Conquest
While renewable energy sources are being sought out, nations have begun exploring the basins within the Arctic region for crude oil in an effort to capitalize on a geocentric refining operation to ease rising market prices and provide their nation with this lifeblood of modern convenience. The battle at Sabalan Pipeline centers around one of these refining operations. Although the site’s crew was evacuated, leaving the refinery and its satellite buildings a mere shell of what it once was, the refinery’s flare stack still burns brightly. This flare provides a beacon for this strategic location among the whitewashed snowy landscape. This map features five control points. Both teams are deployed near the pipeline that cuts through this map running east to west. The US team deploys from a makeshift base on the map’s eastern end. This position allows the US team to capture the Pumping Station (A) as they move west and maintain control of it through most of the battle. Deploying from the western end of the map, the RU team will quickly capture the Supply Depot (E) as they push east; its proximity to their deployment allows them to maintain control through the battle. Due to their centralized locations, the Warehouse (B), Oil Refinery (C), and Control Station (D) will be contested throughout the duration of the battle, as neither team has an immediate advantage to capture these control points. Teams should focus on holding the Oil Refinery (C) because aside from affording the Dropship to the controlling team, the site provides long sight lines across the landscape.
US Base
Deploying from the east side of the map, the US team should proceed west and capture the Pumping Station (A). Once this point is under the team’s control, the team should divide its resources, sending dirtbikes to the southwest to capture the Warehouse (B) while the heavier vehicles go west to the Oil Refinery (C). The primary reason for maintaining control of the Warehouse (B) this early in the battle is to access the M1 Abrams that spawns there. This second M1 Abrams can reconnect with the rest of the team attacking the Oil Refinery to the north. By this time, the RU team should be attempting to take control of the Oil Refinery (C) as well, and the extra firepower is useful in pushing them back. While this conflict is taking place, the AH-1Z Viper should patrol between the Warehouse (B) and the Pumping Station (A) to prevent RU forces that have splintered off during the battle from capturing these control points amid the chaos. Another control point to attempt while pushing toward the Oil Refinery (C) is the Control Station (D) to the north. Like the Warehouse (B) to the south, this control point awards the controlling team with a tank. The Control Station (D) attracts the attention of the RU team more than the Warehouse (B), though, because it’s easy to reach from the RU team’s deployment. When maintaining control of this point, the US team should expect heavy resistance from the RU team deployment area.
RU Base
Deploying from the west, the RU team is poised to quickly capture the Supply Depot (E) and maintain control of it throughout the battle. With this point captured, the team should then move to capture the Oil Refinery (C) next. While squads are en route to the Oil Refinery (C), any available dirtbikes should make their way to the map’s north side and capture the Control Station (D). With this point under the team’s control, they are afforded another T-90A that can regroup with the squads assaulting the Oil Refinery (C) area to the south. One strategy is for the recently acquired T-90A to continue moving south, past the Oil Refinery (C), and capture the Warehouse (B). By this time though, the Warehouse (B) is likely to be under control of US forces, so this should be kept in mind when approaching the Warehouse (B) area. Should capture of this point be successful, another T-90A can be deployed from this control point as well, giving the RU team a tactical advantage over the opposition. When leaving the Warehouse (B) area, the team should expect to lose the control point quickly, as the US team’s deployment connects to the road that runs east from the control point, allowing them to access the site quickly to reclaim it.
A: Pumping Station
Located on the east side of the map, this control point will likely be held by US forces throughout the battle. With an exposed flag and immediate access from roads, this site can be claimed by the RU team to push back US deployment vehicles. An RU team looking to accomplish this should leave the work to dirtbikes, with air cover provided by the MI-28 Havoc. This strategy is designed to prevent heavier vehicles like the T-90A or BMP-2M from leaving the map’s central area, where the combat is most intense. If the US team loses a foothold here, they can easily reclaim the site by using heavy vehicles from the deployment site making their way west. To eliminate campers at this site, climb onto the nearby oil pipeline via the ladders east of the flag. Doing so provides a sight line into the flag area.
B: Warehouse
The Warehouse (B) is located on the southern edge of the map, directly south of the Oil Refinery (C) and over a hill. Although the site is slightly outside the intense combat around the Oil Refinery (C), the strategic significance of the control point is that the capturing team is rewarded with an extra tank that can be deployed from the site. An immediate disadvantage to this control point is that even from the roof, there are not many direct sight lines to watch other control points. The key sight line offered here requires climbing the crane outside of the southern fence line. From here, a sniper has a good view of the northwest, including the vehicles deploying from the RU team’s base. When capturing the control point from the enemy, teams should make use of the entrances on the building’s south and east sides, as any campers are likely to be on the roof with their attention directed toward the northern road that leads from the Oil Refinery (C).
C: Oil Refinery
Central on the map is the Oil Refinery (C). This monolithic structure is visible from nearly all corners of the map, as its gas flare serves as a fiery beacon among the snow-capped landscape. This will quickly be a highly contested control point, not only for the Dropship that is awarded to the team that controls it, but also for the sight lines offered by climbing atop the large metal silos on the refinery’s south side. From this vantage point, nearly all four corners of the map can be observed, providing for early detection of enemy armored vehicles as they approach to capture the point for themselves. Combat is fiercely competitive here, as the Refinery’s multiple tiers invite close-quarters combat and the expansive area surrounding the Refinery allows for armored vehicles to bombard the site with artillery. For infantry looking to access the site undetected, the three pipelines that connect to the Oil Refinery from the west, north, and east can be traversed to access the Refinery’s second level with relative ease. When using this method of approach, soldiers should be aware that staying on the pipeline exposes them to sniper fire from the Refinery itself, so make the trek as short as possible.
D: Control Station
Located on the northern edge of the map, due north of the Oil Refinery, the Control Station (D) may seem out of the way, but the tank awarded to the team controlling it makes the site a strategic resource. The US team should expect this site to be under control of the RU team early on. A US team looking to take the site should make their approach directly from their deployment by using the road that runs northwest from the Pumping Station (A) to flank any hostiles that have decided to camp here. An RU team making their approach from the west should enter the area by following the road leading northeast from the Supply Depot (E). Approaching this site from the south is risky if the point has been captured by the opposition, as there will be a possibility that the tank that spawns here has yet to deploy. When maintaining a presence at the site, infantry and dirtbikes will discover that they can cut in and out through the shipping containers on the station’s north side to conceal their presence from oncoming armored vehicles.
E: Supply Depot
Located in the far west, Supply Depot (E) will be captured early by the RU team as they make their move east. The flag is located in the center of the depot, beneath the pipeline that runs through the area. This area provides no sight lines to observe the eastern portions of the map, given that it is located downhill. Nevertheless, the site serves as the main thoroughfare for the RU team’s armored vehicles, and should the US team capture this control point, they will be able to control the flow of RU vehicles into the field. If the US team is to be successful in capturing this control point, dirtbikes must enter the area under the escort of the AH-1Z Viper. The US team should not expect to hold the site for long, though, as they will find themselves overrun by RU infantry deploying from their base.