I don’t particularly like Arena.
Actually for most people that would be enough. „Okay, so Teatime doesn’t like Arena. Well, nobody is forcing him to play it, so let’s move on. Next editorial“.
As if I would let you off the hook that easily 
See, there are reasons I don’t like Arena which has little to do with personal preference. I will freely admit that I’m a rubbish deathmatch player which usually dies within the first 2 minutes of a match, just to find myself sitting on the bench waiting for the round to end. But if that was all I would happily say: „Don’t like it? Don’t play it!“.
But I’ve already sneaked in the evil word, which describes my dislike for Arena on a more objective level: Arena is basically Deathmatch.
Team Deathmatch, granted. But Deathmatch nonetheless.
Arena is basically a hybrid of TF2 and Counterstrike. Take the design and classes of TF2 and combine it with the rubbish game structure of CS: Voilà!
Let’s face it: The control-point is a lame-ass excuse to disguise the fact that the main gameplay of Arena consists of killing off the opposing team. At best it serves as focal point to keep players from hiding in the back waiting for the cheap kill.
It is the same problem CS had from day one. All the different game variants are little more than set dressing. You can play hostages-maps completely without concerning yourself with the hostages. Bomb maps are usually just incrementally more focused, since again these maps can be played completely as deathmatch. The original mod team earlier and Valve now never managed to give CS’ gameplay some substance which would require it to be played objective-based.
But I dare to say that much of CS’ success was based on the clever new packaging which combined semi-realistic gameplay with a simplistic deathmatch mechanic. Which, I assume, to this day informs the attitude with which people approach playing CS.
But if I like it or not, there’s no denying in CS’ huge popularity and success. Valve apparently felt it would be a smart idea to adapt the simplicity of CS-gameplay for the class-based gameplay mechanics of TF2.
And sadly the community appears to like it as well. Lots of Arena servers, lots of people playing it. I assume part of the attraction is that Arena offers players a more controlled environment to practice and show off their skills. [1]
Well, in a perfect world that exercise in deathmatch would be limited to Arena servers [2], but that would demand a higher level of abstraction than the usual TF2-player can muster.
And so all the bad habits nursed on Arena maps usually spill over to the regular gameplay on normal maps. People will rather go for the kill than the objective.
Carts don’t get pushed, cases not stolen and points not capped. But our deathmatching friends may have a good killscore and a huge erection. [3]
Don’t get me wrong: This behavior existed before Arena. But bloody Arena makes this approach look legit, and it helps to condition people to act like this in a TF2 environment.
It is counterproductive to objective-based thinking and undermines the subordination of the individual to the team, which is a major prerequisite of teamwork.
In regard of that Arena was a stupid idea. And perhaps some people at Valve saw this in a similar way, because with KOTH they have created a gamemode which combines elements from Arena and CP/TC in a more satisfying manner. KOTH should have been the kick-back-mode for TF2 instead of that rubbish deathmatch-in-disguise which is Arena.
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