A Friendly Welcome for the F2P Players of TF2

[Sansha]

how can you tell of somone if FTP or not?

I've had the game for agies but my internet cant allow the downloads needed to play

not that I ever will but If I do try and get into it I guess id be accused of being FTP?

not that it matters anyhow

Generally, a person's behavior in the game - skill, habits, reflexes - is a good measure. Also people without hats or a wide array of special weapons.

But for me, someone who's been playing TF2 since the day it came out, FTP players?

Bodies.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

snip

You forgot that you can airblast medics especially ubered ones away from their uber. Although you may sacrifice yourself it is worth it on a pay load map at the start when you need that extra push.

As a Demoman stick bombs at the entrance of spawns at the start of payload maps and on points you cap that are in danger of being taken soon. If nothing else it is area denial. Important learn to stickie jump.

Don't play Scout til you can dodge as a Medic.

Don't be an obvious Spy and make a Beeline for someones back and while many hate it the Cloak and Dagger is good for being a scout for your team as well as on big maps but if you are say playing Gold Rush or Turbine where it is mostly tight quarters the standard is fine.

As a Soldier depending on the class hit them with 1 or 2 rockets then shotgun in the air this saves rocket ammo and reload rocket often when not in combat. Unless you are sniping something like s sentry do not fire all 4 rockets. Also learn to rocket jump.

If you must play Scout at start always move in erratic patterns and aim like you are playing on a console so less focus on mouse aim more focus on moving yourself into position to get a shot. You must also make sure to double jump to dodge rockets/nades.

As a Pyro you must learn to strike with surprise and use Airblast and never ever just W+M1 unless you are chasing someone down like medic and even then only when you know he has no team mates there. Airblast can be used to box people into corners or off buildings. Against another Pyro use shotgun and if you have flaregun backpedal while burning them most just run into flames.

As a Heavy jump then rev up you minigun gives you a bit more distance with higher speed. The closer you are the better this makes Pyros and Scouts easy unless it is a very Scout or the Pyro surprises you. If you have a Sandvich and you do not need it do give it another.

That is all the basic stuff I think that was missed.

 

[rabidmidget]

Here's a tip that will make spies rage (even though spy is my main class):

If you know that there's a spy on the server and you're a vulnerable class, try quickly spinning 180 degrees when you can, if you see someone running towards you, they're probably a spy.

Also, the stickybomb launcher is very easy to use as an offensive weapon, most enemies fail to kepp track of the exact where abouts of all stickies fired in a skirmish.

CAPTCHA: "back to basics" seems appropriate.

 

[sevreon]

Thanks for this, its very helpful! I was downloaded TF2 as a free player, but I enjoyed it so much I upgraded to premium. I'm still a total noob, but everyone's gotta start somewhere right?
If anyone feels like recommending any good servers or adding me, my Steam account is linked on my profile

 

[Leole]

I'm F2P, started playing seriously like a week ago, and your tips could have come in handy back then. Where the fuck were you D:!?

But I wouldn't say Scout is a hard class, I mean, I believe myself to be pretty good with it, and my total playtime with it is like, 2 hours or so. You just have to move around and flank your enemies. If you see a Heavy+Medic combo, you go around them (Because you can ALWAYS go around them) and you kill the medic with ease.

And I am incredibly bad with Soldier or Demoman. Seriously, I cannot get the gist out of them.

 

[qeinar]

Also if you feel overwhelmed try playing 1 map and learn it properly when you start the game, since understanding other classes and seeing how others play is easier if you undertsnad the map your playing fully.

 

[qeinar]

I'm F2P, started playing seriously like a week ago, and your tips could have come in handy back then. Where the fuck were you D:!?

But I wouldn't say Scout is a hard class, I mean, I believe myself to be pretty good with it, and my total playtime with it is like, 2 hours or so. You just have to move around and flank your enemies. If you see a Heavy+Medic combo, you go around them (Because you can ALWAYS go around them) and you kill the medic with ease.

And I am incredibly bad with Soldier or Demoman. Seriously, I cannot get the gist out of them.

pretty decent vid on playing the soldier: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI29xEnfTzI
gives some good tips on how to imrpove, basicly learn to rocket jump properly and learn to time rockets. didn't like soldier at the start, but saw a beastly fragmovie and decided to try it not long ago, i do pretty well whenever i go soldier now. ^^

 

[Valkyrie101]

Thanks, useful guide. Though some of it is just common sense - but since there's a disappointing lack of that on certain servers, it always pays to tell people that four snipers aren't very useful.

Also, I think that the anti-F2P sentiment is exaggerated quite a lot. I've never seen anyone harassed for (allegedly) being a freeloader since I started playing. In fact, I don't see much communication at all (apart from someone singing, badly, all through a match yesterday).

 

[martin's a madman]

Isn't engineer a defence class and Medic a support class? a and b don't follow.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Isn't engineer a defence class and Medic a support class? a and b don't follow.

According to the categories on the class selection screen, yes. The thing is, they decided on those categories back when the game only existed on paper, and they don't all match up to the reality. For example, the heavy is listed as an offensive class, with the demo as defense, but in actual gameplay the roles are reversed. As for Medics and Engineers, they both work as support classes in gameplay, but the Medic is so important that your team isn't going to win without one unless the other team is terrible, whereas the Engineer is a bit more situational. As for the Sniper and the Spy, they're so situational that people should really only play as them when they're specifically needed. People shouldn't be picking Spy or Sniper as soon as they join the server.

 

[Fanta Grape]

Isn't engineer a defence class and Medic a support class? a and b don't follow.

Owyn pretty much nailed it (except that both demo and heavies are listed as defensive). In reality, the main focus of the team should be power classes and medics, and scouts. Pyros are almost completely useless in competitive play and really only act as a utility tool because of his airblast. Definitely not enough fire power to be offensive. Soldiers and demos are useful for defence and attack, which is why they're so important. They can be used in so many situations. Heavies don't generally work as offence because they'll lag behind the team. A good offence needs a strong front line. Engineer is defensive, but is specialised for certain attack/defend maps or as a distraction. Their ability to stop a team with an ubercharge is extremely minimal. Medics are always needed. Plain and simple. Support, yes, but...

It's better to think of the game in terms of
-Support (scout and medic)
-Combat (soldier and demo)
-Situational (the rest)

If anyone in Australia wants to play with me by the way, I'm Blignorance on Steam.

 

[teqrevisited]

All brilliant advice and I hope a good amount of newcomers find this thread. To add my own little point: reassess your situation on every death. Check the class numbers and change accordingly.

And as a medic, spin like a bastard and watch your six. Though, obviously, not too fast or it'll get you facestabbed.

 

[Cowabungaa]

But for me, someone who's been playing TF2 since the day it came out, FTP players?

Bodies.

Heads to shoot for me. The amount of people just standing still after the the F2P update was astounding.

As for the Sniper and the Spy, they're so situational that people should really only play as them when they're specifically needed. People shouldn't be picking Spy or Sniper as soon as they join the server.

As someone who's been playing Sniper for the majority of the game;

A good Sniper can completely neutralise an enemy attack with one well-aimed shot. Identify the most crucial player, usually the Medic healing the spearhead attacker, and pop his head. Especially fun when you notice he/she just had an Ubercharge ready. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same for a Spy who communicates well with his team.

I wouldn't call that situational, I'd call that extremely useful. Honestly all classes are extremely useful if you bother with communication. That's your strongest weapon really, as any class-combo can be countered in one way or another.

The reason for this is that snipers are specialists who should be taking off high priority enemies like their MVP (most valuable player), as is the spy. But they can't really get consecutive kills or push, they can only waddle down the enemy.

Heeeeej, good ones can :< Though I still have to break the 23 kills record. Then again I'm not as good as I used to be.

 

[White_Lama]

I think you should change your post to "screw spycheck, no one ever needs spycheck".

Otherwise I'll just get blood on my suit.

 

[Fanta Grape]

snip

Oh my. A good sniper. A good sniper is devastating and can annihilate the front lines of an enemy. But of course, most snipers aren't at such a level. Very, very, very rare. Every so often, I see a sniper who the moment I can see anywhere on my screen, I run in the opposite direction because 3 seconds is all they need for a headshot from across the map.

But for newbies... Nah.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Oh my. A good sniper. A good sniper is devastating and can annihilate the front lines of an enemy. But of course, most snipers aren't at such a level. Very, very, very rare. Every so often, I see a sniper who the moment I can see anywhere on my screen, I run in the opposite direction because 3 seconds is all they need for a headshot from across the map.

But for newbies... Nah.

I'm flattered thank you, though I have my ups and downs.

Joking and shameless self-promoting aside, I'd say it's an excellent class for noobies. It allows you to learn the maps from a, relatively, safe location. Learn the layout of the map, recognise choke points, etc etc. That's all easier to do from a distance (though not too far, because only wimp snipers hide in a corner far far away) as a newb, as you'll die a lot if you dive straight into the thick of it. It's also a rather straight forward class in it's mechanics and learns you to be aware of other people's roles as that's important in choosing your targets.

It's just that the Sniper class is often abused by true noobs who just hide and wait for someone to pass by, and thus has a bad reputation. But I'd say that overal, it's a good class to teach a lot of the basics of the game to a newb. You just have to avoid developing some nasty habits.

 

[LokiArchetype]

Ranked in order...

I'd say Medic, Pyro, Heavy are good starting classes and can be played fairly well even at beginner levels.

Engy, Soldier, and Demo are intermediate because in order to play decently you need some knowledge of the best building spots for each map (for Engy), how to time your rockets/how to rocket jump properly (for Soldier), and where to place stickies/how to sticky jump/how to aim with the grenade launcher (for demo)

Then Sniper, Scout, and Spy are the hardest and are best avoided.


And an additional general tip that I didn't see mentioned: You might think a pistol would do more damage than a wrench, but in this game, melee hits generally 2-shot or even 1-shot you, so learn to backpedal while firing.

 

[Fredvdp]

I have a tip but everyone always seems to ignore it:

When you're playing RED on a map like Dustbowl where the engineers have to build their constructions as quickly as possible, when you're not an engi yourself don't go out of the spawn as fast as you can. Give the engineer some space to build his teleport entrance. If everyone runs out at the same moment, the engineer sometimes has to wait two seconds before he can build and those are valuable seconds.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

But for me, someone who's been playing TF2 since the day it came out, FTP players?

Bodies.

Heads to shoot for me. The amount of people just standing still after the the F2P update was astounding.

As for the Sniper and the Spy, they're so situational that people should really only play as them when they're specifically needed. People shouldn't be picking Spy or Sniper as soon as they join the server.

As someone who's been playing Sniper for the majority of the game;

A good Sniper can completely neutralise an enemy attack with one well-aimed shot. Identify the most crucial player, usually the Medic healing the spearhead attacker, and pop his head. Especially fun when you notice he/she just had an Ubercharge ready. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same for a Spy who communicates well with his team.

I wouldn't call that situational, I'd call that extremely useful. Honestly all classes are extremely useful if you bother with communication. That's your strongest weapon really, as any class-combo can be countered in one way or another.

The reason for this is that snipers are specialists who should be taking off high priority enemies like their MVP (most valuable player), as is the spy. But they can't really get consecutive kills or push, they can only waddle down the enemy.

Heeeeej, good ones can :< Though I still have to break the 23 kills record. Then again I'm not as good as I used to be.

You make a fair point, but the operative words are a and good. On a 24 man server, you never need more than one sniper, and even on a 32 man server, two is pushing it. I've seen servers with four or more snipers at once, none of which are really helping the team. Also, if the snipers aren't particularly good at what they do, they're even more useless; a bad heavy, demo, or soldier can still help out the team, but a bad sniper is just taking up a slot.

 

[Cowabungaa]

You make a fair point, but the operative words are a and good. On a 24 man server, you never need more than one sniper, and even on a 32 man server, two is pushing it. I've seen servers with four or more snipers at once, none of which are really helping the team. Also, if the snipers aren't particularly good at what they do, they're even more useless; a bad heavy, demo, or soldier can still help out the team, but a bad sniper is just taking up a slot.

Fair enough. It's true that, while the Sniper's mechanics are very straightforward, it's also a very easy class to completely fail it. I've seen teams with 3 or 4 good Snipers before (as good Snipers are quite common in my clan), and they rocked like you wouldn't believe. But indeed, if they're all balls they can ruin a team a lot easier as well. Snipers walk a fine line, and it's really a challenge to play them well, despite it being a simple enough class.