For those of you not familiar with InstaGib Domination (or iDOM), I thought to write up a little introduction and overview of this gametype. If after reading this you're still not convinced to try it, I rest my case!

More than iTDM!

Throughout the years I've seen people (that have never really played iDOM) keep saying that it's just pointless deathmatch. However, it's really much more than that. Even though being a good fragger may give you a significant advantage, that alone will not make you an efficient iDOM player. Some of the most important skills required in iDOM are:

• good knowledge of the maps & their spawnpoints
• quick movement & tactical suiciding
• understanding of how scoring system works
• quality communication skills on voice chat

There are countless examples from the past where a much weaker fragger either won or played a very close game DOM-wise on a control point because of possessing the above skills. For this reason, even though fragging wise some standoffs may seem unfair, the gap in DOM-knowledge might actually even it out.

Scoring system

For each Control Point taken, the team scores 1 point every 5 seconds. The more CP's a team controls, the faster their score increases. In a rare occasion when the teams' points are tied at the end, the team with more CP's under control at the end of the match wins.

In iDOM, it's vitally important to play on or around the CP and constantly try to grab the point. Every second is valuable, so if you waste time on senseless fragging or spawnkilling somewhere far from your designated control point while the opponent has it tagged, you'll end up doing more harm to your team than good. When respawning far from your CP, doing a tactical suicide to respawn closer is a widely used tactic and also vital for your team's success.

Maps

There is a lot of variety in iDOM when it comes to maps and positions. Since iDOM is played in a 4v4 setting but there are only 3 Control Points, then most typical setup is to have two 1v1 CP's, and one 2v2 CP. In some cases a team will prefer to have 3 players assigned to a CP, with the 4th being a freelancer helping all-around. Due to a high number of popular maps, there is probably a favourite control point out there for everyone!

The "standard" maplist used through many cups includes the maps below, however there's a potential to add some new and remove some less popular maps. If you've got some suggestions for the maplist changes, leave them in comments!

Communication

For people unfamiliar with iDOM, it often sounds strange that comms would be useful in a "deathmatch-like" gametype. However, in iDOM, information is the key. Informing your team mate about the approaching enemy player is very helpful and will often result in more DOM points.

Convinced? Join some iDOM pugs & sign up!

The more players sign up for this event, the more and better matches we'll get. So let's start practicing iDOM in #pickup-games & mark yourself down for the cup at the Sign Up page!

Good luck & have fun!