Back alley can be quite an intimidating map to navigate the first time you set foot on
it but there are only 3 chokepoints where the teams can first clash. Well, three and
a half. This is less important in a hostage map than in a defuse one since terrorists
are free to hide anywhere, but it's worth knowing them just in case. The spawn points
for both teams are set out like this. CTs have two BEST spawn points, depending
on the route they choose through the level. Terrorists have one that's better than all
the others. This one here. It's kind of useful to spawn here when there's just one narrow
exit, like in this map and Inferno. Looking at the map's radar image, you can
see the points of contact. In just 9 seconds both teams will meet in this hallway, followed
closely by this area here at 10 seconds. Now this is a bit complicated- although the teams
can see each other here, it's an area where terrorists can choose whether or not to engage.
It takes a further 3 seconds for both teams to reach this area, where CTs finally have
equal footing. Also at 13 seconds is this contact point here. The rest of this video
discusses these in more depth. Firstly the TUNNEL. As I said it's the first
place the teams can meet and it seems a fairly level playing field, though terrorists will
be the first to be able to throw grenades off of this wall and have a spot to hide just
in here. On the other hand, for back-pedalling, the CTs have much wider corridors with more
places to hide while the terrorists are somewhat trapped in narrow indoor areas. A smoke would
help with a retreat here. Moving across the map, let's go onto the UPSTAIRS.
This is the most difficult to do by far, as both teams must time some awkward ladder jumps
to get a decent time for this route. If you're agile and love bunnyhopping, this place could
favour you. As CT I'd suggest smoking the corridor to cover your escape out of the vent,
though if you get a good spawn and time then you should be able to get out of it just before
terrorists turn the corner. As terrorists, it would be worth learning where the vent
is so that you can counter the smoke tactic, or to use it to your advantage. I expect some
awesome 5-man spray-downs decimating the CT side if they decide to rush here. Unlike the
first spot, terrorists can easily back-pedal to securer locations.
And finally, the BACK ALLEY path. As mentioned previously it's not entirely fair on CTs since
terrorists can choose to engage from a number of windows. CTs have grenades on their side.
Immediately targeting the furthest open window could be an effective tactic and may delay
terrorists who choose to rush the next area I'll talk about. Here you can see just how
far CTs can get before terrorists reach the windows.
In general, the road is the CT's domain and the indoor places the Terrorist's. Terrorists
can choose when to engage from the windows, but unlike the CTs who have a lot of room
to manoeuvre (as well as a nice sniper spot back near their entrance), it's easy to set
up a shot and to wait for terrorists to run into it. Jumping out of the windows as the
terrorists SHOULD spell inescapable death but if any of you REALLY wants to defenestrate
yourselves, I suggest breaking the window with a smoke or flash grenade to at least
give you a fighting chance once you hit the ground. Or CT.
While terrorists have the choice of when to peak, it's fairly predictable where they'll
peak from so I guess it balances out somewhat. CTs certainly have better visibility even
though they suffer a height disadvantage. I'm going to assume that terrorists WON'T
jump out of these windows, though if they do I recommend that flashes and smokes are
used to break them in the first place and to give them a fighting chance in the following
seconds. And finally, BACK ROOM. The CTs may already
have encountered terrorists from the windows, but this is the first time they'll properly
face them in a balanced position. I suspect that this is the path that favours teamwork
the most, as teammates will be able to lob grenades through the windows to either attack
terrorists from behind or to smoke the escape routes. Bear in mind that terrorists can do
the same back. Backalley is a map that favours individual
plays more than most due to its confined corridors making 1-on-1 engagements more likely. CTs
have a remarkably rough time at most of these chokepoints and I believe it's dependant on
the luck of the draw where the other team chooses to go and where they're going to be
throwing their grenades. Like I said before, rushing doesn't hold as much significance
in hostage maps as it does in defuse, though it doesn't hurt to know this information.
It's worth mentioning the WORST spawn positions. I've been asked before why I went to the effort
of opening these maps up in the editor to see the spawn points and now I finally have
a reason other than just 'I didn't know the console command!'. Interestingly, it also
serves as a good reason to learn maths in school.
By working out their distance to the entrance I calculate that the worst terrorist spawn
is 189 units further away from the exit, making them 0.76 seconds behind the best spawn, or
more if they get blocked, and less if they're speed-hacking. I haven't forgotten about you,
KQLY! CTs have a bit more variance. For the backalley
route there's a difference of 1.38 seconds between these two spawns.
The other path isn't quite as diverse. This is the worst spawn point and will put you
at a 1 second disadvantage. What sort of difference does that make? Well,
not enough to justify me running through the level with Welshe again to show the differences,
but I will adjust these contact points to mirror the timing differences.
At TUNNEL, this is if both teams get good spawn points. Worst-case terrorist spawn looks
like this, in which case CTs might be able to lob grenades off the wall before they do.
Ignore the terrorist running around the corner, that's still showing the best-case spawn for
T's. And finally, worst-case CT. Terrorists will be able to reach the mouth of the tunnel
before the good guys even turn the corner. I know what you're thinking- it doesn't make
too much of a difference- only about a second. You'll still get caught on both sides if you
try to rush through the chokepoint so good spawn points here are best used to prepare
for the enemies to rush. Moving onto the UPSTAIRS area. This DOES make
a difference. If Terrorists get a bad spawn then CT's most certainly will be able to get
out of the vent in time. If CT's have a bad spawn, they're going to find it very difficult
to escape from vents. The BACKALLEY path adds more variance for
CT's due to the spawn positions. If CT's get the worst spawn then the first terrorists
will be able to jump out of the window even before CTs turn the corner- although those
in the CT sniper spot will be able to pick them off still. If Terrorists get a bad spawn,
CTs will be able to further push along the alley or to hide up against the side of the
building. With the back-room, a bad CT spawn makes a
hard fight even worse and a bad Terrorist spawn allows CTs an extra 3 quarters of a
second to prepare for the fight in the room. In conclusion, even in these worst-case scenarios
the difference isn't THAT great. It's good to know the variance between the best and
worst spawn points but in practice it doesn't make a great difference in most situations,
especially since the reality will be somewhere between these two extremes. It's probably
easier to visualise this in your mind than it is in these pictures. Thanks to Kristis
for the idea- better to have tried it than never to have known. Have 3 klikpoints.
And that's all for this video. If there's anything else about chokepoints that you think
I should include in later videos then please let me know. Have fun!