CommunityFortress

I know, I know. I have neglected my new column for more than two months now. I blame the beginning of classes for my absence and I hope to do better in the coming weeks/months.

My previous column introduced the idea that the communication of the justifications for the specific rules, formats, and practices of competitive 6v6 TF2 to non-competitive players should be one of the primary concerns of any effort to expand the competitive 6v6 playerbase. I proposed that the existing rules, formats, and practices for 6v6 are not infallible (or unchangeable) but nevertheless represent nearly four years of reflection and testing on behalf of the 6v6 community. This reflection and testing provide us, the competitive 6v6 community, with the assurance we need to boldly defend and promote our community and the nuances of our play to potential recruits. I concluded my prior column by saying that I would discuss the relationship between 6v6, other formats of competitive TF2, and community growth in the third edition of Splash Damage. Let us proceed to that task now...

In the current competitive TF2 community, the only popular alternative to the 6v6 format is Highlander. And, mind you, it is not just a sideshow; Highlander is an incredibly robust format that is played by hundreds and hundreds of teams worldwide. So how does Highlander relate to 6v6 and why, as I mentioned in my previous post, do I think that it is central to growing the competitive 6v6 community? In short, it has to do with the manner with which Highlander resembles public server play.

The Highlander format, as most of my readers are aware, pits two teams of nine players against one another. Unlike 6v6, Highlander limits the number of players on each class to one and thus Highlander teams consist of nine players with one on each and every class. This aspect of the format, alongside larger team sizes, makes Highlander seem to be a more natural extension of public server play than 6v6 to those who are new to TF2. New players who enjoy playing classes like Spy and Engineer find an outlet in Highlander and those players who are accustomed to playing on 32-man and 24-man servers find Highlander less restricting than 6v6 in terms of size.

I think that the unique aspects of Highlander play are valuable and fun in themselves while providing a refreshing alternative to 6v6 play. For this reason, I think that Highlander should be supported as a viable format and players who play Highlander should not be shunned by the larger competitive community. Nevertheless, I think that Highlander serves another purpose that is relevant to my ongoing discussion about growing the competitive 6v6 community. I think that Highlander provides a good stepping stone for those players who are interested in competitive 6v6 play but would not see its merits without first playing Highlander. That is, in some cases, Highlander can act as an intermediate format that bridges the divide between public play and 6v6 play. Since it can be hard for the 6v6 community to convince new players of the merits of playing 6v6, Highlander provides a method to do so. The chaotic and slower-moving format highlights the reasons that 6v6 was decided upon as a format in the first place. That's not to say that there is anything wrong with these aspects of Highlander play but rather that they help reveal the justifications underlying the odd quirks of the world of 6v6.

In general, it is not effective to shove 6v6 down the throats of new players and then wonder why they resist our arguments. Instead, we as a community must show them why 6v6 is played as it is. Alongside mentoring programs, match broadcasts, strategy discussions, and other methods, the Highlander format can help us in this realm. Its current popularity should be capitalized on both for the sake of TF2 and for the sake of the competitive 6v6 community.

I would love to hear what you guys think about this perspective on Highlander so please comment if you have an opinion.