I think a lot of TDM'ers seem to think that FFA, the very basis of that type of a game, is detrimental to skills.
Do you think if more TDM'ers played FFA, and more really good players played FFA, that your average FFA player would gradually get near the TDM'ers in skill? Or must you play TDM style games, on that platform, to reach the level your average TDM'er has reached?
Also, 3 weeks or a month prior to quakecon 2005 I saw doze repetedly playing FFA at "Edge Madhouse" getting ready for that event. He came in second (and only because purri was there) winning like 7 grand or someshit. If FFA is good enough for him to win that money, I don't really think it could hurt your game that much.
Anyway, think the difference is best illustrated like this: I played Punk in FFA just an hour or so ago, and when we were only 2 on the server I had a hard time getting frags at all because punk is a good player with good aim and he always outrailed me. But as soon as a third player joined up, regardless his skill, I found it easier to get a frag on either of them because his attentioned was moved from one target to two targets which made it a lot easier for me to play. I could basically stay on the distance firing rails at them when the two of them were battling it out and actually frag both of them if lucky. In FFA you're rarely singled out, in TDM it happens all the time.
You can't really compare FFA to RA2 I'm sorry, they're two totaly different games.