Ultitrio
Ultitrio is a competitive format intended for small roster competitive play. It features a three vs three (3v3) game-type, Soldier and Medic pairs, along with a Scout for added support.
Most maps have the 3-player team battling over a King of the Hill game type. As opposed to 6v6, Highlander or even Ultiduo, Ultitrio is more focused on DM skill and coordinated attacks within a team. Since winning a 2v3 or a 1v3 is not very likely, there is a lot of focus on moving as a group. This gamemode is played on small KOTH maps that are specifically made for it, or other Ultiduo maps that are more open, but with many ways to regain high ground as any class, even Medic.
Contents
Gameplay
The success of an Ultitrio team heavily hinges on the team's coordination skills and on the inclusion of Scout. This is not to say switching up who is a pocket or sweeper can't work, however. Teams can see success with a pocket Soldier and sweeper Scout or a pocket Scout and roamer Soldier. Ultitrio hinges on the death-matching skill of the players in question and the coordination with your team's role choice.
The addition of Scout adds more dynamic gameplay for both teams in comparison to Ultiduo's Soldier and Medic pairs. While having a slightly larger team size, Ultitrio still houses the common core elements of Ultiduo: gaining an Über advantage, health and ammo conservation, and immaculate communication and execution skills.
Ultitrio features a small map with a single control point in the King of the Hill style, with 3-5 minutes needed to win depending on the map being played. The two teams are limited to one Scout, one Soldier, and one Medic, with most weapons that provide too great of a disadvantage by eliminating teamplay staying off the whitelist.
It's possible to split up your team to perform pincer maneuvers in Ultitrio. For example, a team could have a Soldier and Medic combo pushing on one side and a fully buffed Scout pushing on the other, which is one commonly seen tactic when attempting to regain lost space. This would not be possible in Ultiduo because of the two-person team limit and stricter weapon bans. With the addition of Scout, it allows for more strategic gameplay because of Scout's weapons like the Fan O' War and Wrap Assassin, leaving Soldier to be more of a "clean-up" class after a Scout marks someone or hits that player with a Wrap Assassin ball.
Maps
There are five main Ultitrio maps, all of which feature strong high-ground & low-ground differences and ample pickups like health or ammo packs.
Weapons
The official Ultitrio Github has a whitelist for Ultitrio.
 Scout
|
|---|
| Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Scattergun | Allowed |
|
Baby Face's Blaster | Allowed |
|
Back Scatter | Allowed |
|
Force-A-Nature | Banned |
|
Shortstop | Allowed |
|
Soda Popper | Banned |
| Secondary | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Pistol | Allowed |
|
Bonk! Atomic Punch | Banned |
|
Crit-A-Cola | Banned |
|
Flying Guillotine | Banned |
|
Mad Milk | Banned |
|
Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol | Banned |
|
Winger | Allowed |
| Melee | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Bat | Allowed |
|
Atomizer | Allowed |
|
Boston Basher | Banned |
|
Candy Cane | Allowed |
|
Fan O'War | Allowed |
|
Sandman | Allowed |
|
Sun-on-a-Stick | Allowed |
|
Wrap Assassin | Allowed |
 Soldier
|
|---|
| Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Rocket Launcher | Allowed |
|
Air Strike | Banned |
|
Beggar's Bazooka | Banned |
|
Black Box | Banned |
|
Cow Mangler 5000 | Banned |
|
Direct Hit | Banned |
|
Liberty Launcher | Allowed |
|
Original | Allowed |
|
Rocket Jumper | Allowed |
| Secondary | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Shotgun | Allowed |
|
B.A.S.E. Jumper | Allowed |
|
Battalion's Backup | Banned |
|
Buff Banner | Banned |
|
Concheror | Banned |
|
Gunboats | Allowed |
|
Mantreads | Allowed |
|
Panic Attack | Allowed |
|
Reserve Shooter | Banned |
|
Righteous Bison | Allowed |
| Melee | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Shovel | Allowed |
|
Disciplinary Action | Allowed |
|
Equalizer | Allowed |
|
Escape Plan | Allowed |
|
Half-Zatoichi | Allowed |
|
Market Gardener | Banned |
|
Pain Train | Allowed |
 Medic
|
|---|
| Primary | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Syringe Gun | Allowed |
|
Blutsauger | Allowed |
|
Crusader's Crossbow | Allowed |
|
Overdose | Allowed |
| Secondary | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Medigun | Allowed |
|
Kritzkrieg | Allowed |
|
Quick-Fix | Banned |
|
Vaccinator | Banned |
| Melee | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Bonesaw | Allowed |
|
Amputator | Allowed |
|
Solemn Vow | Allowed |
|
Übersaw | Allowed |
|
Vita-Saw | Allowed |
Competitions
Ultitrio tournaments are often held by community members. As each team requires only 3 players these small tournaments are usually easy to set up, making it a viable option for off-season competition.
The game mode is often used by players as a source of practice for Scout, Soldier, and Medic death-matching, and regularly sees play in small-scale community tournaments.
Where to Play?
You can sign up for the official Ultitrio league at the official Ultitrio Discord. There are also regular pickup games and tournaments run on the same server.
Development
Ultitrio was created officially on March 4th, 2022 according to the original wording in the base config. Before the finalization of the roster, Demoman was considered in place of Scout, but being as most Ultitrio/duo maps have 2 exits and close quarters, Demoman would be able to lock down every inch of a map for free and subsequently deny everyone, so Scout was chosen for his flexibility and high mobility. Ultitrio was added into serveme.tf's network on April 21st for public access for a cup that was played a couple of weeks later on May 7th, 2022. When Ultitrio development reached this stage, it stagnated due to few PUGs being run and waining community involvement. That was, until picking up again in mid-September from reinvigorated fervor from its community by the reintroduction of semi-daily PUGs. As a result, maps like Caffa were made around this time. Mappers like TTL and RichyRicky came along and collaborated by making better and improved versions of their respective maps to better suit the format.
