Helltower

From Team Fortress Wiki
Revision as of 14:56, 6 January 2014 by Bulka96 (talk | contribs) (Trivia)
Jump to: navigation, search
Helltower
Plr hightower event3.png
Basic Information
Variants: Payload Race and Smissmas
Developer(s): {{{map-developer}}}
Map Info
Environment: Desert
Setting: Nighttime, cloudy
Hazards: Pitfall, Pumpkin bombs, Skeletons, Lava
Map Photos
Loading screen photos.
Map Overview
Helltower overview.png
Push a corpse-filled cart through a magic-blasted, skeleton-infested terrorscape to reach the infernal maw of a gaping Hellmouth in this Halloween-themed Payload Race of utter pants-filling terror! Just to be clear: You will poop your pants.
— Helltower publicity blurb

Helltower is a Payload Race map added in the Scream Fortress 2013 Update. It is the Halloween-themed version of Hightower.

The objective is to push a cart of gravel containing the corpse of the opposing team's employer (Blutarch for RED, Redmond for BLU) to the lift at the high towers before the other team. Once either brother is pushed to the checkpoint, all players will be sent to a demonic cave only known as Hell.

In Hell, the teams are pitted against each other, and all players must attempt to enter the Skull Island. Any player killed in Hell will become a Ghost and can pursue the living players, however ghosts have no way to deal any damage. Pressing primary-fire as a ghost will cause the player to yell "BOO", which can be used to annoy living players but serves little other purpose. Players that survive and reach the book receive an Unfilled Fancy Spellbook, if they do not already possess one in their backpack, which can be filled with pages found from the Haunted Halloween Gift. Only those that are alive and have reached Skull Island can receive the Unfilled Fancy Spellbook.

During the witching hour Green Skeletons will spawn along with the bridge linking to the clocktower appearing. Occasionally, the Haunted Halloween Gift will spawn for randomly selected players on the server.

File:Plr hightower event overhead.png
Overview of the map.(Large file)

Mann Brothers

The Mann Brothers, Redmond and Blutarch, are the Halloween-themed Payload carts unique to Helltower. After being slain by their long-lost brother Gray Mann, the ghosts of the Mann Brothers endeavour to have their respective mercenaries send the other brother to Hell so that one may claim their father's inheritance as described in Grave Matters. Thus each team must push the corpse of the other team's boss to Hell while the ghosts of their respective employers bicker, report progress, and give instruction in place of the Administrator.

Hell

While the initial push to the end works like a regular Payload race on Hightower, once a team has pushed their corpse to the end, the screen will flash white as all players are transported to what is believed to be Hell.

On first arrival, all players will arrive on separate sides of a small area surrounded by lava (along with a short dance-off.) The team that has successfully pushed their cart to the end will gain a noticeable health buff as both teams are to fight over winning a prize upon Skull Island; an Unfilled Fancy Spellbook.

At this point, the game turns into a short Arena match, with no respawns. Instead, killed players will turn into ghosts. Whichever team manages to make it to the end and lower the gate around the book wins the match, even if they lost the Payload race. However, the team that wins the Payload match receives over-healing, giving them a slight advantage over the losing team in the race for the book.

Locations

  • The Hightowers
  • Central Tower: Includes a long pit/shaft, similar to Ghost Fort.
  • The Ramp: Unlike Hightower, the carts do not fall back down these ramps by gravity.
  • Cliff-House: Its back wall is now opened up and can be fallen off of.
  • Balconies
  • Tower Corridors: Some changes have been made here, including small puddle rooms on each side that players can drop down into, and small *inaccessible tunnels, which can be used to teleport to the opposite tunnel when you are affected by the shrinking spell.
  • The Bridge: Allows playersto access the clocktower. Appears during the witching hour and disappears after the witching hour.
  • Hell: When one of the caskets reaches its goal, both teams are sent to Hell.

Strategy

See Community Helltower strategy

Related achievements

See also: Obtaining Halloween achievements

Pumpkin.png Scarechievements

Attack o' Lantern
Attack o' Lantern
Cause the deaths of 5 players by exploding nearby pumpkin bombs.


Scared Stiff
Scared Stiff
Kill a player scared by a ghost.
Candy Coroner
Candy Coroner
Collect 20 Halloween pumpkins from dead players to unlock a hat.

Reward: Mildly Disturbing Halloween Mask

Ghostchievements icon.png Ghostchievements

Masked Mann
Masked Mann
Collect a Soul Gargoyle in Mann Manor.

Pumpkin.png Bereavements

Helltower: Hat Out of Hell
Helltower: Hat Out of Hell
Get the loot from Skull Island in Hell


Helltower: Competitive Spirit
Helltower: Competitive Spirit
Win 142 rounds


Helltower: Hell on Wheels
Helltower: Hell on Wheels
Send Redmond/Blutarch to Hell 10 times


Helltower: Hell's Spells
Helltower: Hell's Spells
Get and use a rare spell
Helltower: Mine Games
Helltower: Mine Games
Perform 17 environmental kills in Hell


Helltower: Skeleton Coup
Helltower: Skeleton Coup
Kill 99 skeletons


Helltower: Spelling Spree
Helltower: Spelling Spree
Use spells to kill 25 players


Helltower: The Mann-tastic Four
Helltower: The Mann-tastic Four
Earn 4 of the Helltower achievements

Update history

October 29, 2013 Patch (Scream Fortress 2013)

  • Added Helltower to the game.

October 30, 2013 Patch

  • Updated the round restart event to remove spells after playing in hell.
  • Updated plr_hightower_event to improve server stability.

October 31, 2013 Patch

  • Fixed players keeping their spells if they were rolling for them while leaving hell.

November 1, 2013 Patch

  • Fixed a dedicated server crash related to players becoming ghosts in hell.

November 6, 2013 Patch

  • Fixed being able to instantly respawn by changing teams while a ghost.
  • Fixed being able to get into the enemy spawn with the teleport spell in Helltower.

November 11, 2013 Patch

  • Fixed an exploit caused by attempting to change teams while in hell

Bugs

  • The carts will not destroy any buildings when passing over them.
  • It is possible to go outside the map in certain spots.
  • When the speed boost from exiting the clock tower runs out, any speed boost from a Disciplinary Action will also be removed.
  • Players do not drop ammo upon death in Hell.
  • It's possible for pumpkin bombs and Skeletons to spawn directly on the exit gates of a teams base, preventing them from opening.

Trivia

  • Each Mann brother has a knife sticking out of his back. This is a reference to when Gray Mann stabbed them at the end of the Blood Brothers comic.
    • However, Gray used only one knife to commit both murders and, according to the Grave Matters comic, he dropped the knife and left it on the floor.
  • The Ghost of Zepheniah Mann can be spotted on the Clocktower's walkway when the bridge is not active, presumably watching the fighting.

See also