Badlands is a large Capture the Flag map set in a desert. As with other CTF maps, each team has a base that contains their flag. The flag is at the bottom of a tall cylindrical room, which leads to one of the main doors. Unlike the standard "2fort" configuration, however, the two bases are not within sight of each other. The area between the bases is less of a "no man's land" and more of a canyon path that leads to a large courtyard (for lack of a better word) and the two main doors. Aside from that main route, there is also an underground path that can be used as an alternate route. The underground area can be accessed via the inside of each base or by jumping down into it from the courtyard area in front of each base.
Offensive Strategies:
The courtyard area in front of the main doors contains a few good sentry gun places, so keep on your toes if you're taking the main route. Just to the left of the courtyard is a high ledge that is a particularly popular spot, so check there first. The canyon walls on the right side are also good cover for sentries. I recommend heading to the right to the second main door instead of the one that will be straight ahead from the courtyard entrance because it's closer to the flag. To get the flag, bear right and head up to the top of the spiral stairs, where you will find an opening to the cylindrical area with the flag. On the way up, you will pass a similar cylinder, which is where the alternate route enters the base. Spies on this level should stick more to infiltration and destroying sentries rather than trying to run the flag. The reason is that the defense is often heaviest directly after the flag (see below). The bottom of the cylinder opens out into a small room that leads to the left-hand main entrance. That small room is often a major spot for defense because sentries can't be built in the cylinder. A well-tossed grenade or two from the cylinder will help to neutralize sentries there. You may find it useful, if initial defense is light, to take that left-hand door and try to clear those defenses first. One major incentive for doing so is the fact that a runner can then be boosted into the bottom of the flag cylinder by a teammate. Of course, this is a much harder prospect if there is heavy defense in that initial area, which is often the case. This is where good Spy reconnaisance can help.
Defensive Strategies:
Many consider this map to be quite easy to defend because of all of the good sentry spots and choke points. In the courtyard, there are multiple places (the ledge and canyon walls mentioned above) to ambush attackers, so take note of them. Courtyard defenses can, of course, be circumvented by taking the alternate route into the base, so consider stationing defense on the spiral stairs or at the top of the flag cylinder to stop attackers there. One of the most effective areas to defend, however, is the small room that the flag cylinder opens into. The reasons for fortifying this area above all others are numerous. Not only are defenses at the "main door" end of the room likely to catch attackers early, but defense there can keep the flag from being taken out of the base. Sentries can be placed at the "rear" end, where they are least vulnerable but have a harder time keeping the flag in the base (since the runner is moving away from it), in the middle facing the tunnel, which keeps would-be carriers in the cylinder but exposes the sentry to major punishment, or at the front of the room, which keeps the flag farther into the base and catches attackers on the way in, but which also exposes it to a lot of fire. Non-Engineer defense can be stationed inside the cylinder or at the top of the spiral stairs to good effect. Heavy Weapons Guys and Demomen on the stairs are particularly lethal.
