Most teams should know this map fairly well. It has been used in both cpma and vq3 leagues and has been around for a long time. Teams that have played this map under vq3 will find they can pretty much just keep doing the same thing and have it work out pretty well. Here is a rundown of the main objectives, in order of importance, to win this map:

(1) Control the red armor.
(1)A Once RA is under control, as a team, sweep either the quad yellow armor or the plasma YA. Do not try to do both as that will end up where a team loses everything. By doing this it really gives your team the armor advantage, which is always a top goal in cpma tdm. If a team fails to sweep one of those YA then the armor advantage is basically even. One side has one RA the other side has two YA.

(2) Time the quad
(2)A Rocket launchers make or break a team at the quad area. The shaft is pretty weak in this area as players can duck around corners or drop down below which results in a lot of ammo being burned up to get one kill. Conversely teams want to share (hint: use drop) their shafts to the player with the quad as with 4x damage it is pretty much a insta-gib type of weapon.
(2)B Do not leave RA wide open when timing the quad, either delay the pickup so a team can use that 25 second window or leave your player with the least armor behind to get it. Remember that going to quad with no armor is almost sure death.
(2)C If a team has the armor advantage, it is my personal preference to setup at quad about 10-15 seconds early. Station one player at quad, one covering quad rocket launcher and a third that is near the teleporter exit directly opposite the quad. This setup allows every player to support one another.

(3) Control the lightning gun.
(3)A It is not only the preferred quad weapon, but it will be a major weapon in defending the RA. Time this and drop down from RA to sweep it. There are a few spawn points right around where the shaft spawns in so a respawn can quite easily steal this if the team controlling RA is not vigilant.

(4) Know the spawn points.

When things go bad on cpm4

(1) KEEP IT SIMPLE! Lack of teamwork had something to do with the situation you are in, now more then ever a team needs to play as a team to get back into it. Don’t be trying to pull off trick jumps, high speed maneuvers, lone wolf style, FFA fighting. Those are all high risk options that will fail for 90% of the teams out there.

(2) Do not try to "cess" the RA to get control back, this will fail as any player with RA is nearly unstoppable when faced with only the machinegun. Do not play aggressive, and try to run from most encounters unless it is a 2v1 in your favor.

(3) Concentrate on getting the quad rocket launcher and yellow armor and then avoid fighting until quad time. Use that rocket launcher to defend the plasma/YA and to help your teammates get the next spawning RL. Remember, if your team does not have any RLs they will not win the fight at quad. The shotgun next to quad is also fairly accessible.

(4) Stay with your team and rove as a 2-3 player pack. Sounds like common sense but many teams lose 4 or 5 frags because they played lone wolf style.

(5) Have a player with no weapons/armor try to steal the shaft (or RL) from under the RA. Try to avoid fighting if possible.

(6) Save up all the armor and weapons for the fight at quad, or attack the RA just before quad spawns up to capture the armor advantage. Those are the two offensive options, the chances of out fighting a heavily armored team between quads is really rare.

(7) Do NOT try to fight the quad 1v1, even with 200 armor the 4x damage will go thru your health quicker then you can go thru his (even if he has less armor). There are only two ways to fight a quad, one is to simply avoid it (there is no rail on cpm4 so he has to get fairly close) or to setup a group ambush.

(8) Do NOT try to get the lead in one quad cycle, at most a team can expect to gain about 10 frags if they control and have a good quad run. Pushing your luck and getting greedy will simply mean the team will be over extended and vulnerable to losing control and hence back in the same boat. Have patience. Sometimes a team has to fight to break even so that they can set themselves up for a good quad run next time.

This is the run-n-gun map of cpma. A team that has a high aim quotient can do well on this map with little or no teamwork. Think of it has a big rectangle, on one end is the quad on the other end is the red armor. In the middle are two yellow armors. There are plenty (2 rl, 2 lg, 1 rail, 2 grenade, 1 plasma, 4 shotguns) of weapons to go around, and with weapon dropping there is really no reason that any player should be without a weapon 5 seconds after spawning back in. Here are the main points (most important listed first):

(1) Being able to time quad (every 90 seconds). This map is fairly small and with fast cpma movement a player with quad can patrol the whole level and leave a team decimated. Failure to show up and fight for a respawning quad is not an option, every quad must be contested unless a team is just completely out of synch.
(1)A Controlling the level above quad is critical, main reason is that it is a whole lot easier to shoot down towards quad then it is back at top level. The rail is going to be a huge weapon in controlling the upper level.

(2) Control the RA. This goes towards gaining that armor advantage which is so critical in cpma. Once RA is controlled the player there will go thru long bouts of nothing to do mixed with pure survival mode as nearly the whole opposing team shows up in force to try to retake it. Mostly a team will come in to refresh their armor before heading back out into the center part of the map or to attack quad. The person left behind is for all intents and purposes the "goalie", and as in hockey if a team pulls the goalie to attack the other net (the quad in this case) it can have disastrous results.
(2)A A low ping player is best here as the shaft will be the dominate weapon. Once the RA and shaft are picked up the defender is advised to drop down one level and go to the right near the teleporter where they can pickup two more shaft ammo packs and sweep the plasma and shards. That is it, do not over extend yourself by attacking middle YA.
(2)B Have a bind to alert your team that RA is available to take.
(2)C If the opposing team does get quad it does not take Einstein to figure out they are heading straight for you. As with cpm4 do not try to fight the quad directly, even with 200 armor the chances of you winning this fight are slim. Drop down to run away and wait for the quad to run out and then come back to try and retake it with your team.

(3) Control the upper rocket launcher/yellow armor. This is the second base of operations on this map and there are many reasons for controlling this area. First and foremost is that it gives your team a yellow armor and a rocket launcher in an area that is fairly easy to defend. Second reason is that it is right next to many spawn points and teams can pick up many easy kills by just defending this area. The last major reason is that it is right next to the quad area, from here a team can attack or defend the quad (see #1).
(3)A sweep rail. There is only one rail on this map and it can be a dominating weapon on the long corridors that cpm18i has. Here fast movement is very helpful as a someone can get the YA/RL and then move over and take the rail and be back in place before the next YA spawns (25 seconds).
(3)B sweep lighting gun. Rocket ammo will be scarce if there is any fighting, so drop down next to the bounce pad and sweep the ammo near the lighting gun. Once you have a lighting gun there is ammo right next to the YA. Time only permits one to sweep either the shaft or the rail, trying to do both at once will mean that when you get back there will be a member of the opposing team waiting for you armed with a RL and YA.

(4) Time the invisibility powerup (every 3 mins). This is new (hence the "i" in cpm18i) and most cpma teams are still feeling out how to best use it. It does NOT make one completely invisible, but they are extremely hard to see and can move in and get 1-2 shots in before the other player can react. I have seen games completely turn around because the invis came in and took away control.
(4)A Invis is where the mega is on normal cpm18 (nodm2)

When things go bad on cpm18i:

Things go bad on cpm18i when teams get caught in the wash-rinse-repeat cycle where they are at the receiving end of quad run after quad run. Just when a team has some semblance of control, here comes the quad to knock them back down again. It is one of the hardest cycles to break out of on the cpma maps and here are a few things teams will need to do:

(1) Have a coach to time things. Unless you have a player that can do mental gymnastics while being shot it, most teams will really need to rely on the coach to tell them when and where to go. When a team is down is when the coach really can make the difference. If you do not have a coach, find one. Failing that, one player must be solely dedicated to timing one item (quad or invis), and since he probably does not know when it is spawning up it can take anywhere from 2 mins (quad) to 6 mins (invis) to get the respawn times. The coach should also be helping time the armors so that a team can make the most out of them. A team that lets an armor stay up about 5 seconds every time it spawns in will lose 4+ armors over the course of a 20 min game. 1 game = 1200 seconds, armor spawns every 25 seconds = 48 armors max potential. A team that waits 5 secs every armor 1200/(25+5)=40 armor..hence 8 armors lost from poor time management. Have players standing on the armor spawn up to maximize its potential so they can gain that all important armor advantage in cpma.

(2) Concentrate on getting the invisibility powerup. Quad is going to be very difficult to take unless your team makes some real clutch kills about 20 seconds before quad spawns.

(3) Group attack the upper YA. This is really the first area to try and control. Attack with 2-3 players and a team should be able to reclaim this area. Try to take it over at least 30 seconds before quad so that your team can benefit from the YA/RL. Once this area has been reclaimed a team can make a legitimate push to try and take a quad, again do not attack quad if you do not have a weapon and armor. It will just be a senseless frag against your team.
(3)A Steal the green armor near quad along with shards
(3)B Steal the lower yellow armor and/or the green armor (with grenade launcher) which is below the lower YA.

(4) A rail can go a long ways in trying to make a comeback. Do not waste this weapon on your weakest railer, do the team thing and drop it for your player that has a 35% or higher accuracy with it.

(5) At some point a team must attack the RA to take that advantage away. One option is that while the controlling team is taking quad, your team attacks RA with hopes to catch one there. Do not try to fight the quad, just get the RA and get out. Come back and attack RA once the quad has run out provided your armored players are still alive.

(6) Be silent when opposing team has quad. Do not be jumping around to make noise, all it will do is help them find you quicker.

There is no bones about it, this will be by far the most difficult map for a team to learn properly. It has dual powerups (invis is about a half a powerup, so cpm18i is a 1 ½ powerup map) that can really swing how the game is going. Its physical layout is not something that is going to be learned in one, two or even five trips around the map and its style of control is unforgiving of mental mistakes. It is a Ferrari of cpma, its a blast to drive with high rewards for the demanding driver but it is one high maintenance bitch. The upside is that only 2 or 3 teams have really played this map which puts everyone else on pretty equal, but ignorant, grounds. Be aware that this list of do’s and don’ts could (and should) change a little bit to be specific about your team.

(1) Zone defense is crucial. Once a team secures one of the important areas there should be 1 (or more) player(s) whose job it is to patrol this section of the map and keep all the nasties out. This map is very difficult to lock down, but it is imperative that a team find an area they can call their own. Having players get a spot and then leave it to FFA on the rest of the map will find their team down by a significant margin around the 10 minute mark. Maybe assign 1 player as a roamer, but certainly two players need to have the mental capacity to understand the command "stay!".

(2) Learn to quickly go from any point on this map to either the quad or the battlesuit. The quad can be accessed from any number of ways and if your team cannot get to it to either attack or defend it, it will be a long 20 minutes. The difficulty is that this map is not easy to learn. My suggestion is from each control point (RA, YA/RL, MEGA, LG) learn two different routes to the quad. Be focused and spend 30 minutes doing this and your cpm21 game will dramatically improve.

(3) Controlling the quad area. Setting up players so they can either time the quad or setup early to defend the position is going to be critical. The quad area is more forgiving to the down team in the sense that it is setup as one big ambush as players can move into this area from nearly 10 different ways. A player with a good shaft is going to be indispensable for this job, but he will need to have solid backup from two other players with good aiming skill.
(3)A Once the quad has been taken, just avoid fighting near the quad area. There are so many ways a player can be blindsided that it is best just to move out of the area and secure other parts of the map. Too many quad runs have ended simply because they got greedy at the quad area and ran right into an ambush. Get it, Get out.

(4) Control the RA area. It is a "must do" on any cpma tdm map, but this time only the plasma gun is nearby to act as the gimme weapon. General rule #6 states the plasma gun is not a weapon! This means that either a teammate will have to bring and drop a weapon here, or a player must bring one himself.
(4)A Dedicate two people directly for the RA, there are so many ways into the RA area that just one defender can get shot in the back and taken out. The extra defender can then pull to attack the quad via the lava hallway.

(5) Sweep the shaft. The lightning gun is directly above the RA via the bounce pad. The shaft is going to be a MAJOR weapon and teams that have it will go a long ways in racking up some frags. Some teams can treat the shaft area and the RA area as one area, just make sure the communication is good because out of sight can equal out of mind.

(6) Make a choice to either control the lower YA/RL area OR the mega/RL/rail area. For a defensive team go for the RL/YA as it affords more armor, for the aggressive based teams go for the mega as it provides the rail and an extra shotgun. Teams that opt to try and control both will more then likely quickly find themselves in trouble because they can’t hold either of them.

(7) Time the battlesuit (every 3 mins). Located halfway between the RA and the lower rl/ya a team that is controlling those two points will have a good shot at getting it. Having a RL will make a battlesuit that much more effective, so drop one for the player that has this powerup.

(8) Learn to use the shotgun as it might be the only weapon one will find, as the weapons are not as plentiful as cpm18i. Learning to ask for and share weapons is a key ingredient on cpm21.

When things go bad on cpm21

Things are going bad on cpm21 when your team cannot control any powerup and the team has been reduced to FFA. FFA may work on cpm18i or cpm4 by getting a few breaks, but it does not work on cpm21.

(1) Group attack the YA/RL area. This area has quick access to the quad via the secret passageway (hit the button), and has the shotgun and plasma gun nearby as secondary weapons. The green armor is close by next to the battlesuit powerup.

(2) Once a team has some armor and weapons try to take the shaft area over.

(3) Really concentrate on making a big push against the other team roughly 30 seconds before quad spawns back up by forcing some 3v1 or 2v1 situations in your favor. It becomes very difficult to overtake a team at quad that has the armor and weapon advantage because the other team will have 2-3 players waiting to defend it.

(4) Use your coach to help coordinate an attack on the battlesuit. Again, coaches are most valuable when a team is behind and they need precise information on where and when to go get resources.