Capture the Flag

Capture the Flag is team PvP on a permanent cavern battlefield: two opposing bases and three routes between them. Practice matches run from the Arena queue, and staff start the match once everyone has queued. Practice matches do not award progression.

The battlefield is available after server restarts without a staff setup command. Two players can queue for a practice match; staff then use [ctf start.

Anyone can start solo bot practice from Battle Hub > Capture the Flag > Play with Bots. Choose 3v3, 4v4 or 5v5, and 5 or 10 minutes. You occupy one seat and bots fill the rest. No GM is needed. The arena must be free and no other connected players may be waiting in its queue. Your own queue entry is removed when practice starts successfully. The settings apply only to that bot match, not the regular queue. Bot matches have no overtime and can end early at three captures.

For smaller tests, [ctfpractice start 2 5 starts a five-minute 1v1; use 4 for 2v2, 6 for 3v3, 8 for 4v4 or 10 for 5v5. [ctfpractice stop ends your own session, as does Leave Match. These practice opponents cast spells, heal, use halberds and play the flag objectives under the normal match rules. Bot practice ends when its human player leaves or disconnects. It awards no progression and does not appear in competitive match history.

CTF gives you 100 in both weapon skills, so a macro with separate Swordsmanship and Archery checks can select both weapons. Use elseif if you want exactly one. If a script lifts a second item before dropping the first, the first is returned to your backpack so the equipment queue can continue. Spell timings, equipment delays and potion cooldowns still apply.

The objective

Two randomly divided teams, Crimson and Azure, defend their standards while stealing the enemy flag. Bring their flag back to your stand to score. Your own flag must be home. First to three captures wins; otherwise the team ahead after 15 minutes wins. Kills are recorded but do not add to the team score.

Joining

Open Battle Hub using Battle between World Map and Debug on the top bar, or type [arena. Select Capture the Flag, or use [ctf join and [ctf leave. Join alive and out of PvP combat. You can queue while mounted; your mount waits outside when the match starts and is restored when you leave.

Every player enters with 100 Strength, 100 Intelligence, 25 Dexterity and 100 in every skill, with full health, mana and stamina. Your original base stats and skills return on exit. Base skills and stats cannot gain or lose points during the event, and loadout swaps are disabled. Temporary spell effects still work normally. Your own gear is retained, and every player is also handed a match kit: ten of each potion (greater heal, greater cure, total refresh, greater strength, greater agility, greater explosion, greater poison, night sight), a halberd, an axe, a katana, a viking sword, a bow and a heavy crossbow with 200 arrows and 200 bolts. The kit is blessed, rides every respawn, and is collected when you leave, so you can queue straight in without visiting the coffer.

In Battle Hub, PLAY, OPEN, BROWSE and HISTORY are direct view buttons. Right-click to close, or resize with the bottom-right handle. Queue actions stay near the top on smaller screens.

The Players Waiting sidebar lists queued players and pre-match readiness across modes, with your selected mode first. It refreshes while the hub is open and scrolls independently. Offline or unavailable players are not marked ready. CTF's displayed carrier penalties and return times follow the current match configuration.

The battlefield

The cavern is 146 by 104 tiles, with wide approaches and long flag runs along its three routes. Tall pillars have open black tops, and darker floors contrast against the fractured rock walls. The soft slopes at the foot of the walls are visual only; they do not change movement or cover.

Solid walls block spell targeting, including diagonal corners. Scenery and pillar openings follow the camera even when zoomed out past the normal range; players, creatures and moving objects keep their usual visibility range.

Ground flags are upright standards on poles. Carried Crimson and Azure standards have different emblems as well as colors, and the carried standard rides above the player.

Carrying and recovering flags

Double-click an enemy flag from nearby to take it. The carrier can keep fighting with their own equipment, but moves 25% slower and takes 25% more damage. Carriers cannot hide, become invisible, or teleport. Escort them home.

A carrier can drop the flag with DROP FLAG in the score tracker or the [dropflag command ([ctf drop also works). You can bind the command to a hotkey if you wish; no hotkey is required. Dropping immediately removes the carrier's movement and damage penalties. Death or disconnection also drops it.

A grounded flag returns automatically after 12 seconds. Defenders standing within its glowing ring, without enemies contesting it, advance that return twice as fast: six seconds from a fresh drop. Enemies inside the ring remove the defender speed-up, but the normal countdown continues. Progress never drains. Attackers can pick up the flag before it returns; picking it up and dropping it again starts a fresh countdown.

HUD and announcements

Both flags appear on the world map, including moving carriers. The compact battle HUD shows the score, remaining time, both flag states and your respawn countdown. Drag the HUD to move it, or drag its bottom-right corner to resize it. It adapts to your display scale; flag details scroll when space is tight while the score, timer and respawn notices remain visible. The HUD uses the same compact frame and gold resize handle as the Quest Tracker, with a smaller default size.

Spoken announcements call out your flag and the enemy flag being taken, dropped, returned or captured, plus match start, overtime and rising carrier vulnerability. They follow your sound volume and mute settings; the HUD and journal also display the event text.

Return to the fight

Death returns you to your team's fixed spawn after 10 seconds, with your gear re-equipped and full health, stamina and mana. No equipment or backpack loot is lost to other players. Ability cooldowns are not refreshed by dying.

Brief spawn protection ends when you attack, interact with a flag or leave the spawn pocket. It does not protect the flag stand. Mounts are unavailable during the match. Recall, Gate and Mark are sealed; non-carriers may Teleport within the battlefield. Outsiders cannot interfere, and friendly fire is blocked.

If both flags stay away from home for two minutes, carriers become progressively more vulnerable until either flag returns. A close match can enter up to two minutes of overtime. An unresolved tie is a draw.

Results and achievements

The results screen records captures, returns, capture assists, carrier kills, kills, deaths, damage and healing. Your last 100 Arena results can be reopened from HISTORY. Wins, captures and returns have their own leaderboard standings.

Capture the Flag has achievement ladders for participation, wins, captures, returns, assists and carrier kills. Practice, cancelled and insufficiently populated matches award no progression. Eligible matches require at least four active finishers, with at least two active minutes per credited player.

Leaving a match forfeits its progression. If a whole team leaves, the match ends without awards. When the fight ends, you return to where you joined.