CEVO Articles

Out of all the maps in CoD4, mp_pipeline is probably both the most loved and most hated map.  Some teams seem to excel far beyond their expectations while others simply fall apart on this one sided map.  The debate whether Pipeline should even remain a competitive map goes back and forth, but with a limited supply of competitive stock maps available, it’s pretty much safe to say Pipeline will be sticking around for a little longer.  With that in mind, we’ve come up with five simple tips to help your team succeed on Pipeline.

Utilize Grenades

Too many teams do not use their grenades to their full potential on Pipeline, especially on offensive, which is tough enough already.  If everyone on your team does not use their secondary grenade (smoke or stun) on the offensive side of Pipeline there is a serious problem with your strats.  More often than not, you’re going to want everyone to take smoke grenades on offense to allow you to actually move around the map at the start of the round without getting picked apart from multiple directions.  This is absolutely essentially if your opponent is able to make the back B hanger building jump at the start of the round, otherwise your just letting him pick you off one by one down the street.  These cover smoke grenades are usually best thrown by players with Spec Ops because they are often the first to die rushing into a bombsite.  Some teams like to have their Spec Ops use flash grenades to take bombsites.  While this can work, Pipeline is a very open map and unless you know exactly where your opponents are playing flash grenades can be ineffective at times.

Control the Pace of the Game

Controlling the pace of the game might seem easy on the defensive side of this map, but it is extremely important while on offense as well.   Too many teams try to just pug the offensive side of the map thinking they will pick up one or two rounds needed to at least tie the game, which is how a lot of games on Pipeline are lost.  Having a good offense that can control the pace of the game doesn’t mean you have to win a lot of rounds (it is the harder side of the map after all), it just means you can’t let the defense get into a rhythm of completely stomping you.  If your offensive rounds consistently come down to 1v1 or 2v2 situations, it doesn’t matter if you are losing a few rounds, because you will eventually pick up a round or two.  On the flip side, controlling the pace of the game on defense can really make or break teams in the mental side of the game.  Winning the first half of the map 11-1 really puts a damper on your opponent, no matter who it is.

Set up cross-fires

Pipeline’s open nature makes for some absolutely amazing crossfires to be set up, especially around the A bombsite and the middle street cross.  A defense that does not coordinate effective crossfires will find themselves getting picked apart one by one and losing unnecessary rounds.  For this reason, most teams like to play either a 2-3 defense, stacking three players around the A bombsite and two players around mid/B bombsite.  This is generally very effective at shutting down offensive A pushes, however, if an offensive chooses to push the B site and/or up the middle street, proper rotations are key from the players at A to shut down the offense.  Another very common variation of the 2-3 defensive setup is to use one player as a floater of sorts, rotating which bombsite he covers.   Working against these defensive crossfires is extremely hard, especially against good teams, therefore offensive teams should work in pairs of two (three if really necessary) while pushing bombsites.  Also, while taking a bombsite, it is important to push at the same time; otherwise the defensive will rotate and pick you off accordingly.

Don’t back into Corners

Probably the biggest factor in close games on Pipeline is clutches that should have either been won or lost.  Too many clutches go wrong from players backing into a corner and their opponents out-playing them.  An offensive player in a 1v1 situation should position himself in a position where he can CLEARLY see if the bomb is being defused with a number of ways to rotate to a different location to watch the bomb.  Under no circumstance should anyone try to cover a bombsite by using a wall spam spot.  Not only is bullet damage reduced through walls, but you’re essentially putting a big red neon sign on your location and asking for them to clutch against you.  Another really big mistake many teams make on offensive is to work a full five man silo side rush.  While this strategy can certainly work, its disadvantages outweigh its advantages.  You’re essentially trapping yourself on one side of the map.  Once the defense knows you’re coming, a quick rotation and you’re cornered from every direction.   Bottom line; use Pipeline’s size to confuse your opponent instead of setting up easy kills for them.

Learn to Adapt

Winning rounds on offensive all comes down to how well you can adapt to a defensive’s setup.  You can come into a match with ten different ways to push the A bombsite but if all ten of your strats don’t work there is no reason to keep beating the dead horse.  Adapting on the spot is what separates the great teams from the good teams.  The key to adapting your strats on Pipeline begins in finding a weakness in your opponents’ strategies.  It doesn’t matter how hard you are getting rolled on offense, I can guarantee you EVERY defense has a weakness.  Once you identify that weakness you need to exploit it to get the bomb planted.  Essentially, if you are able to get the bomb planted on offense, you should be able to win the round.

Summary

Try to implement these 5 tactics into your next practice or scrim. Find a feel that works for you and your team, and hopefully the next time you’re scheduled on pipeline, you’ll pull off a well-deserved victory.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 at 5:00 am and is filed under CoD4, Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.