Block N Load

Block N Load

35 ratings
Yuri the Yeti; Attack Mode
By DevolvingDino
This is a guide to playing Yeti offensively and effectively, while having some fun! You're a Yeti after all!! It's time to play in the snow!
   
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Introduction
I play offensive Yeti to have a good time. I try my best to create a good strategy with the character that I consider fun. If you're concerned with optimization, go attack with SS because honestly that's the best right now. Learn to lava pull (or water pull, which is even better on some maps). GG.

But if you'd like to play a Gosh Darned YETI, Go on the PROWL and have a good time? :D This guide is for you. This is the way I think it's most fun to play an attack Yeti.
Loadout
Perks
  • Defensive: Healthy - More health instead of 5% movement? of course!
  • Offensive: Health Scavenger - Health regen is how you can survive on their side of the map.
  • Hero: Chill, Dude - This Doubles your health regen from your passive!! You will live on!!

Now, this perk set is all about surviving as long as possible on their side. You want to be at full health in between fights to give you the best chance at beating the next defender. I realize that not taking Facewash means that the snowblower is mediocre at best, but that's not the most fun weapon anyway. Snowballs can and will kill everyone faster, farther, better.

Blocks
  • Ice - Hero block
  • Bricks - good to have for building and hiding radars. White skin when you get it.
  • Radar - Positioned next to bricks in your loadout for convenience.
  • Respawn Pad - Your duty as a brawn.
  • Glue/Bomb/Dynamite - up to you, all are solid choices.
  • Land-mine - Good for killing or weakening defenders who dare enter your Hard Territory.
Soft and Hard Territory
A Yeti needs ice or snow to be truly effective, so you need to be conquering territory early and often. However, not all territory is equal and you cannot hope to rule all their land with an Iron Fist.

Soft Territory
  • Place 6-8 ice blocks in an avalanche radius
  • Throw your avalanche beacon in the middle
  • Run

This is designed to make the territory usable for you, and to make the territory just a little more annoying to clean up for the defenders. The snow can be blown away easily, but the ice sprinkled in will take longer to clean up OR will allow you to use the territory if you need to.

An important aspect of Soft Territory is time. It should take you 4 or 5 seconds to claim territory this way, and around 30 seconds for them to clear it. ...That's a win for you! :D

Hard Territory
  • Add doorway of Ice with 2 or 3 landmines on it.
  • Place ice in a sheet.
  • Don't place a radar. Doing so will draw way too much attention to yourself, keeping you from staying alive long enough to be effective.

If your ice sheet goes around a corner, when the defenders try to follow you they'll be rendered pretty much stationary once they hit the outside of the turn. On a straight shot, the defenders will keep their velocity and be able to travel over the ice in no time.

The goal of this territory is to be able to kill any defenders that enter it, while being close enough to their cube to be relevant. If you can't kill turrets from this territory or less than 10 blocks outside of it, the territory will just be wasted time.
Build Phase
You have two priorities during this phase: cuts and radars.

Your Duties

Do them Both. Radar coverage is a slightly higher priority for you because anyone on the team can make cuts, but only you and other brawns can make radars. Don't count on any of the other brawns placing radars, and you won't be disappointed.

Extra time after Radars are placed

Towards the end of the build phase just help around the cube in any way you can. Make sure to replace several blocks around each health/ammo stations with Ice as the healing effect stacks making you extremely hard to kill, and helping you restock health almost instantly.

Important!!

Do NOT throw your avalanche all over your side. Soft territory is not for your side, it is for theirs. All over theirs. But you want your side to be clean and open so the defenders have an easy time seeing and killing.

If you want to be able to switch to defense, put some ice in the ground (so you can see it, but not so it'll get in the way).

...Never use avalanche on your side as an attack Yeti. Please.
Chaos and Respawns
You have two goals in this phase: hide a respawn or two, and create several patches of Soft Territory.

Respawns
I use a two spawn system most of the time:
  • One spawn that is hidden really super well, but is out of the way.
  • One spawn that is hidden pretty well but is more convenient.
This way, if they find your convenient spawn you can still spawn behind them, place a new convenient spawn, and continue on your way.

Hiding respawns is a skill that takes a lot of time and practice, but here we go.

Hiding the back-up spawn:
  • Sneak behind enemy lines without being seen or chased.
  • Go somewhere out of the way and out of the path from the enemy's spawn to their cube.
  • Find some place where if you dig one block down, it can't be seen from casual passer-by. (for example on top of a 3x3x3 stack of crates, or in a corner behind some bushes)
  • Place a spawn there, and only use it in emergencies.
  • Optionally you can learn to make a drop-spawn (basically dig two up into a cieling in as dark a spot as possible, and then dig over two and down one and place the spawn there.) These spawns are awesome but time consuming, so up to you.

Hiding the convenient spawn:
  • Find where you'd like to make a patch of Hard Territory.
  • Walk (uphill, if possible) to a place like 25-40 blocks away, in the most un-used and inconcspicuous place possible.
  • Hide a spawn similarly to the first spawn, but you have a smaller area to place it in, so it doesn't have to be as good of a spot.

Other misc advice:
  • A 1x1 hole on top of the highest point in the map can only be found by climbing to that point. Depending on how hard it is to climb there, it could be the well hidden one or the convenient one.
  • Don't place a radar next to your spawn as that gives the defenders an area to look in.
  • Remove any evidence of your presence near a spawn. If you used blocks to climb up to where you placed the spawn, dig them out before you leave.
  • The more well-hidden your spawn is, the better. Bricks will be tight if you're placing land-mines all the time, so hide them well.
  • Keep trying new places and new tricks and see how they work. You could stumble upon some place cool that works really well for a specific map.
  • Do your best to stay off radar, and if they have really good coverage don't be afraid to spend a couple lives just taking out radars.
  • Your back-up spawn should be on the 3rd cube's island if possible. On Mountain Express, if you try to start attacking their last cube without a spawn on that island, be prepared to have a Terrible time.

Soft Territory
While you are running around placing spawns (and perhaps removing radars if you need to) place patches all around. Place them by the second and third cubes so that you can hold your own there for a little when the previous cube falls.

You can only make a patch every cool-down, so it's not really an activity you can go out to do, but just keep in mind that you should always be placing Soft Territory when you can.
Hard Territory and Harrasment
Your two goals during this stage are building your Hard Territory and killing defenders.

Hard Territory
This stage only lasts as long as you are creating your Hard Territory. Remember that your fortress does not win you the game, but killing their cube does, so don't spend too much time here.

Placement is key, and is mostly learned over time, but it needs to be close enough (or high enough) to be able to hit their defenses, but far enough away that you don't draw all the defenders at once. If defenders come to you one at a time that's when you know you've placed it well. You can handle 1v1's. I believe in you. :D

If there is a brain character on offense with you, get them to place health(and ammo for them perhaps, you don't need it) underneath the floor of your Hard Territory. This makes you So Hard To Kill!!

You might have to come back to this stage if they bother destroying your Hard Territory. Remember that time is a big deal here. You want them to have to waste more time breaking it than you put in making it. Ice places instantly, so a doorway, some mines, and a floor (and perhaps glue if you have it) and you'll be done in about a minute. Keep it simple, but well-placed.

If they destroy your Hard territory consistently skip to Plan B.

Harrasment
This isn't something that you're going out of your way to do. If you're building your Hard Territory close enough, they'll notice and come to kill you. Make sure to have landmines placed before you start making your floor. Be ready and vigilant so when they come fight you while you're building, you're ready to fight them or flee to nearby Soft Territory if you need.
Plan A
If they are Vigilant
If the defenders keep cleaning up everything you place, make sure they are burning more time than you are. Survive and take more territory rather than stand and fight. You can make Soft Territory in the middle of a fight. With you keeping several defenders busy cleaning up your mess, they are leaving the cube un-guarded and hopefully your fellow attackers are punishing them for this.

If they are Lazy
If the defenders don't clean up your territory, well, now that you have several spawns, plenty of Soft Territory, and a patch or two of Hard Territory. You can become an almost un-stoppable attacker.

Start destroying their defenses from your Hard Territory. Kill their turrets, glue, caltrops, and mines. You don't have to clear all around their base, but you should have a pretty clear path.

This will draw the defenders' attention even more than before, but you have your Hard and Soft Territory. Kill them. You have the home field advantage now, and you never stop regenerating health.

Once you have cleared their defenses (and killed several of them), punch a hole in their sandbag cover from safety with snowballs and then run in and start hitting the cube.
Plan B
Likely the fate that befell you was that they killed you instead of the other way around. Practice will help. Snowballs are very powerful, especially if you hit head-shots. Keep replacing your mines.

Now. Instead of clearing out all defenses from afar[because they keep killing you when you do that :'c ], it's time to mix things up.

Step 1: Taking Care of the Defenses
This is where you need to make lots of Soft Territory all over everywhere. Your goal is to survive and to kill their turrets. If they don't have turrets, go to Step 2.

Make Soft Territory fairly close to their base, and then run in, kill a turret, and try to run back to Soft Territory. If they leave you alone, place landmines in the snow. If they chase you, hit them with the snow blower and keep running away and dodging in the snow. You'll gain back some health and slowly kill them. :D Keep running in and killing turrets when you've just spawned in or if you have regenerated back to full health.

Step 2: Taking Care of the Cube
This is when you're just suiciding. ...That's basically it. Try to punch a hole in the sandbags from afar, jump into it, block the entrance with ice and throw your avalanche marker. Then it's up to you if you'd like to fight or just get a couple more hits in when they come for you.

If you'd like to fight, dig a space out beside you (or punch a bigger hole from afar) and place ice in it as well. When you hear Ice breaking switch to your snowball and charge up a shot. A charged headshot is 60 damage. They'll be peaking in through the hole they dug, so just snowball them to death with lmb after that first shot, replace the ice and keep knocking away.

Try to time your attacks with other teammates. Don't type in the chat for them to wait for you because they won't. :c Run around placing ice every 2 or 3 blocks in a giant trail all over their side until they spawn in. Then you can join them and if you've saved your avalanche you can get yourself some cover and some pretty powerful health regeneration for free in the middle of their base.
Modifications
Speed Snow
  • Instead of using the healthy perk, use the Fleet Footed perk.
  • Instead of making Hard Territory, place 8-10 ice in each patch of Soft Territory and Never Stop Making More.
  • Use the snow blower to slow people attacking you while you flee when you can't handle it.

You heal at around 2.25 health/s so running for 30 seconds should bring you from "In Danger" to "Ready to throw some Snow!!" Your job is now killing them, taking over their territory, and making them paranoid by placing sets of landmines everywhere in your snow.

Flying Snow

Instead of using the Chill, Dude perk, use the Facewash perk.
Instead of using the Health Scavenger perk, use the Bags of Ammo perk or the Killer Shield perk.

This loadout uses the Snowblower as its main weapon! The snowblower with the perk is extremely powerful, and will win you many fights. It takes little skill. Personally, I find it not nearly as fun as throwing snowballs all over, but to each his own.
Overview
In General
  • Help with cuts and place radars during the build phase.
  • Place a respawn or two.
  • Spread the Soft Territory everywhere!
  • Build a patch of Hard Territory or two.
  • Use your home-field advantage to kill the defenders.
  • Kill their defenses from afar.
  • Kill the cube.

In Conclusion
This is a difficult, but rewarding strategy. Most people see Yuri as a strictly defensive character (and he is a better defender) but this strategy can bring a challenge to the game when it gets easy, and excitement when it gets dull.

Feel free to let me know what you think!
17 Comments
cooldude 4 Feb, 2018 @ 11:51am 
I cam say that a recent game taught me that a ice fotress is great(i built one):steamhappy:
Petralicious 11 Oct, 2017 @ 10:57am 
You can speedbuild upwards faster with ice, just put a pillar of 2 then hold W+Space (autosprint on) and mash right click with the right timing while looking down at the right angle.
Also snowthrower alt fire is decent for finishing off someone when you don't have ice/snow nearby and are out of snowballs and have no time to place blocks or spin up the snowthrower.
Happens more often than you'd think, especially on corners.
DevolvingDino  [author] 11 Oct, 2017 @ 9:58am 
The snowthrower alt fire is good for maneuvering to place a spawn. So if you bridge across the bottom of a map using ice, and then pillar up using the alt fire you can get as high as you want for basically free. Bonus points for using a snowball to knock out the bottom thing of snow to erase the evidence!! Those loosers will be checking all around the bottom of the map when you've placed your spawn at the top of it!

Aside from that... if you get jumped and don't have any territory set up (how did that happen?!?), thow down a few snow blocks first just to keep your ammo full.
TripMcG 24 Jul, 2016 @ 11:03am 
i just dont think you need bricks if you have ice, actually for offense yeti i'd probably not take any building block
Petralicious 24 Jul, 2016 @ 10:47am 
I take bricks as offense Yeti because they are faster to place. Sandbags are painfully slow... I just save time and bricks which are more important than a tiny extra bit of durability.
On defense I can understand it as cube cover, but... eh, I might be biased because I'm really impatient.
TripMcG 24 Jul, 2016 @ 10:43am 
Still sandbags > brikcs
Petralicious 24 Jul, 2016 @ 10:33am 
Ice was like in between crates and bricks but with no armor (so weapons deal full damage to them... rip walls if a Kreepy alt-fires them) I think. Unless you use the perk, which then puts them near sandbags. But again no armor.
DevolvingDino  [author] 24 Jul, 2016 @ 9:36am 
I actually don't know how strong ice is. Is ice the same number of hits as bricks? if so I'll start doing sandbags.

I have a good time with it, and often do pretty well with it. I'm not sure how competitive it is though. :/ Let me know how you like it!
TripMcG 23 Jul, 2016 @ 4:25pm 
This sounds really fun and is well polished, i like the concept but amn't 100% sure if its practical. I liked the way you talked about gaining territory.

About your block loadout though. I would pick sandbags over bricks as ice is like insta place bricks.

I like this and will give it a try.
Petralicious 18 Jul, 2016 @ 1:45pm 
I'm just a hero for fun ~