TF2 Tips

[Shockolate]

My biggest tip is that unless you are a spy waiting for your cloak to recharge, or an engineer hiding behind a sentry to keep it (and you alive):

Do not stop moving.

Also, as a spy, never rely on a disguise to get you past the enemy. Most of the time, you will fail. Hell, that's the reason I specialize in using the Cloak and Dagger.

 

[Wintermoot]

keep playing and eventually you get the hang of it.

 

[Wintermoot]

i just want some spy upgrades and egni upgrades bt i know the leaning maps i 1 on the list

you need to unlock them by getting achievements,playing or buying them.

 

[Evil Top Hat]

Just practice, use the base loadouts and don't change any of your weapons until you are comfortable with them. Figure out what classes you prefer.

 

[rabidmidget]

When playing as a spy, never look directly at enemies when trying to blend in.

Don't be afraid to use the revolver, when someone finds you out, it's high accuracy makes it very easy to defeat other classes in 1 on 1 if you move around enough.

Learn how to stab an engineer and sap his sentry before it turns around, try to move in the opposite direction it's turning.

Don't disguise as slow classes like heavies and soldiers, it makes it harder to backstab, but don't disguise as scouts either, slow scouts are an obvious way of spotting spies.

Heavies are easy targets, for some reason most heavy players are really bad at stopping spies.

If a sniper has a shield (the tribal one not the crocodile one), don't try to backstab them, just shoot them twice with the revolver at point blank, they'll never be able to retaliate in time.

 

[Fanta Grape]

Watch a few youtube videos to get the basics.

Start playing with:
Soldier
Heavy
Pyro
Medic

Later play with:
Engineer
Spy
Demo

The ones with the least strategy but the most "skill" are:
Scout
Sniper

Oh, and only use the default loudout until you get excellent.

And don't be discouraged by losing. It takes people roughly 1000 hours to become decent.

MAJOR TIPS:

1. Only have two of the same class per team. NEVER BE THE FIFTH SNIPER.

2. Learn the map and never go through the obvious root.

3. Learn how every weapon works. TF2 wiki should help with that.

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

My advice is to keep Sniper and Spy until last, unless you're actually good at playing them you're wasting a team slot. Beginning players best start off with Medic, as has been said, then branch off into Heavy, Soldier or Engineer, from there on to Demoman and/or Scout, and finally Sniper and Spy.
That said, you can practice your sniping safely in the offline practice mode, granted bots are a bit more predictable than players, but it still gives you a feel on how to land those headshots.

And remember, getting the objective done is more important than getting points.
As Medic: Your life is usually more important than anyone else's, if your medic buddy walks into a nest with five high damage class enemies when you don't have an übercharge ready, just leave him to his fate.

Edit: Some of them are a bit outdated by now, but there's several "How to play" videos for all of the classes on Youtube which should help you along too.

 

[Anezay]

Don't be afraid to try something you failed at again later when you're experienced. There are plenty of weapons/classes/strategies that a little more experience will make all the difference for. For example, the demoman's sticky bombs are difficult for a beginner to use, but once you understand the game a bit better, you can rake in the kills with that gun.

 

[Aerograt]

only problem class i have sniper

Just go for charged body shots if you're having trouble aiming, 150 damage at any range is nothing to scoff at.

 

[Jordi]

too fast-paced

Counter-Strike (Source)

Please tell me of these Counter-Strike: Source servers that are slower-paced than Team Fortress 2. I greatly doubt that they exist, but they would be interesting to find.

My first instinct is to say that they are all slower paced. The fact that you don't respawn seems to make people more careful and makes them play more tactically.

However, there are a couple of disclaimers, because my experience is not comprehensive. First of all, I haven't really played a lot of TF2. I did it for a couple of hours, but everything went way too fast for me, and I didn't have any fun, so I just stopped playing. Furthermore, when I play CSS, I always look for servers with approximately 8-12 people. I can imagine that it becomes faster paced if you play with 64 or something (I don't even know the current upper limit because I don't care). And of course, I'm not talking about CS:S with any kind of respawn mod (as often seen in deathmatch and gungame servers).

And maybe it also has to do with my skills. Like I said, in TF2 everything happened too fast for me, or in other words: I was too slow. This might have something to do with the fact that I'm not used to the game and also that I'm much better with the fast/automatic, fairly accurate, fairly long range guns in CSS than I am with the slower ones in TF2. Maybe being better at a game makes it seem slower and vice versa, I don't know.

 

[diebane]

My tip 1# for you is to play a different class every day, so you can get to know the game. Its that simple. If you want to know why the pyro players are constantly flaming through the air/their own team, you have to been backstabbed by a Spy a couple of times

Tip 2#: In case you got used to play for K/D in CoD or other games, you should forget that in TF2, because nobody will care about it at all. The only thing that MIGHT matter to you and your teammates is how much points you get, but thats also not the case all the time. My most played class is the Medic, and although I don't make many kills and die often, I'm sometimes the player with the most points on my team or the entire game.

Tip 3#: Unfortunately, there are servers who support a "premium service" which allows players unfair possibilities. Examples of those would be to fly through the air or the ability to "scare" enemies, leaving them stuck in their 3rd person view for a view seconds, so you have time to kill them off. Complaining will not help in this case, its a legit service people can use.

mfG diebane

 

[Jimmybobjr]

Scout:

Use the double jump. Noobs dont. Dont be a noob.
The Force-A-Nature's third jump is extemely usefull. give it a shot.
The sandman's -15 health debuff is not important. 15 health isnt going to help you much.
USE THE PISTOL! Most people udnerestimate it, but its extemely usefull.

Pyro:

Use the shotgun, not the FlareGun. A pyro is designed for close combat. The flaregun isnt. A shotgun is.
Dont W+M1, it usialy results in death. Of you.
Think about ways to get Behind the enemy, especialy with the Backburner. You are much more effective.
Dont forget to Air-Blast, it is quite handy in a soldier spam environment.

Spy:

Never. EVER. Discuise as a scout or heavy. The heavy is too big slow, and that just means more time for a enemy to shoot through you. And the scout discuise will not increase your speed- making you stick out like a sore thumb.
Dont forget to use the revolver, it is actiualy really powerful. Of course, use it as a last resort.
Dont bother saping engeneer's buildings unless they are on the front line. Stab the heavy first, let your team move up, THEN sap the damned sentry.

Heavy:

Unless you are extemly good at heavy, or facing a bad team, expect to die. alot. The heavy is weak against almost every class- A Scout will sandman, a Sniper will (easily) Headshot, a spy will stab, soldiers can actiualy aim at something other than the floor... the heavys large size and slow movement are its biggest weakness.
Dont bother with Dhalocks bar. Get Sanvich or the shotgun.
GRU Gloves are your friend.

Engineer:

On every map, there is one or two places to place a sentry that will block a chokehold. On the table in 2fort's intel room or outside the spawn room, for example. One engie will easily defend such a place from a mass invasion of a enemy team- if the engy has help, that is.
Dont ever, EVER, bother making a sentry next to another engies sentry. In 2fort, dont have more than one Sentry outside the spawn. Dont have more than one outisde your spawn. One sentry is enough, and you could be doing something constructive.
Dont ever- EVER- Set up a sentry where it can be outranged. dont get up on the battlements in 2fort, or on the Cart tracks in a payload map. It will be shot down by a soldier when it cant shoot back.
*SHOOT MEANIE, REPAIR TOY* when a spy saps your building, KILL THE SPY! Dont stand there like a lemon and try to repair your stuff, it will die faster than you can repair. Kill the spy first, then repair.
Move that gear up! If your team has several engies, and you insist on not switching class, move up. Make suicide runs to the enemy base with your sentry. The worst that could happen is you die, and you respawn. The best that could happen is that you set up a level 3 sentry outside the enemy base, and get easy kills. Of course, make sure your base is defended first.
Dont underestimate the Gunslinger. A mini-sentry is just as usefull as a normal one, especialy on CP maps and when on the attack in payload maps.
Use the normal shotgun. Its better than the Frontier Justice, simply due to its large clip size. Use it against spys, its more than enough.

And finaly,
HATS. DONT BOTHER WITH THEM. THEY ARE A WASTE OF TIME. ALLWAYS. DONT BOTHER WITH THEEEM!

Thats my general hints for my most played classes. Of course, these may not suit you well, but thats what i use, and (Not to brag or anything) its not uncommon to see me as MVP.

These wont apply to every situation, but these hints are a general, day to day basis of how i play. Good luck.

Youll learn TF2 quick enough- its not too hard.

 

[Caffeine Rage]

The biggest tip I could give you is to look around the wiki (wiki.tf2.com). I would highly suggest that you look at the strategy guides that they have listed under each class. They have a lot of tips and tricks in general and for each class.

I wouldn't worry about unlocks all that much. They typically promote a secondary tactic and there are few that are straight upgrades over the normal weapons. I would suggest learning the weapons (and tactics that goes along with that weapon) as you obtain them. This way, you're not as overloaded with information.

You'll typically get 7-10 items per week if you play to the drop cap; which is around ten or so hours. The cap normally resets sometime around Wednesday. Although, the exact time seems to sometimes change by a few hours. Some of the drops which you didn't play enough to collect will carry over, so don't worry too much about suffering though more time than you want to play.

Never buy keys to open crates. They are a major gamble with a small chance of a worthwhile reward.

Although the game modes aren't that complex, I would suggest looking at the rules for each in the wiki. For example, you don't want to take more suicidal tactics when playing arena mode. I know this seems like common sense, but I have ran into newbies that had no idea what was going on.

The best way to learn the layout of a map is to play on it. If you're not very confident in your ability to do so while playing with others; load the map in the "create a server" option. This will allow you to load any map you have downloaded and freely run around them. Take the time to learn possible side routes and where health and ammo pick-ups are on the map using this option. Getting the drop on your enemy can change the tide of battle very quickly.

Don't worry about hats, as with weapons they will come in time.

Stay far away from the trading game for now. There are some insane people and others who will do their best to just rip you off. Don't trade something unless you understand its worth and the worth of what you're getting. Also, never trade for more than eight items unless you know the other person well. Lots of scamers prey upon newer players.

I suggest you stay away from servers which have a modified player cap or respawn rate until you understand the game a bit better. Thirty-two player servers are known for massive amounts of spam makes learning how to play far harder. Also, instant respawn can greatly sway the balance on some maps, making them far harder than they otherwise would be.

Oh, and don't forget to have fun. Team Fortress 2 is a blast to play, even after all these years.

 

[HassEsser]

With over 2k hours and a platinum medal, I have only one tip to give you: keep your head out of the hat economy, and NEVER use real money to buy virtual items, be it from the store or another player.

 

[CommanderKirov]

Spoiler: I'll just leave this here

But yeah, after 403 hours played I can honestly say stick with it and learn slowly. Hats are fun but nothing to pay the money for.

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

I'm pretty sure that's his own choice and not of any effect on his gaming abilities. =p

 

[Corkydog]

Most important for new players: Pay attention to your health bar. Most new games don't have one, but it's crucial. Know where your health packs are, and don't be afraid of asking your medic to top you off. There are enough powerful weapons in the game now that every conflict could mean your death.

Related, and something most new players don't realize, is that health packs work off of percentage of total health. Heavies therefore can get a lot of health from even the small pill bottle.

 

[ilikepie59]

When I first got it, I was crap for probably the first month (maybe more!)
It just seemed very fast.
Just keep practicing, eventually you'll get the hang of it.

 

[ElNeroDiablo]

If a sniper has a shield (the tribal one not the crocodile one), don't try to backstab them, just shoot them twice with the revolver at point blank, they'll never be able to retaliate in time.

A good heads-up though, ANY sniper worth his rifle with (or without) the Razorback (tribal shield) will ~ALWAYS~ keep an ear out for the unique sound of a spy decloaking and be ready to quick-swap to his Kukri (Tribalman's Shiv if they have it) to smack the spy silly (SMG works too if you don't have a shield or Jarate equipped). The Razorback provides the Sniper with a bit more reaction time if a spy does try backstabbing him.

Speaking as someone who's got 464 hours with 103.5 of them as *boom* "Thanks fer standing still wanka!" --- GOD DAMMIT! As I was saying, 103.5 hours as *headshotted again* Screw that... *equips Croc-O-Style* 103.5 hours as Sniper *survives headshot and kills the damn enemy sniper with a full-charge Piss rifle (Sydney Sleeper) bodyshot*.
I spend an ungodly amount of time clearing the battlements/roofs of the opposing side's base of Snipers to provide my team mates with a slightly-safer and (hopefully) sniper-free experience in the middle-ground.