trying to ride the tower or support it. I start freaking out a bit because frankly, I have no idea what my objective is. (I dropped from A- to B thanks to endless TC losses...)

What sort of things should I be doing to ensure the tower gets to the other end? Should having someone on the tower at all times be the priority? Or should I forget the tower and try to clean out the enemy team to give it an easy ride? What should I dooooo?

 

[Rellek]

If you're bad at taking pressure from oncoming enemy ink, don't ride the tower
If you have a longer range weapon, you're more useful defending the tower.
If you have a shorter range weapon and are bad at taking pressure from enemy ink, change weapons.
If you have bombs, use them... a lot.
Killer Wail stops the tower wherever it may be (unless poor timing or aim)

The objective really is to push the tower AND enemy team as far away from your base as possible. So if you're being tailed by enemies, you're gonna die and lose the tower. Killing the opposition is one of the most important things in this mode. So focus...

1. Don't let the enemy get on the tower
2. Kill at least 2/4 of the opposition before even thinking about getting on the tower
3. Stay alive
4. Pay attention

 

[Ultimate Mayhem]

The best weapons to have are the Custom Dual Squelcher and the Luna. With the Luna, it's fairly easy to jump up and splat anyone on the tower. With the Dual, it's also fairly easy in some stages to splat people on the tower. It especially makes it easier to take out rollers. The objective I'd say is to splat whoever you see. The less team members the enemy has, the more likely it'll be for your team to net a win. Try to be sneaky with your splats. Catch them off guard.

 

[Pareto]

Long ranged weapons play a big role in defending the tower and don't generally stay on the tower unless it needs to be pushed forward or if they need a better vantage point. Short ranged weapons need to rely on stealth in order to defend the tower. Regardless, if you are riding the tower, the instant you notice heavy fire and your team failing to repel the opposition, it's best to linger on a safe side underneath the tower (blind sides of the base) until the fire is directed elsewhere. I personally like to wait until an enemy boards the tower so that I can at least pull in one easy kill.

 

[Rellek]

Also, remember that if the tower is on your half of the battlefield and you have eliminated the enemy team from the tower, you do not have to ride it to the center. This can be a vital tool you can use to your advantage. Simply jump onto the tower to set it in motion back to the center, then jump off and it'll keep going. During this time, you can use the tower itself to draw enemy fire (Because they don't know if you're on it or not, they're just assuming) and sneak up to ink them.

 

[Hope]

The objective is to control the area around the tower until you can get it to the goal, or control it for a longer section of time than the enemy team.

Also, remember that if the tower is on your half of the battlefield and you have eliminated the enemy team from the tower, you do not have to ride it to the center. This can be a vital tool you can use to your advantage. Simply jump onto the tower to set it in motion back to the center, then jump off and it'll keep going. During this time, you can use the tower itself to draw enemy fire (Because they don't know if you're on it or not, they're just assuming) and sneak up to ink them.

They do know if you are on it or not, if you aren't on it the tower icon appears gray as it moves back to the center.

 

[Rellek]

The objective is to control the area around the tower until you can get it to the goal, or control it for a longer section of time than the enemy team.

They do know if you are on it or not, if you aren't on it the tower icon appears gray as it moves back to the center.

Lol I know, I still see people shooting at it.

 

[Kaliafornia]

Don't be afraid to get ogg

Also, remember that if the tower is on your half of the battlefield and you have eliminated the enemy team from the tower, you do not have to ride it to the center. This can be a vital tool you can use to your advantage. Simply jump onto the tower to set it in motion back to the center, then jump off and it'll keep going. During this time, you can use the tower itself to draw enemy fire (Because they don't know if you're on it or not, they're just assuming) and sneak up to ink them.

Actually it says "they have the tower"/"they lost the tower" as well if you are dead you are probably looking at your map and can see who is on the tower or if no one is on the tower based on the color of the tower. It's risky not riding it back. You can't assume someone didn't get a stealth/SJing lock on the last teammate before you took them out. Also unless you killed them all within a few seconds its safe to say that they are now SJing to the closest person to mid since you are not at mid yourself and its a safe jump for them. Now its a mid tug of war again over a tower no one is riding.

You all don't have to ride it back, but its preferable that at least one of your teammates does, imho.

 

[Rellek]

Don't be afraid to get ogg


Actually it says "they have the tower"/"they lost the tower" as well if you are dead you are probably looking at your map and can see who is on the tower or if no one is on the tower based on the color of the tower. It's risky not riding it back. You can't assume someone didn't get a stealth/SJing lock on the last teammate before you took them out. Also unless you killed them all within a few seconds its safe to say that they are now SJing to the closest person to mid since you are not at mid yourself and its a safe jump for them. Now its a mid tug of war again over a tower no one is riding.

You all don't have to ride it back, but its preferable that at least one of your teammates does, imho.

When you get on the tower it says "They have the tower!" and it doesn't say "They got off the tower but it's still going to the center!"

But you guys are right, if people pay attention, they'll notice that it's gray. A lot of people don't and act on insinct.

 

[LittleSoundDJ]

The biggest problem with tower control is the lack of team coordination. This is a gametype that really really needs communication to work to its full potential. That being said, there's things you can do to perform better.

1. Don't zerg the tower. I know, it's tempting, but unless you're running a comeback/quick respawn build(which i have no idea if that's good, but it would require good teammates to perform,) don't do it.
2. Get behind the enemy team. The most effective move you can make is to get behind the enemy and create chaos. You don't even need kills, if you can just get 2 of the enemy team looking at you for 10 seconds, you're essentially making it 3v2 in your team's favor by the tower.
3. If you kill the enemy team, don't just immediately jump on the tower, make sure you or your teammates are positioned well to make the push effective.
4. If your team is getting pinned down by a charger or other long range weapon, spend the extra time to go around and flank that specific person. Make sure they don't feel comfortable in their position. If they don't feel safe, they won't be as effective.
5. Stay alive. I can't emphasize this enough. If your team is getting wasted, get out of there and find a safe position, either so you can be flanking when your team spawns, or so your team can jump to you. People constantly run in and die on this mode, and it just becomes chaos. 1 person that stayed alive and got away can deny the enemy from pushing.
6. Zoning is more important than kills.

 

[lostleader]

Honestly it's like the other two modes, Splat Zone, and turf war, POINT CONTROL. Of course the point in question moves, but basically the same techs will work for it. Make sure to limit your enemies ability to move, and making yours better. Try not to die or be aware of when to run especially while on the tower. The only real difference I honestly see is that long range weapons really shine in this mode, and all the shorter range weapons have more niche rolls.

 

[OG String]

What I've noticed often happens in TC is everyone tries to focus TOO heavily on the tower itself. Whether the enemy is riding it into your base or your team riding into the enemy's, there's WAY too much super jumping directly to the tower leading to easy kills and pointless deaths. This should really only be done when you're on that final push to the end point or you desperately need to hold the tower to prevent a loss.

What I've found to be the most effective strategy is to settle down a bit, calm yourself, and focus on the areas AROUND the tower, particularly the middle. If you can paint and control the entire center area it makes it very difficult for your opponents to come back and make progress, especially if they're overly focused on the tower. This has the added benefit of A. Charging your special and B. Offering constant Super Jump points for your teammates. Don't just run in, get a kill on the tower, then die trading off constantly, unless its paramount that you stop them from taking the lead for example. Also as mentioned try to make a few sneaky runs behind the enemy line and get a surprise attack on them while your team is riding the tower, this works like a charm.

So to summarize, remember these 3 key points: 1) paint as much of the middle area as possible to hold the tower ground and charge up your special, 2) get surprise kills on enemies focused on the tower by patiently hiding or flanking, and 3) stay alive to offer super jump points for your teammates in the middle. I highly recommend using the standard roller with suction bombs and killer wail for this, and focusing your gear on special saver/special charge up. Of course there are plenty of other options you can use for weapons, it depends on your own style and skills, but this one in particular is spot on.

 

[Chapter Serf]

Super-Jumping to the tower is a dicey proposition. At this point, I'm pretty sure most triple and quad kills come from Super Jumping to the tower and the other team just sitting their with a **** eating grin on their face. One person roaming/flanking/killing/hunting can be more useful than four people defending the tower. Especially on the more maze like maps where it's not one seeker and a swim to the other side of the map. That one person can cut off/distract enemy reinforcements, provide a jump point for his own team's reinforcements and build up a special that is sure to come into play at the worst possible moment for his opponents.

If you just super-jump to the tower every time you have it, break that habit. If your team wipes, and you weren't there, they can then super jump to you, and limit the damage done because of the wipe.

 

[Crazy]

If one of my teammates get on the tower I usually super jump to the tower to lay a mine on the tower and then go ahead and try to scout ahead and get kills to clear a path and support the tower rider. I don't care if I die during this as long as I contribute to us staying on the tower the farthest. If the other team gets the tower I will usually get behind them and take them out quickly so we can regain control and place a mine and ride it if another teammate didn't grab it already.

 

[Rellek]

I like those instances where team member get splatted in individual segments. For example, 4 team members are alive and near the tower. One dies and goes into respawn time. A second dies while the first gets halfway through the spawn time. The third dies as the first super jumps to the fourth. Finally, the fourth dies as the second jumps to the first who dies soon after and so on.

If every player had a mine, they would be nearly undefeatable lol.

 

[Squadaloo]

If you find yourself trying to ride the tower a lot and failing, you should try to let/force others who are better at it ride the tower while you flank. I went on a losing streak from high B to low B- because I was too focused on being the Splattershot Jr. with the Bubbler riding the tower. I switched to the .52 Gal and focused on getting splats and stopping enemy tower progress and the results were immediate (literally: my first game, I went 25-6).

As for general Tower Control tips, unless the situation absolutely calls for it like a late overtime push, you should limit the number of people on the tower to 1 and have everybody else either trying to push ahead, flank (or for Snipers, killing anything that moves), or staying slightly near the tower so they can reclaim it at a moment's notice. If you're riding the tower, don't be afraid to jump off if you need to splat some enemies. Even if one of the enemy players jumps on the tower while you're fighting, you're at least keeping their teammates back from helping them while giving your teammates time to reclaim the tower. Also, don't super jump unless you know you'll be safe when you land or you're making a last minute point and need just 1 or 2 more distance to take the lead, and you can jump to the tower. Sometimes, it's worth taking the extra time to get back to the fight because the tide can turn quickly and you can prepare yourself to defend/attack from a better position than if you super jumped right in to the fray.

Obviously, not all of these are foolproof and there exceptions to the rule (don't get off the tower in overtime!), but in general, my wins tended to lean towards these strategies.

 

[Azza]

Know where the tower is. I hate it when they are pushing the tower into the base or past a point they take the lead. And I have a teammate off doing something else. Its all good and well picking someone off, though will likely be super jumping. The lead is very important.

 

[Njok]

The lead is very important.

So much this. Especially when it is past a point that is hard to get through. I notice people getting killed in enemy base and trying to get back there as fast as they can. It's really not needed if you have the lead.

Say you have the lead with 20 left, just regroup at around your '40' point and go all Gandalf on their ***. You don't have to always win by knockout.

 

[Rellek]

So much this. Especially when it is past a point that is hard to get through. I notice people getting killed in enemy base and trying to get back there as fast as they can. It's really not needed if you have the lead.

Say you have the lead with 20 left, just regroup at around your '40' point and go all Gandalf on their ***. You don't have to always win by knockout.

This is my strategy to the fullest. Almost none of my matches are fully knockouts because I quite literally don't go past the 20 point. Ever. The other three can go suicide in there to try and get the win, but I will always hangout between the 50 and 20. Depending on the stage, I'll go 60 as well. That's the most crucial point in tower control because getting it a little bit down the line to maybe 70 is always going to happen. Once they push past that point, that's when you should start getting your **** together if you haven't already.

Anyways, that's my strat. If we got the tower down past 50, I will hang around the tower and defend it with my life.

 

[sammich]

So much this. Especially when it is past a point that is hard to get through. I notice people getting killed in enemy base and trying to get back there as fast as they can. It's really not needed if you have the lead.

Say you have the lead with 20 left, just regroup at around your '40' point and go all Gandalf on their ***. You don't have to always win by knockout.

jesus christ, it's been a while since i did ranked matches (last time was probably the weekend after tower control came out. i got busy at work and just played for splatfests or to level up clothes and try new weapons in turf wars), but the last time i played i kept getting us a clear lead and then my team was so focused on getting a knockout that we weren't able to work together to repel the enemies and they kept winning. it was so frustrating.