Rooftop Camping : Are you hurting your team?

[Zoraster]

First, a disclaimer: This is NOT a discussion on whether or not rooftop camping or spawning should be allowed by TG. If you start that discussion in any way, I'll have the mods delete your post or, barring that, close the thread entirely.

So what IS my point? Stop hurting your team. You're not being clever, and you're not accomplishing anything by camping rooftops in 9 situations out of ten. You may think your little 6 person squad camped on an insignificant roof doesn't hurt your team, but guess what? That's a fourth of the total team, and your team will most likely LOSE because of you. Yes, take that in. You're not just costing your team a few tickets here and there as your body falls 16 stories after being rocketed, you're providing little to no flag support, and this is practically putting your own team at a numerical disadvantage.

Take, for example, a game I had yesterday.



A full squad of TG tagged players camped the roof I've indicated. Meanwhile, my squad happily laid motion mines sealing EU into their base and letting EU bleed quickly to a loss (soon after this screen shot, my team takes the two neutral flags). Think for a second. How does that serve the team? Even if you manage to somehow wipe the people defending monorail out at the same time, by the time you jump down and run over to the flag, the defenders have spawned again.

So let's put it bluntly: you're letting your team down when you decide to go for the giggle-fest that is rooftop camping. Occasionally it serves a purpose, but this is rare, and you should have a specific reason for going up to a roof... not just because you can.

Again, this isn't a discussion about whether this type of thing should be banned, but it is one about whether your rooftop camping is serving a purpose. If you can reasonably justify it, fine. I'm not trying to stifle some creative uses of teamwork. But if you just want to go up top for a little laugh, keep in mind that your now seriously disadvantaged teammates might feel a little differently.

[Anospa]

I love rooftop campers for all the reasons you stated, only when they're on the other team!

[Concr3te]

Great post, Zoraster. I totally agree.
Roofing is used in one situation:

If you hate your team and want to ensure a certain lose.

Really, roofing is pathetic. Because you are at no advantage at all. Height? No way, snipers and rocketeers will take care of you with ease.
Dying on a roof doesn't seem to be a big deal, because you can just spawn in on the Beacon, getting into the action again.
But this is like constantly spawning on a beacon right in the middle of a chokepoint; if you know it's been camped you don't spawn on it all the time either do you?
It isn't helping your team in any way, that you're killing people on the ground. These can be revived again easily anyway. But if you are killed and fall off the building you won't. (if you die on a building, with people rocket spamming it I don't think you can count on any revives either)

Very good that you started a topic about this, Zoraster. Roofers really need to think twice from now.

[simpson2142]

not only is it rockets or snipers you've got to watch out for, an enemy orbital could easily wipe out a 6 man squad.

[Superfast]

One word about rooftop spawning: Boring.

Next.

[Concr3te]

Originally Posted by superfastkill

One word about rooftop spawning: Boring.

Next.

Not boring at all, it always is a challenge how long you can survive on a rooftop I think my record was about 5 seconds. But maybe the 21st (the lords of roofing) can explain to us why roofing is so much fun (maybe theres some tactical secret no other IHS's know about)

[Superfast]

Originally Posted by Concr3te

Not boring at all, it always is a challenge how long you can survive on a rooftop I think my record was about 5 seconds. But maybe the 21st (the lords of roofing) can explain to us why roofing is so much fun (maybe theres some tactical secret no other IHS's know about)

Careful so the 21st don't start the "Knife Concr3te" thing on you.

But sadly it does not accomplish anything. But it is fun try out the first few times! I thought so atleast.

[Imperator]

Completely agree. Taking or holding the flag is priority number one, I don't understand why squads set up defensive perimeters around a flag and kill the enemy as they spawn. Its a battle the enemy will win because they have a hard spawn point. Fight on the flag and trust your squad leader to stay alive.

[Bagheera]

Rooftop campers provide a nice, clear outline for me to snipe at. If I'm in a squad and I've spawned on my SL who's on the roof, I'll take a few potshots, then get down to a better location.

[Ferris Bueller]

I agree, rooftop camping does have a lot of disadvantages and is more times than not the wrong course of action.
However, there are times when it is useful. An example of this is on Berlin during the always-epic battle for crossroads. A squad placed on the right rooftop has the ability to provide fire support over a range of kits (engineer, assault, recon) for the crossroads melee. If perched on the buildings in between crossroads and roadblock, they can cover the north and south routes, as well as both flags.
Granted, sometimes this isnt enough, and yes, they do serve as sniper bait. But 3 engineers with pilums can keep that APC/walker from getting to crossroads and unleashing hell on those defending it. If crossroads is taken, a squad with rockets can often slow down enemy movement enough from crossroads to roadblock to allow the rest of the team to move back in a defensive posture.

As stated in the initial post, 90% of the time, rooftop campers are doing their team no justice. God knows I've been guilty of doing it on lots of occasions (as have many of you). But remember guys, it's not ALWAYS about winning. Sometimes you have more fun sitting on a rooftop and blasting away with rockets at the ants crawling down below. And sometimes, rare as it may be, you might actually be doing some good!

[Bagheera]

It's good when you take out a few members of a squad, and the rest hunker down in fear of being sniped (behind cover, where I can't see them.) Then the rest of my squad takes them out like foxes attacking hens cowering in the hen house. But then, it's only good for one or two people, not an entire squad.

[NecktieRemedy]

I suggest all opponents to Rooftop Camp.

[Arf]

The only advantage you get from it is that sometimes pub players aren't aware enough to look up.

If you're sitting up on that roof look down at all the space you are covering. That's all the space someone with rocket grenades can hide and shoot at you from. The guy on the ground already knows where you're going to be, probably already has rocket grenades ranged in and is just waiting for you to expose yourself. The worst part is he'll probably get a revive if killed, you will probably be thrown off the roof by rockets exploding behind you.

If you die instantly on spawning you loose the team 1 ticket every 15 seconds. An entire squad doing that is going to loose the team a 30 ticket lead in just over a minute. The time it takes your pod to land, you to run to the edge of the roof, and then to get plastered by rockets is pretty close to 15 seconds.

[Catman1975]

Originally Posted by Concr3te

Not boring at all, it always is a challenge how long you can survive on a rooftop I think my record was about 5 seconds. But maybe the 21st (the lords of roofing) can explain to us why roofing is so much fun (maybe theres some tactical secret no other IHS's know about)

We will not divulge our secrets to you

EDIT: I have rooftop camped before, but I learned what everyone else has, that in most situations you do not benefit your team. I can't think of a time in the last several weeks when I have been on a rooftop, well in game anyways

[Prmetime]

Originally Posted by Concr3te

Not boring at all, it always is a challenge how long you can survive on a rooftop I think my record was about 5 seconds. But maybe the 21st (the lords of roofing) can explain to us why roofing is so much fun (maybe theres some tactical secret no other IHS's know about)

Seems like you just put the whole 20+ man squad in this category....kind of inaccurate if you ask me. Like G--Man, I to prefer the ground at my feet and my voss in your face

Prime