Tribes Ascend Infiltrator Base Defense Guide

Tribes Ascend Infiltrator Base Defense Guide by SavageHoax

I’ve seen a lot of infiltrators in a lot of matches. There is no denying it is a popular class. Thus far however I’ve not really seen anyone else use the infiltrator for base defence which is a shame because with some creative thinking the INF can make for some excellent base over-watch and flag guard.
This guide is written with a heavy bias towards PUB’s. I am not an expert, on pub games or private’s so take it for what it is; Opinion and observation.

You will need:
The Jackal – no other primary weapon will do for this.
Prism Mines – stickies can work but pris mines are better.
Safety Third
Map Knowledge
Situational Awareness

Why it works:

The INF has many tools designed to allow them to operate behind enemy lines for exstended periods of time, Namely the cloak. The ability to observe unseen and chose the right moment to attack is the main strength of the INF class. It does not however take a great leap of imagination to see how these skills can be applied to defence.

If you assign yourself to base defence as an INF you will need to put the speed and agility of your light armour to good use.
Is the flag under attack? Be at the flag.
Is the gen under attack? Be at the gen.
Nothing going on? Watch the approaches to your base.

What the Technician and especially the Doombringer lack is the mobility of light armour. As a general rule: While one will support the other if under attack a DOM or TCH will have to commit to defending either the gen room or flag base. The DOM is simply too heavy to do much moving and needs to fill the role of HoF. The TCH has better mobility of person but is generally bound to their turret and sensor nest, be it on the flag or in the gen room.
To contrast as an INF you have the advantage of light armour, you can move about the base far more quickly than other defenders. You’re also not tied to any kind of “nest” since your mines are pretty much a drop and forget weapon only needing to be replaced after an assault.

How it works:

The first thing you need to decide is where your pris mines should go. This will depend entirely on the situation. If the opposing team is going heavy on flag offence then place your mines in defence of the generator. If they’re going heavy on gen attack place them around the flag. In short use your mines to cover the areas you cannot immediately pay attention to. You will need to use your own judgment to determine exactly where this is.

Next you need to provide overwatch. Find a spot where you can watch the opposing team approach your base and call targets for your HoF. Try to identify medium and heavy targets and prioritise those. They are the ones best equipped to disrupt your HoF and also the ones best equipped to destroy you.
Pay attention to the movement of light targets. If they go for the flag you know they’re a pathfinder going for a cap. But if they don’t go for the flag then you have a hostile infiltrator on your hands and you will likely need to deal with them personally.

Once they are upon you determine where you are needed and prioritise. Early in the match having a gen online can make a big difference especially if the opposing team has had their gen destroyed. Deployables like force-fields, turrets and jammers will be non-functional while your gen is off-line and these deployables can make a big difference early in the match. Conversely this is also when the gen is at its most vulnerable. A single infiltrator or raider is capable of very quickly destroying your technician AND generator.
Because of this it’s probably more important that you defend your gen and tech early on from an early attack than it is to reinforce the flag-base. Latter in the game however the reverse will be true. Most early credits are sunk into your generator to make it more durable, reducing its vulnerability to loan wolf attacks. This is also likely the time when your gen is being worked over a barrel by 4 brutes and 6 infiltrators so defending it is likely pointless.
There are however no hard and fast rules for what you should be defending. You will need to use your intuition to work out where you can do the most good.

INF Defense tactics:

Defending the generator is for the most part straight forward. Kill the guys attacking your gen. Once the area is secure replace your mines and assist with gen repair until your generator is operational again. DO NOT stay and heal your gen to full. That is a job for your tech. Even if your team doesn’t currently have a tech you will do more good as over-watch and flag defence than you will farting around the gen room.

Defending the flag is a bit trickier and requires sharp eyes and sharp reflexes. Here more than anywhere is where your jackal will shine. Once you know you need to defend the flag you’ll want to cloak up and find a spot close to the flag with a good view of the battlefield. You’re looking for fast movers, people going in for the grab. Early in the match you can pre-seed your charges around and even on the flag but after the first or second time you do this, stop. Cappers will catch on quickly and will start clearing flag base with a quick disk or ‘nade. This is smart as by this time your HoF is probably laying mines on the flag.
A better way to catch a wanna-be capper out is to wait until the last possible moment to place your charges. A very good flag grabber will send a blue disk to the flab base less than a second before they grab the flag, timed with precision to give no chance for a pre-emptive response. Fortunately there are very few flag cappers like this in public games.
Time your response carefully, wait for the blue disk then fire your jackal charges onto the flag. With good timing and a bit of luck you can catch a flag grab in those sweet empty seconds where their weapon is still reloading but they haven’t quite grabbed the flag yet. It might take you a bit of practise but once mastered you can at the very least make sure no one leaves your flag base without taking some damage. Pathfinders will likely be killed outright, raiders and soldiers may be a problem but even they will take a significant hit.

The key with this strategy is to do this from stealth. If a flag grabber see’s you they will know something is wrong and will likely make you eat a blue plate special for standing around the flag base like a static noob. However if they don’t see you they can’t react and if they can’t react they’ll find your jackal charges every time.

Returning the flag:

Even the best defender will lose a flag. Sometimes it just can’t be helped. What matters is what you do next.
See, unlike the HoF you can chase. Not very well, but better than a doom bringer for sure. If it was a pathfinder that stole your flag then do not peruse, but chase for a short distance, try and make sure they take some damage. Remember, while holding the flag a flag capper cannot regen health. Any damage you apply will make the job of the real chasers that much easier. Besides, chances are you might get lucky and kill them before they make it more than 200m away from your base.
If it was a solider or raider (or mercy be, a brute) then you chase that mofo down and make them eat jackal charges and pistol (or throwing knives if you prefer) all the way back to their base. Your light armour places you at even odds with them in a chase, your faster and more mobile than them even without all the bells and whistles of a pathfinders energy pack. They might be tougher but remember, any damage done sticks with them till they drop the flag so even if they kill you the job of flag return has been made that much easier for the real chasers.

Summary:

Provide over-watch. Tag incomings for your HoF. Be mobile; help gen and flag; mines where your attention will be thinnest. Time the placement of your charges for maximum efficiency. Chase the rabbit with the flag; make them pay for touching it. When defending, always attack from the shadows.

And that is my guide for defending as an infiltrator. Comments? Questions? Name-calling?