Chasing

A Basic Chasing Guide For New Tribes Players
To those new to tribes, a chaser is a position whose primary goal is to have control of your team's flag. Lets go over the basics for becoming a good chaser.

- Before You Start: Think Like a Capper -
Usually flag chases are races of death between Pathfinders. To efficiently intercept and disrupt enemy flag cappers, a bit of reverse thinking is necessary - what would I do if I wanna grab the flag? Try to play a few matches as a capper on each map to get the gists.

1. Learn Your Opponents Routes and Styles
When playing regularly as a chaser you will find yourself against a various amount of cappers each with different routes in styles. The first thing to learn is routes. In what direction will my opponent be coming in? How fast will he be going? How long will his return route take before he is back to his flag stand? These are the questions you should be asking yourself when you step into the shoes of a chaser. Many cappers follow a basic route with their own variation so pay attention and you will be able to see them coming before they get there. No capper is the same and each like to use different armors for capping. The most popular is the pathfinder. However, some cappers use armors like the infiltrator using their cloaking ability to get the grab, and juggernauts blowing through all your defense and still having a significant amount of life left. Find out what they are going to be using and adjust accordingly.

2. Find your position
There are 3 basic positions that you will find yourself playing in as a chaser. The easiest to learn is playing on a hill behind or next to the flag. Since you're on a hill you can ski down in any direction to fall in behind the enemy capper and blast him to bits. The disadvantage of this is that he will have more health than if you were defending the flag stand and his grab is pretty easy. I find the second method more popular: flying a little behind the flag and spamming it with explosives as the capper comes in. The disadvantage of this position is that if he gets through, you will not be in a good position to chase him and will have to catch up. The last position is by far the most difficult and most dangerous position. Body blocking. When the capper comes in you will want to fly in front of the flag stand (relative to the direction the capper is coming in) and use your disc and body to hit the capper as he flies in. Disadvantage is huge if you miss, you are in the worst possible place to begin the actual chasing and don't have a good idea of the direction he is heading. Even the best chasers mess this up and it is no easy thing to accomplish. You also have to position yourself when blocking to avoid any grenades or discs that the capper throws on the flag to clear it. One explosion hits you and you're off course. However the effect is just as deadly if you manage to block him. He is left with absolutely no momentum to actually grab the flag making it an easy kill. The last position is best used when you have your capper coming in for the capture and need the flag at your base.

3. Play smart
The first point which frustrates good chasers to no end. DO NOT RETURN THE FLAG RIGHT AWAY. Obviously there are many exceptions to this. If the flag is in the enemy base, or enemies are around the flag you should always return it. However, what I mean is when the flag is off the flagstand and in an area where no enemies are around, DO NOT RETURN. The idea is as follows: one chaser will stand around the flag in the field and wait to return it. The rest of your team will clear your flag stand. Now the chaser standing around the flag will wait for one of two things to happen before he returns it. If an enemy appears and goes for it, or your capper is almost at the flag stand then the chaser should return it. While the flag is in the field many of the cappers will go for that position instead of your actual flag stand. Giving you extra time of having control of the flag when you return it and they have to start a whole new route to grab it. Also when you return the flag before you capper caps there is a small amount of time that someone will grab it before he gets there. Being smart with returning the flag is the difference of a win and a loss in many games.

Another point is playing smart is how you chase down the enemy capper. It is not always best to follow the capper right off the flag stand. He will have more momentum then you and unless he is a bad capper you won't catch up to him. What you want to do is cut him off and make a route to pull in behind him on the way to the flag. That way you can get up to the same speed that he has and make an easy kill.

4. Use Voice Commands
Communication between your fellow chasers and cappers is key to success. Let them know when the base is clear, when the flag is secured in the field and your waiting to return it, the list goes on.

Conclusion
This is just a guide to get you guys started in chasing with some of the basic. I know after reading this some of you will be thinking to yourself well what is the best armor or weapon to use when chasing? The answer is none. If you can keep up with the capper and can hit them and kill them then you are good. I have even managed to chase with the doombringer (seriously don't do this unless you can keep up with the capper). Go out and experiment and find your chasing class. I myself prefer pathfinder and ranger but find what works for you.

Happy Chasing!

Written by tHeNaZMaN

Sources:

A T1 experienced chaser and chasing ever since Tribes Ascend came out

("Before You Start" added by Helmstif)