Now we've all tried this, and we all know that if its not done properly you will get rather "stuck". This works best teamed up with mates who will listen to your instructions. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU TRY TO "LONE-WOLF" STANDOFF UNLESS YOUR UNBELIEVABLY GOOD, SO GOOD THAT YOU ARE LIKE AN UBER 1337 NOOB-OWNING LOSER-RAPING GOD AT HALO 3! Anyway, have someone grab a shotgun and drive the warthog into the front door. Yes you heard me, drive it into the front door. And for the love of god, man, don't use the turret unless you value your face. Have someone guarding the entrance to the main room from the lower level, and don't activate the switch that opens up the base. Have one person at the end of the hallway (that opens into the hillside). There is a little alcove where you are hidden from someone walking in, making for an easy assassination as they turn their backs to you as you walk in. There is also another alcove at the side of the hallway where the base is. This is used if the base comes under siege. From these spots it is almost impossible to hit each other because of the curve of the hallway. Just don't throw grenades and you have no fear of betrayal. Assuming there is a forth person, have him/her defend the lower levels or hold the main room with the other guy. This tactic could seem hard to comprehend but once you get it working, your almost guaranteed a win. Your main fears would be a rocket, a turret, and if you show yourself, a spartan or a warthog. Keep your base defended and you'll do fine!
Control the Center
The plan above is okay if your playing against noobs, or your entire team is an expert at this plan and camping. I personally have faced against another team with this tactic... and we owned them. Final score: 50-27. Just pick up a shotty, rockets, camo, and stickys. Invade the base, kill the team, and wait for them to respawn. Most likely they'll ether try to take over their base again or they'll rush to the other base to defend themselves. Ether way, open the windows and the secret entrance, and rush them in the open with a warthog. If they get back to the base, you have the windows open and can distract them with nades while a buddy goes behind and hits them with the shotty.
If your confident you can hold your base, be my guest. But here are two other alternatives that I find more effective than camping. This map is about controlling the center. It is very bad when the enemy can force you into your base. They can expect where you'll appear, and can simply rush in when they have all of the power weapons and camo. This is what the two alternatives address. Attacking the center, and forcing the battle onto the opponents side of the map.
Plan 1: Domination.
Three guys need to jump into the warthog, the passenger needs the shotgun. Then swing by the spartan lazer and let the passenger get it. While that is happening, your 4th team member needs to get onto the turret and do something I call turret sniping. The turret is a surprisingly accurate gun in the fact that it's bullets do not spread out very much. And it's power will at least completely lower the shields of anyone in the open with a few hits. The "turret sniper" is going to be hitting whatever enemy in the open that he can find, specifically any near the enemy camo and rocket spawn. When he gets under fire or your warthog is destroyed, someone needs to pick up your rockets and the camo. If you've played the game right, your opponents team should be trapped around their base getting hit by all points. Remember to bombard them with your frags. BOTH of them. You'll pick up more on their body or you'll find some more near by. And get their shotgun once it spawns. Practice the first part of this plan with your team a few times in forge as it is crucial to placing a hold on the map.
Plan 2: Distract and Destroy.
This one is a little simpler than the last, but it needs more teamwork and practice than the first plan. Three of your team members need to rush to the rocks and hold fire there. If your shields go down half-way, pull behind the rocks and use your grenades. #1 priority for these guys is to not let the other team leave their rocks. #2 priority is to not get killed, which will cost time, and make it easier for the enemy to accomplish the first priority. Your last team member will be the guy that gets the kills. He will rush to the camo first, and then to the rockets. He will sneak behind the enemy while they aren't paying attention and cause havoc. The rock guys move forward, or get the warthog (while another team mate destroys theirs) and own the map.
EDIT: My only problem with this strategy is that in the beginning, one good rocket shot and your warthog, along with three teammates, is gone. Instead, spread out, everyone do a seperate job, and force the enemy into hiding with the strategy below. DaSn1per
Warthog Domination
Here's a little strategy for regular team slayer on standoff. 4 vs. 4, everyone starts with an AR. Players are referred to as A, B, C, and D. First off, players A and B get into the warthog as quickly as they can. They immediately drive around the edge of the map and go behind the enemy base. Now they have the high ground, a good sight line, and they are safe until they can see enemy vehicles. They will continue to drive around the outside of the map killing enemies. Player C is the camper. They grab the shotgun and head for the camo. Once there, they get the stickies and head for the back door of the enemy base. This will force enemies to spawn outside the base, while makes them exposed to the warthog. Player D plays base defense. He grabs the rocket launcher, and then, if no enemies are around, they grab the splazer. Quickly, they rush back to the base and get on top. They can work the turret, but mainly thier job is to eliminate the enemy warthog that will eventually come by. Now, at this point, all players are either in possesion of power weapons or in a vehicle.
Now, how it plays out... Players A and B are patrolling the outside of the map in the warthog, quick to kill any enemies left standing outside. Enemies killed by the warthog can't spawn in their base, because player C is camping inside with a renewable source of shotgun ammo. Meanwhile, they can't attack the home base because player D is taking out vehicles with his laser and rockets, and controlling the middle of the map with his turret and a source of BR ammo to use once he runs out of rocket or laser ammo. Enemies, once killed by the warthog, camper, or base defender, will spawn in the missile silos, where they will be slaughtered by the warthog. Can you say overkill? This game should be a blowout if all players stick to plan. Once someone dies, they can try to regain their position, or simply attack with BRs, as that is what this map is famous for. Once you have the lead, preserve it. This strategy is very useful on Stanoff, hope it helps!
I call this warthog domination not because the warthog is the most important part of this strategy, but becuase usually the warthog gunner gets the majority of kills for the team. Some of my best games have come from using this strategy on standoff, and warthog runs have been known to last for over 20 kills. Basically, if everyone sticks to the plan, the warhog dominates the map.
General Tips
General Tips are easy to remember, flexible, and adaptable to any situation. They aren't a plan that you have to stick with that will fail if the enemy does one different thing. Their just objectives. So here are some for Standoff. 1) If you die, find a BR. In this map, the best weapons to use are the rockets, the needler, and the BR. The BR is closest to the bases, and the most practiced weapon.
2) Don't forget to go to silo 1 and 2. There are needlers, a bubble shield and cover at the silos. They're a powerful place to go to when you want to get to the back of an enemy base, get a kill, use the b-shield, and give your team mates a chance to advance while the entire enemy team is focused on you.
3) Get stickies. There are tons of stickies in your base. It will take 2 extra seconds to get some, and they can save you from a warthog, or blast out an enemy behind cover.
Summary
Key ideas to remember when playing Team Slayer on Standoff:
Action generally takes place in the bases or around the center.
This is a VERY large map with lots of open sight lines, but more important, lots of cover. Don't get caught wandering in the open! Try to find long range weapons. BR's are spread out everywhere.
A warthog with a good driver, a good gunner, and good communication will dominate.
Know how to defeat enemy vehicles. Know where the splaser, stickies, energy drains, brute shots are. There is a TON of cover around the vehicle trails to ambush an unsuspecting warthog. Corners ambushes work best since most teams will push through the center.
Guard the center! Spawn points are not forgiving if the enemy has overrun your base.
Know the spawn points - this allows you to keep the tempo high.
Battle Rifle is KING if used correctly, just keep your distance.
