Written by Yamaxanadu Having played Station-1 for quite a while on the server, I've noticed that very rarely will people collaborate to help in scoring; they will mindlessly run in, shoot down someone, die, and it will continue until enough people slip up at the same time and someone pulls the ball through for a score. This is not how a good TD setup works; this small article hopes to clear up some priorities while playing on Station-1. Despite this article being rather lengthy, the theory behind a successful Station-1 run is actually relatively simple; this just hits on all of the possible scenarios as well. The Quick Summary is pretty much what this article has in a nutshell, but I go into detail on preferred weapons, layout, what happens in X situation and how you should respond accordingly, etc. Stage Layout The layout of Station-1 is completely symmetrical to the ball from both sides, and is the smallest TD stage by far, making it a rather hectic and fun stage. Both teams spawn in the train that resides in either base, and to the right of your train is a destroyable bridge that connects two ledges suspended above a pit. The pit itself is not useful for anything; it could be suggested that it is a punishment for trying to take the bridge and having it blown from under your feet, or failing to walljump at the right angle into the goal. The goal itself resides in the back of both bases, which can be accessed from two sides: the ledge in front of the bridge (either by crossing the bridge when it's materialized, or walljumping over to the ledge), and through a path that runs right along the side of the train and around the very back. Generally, you want to be taking the ledge route to the goal whenever possible, as scoring through the back route puts you right where the other team will respawn and easily chase you down the rather long hallway. The middle section is the largest open space in the stage (and even then, it isn't really large). There are a few sets of destroyable pillars that can be stood upon by walljumping off the side walls, or using a skill to access then. These are great Sentry Gun spots, as they are rarely destroyed when placed in those locations. The ball spawn point is in the middle of the area, and to the left and right sides are little pits that can possibly cover you as you run through the room (the pillars themselves obstruct the opponent's aiming at times). There is a shelf-like structure directly above the pits, connected by a ramp on each side, but the shelves themselves are rarely used (however, Sentry Guns can possibly work here). Quick Summary At the beginning of any round, rush to the middle area and clear it out; do not attempt rushing for the ball until the area is clear or has very few people remaining to try and stop you. After the area is clear, let someone with a decent amount of SP grab the ball and run it in. The rest of the surviving team follows behind to pick up the ball if lost. Perform any of the 3 walljumps (see this topic if you are not familiar with them) for a score. Repeat until victorious. Remember, a single player can only do so much on their own; it's the rest of the supporting team that completes the system. On Respawn At the beginning of the round and after each score, everyone begins in their base's train. This part is relatively simple; just use up your SP running over to the middle area and get situated as fast as possible. This is important: do not try setting up a large defense at the beginning of the round. Not only is this mostly useless since it disappears if you get killed doing anything other than playing constant defense, it also lowers the number of people who can fight for the ball in the beginning. Besides, if you don't give them a chance to get the ball in the first place, why do you need the defensive cover? After the middle area is clear, designate someone to score, and if they have been defeated in the middle area, move on to the next most suitable scorer. Someone with high SP and a melee weapon of some sort will do the trick. Scoring Probably the most difficult part of the job: the scoring itself after the ball is in your team's hands. Once the ball has been claimed, it is important for the rest of the team to rush with the scorer, preferably with a gun of some sort if trailing behind the scorer, or a melee weapon if ahead of the scorer. Your priority is to keep the ball out of the opposing team's possession after initially obtaining it, and using your lives like a train to move the ball into the goal if one segment is stopped along the way, so to speak. Generally, you want to rush the side with the least coverage. Most people expect you to come from the far (left) side when you go to score; you can mix this up by taking the right side and walljumping off the train to land in the scoring zone as an alternative. If you have the misfortune of running out of SP, you can also try running the ball past the train and through the back way into the goal if you really want to try, since it's actually quite easy to pick off players in a narrow hallway like the back path, and even easier if you've got teammates running back there with you to pick up where you left off if you get killed. In the event that you were killed during the skirmish in the middle, you can always use that time after you respawn to get back to the middle if the opponents choose to reset the ball if they take over it. Therefore, you will be right on the ball when it respawns and you will have a full SP bar to take advantage of that opportunity. Defense Defense should always remain a secondary thing in TD games, especially on Station-1 since it is such a small stage. There is absolutely no reason that your entire team should be trying to set up defenses to stop people from scoring; if they are the ones on the offensive, they are in the right, and they have far higher odds of scoring against you than you do. If you're in the lead and there are only a few minutes left on the clock, you can always stall it out, but that is quite risky as no defense is ever perfect. If the opponents have trumped you in the skirmish, you can still redeem yourself during respawn, or if they decided to be bold and grab the ball without clearing out the middle. It is extremely easy to kill people in the narrow hallways with Counter Sword, and I'm tempted to say it's the absolute best weapon on Station-1 due to how much area a jump attack covers in hallways. Block is quite effective as a defense, simply because by blocking off the ledge in front of your goal adequately, you will leave then with only three choices: taking the Block spawner down to pass, break the Block itself, or take the back way through the base. You can also drop one in front of the stairs where the most common walljump is performed, leaving them to go another way to score as well (making it that much harder). When the opponents rush the ball, it should be extremely easy to handle them as they try to rush through your team. Simply stop them with Counter Sword or your preferred gun as they approach you; it's quite hard to miss a target that moves in a straight line. Generally this is when you capitalize on the moment and recapture the ball, then begin your own counter rush after the middle area is cleared out. Final Thoughts Remember, teamwork is one of the largest factors in a successful Station-1 match. If your team is uncoordinated, put them in line and restore the balance (the F3 team-only chat function works wonders for coordinating your plan). Remain on the offensive, but in coordinated offense; taking it upon yourself to waste your life on taking out one person before going down is really not going to support the team as much as a clean house in one skirmish. I hope to see more fun TD matches on Station-1! Discussion on this guide can be found on our forums!