In Nerf ArenaBlast (NAB is a common acronym) bots (computer controlled players) need to be told where they can go, what they can pick up, and how to get to the specified places. The ease of bots getting to a certain point is dependent on Bot pathing. Bot pathing is all about joining the objects that allow paths between them (ammo, shield, weapons, triggers, and Path Nodes). The way it works is by creating a “grid” of sorts, so that the bots know where they can go, and what they can pick up. Good pathing means that the bots can go anywhere in the grid that they want without any difficulty.
An important factor in bot pathing is the map itself. If the hallways are to narrow, doorways too short, or there are lots of hazardous pitfalls, it will cause some serious problems to arise while pathing the map. If you have a lot of movers, items that need to be triggered, or complex geometry (shapes) in your map, it will make good pathing difficult. Thus, if you want good pathing, you need to have doorways that are more than large enough for bots to get through, in both height and width; movers, and the opening through which they move, should be big enough to easily accommodate the largest bots, etc.
The main tools in bot pathing are the Path Node (a simple point that tries to contact any other object that allows pathing, such as triggers, Player Starts, weapons, etc.), Player Starts, and weapons. Although you occasionally use Jump exit points (showing your bots where to land after jumping), Jump center points (they show the bots where and how high to jump), Mover exit points (as the name implies, it helps the bots get off movers), and Mover center points (where they should stand on the movers).
Pathing a level normally starts with weapons and Player Starts. Once you have found where you want to place them, you need to make sure they connect. The way you connect them (if they are too far from each other to connect after re-defining your paths) is by using Path Nodes. Path nodes will connect to anything that uses paths (which are used in anything that a player picks up, uses, or modifies).
In order to see how well your bot pathing is coming you need to do a Paths Define. All you have to do is press F8, go to the Lighting tab, then just press Paths Define and it will figure out which paths connect. But if you do not set your 3d view to allow you to see them, you will never do any good pathing. All you have to do for that is go to the little bar menu above your 3d view, then click on the View sub menu. Once you have clicked View, drop down to Show Paths, which will allow you to see any paths that are in your map. Remember, red paths are bad, blue paths are good, and if you don't see any paths, do a Paths Define.
Now that you have your basic paths done, it is time to make sure they work well. The First step is to try to fix any of the “red” paths. Those paths show that the two points do not successfully connect with each other. The best way to fix those is to follow this simple process. The First thing to do is figure out if those items need to be connected. If they do, then you go to the second portion. Move the two objects to where they have an unobstructed view of each other. If that doesn't work, you can always try another Path Node between them as a sort of “bridge” to link them. If they do not need to be connected, and it is not worth the effort of trying to connect them, then you want to try to break the link. You do that by separating them. Try to place walls or corners between them, etc.
An important thing to keep in mind while pathing a map is that if you make it too simple, the bots can get stuck. So, while you do not want a solid block of paths, you do, however, want plenty of options for your bots to choose.
Bot pathing is a very important part of Nerf ArenaBlast maps. It helps your map to be challenging, even if there are no other humans playing. A level with good bot pathing, and with your bot's intelligence level set to Mega Nerf, is often more challenging than the same number of normal human players. I hope this has taught you the basics of how to path a map.