Flag Passing is a tactic in Tribes: Ascend in which the Flag Carrier (or Capper) throws the flag to another player on their team, usually at high speed. This is typically done either to throw off pursuit by Chasers (such as by passing to a player traveling in the opposite direction), or because the Carrier is low on health and does not expect to make it home with the flag. Flag Passing may also be used to relieve a Carrier who has been holding the flag for an extended time during a stalemate (where each team has their opponents’ flag and so neither can capture it).
To pass the flag, the Carrier must throw it (bound to the Z key by default) toward a teammate. The flag is thrown from the left side and generally follows the player’s crosshair, but moves at a fairly slow speed compared to projectiles from weapons (such as Spinfusor discs). The flag does have some inheritance, which means it will retain some of the speed/direction of the player who threw it.
Punting
In addition to throwing the flag, the carrier may choose to punt it. This means that the player throws the flag and immediately fires an explosive weapon. The knock-back from the detonation throws the flag further than the player could alone. Punting damages the player who threw the flag, much like disc-jumping, and thus is often used as a last-resort move to keep the flag from being returned by the enemy team.
To punt, press the Throw Flag key (again, bound to Z by default) and then immediately fire an explosive weapon (before the flag even appears on the screen). The flag will be seen flying away and the edges of the screen will flash red because of the damage dealt.